Sharif Digital Repository

Background: Allergic contact dermatitis is a common disorder in adults and children alike and appears to be on the increase. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitization trends in Iranian children with contact dermatitis. Methods: The result of 109 patch tests performed using the 24 allergens of the European Standard Series in patients below 18 years old from September 2007 to March 2009 were recorded and analyzed. The tests were evaluated at 48 and 72 h after performing. Results: The study population consisted of 72 (66.1 %) females and 37 (33.9 %) males. Hands were the most commonly affected anatomic site. In the final evaluation of the tests on day three, 51 (46.8 %)... 

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results... 

In the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) treatment, a brace is prescribed to the patients who have 20 to 45° curves on their spines to prevent the disorder's advancement. For the analysis of Milwaukee brace effects during time, finite element models (FEMs) of the spine (the thoracolumbar region) and the ribcage (contained 10 pairs of the ribs and the sternum) were prepared for two patients. For modeling the spine part, a new element was used in which a disc (as viscoelastic 3D beam) and a vertebra (as rigid link) were modeled as an element and the ribs and the sternum modeled by 3D elastic beams. The gravity, Milwaukee brace constraints and the forces of the brace's different regions... 

STUDY DESIGN. A cross-sectional study in pregnancy. OBJECTIVES. To differentiate between pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and low back pain (LBP) in Iranian women, and investigate the prevalence of each syndrome. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA. Most of the information about PGP and LBP has been obtained in Western countries. There are few studies to investigate pregnancy related lumbopelvic pain, and, especially, differentiate between PGP and LBP in non-Western countries, particularly in the Middle East. METHODS. This study included 325 pregnant women, ranging in age from 16 to 42 years. All pregnant women were interviewed using a questionnaire. Two trained physical therapists... 

Several studies have investigated road traffic deaths, but few have compared by road user type. Iran, with an estimated 44 road traffic deaths per 100,000 population in 2002 had higher road traffic deaths than any other country for which reliable estimates can be made. So, the present study was conducted on road death data and identified fatal accident distribution by age, gender and head injury as well as the influences of age and gender on deaths at accident scenes for all road user groups. Data used in this study are on fatal road accidents recorded by forensic medicine experts of the Khorasan Razavi province in Mashhad, the capital of the province, the second largest city and the largest... 

Background: Wolfram syndrome (WFS) is characterized by deafness, diabetes mellitus, and diabetes insipidus along with optic atrophy. WFS has an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance and is due to variants in WFS1 and CISD2. Methods: We evaluated the underlying molecular etiology of three affected members of a consanguineous family with hearing impairment, bicuspid aortic valve, diabetes mellitus and insipidus, clinodactyly, and gastrointestinal tract abnormalities via exome sequencing approach. We correlated clinical and imaging data with the genetic findings and their associated phenotypes. Results: We identified a homozygous missense variant p.(Asn1097Lys) in CDK13, a gene previously... 

STUDY DESIGN.: Cross-sectional validation study to investigate psychometric properties of adapted Persian version of the Scoliosis Research Society-22r (SRS-22r) questionnaire. OBJECTIVES.: To translate the SRS-22r into Persian and to evaluate the internal consistency, reliability, and validity of the Persian SRS-22r. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: The SRS-22r has not been translated and validated for Persian-speaking patients with idiopathic scoliosis. This was to provide a validated instrument to measure health-related quality of life in patients with idiopathic scoliosis in Iran. METHODS.: The translation and cultural adaptation of the original questionnaire were carried out in accordance... 

Background. Autoimmune process and immunosuppressive therapy of pemphigus vulgaris would predispose the patients to infections. Aim. We aimed to study the prevalence of infection and pathogenic agents in pemphigus vulgaris patients admitted to dermatology service. Material and methods. This retrospective study was conducted on 155 pemphigus vulgaris patients (68 males, 87 females) admitted to dermatology service between 2009 and 2011. In this study, the diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris was confirmed by light microscopic and direct immunofluorescence findings. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Results. Of 155 pemphigus vulgaris patients, 33 had infection at admission and 9 acquired... 

Smoking is known as a major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hence immediate and effective interventions are required for its elimination. This study aimed to collect valid data with regard to cigarette smoking in adult population of north of Iran for policy making by a meta-analysis of the documents of national non-communicable disease risk factors surveillance system. We investigated relevant evidences by searching in published and non-electronic databases. Data were extracted based on variables such as year of the study, sex, age group and prevalence of smoking habit. Based on results of heterogeneity, we applied fixed or random effects model to estimate the... 

Using survey data, public awareness of and attitudes toward nanotechnology are examined in Iran (N ≥ 759). Iran is a developing country with a national nanotechnology action plan for a ten year period starting from 2003 and has been active in the field of research and development of nanotechnology meanwhile. First, the results show that majority of people are still not familiar with nanotechnology and perceived risks posed by this technology are not considered to be a lot and most people feel its benefits outweigh the risks. The emotions toward this technology are of a hopeful and positive nature and this technology is looked upon favorably in Iran. In particular, our results reveals that... 

The interhemispheric asymmetries that originate from connectivity-related structuring of the cortex are compromised in schizophrenia (SZ). Under the assumption that such abnormalities affect functional connectivity, we analyzed its correlate - EEG synchronization - in SZ patients and matched controls. We applied multivariate synchronization measures based on Laplacian EEG and tuned to various spatial scales. Compared to the controls who had rightward asymmetry at a local level (EEG power), rightward anterior and leftward posterior asymmetries at an intraregional level (1st and 2nd order S-estimator), and rightward global asymmetry (hemispheric S-estimator), SZ patients showed generally... 

Several researches have been done to identify visual system characteristics. Some of them are based on the processing of the brain signal recordings. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are electrical signals which are produced in response to the visual stimuli and recorded by means of electrodes placed on the head. These signals are usually characterized by the amplitude and latency of their peaks. Different types of visual stimuli and visual system characteristics can affect the shape and hence the characteristics of VEPs. In this paper, proper visual stimuli were used and VEPs were recorded in order to classify visual acuity. To achieve this goal, visual evoked potentials were recorded and... 

Inter-segmental coordination can be influenced by chronic low back pain (CLBP). The sagittal plane lower extremities inter-segmental coordination pattern and variability, in conjunction with the pelvis and trunk, were assessed in subjects with and without non-specific CLBP during free-speed walking. Kinematic data were collected from 10 non-specific CLBP and 10 non-CLBP control volunteers while the subjects were walking at their preferred speed. Sagittal plane time-normalized segmental angles and velocities were used to calculate continuous relative phase for each data point. Mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and deviation phase (DP) were derived to quantify the trunk-pelvis and bilateral... 

Background: Accurate childhood cancer burden data are crucial for resource planning and health policy prioritisation. Model-based estimates are necessary because cancer surveillance data are scarce or non-existent in many countries. Although global incidence and mortality estimates are available, there are no previous analyses of the global burden of childhood cancer represented in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Methods: Using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 methodology, childhood (ages 0–19 years) cancer mortality was estimated by use of vital registration system data, verbal autopsy data, and population-based cancer registry incidence... 

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal... 

Automatic detection of epileptic seizures can serve as a valuable clinical tool which involves a more objective and computationally efficient method for the analysis of EEG data in order to generate increasingly accurate and reliable results. Automatic seizure detection is also an important component of closed-loop responsive cortical stimulation systems. The goal of this study is to evaluate EEG-based features recently proposed for seizure detection to discover the optimum ones for a reliable seizure detection system. We extracted seizure detection features from intracranial EEG signals that were recorded during invasive pre-surgical epilepsy monitoring of people with drug resistant focal... 

Various EEG features have been used in depth of anesthesia (DOA) studies. The objective of this study was to And the excellent features or combination of them than can discriminate between different anesthesia states. Conducting a clinical study on 22 patients we could define 4 distinct anesthetic states: awake, moderate, general anesthesia, and isoelectric. We examined features that have been used in earlier studies using single-channel EEG signal processing method. The maximum accuracy (99.02%) achieved using approximate entropy as the feature. Some other features could well discriminate a particular state of anesthesia. We could completely classify the patterns by means of 3 features and... 

STUDY DESIGN. Cross-cultural translation and psychometric testing were performed. OBJECTIVES. To cross-culturally translate the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ), and Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QDS) into Persian, and then investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian versions produced. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA. To the authors' knowledge, there is no validated instrument to measure functional status in Persian-speaking patients with low back pain (LBP) in Iran. To our knowledge, the widely used back-specific measures, the ODI, RDQ, and QDS, have not been translated and validated for Persian-speaking patients with LBP. METHODS. The... 

Study Design.: A descriptive overview of the literature. Objective.: To present a comprehensive descriptive overview of the published papers about epidemiologic features, burden, and current management of low back pain (LBP) in Iran. Summary OF Background Data.: Little is known about the epidemiology, burden, and management of LBP in developing and low- to middle-income countries, such as Iran. Methods.: A literature search was carried out using MEDLINE database to assess existing literature about prevalence, disease burden, impact, and current management of nonspecific LBP in Iran. Results.: Twenty-six articles matched inclusion criteria and included in the study. The findings related to... 

Objective: To translate the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) into Persian and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of FAAM. Methods: 93 patients with a range of foot and ankle disorders, completed the Persian version of the FAAM and Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) in the test session. With an interval of 2-6 days, 60 patients filled out the FAAM in the retest session. The FAAM is composed of two subscales including activities of daily living (ADL) and SPORTS. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard error of measurement (s.e.m.), item internal consistency...