CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, ACTIVITY LEVEL, HEALTH-RELATED ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES, SEDENTARY BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN A SAMPLE OF IRANIAN 7-11 YEAR OLD BOYS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), activity level, some health-related anthropometric variables, sedentary behaviour and socioeconomic status (SES) of 7-11 year old boys in the city of Ardabil, Iran. Of 21 253 school boys aged 7-11 years, 766 participated in this study using the cluster sampling method. Subjects underwent standard anthropometry. One-mile test was used to evaluate ·VO2max. BMI cut-off points were used to identify weight status. Child’s TV watching and video playing daily time (TVVPT) was taken for sedentary behaviour evaluation. SES and activity level were measured by standard questionnaires. Of all participants, 8.9�0(N=68) of students had CRF lower than normal and 58.6�0(N=449) of them had inadequate physical activity. There was a significant adverse relationship between ·VO2max and body mass index (BMI), waist to height ratio (WHtR), waist circumference (WC), and fat mass (FM) (p<0.05). A significant direct association between SES and both FM and TVVPT was observed (p<0.05). Significantly lower physical activity and ·VO2max, and higher TVVPT were observed in the obese boys than their counterparts (p<0.05). The results of this study indicated a significant relationship between CRF and physical activity, and health-related anthropometric variables in a selected sample of 7-11 year boys. Moreover, the obese subjects had not only lower physical activity but also longer sedentary behaviour time than their counterparts

The trend of marriage, childbearing, and divorce and its determinants of socioeconomic factors on divorce in Yazd province 2016-2021: A cross-sectional study

Background: In recent decades, families and their stability as an important social institution have changed significantly. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the marriage trends, childbearing, and divorce changes in Yazd province from 2016 to 2021 to estimate the effect of socioeconomic factors on divorce. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in 2 phases. In the first phase, an ecological (time trend) was conducted to investigate the 5 yr trend in the occurrence of marriage, childbearing, and divorce, as well as the factors affecting the occurrence of divorce in the second phase. For the second phase of the study, 600 participants were selected. 300 divorced and 300 married applicants were chosen between 2016 and 2021. A binary logistic regression model was used to find the related factors affecting the occurrence of divorce. Results: The results showed a declining marriage (p = 0.05) and childbearing trend (p = 0.84), as well as an increasing trend in divorces (p = 0.02) in Yazd. Logistic regression analysis showed that college education (OR = 0.22, CI: 0.116-0.430, p &lt; 0.001) and being self-employed (OR = 0.48, CI: 0.255-0.934, p = 0.03) could reduce the odds of divorce. In addition, nonresidents (OR = 2.1, CI: 1.314-3.562, p &lt; 0.001), with &gt; 10-yr age differences (OR = 3.8, CI: 1.803-8.213, p &lt; 0.001) or the woman being older than her husband (OR = 3.4, CI: 1.981-5.848, p &lt; 0.001) could increase the odds of divorce. Conclusion: Our results confirmed that a combination of socioeconomic characteristics affects the stability of family institutions. Key words: Family, Marriage, Childbearing, Divorce, Socioeconomic factors

Pedobarography of the coper and non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects during single and double leg stance

Introduction: Biomechanical studies have frequently shown a close relationship between the knee and ankle joint movements. ACL-deficiency may change the foot pressure pattern of the ACL-deficient knee subjects. The current study aimed to investigate the pattern of the foot pressure in coper and non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects during standing on one and both feet. Methods and Materials: This case-control study was conducted on 12 coper and 12 non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects and 25 age-sex matched healthy subjects. The subjects were tested barefoot during single and bilateral standing on the platform of a Zebris pedobarograph tool. The outcome measures included the measurements of the pressures of each part of the foot during the tests. Results: The results showed a significantly decreased total pressure only between the non-coper and control groups during double leg stance test. In terms of the forefoot pressure, a significant increased pressure was shown only in the non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects during both single and double leg stance tests (P&lt;0.05). In both test conditions, the coper ACL-deficient knee subjects showed forefoot and hind foot pressures very close to the control group (P&gt;0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed marked changes following ACL-deficiency mainlyin non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects. The increased forefoot pressure in non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects was probably due to the forwarded line of gravity in these patients aligned with their base of support to keep their knees more stable. Further studies are needed to verify the differences between the male and female ACL-deficient knee subjects.Keywords: Coper/non-coper ACL-deficient knee subjects; Stability; Pedobarograph; Foot pressure system; Postural contro

