Clinical determinants of sleep quality in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES: Poor sleep quality is more prevalent in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than in healthy populations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not motor dysfunction at various distinct levels correlates with subjective sleep quality. METHODS: Patients with ALS and controls were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), ALS Functional Rating Scale Revised (ALSFRS-R), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The ALSFRS-R was used to obtain information on 12 different aspects of motor function in patients with ALS. We compared these data between the groups with poor and good sleep quality. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients with ALS and 92 age- and sex-matched controls entered the study. The global PSQI score was significantly higher in patients with ALS than in healthy subjects (5.5 ± 4.2 vs. 4.0 ± 2.8) and 44% of the patients with ALS had poor sleep quality (PSQI score > 5). The sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and sleep disturbances components were significantly worse in patients with ALS. Sleep quality (PSQI) score correlated with ALSFRS-R score, BDI-II score, and ESS score. Of the 12 ALSFRS-R functions, swallowing significantly affected sleep quality. Orthopnea, speech, salivation, dyspnea, and walking had a medium effect. In addition, turning in bed, climbing stairs, and dressing and hygiene were found to have a small effect on sleep quality among patients with ALS. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of our patients had poor sleep quality related to disease severity, depression, and daytime sleepiness. Bulbar muscle dysfunction may be associated with sleep disturbances in individuals with ALS, particularly when swallowing is impaired. In addition, patients suffering from axial or lower limb muscle disruptions are likely to have trouble sleeping.

Streptococcus Viridans meningitis in an immunocompetent child: A case report.

In bacterial meningitis, the Viridans streptococci group is not considered a prevalent pathogen. In contrast, the S. viridans group may cause endocarditis and fatal infections in immunocompromised children and adults. We report a 5-year-old immunocompetent boy with signs of meningitis. The CSF tested positive for meningitis with streptococcus viridans.

An unusual case of a toddler with Canavan disease with frequent intractable seizures: A case report and review of the literature.

Canavan disease is a rare fetal inherited leukodystrophy, caused by accumulation of N-acetyl-aspartate in the brain. Here, we report a child presented with frequent intractable seizures and visual impairment. A 14-month-old female infant with a complaint of the absence of neck holding and generalized tonic-clonic seizures was referred to our hospital. Macrocephaly, setting sun eyes, tremor, and hypotonia were observed. Funduscopy showed optic atrophy. Our patient's flash visual evoked potential showed blindness. Her brain magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse white matter in subcortical, basal ganglia, and dorsal pons. Electroencephalography showed diffuse slow and sharp waves. The genetic study detected a hemizygous mutation in the aspartoacylase gene. Our patient was diagnosed with Canavan disease and began anticonvulsant treatment. However, seizures were not under control. Then, her medications were discontinued, and clobazam and primidone were administered. In conclusion, starting clobazam and primidone may help prevent frequently intractable seizures in Canavan disease patients.

Design and fabrication of a simple and cost-effective optical flow meter using liquid crystals and textile grid.

The measurement of airflow velocity is crucial in various fields, and several sensing approaches have been developed for detecting airflow, including optical fiber-based flowmeters. However, these sensors often require complex fabrication processes and precise optical alignment. In this paper, a simpler and more cost-effective approach has been used to measure air flow rate by utilizing the birefringence property of liquid crystals (LCs). LCs possess distinct optical characteristics, and their reorientation due to airflow can be detected by observing the intensity of the output light between crossed polarizers. The novelty of this study is the utilization of a textile grid to hold the LC layer, which simplifies the fabrication process. This LC-based gas flowmeter offers a simple, low-cost setup and provides rapid performance. This research presents what we believe to be a new approach to calculate airflow by exploiting the optical properties of LCs, which is a new frontier in gas flow measurement. The proposed airflow meter is capable of detecting airflow rates ranging from 0 l/min to 7.5 l/min with an accuracy of 0.5 l/min. It exhibits a stable response time in 75 seconds, and the sensor maintains acceptable stability over time.

Rapid and Label-Free Methanol Identification in Alcoholic Beverages Utilizing a Textile Grid Impregnated with Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystals.

Methanol contamination of alcoholic drinks can lead to severe health problems for human beings including poisoning, headache, blindness, and even death. Therefore, having access to a simple and inexpensive way for monitoring beverages is vital. Herein, a portable, low cost, and easy to use sensor is fabricated based on the exploitation of chiral nematic liquid crystals (CLCs) and a textile grid for detection of methanol in two distinct alcoholic beverages: red wine and vodka. The working principle of the sensor relies on the reorientation of the liquid crystal molecules upon exposure to the contaminated alcoholic beverages with different concentrations of methanol (0, 2, 4, and 6 wt %) and the changes in the observed colorful textures of the CLCs as well as the intensity of the output light. The proposed sensor is label free and rapid.

Rapid, label-free and low-cost diagnostic kit for COVID-19 based on liquid crystals and machine learning.

We report a label-free method for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in nasopharyngeal swab samples without purification steps and multiplication of the target which simplifies and expedites the analysis process. The kit consists of a textile grid on which liquid crystals (LC) are deposited and the grid is placed in a crossed polarized microscopy. The swab samples are subsequently placed on the LCs. In the presence of a particular biomolecule, the direction of LCs changes locally based on the properties of the biomolecule and forms a particular pattern. As the swab samples are not perfectly purified, image processing and machine learning techniques are employed to detect the presence of specific molecules or quantify their concentrations in the medium. The method can differentiate negative and positive COVID-19 samples with an accuracy of 96% and also differentiate COVID-19 from influenza types A and B with an accuracy of 93%. The kit is portable, simple to manufacture, convenient to operate, cost effective, rapid and sensitive. The simplicity of the specimen processing, the speed of image acquisition, and fast diagnostic operations enable the deployment of the proposed technique for performing extensive on-spot screening of COVID-19 in public places.

