Repetative Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator (rTMS) Characterization and How to Develop the Functionalities for Treating Neural Disorders

Background: Repetative transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an important non-invasive technique with several protocols to treat a wide variety of neural disorders. This method utilizes a strong power supply to discharge high currents in a single or dual flat spiral coil with specific characterizations. It makes a magnetic field that promotes neuroplasticity by applying the field distribution on the appropriate brain zone and requires adjusting time and frequency relating to intervention protocols. Aim: This study investigates components of an rTMS machine to describe development approaches to increase performance, specifically in the binary mode of recovering proportionally with brain and heart signals. Methods: The proposed method achieves an rTMS and probe-set coil prototypes whose performance is approved with some statistical modelings and experiments analysis. Results: Results show that the physical properties of the coil are proportional to the power supply effect and the magnetic field distribution in front of the probe set. Conclusion: By clarifying the mechanism of oscillator switching modes and the location of the processing unit in rTMS, this paper is directed to utilize external sensors to create a smart stimulator with touch EEG or ECG signals through the most accurate intervention

Biochemical Markers in Neurocritical Care

During the past two decades, a variety of serum or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical markers in daily clinical practice have been recommended to diagnose and monitor diverse diseases or pathologic situations. It will be essential to develop a panel of biomarkers, to be suitable for evaluation of treatment efficacy, representing distinct phases of injury and recovery and consider the temporal profile of those. Among the possible and different biochemical markers, S100b appeared to fulfill many of optimized criteria of an ideal marker. S100b, a cytosolic low molecular weight dimeric calciumbinding protein from chromosome 21, synthesized in glial cells throughout the CNS, an homodimeric diffusible, belongs to a family of closely related protein, predominantly expressed by astrocytes and Schwann cells and a classic immunohistochemical marker for these cells, is implicated in brain development and neurophysiology. Of the 3 isoforms of S-100, the BB subunit (S100B) is present in high concentrations in central and peripheral glial and Schwann cells, Langerhans and anterior pituitary cells, fat, muscle, and bone marrow tissues. The biomarker has shown to be a sensitive marker of clinical and subclinical cerebral damage, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. Increasing evidence suggests that the biomarker plays a double function as an intracellular regulator and an extracellular signal of the CNS. S100b is found in the cytoplasm in a soluble form and also is associated with intracellular membranes, centrosomes, microtubules, and type III intermediate filaments. Their genomic organization now is known, and many of their target proteins have been identified, although the mechanisms of regulating S100b secretion are not completely understood and appear to be related to many factors, such as the proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a), interleukin (IL)-1b, and metabolic stress.

Lifestyle assessment in two age groups of ischemic stroke: A cross-sectional study in Iran

  Background: Healthy lifestyle factors are associated with a lower risk of stroke. The current study aimed to describe lifestyle-related risk factors in ischemic stroke.   Methods: In this cross-sectional study patients with ischemic stroke in two age groups assessed for lifestyle. Demographic characteristics (age, sex, BMI, marital status, educational level, job type as low or full stress, living area), lifestyle habits, and past medical history in two age groups collected in the structured form by researchers. Chi-square (Fisher's exact) test for assessment of the statistical difference between categorical variables applied. Also, a multivariate logistic regression model was used to predict possible life-threatening lifestyles which can lead to stroke under the age of 50 (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval). All statistical tests were two-tailed and were performed with the use of PASW Statistics for Windows, Version 18.0. Chicago: SPSS Inc. P values <0.05 were regarded as significant.   Results: Totally, 11.2% of ischemic stroke cases were 50≥ years old. In the  multivariable logistic regression model higher BMI (P=0.02, OR =1.5, 95%CI=1.2 – 4.3), smoking (P<0.001, OR=1.8, 95%CI=1.08 – 2.56), alcohol drinking (P<0.001, OR=1.6, 95%CI=1.01 – 3.87), hookahs consumption (P<0.001, OR=1.2, 95%CI= 1.1 – 3.5) were predicting factors for ischemic stroke incidence in age ≤50 and only appropriate diet (low fat, sugar, salt, high fruits and  vegetables) (P=0.01, OR= 0.7, 95% CI= 0.04-0.87) was  preventive factors against stroke in age ≤50 years in compare with over 50.   Conclusion: Based on this survey many lifestyle factors effects the incidence of ischemic stroke in any age group. Therefore, periodic monitoring and effective in educating healthy people should be planned

Seroepidemiological study of Toxoplasma gondii infection in a population of Iranian epileptic patients

