Indoor Air Pollution in Exercise Centers

As many people and athletes exercise indoor, in their homes or other sports arenas because of outdoor air pollution or other reasons, it is important for health professionals to know briefly about indoor air pollutants and its possible health effects on athletes who exercise in these environments. In this review the most common indoor air pollutants and their possible health effects on athletes are discussed

Doping and the Latest Prohibited List of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

Doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the anti-doping rule encroachments. According to the world anti-doping agency code, athletes or other persons shall be responsible for knowing what constitutes an anti-doping rule encroachment and the substances and methods which have been placed on the prohibited list. It is each athlete’s personal task to be sure that no prohibited substance enters his or her body. Athletes must be responsible for any forbidden substance or its metabolites or markers found to be present in their samples. Therefore, it is not necessary that any attempt, mistake, neglect or understanding of use on the athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an anti-doping ..

Flowfield-dependent variant method for moving-boundary problems

A novel numerical scheme using the combination of flowfield-dependent variation method and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method is developed. This method is a mixed explicit–implicit numerical scheme, and its implicitness is dependent on the physical properties of the flowfield. The scheme is discretized using the finite-volume method to give flexibility in dealing with complicated geometries. The formulation itself yields a sparse matrix, which can be solved by using any iterative algorithm. Several benchmark problems in two-dimensional inviscid and viscous flow have been selected to validate the method. Good agreement with available experimental and numerical data in the literature has been obtained, thus showing its promising application in complex fluid–structure interaction problems

A Dog with Multiple Infections of Enteric Parasitic Zoonosis in Mashhad City, North-East of Iran; a Case Report

Aims: In this study, we examined stool specimen from a 3-year-old domesticated dog, which was referred to a veterinary clinic with clinical signs such as nausea or vomiting, dysentery, cachexia and rash in Mashhad city, northeast of Iran. Patient & Methods: A 3-year-old pet dog was referred to veterinary clinic of Mashhad in February 2016 by symptoms including, nausea or vomiting, dysentery, cachexia and rash in Mashhad City, Northeast of Iran. For parasitological examination, formalin-ether concentration technique was used. Fecal smears were made from the sediment, stained with iodine and observed by light microscope. Modified Ziehl Neelsen method was used for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. Findings: The animal was infected with 10 disease-causing parasites; Taenia spp., Fasciola spp., Dicrocoelium dendriticum, Acanthocephal spp., Trichuris vulpis, Hook worm, Giardia spp., Blastocystis spp., Eimeria spp., and Cystoisospora spp. Conclusion: Domestic and stray dog could be an important sources for distribution of zoonoses disease especially parasitic agents

Does B-type natriuretic peptide level predict outcome after arterial switch operation ?

Evaluation the predictive value of perioperative Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide level in arterial switch operation. Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide level was measured before and and 24 hours after surgery in 29 patients with arterial switch operation. We evaluated 29 patients (22 male,76,7 female 24) with mean age 67.93±84.09 days (range 6 days to 14months).The mean of BNP level before surgery was 7989.96±9691.94 and increased after surgery to 22391.35±11898.67 and difference between two groups was significant (P=0.003).In linear regression test the BNP did not correlate with sex(r=0.33, P=0.085) and age(r=0.14,P=0.45). Furthermore, BNP did not correlate with duration of mechanical ventilation (r=0.132,P=0.53), ICU stay (r=0.137,P=0.52) and with lactate level (r=0.41,P=0.054)after operation. During the study 4 patients(13.8) died and the mean of BNP 24h after operation among them was 35000.00±00.00.using chai-square and fisher exact test the correlation between BNP and death was significant(P=0.001). We implied that BNP level increased 24 hours after arterial switch operation, moreover we denoted it correlated well with the death rate and an increase in B-type natriuretic peptide 24 hours after surgery predicts poor postoperative outcome. However it did not correlate with duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and lactate level in this patients

Highly efficient nonlinear regression for big data with lexicographical splitting

This paper considers the problem of online piecewise linear regression for big data applications. We introduce an algorithm, which sequentially achieves the performance of the best piecewise linear (affine) model with optimal partition of the space of the regressor vectors in an individual sequence manner. To this end, our algorithm constructs a class of 2 D sequential piecewise linear models over a set of partitions of the regressor space and efficiently combines them in the mixture-of-experts setting. We show that the algorithm is highly efficient with computational complexity of only O(mD2) , where m is the dimension of the regressor vectors. This efficient computational complexity is achieved by efficiently representing all of the 2 D models using a “lexicographical splitting graph.” We analyze the performance of our algorithm without any statistical assumptions, i.e., our results are guaranteed to hold. Furthermore, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm over the well-known data sets in the machine learning literature with computational complexity fraction of the state of the art. © 2016, Springer-Verlag London

Biological and predatory characteristics of Andrallus spinidens (Hem.: Pentatomidae) on fourth instar larvae of Spodoptera littoralis (Lep.: Noctuidae), under laboratory conditions

