Prevalence and genetic characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. In diarrheic children from Gonbad Kavoos city, Iran

Background: Cryptosporidium is an intestinal protozean parasite causing water-borne and foodborne outbreaks of diarrheal diseases. The present study was per-formed in order to find prevalence and subtypes of Cryptosporidium among children with diarrhea in Gonbad Kavoos City, Northern Iran. Methods: Diarrheic samples were collected from 547 children. The initial parasi-tological diagnosis was made based on detection of oocysts using the modified Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast staining method. The positive microscopically samples were selected for sequence analysis of partial 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene. Results: Out of 547 collected samples, 27 (4.94) were positive for Cryptosporid-ium oocysts. Fifteen from 27 positive samples successfully amplified in PCR. Se-quences analysis of gp60 gene in 15 Cryptosporidium isolates revealed that all of them (100) were C. parvum. The results showed three subtypes of IIa subtype family (7 cases) including IIaA16G2R1, IIaA17G1R1, IIaA22G3R1 and one subtype of IId subtype family (8 cases). The most common allele was IId A17G1d (53.3). Conclusion: The predominance of zoonotic subtype families of C. parvum species (IIa, IId) in the present study is in concordance with previous studies in Iran and emphasizes the significance of zoonotic transmission of cryptosporidiosis in the country. © 2015, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). All rights Reserved

Influence of core stability exercise on lumbar vertebral instability in patients presented with chronic low back pain: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Excessive lumbar vertebrae translation and rotation in sagittal plane has been attributed as an associated factor of lumbar segmental instability (LSI) and low back pain (LBP). Reduction of these abnormalities improves back pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of core stability exercise on the translation and rotation of lumbar vertebrae in sagittal plane in patients with nonspecific chronic LBP (NSCLBP). Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 30 patients with NSCLBP due to LSI were included. The participants were randomly divided into two groups of treatment and control. The treatment group received general exercises plus core stability exercise for 8 weeks whereas; the control group received only general exercises. The magnitude of translation (mm) and rotation (deg) of lumbar vertebrae in the sagittal plane was determined by radiography in flexion and extension at baseline and after intervention. The primary outcome measures were to determine the mean changes from baseline in translation and rotation of the lumbar vertebrae in the sagittal plane after 8 weeks of intervention in each group. The secondary outcome was to compare the two groups in regard to translation and rotation of the lumbar vertebrae at the end of the study period. Data were analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-test. Results: Thirty patients aged 18-40 years old with clinical diagnosis of NSCLBP entered the study. Compared with baseline values, mean value of translation and rotation of the lumbar vertebra reduced significantly in both groups (P<0.05), except L3 translation in the control group. At the endpoint, mean translation value of L4 (P=0.04) and L5 (P=0.001) and rotation of the L5 (P=0.01) in the treatment group was significantly lower than the control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that in patients presented with NSCLBP due to lumbar segmental instability, core stability exercises plus general exercises are more efficient than general exercises alone in the improvement of excessive lumbar vertebrae translation and rotation

Confusion at the beginning of sexual intercourse, the challenge of patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery in Iran: A qualitative study.

BackgroundMany patients suffer from sexual dysfunction after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, but they refuse to propose and follow up on the problem due to the cultural structures prevailing in Iranian society. Untreated sexual dysfunction will disturb the quality of life of these patients. This study was performed to explain the experiences of male patients from sexual problems after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.Materials and methodsThis qualitative study was performed with the approach of conventional content analysis in Tehran in 2020. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 men after coronary artery bypass graft surgery at the hospital's cardiac surgery clinic, as well as the surgeon's clinic. Participants were selected by the targeted sampling method. After obtaining informed consent, the collected data were written word by word, and the content analysis approach was used to name the data, create analytical codes, and determine subcategories and categories. The data were analyzed by MAXQDA 10 software.ResultsThe findings of this study show that the dimensions of confusion in patients' sexual intercourse after coronary artery bypass graft surgery in four subcategories of challenges of the first intercourse after surgery, ambiguity in how to obtain information, the ambiguity of sexual issues after surgery, and spouse are concerned about having sexual intercourse.ConclusionThe results of this study show that male patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery have many ambiguities in the process of sexual intercourse, which passes the beginning of sexual intercourse with fear and avoidance of intercourse. Postoperative patients do not propose these problems with the medical staff when they suffer from sexual dysfunction or ambiguity due to the taboo of talking about sexual intercourse. Eventually, the patient and his or her partner become confused about sexual intercourse after surgery. Therefore, it is recommended that policymakers in the field of health create the culture and planning for solving the ambiguities created in the path of sexual intercourse of these patients

