Validation of the World Health Organization-5 well-being index; assessment of maternal well-being and its associated factors

Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5) in a sample of pregnant Iranian women, to explore the changes in maternal well-being from pregnancy to postpartum, and to determine the factors associated with maternal well-being. Materials and Methods: This study included 341 pregnant women that presented to healthcare centers affiliated with Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2011. The participants completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and Farsi version of WHO-5 during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 2 months postpartum. Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for WHO-5 items was 0.85. The correlation coefficient between WHO-5 and GHQ-28 was -0.64 (P < 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis yielded 1 factor with an eigen value equal to 3.15, which explained 63.1% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 1-factor structure. The area under ROC curve was 0.82. A WHO-5 cut-off score of <50 exhibited optimal sensitivity (0.84) and specificity (0.59) for identifying psychological symptoms (GHQ-28 score ≥24). There was a significant difference between third trimester (58.4 ± 22) and postpartum (64.1 ± 22.3) mean WHO-5 scores (P < 0.001). Maternal level of education (OR = 1.130; 95% CI: 1.307, 1.232) was the only predictor of maternal well-being during third trimester. Breastfeeding difficulty (OR = 0.923; 95% CI: 0.882, 0.965) and maternal well-being scores during third trimester (OR = 1.038; 95% CI: 1.019, 1.058) were predictors of maternal well-being during the postpartum period. Conclusions: The Farsi version of WHO-5 was observed to be a reliable and valid instrument for screening psychological symptoms in pregnant Iranian women. The present findings show that maternal well-being improved following childbirth

Quality of life after cesarean and vaginal delivery

Objective: Cesarean rates in recent decades have been increasing and a number of studies have shown that cesarean increases maternal morbidities. The aim of this study is to compare the quality of life after cesarean and vaginal delivery. Methods: This prospective study was carried out on 356 pregnant women visiting urban health centers in Shahroud City, Northeast Iran, in 2011. The subjects completed the quality of life questionnaire in the third trimester of pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum. Results: In primiparas, the mean global QOL scores for the cesarean and vaginal delivery groups were 67.65±12.7 and 72.12±11.8, respectively. Also, the scores for the physical, psychological and social domains of QOL as well as the global score of QOL were higher in the vaginal delivery group than the cesarean group (p<0.05). In the case of primiparas, multiple regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for education, desirability of pregnancy and the General Health Questionnaire score, the delivery type remained as a predictor of the scores for the physical (R2=1.7%; B=-3.826; p=0.031; CI [-7.301, -.350]) and social (R2=2.5%; B=-5.708; p=0.017; CI [-10.392, -1.023]) domains of QOL and the global QOL score (R2=2.6%; B=-4.065; p=0.006; CI [-6.964, -1.164]). While multiparas, there was no relationship between QOL and type of delivery. Conclusion: In this sample of low-risk women, cesarean negatively affected the QOL of primiparas. More studies with larger sample sizes should be conducted to examine the effects of cesarean on QOL in both primiparas and multiparas within a shorter period after delivery. © OMSB, 2013

Electromagnetic field quantization in a linear polarizable and magnetizable medium

By modeling a linear polarizable and magnetizable medium (magneto-dielectric) with two quantum fields, namely E and M, electromagnetic field is quantized in such a medium consistently and systematically. A Hamiltonian is proposed from which, using the Heisenberg equations, Maxwell and constitutive equations of the medium are obtained. For a homogeneous medium, the equation of motion of the quantum vector potential, $\vec{A}$, is derived and solved analytically. Two coupling functions which describe the electromagnetic properties of the medium are introduced. Four examples are considered showing the features and the applicability of the model to both absorptive and nonabsorptive magneto-dielectrics.Comment: 23 pages, Accepted for publication in Phy.Rev

A case report presentation of coronary dissection with abrupt closure extending to left main stem following coronary angioplasty

انجام عمل آنژیوبلاستی کرونری از زمان اولین عمل توسط گرونزویک به گونه ای سیر صعودی داشته که در حال حاضر اکثر بیماران با آنژیوبلاستی و یا تعبیه استنت به زندگی روزمره خویش باز می گردند. انجام آنژیوبلاستی با ضریب موفقیت بالای 90 و عوارض و خطرات جدی کمتر از 5 همراه است. مهمترین عارضه آنژیوبلاستی کرونری انسداد ناگهانی رگ می باشد. در این مقاله مورد استثنایی از انسداد ناگهانی و دیسکشن شریان قدامی نزولی چپ متعاقب آنژیو پلاستی گزارش می گردد که بداخل تنه اصلی و شریان چرخشی کرونر چپ گسترش یافته و با درمان سریع (تعبیه به موقع استنت در مسیرهای مبتلا و منجمله تنه اصلی کرونر چپ) بیمار از مرگ قریب الوقوع نجات یافته است

Study the antimicrobial effects of artemisia santonica extract on some pathogenic bacteria

