Maternal Morbidities and Occurrence of Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Infants

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is one of the most serious neurological morbidities in preterm infants. Several prenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal risk factors have been detected in different studies. However, maternal conditions that may render the neonates to IVH have been the subject of very few studies. Preterm infants with and without IVH were included in the study, and maternal obstetrics and general health clinical files were reviewed for any kind of morbidity. Data were then analyzed with statistical software to assess the association between maternal conditions and IVH. A total of 115 neonates with IVH and 120 infants without IVH were recruited. Among all maternal conditions, prolonged rupture of membrane (p = 0.00), laparoscopic surgery for infertility (p = 0.001), and in vitro fertilization (IVF) (p = 0.00) increased the risk of IVH in neonates significantly. IVF remained strongly associated with IVH even after controlling for confounding variables (odds ratio: 9.75; confidence interval: 2.66-35.75; p = 0.001). Based on our findings, prolonged rupture of membrane and IVF were maternal conditions that increased the risk of IVH. Laparoscopic surgery for infertility was also associated with an increased risk of IVH

Clinical biomicroscopy and retinoscopy findings of keratoconus in a Middle Eastern population

Background: The present work was conducted to investigate the prevalence of clinical biomicroscopy and retinoscopy findings of corneas with keratoconus (KC) at first presentation and their relationship with disease severity. Method: In a prospective cross-sectional study, 371 consecutive KC patients were examined by slitlamp biomicroscopy and retinoscopy at the time of diagnosis. This research evaluates the prevalence of clinical findings such as a corneal protrusion, Vogt's striae, Fleischer's ring, Munson's sign, Rizzuti's sign, corneal scars, as well as any additional KC signs such as prominent nerve fibres, scissoring reflex and Charleaux �oil droplet� sign on retinoscopy. Keratometry (mean K), central and thinnest corneal thickness (CCT and TCT), anterior and posterior elevation (AE and PE), and astigmatism by means of Pentacam, and visual acuity (VA) were recorded for each patient. The severity of KC was graded on the basis of the Keratoconus Severity Score. Results: Corneal protrusion, scissoring reflex, corneal thinning, Fleischer's ring, and prominent nerve fibres were the most prevalent findings in the keratoconic corneas (71.7 per cent, 64.2 per cent, 56.6 per cent, 55.5 per cent and 54.7 per cent, respectively). Those KC patients with these clinical findings had significantly higher mean K, AE and PE, while having significantly lower CCT, TCT and VA compared to those who did not present these signs (p < 0.05). The presence of clinical findings was associated with more severe disease (p < 0.001, all comparisons). Wearing contact lenses was associated with the increase in the risk of corneal scarring (p = 0.009, odds ratio = 1.761, 95 per cent confidence interval = 1.126 to 2.755). Conclusion: This study provided information regarding the presence of the clinical slitlamp biomicroscopic and retinoscopic findings with severity of KC. A positive association was found between the presence of clinical signs and topographic parameters. In addition, wearing contact lenses was associated with the increase in the risk of corneal scarring. © 2017 Optometry Australi

Ocular, corneal, and internal aberrations in eyes with keratoconus, forme fruste keratoconus, and healthy eyes

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate ocular, corneal, and internal aberration parameters in eyes with keratoconus (KC), forme fruste keratoconus (FFKC), and normal eyes. Method: In a prospective study, one eye of 110 patients with KC, 60 FFKC patients, and 150 healthy participants was evaluated using OPD-Scan II. Ocular, corneal, and internal higher-order aberrations were measured through a sixth-order Zernike polynomial decomposition. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic ability of the aberration parameters in discriminating KC and FFKC from normal eyes. Results: The root mean square of the all ocular aberration measurements was significantly higher in the KC and FFKC patients than that of normal participants (p < 0.05). All of the corneal aberration measurements were significantly higher in KC patients than those of normal patients (p < 0.05); however, only corneal total higher-order aberration (HOA), vertical and total coma, and higher-order astigmatism were significantly higher in the FFKC patients than normal participants (p < 0.05). The results also showed that internal aberration lower-order astigmatism, total trefoil, and total higher-order spherical aberration were significantly different between KC and normal groups (p < 0.05). In comparison, internal total HOA, lower and higher-order astigmatism, total trefoil, and vertical coma were significantly different between FFKC and normal groups (p < 0.05). Ocular vertical and total coma had the highest ability in discriminating keratoconic from normal eyes. Ocular total higher aberration and total coma had the highest diagnostic ability in discriminating FFKC from normal eyes. The diagnostic ability of internal aberration, on the other hand, was moderate to poor in discriminating KC and FFKC from normal eyes. Conclusion: Ocular aberration especially vertical and total coma and total HOA were found to be suitable parameters to discriminate KC and FFKC from normal patients. These two parameters could be used as discriminating factors in evaluating the patient for refractive surgery in an attempt to avoid iatrogenic ectasia. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Clinical biomicroscopy and retinoscopy findings of keratoconus in a Middle Eastern population

