Prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, and its incidences are often imminent among elementary schoolchildren. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran. The prevalence rate was compared according to age group (aged 6–7 years vs. aged 13–14 years) and gender (male vs. female). In this cross-sectional study, 1706 Iranian schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Golestan Province were enrolled. Participants completed questionnaires between February and July 2014. Asthma symptoms were assessed using the questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood protocol in Persian. The logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the asthma symptoms for each of the gender and age groups. The prevalence rates of “current asthma” symptoms and “asthma ever” in all the children were estimated as 9.5% and 7.5%, respectively. The prevalence of asthma (“asthma ever” and “wheezing in the past 12 months”) in junior high schoolchildren (aged 13–14 years) is higher than that in elementary schoolchildren (aged 6–7 years) (P < 0.05). The prevalence of the severity of wheezing in girls is lower than that in boys (OR = 1.7, 95%CI = 1.06–2.96, P = 0.02). Asthma is still a major public health problem. This study shows that the prevalence of the asthma symptoms in boys is lower than that in girls in both age groups, and the severity of asthma in girls is higher than that in boys aged 13–14 years. © 2016 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelber

Unwanted Pregnancy and Its Risk Factors Among Pregnant Women in Tehran, Iran

Background: Unwanted pregnancies remain a main public health problem worldwide. In Iran, comparative studies on the risk factors of unwanted pregnancies and their effects on maternal health are rare. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the risk factors of unwanted pregnancies and their impact on maternal behavior during pregnancy. Patients and Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 240 pregnant women who referred to the healthcare centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science for receiving routine prenatal care. Of the 240 women, 120 had unwanted pregnancies (case) and 120 had wanted pregnancies (control). Data collection was performed using a researcher-made questionnaire. The data were analyzed using chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact tests, t-tests, Mann Whitney U tests, odds ratios, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared to women with wanted pregnancies, those with unwanted pregnancies were more employed (23.3% vs. 12.5%, P = 0.006), had lower education levels (P = 0.016), had lower incomes (P = 0.009), had more children (1.30 ± 1.08 vs. 0.53 ± 0.67, P = 0.001), and had more traditional marriages (15% vs. 3.3%, P = 0.002). Also, women with unwanted pregnancies had significantly lower tendencies to do prenatal care (P = 0.002), had a higher tendency to abortion (P = 0.001), had higher previous abortion attempts (P = 0.001), and had higher levels of unhealthy behaviors (P = 0.017) compared to those with wanted pregnancies. Conclusions: Lower education and socioeconomic status, longer marriage duration, being employed, and unwilling of spouse were among the risk factors of unwanted pregnancies. These women are at high risk for unhealthy behaviors and have a higher tendency to abortion that consequently threatens their health

Ultra-strong nonlinear optical processes and trigonal warping in MoS2 layers

Nonlinear optical processes, such as harmonic generation, are of great interest for various applications, e.g., microscopy, therapy, and frequency conversion. However, high-order harmonic conversion is typically much less efficient than low-order, due to the weak intrinsic response of the higher-order nonlinear processes. Here we report ultra-strong optical nonlinearities in monolayer MoS2 (1L-MoS2): the third harmonic is 30 times stronger than the second, and the fourth is comparable to the second. The third harmonic generation efficiency for 1L-MoS2 is approximately three times higher than that for graphene, which was reported to have a large χ (3). We explain this by calculating the nonlinear response functions of 1L-MoS2 with a continuum-model Hamiltonian and quantum mechanical diagrammatic perturbation theory, highlighting the role of trigonal warping. A similar effect is expected in all other transition-metal dichalcogenides. Our results pave the way for efficient harmonic generation based on layered materials for applications such as microscopy and imaging.We acknowledge funding from the Academy of Finland (Nos: 276376, 284548, 295777, 298297, and 304666), TEKES (NP-Nano, OPEC), Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Research Fellowships, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, the Graphene Flagship, ERC grants Hetero2D, Nokia Foundation, EPSRC Grants EP/K01711X/1, EP/K017144/1, EP/L016087/1, AFOSR COMAS MURI (FA9550-10-1-0558), ONR NECom MURI, CIAN NSF ERC under Grant EEC-0812072, and TRIF Photonics funding from the state of Arizona and the Micronova, Nanofabrication Centre of Aalto University

Prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6�7 and 13�14 years in Northeast Iran