The Importance of Access to the SCOPUS Database in the Economic Crisis Condition

Data acquisition and delivering information resources to clients are among the most vital functions of libraries. However, current political and economic crisis has imposed unpleasant effects on these functions. In such conditions, selecting information resources becomes an ever more complex task. This research intends to answer the question on whether or not the purchase of Scopus services in such a crisis, which makes the subscription of credible scientific journals much more difficult, is a beneficial choice for Iranian medical libraries. The problem will be answered by analyzing the accessibility to full text articles via “view at publisher” image links in Scopus database. Different studies have already been carried out on the abilities and features of Scopus database in scientometric and citation analysis. However, it seems that current study is the first research to examine the value and importance of existing link for accessing the full-text articles such as "view at publisher" link. This link is one of the remarkable features devised in Scopus which has a special importance for end users. Hence, access ratio to full-text documents cited in articles written by Iranian medical faculties was studied through the "view at publisher" link in Scopus, and also via a link devised in the A-Z list of full-text journals in the Iranian National Medical Digital Library database, available at URL: www.inlm.org, followed by comparing the results obtained through the study. Results showed the ability of Scopus to make full-text articles accessible for users' depending on the type and level of individuals or institutional subscription. Such ability itself could justify the necessity for subscribing to Scopus by the universities of medical sciences. Regardless of other features of Scopus such as scientometric studies, etc., this ability becomes more important when access to some articles depends on paying subscription fee either privately or institutionally. Moreover, this ability provides the end-users to have access to a large volume of free papers. So, Scopus could be introduced as a gateway/portal for an easier access to full-text documents of various databases

A study on the activity and thermal stability of adenosine deaminase in the presence of spermine

Adenosine Deaminase is an aminohydrolase (EC 3.5.4.4) which participates in the purine metabolism where it degrades either adenosine or 2'-deoxyadenosine producing inosine or 2'-deoxyinosine, respectively. The enzyme contains a parallel alpha/beta -barrel motif with eight central beta strands and eight peripheral alpha helices. ADA is located both in the cytosol and on the cell membrane. Since spermine, a natural metabolite, exists in all cells and tissues and its effect on the cell proliferation and enzyme regulation have been reported,  thermal inactivation of the ADA and spermine regulatory effect on the ADA activity have been investigated in this study. Percentage of ADA activity in the presence and absence of spermine (1000 µM) in Tris buffer 50 mM, pH 7.5 at physiologic and pathologic temperatures have been reported in the present study. Thermal inactivation curves for ADA in the absence and presence of spermine (1000 µM) in different temperatures ranging from 55 oC to 70 oC have been drawn. Our data showed that spermine activates the enzyme in the low concentrations of adenosine at 37 oC. However, it inhibits ADA activity at 42 oC in the same concentrations of substrate. It is concluded that spermine regulatory effect depends on combined influence of temperature and adenosine concentration. Furthermore, thermal stability of the enzyme also depends on temperature in presence of spermine. Binding site of spermine on the enzyme has been identified by docking analysis

Association between physical fitness and cognitive performance in 19-24 year old males

The present study aimed to explore the association between physical fitness (PF) and cognitive performance in a sample of 19-24 year old males. Two hundred and eleven young males (20.2 +/- 1.5 years) participated in the study. Cognitive functioning tasks including information processing speed and inhibitory control were measured in addition to PF and motor fitness components such as aerobic fitness, static strength, explosive strength, agility and speed. Regression analysis showed that after adjustment for potential confounders (e.g. age, socioeconomic status, adiposity and physical activity), aerobic fitness (represented by shorter time in the one-mile run) was positively associated with composite inhibitory control scores (standardized beta = 0.17; p = 0.04) and negatively associated with Delta Simon (standardized beta = -0.21; p = 0.04). Explosive strength was negatively associated with composite information processing scores (standardized beta = -0.24; P = 0.01), and composite inhibitory control scores (standardized beta = -0.22; p = 0.02). Speed of movement, agility and static strength were not associated with any of the cognitive tests. In conclusion, aerobic fitness and explosive strength but not speed, agility or static strength might be indicators of underlying cognitive functioning tasks in 19-24 year old males

Nanohydroxyapatite Silicate-Based Cement Improves the Primary Stability of Dental Implants: An In Vitro Study

Objectives. Insufficient cortical bone volume when placing implants can lead to lack of primary stability. The use of cement as a bone fill material in bone defects around dental implant could result in better clinical outcome. HA has shown excellent biological properties in implant dentistry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of nanohydroxyapatite powder (Nano-HA) in combination with accelerated Portland cement (APC) on implant primary stability in surgically created circumferential bone defects in a bovine rib in vitro model. Materials and Methods. Sixteen bovine rib bones and thirty-six implants of same type and size (4 mm × 10 mm) were used. Implants were divided into six groups: no circumferential bone defect, defect and no grafting, bone chips grafting, Nano-HA grafting, APC grafting, and Nano-HA mixed to APC grafting (Nano-HA-APC). Circumferential defects around the implants were prepared. The implant stability quotient (ISQ) values were measured before and after the grafting. Results. APC exhibited the highest ISQ values. A significant increase of ISQ values following the grafting of Nano-HA-APC (18.08±5.82) and APC alone (9.50±4.12) was achieved. Increase of ISQ values after 72 hours was 24.16±5.01 and 17.58±4.89, respectively. Nano-HA grafting alone exhibited the least rise in ISQ values. Conclusions. Nanohydroxyapatite silicate-based cement could improve the primary stability of dental implants in circumferential bone defect around implants