Improved acoustics for semi-enclosed spaces in the proximity of residential buildings

Continuous urban densification exacerbates acoustic challenges for residents of housing complexes. They are confronted with higher noise immission from railway, road traffic, construction, as well as louder neighborhood acoustic environments. Thereby, not only noise immission indoors is associated with stress, annoyance, and sleep disturbance, but also the immediate outdoor living environment (e.g., courtyards, private gardens and playgrounds, etc.) can be acoustically unpleasant and annoying. This non-exhaustive narrative review paper elaborates on the role of a number of design parameters on improving the quality of the outdoor soundscape of housing complexes: architectural and morphological design, facade material characteristics, balconies, greenery, ground, background sounds, and several factors concerning quality of sounds (e.g., multisensory perception, holistic design, the relevance of space, context, social factors, co-creation, etc.). It mainly covers literature including both acoustical (e.g., sound pressure level and room acoustical parameters) and human/perceptual (e.g., comfort and annoyance) factors. A series of recommendations are presented here as to how the semi-enclosed outdoor spaces in the proximity of residential complexes can be acoustically improved

Increased sample asymmetry and memory of cardiac time-series following endotoxin administration in cirrhotic rats

Sepsis, and other causes of acute systemic inflammation, can reduce heart rate variability (HRV) and increase cardiac cycle regularity in mammals. Thus, HRV monitoring has been used for early detection of sepsis in adults and neonates. Liver cirrhosis is associated with reduced basal HRV and the development of tolerance to the cardiac chronotropic effects of bacterial endotoxin. This may pose limitations on the use of heart rate monitoring in early detection of sepsis in this patient population. In a study to develop a physiomarker for the detection of sepsis in cirrhosis, we observed that endotoxin administration in adult cirrhotic rats leads to the development of transient heart rate decelerations, a phenomenon which has been reported in neonates with sepsis, and quantified using sample asymmetry analysis. In the present study, cirrhosis was induced by surgical ligation of the bile duct in rats. Cirrhotic rats were given intraperitoneal injections of either saline or endotoxin (1 mg kg(-1)). Changes in sample asymmetry and memory length of cardiac time-series were studied in conscious rats using implanted telemetric probes. Cirrhotic (but not control) rats exhibited increased sample asymmetry following endotoxin injection, which was consistent with the development of transient heart rate deceleration. Endotoxin administration in cirrhotic rats was associated with prolongation of memory length for observing decelerating perturbations in the cardiac rhythm. These findings may have application in the development of an HRV monitoring system for early detection of sepsis in cirrhosis

Optic nerve sonography in the diagnostic evaluation of pseudopapilledema and raised intracranial pressure: A cross-sectional study

Introduction. Differentiating pseudopapilledema from papilledema which is optic disk edema and a result of increased ICP (intracranial pressure) is important and can be done with noninvasive methods like orbital ultrasound examination. Method. This was a cross-sectional study in which patients with optic nerve head swelling were referred for LP exam after optic nerve head swelling diagnosis confirmation and having normal brain imaging (CT scan). Before LP (lumbar puncture) exam the patients were referred for optic nerve ultrasound test of both eyes. Results. Considering 5.7 mm as the upper limit for normal ONSD (optic nerve sheath diameter), sensitivity and negative predictive value of optic sonography in diagnosis of pseudopapilledema are 100 for both eyes. Calculated accuracy validity of ONSD measurement in detecting pseudopapilledema is 90 for the right eye and 87 for the left eye. Conclusion. Our study demonstrated a close correlation between optic nerve sheath dilation on ocular ultrasound and evidence of elevated ICP with optic disk swelling. With the aid of noninvasive diagnostic tests we can avoid unnecessary concerns along with expensive and invasive neurological investigations while targeting the correct diagnosis in bilateral optic disk swelling. Our study showed optic nerve sonography as a reliable diagnostic method for further usage. © 2015 Masoud Mehrpour et al

Bioinformatics analysis of calcium-dependent protein kinase 4 (CDPK4) as Toxoplasma gondii vaccine target

