A comparative survey of anxiety level in primary school children with working and unemployed mothers in north of Iran; 2013

Background: Anxiety is one of important disorders of mental health in children and adolescents which is influenced by various endogenous and environmental factors. The aim of this study was a comparative survey of anxiety level in primary school children with working and unemployed mothers in Gorgan in 2013. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study, 745 male and female primary school students in public and private schools in Gorgan were selected using a combination sampling (stratification and clustering). For data collection were used Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) included 38 questions. The collecting data were analyzed using SPSS-21 statistical software and chi-square and t tests. P values of less than 0.05 were considered as the significance level. Results: The results showed that the average age of students were 9.4 ± 1.65 and in the 38.4% of them were males and 61/6% were female 61/9% of the students had working mothers and 38.1% of their mothers were unemployed. Spence Children's Anxiety Scale total score for the studied sample was 22.74 ± 12.72. A significant difference was observed between two groups of the students with working and unemployed mothers and between two sexes (P<0.05). The separation anxiety and fear of physical harm was the most common disorders and the fear of open spaces also had the lowest prevalence. The prevalence of anxiety disorders in children with unemployed mothers with lower education levels, in female, in families with fewer children and public school students was more. Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of anxiety disorders in students whose mothers are unemployed and among the girls was more. Therefore, it's necessary to pay more attention to the mental health of the mothers and students with considering of their important role in family and society. © 2015 Derakhshanpoor F, et al

Gęstość mineralna kości u dorosłych chorych na talasemię major: własne doświadczenia i krótki przegląd piśmiennictwa

Introduction: Metabolic bone disease represents a major cause of morbidity in patients with thalassaemia major. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence and underlying contributory factors of osteopenia/osteoporosis in a randomly selected population of adult patients with thalassaemia major. Patients and methods: The study population was selected using the random sampling method from the patients&#8217; database of our thalassaemia clinic. Only transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia patients aged over 17 and with no history of treatment with bisphosphonates were included. BMD of lumbar spine and right femoral neck were measured by means of the calibrated dual energy X-ray absorption method. Independent factors likely to be associated with low bone mass were determined and included in the analysis to ascertain possible associations. Results: Our study included 40 patients (19 female and 21 male; mean age: 23.0 &#177; 4.1). The mean Z score of the right femoral neck was &#8211;1.2 (95% CI: &#8211;0.9 to &#8211;1.5) and for lumbar spine was &#8211;2.1 (95% CI: &#8211;1.7 to &#8211;2.5). The prevalences of osteopenia and osteoporosis involving the right femoral neck were 37.5%, and 12.5%, respectively. The respective prevalence rates for lumbar spine were 47.5% and 37.5%. Our study showed patient&#8217;s weight, age, duration of the disease and history of hypogonadism or concurrent hypothyroidism are significant contributory factors or predictors of bone mineral loss. Conclusions: Regarding the high prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis in patients with thalassaemia major, all patients should be screened periodically for bone disease. The uncertainty and disagreements as to the possible role of different factors indicate the necessity for further studies in order to recognise the pathophysiologic fundamentals of this serious complication of thalassaemia major.Wstęp: Zaburzenia metabolizmu tkanki kostnej są główna przyczyną chorobowości u pacjentów z talasemią major. Celem niniejszego badania była ocena częstości osteopenii/osteoporozy i określenie czynników przyczyniających się do ich rozwoju w losowo wybranej grupie chorych na talasemię major. Pacjenci i metody: Uczestników badania wybrano losowo z bazy danych pacjentów poradni leczenia talasemii. Do analizy włączono jedynie chorych w wieku powyżej 17 lat z transfuzjozależną talasemią beta, nieleczonych wcześniej bisfosfonianami. Metodą absorpcjometrii podwójnej wiązki promieniowania rentgenowskiego zmierzono BMD odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa i szyjki prawej kości biodrowej. Określono niezależne czynniki, które mogły wpływać na niską masę kostną i uwzględniono je w analizie, aby wykryć wszelkie możliwe związki. Wyniki: Do badania włączono 40 chorych (19 kobiet i 21 mężczyzn, średnia wieku 23,0 &#177; 4,1 roku). Średnie wartości Z score wynosiły &#8211;1,2 (95% CI: od &#8211;0,9 do &#8211;1,5) dla szyjki prawej kości biodrowej i &#8211;2,1 (95% CI: od &#8211;1,7 do &#8211;2,5) dla kręgosłupa lędźwiowego. Częstość osteopenii i osteoporozy, oceniana na podstawie gęstości mineralnej szyjki prawej kości udowej, wynosiła odpowiednio 37,5%, i 12,5%. W badaniu wykazano, że masa ciała, wiek, czas trwania choroby i hipogonadyzm w wywiadzie lub współistniejąca niedoczynność tarczycy są istotnymi czynnikami ryzyka lub predyktorami utraty minerału kostnego. Wnioski: W związku z częstym występowaniem osteopenii/osteoporozy u wszystkich chorych na talasemię major należy okresowo przeprowadzać badania w kierunku chorób kości. Wątpliwości i rozbieżne opinie na temat potencjalnej roli różnych czynników w rozwoju tych poważnych powikłań talasemii major wskazują na konieczność prowadzenia dalszych badań w celu poznania ich patofizjologii

