Biosystematic study of (Clupeidae) Alosa in Mazandaran and Golestan province coastal waters

This survey is part of identification and determination of clupeidae (Genus Alosa), in southern Caspian Sea, Mazandaran and Golestan Province coastal waters during 1997-99. In this study, total of 336 fish samples were studied. The results showed that 4 species of clupeidae, belong to: Alosa brashnikowii (Borodin, 1904), A. caspia (Eichwald, 1983), A. saposchnikowii (Grimm, 1887) and A. kessleri (Grimm, 1887). For species identification two morphometric and morphomerestic factors were used. One of the important factors of morphometric is gill rakers and, A. braschnikowii had 20-40 with average of 30.93±6.11, A. caspia had 110-125 with average of 118.3±5.23, A. kessleri had 60-73 with average of 66.82±3.31 and A. saposchnikowii had 20-48 with of average of 32.83 ±4.93 percent gill rakers. Another important morphometric factors are percent ratio of eye diameter to total length. A. braschnikowii had 2.9-5.82 and average of 4.72±0.53 percent, A. caspia had 5.73-7.46 and average of 6.21±0.52, A. saposchnikowii had 6-9.33 and average of 7.3±1.8 percent and finally, A. kessleri had 4.27-6.48 and average of 5.46 ±0.71 percent

Effects of milling and annealing on formation and structural characterization of nanocrystalline intermetallic compounds from Ni-Ti elemental powders

Nickel and Titanium elemental powders with a nominal composition Ni-50 at.%Ti were mechanical alloyed in a planetary high-energy ball mill in different milling conditions (5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 h). The investigation revealed that increasing milling time leads to a reduction in crystallite size, and after 60 h of milling, the Ti dissolved in Ni lattice and NiTi (B2) phase was obtained. With milling time, morphology of pre-alloyed powders changed from lamella to globular. Annealing of as-milled powders at 1173 K for 900 s led to formation of nanocrystalline NiTi (B19′), grain growth and release of internal strain. The results indicated that this technique is a powerful and high productive process for preparing NiTi intermetallic compound with nanocrystalline structure and appropriate morphology. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4 (62.3 (55.1�70.8) million) to 6.4 (58.3 (47.6�70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization�s Global Nutrition Target of <5 in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2 (30 (22.8�38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0 (55.5 (44.8�67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic. © 2020, The Author(s)

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. METHODS: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. FINDINGS: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. INTERPRETATION: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing

Author Correction: Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 (Nature Medicine, (2020), 26, 5, (750-759), 10.1038/s41591-020-0807-6)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. © 2020, The Author(s)

Author Correction: Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 (Nature Medicine, (2020), 26, 5, (750-759), 10.1038/s41591-020-0807-6)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. © 2020, The Author(s)

Discriminative factors for post-stroke depression

Background: Depression is the most common mood disorder following stroke. It can negatively affects different domains of patient's life. The present study aimed to explore demographic and clinical predictors of post stroke depression and determine discriminative cognitive, motor, and functional factors in stroke patients with and without depression. Methods: In a cross sectional study, 100 patients with stroke were investigated. Measurements consisted of Beck Depression Inventory-II, Trail Making Test A & B, Digit Span Subtest of Wechsler Memory Scale, Motricity Index (arm and leg motor), Trunk Control Test, Barthel Index, and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Demographics and clinical data including educational level, marital status, limb affected, cigarette smoking habits, diabetes mellitus, cardiac diseases, and blood pressure were also collected. Results: Multivariate logistic regression revealed that college level of education (OR = 8.78, 95 CI: 2.65�29.11, P < 0.001) and cardiac diseases (OR = 3.11, 95 CI: 1.19�8.13, P < 0.001) were significant demographic and clinical predictors of post stroke depression. Using stepwise discriminant function analysis, basic activities of daily living and trunk control with 88.0 classification accuracy, 81.1 sensitivity, and 95.7 specificity were as the best discriminators of post stroke depression. Conclusions: Rehabilitation experts working with patients with stroke should pay special attention to trunk control and basic activities of daily living for preventing consequences of PSD particularly in those with higher educational level and cardiac diseases. © 201

