Chronic Pain with Neuropathic Characteristic

Chronic pain conditions are often categorised into two major groups, namely nociceptive (caused by tissue damage) or neuropathic (caused by nerve damage) pain. In the past few years, this dichotomous approach (either neuropathic or nociceptive) has been questioned and it has been suggested that not only “typical” neuropathic pain syndromes but also otherwise chronic pain (e.g. back pain) may have neuropathic components of pain. This dimensional perspective is consistent with basic scientific opinion regarding chronic pain mechanisms; however, further studies are needed to examine it empirically. Neuropathic symptoms (e.g. burning and prickling sensations) have a central role in the clinical diagnosis of the neuropathic components of pain. The main aim of the first study was to assess the severity of self-reported neuropathic symptoms in different syndromes of chronic pain (e.g. headache, musculoskeletal pain, postsurgical pain). Using validated screening tools for neuropathic symptoms, a number of recent populationbased studies reported higher levels of pain intensity, as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms, in respondents who scored high on neuropathic symptoms, compared to those who scored low. Consequently, many authors have suggested the assumption of the uniqueness of neuropathic pain quality in its intensity and distressing characteristic. We aimed to further examine the association of the severity of neuropathic symptoms with pain-related (e.g. pain intensity and chronicity) and psychological factors (e.g. depression) in clinical samples of patients: one sample of patients with diverse types of chronic pain (study 1), and 4 samples of patients with typical neuropathic pain, radiculopathy, fibromyalgia or nociceptive back pain (study 2). In study 2, we also compared different patterns of neuropathic symptoms regarding pain and psychological factors. Seven hundred and six (study 1: n=400; study 2: n=306) patients suffering from a chronic pain condition enrolled for multidisciplinary pain treatment were considered for inclusion in the research project. The criteria for inclusion were: an age of over 18 years and having chronic pain according to ICD-10 criteria (F45.41 or R52.1-2). In study 2 only patients with typical neuropathic pain, back pain with (radiculopathy) or without (nociceptive back pain) clinical signs of nerve involvement, and fibromyalgia were included. The pain DETECT questionnaire was used to assess the severity of neuropathic symptoms in patients. A high severity of neuropathic symptoms was found not only in “typical neuropathic pain” but also in fibromyalgia and postsurgical pain (study 1). At first sight, our findings in a sample of patients with diverse types of chronic pain (study 1) suggested that neuropathic symptoms are associated with a high level of pain intensity, pain chronicity, functional disability and depression. However, in study 2 considering patients who had been diagnosed with typical neuropathic pain, radiculopathy or fibromyalgia, neither severity nor different patterns of neuropathic symptoms were correlated with the pain-related and psychological variables. A subgroup of nociceptive back pain patients who scored high on selfreported neuropathic symptoms reported high levels of pain intensity, depression, catastrophising and non-acceptance of pain suggesting a general response tendency (response bias) in this subgroup of nociceptive back pain patients. In summary, the results corroborate and support a dimensional perspective of neuropathic pain. Our findings lend no support to the assumption of many authors that a high severity of neuropathic symptoms principally results in high levels of pain intensity and psychological distress as it is not the case in patients with an underlying pathology of neuropathic symptoms. The results highlight the influence of cognitive-emotional factors on the experience and report of pain. The implications of these findings for research and clinical practice are discussed

Reclamation of salt-affected land: A review

Reclamation of salt-affected soil has been identified by the FAO as being critical to meet the needs to increase agricultural productivity. This paper reviews commonly used reclamation methods for salt-affected soils, and provides critical identifiers for an effective reclamation practice of salt-affected soil. There are widely used methods to reduce salinity and sodicity of salt-affected soils, including salt leaching, addition of amendments, revegetation using halophytes and salt scrapping. Not all reclamation techniques are suitable for salt-affected land. The reclamation strategy must be tailored to the site, and based on understanding the soil, plant and climate interactions. On some occasions, a combination of techniques may be required for reclamation. This can include salt scrapping to remove salts from the surface soil, the addition of physical amendments to improve soil pore systems and enhance salt leaching, followed by amelioration of soil by chemical amendments to preserve soil physical conditions, and then halophyte establishment to expand the desalinization zone. This study reveals that soil hydro-geochemical models are effective predictive tools to ascertain the best reclamation practice tailored to salt-affected land. However, models need to be calibrated and validated to the conditions of the land before being applied as a tool to combat soil salinity

A Longitudinal Analysis of Densities within the Pedestrian Sheds around Metro Stations. The Case of Tehran

Evaluation of spatial accessibility to public transportation has a weak background in many emerging countries, including Iran. Transit-Oriented Development is of great interest among Iranian planners and academics, but little is known about transit orientation provided by major public transport systems exemplified by the Tehran Metro. Statistical difference tests and polynomial regression done in this study show how residential densities within walking distances of metro stations established at different times after 1998 are significantly different. Both population and employment densities have decreased in more recent stations compared to those opened between 2005 and 2010. Moreover, one-way T-Tests comparing the population and densities of older lines with those of newer lines reveal that, in most cases, densities within walking distances of stations of older lines are higher. The paper concludes that lack of proper site selection and failing to locate new stations near job centers and highly populated areas threatens the transit-friendliness that emerged in the early years after establishing the first metro station in 1998

Modelling hydrological performance of a bauxite residue profile for deposition management of a storage facility