Bone scintigraphy elucidates different metabolic stages of melorheostosis

Melorheostosis is a rare benign non-hereditary sclerosing dysplasia involving the bone, often in a sclerotomal distribution. we report the case of a 27 years old lady with painful swelling of the left hand and forearm lasting for almost 15 years. The patient experienced aggravation of symptoms and limitation of motion during the past two months. Radiographic assessment revealed hyperostosis involving the left 3rd and 4th metacarpal bones and corresponding digits as well as the left ulna and distal humerus, with no soft tissue ossification. Angiographic and blood pool images of bone scintigraphy showed increased activity of mid-metacarpal region, corresponding to the sclerotom C-8. Delayed static views showed increased radiotracer uptake of the left 4th metacarpal bone and the corresponding digit as well as the left ulna and humerus, but no abnormal osteoblastic activity of the 3rd left metacarpal and digit. Histopathologic assessment confirmed the diagnosis of Melorheostosis. The case confirms that even in the same sclerotomal distribution, the multiple foci of involvement can present in different metabolic stages. In fact, the disease does not progress uniformly and different lesions can be seen in dissimilar stages of activity. Hence, metabolic imaging can be important to unmask which of the radiographically detected bony lesions are metabolically active and have the potential to be the source of current patient's symptoms and which of them are old, metabolically inactive and silent lesions, which are not clinically relevant to the patient's complaints

Social Ideas in Poetry of Four Female Contemporary Poet (Parvin Etesami, Forough Farokhzad, Tahereh Safarzadeh and Simin Behbahani)

This artile with social view point is going to study the social thought of Forough’s poem, specially based of female, freedom, tradition and modernity. It focuses on these features of Forough’s poem from a different point of view towards social issues. This article studies the social meanings of Forough’s poem that are specialized for her. It tries to show the feminism poem which is unique in Iran. After these survey, the article tries to assert that Forough Frokhzad is the most social female poet in Iran; Forough with her courage and boldness used a kind of norm breaking through her poems and speak about social issues. So she could omit some of taboos that belongs to feminine society in Iran

Investor base and idiosyncratic volatility of cryptocurrencies

This paper investigates how changes in investor base is related to idiosyncratic volatility in cryptocurrency markets. For each cryptocurrency, we set change in its subreddit followers as a proxy for the change in its investor base, and find out that the latter can significantly increase cryptocurrencies idiosyncratic volatility. This finding is not subsumed by effects of size, momentum, liquidity and volume and is robust to various measures of idiosyncratic volatility

