Evaluation of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Hamadan, Iran from 2002 to 2009

Jalal Poorolajal,Shadi Ghasemi,Leila Nezamabadi Farahani,Atefeh Sadat Hosseini,Seyyed Jalal Bathaei,Ali Zahiri 한국역학회 2011 Epidemiology and Health Vol.33 No.-

OBJECTIVES: To achieve a polio-free certification in Iran, a nationwide active surveillance program for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) was set up following World Health Organization guidelines. This article describes the results of an eight-year surveillance of AFP in Hamadan, in the west of Iran. METHODS: A standard set of minimum core variables were collected. All cases of non-polio AFP in children aged <15 years old were reported. Two stool specimens were collected within 14 days of the onset of paralysis. RESULTS: During the eight-year survey, 88 AFP cases aged <15 years old were reported. About 40% (35/88) of cases were aged ≤5 years, 56% (49/88) were boys, 19 (21.6%) had fever at the onset of paralysis, 74 (84.0%) had complete paralysis within four days of onset, and 22 (24.7%) had asymmetric paralysis. More than one AFP case was detected per 100,000 children aged <15 years old in all years. The risk of AFP in patients aged <5 years old was almost double that of older patients. Guillain-Barré Syndrome was the major leading cause of AFP (66/88). Adequate stool specimens were collected from 85% of AFP patients. All stool specimens were tested virologically, but no wild polioviruses were detected. CONCLUSION: The active surveillance of non-polio AFP was efficient over the last eight years and exceeded 1.0 case per 100,000 children aged <15 years old. Nonetheless, there was a decreasing trend in the detection of AFP cases during the last two years and should be the focus of the policymakers’ special attention, although AFP cases were still above the target level.

Infantile Colic: A Survey of Physicians in Pakistan

Muhammad Saif Jalal,Syed Zafar Mehdi,Jalal Uddin Akber,Murtaza Ali Gowa,Carlos Lifschitz 대한소아소화기영양학회 2024 Pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition Vol.27 No.3

Purpose: Infantile colic diagnostic criteria were established by Rome IV. A universally accepted management remains to be established. We aimed to evaluate diagnostic criteria, management strategies, and perceived regional prevalence of infantile colic in Pakistan, as well as its effect on physicians and parents. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed amongst 1,256 physicians. Results: We received 800 replies. Wessel and Rome IV criteria were used by most physicians for diagnosis; however, the response “any infant who cries a lot” was selected by older physicians (48% of those over 60 years), physicians in rural areas (32%), physicians practicing in private clinics (27%), and general physicians (30%). Estimated prevalence of infantile colic ranges from 21–40%. Reassurance was the most widely recommended management strategy followed by herbal teas (51%), switching to a different formula (49%), probiotics (28%) and antibiotics (26%), discontinuation of breastfeeding (14%), elimination of dairy products from the breastfeeding mothers’ diet (6%), and the administration of colic drops (1%). Most physicians considered the negative impact of colic on their personal lives and the parents as mild-to-moderate. Notably, 38% of percent of physicians routinely screened for maternal depression, and 45% of physicians were aware of the association between infantile colic and shaken baby syndrome. Conclusion: Most physicians in Pakistan diagnose and manage infantile colic according to the established guidelines. However, the guidelines pertaining to treatment planning are not followed. Educational efforts directed toward general physicians and doctors practicing in rural areas and clinics must be implemented to avoid unnecessary testing and treatment burden.

The Experimental Assessment of the Effect of Paper Waste Ash and Silica Fume on Improvement of Concrete Behavior

Jalal Pour Azar,Mohsen Najarchi,Bijan Sanaati,Mohammad Mahdi Najafizadeh,Seyyed Mohamad Mirhosseini 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.10

In this research, the results of experiments achieved on some mixtures of concrete comprising silica fume and paper waste ash as a substitute to Portland cement have been presented. The Portland cement was substituted with various ratios (namely 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 percent by weight of cement) of both silica fume and paper waste ash. In all mixtures of concrete, the ratio of cement to water was regarded to be persistent (with an amount of 0.4). The experiments’ findings demonstrate that the 28-days tensile, flexural and compressive strengths of concrete specimens of this study are more than the results obtained from the relationship given by both the American (ACI) and Concrete Code of Iran for normal concrete due to adding paper waste ash and Silica fume to some mixes, which indicates their positive effect in increasing mechanical properties. According to our findings, empirical relationships have been proposed for the relationship of indirect tensile strength and 28-days concrete’s compressive strength, flexural tensile strength and concrete’s 28-days compressive strength, compressive strength and specific weight, the estimation of elasticity modulus in regard to specific weight of mix designs, the growing movement of compressive strength of normal concretes by increase in the amount of cement. So that these equations can be useful to predict the behavior of the concrete containing the Silica fume and paper waste ash. The electrical resistance of mix with 10% paper waste ash was a little lower, compared to the witness concrete mix at all ages.

