134 research outputs found
Are Individual and Community Acceptance and Witnessing of Intimate Partner Violence Related to Its Occurrence? Multilevel Structural Equation Model
Background:Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a serious and widespread problem worldwide. Much of the research on IPVAW focused on individual-level factors and attention has been paid to the contextual factors. The aim of this study was to develop and test a model of individual- and community-level factors associated with IPVAW.
Methods and Findings:
We conducted a (multivariate) multilevel structural equation analysis on 8731 couples nested within 883 communities in Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey 2008. Variables included in the model were derived from respondents' answers to the experience of IPVAW, attitudes towards wife beating and witnessing physical violence in childhood. We found that women that witnessed physical violence were more likely to have tolerant attitudes towards IPVAW and women with tolerant attitudes were more likely to have reported spousal IPVAW abuse. Women with husbands with tolerant attitudes towards IPVAW were more likely to have reported spousal abuse. We found that an increasing proportion of women in the community with tolerant attitudes was significantly positively associated with spousal sexual and emotional abuse, but not significantly associated with spousal physical abuse. In addition, we found that an increasing proportion of men in the community with tolerant attitudes and an increasing proportion of women who had witnessed physical violence in the community was significantly positively associated with spousal physical abuse, but not significantly associated with spousal sexual and emotional abuse. There was a positive correlation between all three types of IPVAW at individual- and community-level.
Conclusions:
We found that community tolerant attitudes context in which people live is associated with exposure to IPVAW even after taking into account individual tolerant attitudes. Public health interventions designed to reduce IPVAW must address people and the communities in which they live in order to be successful
Maternal overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk of type 1 diabetes in offspring of parents without diabetes regardless of ethnicity
Abstract Aims/hypothesis The incidence of type 1 diabetes in children is increasing in Sweden, as is the prevalence of maternal overweight/obesity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if maternal overweight/obesity increases the risk of type 1 diabetes in offspring of parents with and without diabetes, and of different ethnicities. Methods The study cohort comprised 1,263,358 children, born in Sweden between 1992 and 2004. Children were followed from birth until diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, emigration, death or end of follow-up in 2009, whichever occurred first. First trimester maternal BMI was calculated (kg/m 2 ). Poisson regression was used to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% CI for type 1 diabetes in the offspring. Results The risk of type 1 diabetes was increased in offspring of parents with any type of diabetes regardless of parental ethnicity. High first trimester maternal BMI was associated with increased risk of type 1 diabetes only in offspring of parents without diabetes (IRR 1.33 [95% CI 1.20, 1.48]). Conclusions/Interpretation Increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes in children with non-diabetic parents may partly be explained by increasing prevalence of maternal overweight/obesity
Treatment with platelet lysate induces endothelial differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells under fluid shear stress
By considering stem cell-based therapies as a new hope for the treatment of some tragic diseases, marrow stromal cells or marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were considered as a suitable and safe multipotential cell source for this new therapeutic approach. For this purpose, many investigations have been performed on differentiation of MSCs toward specific cell lines to overcome the demand for providing the organ specific cells for cell therapy or preparation of engineered tissues. In the present study, differentiation of MSCs to endothelial cells (ECs) by mechanical and chemical stimulation was evaluated. Fluid shear stress (FSS) was used as mechanical inducer, while platelet lysate (PL) and estradiol (E) were used as chemical induction factors. MSCs were placed under FSS with different forces (2, 5 and 10 dyn/cm²) for different periods (6, 12 and 24 hours). In some groups, PL and E were added to the culture media to evaluate their effect on expression of EC specific markers. This investigation revealed that FSS with low tension (2.5-5 dyn/cm²) for a long time (24 hours) or high tension (10 dyn/cm²) in short time (6 hours) in the presence of PL could differentiate MSCs toward ECs. The presence of PL was necessary for initiation of endothelial differentiation, and in the absence of PL, there was not any expression of CD34 and Cadherin5 (Cdh5)
among cells. Adding E to the culture medium did not change the rate of endothelial differentiation under FSS. Generated endothelial progenitors could produce von Willebrand factor (vWF) after two weeks culture and also they formed tubular structures after culture on matrigel
Effect of Parental Migration Background on Childhood Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Body Mass Index
