Should Parents Allow Their Children Use Smartphones and Tablets? The Issue of Screen Time for Recreational Activities.

Previous research has shown that children are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) and blue light emitted from digital screens compared to healthy adults. This paper presents the findings of a cross-sectional study conducted in Yasuj, Iran, to investigate the screen time habits of children and adolescents and its potential impact on their health. A total of 63 participants, including 44 boys and 19 girls, were randomly selected for the study. The results showed that the average daily screen time for the children was 87.38 minutes, with a standard deviation of 49.58. When examining the specific purposes of screen time, it was found that the children spent an average of 17.54 minutes per day on screens for school assignments, 70 minutes per day for recreational purposes, and 23.41 minutes per day for contacting family, friends, and relatives. Our study highlights that a significant portion of the children's screen time was allocated to recreational activities. We observed some differences in screen time between girls and boys. Boys had a slightly higher overall daily screen time, primarily driven by more recreational screen time. However, girls spent slightly more time on screens for school assignments. The screen time for social interactions was similar for both genders. Our findings on the cognitive performance of children with different levels of screen time will be published in a separate paper.

Evaluating the radioprotective effect of single dose and daily oral consumption of green tea, grape seed, and coffee bean extracts against gamma irradiation.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the radio-protective effect of green tea, grape seed, and coffee bean extracts in different oral consumption methods in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental-quantitative study 150 mice in 15 equally sized groups were used. For each extract, two groups received 200 mg/kg of herbal extracts' combination for 7 and 30 consecutive days before irradiation, and one group received 800 mg/kg of the extract 2 h before irradiation (3 Gy gamma-rays of Co-60). The similar groups were classified to receive a combination of the plant extracts (green tea, grape seed, and coffee bean). Irradiation without consuming plant extract (irradiated group), and a control group were also devised. Alkaline comet and micronucleus assays were used to investigate the radioprotective effect on mice blood and bone marrow cells, respectively. RESULTS: Consumption of all plant extracts significantly decreased the radiation damage to blood and bone marrow cells, compared to the irradiated group (p < 0.01), with grape seed extract showing higher protective effect. Continuous daily oral consumption (one week/month) showed a significant higher radioprotective effect compared to single consumption (p < 0.05). Continuous consumption of the combination of the extracts showed a higher radio-protection in comparison to each of the plant extracts (p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The radioprotective effect of continuous consumption (for one week/month) of the plant extracts was greater than single dose. In continuous consumption protocols, we found the synergetic property and higher radioprotective effect of the plant extract combination compared to each one.

Data on the cancer risk and mortalities induced by annual background radiations at various ages in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Iran.

Measurement of background radiations (BRs) as the sources of cancer risk, is important. The aim of this study was to measure the BR, as well as its cancer risk and mortalities in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province (KBAp). Indoors and outdoors BRs were measured in eight cities utilizing a Geiger-Muller detector. Five main locations (north, east, west, south, and center) were chosen for measuring outdoor and indoor BRs in each city of KBAp. The BEIR VII-Phase 2 model was used to calculate the BRs induced cancer risks and mortalities of various cancer types at different ages. The average dose rates of outdoor and indoor were 136.9 ±â€¯12.5 and 149.3 ±â€¯19.8 nSv.h-1, respectively. The average annual effective doses (AEDs) for adults, children, and infants were 0.17, 0.19, and 0.22 mSv.y-1 due to the outdoor, and 0.73, 0.84, and 0.94 mSv.y-1 resulting from the indoor exposure, respectively. The average lifetime risk for one year BRs induced cancers was 164.8 ±â€¯15.7 and 307.1 ±â€¯32.3 (in 100,000 people) for new-borns male and female, in that order. This risk decreased with age and reached 11.2 ±â€¯1.6 and 13.8 ±â€¯1.6 (in 100,000 people) for men and women at the age of 80, respectively. The average lifetime risk of mortality due to cancers induced by annual BRs was 70.7 ±â€¯8.3 and 113.8 ±â€¯10.6 (incidence probability in 100,000 people) for new-borns male and female respectively. This risk decreased with age and reached 9.8 ±â€¯1.3 and 12.2 ±â€¯1.3 (in 100,000 people) for men and women at the age of 80 years, respectively.

Exploring Changes in Thalamus Metabolites as Diagnostic Biomarkers in Idiopathic Generalised Epilepsy Patients Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

INTRODUCTION: Idiopathic generalised epilepsy (IGE) refers to a group of epilepsies resulting from the activation of neurons in the whole brain. This study aimed to evaluate the metabolite changes in thalamus as diagnostic biomarkers in IGE patients compared to healthy individuals using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique. METHODS: The MRS was performed on 35 IGE patients (26 women and 11 men) with average age of 32 (ranged from 18 to 43) and 35 healthy individuals (13 women and 22 men) with average age of 31 (ranged from 21 to 50) as the control group. The levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho) were measured using MRS. The NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios were calculated for all participants. These values were statistically compared using t-test between the groups. RESULTS: The NAA had significant lower values in IGE patients, 9.6 (SD = 0.8) and 9.9 (SD = 0.7) for right and left thalamus, respectively, compared to 10.9 (SD = 0.9) and 10.7 (SD = 0.9) in control group. The Cr values in the left side of thalamus were significantly higher in IGE patients (6.7 [SD = 0.8] versus 5.8 [SD = 0.5]); however, there was no difference in right thalamus. Measurements showed no difference for amounts of Cho between the groups in both sides of thalamus. The NAA/Cr ratio was 1.48 (SD = 0.14) and 1.48 (SD = 0.16) for right and left thalamus, respectively, in IGE patients in comparison with 1.83 (SD = 0.2) and 1.86 (SD = 0.26) in controls. There was no meaningful variation between the NAA/Cho ratio of the right and left thalamus among the groups. CONCLUSION: Thalamic NAA, Cr and NAA/Cr ratio values in IGE patients showed statistical differences compared to healthy individuals. Evaluating metabolites variations in thalamus using MRS is suggested for differentiating IGE patients from healthy individuals.