Circulating serum preptin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrine disorder with complex pathogenesis and metabolic complications, such as insulin resistance. Among the new markers, preptin seems to play a significant role in metabolic disorders. Objective: This meta-analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between circulating preptin levels and PCOS. Materials and Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to identify relevant articles in electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, EMBASE, and the Google Scholar search engine, using a predefined search strategy. A random-effects model was used to combine standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% CI to compare results between groups. Metaregression and subgroup analysis were also performed to reveal the sources of heterogeneity. Results: The meta-analysis encompassed a total of 8 studies and 582 participants. The results indicate a statistically significant association between PCOS and serum preptin levels, with a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD = 1.35; 95% CI: 0.63- 2.08; p < 0.001). Further analysis suggested a significant difference in serum preptin levels between women with PCOS and higher homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance ratio (SMD = 2.40; 95% [CI]: 1.17-3.63; p < 0.001) within the subgroup. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis shows that increased serum preptin levels are associated with PCOS, suggesting that preptin may be related to the pathogenesis of PCOS and may be recognized as a novel diagnostic biomarker for PCOS. However, further studies are needed to confirm our results. Key words: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Proinsulin-like growth factor II, Preptin, Meta-analysis

Association of retinopathy and intima media thickness of common carotid artery in type 2 diabetic patients

Background: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the relationship between retinopathy and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 154 diabetic patients who had a history of diabetic disease were evaluated in two equal groups of 77 patients with and without retinopathy, respectively. CIMT was evaluated in all of the patients. Results: Mean age of the patients was 59.65 +/- 9.37 years. Mean CIMT of all patients was 0.84 +/- 0.18. CIMT of patients with retinopathy was significantly greater than patients without retinopathy (P < 0.001). CIMT also correlated with age, duration of diabetes, systolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine. Conclusion: CIMT may be used as a simple, available and noninvasive method for screening of macro and microvascular complication of diabetic patients

GPU NTC Process Variation Compensation with Voltage Stacking

Near-threshold computing (NTC) has the potential to significantly improve efficiency in high throughput architectures, such as general-purpose computing on graphic processing unit (GPGPU). Nevertheless, NTC is more sensitive to process variation (PV) as it complicates power delivery. We propose GPU stacking, a novel method based on voltage stacking, to manage the effects of PV and improve the power delivery simultaneously. To evaluate our methodology, we first explore the design space of GPGPUs in the NTC to find a suitable baseline configuration and then apply GPU stacking to mitigate the effects of PV. When comparing with an equivalent NTC GPGPU without PV management, we achieve 37% more performance on average. When considering high production volume, our approach shifts all the chips closer to the nominal non-PV case, delivering on average (across chips) ˜80 % of the performance of nominal NTC GPGPU, whereas when not using our technique, chips would have ˜50 % of the nominal performance. We also show that our approach can be applied on top of multifrequency domain designs, improving the overall performance

The influence of model and measurement uncertainties on damage detection of experimental structures through recursive algorithms

In this work, we developed a framework for identifying frame-type structures regarding the measurement uncertainty and the uncertainty involved in inherent and structural parameters. The identification process is illustrated and examined on a one-eight-scale four-story moment-resisting steel frame under seismic excitation using two well-known recursive schemes: the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) methods. The nonlinear system equations were assessed by applying a first-order instantaneous linearization approach through the EKF method. In contrast, the UKF algorithm employs several sample points to estimate moments of random variables’ nonlinear transformations. A nonlinear transformation is applied to distribute sample points to derive the precise mean and covariance up to the second order of any nonlinearity. Accordingly, it is theoretically expected that the UKF algorithm is more capable of identifying the nonlinear systems and determining the unknown parameters than the EKF algorithm. The capability of the EKF and UKF algorithms was assessed by considering a 4-story moment-resisting steel frame with several inherent uncertainties, including the material behavior model, boundary conditions, and constraints. In addition to these uncertainties, the combination of acceleration and displacement responses of different structural levels is employed to evaluate the capability of the algorithms. The information entropy measure is used to investigate further the uncertainty of a group of established model parameters. As highlighted, a good agreement is observed between the results using the information entropy measure criterion and those using the UKF and EKF algorithms. The results illustrate that using the responses of fewer levels placed in the proper positions may lead to improved outcomes than those of more improperly positioned levels

The Emergency Medical Technicians' Performance in Securing Delivery Patients, Including Nervous System Trauma in the city of Iranshahr during 2016-2017

