Comparing functional electrical stimulation and ankle-foot orthosis and its role on the quality of gait in patients with drop foot caused by stroke: a review of literature

Background and aims: One of the most common movement disorders after stroke is foot drop. Its initial treatment is the use of ankle foot orthosis. Recently, Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is used as a treatment of this deformity and restoring normal gait in patients with weakness or paralysis of the muscles due to stroke or spinal cord injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of this technique compared with ankle – foot orthosis by correction of gait in stroke patients. Methods: In this review of the literature, a systematic search in different electronic databases (Pubmed, Science direct, and Google scholar) by key words selected such as FES, Stroke, ankle-foot orthosis, foot drop and gait was conducted and extracted English articles published between 1989-2013 in some areas (using PICO) and the combination between them. Articles containing non- stroke neurological diseases and deformity rather than foot drop were excluded. Results: The results of extracted 32 articles based on positive changes in parameters of gait kinematics, the rate of muscular activities, and spasticity reduction after using FES were reported. So, FES system increases gait velocity, level of motor activity, stride length, and cadence. Conclusion: It seems FES can improve quality of gait in patients with drop foot caused by stroke. Convenience and better cosmetics in FES comparing with ankle-foot orthosis could be suitable justifications for better acceptance and tolerance of FES system

PRIORITIZATION AND VALUATION FACTORS AFFECTING ON BRAND EQUITY BASED ON THE GILL MODEL: A CASE STUDY ON BUYERS OF LG HOME PRODUCTS IN KERMANSHAH CITY, IRAN

ABSTRACT Brand equity (BE) is measured in different international brands by international institutions each year. However, this valuation important for companies to see the customer, because their survival and success depends on their customers. In current study, effective factors on brand equity (price, advertisement, promotions and family) were investigated, using their effects on aspects of brand equity (brand image, awareness of it, loyalty to it and its perceived qua lity). In fact model of Gill et al (2007) was used to study effective factors on brand equity from a consumers' point of view. In this model for the first time family variable is studied along with others. Statistical population was LG home-product consumers in whole Kermanshah city. Since the number of members in this population was infinite, a sample size of 384 persons was derived from Morgan's table; these were selected by cluster sampling. Statistical significance of Pearson's correlation coefficients were tested at alpha= 0.01. The results indicated that the loyalty factor was the most effective variable factors affecting brand equity (r= 0.729). Regarding model of Gill et al. the largest positive correlation was found between the positive information about the brand in the family and its perceived quality (r= 0.642). This means that the family is an effective source of power on behavior and perception of the consumer

The impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on quality of life in diabetic patients

Background. Diabetes is one of the most prevalentmetabolic diseases and it includes disabling complicationsand chronic and invisible progression. On the onehand, this disease imposes high financial expenses onthe patient and, on the other hand, reduces the qualityof life. Presently, the COVID-19 epidemic has beenan international concern, and evidence implies thatpeople who have the underlying disease are at higherrisk for the virus and will experience serious problemsif they develop the disease. Methods. This research is a qualitative study witha kind of phenomenological investigation that hasbeen conducted to investigate the patient’s experiencesand personal feelings with diabetes in terms ofthe effects of corona disease on their quality of life. Inthis study, the semi-structured interview method wasutilized to collect information. The number of sampleincluded 15 patients referred to health centers, andeach interview was recorded with the patient’s consentand was written on paper and analyzed. Results. The data of this study were classified into 6main themes and 19 sub-themes after analysis. Themain themes of the information obtained from thisstudy included knowledge and awareness, psychologicaleffects, entertainment, and recreational programs,patient’s family, medical care, and communication withpatients placing the greatest emphasis on medical care.Stress caused by corona disease and depression werethe most important psychological effects expressedby diabetic patients. They also expressed some seriousmedical care problems, including the reductionof referrals to health centers for follow-up and careand the shortage of physicians and health personnelto provide services. Conclusion. This study suggests that diabetic patientsexperience many different problems due to corona disease.These problems influence the diabetic patients’quality of life, so we need to understand better andsolve the diabetic patients’ problems, make more effort,and perform more suitable planning to improvetheir health and quality of life

The impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on quality of life in diabetic patients

Background. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent metabolic diseases and it includes disabling complications and chronic and invisible progression. On the one hand, this disease imposes high financial expenses on the patient and, on the other hand, reduces the quality of life. Presently, the COVID-19 epidemic has been an international concern, and evidence implies that people who have the underlying disease are at higher risk for the virus and will experience serious problems if they develop the disease. Methods. This research is a qualitative study with a kind of phenomenological investigation that has been conducted to investigate the patient's experiences and personal feelings with diabetes in terms of the effects of corona disease on their quality of life. In this study, the semi-structured interview method was utilized to collect information. The number of sample included 15 patients referred to health centers, and each interview was recorded with the patient's consent and was written on paper and analyzed. Results. The data of this study were classified into 6 main themes and 19 sub-themes after analysis. The main themes of the information obtained from this study included knowledge and awareness, psychological effects, entertainment, and recreational programs, patient's family, medical care, and communication with patients placing the greatest emphasis on medical care. Stress caused by corona disease and depression were the most important psychological effects expressed by diabetic patients. They also expressed some serious medical care problems, including the reduction of referrals to health centers for follow-up and care and the shortage of physicians and health personnel to provide services. Conclusion. This study suggests that diabetic patients experience many different problems due to corona disease. These problems influence the diabetic patients' quality of life, so we need to understand better and solve the diabetic patients' problems, make more effort, and perform more suitable planning to improve their health and quality of life

