Computational Approaches for Connecting Maternal Stress to Preterm Birth.

Multiple studies have hinted at a complex connection between maternal stress and preterm birth (PTB). This article describes the potential of computational methods to provide new insights into this relationship. For this, we outline existing approaches for stress assessments and various data modalities available for profiling stress responses, and review studies that sought either to establish a connection between stress and PTB or to predict PTB based on stress-related factors. Finally, we summarize the challenges of computational methods, highlighting potential future research directions within this field.

Socioeconomic inequality in self-rated health and its determinants: an Oaxaca blinder decomposition in Ilam, West of Iran during 2023.

AIM: To determine inequality and decompose it's in Self-Rated Health (SRH). METHOD: This population-based cross-sectional study was undertaken on the entire population of the city of Ilam, Iran, in 2023. Multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling with proportion-to-size approach was used to select the participants. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique was used to show the amount of inequity in SRH and to decompose of the gap of SRH between the poor and the rich group of participants. RESULTS: 1370 persons participated in the study. The 59.38% of participants stated good SRH status and just 8.86% of participants had poor SRH status. The results of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition revealed a considerable gap (15.87%) in the poor status of SRH between the rich and the poor. A large proportion (89.66%) of this difference was described by explained portion of the model. The results of decomposition showed that economic status was directly responsible for explaining 27.98% of overall inequality gap between rich and poor people. Moreover, hopelessness to future (32.64%), having an underlying disease (18.34%) and difference in the education level (10.71%) were associated with an increase in inequality disfavoring the poor. CONCLUSION: For people suffering from underlying disease, it is suggested to devise policies to improve access to/and remove healthcare utilization barriers. To address hopelessness to future, it is recommended to carry out further studies to reveal factors which affect it in more details. This can help policy makers to formulate more realistic and evidence-informed policies on order to lessen the current socioeconomic inequity in SRH.

Excitatory deep brain stimulation quenches beta oscillations arising in a computational model of the subthalamo-pallidal loop.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with abnormal [Formula: see text] band oscillations (13-30 Hz) in the cortico-basal ganglia circuits. Abnormally increased striato-pallidal inhibition and strengthening the synaptic coupling between subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus externa (GPe), due to the loss of dopamine, are considered as the potential sources of [Formula: see text] oscillations in the basal ganglia. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the basal ganglia subregions is known as a way to reduce the pathological [Formula: see text] oscillations and motor deficits related to PD. Despite the success of the DBS, its underlying mechanism is poorly understood and, there is controversy about the inhibitory or excitatory role of the DBS in the literature. Here, we utilized a computational network model of basal ganglia which consists of STN, GPe, globus pallidus interna, and thalamic neuronal population. This model can reproduce healthy and pathological [Formula: see text] oscillations similar to what has been observed in experimental studies. Using this model, we investigated the effect of DBS to understand whether its effect is excitatory or inhibitory. Our results show that the excitatory DBS is able to quench the pathological synchrony and [Formula: see text] oscillations, while, applying inhibitory DBS failed to quench the PD signs. In light of simulation results, we conclude that the effect of the DBS on its target is excitatory.

A sensor-less control and optimal energy management algorithm for a stand-alone photovoltaic system considering partial shading condition.

One of the most important part of a stand-alone photovoltaic system is energy management. This part uses several sensors to measure solar radiations, load power and battery energy to determine operation of the system components. Reduction the number of sensors and optimization of energy management system are two key steps to improve the efficiency and reliability of the system without additional cost. Hence, in this paper, a comprehensive energy management algorithm along with a complementary algorithm to estimate radiation under uniform and partial shading conditions is proposed. According to the system state, the energy management algorithm commands to activate/ deactivate a part or entire of photovoltaic system which can increase the system lifetime and thus increase the system reliability. Another feature of the proposed algorithm is a new mode in the absence of radiation for parallelizing and sharing the battery's current to the load by unidirectional and bidirectional converters. Furthermore, a sensor-less complementary algorithm to determine the amount of radiation and also the partial shading condition is proposed. To prove the feasibility of the proposed algorithms, the system was simulated and constructed. The simulation and experimental results are found closely comparable and confirm the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Application of health belief model to predict COVID-19-preventive behaviors among a sample of Iranian adult population.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected nearly 9.5 million people in 216 countries, areas, or territories in the world. The fight against the COVID-19 has become a very serious international challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of COVID-19-preventive behaviors using the health belief model (HBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 558 samples from the adult population of Iran. The online convenience sampling was conducted in this research. The online 68-item questionnaire link was published all over Iran through social networks including Telegram and WhatsApp, which are common in Iran. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19. Descriptive statistics, bivariate Pearson's correlation test, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 33.3 ± 10.01 years. The participants were often female (61.3%), married (57.9%), and resident of the city (81.0%) with university educational level (78.8%). The results showed that the HBM structures predicted 29.3% of the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 in the subjects. The perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy significantly predicted the preventive behaviors, but the perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were not significant in the regression model. The internet and virtual social networks (49.8%), broadcast (33.5%), and healthcare providers (15.8%) were the most important sources of information related with COVID-19. In response to COVID-19-related internal cues to action, 36.6% did not pay attention and 34.7% tried to self-medicate. Only 28.5% of the subjects referred to the hospital, healthcare center, or physician. CONCLUSION: Self-efficacy, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits were the key determinants of COVID-19-preventive behaviors in the subjects. It can be concluded that the HBM is a good tool to predict COVID-19-preventive behaviors in Iranian population.