Background: The present work was conducted to investigate the prevalence of clinical biomicroscopy and retinoscopy findings of corneas with keratoconus (KC) at first presentation and their relationship with disease severity. Method: In a prospective cross-sectional study, 371 consecutive KC patients were examined by slitlamp biomicroscopy and retinoscopy at the time of diagnosis. This research evaluates the prevalence of clinical findings such as a corneal protrusion, Vogt's striae, Fleischer's ring, Munson's sign, Rizzuti's sign, corneal scars, as well as any additional KC signs such as prominent nerve fibres, scissoring reflex and Charleaux �oil droplet� sign on retinoscopy. Keratometry (mean K), central and thinnest corneal thickness (CCT and TCT), anterior and posterior elevation (AE and PE), and astigmatism by means of Pentacam, and visual acuity (VA) were recorded for each patient. The severity of KC was graded on the basis of the Keratoconus Severity Score. Results: Corneal protrusion, scissoring reflex, corneal thinning, Fleischer's ring, and prominent nerve fibres were the most prevalent findings in the keratoconic corneas (71.7 per cent, 64.2 per cent, 56.6 per cent, 55.5 per cent and 54.7 per cent, respectively). Those KC patients with these clinical findings had significantly higher mean K, AE and PE, while having significantly lower CCT, TCT and VA compared to those who did not present these signs (p < 0.05). The presence of clinical findings was associated with more severe disease (p < 0.001, all comparisons). Wearing contact lenses was associated with the increase in the risk of corneal scarring (p = 0.009, odds ratio = 1.761, 95 per cent confidence interval = 1.126 to 2.755). Conclusion: This study provided information regarding the presence of the clinical slitlamp biomicroscopic and retinoscopic findings with severity of KC. A positive association was found between the presence of clinical signs and topographic parameters. In addition, wearing contact lenses was associated with the increase in the risk of corneal scarring. © 2017 Optometry Australi

Analysis Of The Executive Components Of The Farmer Field School (Ffs) Project (Grape Gardeners) In Uromieh County Of West Azerbaijan Province, Iran

The purpose of this study was to investigate the executive components of the Farmer Field School (FFS) project in Uromieh county of West AzerbaijanProvince, Iran. All the members and non-members (as control group) of FFS pilots in Uromieh county (N= 98) were included in the study. Data were collected by use of Census method. After gathering the questionnaires, 18 number of them were not appropriate for analyzing and so eliminated than questionnaires (and also 18 number of control group), and the population became N=60. The research design was a Quasi-experimental method. A questionnaire was designed and employed to gather the required data. Cronbach's alpha computed to measure reliability of the questionnaire and its rate was 0.86. Face validity of the instrument was determined by experts of the ministry of agricultural jihad. The findings revealed that the execution of FFS was moderately appropriate. Also the findings revealed that there was significant correlation between members and non-members (as control group) of FFS pilots in productivity of grape gardens. Also the result of t-student test revealed that members and non-members are different from: scientific skill, awareness and the level of knowledge and information

Stability Analysis of Data Driven Complex Systems

In this work we develop a mathematic and algo­ rithmic framework for data-driven stability analysis of black box switching systems by using adaptive sampling and on­ line optimization. Our algorithm learns the optimal sam­ pling strategy to build more accurate stability guarantees with fewer sampling points. This work is an extension of [ l], where an algorithm is presented to bound the Joint Spec­ tral Radius (JSR) [2] of an unknown switched linear system within some probability from a finite number of trajectories