Effects of the internet, other media and study time on wellbeing and academic attainment of university students

There has been considerable research on the effects of the internet and other media on the academic attainment of university students. Less is known about effects on wellbeing, and studies have rarely controlled for other established predictors of attainment (e.g. conscientiousness) and wellbeing (e.g. stressors; negative coping; positive personality and social support). Three hundred and thirteen university students completed an online survey involving the Student Wellbeing Process Questionnaire and questions about internet use, interference from the internet, and studying time. Grade Point Average (GPA) scores for the students were added to the database. The results showed that hours of internet/media use were significantly correlated with negative wellbeing, lower GPA scores, and negative coping. Hours studying were significantly correlated with GPA scores and conscientiousness. Internet interference with studying was the strongest predictor. It was negatively correlated with GPA and positive outcomes and positively correlated with negative wellbeing. It was also positively correlated with established predictors of negative wellbeing (stressors and negative coping) and negatively correlated with predictors of positive wellbeing (positive personality; conscientiousness). When the established predictors were statistically controlled, hours spent on the internet and other media were associated with lower academic attainment scores. None of the associations between internet use, internet interference, studying time and wellbeing remained significant when established predictors were controlled for. These results show that many negative outcomes attributed to internet use reflect other correlated attributes. Reduced academic attainment remained significantly associated with internet use, and further research with longitudinal designs (preferably with interventions) is required to investigate underlying causal mechanism

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman disease) — imaging manifestations of renal involvement

A 23-year-old lady presented with abdominal fullness and distension as well as large abdominal masses in physical exam. Upon ultrasonographic evaluation, two large space occupying lesions anterior to kidneys, with no clear distinction from renal tissue, as well as bilateral hydronephrosis were found. The findings were confirmed by MRI. Histopathological analysis of renal masses and lymph nodes showed proliferation of histiocytes mixed with occasional multinucleated giant cells, immunostaining of which was positive for S-100 and CD68. We present renal scintigraphy features of this rare case of renal sinus histiocytosis with massive intraabdominal lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman disease)

Utjecaj prirodne smole divljeg drva pistacije (same i u kombinaciji s bornom kiselinom) na fizička svojstva i trajnost bukovine

