Correction: Cross-country differences in the association between diabetes and disability

The acknowledgment section of a recent manuscript published by Assari et al., [1] should be corrected as below: Publication of this manuscript was possible with the Cornely Fellowship fund awarded by the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan to the first author, Shervin Assari.</jats:p

Drug Injection to Sites other than Arm: A Study of Iranian Heroin Injectors.

For almost all injecting drug users (IDUs), the first site of injection is the arm. Years after injection, IDUs may shift to using other sites for intravenous (IV) access. Although injection to sites other than the arm is associated with higher risks, literature is limited regarding this behavior. We aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of using IV access points other than the arm among a national sample of IDUs in Iran. Data came from the National Drug Dependence Survey, 2007, which had enrolled 863 IDUs with at least one daily injection. Data on socio-demographics, pattern of drug use, and injection-related behaviors were entered into a logistic regression to determine predictors of injection to sites other than the arm. From all participants, 54.8% reported current injection sites in areas other than the arm. The other injection sites were the femoral venous sinus (17.0%), followed by the groin (14.5%) and neck (11.5%). Logistic regression revealed that living alone [odds ratio (OR) = 1.789, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.218-2.629], being Sunni (OR = 3.475, 95% CI = 1.775-6.801), having higher family income (OR = 1.002, 95% CI = 1.001-1.003), higher age at first drug use (OR = 1.039, 95% CI = 1.009-1.069), longer injection duration (OR = 1.071, 95% CI = 1.041-1.102), and more injection frequency (OR = 1.255, 95% CI = 1.072-1.471) were associated with higher likelihood of using injection sites other than the arm. Using sites other than the arm for IV injection is linked to socio-demographics, drug use data, and injection-related characteristics that can be used by policy makers. This information can be used for harm reduction planning

Compliant contact force models in multibody dynamics : evolution of the Hertz contact theory

Over the last decades, several compliant contact force models have been proposed. However, no complete and systematic comparison has been done on these models, which provides information on their range of application and accuracy for use in different contact scenarios. Thus, the selection of an appropriate model for a given contact problem is still an important and challenging issue to be addressed. The Hertzian contact theory remains the foundation for almost all of the available force models, but by itself, it is not appropriate for most impacts in practice, due to the amount of energy dissipated during the impact. A good number of contact force models have been offered that augment the Hertzian law with a damping term to accommodate the energy loss during the impact process for small or moderate impact velocities. In this work, the main issues associated with the most common compliant contact force models of this type are analyzed. Results in terms of the dynamic simulations of multibody systems are presented, which allow for the comparison of the similarities and differences among the models considered.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - DACHOR - Multibody Dynamics and Control of Hybrid Active Orthoses (MIT-Pt/BSHHMS/0042/2008), BIOJOINTS - Development of advanced biological joint models for human locomotion biomechanics (PTDC/EMEPME/ 099764/2008), SFRH/BD/40164/2007, SFRH/BD/64477/200

Fear of Neighborhood Violence During Adolescence Predicts Development of Obesity a Decade Later: Gender Differences Among African Americans

Background: African American youth are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to be obese. African American youth are also more likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods which increase their victimization, observation, and fear of violence. Objectives: This study tested if victimization, observation, and fear of violence in the neighborhood during adolescence predict trajectory of body mass index (BMI) in the 3rd decade of life in African Americans. Patients and Methods: Data came from an 18-year community-based cohort. We used multi-group latent growth curve modeling for data analysis, considering neighborhood violence at age 15 (i.e. victimization, observation, and fear) as predictors, and the linear slope for the average change in BMI from age 21 to 32 as the outcome, with age and socioeconomic status (i.e. intact family and parental employment) as covariates. Results: Fear of neighborhood violence at age 15 was predictive of an increase in BMI from age 21 to 32 among female but not male African Americans. Victimization and observation of violence at age 15 did not predict BMI change from age 21 to 32 among female or male African Americans. Conclusions: Fear of neighborhood violence is a contributing factor to increased risk of obesity for female African American youth who live in disadvantaged areas. This finding has implications for prevention of obesity among African American women who are at highest risk for obesity in the United States. Initiatives that enhance neighborhood safety are critical strategies for obesity prevention among African American women

Nausea and vomiting after general anesthesia with halothane or isoflurane A double blind randomized trial

