Validity and reliability of the dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep scale-10 in iranian clinical population

Background: Dysfunctional cognitions and attitudes about sleep are considered as one of the most important factors underlying insomnia. Objectives: The current study aimed at investigating the validity and reliability of the dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep scale-10 (DBAS-10) in an Iranian clinical population. Methods: The clinical sample consisted of 120 patients with insomnia disorder referred to the sleep disorders clinic at Baharloo hospital in Tehran in 2015. The control group (n = 120) included a community sample volunteered to participate in the study. Sleep Diary, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index, Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale, and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Sacle-21, were used to assess concurrent validity. Test-retest and Cronbach' alpha were conducted to examine the reliability of the scale. Construct validity of the scale was investigated via confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The current study findings indicated that DBAS-10 had appropriate test-retest reliability (r = 0.83) and internal consistency (Cronbach' alpha = 0.82). Total score of DBAS-10 was significantly associated with PSQI (r = 0.34), ISI (r = 0.45), the cognitive subscale of PSAS (r = 0.36), and depression (0.34), anxiety (r = 0.34) and stress (r = 0.39) subscales of DASS-21. Factor analysis indicated that the Espie et al. (2000) model had significantly better fitness in comparison with the Edinger andWohlgemuth (2001) model. The cutoff point, sensitivity, and specificity of the scale were 6.7, 74.17 and 87.50, respectively. Conclusions: The Persian version of DBAS-10 had proper psychometric properties for Iranian clinical population. ©2018, Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Childhood maltreatment and adulthood victimization:An evidence-based model

There is ample evidence showing that childhood maltreatment increases two to three fold the risk of victimization in adulthood. Various risk factors, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, dissociation, self-blame, and alcohol abuse are related to revictimization. Although previous research examined associations between risk factors for revictimization, the evidence is limited and the proposed models mostly include a handful of risk factors. Therefore, it is critical to investigate a more comprehensive model explaining the link between childhood maltreatment and adulthood (re)victimization. Accordingly, this study tested a data-driven theoretical path model consisting of 33 variables (and their associations) that could potentially enhance understanding of factors explaining revictimization. Cross-sectional data derived from a multi-wave study were used for this investigation. Participants (N = 2156, age mean = 19.94, SD = 2.89) were first-year female psychology students in the Netherlands and New Zealand, who responded to a battery of questionnaires and performed two computer tasks. The path model created by structural equation modelling using modification indices showed that peritraumatic dissociation, PTSD symptoms, trauma load, loneliness, and drug use were important mediators. Attachment styles, maladaptive schemas, meaning in life, and sex motives connected childhood maltreatment to adulthood victimization via other factors (i.e., PTSD symptoms, risky sex behavior, loneliness, emotion dysregulation, and sex motives). The model indicated that childhood maltreatment was associated with cognitive patterns (e.g., anxious attachment style), which in turn were associated with emotional factors (e.g., emotion dysregulation), and then with behavioral factors (e.g., risky sex behavior) resulting in revictimization. The findings of the study should be interpreted in the light of the limitations. In particular, the cross-sectional design of the study hinders us from ascertaining that the mediators preceded the outcome variable. </p

Epistatic interaction between adiponectin and survivin gene polymorphisms in endometrial carcinoma

Adiponectin appears to play an important role in the development and progression of several obesity-related malignancies. Also, overexpression of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis protein, is associated with increased risk of cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between two polymorphisms in the adiponectin gene and endometrial cancer (EC) risk. We also investigated whether epistasis between surviving and adiponectin gene polymorphisms are associated with EC risk in an Iranian population.The samples comprised formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections obtained from the archive of the pathology department, Imam-Khomeini Hospital and Firouzgar hospital. After DNA extraction the genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP technique.Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in adiponectin (rs1063539, rs2241766) and survivin (rs9904341) gene were evaluated in the study. The increased frequency of ADIPOQ rs1063539C allele (CC. +. CG genotype) was associated with decreased EC risk OR: 0.39(0.17-0.90). Survivin rs9904341C allele (CC. +. CG genotype) was associated with increased EC risk crude OR: 2.75(1.27-5.95), adjusted OR: 2.93(1.27-6.76). We observed an epistatic interaction between survivin rs9904341 CC. +. CG genotype and ADIPOQ rs1063539 GG genotype increasing the risk of EC compared to those with other genotypes OR: 4.86(1.88-12.54), P=0.001.Our findings indicate that adiponectin might have a modulatory effect on survivin role and function in EC, which requires further investigation. © 2014 Elsevier GmbH

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma presenting with extensive skin lesions: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the most common histological subtype of cancer in the upper and middle esophagus and is characterized by a high rate of mortality. The incidence of esophageal cancer varies greatly among regions of the world and occurs at a high frequency in Asia and South America.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>In our department, a 51-year-old man was diagnosed with ESCC after presenting with extensive disseminated skin nodules. Biopsy of the nodules showed metastatic ESCC. Cutaneous manifestations of esophageal neoplasia are very rare and are mainly described for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EADC). Here we report a very uncommon case of extensive skin metastases of ESCC.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Early biopsies of suspicious skin lesions are important and should be performed in patients with unclear symptoms such as weight loss or dysphagia and especially in patients with a history of cancer, since they can reveal the existence of a distant malignant disease leading to diagnosis and prompt therapy.</p