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, and its incidences are often imminent among elementary schoolchildren. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6�7 and 13�14 years in Northeast Iran. The prevalence rate was compared according to age group (aged 6�7 years vs. aged 13�14 years) and gender (male vs. female). In this cross-sectional study, 1706 Iranian schoolchildren aged 6�7 and 13�14 years in Golestan Province were enrolled. Participants completed questionnaires between February and July 2014. Asthma symptoms were assessed using the questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood protocol in Persian. The logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95 confidence intervals (CIs) of the asthma symptoms for each of the gender and age groups. The prevalence rates of �current asthma� symptoms and �asthma ever� in all the children were estimated as 9.5 and 7.5, respectively. The prevalence of asthma (�asthma ever� and �wheezing in the past 12 months�) in junior high schoolchildren (aged 13�14 years) is higher than that in elementary schoolchildren (aged 6�7 years) (P < 0.05). The prevalence of the severity of wheezing in girls is lower than that in boys (OR = 1.7, 95CI = 1.06�2.96, P = 0.02). Asthma is still a major public health problem. This study shows that the prevalence of the asthma symptoms in boys is lower than that in girls in both age groups, and the severity of asthma in girls is higher than that in boys aged 13�14 years. � 2016, Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

The role of social activity in the association between socioeconomic status and physical health in Tehran University of Medical Sciences employees` cohort study: a structural equation modeling

Socioeconomic status (SES) is often considered a major predictor of health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the role of social activity in the association between SES and physical health among Tehran University of Medical Sciences Employees� Cohort (TEC) study. In this cross-sectional design, we used the data of the enrolment phase of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) cohort study on 4461 employees. The latent variable of this study was the composite SES-index, which is a combination of assets, social activities, and education. A self-reporting questionnaire was used to measure the physical health conditions of the respondents. The relationship between variables was examined using the structural equation modeling (SEM) in STATA-14. The results showed that 2706 respondents (60.65) were female and the mean age of all participants was 42.29 years (SD = 8.71, range: 19 to 74). The SEM results showed that the composite SES-index had a significant effect on physical health (β = �0.21, SE = 0.017, p < 0.001, 95٪ CI = �0.25 to �0.18). Physical health also exhibited the greatest association with the social activity index (β = �0.18, SE = 0.014, p < 0.001, 95٪ CI = �0.21 to �0.15). In addition, the social activities, assets, and education explained 53%, 50%, and 43% of the estimated variance of the composite SES-index, respectively. This study demonstrated that the social activity index could be one of the best proxy indicators of objective SES when we intend to assess the association between SES and physical health. © 2022 Institute of Health Promotion and Education

The epidemiology of skeletal tuberculosis in northeast of Iran: A review of 229 cases

Background: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has increased in recent years in both developed and developing countries. Skeletal tuberculosis occurs in approximately 1 of patients with tuberculosis. The present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of skeletal tuberculosis in Golestan province in northeastern Iran during 2005-2014. Methods: In the present retrospective study, the epidemiology of skeletal tuberculosis was studied in 229 skeletal tuberculosis patients who were diagnosed during 2005-2014. The prevalence rate of skeletal TB has been reported according to demographic and clinical features. Results: Over the 10-year period of this study, 229 known skeletal TB cases were identified in which 56.3 were male. The mean age of the patients was 44.0±17.7 (range 7-87). All of the patients were new cases. Most of the patients (56.8) were from the rural areas and most were diagnosed by the private healthcare system (63.8). The highest rate of skeletal TB was seen in 2013 (15.3). Spinal TB (81.2) scored the highest rate and pain (96.9) was the most prevalent symptom of skeletal TB. Conclusion: The findings suggest that skeletal tuberculosis in northeastern Iran should always be considered as a differential diagnosis for fever and pain on the spinal column. Due to the high level of tuberculosis in the Golestan province (Iran), further research on continued awareness of skeletal TB is stressed. © 2018, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

The epidemiology of skeletal tuberculosis in northeast of Iran: A review of 229 cases

Background: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has increased in recent years in both developed and developing countries. Skeletal tuberculosis occurs in approximately 1 of patients with tuberculosis. The present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of skeletal tuberculosis in Golestan province in northeastern Iran during 2005-2014. Methods: In the present retrospective study, the epidemiology of skeletal tuberculosis was studied in 229 skeletal tuberculosis patients who were diagnosed during 2005-2014. The prevalence rate of skeletal TB has been reported according to demographic and clinical features. Results: Over the 10-year period of this study, 229 known skeletal TB cases were identified in which 56.3 were male. The mean age of the patients was 44.0±17.7 (range 7-87). All of the patients were new cases. Most of the patients (56.8) were from the rural areas and most were diagnosed by the private healthcare system (63.8). The highest rate of skeletal TB was seen in 2013 (15.3). Spinal TB (81.2) scored the highest rate and pain (96.9) was the most prevalent symptom of skeletal TB. Conclusion: The findings suggest that skeletal tuberculosis in northeastern Iran should always be considered as a differential diagnosis for fever and pain on the spinal column. Due to the high level of tuberculosis in the Golestan province (Iran), further research on continued awareness of skeletal TB is stressed. © 2018, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Comparing the effects of external focus of attention and continuous cognitive task on postural control in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed athletes