Dexterity and two-point discrimination of the hand in school-aged children with dysgraphia

Background: Dysgraphia as a problem with handwriting, affects student's performance in school activities and participation. The purpose of the study was to compare dexterity and two-point discrimination of the hand between learning disabled students with dysgraphia and healthy students. Methods: Forty-three students with developmental dysgraphia and 55 normal students in grade two to four from special and regular schools participated in this study. Hand dexterity and static/dynamic discriminative touch were assessed via Purdue Pegboard and Two-Point Discriminator respectively. Results: Significant differences were found in Purdue Pegboard scores between two groups except in doing the test with the left hand (p 0.05). Static two-point discrimination of the thumb finger was significantly higher in children with dysgraphia (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Hand dexterity affects handwriting performance in children with dysgraphia. There were no correlations between two-point discrimination and Purdue Pegboard scores of children with dysgraphia. Intervention should focus on other aspects of dexterity rather than sensory components. Hand dominancy also may be a factor influencing hand performance in dysgraphia

Feasibility of the modified constraint-induced movement therapy in patients with median and ulnar nerve injuries: A single-subject A-B-A design

Objective: The present study aimed to determine feasibility and efficacy of the modified constraintinduced movement therapy on upper limb function in patients with median and ulnar nerve injuries. Design: Single subject, A1-B-A2 design. Setting: Occupational therapy outpatient clinic. Subjects: A convenience sample including three patients with median and ulnar nerve injuries. Interventions: Modified constraint-induced movement therapy as follows: an intensive practice with affected hand for one hour daily, five days per week, for four weeks while the healthy hand was immobilized using a splint during waking hours. Main measures: Semmes-weinstein monofilaments, Box and block test, and Disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand questionnaire. A blinded assessor administered the assessments in a random order across sessions, six times for the baseline phase (A1), four times for the intervention phase (B), and four times for the withdrawal phase (A2). Results: Touch perception did not occur after the intervention phase at the pulp of the index and little fingers. Manual dexterity and motor ability significantly improved (Box and block change scores exceeded the minimal detectable change of 5.5 blocks), as well performance in activities of daily living during real life (Disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand questionnaire change scores exceeded the clinically important change value of 20.9 points). These improvements maintained and even enhanced during the withdrawal phase. Conclusions: Modified constraint-induced movement therapy is a feasible and useful adjunct to rehabilitation of the patients with median and ulnar nerve injuries that warrants further research. © The Author(s) 2014

速報31 : 流體の粘性が温度により變化することを考慮した熱傳逹の實驗式

Purpose: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS) in caregivers of patients with spinal cord injury. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. After a forward�backward translation, the CBS was administered to 110 caregivers of patients with spinal cord injury (men = 60, women = 50). Factor structure was evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis. The Internal consistency and test�retest reliability of the CBS were examined using Cronbach�s α and the intraclass correlation coefficient, respectively. Construct validity was assessed by examining the relationship among CBS and the World Health Organization Quality of Life, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results: The results of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a five-factor model of CBS. All subscales of CBS revealed acceptable internal consistency (0.698�0.755), except for environment subscale (0.559). The CBS showed adequate test�retest reliability for its subscales (0.745�0.900). All subscales of CBS significantly correlated with both Beck Depression Inventory and World Health Organization Quality of Life, confirming construct validity. Conclusions: The Persian version of the CBS is a valid and reliable measure for assessing burden of care in caregivers of patients with spinal cord injury.Implications for Rehabilitation Spinal cord injury leads to depression, high levels of stress and diminished quality of life due to the high physical, emotional, and social burdens in caregivers. Persian version of the Caregiver Burden Scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing burden in Iranian caregivers of patients with spinal cord injury. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group