Paradoxical Embolism in a Patient with Patent Foramen Ovale; a Case Report

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is usually asymptomatic; however, it could be quite dangerous for patients with right side clot in which thrombus can transmit the PFO and paradoxically emboli to systemic circulation. Here we present a patient with ankle fracture and paradoxical embolus to the brain, who was successfully treated with emergent thrombectomy, inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement and anticoagulation therapy. Despite the high rate of mortality in these patients, fortunately our patient survived with surgical treatment

Effectiveness of Religious-Spiritual Group Therapy on Spiritual Health and Quality of Life in Methadone-treated Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Spirituality is one of the most important factors that can contribute to the recovery of substanceuse disorder (SUD). The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the religious-spiritual grouptherapy on the spiritual health and the quality of life in methadone-treated patients.Methods: This study was carried out in Qom City, Iran, in 2018. 72 methadone-treated patients wererandomly selected and assigned in two groups: the experimental group (which received religious-spiritualtherapy) and control group (which received no treatment). At the beginning of the study (pre-test), eightweeks after the start of the study (post-test), and three months after the start of the study (follow-up test), allparticipants completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF)questionnaire and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). Participants in the experimental group received 8sessions (90 minutes for each session) of spiritual and religious training, while the control group received noreligious-spiritual intervention; it just was trained with general information on addiction. Data were analyzedusing SPSS software and descriptive and inferential statistics methods.Findings: The results of repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there was nosignificant difference between the intervention and control groups in the pretest, but religious-spiritualtraining significantly increased spiritual health and the patients' quality of life (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Religious-spiritual education can improve the quality of life and spiritual well-being inmethadone-treated patients. The findings suggest that religious -spiritual education can be considered as aninexpensive, accessible, useful, and effective treatment for SUD treatmen

Estimating Spray Characteristics of the Air-Blast atomizer of a Typical Jet Engine using Definition of the New Non-dimensional Number K: Numerical and Experimental Study

In this paper, by using a numerical solution and experiment investigation, a non-dimensional number is introduced to estimate the characteristics of a real engine airblast atomizer spray. This type of atomizers is usually used in airplain engines. The test is conducted in ambient atmospheric pressure and at 300 K temperature and the effects of pressure on atomizer flow rate and spray con angle are investigated. We used the discrete phase model and real information of the ALF502 engine for simulations and for boundary conditions respectively. Since the main application of this airblast atomizer is in aircraft engines and in the real working conditions, none of the pressure and flow rate parameters is constant, thus, the main aim of this research is to define a nondimensional number K, which considers the effects of working liquid flow rate, air flow rate and pressure on the droplets average diameter and spray con angle simultaneously. The results showed that, in general, with the increase of non-dimensional K number, the average diameter of droplets in primary and secondary break up increases, but spray con angle decreases. Furthermore, numerical solution results are compared with experiment results and 9.98% error was observed

Assessment of Low-Level Laser Therapy Effects After Extraction of Impacted Lower Third Molar Surgery

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on pain, swelling and maximum mouth opening in patients undergoing third molar surgery.Methods: A prospective, randomized double-blind study was undertaken on 44 patients at the Dental School, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, in 2015. A low-level laser was randomly applied on one of the two sides after surgery of 15 patients. The experimental side received 18 J/cm2 of energy density, wavelength of 980 nm, and output power of 1.8 W. On the control side, a hand-piece was applied intra-orally, but laser was not activated. In addition, in order to evaluate trismus, 13 patients were treated by unilateral laser therapy and 16 patients did not receive laser therapy at all. The laser was administered intraorally on two points of vestibular and lingual sides at 1 cm from the surgery site, and extraorally at the emergence of the masseter muscle, immediately after surgery, and repeated 24 hours later. The pain, swelling and maximum mouth opening (MMO) were compared between the two groups at 24 hours and a week after surgery.Results: The mean score of pain 24 hours after surgery in the laser therapy group (2.3 ± 3.5) was significantly lower than the mean score of pain in the drug therapy (4.19 ± 3.09) (P = 0.036). Moreover, the mean score of pain at one week after surgery in the laser therapy group (0.13 ± 2.33) was significantly lower than the drug therapy group (1.43 ± 2.45) (P = 0.046). The amount of swelling according to different measurements did not significantly differ between the two groups neither at 24 hours nor at 1 week after surgery.Conclusion: Our findings showed that LLLT was useful in reducing pain and could slightly reduce swelling compared to drug therapy in impacted third molar surgery