Evaluation of Potential Morpho-physiological and Biochemical Indicators in Selecting Heat-tolerant Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) Genotypes

Jalal Ud Din,Sami Ullah Khan,Ahmad Khan,Abdul Qayyum,Kashif Sarfraz Abbasi,Matthew A Jenks 한국원예학회 2015 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.56 No.6

A few degrees in temperature above the optimum can cause a considerable yield loss in tomatoes. A research experiment was conducted in which three tomato genotypes of (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.), ‘Suncherry Extra Sweet’ (Suncherry), ‘Walter’, and ‘CLN-2498d’, were evaluated for response to moderate high temperature at the reproductive stage. High temperature reduced the total number of fruits per plant, fruit size, number of seeds per fruit, seed setting, and relative ovule viability. However, high temperature increased proline accumulation and membrane thermo-stability in plant parts of the investigated genotypes. Fruit size and the number of seeds per fruit were reduced in all the genotypes, with the greatest reduction occurring in Suncherry. Similarly, viability of male and female gametes was also reduced in all of the investigated genotypes due to high temperature injury. The reduction in seed setting due to high temperature was greatest in ‘Suncherry’ and ‘Walter’, and least in ‘CLN-2498d’. Likewise, ovule viability was least reduced in ‘CLN-2498d’. The genotypes accumulating higher proline concentrations in reproductive parts and with enhanced membrane thermo-stability under high temperature likewise produced the highest fruit yield, and hence, exhibited high temperature tolerance.

Corrosion resistant self-compacting concrete using micro and nano silica admixtures

Jalal, Mostafa Techno-Press 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.51 No.3

In this paper, enhancement of corrosion and chloride resistance of high performance self compacting concrete (SCC) through incorporating nanosilica into the binder has been investigated. For this purpose, different mixtures were designed with different amounts of silica fume and nano silica admixtures. Different binder contents were also investigated to observe the binder content effect on the concrete properties. Corrosion behavior was evaluated by chloride penetration and resitivity tests. Water absorption and capillary absorption were also measured as other durability-related properties. The results showed that water absorption, capillary absorption and Cl ion percentage decreased rather significantly in the mixtures containing admixtures especially blend of silica fume and nano silica. By addition of the admixtures, resistivity of the SCC mixtures increased which can lead to reduction of corrosion probability.

Herding Behavior and Cryptocurrency: Market Asymmetries, Inter-Dependency and Intra-Dependency

JALAL, Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din,SARGIACOMO, Massimo,SAHAR, Najam Us,FAYYAZ, Um-E-Roman Korea Distribution Science Association 2020 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.7 No.7

The study investigates herding behavior in cryptocurrencies in different situations. This study employs daily returns of major cryptocurrencies listed in CCI30 index and sub-major cryptocurrencies and major stock returns listed in Dow-Jones Industrial Average Index, from 2015 to 2018. Quantile regression method is employed to test the herding effect in market asymmetries, inter-dependency and intra-dependency cases. Findings confirm the presence of herding in cryptocurrency in upper quantiles in bullish and high volatility periods because of overexcitement among investors, which lead to high volume trading. Major cryptocurrencies cause herding in sub-major cryptocurrencies, but it is a unidirectional relation. However, no intra-dependency effect among cryptocurrencies and equity market is observed. Results indicate that in the CKK model herding exists at upper quantile in market that may be due when the market is moving fast, continuously trading, and bullish trend are prevailing. Further analysis confirms this narrative as, at upper quantile, the beta of bullish regime is negative and significant, meaning the main source of market herding is a bullish trend in investment, which increases market turbulence and gives investors opportunity to herd. Also, we found that herding in cryptocurrencies exits in high volatility periods, but this herding mostly depends on market activity, not market movement.

