Normal range of thoracic kyphosis in male school children.

Background. Although there are frequent studies about normal range of thoracic kyphosis, there is still a controversy about the exact values of this curve. In nine reported studies on 10 to 20 years of age boys, the value ranged from 25.1° to 53.3°. Objective for the Study. The aim of the present research was investigation of normal ranges of thoracic kyphosis in school children in Kermanshah, western Iran. Methods. 582 male students aged 13 to 18 years old using cluster random sampling were recruited from schools in Kermanshah city, 97 students for each age. Thoracic curves were measured using the flexicurve method. Results. Mean thoracic kyphosis for whole population was 35.49° SD 7.83 and plus or minus two standard deviations ranged from 19.83° to 51.15°. It increased gradually from 13 to 16 and then there was a little decrease to 18 years. Mean values for each age (13-16) were 13 (34.41 SD 7.47°), 14 (34.86 SD 8.29°), 15 (35.79 SD 7.93°), 16 (36.49 SD 7.85°), 17 (35.84 SD 8.33°), and 18 (35.55 SD 7.07°). Conclusions. Our results are in agreement with previous reports and can be used as normal values for local and regional purposes.

Effect of nano TiO(2) on self-cleaning property of cross-linking cotton fabric with succinic acid under UV irradiation.

Optimization of curing cotton textiles through self-cleaning property constructs the main goal of the present study. Cotton fabrics with 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 on weight of bath percent were cured by nano titanium dioxide (P25 Degussa) with cross-link and non cross-link methods. In this study, succinic acid was used as a cross-link agent to attach TiO(2) to the cotton. The amount of loaded titania particles to cotton fabrics and the thermal behavior of cured samples were studied by the burning method and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. Self-cleaning degree of cured samples, stained with natural and synthesized dyes under irradiation of 20 and 400 W UV lamps was investigated by a reflectance spectrophotometer. The structure and morphology of treated cotton fabrics were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and crystallinity of titania coatings by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The tearing strengths of titania-coated cotton fabrics before and after light irradiation were measured. Results showed that the stability of nano TiO(2) coating and self-cleaning degree of treated samples with cross-link method were much higher than those of non cross-link method, and cotton cellulosic chains were not decomposed by the photocatalytic activity of titania.