Background. Poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and obesity in children have important public health implications but, to date, their effects have not been studied in the growing population of children in Sweden with immigrant parents. Methods. We estimated the association between parental migration background and nutrition, physical activity, and weight in 8-year-old children born in Stockholm between 1994 and 1996 of immigrants and Swedish parents (n=2589). Data were collected through clinical examination and questionnaires filled out by parents. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using multivariable logistic regression. Results. Children of immigrants complied more closely with Nordic Nutrition Recommendations compared with those of Swedes (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.11–1.64). They had higher intake of dietary fibre, vitamins C, B6, and E, folic acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) reflecting higher consumption of foods of plant origin, but lower intake of vitamins A and D, calcium, and iron reflecting lower consumption of dairy products. Children of immigrants had higher intake of sucrose reflecting higher consumption of sugar and sweets. Furthermore, these children had a higher risk of having low physical activity (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.06–1.62) and being overweight (OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.06–1.65) compared with children of Swedish parents. The odds of having low physical activity and being overweight were even higher in children whose parents were both immigrants. A low level of parental education was associated with increased risk of low physical activity regardless of immigration background. Conclusions. Culturally appropriate tools to capture the diverse range of ethnic foods and other lifestyle habits are needed. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the low levels of physical activity, increased weight, and lack of consumption of some important vitamins among children of immigrants
The effect of Myo-inositol on sperm parameters and pregnancy rate in oligoasthenospermic men treated with IUI: A randomized clinical trial
Background: In about 40% of the couples, the cause of infertility problems is attributed to men because of low sperm production and disturbed motility of sperm. Pieces of evidence show that Myo-inositol has a potential role for the treatment of sperm morphology and male fertility.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of Myo-inositol on the sperm parameters and fertility rate in patients with oligoasthenospermia treated by intrauterine insemination (IUI).
Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial conducted on 37 patients with oligoasthenospermia treated by IUI during 2016-2017. In this study, the patients were randomly divided into two groups of oligoasthenospermia treated with (Case group) and without Myo-inositol (Control group). The case group received 0.5 ml of Myo-inositol with a concentration of 2 mg/ml and incubated at 37°C incubator for 2 hr, but the control group had no interventions.
Results: The results of this study showed that although there was no significant difference in sperm parameters including sperm motility and concentration before processing with Myo-inositol in the case group, but there was a significant increase in sperm motility during the treatment with Myo-inositol. The therapeutic effect of this method was confirmed on induction of pregnancy in 18% of the treated patients, in such a way that was about twice greater than those who did not receive the drug.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the use of Myo-inositol is efficient enough to change sperm parameters to increase the chance of fertility.
Key words: Myo-inositol, Pregnancy, Sperm, Motility, Oligoasthenospermic
Enhancing Spin Transfer Torque in Magnetic Tunnel Junction Devices: Exploring the Influence of Capping Layer Materials and Thickness on Device Characteristics
We have developed and optimized two categories of spin transfer torque
magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs) that exhibit a high tunnel
magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio, low critical current, high outputpower in the
micro watt range, and auto-oscillation behavior. These characteristics
demonstrate the potential of STT-MTJs for low-power, high-speed, and reliable
spintronic applications, including magnetic memory, logic, and signal
processing. The only distinguishing factor between the two categories, denoted
as A-MTJs and B-MTJs, is the composition of their free layers, 2 CoFeB/0.21
Ta/6 CoFeSiB for A-MTJs and 2 CoFeB/0.21 Ta/7 NiFe for B-MTJs. Our study
reveals that B-MTJs exhibit lower critical currents for auto-oscillation than
A-MTJs. We found that both stacks have comparable saturation magnetization and
anisotropy field, suggesting that the difference in auto-oscillation behavior
is due to the higher damping of A-MTJs compared to B-MTJs. To verify this
hypothesis, we employed the all-optical time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr
effect (TRMOKE) technique, which confirmed that STT-MTJs with lower damping
exhibited auto-oscillation at lower critical current values. Additionally, our
study aimed to optimize the STT-MTJ performance by investigating the impact of
the capping layer on the device's response to electronic and optical stimuli
Chamomile Extract versus Clotrimazole Vaginal Cream in Treatment of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Randomized Double-Blind Control Trial
Objectives: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) treatment is advised for all women due to its symptoms and complications. In this study, the standard treatment, clotrimazole, was compared with chamomile extract cream in outpatient clinics.
Methods: We recruited 73 women with VVC, who were randomly allocated into two groups, clotrimazole versus chamomile extract cream. After two weeks of treatment with the same criteria, cheese-like vaginal discharge, itching and burning sensations, strawberry cervix, and recovery percentage was evaluated.
Results: Thirty patients in each group were analyzed. There was no significant difference in age and number of pregnancies between groups (p = 0.85 and 0.09, respectively). Comparing before and after treatment, cheese like discharge (p < 0.001), itching (p < 0.001), burning (p < 0.001) had significantly improved in both groups. Further, the recovery percentage was not significantly different between groups (88.9% vs 75% in the chamomile vs clotrimazole groups, respectively).
Conclusion: Chamomile is as effective as clotrimazole in WC treatment; a higher percentage of women who used this medication recovered, although this did not reach significance. In addition, no complications were reported in either group
An Overview of the Opportunities the Presence of Specialist Doctors Resident in Hospitals
Attention to the functions and pattern organized staff are important to achieve organizational goals, especially for hospitals that are one of the important components into account an element in improving the health system and providing a fair field of utilization of health intervention. So this study was to review the opportunities of presence resident doctors in hospitals based on the instructions of the health system reform plan. This is a narrative review that returning to the site of the Persian (Magiran, Irandoc, Google Scholar, Iranmedex, SID) and English (PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE and Sciencedirect) and also library studies with keywords (physicians, resident physicians, health equity, project development, opportunity specialist and human resources) and the English word for them in this area and the 30 related articles was extracted. Given the evidence may not be fully implemented in all government hospitals because of problems such as the lack of doctors in public hospitals or other administrative problems, but it can be said that is one of the best model to achieve better clinical outcomes in hospitals. In order to solve problems, there is the need to design and create the appropriate environment for the successful implementation plan, or create an ideal environment for the implementation of evidence-based medicine moved
National and sub-national trend of prevalence and burden of dementia in Iran, from 1990 to 2013; Study protocol
Background: Dementia is a disabling syndrome, which generally affects aged population more than any other age groups. This syndrome has a growing prevalence and incidence worldwide. The prevalence and burden of this group of diseases in Iran have not been estimated in a community-based study yet. This paper aims to explain the systematic approach, data sources, research methodology, and statistical analysis that will be used to quantify the prevalence and burden of dementia at national and sub-national levels. Methods: This is the protocol of a secondary data study that explains the design and method of conducting the study. We will use several sources of data that will include a systematic review of articles and gray literature which have reported the prevalence or incidence of dementia and its uncertainty at national and sub-national levels in Iran, in addition to data about dementia-specific drug sales per each year at provincial levels, as well as data extracted from 23 million health insurance prescriptions over 8 years and some data from medical documents of Iranian Alzheimer's Association members. The technical groups of National and Sub-national Burden of Disease will collect some covariate data, such as age and sex structure of population, urbanization status, mean years of schooling, plasma cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure at provincial levels which will be used in our models. Two statistical models, namely spatio-temporal and hierarchical autoregressive models, will be used for interpolation and extrapolation of missing data. Conclusion: It seems that the study of national and subnational burden of dementia could provide more accurate estimation of prevalence and burden of dementia in Iran with an acceptable level of uncertainty than the previous studies
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