Menopausal symptoms assessment among middle age women in Kushtia, Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are few menopausal study data available in South East Asia especially in Bangladesh. This study was conducted in a well populated town named Kushtia, which is located in the western part of Bangladesh.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>This study was aimed to document the menopausal-related symptoms among middle age women of Kushtia region of Bangladesh.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>By using modified MRS (Menopause Rating Scale) questionnaire, 509 women aged 40-70 years were interviewed to document symptoms commonly associated with menopause.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The mean age of menopause was 51.14 years. The most prevalent symptoms reported include, feeling tired (92.90%); headache (88.80%); joint and muscular discomfort (76.20%); physical and mental exhaustion (60.90%) and sleeplessness (54.40%) which are followed by depressive mood (37.30%); irritability (36%); dryness of vagina (36%); hot flushes and sweating (35.80%); anxiety (34.20%). However, noted less frequent symptoms were sexual problem (31.20%); cardiac discomfort (19.10%) and bladder problem (12.80%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of menopausal symptoms found in this study correspond to other studies on Asian women however the prevalence of classical menopausal symptoms of hot flushes and sweating were lower compared to studies on Caucasian women.</p

Attitudes to and management of fertility among primary health care physicians in Turkey: An epidemiological study

BACKGROUND: The subject of infertility has taken its place in the health sector at the top level. Since primary health care services are insufficient, most people, especially women, keep on suffering from it all over the world, namely in underdeveloped or developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine primary care physicians' opinions about the approach to infertility cases and their place within primary health care services (PHCSs). METHODS: The study was conducted between October 2003 and April 2004. The study group comprised 748 physicians working in PHCSs. They were asked to fill in a questionnaire with questions pertaining to infertility support, laboratory and treatment algorithms, as well as the demographic characteristics. The data was evaluated using the chi square test, percentage rates and a logistic regression model. RESULTS: The multivariate analyses showed that having a previous interest in infertility and having worked for a postgraduate period of between 5–9 years and ≥10 years were the variables that most positively influenced them in their approach to cases of infertility (p < 0.05, each one). Just 28.7% of the physicians indicated that they believed cases of infertility could be evaluated at the primary care level. The most frequently proposed reason for indicating 'difficulty in practice' (n = 533) was inadequate provision of equipment in PHCSs (55.7%). The physicians reported that they were able to perform most of the supportive treatments and proposals (between 64.6%–87.7%). The most requested laboratory investigations were the instruction of patients in taking basal body temperatures and semen analysis (89.7% and 88.7%, respectively). The most preferential course of treatment was that of sexually transmitted diseases (95.5%). CONCLUSION: It is clear that not enough importance is attached to the provision of care to infertile couples within PHCSs. This leads us to conclude that an integration of infertility services in primary care would be appropriate after strengthening the PHCSs

Amyloid and tau pathology associations with personality traits, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cognitive lifestyle in the preclinical phases of sporadic and autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease

Background Major prevention trials for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are now focusing on multidomain lifestyle interventions. However, the exact combination of behavioral factors related to AD pathology remains unclear. In 2 cohorts of cognitively unimpaired individuals at risk of AD, we examined which combinations of personality traits, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cognitive lifestyle (years of education or lifetime cognitive activity) related to the pathological hallmarks of AD, amyloid-β, and tau deposits. Methods A total of 115 older adults with a parental or multiple-sibling family history of sporadic AD (PREVENT-AD [PRe-symptomatic EValuation of Experimental or Novel Treatments for AD] cohort) underwent amyloid and tau positron emission tomography and answered several questionnaires related to behavioral attributes. Separately, we studied 117 mutation carriers from the DIAN (Dominant Inherited Alzheimer Network) study group cohort with amyloid positron emission tomography and behavioral data. Using partial least squares analysis, we identified latent variables relating amyloid or tau pathology with combinations of personality traits, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cognitive lifestyle. Results In PREVENT-AD, lower neuroticism, neuropsychiatric burden, and higher education were associated with less amyloid deposition (p = .014). Lower neuroticism and neuropsychiatric features, along with higher measures of openness and extraversion, were related to less tau deposition (p = .006). In DIAN, lower neuropsychiatric burden and higher education were also associated with less amyloid (p = .005). The combination of these factors accounted for up to 14% of AD pathology. Conclusions In the preclinical phase of both sporadic and autosomal dominant AD, multiple behavioral features were associated with AD pathology. These results may suggest potential pathways by which multidomain interventions might help delay AD onset or progression

Digital Light Processing (DLP): Anisotropic Tensile Considerations

Digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) process used to produce layered parts via photopolymerization. Anisotropy is a common characteristic of parts produced by DLP. Furthermore, printing conditions affect widely the resulting mechanical properties. This paper shows the effect of three printing factors on the final mechanical properties of specimens manufactured using DLP 3D printing. A series of ISO compliant tensile test specimens were designed, printed and tested. The properties analyzed were the elastic modulus, ultimate tensile strength, ultimate strain and printing time. Preliminary findings on design guidelines for Vat Photopolymerization processes are presented in addition to the economic effect of the studied parameters in terms of the total printing time.Mechanical Engineerin