Evaluation of tubotympanic angle of Eustachian tube and its relationship with Eustachian tube function in patients with chronic middle ear infection

Background: chronic otitis media is characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the middle ear and behind the tympanic membrane without signs of acute infection. The association between a middle ear infection and anatomical and physiological disorders of the Eustachian tube has been reported in several studies and its malfunction is one of the main causes of middle ear infection.  Aim: We aim to find the relation of tubotympanic angle of Eustachian tube and chromic otitis media.  Methods: In this study, 100 patients with chronic unilateral middle ear infections were included. To determine the tubotympanic angle of the Eustachian tube, a temporal bone CT scan was used in the radiology department of Loghman Hospital. Eustachian tube angle and ear function were recorded. Results: Among the 100 patients in the study, 42 were men and 58 were women. The mean age of patients in the study was 39.64±12.64 years. The angle was 3.79 ± 34.27 in the healthy ear and 2.43 ± 31.06 in the diseased ear, which showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups  Conclusion: Eustachian tube angles in adults may play an important role in the cause of chronic otitis media. In this study, it was found that the horizontalization of the Eustachian tube is associated with chronic otitis media. Besides, determining the angle of the Eustachian tube can help determine the susceptibility to otitis media.&nbsp

Determination of the most important factors influencing the fertility patterns of single child and without child families in Shahr-e-kord city in 2013

Introduction: The rapid decline in fertility rate and disassembling in the balance of age pyramid can exert irreparable damages to the country's economic and social structures. In this study, effective factors which could affect the fertility patterns among families with one or without child were investigated. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 180 married women were recruited from many health centers by random simple sampling. Inclusion criteria were married women who had married at least 2 years ago and with no child as well as the married women who had only a child over 4 years old. Data collection instrument was a valid and reliable researcher-designed questionnaire (α=0.73) used to determine demographic data and to measure maternal attitudes toward childbearing. The data was analyzed by the SPSS software, version 16.

Evaluation of Cold allodynia by Thermal Place Preference Test Following A Short Term of Treadmill Exercise in Neuropathic Rats

Introduction: In this study, we investigated the hypothesis of whether short term and moderate intense treadmill exercise could lead to a sustained reversal of peripheral neuropathy induced cold aversion by activation of endogenous opioidergic systems. &nbsp; Materials & Methods: The tibial nerve transection (TNT) was performed in the anesthetized rats. 28 days after TNT surgery, the animals were randomized to three sedentary and four treadmill exercise (14 days, 30 min/day with max speed of 1.2 Km/h) groups. Animal activity and thermal preference behavior were determined by double plate technique (thermo-neutral plate: 24 &ordm;C and cold plate: 14 &ordm;C), equipped with a video tracking software. For determination of opioidergic system involvement, intraperitoneal injection of naltroxone (2 mg/kg) was done before exercise. Morphine (2.5 mg/kg) and naloxone (1 mg/kg) were also used exactly after the end of the last session of exercise. &nbsp; Findings: Tibial nerve transection significantly decreased the animals&rsquo; activities (P<0.001), the time spent in cold plate (P<0.002) and increased escape index from the cold plate (E.I), (P<0.0001), in comparison with intact animals. Treadmill exercise significantly prevented cold allodynia (P<0.002), increased animal activity (P<0.01) and decreased E.I (P<0.0001) 42 days after TNT surgery. Administration of morphine in the both exercised and none-exercised groups significantly reduced E.I., (P<0.0001). Injection of naltrexone before exercise training or naloxone immediately after exercise prevented anti-allodynia effect of exercise on the exercise trained animals. &nbsp; Discussion & Conclusion: Our investigation came to the conclusion that a short period of moderate aerobic exercise could reduce cold aversion and improve animal locomotor activity after peripheral neuropathy via activation of opioidergic system

Supplemental Material - The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Cervical Spinal Cord Compression in Individuals Presenting With Symptomatic Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Meta-Analysis

Supplemental Material for The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Cervical Spinal Cord Compression in Individuals Presenting With Symptomatic Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Meta-Analysis by Farzin Farahbakhsh, Sepehr Khosravi, Vali Baigi, Masoud Pourghahramani Koltapeh, Amirmahdi Khayyamfar, Zahra Eskandari, Zahra Ghodsi, James Harrop, and Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar in Global Spine Journal</p