Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Iranian Women Towards Breast Cancer Screening Methods

Female breast cancer is the second leading cause of death due to cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women after lung cancer. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice of women about breast cancer\u27s screening methods in order to offer more appropriate training programs if necessary. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a population comprised of women who had referred to public health centers in Sanandaj in 2008. The results of this study do provide some understanding on the topic and suggest that although the majority of Iranian women seem to be quite knowledgeable about breast cancer and screening methods. They need more education on breast cancer, SBE and other methods of early detection. We recommend the establishment of an institutional framework and policy guidelines that will enhance adequate and urgent information dissemination about breast cancer and screening methods to all women in Iran. Since women\u27s beliefs and behaviors may impact young women, designing training courses for this group seems to be essential

Central Obesity and BMI Associated with Different Phenotypes of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Adolescent

Adipose tissue distribution is effective in metabolic complications resulting from obesity. Fat accumulation in the body, particularly increase in visceral fat, is a major risk factor of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity and android obesity based on various phenotypes of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in 14-18 year old high-school girl students in Shiraz in 2009. This descriptive study was conducted on 14-18 year old high-school girl students in Shiraz in 2009. Considering the confidence coefficient of 95% and loss rate of 20%, a 3190subject sample size was determined for the study. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. After obtaining written informed consents, demographic information questionnaire was completed and the participants were examined regarding hirsutism, acne, alopecia, and menstrual disorders. Besides, the criteria proposed by Adams et al. were employed to diagnose PCOS in sonography. Android obesity and Body Mass Index (BMI) were evaluated, as well. The results of independent t-test showed no significant difference among various phenotypes of PCOS regarding mean android obesity and BMI (P>0.05). The results of the present study revealed no significant relationship between girl adolescents\u27 obesity and various phenotypes of PCOS. However, adolescents should be informed about the long-term hyperandrogenic outcomes which are accompanied by insulin secretion and endanger their health after the age of 40 years

Role of mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self-knowledge on psychological well-being among the university students

Background: Studies has shown the effect on environmental conditions on psychological well-being. In this regard, psychological characteristics have an important role. This study aimed to investigate the role of mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self -knowledge amonge the university students. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on the students of Kashan university of medical sciences (n=300) and based on quota sampling, a number of students (n=241) were selected based on the faculty and the major of the study. The administered tools were Ryff scale of psychological well-being (RSPWB-18), mindfulness (MAAS), acceptance and actions (AAQ-II) questionnaires and integrative self-knowledge scale (ISKS). Finally the data were analyzed using correlation and stepwise regression. Results: Pearson correlation disclosed a positive and considerable relation between mindfulness, integrative self-knowledge, psychological flexibility and psychological well-being. In addition, the findings showed significant role of mindfulness, integrative self-knowledge and psychological flexibility to predict the psychological well-being of the students; so these variables can predict 21 of psychological wellbeing changes. Conclusion: This study disclosed that the mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self -knowledge can in part specify the variance of psychological well-being

Gingival neoplasm presenting as an ossifying epulis in a parrot cichlid fish (Hoplarchus psittacus)

This report describes the histopathological features of an ossifying epulis, measuring 1.5 × 1 × 1 cm in length, width and height, respectively, on the lingual surface of the lower jaw of a 2.5 year-old parrot cichlid (Hoplarchus psittacus) from a commercial aquarium. The tumor had appeared in the oral cavity three months prior to its introduction to the laboratory for diagnosis. Grossly, the neoplastic mass was pale-tan with a shiny, smooth surface and coalescing areas of hemorrhage. Microscopically, the overlying epithelium was hyperplastic and extended deeply into the underlying stroma. The stroma consisted of well vascularized collagenous tissue and neoplastic fibroblasts associated with irregular cords and islands of mineral deposition as dentin-like materials confirmed by Masson's trichrome and Goldner's trichrome staining

A microscopic theory of gauge mediation

We construct models of indirect gauge mediation where the dynamics responsible for breaking supersymmetry simultaneously generates a weakly coupled subsector of messengers. This provides a microscopic realization of messenger gauge mediation where the messenger and hidden sector fields are unified into a single sector. The UV theory is SQCD with massless and massive quarks plus singlets, and at low energies it flows to a weakly coupled quiver gauge theory. One node provides the primary source of supersymmetry breaking, which is then transmitted to the node giving rise to the messenger fields. These models break R-symmetry spontaneously, produce realistic gaugino and sfermion masses, and give a heavy gravitino.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures, accepted to JHEP for publicatio