Dusty Air Pollution is Associated with an Increased Risk of Allergic Diseases in Southwestern Part of Iran

Concerns have been raised about the adverse impact of dusty air pollution (DAP) on human health. The aim of this study was to find the association between dusty air pollution based on air quality index (AQI) and the risk of allergic diseases in southwestern provinces of Iran, with assessing cytokine profiles and lymphocyte immunophenotypes. In this case control study 148 individuals participated. The sampling was done in hazardous condition (AQI >300) as the case and clean air (AQI <50) as the control. We measured cytokine production by using ELISA method and phenotypes of T-lymphocytes (CD4+ and CD8+), CD19+ B-lymphocytes, CD25+, CD4+ CD25+ cells by FACSort flow cytometer. The mean serum level of IL-4 (33.4±2.9 vs 0.85± 0.65 pg/dl) and IL-13 (15.1±4.4 vs. 0.12±0.7 pg/dl) in the subjects exposed to ambient DAP was increased significantly compared to the individuals in the clean air condition. Also, CD19+ B-lymphocytes (12.6± 4.9 vs 8.9±3.2%) and CD4+ CD25+ cell count (13.6± 4.6 vs 7.7± 3.8%) in peripheral blood were increased significantly in subjects exposed to ambient DAP compared with the controls. The result of our study suggested that ambient DAP affected immune system in a way that might lead to allergic diseases in the population

The Evaluation of Genetic Diversity in Some Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Samples of Iran Using RAPD Marker

Iran is one of the important distribution centers of medicinal species, including plant saffron (Crocus sativus L.). The presence or absence of genetic diversity in common native and commercial cultivars of saffron of the country has always been one of the important questions for researchers of this filed. In the present study, varioussaffronsamplesfrom different regions of Iran, including seventeen cultivated samplesfrom North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Lorestan and Ilam, eight wild types (C. haussknechtii) from Lorestan, Kermanshah and Ilam and one wild type (C. cancellatuse) from Kermanshah were collected and then their genetic diversity was obtained using random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD) marker. A total number of 161 DNA bands were produced by eight primers with an average of 14.3 bands; the primer Oligo 340 produced the most number of bands. The polymorphism percentage mean was 73.77%. Cluster analysis using UPGMA method divided the samplesinto four groups. In this grouping, there was a minimum distance between saffron populations collected from Kermanshah and Ilam. In other words, these two populations had the maximum genetic similarity with each other. The maximum similarity was observed between the samplescollected from Saleh-Abad and Lomar in Ilam and the minimum similarity was observed between ecotypes collected from Bisotoon in Kermanshah and Torbat-jam in the Khorasan Razavi province. In most cases, samples of different species were divided into different groups such that it can be said that this Genus has a great diversity. Although there are some samples of wild species (C. haussknechtii) that were with saffron crop species in a group in which there exists many molecular Genetics similarities between these species that is indicative of a common genetic background

Wpływ choroby koronawirusowej COVID-19 na jakość życia chorych na cukrzycę

WSTĘP: Cukrzyca, będąca jedną z najczęstszych chorób metabolicznych, prowadzi do inwalidyzujących powikłań i charakteryzuje się przewlekłą, niedostrzegalną progresją. Z jednej strony nakłada ona znaczne obciążenia finansowe na pacjenta, a z drugiej pogarsza jego jakość życia. Obecnie występująca epidemia choroby koronawirusowej COVID-19 ma zasięg międzynarodowy, a dostępne dane wskazują, że chorzy na cukrzycę są narażone na większe ryzyko zakażenia, a także wystąpienia poważnych problemów w przebiegu COVID-19. METODY: Przeprowadzono jakościowe badanie fenomenologiczne w celu oceny doświadczeń i osobistych odczuć chorych na cukrzycę w kwestii wpływu COVID-19 na jakość ich życia. W celu zebrania informacji w badaniu posłużono się metodą częściowo usystematyzowanych rozmów. Badaniem objęto 15 pacjentów skierowanych do ośrodków opieki zdrowotnej. Każda rozmowa została zarejestrowana po uzyskaniu zgody pacjenta, zapisana, a następnie przeanalizowana. WYNIKI: Po przeprowadzonej analizie dane uzyskane w badaniu podzielono na 6 głównych kategorii i 19 podkategorii. Wyróżniono następujące główne kategorie informacji uzyskanych w tym badaniu: wiedzę i świadomość, efekty psychologiczne, rozrywkę i rekreację, rodzinę pacjenta, opiekę zdrowotną oraz komunikację z pacjentami, ze szczególnym naciskiem na opiekę medyczną. Najważniejszymi efektami psychologicznymi występującymi u chorych na cukrzycę były stres wywołany przez COVID-19 oraz depresja. Doświadczyli oni również pewnych poważnych problemów związanych z opieką medyczną, w tym ograniczeń kierowania pacjentów do ośrodków opieki zdrowotnej w celu objęcia ich dalszą opieką oraz niedoboru lekarzy i innego personelu medycznego świadczącego usługi zdrowotne. WNIOSKI: Z przeprowadzonego badania wynika, że chorzy na cukrzycę doświadczają wielu różnych problemów w związku z COVID-19. Te problemy wpływają na ich jakość życia, a zatem należy je lepiej poznawać i rozwiązywać oraz dokładać więcej starań i doskonalić planowanie w celu poprawy ich stanu zdrowia i jakości życia