سابقه و هدف: مراقبت هاي پيش بيمارستاني، اولين و مهم ترين بخش در مواجهه با بيماران ترومايي مي باشندکه نقش مهمي در کاهش مرگ و مير و بهبود پيامدها دراين بيماران دارند. اين مطالعه با هدف تعيين عملکرد پرسنل اورژانس پيش بيمارستاني در تحويل ايمن بيماران با تروماي سيستم عصبي شهر ايرانشهر در سال97-1396 انجام شد. روش بررسي: پژوهش حاضر يک مطالعه توصيفي از نوع مقطعي بود که در سال 97-1396 انجام شد. تعداد 139 پرسنل اورژانس پيش بيمارستاني ايرانشهر به صورت سرشماري وارد مطالعه شدند. جمع آوري داده ها با بررسي برگ مأموريت، مصاحبه با پرسنل، مشاهده و بررسي پروسيجرهاي درماني انجام شده براي بيمار منتقل شده به اورژانس انجام شد. ابزار جمع آوري داده ها محقق ساخته و شامل پرسشنامه جمعيت شناختي و چک ليست ارزيابي عملکرد پرسنل بودند، که پس از روان سنجي مورد استفاده قرار گرفتند. تحليل داده ها با استفاده از آناليز توصيفي و تحليلي انجام شد. نتايج: براساس نتايج مطالعه، ميانگين نمره عملکرد پرسنل 3/3±32/17به دست آمد. بالاترين نمره ميانگين عملکرد در حيطه مداخلات مرتبط با تعيين نوع تروما، بررسي علائم حياتي اوليه و بررسي سطح هوشياري10/0±99/0 و کمترين ميانگين نمره عملکرد مربوط به مداخلات مرتبط با باز بودن راه هوايي و ايست قلبي19/0±42/0 بود. نتيجه گيري: طبق نتايج اين پژوهش پرسنل اورژانس پيش بيمارستاني در برخي حيطه هاي مراقبت از بيماران با تروماي سيستم عصبي، از سطح عملکرد پاييني برخوردار بودند. در نتيجه برگزاري دوره هاي آموزشي و باليني مداوم مي تواند تا حدود زيادي نقايص موجود در مراقبت هاي پيش بيمارستاني ارايه شده براي بيماران ترومايي را کاهش داده و پيامدهاي باليني را در اين بيماران بهبود بخشد. How to cite this article: Borhanzehi KH, Ebrahimi Rigi Tanha Z, Dadpisheh S, Yazdan Parast E, Rigi A, Ebrahimi Rigi Tanha H. The Emergency Medical Technicians' Performance in Securing Delivery Patients, Including Nervous System Trauma in the city of Iranshahr during 2016-2017. J Saf Promot Inj Prev. 2021; 8(4):219-26.Background and Objectives: Prehospital care is the first and most important part of dealing with trauma patients that play an essential role in reducing mortality and improving these outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the emergency medical technicians' performance in securing delivery patients, including nervous system trauma in the city of Iranshahr during 2016-2017. Materials and Methods: The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2016-2017. A total of 139 prehospital emergency personnel in the Iranshahr participated in this study. Data collected through checking the mission sheet, interview with staff, observing and examining the patient's treatment procedures for the patient transferred to the emergency room. The data collection tools were researcher-made and included a demographic questionnaire and a checklist of staff performance evaluation, which use after psychometrics. Data analysis performed using descriptive and analytical statistical methods. Results: The study results showed the average performance score was 17.32 ± 3.3. The highest mean score of performance in the field of interventions related to determining the type of trauma, assessment of first vital signs and level of consciousness 0.99 ± 0.10, and the lowest mean score of performance about interventions related to airway openness and cardiac arrest were 0.42 ± 0.19. Conclusion: According to this study results, prehospital emergency personnel had low-performance levels in some care areas for nervous system trauma patients. As a result, holding continuous training and clinical courses can significantly reduce the weaknesses in prehospital care provided for trauma patients and improve clinical outcomes. &nbsp; How to cite this article: Borhanzehi KH, Ebrahimi Rigi Tanha Z, Dadpisheh S, Yazdan Parast E, Rigi A, Ebrahimi Rigi Tanha H. The Emergency Medical Technicians' Performance in Securing Delivery Patients, Including Nervous System Trauma in the city of Iranshahr during 2016-2017. J Saf Promot Inj Prev. 2021; 8(4):219-26

Effect of Curcumin on Pediatric Intractable Epilepsy

ObjectivesEpilepsy is the most prevalent chronic neurologic disorder in children. One-third of patients with epilepsy do not respond to antiepileptic drugs. This condition is known as intractable epilepsy. Previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of curcumin in the treatment of epilepsy. There are no randomized controlled clinicaltrials assessing the use of curcumin in epilepsy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of nanomicelle curcumin on intractable pediatric epilepsy. Materials &amp; Methods This double-blinded randomized crossover clinical trial was performed by a consecutive sampling to select 22 patients with intractable epilepsy divided into two groups. Patients received a daily dose of 4 mg/kg of curcumin or placebo as add-on therapy for 4 weeks. After a 2-week washout period, the treatment was replaced, and the new treatment was given for another 4 weeks. The SPSS software version 16 was used for statistical analysis. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran Results A total of 22 children were enrolled in this study, 11 of which were boys. The mean age of the patients was 4.28±5 years. A female patient taking a placebo was excluded in the first week of the trial due to parental dissatisfaction. The most common type of seizure among our patients was a generalized myoclonic seizure (42.9%). The mean number of seizure attacks among the subjects was 68.76±69.26 preintervention and 39.85±39.41at the end of the intervention, which represents a statistically significant difference (P=0.01). Conclusion Nanomicelle curcumin reduced the number of seizures significantly. Our results imply that curcumin treatment can help treat patients wit intractable pediatric epilepsy

Iodine status, and knowledge about iodine deficiency disorders in adolescent school girls aged 14-19 years, 2016

Background: Adequate iodine intake by women in child-bearing age affects fetus neurodevelopment during pregnancy. A majority of previous studies has investigated iodine status among children, and there is limited data on female adolescents who are more exposed to consequences of iodine deficiency (ID) in their near-future pregnancies; thus, we aimed to assess iodine status, and knowledge on iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) among adolescent school girls (14-19 years old) in Shahriar, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 223 female students selected through multi-stage cluster sampling from 12 schools. Iodine and creatinine concentrations were measured in casual urine samples. Iodine content of household salts was also assessed.Data on intake of salt and iodine-rich food sources were collected applying a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and knowledge about iodine and IDDs were assessed by a questionnaire. Results: Median and Mean (95% CI) concentrations of urinary iodine and creatinine were 129 µg/L, 137.62 µg/L (95% CI: 126.28, 148.95) and 1.72 g/L, 1.86 g/L (95% CI: 0.55-3.17),respectively. The frequency of mild, moderate and severe ID were 22.4%, 14.3% and 0%,respectively; 43.5% had adequate, and 3.1% had excessive urinary iodine levels. Mean saltiodine concentration was 21.69 (SD=10.56) ppm. Mean knowledge score was 12.7 (SD=3.44).About half of the students had a poor (25.1%) or fair (24.2%) knowledge about iodine deficiency.Adjusting for the confounders, no significant positive association was found between knowledge about iodine-rich food sources and goitrogens with urinary iodine excretion. Conclusion: Adolescent girls in Shahriar had relatively poor knowledge of iodine, and about one third of them suffered from ID

A Comparison of Human Development in Psychology and Nahj al-Balaghah

For downloading the full-text of this article please click here.Background and Objective: From the viewpoint of psychologists, creation of human from birth to death has various stages, namely fetus, childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age, and old age. Apart from biological and cognitive features, these stages have particular social and emotional characteristics which transcend individuals. Imams (PBUT) have paid particular attention to educational recommendations for different ages due to their special characteristics. In this regard, the recommendations of Imam Ali (PBUH) considering ways of treating children, adolescents, and young people indicate his awareness of the difference in physical, cognitive and psychological characteristics and age-specific needs of individuals. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of examining the developmental stages of human in Nahj al-Balaghah from Imam Ali's viewpoints and that of psychology.Method: This study has adopted an analytical-library approach. After studying different books of psychology and Nahj al-Balaghah, the developmental stages of human, and its different characteristics were described. Books from the Islamic and religious sciences, especially those related to the words of Imam Ali in Nahj al-Balaghah as well as books related to the developmental psychology, and articles related to the religious field and psychology were used. During this research, all ethical issues were observed and authors reported no conflict of interests.Results: The findings of psychologists such as Piaget, Eriksson in different embryonic, childhood, adolescence, youth and old age periods are in line with the statements of Imam Ali in Nahj al-Balaghah. From his point of view, each of the stages of development has a special sensitivity that needs to be addressed.Conclusion: The developments in hereditary, social context, psychological and physical factors, and prenatal and postnatal stages were taken into account .In order for individuals to succeed in these stages of growth, beside proper nutrition and a rich environment, education and training tips are very influential. In addition to psychological approaches, in Nahj al-Balaghah issues such as parent-child relationships, making friends, marriage, and communication with the elderly have been pointed out.For downloading the full-text of this article please click here.Please cite this article as: Mousavi SE, Elahi T, Masjedi Arani A, Saleck Ebrahimi L, Jalilpour M, Shahsavari Z. A Comparison of Human Development in Psychology and Nahj al-Balaghah. J Res Relig Health. 2019; 4(5): 129- 140

Global variations in diabetes mellitus based on fasting glucose and haemogloblin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but may identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening had elevated FPG, HbA1c, or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardised proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed, and detected in survey screening, ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the agestandardised proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global gap in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance.peer-reviewe