The Effect of Peer Group-Based Training Using Health Belief Model on Quality of Life and Foot Ulcer Self-Care Behaviour in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective: The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of peer group-based training (PGBT) using the health belief model (HBM) on the quality of life (QOL) and foot ulcer self-care behavior  in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: The present study was a randomized controlled clinical trial performed on patients with type 2 diabetes who were referred to the Diabetic Care Clinic in Shiraz (Iran) from September 2019 to June 2020. A total of 70 patients participated in the study and were randomly assigned to peer training (n = 35) and control groups (n = 35). Diabetes Quality of Life, and diabetes self‑care behaviors, which were completed by both groups before, immediately, 1 month, and 3 months after the intervention. The data were analyzed using the Chi‑square test, paired t-test, independent t‑test, ANOVA, and descriptive statistical methods. P &lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results showed that mean scores of QOL, constructs of HBM (awareness, perceived susceptibility, perceives severity, perceived benefit, self-care behavior, and foot care) before the intervention did not reveal a significant difference between the two groups, but immediately one month after the educational intervention, the mean values for the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: PGBT using HBM was effective in increasing the mean score of QOL and self-care behavior in patients with type 2 diabetes. Thus, this method is recommended to be utilized alongside other methods to train patients

Association between Spiritual Health and the Quality Of Life in Opioid-Dependent Men in Qom, Iran

Background and Objectives: In recent decades, attention paid to quality of life as an important factor to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes and the effectiveness of treatments for illnesses, has increased. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between spiritual health and quality of life in opioid-dependent men in Qom. Methods: The study population of this descriptive-correlational study consisted of 107 opioid-dependent men referring to addiction treatment centers in Qom who were selected by random sampling. Participants completed a 48-item spiritual well-being questionnaire, developed by Amiri et al., and short form 36-item health survey (SF-36). Data analysis was conducted by the SPSS version 21 using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: General spiritual health and behavioral aspect were significantly directly correlated with overall quality of life and its subscales, except for physical function, limitation in playing the role due to physical health problems, and pain. There was also a significant relationship between general spiritual health and overall quality of life. Conclusion: Behavioral aspect, among the aspects of general health, and general spiritual health are more important for the quality of life in opioid-dependent people. Spiritual health, especially spiritual behavior, is an effective supportive mechanism for opioid-dependent people that can be effective to improve their quality of life. &nbsp

Experimental investigation of the effect of using different aggregate types on WMA mixtures

In recent years, production of warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures with the help of chemical additives has been developed due to obvious advantages, such as reduction of pollution emissions, construction temperature and the possibility of carrying asphalt in long distances. Various additives can have positive or negative effects on the performance characteristics of WMA mixtures made from different types of aggregates. Although, effects of different types of aggregates have been more investigated on the performance of hot mix asphalt (HMA), the effects on WMA have been less studied. Therefore, in this study, three types of aggregates including: limestone (Li), siliceous (Si) and slag (Sl) from the metal production factories together with Sasobit and Zeolite additives were provided to be used for the WMA mixtures. After constructing the asphalt samples and determining the optimum binder, Marshall Stability, indirect tensile strength tests and resilient modulus test and the durability parameter determination were performed. Test results indicated that WMA-Sasobit mixtures have the greatest impact on reducing consumed percentage of binder in slag and siliceous aggregates compared to limestone aggregates. For both additives, WMA mixtures containing limestone aggregates showed higher resilient modulus and siliceous aggregates showed lower resilient modulus. Moreover, the results of indirect tensile strength of specimens containing limestone aggregates showed the highest value and siliceous aggregates showed the lowest one. TSR in the limestone and slag aggregates was improved using both additives, but Zeolite additives reduce TSR in the siliceous aggregates. Keywords: Type of aggregate, Warm mix asphalt, Sasobit, Zeolite, Performance characteristics, Moisture susceptibilit