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is potentially dangerous and causes morbidity and excessive costs to the patients. Prior investigators have reported controversies about halothane- and isoflurane-induced PONV, thus, the present study was conducted to compare these two drugs. Materials and methods: 80 candidates for elective minor orthopedic surgery were randomly allocated into two groups, halothane (n= 40) and isoflurane (n=40). Confounding factors including sex, age, duration of surgery, NPO, history of general anesthesia, history of PONV, drugs, and history of disease were recorded in a questionnaire. PONV was assessed at three occasions (recovery, 3- and 6-hour post operative). Results: PONV was reported in 4 (10%) and 3 (7.5%) patients in halothane and isoflurane groups, respectively (NS). None of the patients suffered PONV 3- or 6-hour post operative. Conclusions: Results revealed that the incidence of PONV can be hold low, with an aggressive control of risk factors, in addition, halothane or isoflurane seems to have no preference from this aspect to each other

Having Multiple Sexual Partners among Iranian Intra-Venous Drug Users

Background: Transmission of HIV from intra-venous drug users (IDUs) to the community occurs predominantly through high-risk sexual behaviors. Limited information exists regarding the high-risk sexual behaviors of IDUs in Iran. Aim. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with having multiple sexual partners among Iranian IDUs. Methods. This is a national survey on drug-dependent adults. Participants were sampled from medical centers, prisons, and streets of capitals of 29 provinces in Iran, between May 2007 and February 2008. We analyzed data of 1,416 current IDUs. Socio-demographics and drug use characteristics were entered into a binary logistic regression model to determine predictors of having multiple sexual partners. Results. Having multiple sexual partners in the past or at the time of survey was reported by 56.4% of Iranian IDUs. Multivariate analysis showed that the likelihood of having multiple sexual partners in IDUs decreased by being married (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; P < .001) and increased by female gender (OR, 13.44; P = .02), having illegal income (OR, 1.72; P = .003), higher monthly family income (OR, 1.01; P = .003), pleasure, curiosity, and recreation as cause of first drug use (OR, 1.37; P = .04), ruins as usual place for injection (OR, 1.89; P = .001), and history of syringe sharing (OR, 1.50; P = .02). Conclusions. Having multiple sexual partners was reported by majority of Iranian IDUs, and this was linked to socio-demographics, initiation data, and other risk behaviors. This information should be considered in prevention efforts to reduce sexual transmission of HIV infection in Iran

High prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Behcet’s disease

Background: Behcet’s disease (BD) is a multisystem disease of unknown etiology. There are several clues which may indicate an ethiopathogenesis role for Helicobacter pylori infection in this disease. Methods: In a case control study in an out patient department, 48 patients with BD were compared to age, sex matched controls regarding presence of H. pylori infection by serology and urea breath test (UBT). Results: Ongoing H. pylori infection was more prevalent among patients with BD using result of UBT with odds ratio of 3.1 (95% CI: 1.34 – 7.26, PV < 0.001). Conclusion: H. pylori infection may have a role in the pathogenesis of BD

Study of the effect of contact force model on the dynamic response of mechanical systems with dry clearance joints : computational and experimental approaches

The main objective of this work is to present a computational and experimental study on the contact forces developed in revolute clearance joints. For this purpose, a well-known slider-crank mechanism with a revolute clearance joint between the connecting rod and slider is utilized. The intra-joint contact forces that generated at this clearance joints are computed by considered several different elastic and dissipative approaches, namely those based on the Hertz contact theory and the ESDU tribology-based for cylindrical contacts, along with a hysteresis-type dissipative damping. The normal contact force is augmented with the dry Coulomb’s friction force. In addition, an experimental apparatus is use to obtained some experimental data in order to verify and validate the computational models. From the outcomes reported in this paper, it is concluded that the selection of the appropriate contact force model with proper dissipative damping plays a significant role in the dynamic response of mechanical systems involving contact events at low or moderate impact velocities.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A study on dynamics of mechanical systems including joints with clearance and lubrication

In this work a methodology for the dynamical analysis of mechanical systems considering realistic joint characteristics, namely, joints with clearance and lubrication is presented. For the case of the joints with clearance modelled as a contact pair with dry contact, a technique using a continuous approach for the evaluation of the contact force is applied, in which the energy dissipation in form of hysteresis damping is considered. The friction forces are calculated using a modified Coulomb’s friction law. For the lubricated case, the hydrodynamic theory for dynamically loaded journal–bearings is used to compute the forces generated by lubrication action. The numerical results point out that the existence of dry joint clearances causes high peaks on the kinematic and dynamic system’s characteristics due to contact–impact forces when compared to those obtained with lubricated model. The performance of the lubricated joint is closer to that of an ideal joint.FEDER - Project POCTI/2001/EME/38281Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT