· AIM: This study was conducted to compare the outcomes of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) with conjunctival autograft transplantation (CAT) in primary and recurrent pterygium. The main outcome measurement was the recurrence rate after surgery.· METHODS: This study was designed as a prospective study on consecutive cases of pterygium from April 2004 to Feb2006. The cases were randomly divided into two groups of AMT (26 cases) and CAT (24 cases). All subjects were operated with an extensive excision of the fibro vascular tissues with AMT or CAT approach. Patients were followed for recurrence and complications for 24 months. The surgical procedures were performed by a single surgeon.The associations between demographic variables, surgical techniques (AMT, CAT), recurrences and postoperative complications were analyzed.· RESULTS: The patients' male to female ratio was 4:1. Involvement of right to left eye ratio was 3:2. Pterygium in70% of cases was primary and in 30% was recurrent. The most common clinical signs were red eye and reduced visual acuity while the most common complications were recurrence and corneal scar. In the first month of follow up, the recurrence rates in AMT and CAT approaches were 3.8% vs 8.3%respectively and these rates increased to 46.2% vs 25% respectively after 24 months of follow up.· CONCLUSION: The success rate of 2 years follow up was better in CAT technique. The AMT technique for pterygium surgery has an unacceptably high recurrence rate.

No abstract available.
Delivery of Health Care ; Global Health ; World Health Organization

OBJECTIVES: Two main digital signal processing technologies inside the modern hearing aid to provide the best conditions for hearing aid users are directionality (DIR) and digital noise reduction (DNR) algorithms. There are various possible settings for these algorithms. The present study evaluates the effects of various DIR and DNR conditions (both separately and in combination) on listening comfort among hearing aid users. METHODS: In 18 participants who received hearing aid fitting services from the Rehabilitation School of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences regularly, we applied acceptable noise level (ANL) as our subjective measure of listening comfort. We evaluated both of these under six different hearing aid conditions: omnidirectional-baseline, omnidirectional-broadband DNR, omnidirectional-multichannel DNR, directional, directional-broadband DNR, and directional-multichannel DNR. RESULTS: The ANL results ranged from −3 dB to 14 dB in all conditions. The results show, among all conditions, both the omnidirectional-baseline condition and the omnidirectional-broadband DNR condition are the worst conditions for listening in noise. The DIR always reduces the amount of noise that patients received during testing. The DNR algorithm does not improve listening in noise significantly when compared with the DIR algorithms. Although both DNR and DIR algorithms yielded a lower ANL, the DIR algorithm was more effective than the DNR. CONCLUSION: The DIR and DNR technologies provide listening comfort in the presence of noise. Thus, user benefit depends on how the digital signal processing settings inside the hearing aid are adjusted.
Hearing Aids* ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Noise* ; Rehabilitation ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

STUDY DESIGN: In this prospective study, we measured the pad pressures of the Milwaukee brace in adolescent hyperkyphosis treatment. PURPOSE: We evaluated the skin-brace interface forces exerted by the main pads of the Milwaukee brace. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: A fundamental factor associated with brace effectiveness in spinal deformity is pad force adjustment. However, few studies have evaluated the in-brace force magnitude and its effect on curve correction. METHODS: Interface forces at four pads of the Milwaukee brace were measured in 73 patients withround back deformity (mean age, 14.04±1.97 years [range, 10–18]; mean initial Cobb angle,67.70°±9.23° [range, 50°–86°]). We used a modified aneroid sphygmomanometer to measure the shoulder and kyphosis pad pressures. Each patient underwent measurement in the standing and sitting positions during inhalation/exhalation. RESULTS: The mean pad pressures were significantly higher in the standing than in thesitting position, and significantly higher pressures were observed during inhalation compared toexhalation (p=0.001).There were no statistically significant differences between right and left shoulder pad pressures (p>0.05); however, the pressure differences between the right and left kyphosis pads were statistically significant (p<0.05). In a comparison of corrective forces with bracing for less or more than 6 months, corrective force was larger with bracing for less than 6 months (p=0.02). In the standing position, there were no statistically significant correlations between pad pressures and kyphosis curve correction. CONCLUSIONS: In the sitting position, there was a trend toward lower forces at the skin-brace interface; therefore, brace adjustment in the standing position may be useful and more effective. There was no significant correlation between the magnitude of the pad pressures and the degree of in-brace curve correction.
Adolescent* ; Braces* ; Congenital Abnormalities* ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Kyphosis ; Posture ; Prospective Studies ; Scheuermann Disease ; Shoulder ; Sphygmomanometers

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.
Africa, Northern ; Bias (Epidemiology)* ; China ; Drug Users ; Europe, Eastern ; Expert Testimony ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Japan ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Methods* ; Middle East ; Sex Workers ; Ukraine

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.
Africa, Northern ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; China ; Drug Users ; Europe, Eastern ; Expert Testimony ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Japan ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Methods ; Middle East ; Sex Workers ; Ukraine

Objective: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and mindfulness practices have been proposed as a potential approach to improve executive functions (EFs) and reduce craving in persons with substance use disorders. Based on the neural mechanisms of action of each of these interventions, the combination of both non-pharmacological interventions might have additive effects. In the current study, the effects of tDCS combined with mindfulness-based substance abuse treatment (MBSAT) to improve EFs and reduce craving were investigated in early abstinent methamphetamine abuse. Methods: Eighty (youths aged between 18 and 21) early-abstinent methamphetamine users were randomly assigned to the research groups (tDCS group [n = 20], mindfulness group [n = 20], combined mindfulness-tDCS group [n =20], and sham group [n = 20]). Active tDCS (1.5 mA,20 min, 12 sessions) or sham tDCS was appliedover the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the MBSAT protocol was used over twelve 50-min sessions. Results: Both in the post-test phase (immediately after the intervention) and follow-up phase (one month after the intervention), performance in most EFs tasks significantly improved in the combination group which received real tDCS ＋ MBSAT, as compared to baseline values and sham stimulation group. Similarly, a significant reduction in craving was observed after intervention inall treatment groups, but not the sham stimulation group. Interestingly, the increase in EFs and the reduction in craving post versus pre tDCS ＋ MBSAT intervention were correlated. Conclusion Findings from the current study provide initial support for the clinical effectiveness of combination tDCS ＋ MBSAT, possibly influencing cognitive/affective processes.

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the time factor in road traffic accidents (RTAs) in Fars Province of Iran.

METHODSThis study was conducted in Fars Province, Iran from November 22, 2009 to November 21, 2011. Victims'information consisted of age, sex, death toll involving dri- vers or passengers of cars, motorcycles and pedestrians, and site of injury etc. Accidents were analyzed in relation to hour of the day, season of the year, lighting condition including sunrise, sunset, daytime and nighttime.

RESULTSA total of 3 642 deaths (78.3% were males, and the ratio of males to females was about 3.6:1) were studied regarding their autopsy records. There was a steady increase in fatal accidents occurring at midnight to 15:59. The risk of being involved in a fatal traffic accident was higher for those injured between 4:00 to 7:59 than at other times (OR equal to 2.13, 95% CI 1.85-2.44). The greatest number of fatal RTAs took place in summer. Mortalities due to RTA during spring and summer were more pronounced at 20:00 to 23:59 and midnight to 3:59, whereas mortalities in fall and winter were more pronounced from 12:00 to 15:59.

CONCLUSIONThe high mortality rate of RTA is a major public health problem in Fars Province. Our results indicate that the time is an important factor which contributes to road traffic deaths.

Accidents, Traffic ; mortality ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Time Factors