scholarly journals Mirror tracing task in yoga practitioners and non-yoga practitioners: A cross-sectional comparative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 127-131
Author(s):  
Niranjan Kala ◽  
Sushma Pal ◽  
Sachin Kumar Sharma ◽  
Shirley Telles ◽  
Acharya Balkrishna

Objectives: The present study compared yoga practitioners with age- and gender-matched yoga naïve persons on performance in a mirror tracing task which involved tracing a star pattern on a sheet of paper while looking at its reflection in a mirror. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study included twenty yoga practitioners of both sexes (15 females; group mean age ± SD; 24.8 ± 3.4 years) and twenty yoga naïve persons (15 females; group mean age ± SD; 24.2 ± 3.8 years) of the same age range. Both groups were assessed for performance in the mirror tracing task in three trials. The distance covered, total errors, and time taken to complete the task were noted. Results: Yoga practitioners made significantly less errors (P < 0.05) in the third trial and covered greater distance in star tracing in the first (P < 0.05) and second (P < 0.05) trials compared to yoga naïve participants. Mann– Whitney U-test was used for all comparisons. Conclusion: Yoga practice may be useful to facilitate learning in the tasks that require better perceptual and motor skills.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess whether is a reliable correlation between the cranial and gnathic angulations in the Iranian population. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 140 patients of Tehran University of Medical Sciences hospitals (70 males and 70 females with an age range of 18-60 years) were selected. Sphenoclivus (cranial base) and gnathic angles were calculated for each case. Then, the data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: Statistical analysis showed a relationship between gnathic angle and female (P < 0.05), but no positive relationship was seen between sphenoclivus angle and gender. There was a significant relationship between sphenoclivus angle and age among men. No significant relationship was found between the gnathic and sphenoclivus angles. Conclusion: Sphenoclivus angle has the closest link with age in males. The gnathic angle has also a positive relationship with females. Our findings suggest an independent growth pattern between the sphenoclivus angle and the gnathic angle.


2014 ◽  
pp. 90-93
Author(s):  
Van Tuan Nguyen ◽  
Tam Vo ◽  
Bui Bao Hoang

Elevated serum Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) levels have been linked to tissue fibrosis including chronic kidney disease. Objectives: (1) Investigate serum TGF-beta1 levels in healthy adult people and (2) Examined the relation between serum TGF-beta1 level and gender, age, body mass index (BMI). Method: A cross-sectional study. TGF-beta1 were quantified by ELISA. Results: Levels of serum TGF-beta1 in healthy people were 13,45 ± 7,17 ng/mL mL (0,59 - 33,10 ng/mL). There are no difference of serum TGF-beta1 levels between men and women, between the age groups (<40 years, 40 to < 60 years and ≥ 60 years), between BMI groups < 23 and BMI group ≥ 23. Key words: TGF-beta1, healthy people


2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 465-471

Background: Hyponatremia is associated with unfavorable outcomes in many cases. The mainstay of hyponatremia treatment depends on its symptoms and etiology. However, etiologies, clinical manifestations, and factors associated with severe symptomatic hyponatremia have been rarely reported. Objective: To analyze and report etiologies, clinical manifestations, and factors associated with severe symptomatic hyponatremia. Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, the authors enrolled hospitalized patients with hyponatremia who had consulted a nephrologist between October 1, 2017, and October 31, 2018. Their baseline characteristics and clinical manifestations were recorded. Etiologies were confirmed by the attending nephrology staff. Factors associated with severe symptomatic hyponatremia were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: One hundred patients were included in this study. The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD), hypovolemia, and hydrochlorothiazide use were the leading hyponatremia etiologies. Hyponatremia etiologies differed between patients with community-acquired hyponatremia (n=50) and those with hospital-associated hyponatremia (n=50). Patients with communityacquired hyponatremia were older, presented with a higher frequency of severe symptomatic hyponatremia, and showed lower SNa-levels. Low SNa-levels were significantly associated with severe symptomatic hyponatremia (p=0.014). Conclusion: Hyponatremia remains an important health problem. SIAD, hypovolemia, and hydrochlorothiazide use are among the leading etiologies of hyponatremia. Low SNa-levels are associated with severe symptomatic hyponatremia; thus, physicians should pay close attention to low SNa-levels in hospitalized patients. Keywords: Hyponatremia, Symptomatic Hyponatremia, Community-acquired hyponatremia, Hospital-associated hyponatremia


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kartik Gupta ◽  
Shivabalan ◽  
Virendra Kumar ◽  
Surabhi Vyas ◽  
RM Pandey ◽  
...  

Background: Cognitive impairment in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with higher morbidity. The prevalence of and the metabolite changes in the brain associated with cognitive impairment in anti-retroviral therapy naïve patients with HIV is unknown. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of, and the neurometabolites associated with cognitive impairment in antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve patients with HIV. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among ART naïve patients with HIV aged 18-50 years in a tertiary care center in India. Cognition was tested using the Post Graduate Institute battery of brain dysfunction across five domains; memory, attentioninformation processing, abstraction executive, complex perceptual, and simple motor skills. We assessed the total N-acetyl aspartyl (tNAA), creatine (tCr) and glutamate + glutamine (Glx) using 3T magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Cognitive impairment was defined as an impairment in ≥2 domains. Results: Among 43 patients eligible for this study, the median age was 32 years (IQR 29, 40) and 30% were women. Median CD4 count and viral load were 317 cells/µL (IQR 157, 456) and 9.3 copies/ µL (IQR 1.4, 38), respectively. Impairment in at least one cognitive domain was present in 32 patients (74.4%). Impairment in simple motor skills and memory was present in 46.5% and 44% of patients, respectively. Cognitive impairment, defined by impairment in ≥2 domains, was found in 22 (51.2%) patients. There was a trend towards higher concentration of tNAA (7.3 vs. 7.0 mmol/kg), tGlx (9.1 vs. 8.2 mmol/kg), and tCr (5.5 vs. 5.2 mmol/kg) in the frontal lobe of patients with cognitive impairment vs. without cognitive impairment but it did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05 for all). There was no difference in the concentration of these metabolites in the two groups in the basal ganglia. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of cognitive impairment in ART naïve patients with HIV. There is no difference in metabolites in patients with or without cognitive impairment. Further studies, with longitudinal follow-up, are required to understand the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
pp. 030157422110221
Author(s):  
Jyoti Mishra ◽  
Sudhir Kapoor ◽  
Jitendra Bhagchandani ◽  
Sonahita Agarwal ◽  
Vaibhav Vashishta ◽  
...  

Aim and Objective: To assess the level of awareness among local adult population (orthodontically untreated) regarding orthodontic treatment and procedures. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was planned by accessing 100 subjects comprising of 2 groups (50 male and 50 female). After due ethical clearance, a self-structured questionnaire consisting of 17 questions was given to a group of randomly selected 100 individuals with an age range of 20 to 30 years. Results: The overall awareness of orthodontics as a speciality among both the groups was only 52% to 56%. Statistically insignificant difference was found in the knowledge and awareness of orthodontic treatment among both male and female subjects, that is, Group I and II. Also, those who knew about the orthodontic treatment did not opt for it because of high cost and longer duration involved. Conclusion: More than half of the population is unaware of the scope of orthodontic treatment, and thus, they do not seek any assistance. Hence, more efforts are needed to create awareness about orthodontics and the associated benefits.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Hernández-Serrano ◽  
José P. Espada ◽  
Alejandro Guillén-Riquelme

<p>The objectives of the present study are the following ones: 1) to study the use of drugs, the prosocial behaviour and the problem-solving skills with respect to age and gender, and 2) to analyze the association of both the prosocial behaviour and the problem-solving skills with the use of drugs. An exploratory cross-sectional study was performed, amongst a sample of 567 students in Spanish Compulsory Secondary Education (48.14% males) with an age range from 14 to 17 years (<em>M </em>= 14.92; <em>SD </em>= 0.90). Statistically significant differences were found concerning alcohol use and the prosocial behaviour with respect to gender, as well as concerning alcohol and cannabis use with respect to age. Logistic regression analyses revealed statistical significance of the prosocial behaviour with respect to the use of alcohol and cannabis. The ability in problem-solving was the most important protective predictor with respect to the abuse of cannabis. The results from this study enhance the importance of tailored interventions based on the promotion of prosocial behaviours and/or problem-solving strategies as fundamental protective factors for substance use amongst adolescents.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Hossein Lashkardoost ◽  
Fateme Hoseyni ◽  
Elham Rabbani ◽  
Farzane Q Moqadam ◽  
Leila Hosseini ◽  
...  

Introduction: North Khorasan province has one of the highest rates of hypertension. One of the main causes of hypertension is obesity. Obesity is one of the most important public health problems around the world as a risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Since a similar study was not conducted in Bojnurd, we examined the relationship between waist to hip ratio with hypertension. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on women referring to Bojnurd health centers. To analyze the data, we used t-test, chi-square, multiple logistic regression and Pearson correlation in Stata 12 software. Results: In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence of systolic blood pressure was 14.78% and diastolic blood pressure was 15.65%. So waist to the hips showed the highest correlation with the changes in hypertension. Conclusion: There are significant relationships between the age and the number of pregnancies with the risk of hypertension. Since a significant percentage of people are unaware of the existence of hypertension, changing diet and having regular physical activity along with social support is an important strategy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso García-Monge ◽  
Henar Rodríguez-Navarro ◽  
Daniel Bores-García

Traditional games are considered agents of enculturation. This article explores the procedure to access the cultural meanings transmitted in a traditional game. The goal is to understand what children aged 6–11 make of the game called ‘the chained bear’ and to compare the meanings retrieved with those of different traditional versions of the game. For such a purpose, through an exploratory cross-sectional study, cartoons depicting people playing the game were exhibited and viewers (n = 359; age range: 6–11; Mean age = 8.79; SD = 1.81) were asked to interpret them as a drama play, as well as contributing a title, a plot and saying how they would name the characters. The results show that, beyond the individual images that each child created in their mind, most of them coincided in stories about harassment and defense and theft and protection. These plots match those of the ludic tradition, showing that the actions evoke different pictures to each individual, but share common cultural meanings in turn. The study shows a procedure to access the meanings that traditional games transmit and confirms that games contain pieces of culture, which makes them agents of enculturation.


Author(s):  
Hossein Hashemzadeh Farhang ◽  
Seyed Razi Bahavarnia ◽  
Mohamad Javad Esmailzadeh ◽  
Navid Mahmoudi Kamalabad

Background: Dirofilaria immitis is one of the most important parasites of the circulatory system of dogs that causes severe cardiovascular events in the animal and it is reported to be the most common nematode in humans and dogs from many parts of Iran. Methods: In order to investigate the presence of Dirofilaria immitis infection in Tabriz, Iran, a cross-sectional study was performed on 200 owned and stray dogs. The blood samples were analyzed using Knott method. The prevalence of D. immitis infection was reported to be 15% in owned dogs. Results: The highest levels of infection were reported in dogs less than one year of age and the lowest in dogs aged over 9 years. In a statistical survey, there was a significant relationship between infection and gender. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, due to the presence of D. immitis infection in this region, the need for a more comprehensive examination and control of the infection in this region is emphasized.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document