Association of socio-economic status and visual impairment: A population-based study in Iran

Backgrounds: To assess the role of socio-economic inequality in visual impairment (VI) in Varamin district, Iran. Patients and Methods: Using multistage cluster sampling method, 60 clusters (each with 50 subjects) were recruited and underwent clinical eye examinations. Socio-economic status (SES) was identified based on education, occupation, family assets and housing conditions that were measured at the participants’ households using a semi-structured questionnaire and a two-step cluster analysis model. In addition, principal component analysis and the concentration index were used to identify the gap between high and low SES groups. Results: Participants were categorized in high (522, 24.4%), moderate (974, 43.1%) and low (763, 33.7%) socio-economic levels. In these levels, the prevalence of VI was 5.9% (95% CI: 3.3 to 8.6), 10.4% (95% CI: 8.4-12.4), and 12.6% (95% CI: 10.1 to 15.1), respectively. The prevalence of VI in people with low SES was significantly greater than those in high SES level. The proportions of avoidable causes were relatively high in all SES levels (more than 80%) with no significant difference between different levels. Conclusions: There is significant inequality in VI prevalence in Varamin district. Avoidable causes are high in all SES groups. Therefore, community-based modalities and preventive programs with a specific notice to poorer SES groups are recommended to improve eye health in this district. © 2017, Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved

Pembingkaian Berita Media Online : Kasus Kekerasan terhadap Perempuan sebagai Tenaga Kerja Wanita (TKW)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana suatu realitas kejadian dikonstruksi oleh media online khususnya pemberitaan tentang kasus Kekerasan terhadap Perempuan sebagai Tenaga Kerja Wanita (TKW). Penelitian ini menggunakan paradigma konstruksionis. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian kualitatif deskriptif, dengan analisis framing untuk melihat bagaimana media online seperti Tempo.co dan Republika online dalam membingkai pemberitaan kasus kekerasan terhadap perempuan. Penelitian ini menggunakan teori yang diberikan oleh Zhongdang Pan dan Gerald M Kosicki. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pemberitaan yang dilakukan Republika online cenderung bersikap netral dalam menyikapi kasus kekerasan TKW yang menimpa Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, sedangkan media Tempo.co memiliki kecenderungan kontra terhadap pemerintah. Media Tempo.co mengkonstruksikan dan mengarahkan pembaca untuk menilai Pemerintah sebagai pihak yang bersalah. Ketika pembaca melihat isi pemberitaan Tempo.co, yang terlintas dan diingat pembaca adalah pihak pemerintah seperti BNP2TKI merupakan pihak yang tidak bertanggung jawab atas penyebab berulangnya kasus penyiksaan TKI, baik dalam hal pengawasan TKW maupun membantu penyelesaian administrasi rumah sakit dimana Erwiana di rawat. Media Tempo.co menunjukkan kecenderungannya untuk mendukung Erwiana sebagai korban. Selain itu layaknya media online umumnya, headline menjadi salah satu senjata utama dalam menarik perhatian masyarakat untuk membacanya begitu juga dengan Tempo maupun Republika. Ini berarti, media online seperti Tempo dan Republika lebih menjual headline dalam tiap pemberitaan disajikan dan kadang mengesampingkan konten berita itu sendir

Replacing Sugar by Date Syrup in Gaz and Investigation of Texture Properties

Date Syrup is a natural sweetener that is suitable replacement for sugar in food stuffs formulation. In this Research Amounts of 25-100 percent of sugar in Gaz formulation were replaced with date syrup and to study effect of its use in product formulation, characteristics of texture, color and sensory analyse of treatments were investigated. Statistical analyse of data was also done by SPSS software and Dankan test. The results of this research showed that amount of used date syrup in formulation had a significant effect on color parameters (L*,a*,b*), texture characteristics and sensory analyse of samples. By increase of date syrup in Gaz formulation, samples texture became softer than control sample and yellowness and redness index of samples were increasedDoi: DOI: 10.12777/ijse.6.1.11-15 [How to cite this article: Shafiei, Z., Hojjatoleslami, M., Soha, S., and Shariati, M.A. 2014. The Influence of Malt Extraction Adding to UF Fresh Low Fat Cheese on Its Textural Properties. International Journal of Science and Engineering, 6(1):57-60. Doi: 10.12777/ijse.6.1.11-1

A New Approach to the Numerical Solution of Fractional Order Optimal Control Problems

In this article, a new numerical method is proposed for solving a class of fractional order optimal control problems. The fractional derivative is considered in the Caputo sense. This approach is based on a combination of the perturbation homotopy and parameterization methods. The control function u(t) is approximated by polynomial functions with unknown coefficients. This method converts the fractional order optimal control problem to an optimization problem. Numerical results are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the method

Refining the Deep Brain Stimulation Target within the Limbic Globus Pallidus Internus for Tourette Syndrome

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with severe, refractory Tourette syndrome (TS) has demonstrated promising but variable results thus far. The thalamus and anteromedial globus pallidus internus (amGPi) have been the most commonly stimulated sites within the cortico-striato thalamic circuit, but an optimal target is yet to be elucidated. OBJECTIVES: This study of 15 patients with long-term amGPi DBS for severe TS investigated whether a specific anatomical site within the amGPi correlated with optimal clinical outcome for the measures of tics, obsessive compulsive behaviour (OCB), and mood. METHODS: Validated clinical assessments were used to measure tics, OCB, quality of life, anxiety, and depression before DBS and at the latest follow-up (17-82 months). Electric field simulations were created for each patient using information on electrode location and individual stimulation parameters. A subsequent regression analysis correlated these patient-specific simulations to percentage changes in outcome measures in order to identify any significant voxels related to clinical improvement. RESULTS: A region within the ventral limbic GPi, specifically on the medial medullary lamina in the pallidum at the level of the AC-PC, was significantly associated with improved tics but not mood or OCB outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds further support to the application of DBS in a tic-related network, though factors such as patient sample size and clinical heterogeneity remain as limitations and replication is required

DNA methylation changes in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

The etiology of the major psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, remains poorly understood. Postmortem brain studies have revealed altered expression of multiple mRNAs, affecting neurotransmission, metabolism, myelination and other functions. Epigenetic mechanisms could be involved, because for a limited number of genes, the alterations of mRNA levels have been linked to inverse DNA methylation changes at sites of the corresponding promoters. However, results from independent studies have been inconsistent, and when expressed in quantitative terms, disease-related methylation changes appear to be comparatively subtle. A recent study identified approximately 100 loci with altered CpG methylation in schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, the majority of which were gender-specific. Additional work will be necessary to clarify the origin and timing of these methylation changes in psychosis and to determine the specific cell types affected in the diseased brain

Control of interneuron dendritic growth through NRG1/erbB4-mediated kalirin-7 disinhibition.

Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) is a secreted trophic factor that activates the postsynaptic erbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase. Both NRG1 and erbB4 have been repeatedly associated with schizophrenia, but their downstream targets are not well characterized. ErbB4 is highly abundant in interneurons, and NRG1-mediated erbB4 activation has been shown to modulate interneuron function, but the role for NRG1-erbB4 signaling in regulating interneuron dendritic growth is not well understood. Here we show that NRG1/erbB4 promote the growth of dendrites in mature interneurons through kalirin, a major dendritic Rac1-GEF. Recent studies have shown associations of the KALRN gene with schizophrenia. Our data point to an essential role of phosphorylation in kalirin-7's C terminus as the critical site for these effects. As reduced interneuron dendrite length occurs in schizophrenia, understanding how NRG1-erbB4 signaling modulates interneuron dendritic morphogenesis might shed light on disease-related alterations in cortical circuits

Optimal control of fredholm integral equations

In this paper a numerical method is proposed for solving optimal control problems governed by Fredholm integral equations (OCF). The method is based upon sinc wavelet and parametrization method and transforms the problem to a nonlinear programming problem. Control function u(t) and state function are approximated by a finite combination of elements of a basis and by a finite combination of sinc wavelet respectively. Numerical examples show the validity and applicability of the proposed method