Biological and predatory characteristics of Andrallus spinidens (F.) on fourth instar larvae of Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Bois.), were investigated, under laboratory condition, at 25 ± 1°C, 60 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16: 8 L: D h. The analysis was based on an age-stage, two-sex life table. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rate (R0), gross reproductive rate (GRR) and mean generation time (T) of A. spinidens on S. littoralis were 0.0821 day-1, 1.0821 day-1, 102.77 offspring, 192.61 eggs and 58.68 day, respectively. The mean reproductive value of A. spinidens was estimated as 342.58 ± 48.18 eggs per female. The intrinsic birth rate (b) and intrinsic death rate (d) for A. spinidens on S. littoralis were 0.0894 and 0.0073, respectively. The first stage nymphs of A. spinidens live only on water but the second, third and fourth stage nymphs fed on 12.22, 26.22 and 41.28 of S. littoralis larvae, respectively. The fifth stage nymphs were more voracious and preyed on more than 70% of the larvae (94.36). At the adult stage, both male and female of A. spinidens were able to kill up to 85% of the larvae. In conclusion, the results prove that this predator pentatomid bug can be used as an efficient biological control agent against the noctuid pest, S. littoralis

A Comparison Between the Hemodynamic Effects of Cisatracurium and Atracurium in Patient with Low Function of Left Ventricle who are Candidate for Open Heart Surgery

BACKGROUND: The need for muscle relaxants in general anesthesia in different surgeries including cardiac surgeries, and the type of relaxant to be used considering its different hemodynamic effects on patients with heart disease can be of considerable importance. In this study, the hemodynamic effects of two muscle relaxants, Cisatracurium and Atracurium in patients whit low function of left ventricle who are candidate for open heart surgery have been considered. METHOD: This study has been designed as a randomized prospective double-blind clinical trial. The target population included all adult patients with heart disease whose ejection fraction reported by echocardiography or cardiac catheterization was 35 or less before the surgery, and were candidate for open heart surgery in Shahid Rajaei Heart Center. Taking into account the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the patients were randomly placed in two groups of 30 people each. In the induction stage, all the patients received midazolam, etomidate, and one of the considered muscle relaxant, either 0.2 mg/kg of cisatracurium or 0.5mg/kg of Atracurium within one minute. In the maintenance stage of anesthesia, the patients were administered by infusion of midazolam, sufentanil and the same muscle relaxant used in the induction stage. The hemodynamic indexes were recorded and evaluated in different stages of anesthesia and surgery as well as prior to transfer to ICU. RESULTS: In regard with descriptive indexes (age and sex distributions, premedication with cardiac drugs, ejection fraction before surgery, basic disease) there was no statistically significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The significant difference of hemodynamic indexes between the two groups of this study, and the need for hemodynamic stability in all stages of surgery for patients with low function of left ventricle who are candidate for open heart surgery, proves that administering Cisatracurium as the muscle relaxant is advantageous and better

Epidemiological study of hospitalized road traffic injuries in Iran 2011

Background: In Iran, Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) is the second-leading cause of deaths, and the first leading cause of disabilityadjusted life year, and has one of the highest rates of death (32.1 per 100 000 population) all over the world. This study's aim was to investigate the epidemiological pattern and underlying components of hospitalized RTIs in 31 provinces of Iran in 2011. Methods: This study conducted on all hospitalized RTIs during one-year period (March 21, 2011 to March 21, 2012). Data extracted from a hospital-based traffic injury registration system. According to a national law passed in 2005, all hospital expenses of traffic injuries should be covered by ministry of health based on governmental tariffs. The medical costs of eligible patients will be paid to the hospitals only if the patient data are sent to the above mentioned database. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.16 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA), and spatial maps are provided using GIS 10.2. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used to compare means. World (WHO 2000-2025) standard population used to calculate age-adjusted incidence rate. All statistical tests were performed at the 5 level of statistical significance. Results: There were 322,064 injured cases recorded in the registration system during the study period. The national age-adjusted incidence rate of RTIs was 405 per 100,000 population. The highest incidence rates were in the age group of 15-29 years (643 per 100,000 population), followed by 30-44 year age groups (401 per 100,000 population). The incidence rate in men was 3.36 times more than women. Motorcyclist were the most frequent type of road users (39.2) who involved in RTIs, followed by passengers (28.9) and pedestrians (20.0). Head injuries were among the most affected part of the body which occurred in 27.2 of the patients. The proportion of urban crashes was 60.7. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the majority of RTI occurred on motorcyclists and head injuries was the most commonly affected body part. Therefore, in order to reduce motorcycle accidents and avoiding head injury among them, stricter law enforcement is urgently needed for helmet use and promotion of safety behaviors among motorcycle riders. © Iran University of Medical Sciences

Recognition of fishes in rivers and basin of Qom

This study was carried out on rivers, basins & qanat of Qom region during the 1376-1378and Fish samples were taken from 2 permanent rivers (Qomrood ,Ghara_chag)& from some seasonal ones (Tagharood, Zavarian, Vesva, Biraghan). Also local fishes was followed in 100 qanats in the region and Random fish sampling was done in permanent river extension out of province. This study aimed to recognize different fish species in the province water reservoir and estimating the fisheries potential in the province. For fish sampling nets such as mashk, salik, hook and hand tailored were used. Electroshoker was not used at all. Results of fish recognition showed that fish samples belong to 12 species & 4 family of "cyprinidae", "Balitoridae", "cyprinodontidae" and "poecilidae".The qanat fishes of the montain (kahak, Khagestan) and pastora area (Ghanavat,jafarabad) included by two families of "cyprinid", "Balitoridea".In some qanat which were connected to rivers more species of fish and anotherAquatic animal were observed & sampled.At the and map of geographical distribution of local fishes was planned