Quality of Cohort Studies Reporting Post the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement

Jalal Poorolajal,Zahra Cheraghi,Amin Doosti Irani,Shahab Rezaeian 한국역학회 2011 Epidemiology and Health Vol.33 No.-

The quality of reporting of cohort studies published in the most prestigious scientific medical journals was investigated to indicate to what extent the items in the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist are addressed. Six top scientific medical journals with high impact factor were selected including New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, British Medical Journal, Archive of Internal Medicine, and Canadian Medical Association Journal. Ten cohort studies published in 2010 were selected randomly from each journal. The percentage of items in the STROBE checklist that were addressed in each study was investigated. The total percentage of items addressed by these studies was 69.3 (95% confidence interval: 59.6 to 79.0). We concluded that reporting of cohort studies published in the most prestigious scientific medical journals is not clear enough yet. The reporting of other types of observational studies such as case-control and cross-sectional studies particularly those being published in less prestigious journals expected to be much more imprecise.

An Integrated Expert Model for Delay Management in Construction Projects

jalal, Majid Parchami,Yousefi, Elham Korea Institute of Construction Engineering and Ma 2017 Journal of construction engineering and project ma Vol.7 No.3

Delay claim should actually be supported by a set of proper information so that the contractors could prove their validity. The so-called information should be able to clarify the relationship between delay events and how they impact on the whole project. Therefore, exploiting an integrated system by people who are involved in construction business would certainly prove helpful. In the present study, delay analysis methods have been investigated along with selecting a relatively comprehensive method which has been modified, and eventually, a novel model and its required modules have been proposed for evaluating delay claims. The suggested integrated model is formed to identify delayed events, to classify delays, to measure the impacts of delays on the project scheduling, and finally to estimate the damages which were caused by those so-called delays. A decision support system (DSS) model which is related to the integrated system is actually extracted from Iran's general contract conditions, that is, 4311 magazine (equivalent to red FIDIC book). It is then programmed and coded by C# program. This DSS model can be used as an input of Easy Plan program. In addition, at the end of this research, the coded DSS has been used along with the so-called program so that a modified and developed model could be generated.

Proper Management for Morbid Iatrogenic Retroperitoneal Barium Insufflation

Jalal Vahedian-Ardakani,Shahram Nazerani,Amir Saraee,Ali Sarmast,Ehsan Saraee,Mohammad Reza Keramati 대한대장항문학회 2014 Annals of Coloproctolgy Vol.30 No.6

A barium enema is a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure commonly used for colon and rectum problems. Rectal perforation with extensive intra- and/or extraperitoneal spillage of barium is a devastating complication of a barium enema that leads to a significant increase in patient mortality. Due to the low number of reported cases in recent scientific literature and the lack of experience with the management of these cases, we would like to present our treatment approach to a rare case of retroperitoneal contamination with barium, followed by its intraperitoneal involvement during a diagnostic barium enema. Our experience with long-term management of the patient and the good outcome will be depicted in this paper.

Using the capture-recapture method to estimate the human immunodeficiency virus-positive population

Jalal Poorolajal,Younes Mohammadi,Farzad Farzinara 한국역학회 2017 Epidemiology and Health Vol.39 No.-

OBJECTIVES: The capture-recapture method was applied to estimate the number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals not registered with any data sources. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lorestan Province, in the west of Iran, in 2016. Three incomplete sources of HIV-positive individuals, with partially overlapping data, were used, including: (a) transfusion center, (b) volunteer counseling and testing centers (VCTCs), and (c) prison. The 3-source capture-recapture method, using a log-linear model, was applied for data analysis. The Akaike information criterion and the Bayesian information criterion were used for model selection. RESULTS: Of the 2,456 HIV-positive patients registered in these 3 data sources, 1,175 (47.8%) were identified in transfusion center, 867 (35.3%) in VCTCs, and 414 (16.8%) in prison. After the exclusion of duplicate entries, 2,281 HIV-positive patients remained. Based on the capture-recapture method, 14,868 (95% confidence interval, 9,923 to 23,427) HIV-positive individuals were not identified in any of the registries. Therefore, the real number of HIV-positive individuals was estimated to be 17,149, and the overall completeness of the 3 registries was estimated to be around 13.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Based on capture-recapture estimates, a huge number of HIV-positive individuals are not registered with any of the provincial data sources. This is an urgent message for policymakers who plan and provide health care services for HIV-positive patients. Although the capture-recapture method is a useful statistical approach for estimating unknown populations, due to the assumptions and limitations of the method, the population size may be overestimated as it seems possible in our results.