The Cosmology of Composite Inelastic Dark Matter

Composite dark matter is a natural setting for implementing inelastic dark matter - the O(100 keV) mass splitting arises from spin-spin interactions of constituent fermions. In models where the constituents are charged under an axial U(1) gauge symmetry that also couples to the Standard Model quarks, dark matter scatters inelastically off Standard Model nuclei and can explain the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signal. This article describes the early Universe cosmology of a minimal implementation of a composite inelastic dark matter model where the dark matter is a meson composed of a light and a heavy quark. The synthesis of the constituent quarks into dark mesons and baryons results in several qualitatively different configurations of the resulting dark matter hadrons depending on the relative mass scales in the system.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures; references added, typos correcte

Anomalous Dimensions and Non-Gaussianity

We analyze the signatures of inflationary models that are coupled to strongly interacting field theories, a basic class of multifield models also motivated by their role in providing dynamically small scales. Near the squeezed limit of the bispectrum, we find a simple scaling behavior determined by operator dimensions, which are constrained by the appropriate unitarity bounds. Specifically, we analyze two simple and calculable classes of examples: conformal field theories (CFTs), and large-N CFTs deformed by relevant time-dependent double-trace operators. Together these two classes of examples exhibit a wide range of scalings and shapes of the bispectrum, including nearly equilateral, orthogonal and local non-Gaussianity in different regimes. Along the way, we compare and contrast the shape and amplitude with previous results on weakly coupled fields coupled to inflation. This signature provides a precision test for strongly coupled sectors coupled to inflation via irrelevant operators suppressed by a high mass scale up to 1000 times the inflationary Hubble scale.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figure

Fano resonances in plasmonic core-shell particles and the Purcell effect

Despite a long history, light scattering by particles with size comparable with the light wavelength still unveils surprising optical phenomena, and many of them are related to the Fano effect. Originally described in the context of atomic physics, the Fano resonance in light scattering arises from the interference between a narrow subradiant mode and a spectrally broad radiation line. Here, we present an overview of Fano resonances in coated spherical scatterers within the framework of the Lorenz-Mie theory. We briefly introduce the concept of conventional and unconventional Fano resonances in light scattering. These resonances are associated with the interference between electromagnetic modes excited in the particle with different or the same multipole moment, respectively. In addition, we investigate the modification of the spontaneous-emission rate of an optical emitter at the presence of a plasmonic nanoshell. This modification of decay rate due to electromagnetic environment is referred to as the Purcell effect. We analytically show that the Purcell factor related to a dipole emitter oriented orthogonal or tangential to the spherical surface can exhibit Fano or Lorentzian line shapes in the near field, respectively.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures; invited book chapter to appear in "Fano Resonances in Optics and Microwaves: Physics and Application", Springer Series in Optical Sciences (2018), edited by E. O. Kamenetskii, A. Sadreev, and A. Miroshnichenk

Heat Exchanger Fouling in Phosphoric Acid Evaporators - Evaluation of Field Data -

Multistage evaporators are frequently used in phosphoric acid plants to increase the concentration of dilute phosphoric acid to 52-55 wt% P2O5. The concentrated phosphoric acid solution is supersaturated with respect to calcium sulfate. As a result, part of the calcium sulfate in the liquor deposits on the heat exchanger tube walls. Since the thermal conductivity of these scales is very low, thin deposits can create a significant resistance to heat transfer. Therefore, regular cleaning of heat exchangers is required, frequently at less than biweekly intervals. As the major costs in modern phosphoric acid plants are the cost of energy, a thorough understanding of the fouling kinetics and of the effects of various operational parameters on the behavior of calcium sulfate is required to improve operation and design of the shell and tube heat exchangers, which are extensively used. In this investigation, a large number of heat exchanger data were collected from shell and tube heat exchangers of the phosphoric acid plant of the Razi Petrochemical Complex (Iran) and the fouling deposits were analyzed with respect to appearance and composition. The overall heat transfer coefficients and fouling resistances were evaluated at different times and a kinetic model for the crystallization fouling was developed. It is shown that the crystallization rate constant obeys an Arrhenius relationship with activation energy of 57 kJ/mol. The predictions of the suggested model are in good agreement with the plant data