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders. Underlying cause of epilepsy is unknown in 60 % of the patients. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite which is capable of forming tissue cysts in brain of chronically infected hosts including humans. Some epidemiological studies suggested an association between tox- oplasmosis and acquisition of epilepsy. In this study we determined seroprevalence of latent Toxoplasma infection in a population of Iranian epileptic patients. Participants were classified in three groups as Iranian epileptic patients (IEP, n = 414), non-epileptic patients who had other neurologic disorders (NEP, n = 150), and healthy people without any neurologic disorders (HP, n = 63). The presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and IgG titer in the sera were determined by ELISA method. Anti-T. gondii IgG seroprevalence obtained 35.3 %, 34.7 % and 38.1 % in IEP, NEP and HP, respectively. The seroprevalence rate was not significantly different among the three groups (P = 0.88). Anti-T. gondii IgG titer was 55.7 ± 78, 52.4 ± 74 and 69.7 ± 92 IU/ml in IEP, NEP and HP, respectively. There was not any statistically significant difference in the antibody titer between the study groups (P = 0.32). The rate of T. gondii infection in epileptic patients was not higher than non-epileptic patients and healthy people in the Iranian population

Myasthenia Gravis Development and Crisis Subsequent to Multiple Sclerosis

During the last decade, sporadic combination of multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis (MG) has been reported repeatedly. Although these are anecdotal, they are important enough to raise concerns about co-occurrence of MG and MS. Here, we present a case of an MS patient who developed an MG crisis. She had received interferon for relapsing remitting MS. Interestingly, she developed an MG crisis 4 years after the diagnosis of MS. MS and MG have relatively the same distribution for age, corresponding to the younger peak of the bimodal age distribution in MG. They also share some HLA typing characteristics. Furthermore, some evidences support the role of systemic immune dysregulation due to a genetic susceptibility that is common to these two diseases. The association may be underdiagnosed because of the possible overlap of symptoms especially bulbar manifestations in which either MG or MS can mimic each other, leading to underestimating incidence of the combination. The evidence warrants physicians, especially neurologists, to always consider the possibility of the other disease when encountering any patients either with MS or MG. Anecdotal and sporadic reports of combination of multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis (MG) have been raised concerns about co-occurrence of them

War of Words or a Regional Disaster: The (Il)Legality of Israeli and Iranian Military Options

As the intensity of the verbal exchanges between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran grows, so does the importance of analyzing the current Israeli-Iranian enmity. This note sets out to answer two questions: (1) Whether Israel has the right to attack Iran out of self-defense, and reciprocally; (2) whether Iran has the right to attack Israel out of self-defense. This paper will argue that while neither side may legally invoke the right of preemption or Article 51 self-defense, there is ample evidence to suggest that Iran has more of a reason to fear an Israeli conventional attack on its nuclear installations than Israel has to fear an Iranian nuclear attack on its civilian population

The school's work in combating exclusion in the break operations : A qualitative study on how to work within School Age Educare to counter social exclusion and exclusion among students

The break is an important element in educational activities. Previous research shows that the free form of the break gives much more leeway for students to act independently but that it is sometimes at the expense of some students. The purpose of this study is to further investigate how one works within the recreational home to counter social exclusion and exclusion among students at the break. The study has an emphasis on data collected from interviews. These have been conducted with professionals working in the leisure home. Results are reported in four themes identified in the processing of collected empirical data. The study concludes that staff attach great importance to norms. Regarding the work towards creating exclusion, much of their work during the break refers to being an active part of the students' play. This is to be able to communicate inclusive norms and create a common sense among the students.Rasten är ett viktigt element inom pedagogiska verksamheter. Tidigare forskning har betonat att rastens natur och den frihet som medföljer utgör en plattform för elever att ta till större handlingsutrymme som ibland kan resultera i att vissa elever blir socialt exkluderade. Det blir således ibland blir på bekostnad av de elever som hamnar utanför och socialt exkluderas från gemenskapen. Denna studie har som syfte att närmare undersöka hur man inom fritidshemmet jobbar för att motverka social exkludering och utanförskap bland elever på rasten. Studien bygger på insamlade data från genomförda intervjuer med verksamma inom fritidshemmet. Resultat redovisas i fyra teman som identifierats vid bearbetning av insamlade empiri. Studien konkluderar att personalen fäster stor vikt vid normer. Beträffande arbetet mot att utanförskap skapas avser stor del av deras arbete under rasten till att vara en aktiv del i elevernas lek. Detta för att kunna förmedla inkluderande normer och skapa en samsyn bland eleverna