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Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Alterations in Auditory Electrophysiological Responses Associated With Temporary Suppression of Tinnitus Induced by Low-Level Laser Therapy: A Before-After Case Series

Introduction: Tinnitus is the phantom auditory perception of sound in the absence of an external or internal acoustic stimulus. The treatment is difficult due to multiple etiologies and great psychological influence. The purpose of this study was to determine alterations in auditory physiological and electrophysiological responses associated with temporary suppression of tinnitus induced by low-level laser (LLL) irradiation.Methods: This study was conducted on 20 subjects with subjective tinnitus. All subjects signed the informed consent form and satisfied all the study eligibility criteria. Visual analog scale (VAS) for loudness, loudness matching of tinnitus (LMT), pitch matching of tinnitus (PMT), Persian-tinnitus questionnaire (P-TQ) and Persian-tinnitus handicap inventory (P-THI) were conducted pre- and post-low level laser therapy (LLLT) for all the subjects. Electrocochleography (ECochG) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were recorded in 11 subjects. Continuous wave diode lasers, including red (630 nm) and infra-red (808 nm) were applied, and were both designed by the Canadian Optic and Laser (COL) Center. Twelve sessions of laser therapy were performed, 2 sessions per week for each subject. Total dose was 120 Joule/ear/session.Results: LLL irradiation could cause a significant decrease in subjective tests scores consisting of VAS for loudness, PMT, P-TQ, P-THI, but did not result in a significant improvement of objective evaluating parameters except for compound action potential (CAP) amplitude.Conclusion: LLLT might be a subjectively effective treatment for short-term improvement of tinnitus. Defining a new protocol for optimizing LLLT parameters may be an option to improve parameters of objective tests

Spatio-temporal mapping of breast and prostate cancers in South Iran from 2014 to 2017

Background The most common gender-specific malignancies are cancers of the breast and the prostate. In developing countries, cancer screening of all at risk is impractical because of healthcare resource limitations. Thus, determining high-risk areas might be an important first screening step. This study explores incidence patterns of potential high-risk clusters of breast and prostate cancers in southern Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the province of Kerman, South Iran. Patient data were aggregated at the county and district levels calculating the incidence rate per 100,000 people both for cancers of the breast and the prostate. We used the natural-break classification with five classes to produce descriptive maps. A spatial clustering analysis (Anselin Local Moran’s I) was used to identify potential clusters and outliers in the pattern of these cancers from 2014 to 2017. Results There were 1350 breast cancer patients (including, 42 male cases) and 478 prostate cancer patients in the province of Kerman, Iran during the study period. After 45 years of age, the number of men with diagnosed prostate cancer increased similarly to that of breast cancer for women after 25 years of age. The age-standardised incidence rate of breast cancer for women showed an increase from 29.93 to 32.27 cases per 100,000 people and that of prostate cancer from 13.93 to 15.47 cases per 100,000 during 2014–2017. Cluster analysis at the county level identified high-high clusters of breast cancer in the north-western part of the province for all years studied, but the analysis at the district level showed high-high clusters for only two of the years. With regard to prostate cancer, cluster analysis at the county and district levels identified high-high clusters in this area of the province for two of the study years. Conclusions North-western Kerman had a significantly higher incidence rate of both breast and prostate cancer than the average, which should help in designing tailored screening and surveillance systems. Furthermore, this study generates new hypotheses regarding the potential relationship between increased incidence of cancers in certain geographical areas and environmental risk factors.This study received funding from Kerman University of Medical Sciences (number = 97000230). The funder provided the cost of geocoding and cleaning the data

Prevalence and predictors of slow coronary flow phenomenon in Kermanshah province

Introduction: This study was conducted to investigate prevalence and predictors of slow coronary flow phenomenon (SCF) phenomenon. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Imam Ali Cardiovascular Hospital affiliated with the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah province, Iran. From March 2017 to March 2019, all the patients who underwent coronary angiography were enrolled in this study. Data were obtained using a checklist developed based on the study’s aims. Independent samples t tests and chi- square test (or Fisher exact test) were used to assess the differences between subgroups. Multiple logistic regression model was applied to evaluate independent predictors of SCF phenomenon. Results: In this study, 172 (1.43%) patients with SCF phenomenon were identified. Patients with SCF were more likely to be obese (27.58±3.28 vs. 24.12±3.26, P<0.001), hyperlipidemic (44.2 vs. 31.7, P<0.001), hypertensive (53.5 vs. 39.1, P<0.001), and smoker (37.2 vs. 27.2, P=0.006). Mean ejection fraction (EF) (51.91±6.33 vs. 55.15±9.64, P<0.001) was significantly lower in the patients with SCF compared to the healthy controls with normal epicardial coronary arteries. Mean level of serum triglycerides (162.26±45.94 vs. 145.29±35.62, P<0.001) was significantly higher in the patients with SCF. Left anterior descending artery was the most common involved coronary artery (n = 159, 92.4%), followed by left circumflex artery (n = 50, 29.1%) and right coronary artery (n = 47, 27.4%). Body mass index (BMI) (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.04-2.15, P<0.001) and hypertension (OR 1.59, CI 1.30-5.67, P=0.003) were independent predictors of SCF phenomenon. Conclusion: The prevalence of SCF in our study was not different from the most other previous reports. BMI and hypertension independently predicted the presence of SCF phenomenon

The urgent need for integrated science to fight COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the leading societal concern. The pandemic has shown that the public health concern is not only a medical problem, but also afects society as a whole; so, it has also become the leading scientifc concern. We discuss in this treatise the importance of bringing the world’s scientists together to fnd efective solu‑ tions for controlling the pandemic. By applying novel research frameworks, interdisciplinary collaboration promises to manage the pandemic’s consequences and prevent recurrences of similar pandemics

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Eye detection in digital images: challenges and solutions

Eye Detection has an important role in the field of biometric identification and known as one method of person's identification. In recent years, many efforts have been done which can detect eye automatically and with different image conditions. However, each method has its own drawbacks which can control some of these conditions. In this paper, different methods of eye detection will be categorized and explained. In each category, the advantages and disadvantages of each method will be presented