External focus (EF) of attention and continuous cognitive task (CCT) reduced postural sway in young and adult people owing to the automatic process of postural control, but their effects on postural control in athletes with musculoskeletal injury like anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction are unclear. The present study aimed to reveal the effects of EF of attention and CCT on postural control in ACL reconstructed (ACL-R) athletes by comparing the pattern of the condition-group interaction between ACL-R and healthy athletes. The participants included healthy athletes (n = 20) and ACL-R athletes (n = 20). Postural control was examined during an operated leg stance on a wobble board positioned on a force plate. Three conditions were performed: single postural task (control condition), postural task with EF of attention (focusing on a planar leveling app in a smartphone placed on the wobble board) and postural task concurrent with CCT (three-digit sequence task). Measurement parameters, including sway area, amplitude, velocity, and mean power frequency (MPF), were the traditional center of pressure (COP) variables. A significant difference was found between ACL-R athletes and healthy subjects for the AP amplitude in the control condition as well as the ML amplitude in the CCT condition. Furthermore, in the ACL-R group, cognitive demand significantly decreased postural sway, while postural sway was not different between the conditions for the healthy group. Results also indicated that CCT significantly decreased sway velocity and increased mean power frequency in both groups, while EF of attention did not change any COP measures. Concurrent CCT decreases postural sway in ACL-R athletes, while it does not have significant effects on healthy subjects. EF of attention did not affect postural control in both study groups. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Comparison of the lower limb inter-segmental coordination during walking between healthy controls and people with multiple sclerosis with and without fall history

Background: This research aims to compare lower limb inter-segmental coordination, a higher order property of the human movement system, during walking between healthy controls and people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) with and without fall history. Methods: Fifty PwMS (25 patients with fall history and 25 patients without fall history) and 25 healthy controls participated in the present study. Three-dimensional coordinate data of the lower limbs were collected during treadmill walking at a preferred walking speed. The phasing relationship and its variability between lower limb segments were evaluated using the mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and deviation phase (DP) during the stance and swing phases of gait. Results: Compared to healthy controls, both groups of PwMS demonstrated significantly greater shank-thigh MARP values during the stance phase (p < 0.001). In addition, MARP values of foot-shank coordination were significantly smaller in both groups of PwMS than the healthy controls during both the stance and swing phases (p < 0.001). For the DP of shank-thigh coordination, our analysis revealed greater values in both MS fallers and non-fallers compared to healthy controls during the stance (p < 0.001) and swing phases (p < 0.001, p = 0.004, respectively). Moreover, MS fallers demonstrated greater DP values than non-fallers in swing phase (p = 0.02). For the DP of foot-shank coordination, MS fallers showed greater values compared to non-fallers and healthy controls during the stance (p = 0.009, p = 0.001, respectively) and swing phases (p = 0.01, p = 0.006, respectively). Conclusion: Our results suggest that in addition to traditional gait parameters, examining and also facilitating lower limb inter-segmental coordination should be considered in future studies aimed at improving gait performance and reducing risk of falling in PwMS. © 2020 Elsevier B.V

Quality of life in a group of Iranian patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 with cutaneous expressions

Background and purpose: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a dominant genetic disorder of the skin and the nervous system that is seen in equal proportions in both sexes. The incidence of NF1 is about one in every 3,000. Chronic skin diseases have a significant impact on the individual's mental image and also affect mental health and quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life in a group of Iranian patients with NF1 suffering from skin problems. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2015-2017 in 193 patients with NF1 attending the Iranian Neurofibromatosis Society, using convenient sampling. Data were collected by Skindex-16 quality of life measure which is composed of 16 questions in three dimensions (emotions, symptoms, and performance). Data were analyzed using SPSS applying Pearson Correlation and ANOVA. Results: Of 193 patients with NF1, 69.5 (n=132) were females. The mean age of patients was 31.58±9.21. The mean score for quality of life was 44.88±22.06. In the domains of symptoms, emotions, and performance the mean scores were 6.57±4.99, 24.76±11.64, and 13.64±8.86, respectively. Quality of life was not statistically correlated with age and sex, but the relationship between the domain of symptoms with age was found to be significant (P=0.01). Conclusion: The results showed that patients with neurofibromatosis have moderate quality of life and lower quality in terms of emotions and performance. These findings can be used to provide better health care for this group of patients and improve their quality of life. © 2018, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved