• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2021

Objectives: Household overcrowding (HC) can contribute to both physical and mental disorders among the members of overcrowded households. This study aimed to measure the status of HC and its main determinants across the provinces of Iran. Methods: Data from 39 864 households from the 2016 Iranian Household Income and Expenditures Survey were used in this study. The Equivalized Crowding Index (ECI) and HC index were applied to measure the overcrowding of households. Regression models were estimated to show the relationships between different variables and the ECI. Results: The overall, urban, and rural prevalence of HC was 8.2%, 6.3%, and 10.1%, respectively. The highest prevalence of HC was found in Sistan and Baluchestan Province (28.7%), while the lowest was found in Guilan Province (1.8%). The number of men in the household, rural residency, the average age of household members, yearly income, and the household wealth index were identified as the main determinants of the ECI and HC. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the ECI and HC were higher in regions near the borders of Iran than in other regions. Therefore, health promotion and empowerment strategies are required to avoid the negative consequences of HC, and screening programs are needed to identify at-risk families.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.14-23
• /
• 2021

Objectives: Pastinaca sativa (parsnip), is a plant with nutritional and medicinal properties which has been used in all over the world and study about it is rare. In Persian Medicine parsnip is named as zardak and has many uses such as laxative, libido enhancer, kidney stone crusher and diuretic. Because the wide traditional usage of parsnip, in this review the composition and pharmacological properties of this plant are discussed. Methods: Some data base such as Cochrane, Scopus, PubMed were searched up to 2018 for studies about Pastinaca sativa. In this review study after consider to exclusion criteria, all of the English review and clinical trial were included. Results: Finally, 46 articles were selected for extraction data about the parsnip. Data extraction based on these studies the most important active ingredients of parsnip include coumarins, furanocoumarins, polyacetylenes, essential oils and flavonoids. Different studies determined that Pastinaca sativa has pharmacological effects in CNS, respiratory, gastrointestinal, liver, skin, cardiovascular and urogenital diseases. Conclusion: The most important active ingredients in Pastinaca sativa are furanocoumarins, flavonoids and polyacetylenes, and it has many pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, vasodilator, antifungal, antimicrobial and antidepressant. A main mentioned side effect of parsnip is phototoxicity that was usually reported in direct skin contact. However, family and Some properties and compounds of Pastinaca sativa and Daucus carota are similar but carrots are very popular nowadays. Due to abundant active components and few clinical studies of parsnip, more Studies are recommended to evaluate the effects of it.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.43-58
• /
• 2022

Background: Current therapies are quite unsuccessful in the management of neuropathic pain. Therefore, considering the inhibitory characteristics of GABA mediators, the present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of GABAergic neural precursor cells on neuropathic pain management. Methods: Search was conducted on Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. A search strategy was designed based on the keywords related to GABAergic cells combined with neuropathic pain. The outcomes were allodynia and hyperalgesia. The results were reported as a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: Data of 13 studies were analyzed in the present meta-analysis. The results showed that administration of GABAergic cells improved allodynia (SMD = 1.79; 95% CI: 0.87, 271; P < 0.001) and hyperalgesia (SMD = 1.29; 95% CI: 0.26, 2.32; P = 0.019). Moreover, the analyses demonstrated that the efficacy of GABAergic cells in the management of allodynia and hyperalgesia is only observed in rats. Also, only genetically modified cells are effective in improving both of allodynia, and hyperalgesia. Conclusions: A moderate level of pre-clinical evidence showed that transplantation of genetically-modified GABAergic cells is effective in the management of neuropathic pain. However, it seems that the transplantation efficacy of these cells is only statistically significant in improving pain symptoms in rats. Hence, caution should be exercised regarding the generalizability and the translation of the findings from rats and mice studies to large animal studies and clinical trials.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.379-388
• /
• 2022

Objectives: Throughout history, societies have been impacted by inequality. Many studies have been conducted on the topic more broadly, but only a few have investigated inequalities in out-of-pocket health payments (OHP). This study measures OHP inequality trends among the Iranian households. Methods: This study used data from the Iranian Statistics Center on Iranian household income and expenditures. The analysis included a total of 995 300 households during the 36 years from 1984 to 2019. The Gini coefficient, Atkinson index, and Theil index were calculated for Iranian OHP. Results: Average Iranian household OHP increased from 33 US dollar (USD) in 1984 to 47 USD in 2019. During this 36-year span, the average±standard deviation Gini coefficient for OHP was 0.73±0.04, and the Atkinson and Theil indexes were 0.68±0.05 and 1.14±0.29, respectively. The Gini coefficients for the subcategories of OHP of outpatient diagnostic services, medical assistant accessories, hospital inpatient services, and addiction cessation were 0.70, 0.61, 0.84, and 0.64, respectively. Conclusions: In this study, we scrutinized trends of inequality in the OHP of Iranian households. Inequality in OHP decreased slightly over the past four decades. An analysis of trends among different subgroups revealed that affluent households, such as households with insurance coverage and households in higher income deciles, experienced higher inequality. Therefore, lower inequality in health care expenditures may be related to restricted access to health care services in Iran.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.375-391
• /
• 2022

This paper examined the impact of the cross-sectional structure on the structural results under different loading conditions of reinforced concrete (RC) members' management limited in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP). The mechanical properties of CFRC was investigated, then, totally 32 samples were examined. Test parameters included the cross-sectional shape as square, rectangular and circular with two various aspect rates and loading statues. The loading involved concentrated loading, eccentric loading with a ratio of 0.46 to 0.6 and pure bending. The results of the test revealed that the CFRP increased ductility and load during concentrated processing. A cross sectional shape from 23 to 44 percent was increased in load capacity and from 250 to 350 percent increase in axial deformation in rectangular and circular sections respectively, affecting greatly the accomplishment of load capacity and ductility of the concentrated members. Two Artificial Intelligence Models as Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) were used to estimating the tensile and flexural strength of specimen. On the basis of the performance from RMSE and RSQR, C-Shape CFRC was greater tensile and flexural strength than any other FRP composite design. Because of the mechanical anchorage into the matrix, C-shaped CFRCC was noted to have greater fiber-matrix interfacial adhesive strength. However, with the increase of the aspect ratio and fiber volume fraction, the compressive strength of CFRCC was reduced. This possibly was due to the fact that during the blending of each fiber, the volume of air input was increased. In addition, by adding silica fumed to composites, the tensile and flexural strength of CFRCC is greatly improved.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.84 no.5
• /
• pp.633-649
• /
• 2022

In this study, the effect of circle tunnel on the force distribution around underground rectangular gallery was investigated using theoretical approach, experimental test and Particle flow code simulation (PFC). Gypsum model with dimension of 1500×1500 mm was built. Tensile strength of material was 1 MPa. Dimension of central gallery was 100 mm×200 mm and diameter of adjacent tunnel in its right side was 20 mm, 40 mm and 60 mm. Horizontal distance between tunnel wall and gallery edge were 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 mm. using beam theory, the effect of tunnel diameter and distance between tunnel and gallery on the induced force around gallery was analyzed. In the laboratory test, the rate of loading displacement was set to 0.05 millimeter per minute. Also sensitivity analysis has been done. Using PFC2D, interaction between tunnel and gallery was simulated and its results were compared with experimental and theoretical analysis. The results show that the tensile force concentration has maximum value in center of the rectangular space. The tensile force concentration at the right side of the axisymmetric line of gallery has more than its value in the left side of the galleries axisymmetric line. The tensile force concentration was decreased by increasing the distance between tunnel and rectangular space. In whole of the configurations, the angles of micro cracks fluctuated between 75 and 105 degrees, which mean that the variations of tunnel situation have not any influence on the fracture angle.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.545-556
• /
• 2022

Evaluation and optimization of tunnel wall convergence (TWC) plays a vital role in preventing potential problems during tunnel construction and utilization stage. When convergence occurs at a high rate, it can lead to significant problems such as reducing the advance rate and safety, which in turn increases operating costs. In order to design an effective solution, it is important to accurately predict the degree of TWC; this can reduce the level of concern and have a positive effect on the design. With the development of soft computing methods, the use of deep learning algorithms and neural networks in tunnel construction has expanded in recent years. The current study aims to employ the long-short-term memory (LSTM) deep neural network predictor model to predict the TWC, based on 550 data points of observed parameters developed by collecting required data from different tunnelling projects. Among the data collected during the pre-construction and construction phases of the project, 80% is randomly used to train the model and the rest is used to test the model. Several loss functions including root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R²) were used to assess the performance and precision of the applied method. The results of the proposed models indicate an acceptable and reliable accuracy. In fact, the results show that the predicted values are in good agreement with the observed actual data. The proposed model can be considered for use in similar ground and tunneling conditions. It is important to note that this work has the potential to reduce the tunneling uncertainties significantly and make deep learning a valuable tool for planning tunnels.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.42-49
• /
• 2023

This study investigated the effect of ethanol extracts of horsetail, alfalfa, ortie, chêne and aleppo oak on blood coagulation in vitro. Extraction was performed by the maceration method. Extracts were mixed with platelet and plasma, then prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and platelet aggregation tests were conducted. Alfalfa extract had a dose-dependent effect on the PT. Ortie, and horsetail, reduced the PT significantly compared to control group. Alfalfa, horsetail, and ortie reduced the APTT, but their effect was insignificant compared to the control group. The pooled extract showed the highest effect compared to the single extracts in a dose-dependent manner. Horsetail and alfalfa induced platelet aggregation in response to arachidonic acid but not in response to collagen. In the case of ortie, no aggregation occurred regarding the arachidonic acid, and incomplete was observed in response to collagen. Interestingly, blood clotting occurred immediately after adding the chêne, aleppo oak and the pooled extract, and therefore platelet poor plasma (PPP) and platelet rich plasma (PRP) became jelly. Generally, chêne and aleppo oak, as well as pooled extract, were more effective in inducing both primary and secondary coagulation pathways via shortening the PT and APTT, and induction of platelet aggregation.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.83-88
• /
• 2019

Background and Objectives: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a disorder that usually occurs in the elderly, leading to dementia in some progressive cases. The purpose of this study is to examine the utility of central auditory processing tests as early diagnostic tools for identifying the elderly with MCI. Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted on 20 elderly patients with MCI and 20 healthy matched peers. The speech perception ability in a quiet environment and in the presence of background noise and also temporal resolution were assessed by using Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) and Gap in Noise (GIN) tests, respectively. Results: The results indicated that the ability to understand speech in a quiet environment did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, SPIN at the three signal-to-noise ratios and the temporal resolution scores were significantly different between the two groups (p<0.001). Conclusions: Individuals with MCI appear to have poorer speech comprehension in noise and a lower temporal resolution than those of the same age, but without cognitive defects. Considering the utility of these tests in identifying cognitive problems, we propose that since the GIN test seems to be less influenced by intervening factors, this test can therefore, be a useful tool for the early screening of elderly people with cognitive problems.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.175-180
• /
• 2019

Diagnosis of pre-lingual hearing loss (HL) is difficult owing to the high number of genes responsible. The most frequent cause of HL is DFNB1 due to mutations in the GJB2 gene. It represents up to 40% of HL cases in some populations. In Iran, it has previously been shown that DFNB1 accounts for 16-18% of cases but varies among different ethnic groups. Here, we reviewed results from our three previous publications and data from other published mutation reports to provide a comprehensive collection of data for GJB2 mutations and HL in northern Iran. In total, 903 unrelated families from six different provinces, viz., Gilan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Ghazvin, Semnan, and Tehran, were included and analyzed for the type and prevalence of GJB2 mutations. A total of 23 different genetic variants were detected from which 18 GJB2 mutations were identified. GJB2 mutations were 20.7% in the studied northern provinces, which was significantly higher than that reported in southern populations of Iran. Moreover, a gradient in the frequency of GJB2 mutations from north to south Iran was observed. c.35delG was the most common mutation, accounting for 58.4% of the cases studied. This study suggests that c.35delG mutation in GJB2 is the most important cause of HL in northern Iran.