Modeling for Energy Supply Management in Iran Based on Technical, Economic and Environmental Criteria

These days, achieving an optimal model and defining a comprehensive map for energy supply have become necessary in Iran. Considering a holistic approach and drawing a desired state in the different aspects of sustainability, including technical, economic and environmental criteria, this study introduces an optimal model in order to achieve cost-effective and environment-friendly energy resources under various 100 to 500-year scenarios using a genetic algorithm. Results determined the appropriate portfolio of energy resources in each mentioned period. According to the results, the share of fossil fuels to supply energy is higher than the other resources and the relative impact of financial indicator is more substantial than the environmental indicator in short-run, while this trend is rapidly changing toward renewable energy resources; so that a share of 63 percents of fossil fuels in the 100-year period has changed to the share of 62 percents of renewable energies during the 500-year period. Also estimating the harvest of each of the energy resources from there source capacity over a year showed that, along with increasing the length of various scenarios, the use of renewable and environment-friendly resources is recommended nearly full capacity utilization

A Survey on Prevalence of Ocular Complications and It’s Risk Factors in Diabetic Patients Referred to Diabetic Center of Nader Kazemi Clinic Shiraz- Iran 1998-2010

Background & Objective: With respect to increasing prevalence of diabetes, the chance for incidence of ocular complications among diabetics, this study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for the incidence of the ocular complications in the patients referred to the Nader Kazemi Shiraz Diabetic center from 1998 to 2010.Materials & Methods: In a cross sectional study , subjects were selected based on a systematic random sampling to investigate the incidence of the ocular complications and factors influencing like wise age, sex, type of diabet, job, education, blood triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol level, Family history of diabetes, history of hypertension, history of participation in educational classes, method of treatment, duration of diabetes and fasting blood sugar were considered.Results: Ocular complications were found among 229 diabetic patients (32.6%). Ocular complications of type II diabetic patients than in patients with type I diabetes (P<0. 005). Factors such as job(P=0. 022), history of participation in educational classes(P<0. 001), education(P<0. 001), Family history of diabetes(P<0. 001), blood triglyceride (TG) (P=0. 021), duration of diabetes(P<0. 001),age (P<0. 001), method of treatment(P<0. 001)and fasting blood sugar (P<0. 001) had a significant relationship with the occurrence of ocular complication. But other risk factors such as hypertension, gender and cholesterol levels were not statistically significant relationship with the occurrence of ocular complication.Conclusion: Given the prevalence of ocular complications, continuing education on the disease of diabetes complications, it can have a role in reducing the occurrence of ocular complications

Influence of Whole-Body Vibration on Dynamic Response of Lumbar Spine after Transformal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Introduction: Occupational whole body vibration (WBV) plays a major role in determining dynamic responses of the lumbar spine. WBV has been shown to cause low-back problems and degenerative disc diseases. Fusion surgery such as trans-formal lumbar inter-body fusion (TLIF) have been widely utilized to treat such disorders. Materials and Methods: In this study, finite element method (FEM) was used to investigate dynamic responses of the lumbar spine due to WBV with the frequency in the range of regular physiologic activities after TLIF. A FE model of the L1-L5 lumbar spine was modeled and cyclic loading with the frequency of 1 Hz and 5 Hz were exerted to the model. Then, the disc bulge and stress distribution on the annual ground substance and vertebral bodies were measured.Results: It was observed that the maximum disc bulge (MDB) and maximum von-Mises stress (MMS) occurred in proportion to the loading frequency; overall, in the 5 Hz model, MDB and MMS were detected to happen 5 times more frequently as compared to the 1 Hz model. However, the magnitude of MDB and MMS were not generally affected by the loading frequency. Conclusions: It can be concluded that different frequency of WBV, although in the physiologic range, can alter dynamic responses of the lumbar spine and, thus, their fatigue behavior. In the results can be of assistance to broaden the understanding regarding the dynamic responses of the lumbar spine during WBV after TLIF