Skin Metastasis from an Occult Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Metastases to the skin from carcinoma arising in other organs are uncommon, yet they may be the first presentation of neoplastic disease. They usually originate from primary tumours in the breast, lung or colon. Skin metastases from esophageal adenocarcinoma are extremely rare. A unique case of an otherwise healthy patient who presented with a small, painless, mobile, clinically localized facial skin nodule is reported. A biopsy revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma, and subsequent investigations detected the primary tumour in the esophagus, despite no symptoms

Structural dynamic analysis of a troposkien shape vertical axis wind turbine using mixed finite element formulation

Structural dynamic characteristics of a troposkien-shape Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) blade are investigated. The structural equations, which represent the behavior of a three dimensionally linear curved beam, are expressed in a state vector form. This state vector form consists of 12-first order linear ordinary differential equations, based on generalized force and generalized displacement variables. The structural equilibrium equations are then coupled with the dynamic equations, arising from the rotation of the blade, to form a complete set of structural dynamic equations. The aforementioned system of structural dynamic equations is treated numerically in the framework of the Finite Element Method (FEM). Due to the nature of the state vector form, a mixed formulation is established in such a manner that preserves the symmetry of the mass and stiffness matrices. The underlying physics of the problem is discussed in terms of natural frequencies and mode shapes. It is shown how the troposkien geometry prevents the system from the dynamic instability arising from the rotation of the blade. It is also demonstrated how the center of mass offset and Coriolis forces result in coupling between the different degrees of freedom of the system

Aeroelastic study of a vertical axis wind turbine with troposkien shape

A methodology for aeroelastic analysis of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) with troposkien geometry is developed. The structural dynamic equations used in this analysis represent the behavior of a three dimensionally curved beam in a mixed form consisting of generalized force and generalized displacement vectors. This linear formulation, which takes into account both the Coriolis and centrifugal stiffening effects, lends itself well to the application of mixed finite element method. The structural dynamic equations are then coupled with a vortex filament based aerodynamic model. These vortex filaments that stretch, rotate and translate freely in the wake of the wind turbine represent the unsteady effect of the wake accurately, specially when the vortex-blade interaction is strong at hight tip speed ratios. The aforementioned computational aeroelastic methodology is utilized to study the aeroelastic behavior of the 17-meter DOE-Sandia VAWT. The comparison of the estimated vibratory stress at the root of wind turbine with the experimental data reveals excellent agreement except at the region where dynamic stall plays a crucial role in predicting the aerodynamic forces

Eugenol Administration Improves Liver Damage Induced by a Fructose-Rich Diet

Backgrounds: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing in developing countries that affects the liver in a variety of ways. This study was designed to investigate the protective role of eugenol on liver damage caused by fructose-induced MetS. Materials and Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: 1: tap water (control), 2: fructose, 3: fructose + eugenol solvent, 4: fructose + eugenol 50 mg/kg, and 5: fructose + eugenol 100 mg/kg. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken for measurement fast blood glucose (FBG), serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol, and triglyceride. Results: FBG significantly increased in Group 2 compared to Group 1 (P < 0.001); however, it significantly decreased in Groups 4 and 5 compared to Group 2 (P < 0.05). SGOT and SGPT levels significantly increased in Group 2 compared to the control group (P < 0.001). However, SGOT and SGPT levels significantly decreased in Groups 4 and 5. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and liver tissue damage score (LTDS) significantly increased in Group 2 compared with the control group (P < 0.01), whereas MDA and LTDS decreased in Groups 4 and 5 compared to Group 2 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Eugenol may ameliorate liver damage in a rat model of fructose-induced MetS, and these protective effects may in part be mediated by improving antioxidant status and reducing oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. It may also reduce hepatic inflammation and fat accumulation as well as fibrosis of liver cells

Associations of risk factors obesity and occupational airborne exposures with CDKN2A/p16 aberrant DNA methylation in esophageal cancer patients

P>It is known that obesity and occupational airborne exposure such as dust are among risk factors of esophageal cancer development, in particular squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of esophagus. Here, we tested whether these factors could also affect aberrant DNA methylation. DNAs from 44 fresh tumor tissues and 19 non-tumor adjacent normal tissues, obtained from 44 patients affected by SCC of esophagus (SCCE), were studied for methylation at the CDKN2A/p16 gene promoter by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction assay. Statistical methods were used to assess association of promoter methylation with biopathological, clinical, and personal information data, including obesity and airborne exposures. Methylation at the CDKN2A/p16 gene promoter was detected in 12 out of 44 tumor samples. None of the non-tumor tissues exhibited the aberrant methylation. Our results confirmed previously described significant association with low tumor stage (P = 0.002); in addition, we found that obesity (P = 0.001) and occupational exposure (P = 0.008) were both significantly associated with CDKN2A/p16 promoter methylation. This study provides evidence that obesity and occupational exposure increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer through an enhancement of CDKN2A/p16 promoter methylation