Quality of Life and Related Factors Among People With Spinal Cord Injuries in Tehran, Iran

Background: Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is one of the biggest health problems. Disabilities resulting from injuries such as spinal disability requires special attention because of their potential reduced to cause adverse effects in different systems of the body. Today, improving the Quality of Life (QOL) in patients with SCIs is an important goal of treatment. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the QOL and related factors among people with SCIs. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 106 patients with SCI were selected through sampling based on census. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a Short-Form 36 (SF-36) health survey questionnaire for measuring the QOL among patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS 14 software and descriptive and inferential statistics. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean QOL in these patients was 37.1 ± 1.7 years (21 - 65 years) and mean disease duration was 7.3±6 years. The most common injury was paraplegia. Most of the patients have moderate QOL (54.7 %). The results showed a significant relationship between QOL and marital status and employment status (P < 0.05). Also, results showed a significant relationship between QOL and education levels (P = 0.002), age (P = 0.001), and duration of illness (P = 0.001).The highest and lowest scores were 64 ± 7.1 and 36 ± 5.3 for understanding General Health (GH) and role physical, respectively. Conclusions: The results show that patients with SCI have a moderate health-related QOL Determining the QOL is needed to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of patients with spinal cord injuries. Planning principles is recommended in order to reform the disability

Prevalence of and Some Factors Relating with Unwanted Pregnancy, in Ahwaz City, Iran, 2010

We aimed to find the prevalence and some factors relating with unwanted pregnancy. Methods. It was a cross-sectional study on 400 randomly pregnant women, who were referring to different health centers in Ahwaz city during 2010. Data was conducted based on questionnaire, and all the analysis was performed using SPSS (version 17) statistical analysis software. Results. The prevalence of unwanted pregnancy was 26%. The percentage of unwanted pregnancy in ages more than 35 years was approximately three times more than the intended pregnancy. There were significant relationship between unwanted pregnancy and some variables such as age, number of pregnancy, number of childbirth, education status, economic status, husband's occupation, and the relationship with the spouse and contraceptive methods (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. The prevalence of unwanted pregnancy was high. To prevent unwanted pregnancy using consultation services before planning to be pregnancy, it is necessary to identify the factors relating with unwanted pregnancy

Quality Evaluation and Study of Ecological Toxicity of Heavy Metals in Shadegan Wetland

Wetlands hold a principal position in storing food for primary producers, so they are not able to bear the pressure. The slightest disturbance, hence, may harm wetlands and cause detrimental effects. The present study aims at monitoring heavy metals and evaluation of the sediment quality index of Shadegan wetland in Iran. Thus, a sampling of surface sediments of the wetland was performed at ten stations with three replications; after the preparation of samples with aqua regia, the concentrations of heavy metals were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The quantification of sediment pollution using the contamination factor, contamination degree, pollution load index, ecological risk assessment index, and ecological toxicity of heavy metals in the region were all carried out. The results of Cf and Cd showed that the degree of zinc and copper contamination is low; however, the degree of lead contamination is moderate. Moreover, the obtained PLI was less than 1 indicating a lack of sediments contamination with heavy metals. The RI was less than 150 indicating a low risk of contamination. In addition, comparing the concentrations of elements with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Sediment Quality Guidelines showed slightly toxic and non-toxic sediments, respectively. Finally, based on a mixture of effect range median, all sediment samples are placed in the first category with less than 12% toxicity probability

Ranking the Cobalt Coating Nanostructures, Produced by Direct current Through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

In recent years, cobalt coating has been known as an alternative material instead of chromium in corrosion and erosion resistant behavior. Extensive research has been carried out on a variety of electroplated cobalt coatings. In this study, for the first time, the relative priority of the cobalt coating has been calculated and ranked theoretically by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). For this purpose, through the AHP and the Expert Choice software, benefiting from expert opinions, the relative weights of the effective parameters on achieving nanostructure coating have been calculated. Then, by using the weights obtained, the relative priority of five available Co coatings was calculated and the quality of them was ranked. Among available Co coatings, the coating with 5 mA/ current density, pH 3, electrolyte saccharin of 0.25 grams per liter and a temperature of 45 °C during 30 minutes, in comparing with others had more favorable conditions for achieving nano-grain size. This shows that before experimental tests, the best alternatives to achieve the ultimate goal could be anticipated. This anticipation leads to reduce in trial and error and the multiplicity of the tests in investigations. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3488

Ranking the Cobalt Coating Nanostructures, Produced by Direct current Through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