The Effect of Stress Management Program on Perceived Stress in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Stress management plays an important role in improving metabolic control in type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of this study was to find the effect of educational intervention on improving stress management in type 2 diabetic patients in Dezful, Iran. METHODS: In an experimental study, 92 patients with type 2 diabetes who were referred to the Diabetes Clinic of Ganjavian Hospital of Dezful were selected by available sampling method. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups: 46 as intervention and 46 as control. For the intervention group, a stress management training program was designed for one month (8 sessions), while there was no training for the control group. All participants filled the Cohen Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) in baseline and follow up (3 months) phases. All the data were analyzed using SPSS software by conducting an independent t- test, and paired sample t- test, and Chi-square test at a significant level of 0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 52.70 ± 10.91 years. Pre-test data revealed that there was no significant difference between the stresses of the two groups (P> 0.05); however, the results of the independent t-test, 3 months after the educational intervention, demonstrated a significant decrease in stress level in the intervention group compared to the control group (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the design and implementation of health education interventions can be useful to improve stress management in people with type 2 diabetes.

The consequences of regular methamphetamine use in Tehran: qualitative content analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, methamphetamine use has increased noticeably in Iran, and this can make harmful consequences for the health of individuals and society. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the consequences of regular methamphetamine use in Tehran. METHODS: This study was conducted based on a conventional content analysis approach. Data were collected through observation and in-depth interviews with 20 regular adult users of methamphetamine in Tehran (including 15 males and 5 females). Participants were selected using snowball sampling and purposeful sampling, which continued until data saturation. Guba and Lincoln's criteria were used to assess the strength of the study. RESULTS: The extraction of the codes resulted in three main categories: (1)the short-term consequences, consisting of the sub-categories of individual and social consequences, (2) the long-term consequences, consisting of the sub-categories of psychological and physical consequences, high-risk behaviors, severely decayed memory and changes in the eating pattern, and (3) hallucinations and delusions including the sub-categories of visual and auditory hallucinations, persecutory delusions and delusion of having supernatural power. CONCLUSION: Regular methamphetamine use may have serious adverse effects on the overall health of individuals. It is therefore highly recommended that educational programs must implement with the use of methamphetamine in the high- risk groups in order to raise awareness and change attitudes about the short and long term consequences. is highly recommended.

Assessment of educational performance of nurses in neonatal intensive care unit from parents' perspective.

INTRODUCTION: One of the key elements in family-centered care is educating parents with hospitalized infant at intensive care unit. Education is a fundamental role of nursing at intensive care units to satisfy parents and accelerate disease progression that eventually reduces hospital re-admission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2018, and the study population was admitted infants (n = 90) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences hospitals. We used a questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics and performance of nurses in educating parents. Nurses' performance was assessed in five major areas composed of family-centered care, delivering cares according to individualized needs, education on equipment, basic needs of infants, and finally, nutritional education. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 22. The data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and nonparametric tests. RESULTS: Findings from the current study indicated that nurses performed their educational role weakly (37% of standard level). We also found that nurses who participated in neonatal educational courses had better performance compared to their counterparts. The results showed that year of experiences working as a clinical nurse was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with performing standard education. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that nurses performed their educational role weakly which might be due to staff shortage, heavy workload, and lack of time for educating parents. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of education among nurses working at the NICUs and provide the necessary standards and indicators to evaluate this important task.

Palladium nanoparticles decorated into a biguanidine modified-KIT-5 mesoporous structure: a recoverable nanocatalyst for ultrasound-assisted Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling.

In the current research work, a new KIT-5-biguanidine-Pd(0) catalyst was prepared and applied to ultrasound-assisted Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions using ultrasound waves at ambient temperature. The ultrasound-assisted method is a green and efficient method for C-C coupling. Many parameters of the Suzuki coupling reaction were examined, such as the irradiation time, the types of organic and inorganic bases, the types of aprotic and protic solvents, and the dosage (mol%) of catalyst. Also, the results showed that the yields from the ultrasound-assisted coupling reactions were higher than from non-irradiated reactions. The prepared catalyst was characterized via HR-TEM, SEM-EDX-mapping, FT-IR, ICP-AAS, BET-BJH, and XRD studies. The stability and catalytic performance of the prepared catalyst were good, and it could be reused 6 times without catalytic activity loss for the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction.

Physical Activity Stage of Change and Its Related Factors in Secondary School Students of Sarableh City: A Perspective from Iran.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity is highly beneficial to health. These benefits are so important and indispensable for adolescents. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the Physical activity stage of change and its related factors in the male secondary School students of Sarableh city. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 261 male secondary School students possessing the eligibility criteria were selected using the simple random sampling technique. After giving their informed consent, the students filled the stage of change questionnaire and the structures of the transtheoretical model in a self-reporting manner. Using SPSS.21, the data were analysed through One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation test with a 0.05 level of significance. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 16.16±0.89 years. According to the stage of change, 26.8 per cent (n = 70) were in preaction stages (precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation) and 73.2 per cent (n = 191) were in action and maintenance stages. The one-way ANOVA revealed that awareness is raising, self-reevaluation, counter conditioning and reinforcing management differed significantly across stages (P < 0.05). However, this difference is not significant for other cognitive and behavioural processes (P > 0.05). According to the findings, increase in the self-efficacy, pros and decrease in cons was found by students' progress in the Physical activity stage of change (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Self-efficacy and processes of change are warranted when designing Physical activity stage interventions in the adolescents.

Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Male Adolescents in West of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Every year many people around the world become infected with food-borne infections. Insufficient knowledge and skills related to food safety and hygiene are among the factors affecting the incidence of food-borne diseases, especially in adolescents. AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices associated with food safety and hygiene in Ilam city male adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three hundred and eighty of male adolescents aged 13 to 19 were selected randomly and entered the cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire From December 2016 to February 2017. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data in SPSS software (version 19.0). RESULTS: The findings of the study showed a positive and significant relationship between knowledge and practices related to food safety and hygiene (r = 0.122; p = 0.018). Also, the findings showed that food safety knowledge and practice of adolescents were significantly affected by the level of their education, parental education level, parental employment status and household economic conditions, (p < 0.005). Also, the results showed that the participants generally obtained 57.74% of the knowledge score and 57.63% of practices score. The subjects had the most knowledge about food supply and storage (60%), and the highest practice was related to personal and environmental hygiene, (61.73%). CONCLUSION: The inadequacy of knowledge and performance of adolescents about food safety and hygiene shows the need for implementation of health education interventions in this area.

Sensorimotor Processing in the Basal Ganglia Leads to Transient Beta Oscillations during Behavior.

Brief epochs of beta oscillations have been implicated in sensorimotor control in the basal ganglia of task-performing healthy animals. However, which neural processes underlie their generation and how they are affected by sensorimotor processing remains unclear. To determine the mechanisms underlying transient beta oscillations in the LFP, we combined computational modeling of the subthalamo-pallidal network for the generation of beta oscillations with realistic stimulation patterns derived from single-unit data recorded from different basal ganglia subregions in rats performing a cued choice task. In the recordings, we found distinct firing patterns in the striatum, globus pallidus, and subthalamic nucleus related to sensory and motor events during the behavioral task. Using these firing patterns to generate realistic inputs to our network model led to transient beta oscillations with the same time course as the rat LFP data. In addition, our model can account for further nonintuitive aspects of beta modulation, including beta phase resets after sensory cues and correlations with reaction time. Overall, our model can explain how the combination of temporally regulated sensory responses of the subthalamic nucleus, ramping activity of the subthalamic nucleus, and movement-related activity of the globus pallidus leads to transient beta oscillations during behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Transient beta oscillations emerge in the normal functioning cortico-basal ganglia loop during behavior. Here, we used a unique approach connecting a computational model closely with experimental data. In this way, we achieved a simulation environment for our model that mimics natural input patterns in awake, behaving animals. We demonstrate that a computational model for beta oscillations in Parkinson's disease (PD) can also account for complex patterns of transient beta oscillations in healthy animals. Therefore, we propose that transient beta oscillations in healthy animals share the same mechanism with pathological beta oscillations in PD. This important result connects functional and pathological roles of beta oscillations in the basal ganglia.