Short-time anesthesia of a child with phenylketonuria: a case report.

Phenylketonuria is a rare disorder that increases the levels of phenylalanine in the blood. As there are scant articles about anesthesia management in phenylketonuria patients, this encouraged us to report a short-time anesthesia management of a child with phenylketonuria for bone fracture. The anesthesia was induced with intravenous ketamine and midazolam. During procedure, he received 100% oxygen via a face mask throughout spontaneous breathing. The operation was uneventful, and he was completely awakened in the recovery room. This report emphasizes that in some situations, the combination of midazolam with ketamine could be used safely for short time anesthesia in phenylketonuria patients.

Comparison and interaction of morphine and CB1 agonist conditioned place preference in the rat model of early life stress.

Early life stress (ELS) disrupts brain development and subsequently affects physical and psychological health. ELS has been associated with an increased risk of relapse and inadequate treatment response in addicted patients. The current study was designed to find the effect of ELS on the rewarding effect of morphine and cannabinoid and their interaction. Pregnant female Wistar rats were used in this study. On postnatal day 2 (PND2), pups were separated from their mothers for 3 hr daily. This procedure was repeated every day at the same time until PND 14. The control group was kept in the standard nesting way with their mothers. The adult male offspring of maternal separated (MS) and standard nested (SN) rats were used. Using conditioned place preference task (CPP), the rewarding effect of morphine (0.75, 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg/kg) was evaluated in both MS and SN groups. Besides, the rewarding effect of cannabinoids was investigated using the administration of CB1 receptor agonist (ACPA, 0.25, 0.5, 1 µg/rat) and inverse agonist (AM-251, 30, 60, and 90 ng/rat) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). To evaluate the interaction between NAc cannabinoidergic system and morphine, the noneffective dose of ACPA and AM-251 were administered with a noneffective dose of morphine (0.75 mg/kg) on both MS and SN animals. Obtained results indicated that MS groups had a leftward shift in the rewarding effect of morphine and conditioned with low doses of morphine. However, they had a rightward shift in the rewarding effect of cannabinoids. In addition, coadministration of noneffective doses of morphine and ACPA potentiate conditioning in both MS and SN groups. Previous evidence shows that ELS induced changes in the brain, especially in the reward circuits. Here, we demonstrated that MS animals are more sensitive to the rewarding effect of morphine compared with SN animals. In addition, ELS disrupts the cannabinoid system and affect the rewarding effect of cannabinoids.

Design and development of a scale of perceived barriers to self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: an exploratory factor analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the importance of perceived barriers against self-care in diabetic patients, the role of this factor is rarely addressed in the improvement of self-care behaviors of Iranian patients. The lack of appropriate instruments that fit demographic properties of Iranian society is one reason. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the scale of perceived barriers to self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This cross-sectional study conducted on 400 patients with type 2 diabetes who were covered by the health centers in Isfahan (Iran) in 2015. A 22-item, researcher-made instrument was designed; the face and content validities of the instrument were examined through obtaining the opinions of an expert panel before administering the instrument in the study. Also, the exploratory factor analysis was used to investigate the instrument's validity. Cronbach's alpha was employed to measure its internal consistency (reliability). To examine the validity of the final scale, the mean scores of perceived barriers in patients with appropriate and inappropriate self-care behaviors were compared. RESULTS: The research sample was comprised of 240 women (60%) and 160 men (40%). The mean value of the content validity index was 0.84. The results of factor analysis confirmed the validity of the 11 items and 3 factors of the developed scale. The factor loading ranged from 0.46 to 0.78. These three factors together explained 40.28% of the total variance. The overall reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.79, ranging from 0.82 to 0.93 for three factors. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the developed scale was a valid and reliable instrument for examining the barriers perceived by the patients. The findings of this research can help health policy makers in planning to facilitate the self-care behaviors as the most vital factor in diabetes control.

Causes of job stress in nurses: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing is naturally a stressful job. Stress in nurses can cause depression, isolation from patients, absence and decrease in their qualification. This study aimed to determine the causes of job stress in nurses of Kashan, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 189 nurses from Kashan hospitals of different wards were studied. The information collection tool was Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised™ (OSI-R™). FINDINGS: The most important job stress aspects in female nurses were range of roles (48.4%), role duality (40.9%) and job environment (39.6%). In men, range of roles (57.5%), job environment (50%) and responsibility (45%) were the most significant aspects. In addition, lack of balance between skill and education and job environment requirements in both genders was the least important aspect of job stress. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the level of stress in most of the nurses was in medium level. Job factors were more involved in job stress than demographic and other factors.

In vitro production of nitrite by low and high density sperm subpopulations of human, bull and ram.

The aim of present study was to characterize nitric oxide production via nitrite measurement as its stable metabolite in the different species of spermatozoa (human, bull and ram). Sperm samples were fractionated on the basis of density with the use of a three-layer Percoll gradient. Spermatozoa collected from the various percoll gradient interfaces (50/70 and 70/95%). Results showed that nitrite is produced by human, bull and ram spermatozoa, but in the same sample, there were no significant difference between high density (with higher percentage of motility) sperm subpopulation and low density (with lower percentage of motility) sperm subpopulation Therefore, it seems that spermatozoa with different motility in the one sperm population have the same production of NO in physiological conditionthat is different from pathological condition (e.g., in the subfertile men).