In recent years, cobalt coating has been known as an alternative material instead of chromium in corrosion and erosion resistant behavior. Extensive research has been carried out on a variety of electroplated cobalt coatings. In this study, for the first time, the relative priority of the cobalt coating has been calculated and ranked theoretically by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). For this purpose, through the AHP and the Expert Choice software, benefiting from expert opinions, the relative weights of the effective parameters on achieving nanostructure coating have been calculated. Then, by using the weights obtained, the relative priority of five available Co coatings was calculated and the quality of them was ranked. Among available Co coatings, the coating with 5 mA/ current density, pH 3, electrolyte saccharin of 0.25 grams per liter and a temperature of 45 °C during 30 minutes, in comparing with others had more favorable conditions for achieving nano-grain size. This shows that before experimental tests, the best alternatives to achieve the ultimate goal could be anticipated. This anticipation leads to reduce in trial and error and the multiplicity of the tests in investigations. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3488

Comparing the Ranking of Cobalt Coating Microstructures, Produced by Direct Current through Experimental Studies and the Analytic Hierarchy Process

In recent years, cobalt has been known as an alternative coating material to chromium in corrosion and erosion resistant applications. Extensive research has been carried out on a variety of electroplated cobalt coatings. In this study, for the first time, the relative priority of cobalt coatings has been evaluated by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), in combination with empirical methods. In the first step, Cu substrates have been coated with Co under different experimental conditions. The SEM micrographs of Co coatings have been analyzed via image analysis (Clemex) software. In the second step, through the AHP and the Expert Choice software, benefiting from expert opinions, the relative weights of the effective parameters with an influence on microstructure have been calculated. Subsequently, by using the weights obtained, the relative priority of alternatives was calculated and the quality of coatings was ranked. The predicted ranking has been found to be in consistence with the experimental results. This result shows that before experimental tests, the best alternatives to achieve the ultimate goal could be anticipated. This anticipation leads to reduce in trial and error and the multiplicity of the tests in investigations. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3096

Environmental effects of the cold water fish farms effluents on the water quality of Gamasyab River as their main source of water supply in the west of Iran

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is one of the most-widely cultivated cold fresh water fish in the world. Gamasyab River, with a length of about 200 Km, is one of the longest rivers of Iran. The aim of this research is to determine the effects of trout farm effluents on this river water. From a total of 24 trout farms in the area, four farms were randomly selected and three sampling stations were chosen at each selected farm. Measured water quality parameters were temperature (T), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solid (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD_5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia-nitrogen (NH_4-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO_3-N) and phosphates (PO_4-P). Based on the laboratory analysis, DO in the river water was more than 6 mg/l in all cases. There were significant differences in six variables of T, BOD, COD, NO_3-N, NH_4-N, and TSS of all water samples taken from the second sampling stations between dry and wet season. The DO concentration in Gamasyab River decreased between the water inlet (first stations) and outlet (second stations), but increased in third station. Trout farm effluents had significant impact on the TSS content of the river. This significant increase in TSS concentrations is expected to have occurred due to cleaning or harvesting activities on any of the farms. The results of the study showed that, in all of season, the amount of TSS in the second stations was not equal to the standards of the Department of Environment Protection (40 mg/L) for discharging into river systems

Typical orbits of quadratic polynomials with a neutral fixed point: Brjuno type

We describe the topological behavior of typical orbits of complex quadratic polynomials P_alpha(z)=e^{2\pi i alpha} z+z^2, with alpha of high return type. Here we prove that for such Brjuno values of alpha the closure of the critical orbit, which is the measure theoretic attractor of the map, has zero area. Then combining with Part I of this work, we show that the limit set of the orbit of a typical point in the Julia set is equal to the closure of the critical orbit.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figures; fixed the issues with processing the figure

N-acetylcysteine compared to metformin, improves the expression profile of growth differentiation factor-9 and receptor tyrosine kinase c-kit in the oocytes of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Background: Paracrine disruption of growth factors in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) results in production of low quality oocyte, especially following ovulation induction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of metformin (MET), N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and their combination on the hormonal levels and expression profile of GDF-9, BMP-15 and c-kit, as hallmarks of oocyte quality, in PCOS patients. Materials and Methods: This prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial aims to study the effects of MET, NAC and their combination (MET+NAC) on expression of GDF-9, BMP-15 and c-kit mRNA in oocytes [10 at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage, 10 at the MI stage, and 10 at the MII stage from per group] derived following ovulation induction in PCOS. Treatment was carried out for six weeks, starting on the third day of previous cycle until oocyte aspiration. The expression of GDF9, BMP15 and c-kit were determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA. Results: The follicular fluid (FF) level of c-kit protein significantly decreased in the NAC group compared to the other groups. Significant correlations were observed between the FF soluble c-kit protein with FF volume, androstenedione and estradiol. The GDF-9 expression in unfertilized mature oocytes were significantly higher in the NAC group compared to the other groups (P<0.001). Similar difference was not observed between the MET, NAC+MET and control groups. The c-kit expression in unfertilized mature oocytes were significantly lower in the NAC group compared to the other groups (P<0.001). Similar difference was not observed between the MET, NAC+MET and control groups (Registration number: IRCT201204159476N1). Conclusion: We concluded that NAC can improve the quality of oocytes in PCOS. © 2017, Royan Institute (ACECR). All rights reserved