The effect of Elettaria cardamomum extract on anxiety-like behavior in a rat model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition which develops in 6-8% of the general population. Current standard pharmacological treatments for PTSD cannot be widely used due to having various side effects. Nowadays, various pharmacological properties have been related to Elettaria cardamomum L. (family of Zingiberaceae). The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of E. cardamomum methanolic extract on anxiety-like behavior in a rat model of PTSD. Adult male Wistar rats (200-250gr) were used in this study. The rats underwent single prolonged stress (SPS) or control and intraperitoneally received either saline or different dosages (200, 400, and 800mg/kg) of E. cardamomum methanolic extract before and after stress sessions. Moreover, open field, elevated plus-maze, and rotarod tests were used to evaluate locomotion and anxiety-like behavior in the rats. Findings demonstrated that E. Cardamomum methanolic extract, particularly at the dose of 400mg/kg, significantly (P<0.05) improved anxiety-like behavior in a rat model of PTSD, as examined by the open field, elevated plus-maze, and rotarod tests. Administration of E. cardamomum methanolic extract after stress might help to prevent the formation of anxiety-like behavior in the animals. However, further studies are requiredto clarify the exact mechanisms involved.

Effect of Education Intervention on Lifestyle of Patients with Hypertension among the Rural Population of Lorestan Province.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is one of the most common chronic health problems across the world, resulting in significant global responsibility in developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to survey the effect of educational intervention on the lifestyle of patients with hypertension. METHODS: This study was a case-control intervention study on 86 patients with hypertension that were selected by simple random sampling from the rural regions of Aligoudarz County in Lorestan Province. Before the intervention, both groups completed the standard questionnaire of HPLP II; two months after the intervention, both groups completed the same questionnaire. The results were analyzed using SPSS software, t-test, and Chi-square test. RESULTS: The mean age and standard deviation in case and control groups were 59.95 ± 7.9 and 64.51 ± 9.2 years, respectively. The mean of the total lifestyle scores was significantly increased in the case group compared with the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, the average scores for the three dimensions of physical activity, nutrition, and stress management after educational intervention in the case group compared to the control group showed a significant increase (p < 0.05, for all). CONCLUSION: Based on the relationship between lifestyle and hypertension, it seems that implementing educational programs in the fields of nutrition, physical activity, and stress management is essential to improvement in disease knowledge and behavior modification among patients with hypertension.

Social Cognitive Predictors of Breakfast Consumption in Primary School's Male Students.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to test the usefulness of social cognitive theory (SCT) in explaining breakfast consumption in a sample of primary male students. METHODS: Participants in this cross-sectional study were 358 male students (3rd, 4th and 5th grades) from eight public primary schools of Ilam city. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire based on components of SCT. Bivariate correlations and multiple logistic regression analysis using an Enter method were used to identify social cognitive correlates and determinants of breakfast consumption. RESULTS: A total of 358 participants ranging in age from 8-12 years (M=10.06) were studied. The result of the study showed that the SCT significantly predicted breakfast consumption. SCT variables explained 41.4% of the variance in breakfast consumption behaviors, though, self-regulation was found to be the strongest predictor of breakfast consumption behaviors. There was the strongest correlation between behaviors and self-regulation, (r=0.561; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings support the usefulness of SCT in explaining breakfast consumption behaviors. These results suggest an essential role for self-regulation, self-efficacy and social support in the breakfast consumption behaviors of primary male students.

The impact of the lateral geniculate nucleus and corticogeniculate interactions on efficient coding and higher-order visual object processing.

Principles of efficient coding suggest that the peripheral units of any sensory processing system are designed for efficient coding. The function of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) as an early stage in the visual system is not well understood. Some findings indicate that similar to the retina that decorrelates input signals spatially, the LGN tends to perform a temporal decorrelation. There is evidence suggesting that corticogeniculate connections may account for this decorrelation in the LGN. In this study, we propose a computational model based on biological evidence reported by Wang et al. (2006), who demonstrated that the influence pattern of V1 feedback is phase-reversed. The output of our model shows how corticogeniculate connections decorrelate LGN responses and make an efficient representation. We evaluated our model using criteria that have previously been tested on LGN neurons through cell recording experiments, including sparseness, entropy, power spectra, and information transfer. We also considered the role of the LGN in higher-order visual object processing, comparing the categorization performance of human subjects with a cortical object recognition model in the presence and absence of our LGN input-stage model. Our results show that the new model that considers the role of the LGN, more closely follows the categorization performance of human subjects.

Predicting the human reaction time based on natural image statistics in a rapid categorization task.

The human visual system is developed by viewing natural scenes. In controlled experiments, natural stimuli therefore provide a realistic framework with which to study the underlying information processing steps involved in human vision. Studying the properties of natural images and their effects on the visual processing can help us to understand underlying mechanisms of visual system. In this study, we used a rapid animal vs. non-animal categorization task to assess the relationship between the reaction times of human subjects and the statistical properties of images. We demonstrated that statistical measures, such as the beta and gamma parameters of a Weibull, fitted to the edge histogram of an image, and the image entropy, are effective predictors of subject reaction times. Using these three parameters, we proposed a computational model capable of predicting the reaction times of human subjects.