This study was carried out to investigate the physical properties and decay resistance of beech wood treated with natural pistachio resin (PR) from Iranian wild pistachio trees (Pistacia atlantica), alone and in combination with boric acid (BA). Wood samples were impregnated with different concentration of PR dissolved in ethanol (3 to 20 %) with vacuum-pressure technology. The combination of PR (20 %) and BA (2 %) was also conducted to evaluate any interaction or synergistic effects. The water absorption, volumetric swelling, and decay resistance against Trametes versicolor fungi, before and after a leaching test (EN 84), were measured on treated and untreated samples. The chemical compositions of PR were also identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques. The chemicals analysis identified more than 20 different compounds in the PR, monoterpenoids being the predominant fraction and α-pinene the major component. The samples treated with a higher concentration of PR showed much higher weight gain percentage (WG%). The results showed that the increase in WG% reduced the average values of water absorption and volumetric swelling of treated samples even after long terms of soaking in water. The decay resistance of the treated samples increased against white rotting fungi as the values of WG% increased. Efficient protection was seen when a combined treatment of PR and BA was used. Even after the leaching process, the weight loss of the treated samples was less than 3 percent. The samples treated with BA alone largely lost their effectiveness against fungal attack after the leaching. The use of PR along with an environmental friendly co-biocide can also be recommended for wood preservation in places that require minimal toxicity.Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti fizička svojstva i otpornost na propadanje bukovine tretirane prirodnom smolom pistacije (PR) dobivene iz divljeg drva pistacije koja uspijeva u Iranu (Pistacia atlantica) te kombinacijom smole pistacije i borne kiseline (BA). Uzorci drva vakuumsko-tlačnim su postupkom impregnirani različitim koncentracijama PR-a otopljenoga u etanolu (3 do 20 %). Provedena je i impregnacija uzorka kombinacijom PR-a (20 %) i BA-a (2 %) kako bi se procijenili svi interakcijski i sinergijski učinci. Za tretirane i netretirane uzorke mjerena je upojnost vode, volumetrijsko bubrenje i otpornost na djelovanje gljive Trametes versicolor prije i nakon ispiranja (EN 84). Ujedno je uz pomoć plinske kromatografije s masenom spektrometrijom (GC-MS) utvrđen i kemijski sastav smole (PR). Kemijskom analizom u PR-u je identificirano više od 20 različitih spojeva; momoterpeni su bili dominantna frakcija, a alfa-pinen glavna komponenta. Uzorci tretirani većom koncentracijom PR-a rezultirali su većim dobitkom mase (WG%). Rezultati su pokazali da se s porastom WG% smanjuje prosječna vrijednost upojnosti vode i volumetrijsko bubrenje tretiranih uzoraka, čak i nakon dugotrajnog potapanja u vodi. Otpornost tretiranih uzoraka na djelovanje gljiva bijele truleži povećala se s povećanjem WG%. Učinkovita zaštita primijećena je pri primjeni kombiniranog tretmana PR-om i BA-om; čak je i nakon postupka ispiranja gubitak mase tretiranih uzoraka bio manji od 3 %. Uzorci tretirani samo BA-om nakon ispiranja su uglavnom izgubili otpornost na napad gljiva. Moguće je zaključiti da se za zaštitu drva na mjestima koja zahtijevaju minimalnu otrovnost može preporučiti upotreba PR-a zajedno s ekološki prihvatljivim biocidom

Participation of people in waste source separation program

One of the basic problems of current cities is solid waste and its correct management. Solid waste material is the unavoidable product of routine life of human being. These wastes affect the quality and quantity of life in the present era. Increased population, development, human activities and shortage of resources have caused the solid waste management a necessity. Waste reduction management and its separation at source are performed with the citizens’ participation. The present study aimed to evaluate the waste source separation and determine the participation of citizens in Azimie of Karaj city in Alborz province, Iran.This study is questionnaire based and to achieve the study purpose, question-based questionnaires are distributed randomly among 100 citizens of Azimieh. The data were analyzed. Based on the results of study, in separation at source activity, 70% of people participated and the highest participation was via media and teachers. 100% of subjects were inclined to participate in this program. The effect of this plan was 90% and effectiveness of this plan from economic, social and environmental aspects was high.Keywords: Waste, Separation at source, People participation, Azimi

Semiautonomous Robotic Manipulator for Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement

Aortic valve surgery is the preferred procedure for replacing a damaged valve with an artificial one. The ValveTech robotic platform comprises a flexible articulated manipulator and surgical interface supporting the effective delivery of an artificial valve by teleoperation and endoscopic vision. This article presents our recent work on force-perceptive, safe, semiautonomous navigation of the ValveTech platform prior to valve implantation. First, we present a force observer that transfers forces from the manipulator body and tip to a haptic interface. Second, we demonstrate how hybrid forward/inverse mechanics, together with endoscopic visual servoing, lead to autonomous valve positioning. Benchtop experiments and an artificial phantom quantify the performance of the developed robot controller and navigator. Valves can be autonomously delivered with a 2.0±0.5 mm position error and a minimal misalignment of 3.4±0.9°. The hybrid force/shape observer (FSO) algorithm was able to predict distributed external forces on the articulated manipulator body with an average error of 0.09 N. FSO can also estimate loads on the tip with an average accuracy of 3.3%. The presented system can lead to better patient care, delivery outcome, and surgeon comfort during aortic valve surgery, without requiring sensorization of the robot tip, and therefore obviating miniaturization constraints.</p