Objectives Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an obligate intracellular apicomplexan parasite, could affect numerous warm-blooded animals, such as humans. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are essential Ca2+ signaling mediators and participate in parasite host cell egress, outer membrane motility, invasion, and cell division. Results Several bioinformatics online servers were employed to analyze and predict the important properties of CDPK4 protein. The findings revealed that CDPK4 peptide has 1158 amino acid residues with average molecular weight (MW) of 126.331 KDa. The aliphatic index and GRAVY for this protein were estimated at 66.82 and - 0.650, respectively. The findings revealed that the CDPK4 protein comprised 30.14 and 34.97 alpha-helix, 59.84 and 53.54 random coils, and 10.02 and 11.49 extended strand with SOPMA and GOR4 tools, respectively. Ramachandran plot output showed 87.87, 8.40, and 3.73 of amino acid residues in the favored, allowed, and outlier regions, respectively. Also, several potential B and T-cell epitopes were predicted for CDPK4 protein through different bioinformatics tools. Also, antigenicity and allergenicity evaluation demonstrated that this protein has immunogenic and non-allergenic nature. This paper presents a basis for further studies, thereby provides a fundamental basis for the development of an effective vaccine against T. gondii infection

Durations required to distinguish noise and tone: Effects of noise bandwidth and frequency.

Perceptual audio coders exploit the masking properties of the human auditory system to reduce the bit rate in audio recording and transmission systems; it is intended that the quantization noise is just masked by the audio signal. The effectiveness of the audio signal as a masker depends on whether it is tone-like or noise-like. The determination of this, both physically and perceptually, depends on the duration of the stimuli. To gather information that might improve the efficiency of perceptual coders, the duration required to distinguish between a narrowband noise and a tone was measured as a function of center frequency and noise bandwidth. In experiment 1, duration thresholds were measured for isolated noise and tone bursts. In experiment 2, duration thresholds were measured for tone and noise segments embedded within longer tone pulses. In both experiments, center frequencies were 345, 754, 1456, and 2658 Hz and bandwidths were 0.25, 0.5, and 1 times the equivalent rectangular bandwidth of the auditory filter at each center frequency. The duration thresholds decreased with increasing bandwidth and with increasing center frequency up to 1456 Hz. It is argued that the duration thresholds depended mainly on the detection of amplitude fluctuations in the noise bursts.MRC (G0701870

Reliability and validity of an iPhone® application for the measurement of lumbar spine flexion and extension range of motion

Background: Measurement of lumbar spine range of motion (ROM) is often considered to be an essential component of lumbar spine physiotherapy and orthopedic assessment. The measurement can be carried out through various instruments such as inclinometers, goniometers, and etc. Recent smartphones have been equipped with accelerometers and magnetometers, which, through specific software applications (apps) can be used for inclinometric functions. Purpose: The main purpose was to investigate the reliability and validity of an iPhone® app (TiltMeter© -advanced level and inclinometer) for measuring standing lumbar spine flexion-extension ROM in asymptomatic subjects. Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Setting: This study was conducted in a physiotherapy clinic located at School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Science and Health Services, Tehran, Iran. Subjects: A convenience sample of 30 asymptomatic adults (15 males; 15 females; age range = 18-55 years) was recruited between August 2015 and December 2015. Methods: Following a 2-minute warm-up, the subjects were asked to stand in a relaxed position and their skin was marked at the T12-L1 and S1-S2 spinal levels. From this position, they were asked to perform maximum lumbar flexion followed by maximum lumbar extension with their knees straight. Two blinded raters each used an inclinometer and the iPhone® app to measure lumbar spine flexion-extension ROM. A third rater read the measured angles. To calculate total lumbar spine flexion-extension ROM, the measurement from S1-S2 was subtracted from T12-L1. The second (2 hours later) and third (48 hours later) sessions were carried out in the same manner as the first session. All of the measurements were conducted 3 times and the mean value of 3 repetitions for each measurement was used for analysis. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) models (3, k) and (2, k) were used to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients were used to establish concurrent validity of the iPhone® app. Furthermore, minimum detectable change at the 95 confidence level (MDC95) was computed as 1.96 � standard error of measurement � �2. Results: Good to excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were demonstrated for both the gravity-based inclinometer with ICC values of �0.84 and �0.77 and the iPhone® app with ICC values of �0.85 and �0.85, respectively. The MDC95 ranged from 5.82°to 8.18°for the intra-rater analysis and from 7.38°to 8.66° for the inter-rater analysis. The concurrent validity for flexion and extension between the 2 instruments was 0.85 and 0.91, respectively. Conclusions: The iPhone®app possesses good to excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity. It seems that the iPhone® app can be used for the measurement of lumbar spine flexion-extension ROM. © 2016 Pourahmadi et al