Accurate scheduling of bauxite residue (red mud) deposition time is required in order to prevent the risk of storage facility failure. This study was conducted to precisely determine the hydraulic parameters of bauxite residue and investigate the capability of HYDRUS to accurately estimate the residue moisture profile and the timing for its deposition. The hydraulic properties of the bauxite residue profile were determined by solving an inverse problem. A one-dimensional hydrological model (HYDRUS-1D) was validated using a 300 mm long column filled with bauxite residue and exposed to a dynamic lower boundary condition. After numerical validation, the model was used to simulate the moisture profile of bauxite residue under the climatic conditions of an alumina refinery site in Queensland, Australia, as well as other scenarios (i.e., high (300 mm) and small (1.7 mm) rainfall events of the site). This study showed that the HYDRUS model can be used as a predictive tool to precisely estimate the moisture profile of the bauxite residue and that the timing for the re-deposition of the bauxite residue can be estimated by understanding the moisture profile and desired shear strength of the residue. This study revealed that the examined bauxite residue approaches field capacity (water potential-10 kPa) after three days from a low rainfall event (<1.7 mm) and after eight days from an intense rainfall event (300 mm) at the time of disposal. This suggests that the bauxite residue can be deposited every four days after low rainfall events (as low as 1.7 mm) and every nine days after high rainfall events (as high as 300 mm) at the time of deposition, if bauxite residue experiences an initial drying period following deposition. © 2020 by the authors

The prevalence and associated factors of chronic pain in nurses Iran

Background: Chronic pain is a long-term, debilitatingcondition. Nurses experiences pain and functional restrictionsearlier than other groups of people. Therefore, thisstudy was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and associatedfactors of chronic pain in nurses. aMethod: A structured, self-administered questionnairewas used to collect information. Participants included 639registered nurses from a medical center in Bandar Abbas.Results: At the baseline of the study, 64.8% of nursesreported chronic pain. The low back (27.7%, [n=115]),leg (21%, [n=87]), neck (16.7%, [n=63]), head and knee(15.2%, [n=69]), had the highest frequency among thenurses. Age (p&lt;0.001), gender (p&lt;0.001) and type of employment(p=0.04) increased risk of chronic pain. Also,significant difference was found between people with theonset of pain over the past three months and those withonset of pain over more than one year according of employmenthistory and the type of unit (p&lt;0.05), and significantdifference between people with the onset of painover the past three months and those with onset of painover more than one year according to their job. (P&lt;0.05).Conclusion: Results indicate the high prevalence of chronicpain in different parts of the nurses&rsquo; body. Most of them,the onset of pain was more than one year. Therefore, itis possible to develop appropriate preventive and educationalprograms by knowing the factors affecting chronicpain and situations increasing the duration of pain

Exploring the efficacy of applying personality assessment tools at the recruitment stage to achieve personality job fit in Iranian manufacturing organisations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the efficacy of applying personality assessment tools at the recruitment stage to achieve personality job fit in Iranian manufacturing organisations. To reach this purpose, multi-concept approach research was used to find an explanation for the questions being studied. This approach involves the search in Human Resource Management, recruitment strategies, occupational psychology, and cross-cultural differences topics. The topic of personality assessment tools has been studied by researchers for many years, however, it is still a new concept and sometimes unfamiliar to some Iranian organisations. Since applying personality assessment tools at the recruitment stage is generally one of the tasks of human resource departments, it was necessary to study the topic of HRM in Iran before examining the concept of personality assessment tools. Also, as the literature could not identify the knowledge related to research objectives, the combination of exploratory interviewing and grounded theory was considered as an appropriate strategy for this research. This empirical study scrutinised HRM conditions in the Iranian manufacturing sector by conducting 28 semi-structured face-to-face interviews and observations of HR departments and HR people. The empirical study of this research which could identify the lack of HRM knowledge in Iran’s manufacturing sector has created a clear and scientific perspective for both the educational and manufacturing sectors in Iran. In this way, the research explored how the use of what is commonly accepted to be scientific practice can facilitate the employment working process and how the adaptation and cooperation of academic knowledge with industry will produce up-to-date and practical knowledge for job seekers. The primary data collected from participants identified the points of view of the Iranian HR managers, both those who applied and those who intended to apply personality assessment tools to achieve personality job fit in the recruitment process

Male nursing students’ perception of gender barriers in nursing curricula in an Iranian university of medical sciences

OBJECTIVE. The present study aimed to determine male nursing students’ perception of gender barriers in nursing curricula. METHODS. This descriptive study was conducted on 150 B.Sc. and M.Sc. nursing students at Tabriz School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz university of medical sciences, Tabriz, Iran that were selected through convenience sampling. The study data were collected using Inventory of Male Friendliness in Nursing Programs-Short (IMFNP-S). This scale has 17 items for investigating male nursing students’ perception of gender barriers in nursing curricula. Each item is a 5-point Likert-type scale scored from 0 to 4; total scale score could range from 0 to 68, higher scores representing male nursing students’ perception of less gender barriers in nursing curricula. RESULTS. The total mean score of gender barriers was 35.11+6.15. The most important barriers included different requirements/limitations in obstetrics apprenticeship (Median=1), and need for proving oneself because of people’s expectation of nurses to be female (Median=2). On the other hand, the least important barriers were lack of important people’s support on one’s career decisions (Median=3), and lack of opportunity to work with other male nurses (Median=3). The scale score was not associated with the socio-demographic characteristics studied. CONCLUSION. The most male nursing students feel various gender issues in the nursing curriculum in a medium level that may negatively impact on their learning, professional performance and motivation and tendency to nursing. Furthermore, this vicious cycle can lead to lack of professional development, leaving the job and burnout. Thus, creating a gender-neutral environment can make nursing programs more male friendly