Background and aim: For rapid growing drug resistance among pathogenic microorganisms, it is essential to find new compounds with antimicrobial activity. Medicinal herbs application in traditional treatment for thousand years, make this natural compound to the best choice for antimicrobial studies. The aim of this study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of Artemisia against some important pathogenic bacteria. Material and Method: In the present study, antimicrobial activity of ethanolic and methanolic extracts of A. santonica against four pathogenic bacteria was evaluated. A. santonica dry powder was extracted with ethanol and methanol solvents in maceration method. Assessment of antimicrobial efficacies of extracts and MIC were conducted by disk diffusion manual and macro broth dilution method, respectively. Results: Both ethanolic and methanolic extracts could inhibit microorganism in this test. Staphylococcus aureus with MIC=1.56 mg/ml indicates more sensitive to the Artemisia. In addition, Bacillus cereus showed medium sensitivity. E.coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa became involved in less sensitivity to the A. santonica extracts. Conclusion: The result of this study confirmed that A. santonica extracts were the best inhibitory effect on S. aureus. Then it can be concluded that by using herbal plant against antibiotics some antibiotic resistant problem can be resolved

Effect of thermal history on the properties of bentonite

PublishedJournal ArticleThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.The effect of thermal history on the properties of bentonite was studied through a number of experimental tests. The desired thermal history was created on samples of bentonite by keeping them at a fixed temperature (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 °C) for a specific duration (3, 7, 14 and 30 days). Standard compaction, Atterberg limits, free swelling and swelling pressure tests were carried out on the samples on the dry side of optimum, optimum and wet side of optimum of the compaction curve with desired thermal history. In addition chemical tests were carried out on the flooding water at the end of the swelling test. The results showed that the changes in compaction characteristics were not considerable but the Atterberg limits, free swelling and swelling pressure of the soil were changed due to the thermal history in comparison with the soil without any thermal history. The magnitudes of free swelling and swelling pressure were dependent on the location of prepared sample on the compaction curve. In addition, the changes in Atteberg limits and swelling parameters (amount of free swelling and swelling pressure) were functions of magnitude of temperature and duration of time that the sample experienced the temperature in its temperature history. The effects of temperature and also duration of exposure of the soil to temperature was discussed with the aid of the Diffuse Double Layer (DDL) theory. It was found that the temperature may change the gradation of soil due to cementation of particles as a result of formation of some salts and oxides that help to paste the particles together and change the properties of the soil

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL COSMOLOGY AND DSR–GUP

A multi-dimensional cosmology with FRW type metric having four-dimensional spacetime and d-dimensional Ricci-flat internal space is considered with a higher-dimensional cosmological constant. The classical cosmology in commutative and Doubly Special Relativity–Generalized Uncertainty Principle (DSR–GUP) contexts is studied and the corresponding exact solutions for negative and positive cosmological constants are obtained. In the positive cosmological constant case, it is shown that unlike the commutative as well as GUP cases, in DSR–GUP case both scale factors of internal and external spaces after accelerating phase will inevitably experience decelerating phase leading simultaneously to a big crunch. This demarcation from GUP originates from the difference between the GUP and DSR–GUP algebras. The important result is that unlike GUP which results in eternal acceleration, DSR–GUP at first generates acceleration but prevents the eternal acceleration at late-times and turns it into deceleration

Multi-Dimensional Cosmology and GUP

We consider a multidimensional cosmological model with FRW type metric having 4-dimensional space-time and $d$-dimensional Ricci-flat internal space sectors with a higher dimensional cosmological constant. We study the classical cosmology in commutative and GUP cases and obtain the corresponding exact solutions for negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that for negative cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in finite size universes with smaller size and longer ages, and larger size and shorter age, respectively. For positive cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in infinite size universes having late time accelerating behavior in good agreement with current observations. The accelerating phase starts in the GUP case sooner than the commutative case. In both commutative and GUP cases, and for both negative and positive cosmological constants, the internal space is stabilized to the sub-Planck size, at least within the present age of the universe. Then, we study the quantum cosmology by deriving the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, and obtain the exact solutions in the commutative case and the perturbative solutions in GUP case, to first order in the GUP small parameter, for both negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that good correspondence exists between the classical and quantum solutions.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, minor revision, references adde

Hot and cold: Policy perspectives on overheating and cooling in United Kingdom homes

Under the current climate, overheating is already a problem in UK homes, causing discomfort, ill health, and mortality. As temperatures continue to increase due to climate change, the problem will worsen. Cooling offers a solution and its use in the domestic sector is expected to grow, but active cooling technologies can create emissions which contribute to climate change and can have wider social impacts. Policy needs to be developed to protect people from heat risks, whilst limiting the impacts from any cooling. These are emerging research and policy areas within the UK and other temperate countries, and this paper explores these challenges and opportunities using an avoid-improve-shift cooling decarbonisation framework, through semi-structured interviews with 74 policy actors. The results show the main challenge is the existing stock, that the market for domestic cooling is immature, and there are opportunities to support the adoption of passive measures, improve cooling products, and manage cooling within the energy system. Overall, the paper highlights the need for action to create homes that are fit for the future through the development of a balanced, integrated cooling policy. This can be achieved by acting quickly and comprehensively; seeking synergies with wider energy policies; supporting people to take low-carbon, climate resilient behaviours; making use of best practice; and through effective leadership