The quantitative ADAM questionnaire: a new tool in quantifying the severity of hypogonadism

Androgen deficiency is a pervasive problem in the older male population and is thought to be responsible for many symptoms once considered to be the result of normal aging. Numerous methods have been proposed to facilitate the detection of men at risk for androgen deficiency. In this article, we propose a novel screening tool, the quantitative Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (qADAM) questionnaire and report its successful use in quantifying the severity of androgen deficiency in a group of older men. Fifty-seven males scheduled to undergo radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer completed the qADAM as well as the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) and the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite hormonal/sexual (EPICh/EPICs) questionnaires. Thirty-four men also had serum testosterone levels measured for comparison. The qADAM showed statistically significant correlation to the SHIM (P=0.001), EPICh (P=0.016), EPICs (P=<0.001), and serum testosterone (P=0.046). The qADAM represents a viable alternative to existing questionnaires used to detect androgen deficiency and to assess response to treatment

Benchmarking the scientific output of industrial wastewater research in Arab world by utilizing bibliometric techniques

Rapid population growth, worsening of the climate, and severity of freshwater scarcity are global challenges. In Arab world countries, where water resources are becoming increasingly scarce, the recycling of industrial wastewater could improve the efficiency of freshwater use. The benchmarking of scientific output of industrial wastewater research in the Arab world is an initiative that could support in shaping up and improving future research activities. This study assesses the scientific output of industrial wastewater research in the Arab world. A total of 2032 documents related to industrial wastewater were retrieved from 152 journals indexed in the Scopus databases; this represents 3.6 % of the global research output. The h-index of the retrieved documents was 70. The total number of citations, at the time of data analysis, was 34,296 with an average citation of 16.88 per document. Egypt, with a total publications of 655 (32.2 %), was ranked the first among the Arab countries followed by Saudi Arabia 300 (14.7 %) and Tunisia 297 (14.6 %). Egypt also had the highest h-index, assumed with Saudi Arabia, the first place in collaboration with other countries. Seven hundred fifteen (35.2 %) documents with 66 countries in Arab/non-Arab country collaborations were identified. Arab researchers collaborated mostly with researchers from France 239 (11.7 %), followed by the USA 127 (6.2 %). The top active journal was Desalination 126 (6.2 %), and the most productive institution was the National Research Center, Egypt 169 (8.3 %), followed by the King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia 75 (3.7 %). Environmental Science was the most prevalent field of interest 930 (45.8 %). Despite the promising indicators, there is a need to close the gap in research between the Arab world and the other nations. Optimizing the investments and developing regional experiences are key factors to promote the scientific research

Poster PHYSICS-BASED COMPACT MODEL FOR SCHOTTKY BARRIER CARBON NANOTUBE FET

For not highly doped or undoped source/drain regions, CNTFET Schottky barriers (SB) are formed between the metal contacts and the semiconducting carbon nanotube at source/drain (S/D). Under these conditions, the source and drain current is affected by tunnelling mechanisms through these barriers. By changing the gate voltage (figure 1), energy bands ar

Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on lower extremity spasticity and motor function in stroke patients

Purpose: To investigate the effect of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on lower extremity (LE) spasticity, motor function and motor neurone excitability in chronic stroke patients. Method: This study was a randomised sham-controlled cross-over trial with 1-week follow-up. A total of 20 post-stroke patients were randomised to receive active (n = 10) or sham (n = 10) rTMS. Fourteen of them (7 in each group) crossed over to the sham or active rTMS after a washout period of 1 month. Interventions consist of five consecutive daily sessions of active or sham rTMS to the unaffected lower extremity motor area (1000 pulses; 1 Hz; 90 of the tibialis anterior motor threshold). Outcome measures were modified modified ashworth scale (MMAS), the H-reflex, lower extremity section of Fugl�Mayer assessment (LE-FMA) and timed UP and GO (TUG) test. All outcomes were measured at three levels in each intervention period: pre- and post-intervention and 1-week follow-up. Results: Friedman�s test revealed significant improvement in MMAS score only after active rTMS. This improvement lasted for one week after the active rTMS. Repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant time*intervention interaction for LE-FMA. There are no differences between groups for the MMAS and LE-FMA. No significant change in Hmax/Mmax ratio and TUG test was noted. Conclusion: Low-frequency rTMS over the LE motor area can improve clinical measures of muscle spasticity and motor function. More studies are needed to clarify the changes underlying this improvement in spasticity.Implications for Rehabilitation Spasticity is a common disorder and one of the causes of long-term disability after stroke. Physical therapy modalities, oral medications, focal intervention and surgical procedures have been used for spasticity reduction. Beneficial effect of the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for post-stroke upper extremity spasticity reduction and motor function improvement was demonstrated in previous studies. This study shows amelioration of lower extremity spasticity and motor function improvement after five daily sessions of inhibitory rTMS to the unaffected brain hemisphere which lasted for at least 1 week following the intervention. © 2016 Taylor & Francis