Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease which is caused by demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS) in young adults. This disease affects independence and the ability to participate in family and community activities, thus affecting the quality of life. Objectives: This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the associations between fatigue, disability, and mobility and the quality of life in patients with MS in the city of Semnan, Iran. Patients and Methods: Sixty-six MS patients completed the Rivermead mobility index (RMI), Guy's neurological disability scale (GNDS), modified fatigue impact scale (MFIS), and Multiple sclerosis quality of life-54 (MSQL-54) questionnaires, which assessed the physical and mental health of the participants in 12 dimensions. Results:The results of this study showed significant correlations between fatigue (P = 0.002), disability (P < 0.001), and the quality of life. A significant relationship between mobility and physical activity (P < 0.05) was also observed, while no significant relationship was found between mobility and mental health. Moreover, no significant associations were seen between the quality of life and age, occupation, education, or gender (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that fatigue and disability may affect a patient's quality of life. Although mobility may affect the overall quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis, it may also affect the physical health of MS patients. Therefore, the identification of factors affecting the quality of life in MS patients may help in predicting the quality of life, and designing a rehabilitation protocol.
Background: One of the most critical criteria in making ready an infant for discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is full oral feeding attainment. Objectives: The present study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of cue-based feeding in preterm infants. Methods: A randomized clinical trial study was designed to compare 37 preterm infants at age ≤ 34 weeks gestational age in the cue-based feeding group (n = 18) and the scheduled feeding group (n = 19). All participants were evaluated by the Preterm Infant Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale (PIOFRAS) and Early Feeding Skill (EFS) scale in four different stages. Outcome measures were weight (grams per day), duration of full oral feeding achievement, duration of hospitalization, postmenstrual age (PMA), and the score of PIOFRAS and EFS. A P-value of less than 0.05 has been considered statistically significant. Results: The duration of full oral feeding achievement was shorter in the cue-based feeding group (3.55 ± 1.24 vs 6.68 ± 2.00, P < 0.001). Infants were discharged earlier in the cue-based feeding group (15.55 ± 5.38 vs 27.10 ± 7.90, P < 0.001). The mean score of PIOFRAS only on the day of discharge in the cue-based feeding group was more than the scheduled feeding group (32.61 ± 1.14 vs 31.90 ± 0.87, P = 0.03). The score of EFS in each dimension was inconsistent in each stage, and differences were observed between two groups in the full oral feeding stage. Conclusions: Although PIOFRAS and EFS demonstrated no difference significantly in most of the stages of achievement in oral feeding between the cue-based feeding group and the scheduled feeding, the process of attainment of oral feeding and discharge from the hospital was more rapid in the cue-based feeding group.
Background: One of the fundamental factors in infants’ readiness to discharge from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is attaining full oral feeding. Determining the infants’ development requires instruments to comprehensively assess the infants’ oral skills and the process of feeding. Objectives: This study aimed to measure the validity and reliability of Early Feeding Skill assessment (EFS) and the subscales of the cue-based feeding (Oral Feeding Readiness scale (OFRS) and Oral Feeding Quality scale (OFQS)). Methods: Participants consisted of 30 preterm infants born at gestational age (GA) ≤ 34 weeks in Dr. Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Infants were enrolled by convenience sampling. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Weighted Kappa were used to measure reliability, and Spearman and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to test convergent and discriminant validity. Results: The inter- and intra-rater reliability of all dimensions of EFS were good (ICC ranged from 0.77 to 0.95) except intra-rater reliabiltiy for the ability to maintain physiologic stability and ability to coordinate swallowing was moderate. The inter-rater reliability of the cue-based feeding scales was excellent (Weighted Kappa of > 0.74). The intra-rater reliablity indicated good agreement for OFRS (Weighted Kappa = 0.73) and excellent agreement for OFQS (Weighted Kappa = 0.75). There was an inverse correlation between most subscales of EFS and cue-based feeding scales (P < 0.05), except the ability to maintain physiologic stability and ability to coordinate swallowing dimensions (P > 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the ability to maintain physiologic stability dimension and post menstrual age (PMA) (r = 38, (P < 0.05) and between the oral feeding recovery assessment and GA (r = 0.37, (P < 0.05). OFQS was inversely correlated with GA and PMA (P < 0.05). Conclusions: EFS and cue-based feeding scales are valid and reliable scales to assess the oral feeding skills of preterm infants; however, using only one of these scales solely to evaluate infants’ feeding process is not enough.
Objective Vowels are the center of syllables while formant structures are one of the most important acoustic characteristics of speech sounds that help in their articulatory and perceptual aspects. Formants represent the shape and size of the vocal tract. There exist trivial differences between the vocal tracts of different people due to which the formant structures of a vowel in one person are different from another person. Towards the end of the 20 th century, advances in acoustic science and production of digital tools introduced voice acoustical characteristics analysis as another parameter of sound analysis. These voice acoustical characteristics analyses lead to better assessment of the voices. Effective treatment of speech disorders depends on accurate diagnosis by the speech-language pathologist. The relationship between the first three formants is the main component of perceptual categorization by the listener. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to determine and compare Persian vowel frequency of first, second and third formants in bilingual adults. Materials & Methods A cross-sectional study was performed on 50 participants (25 males and 25 females) aged 18 to 24 years. Bilingual students from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were selected by an easy and non randomized sampling method, where the average of the first, second and the third formant frequencies for each of the six Persian vowels were taken into consideration. Data collection involved a demographic questionnaire (age, gender, bilingualism, and diseases related to the speechbreathing mechanism), the consent form, a computer equipped with PRATT Software and one sound recorder set. The data were analyzed using SPSS V. 18 software. When the data were normally distributed, independent t-test was used; otherwise, Mann-Whitney test was used. Results This study showed that the maximum and minimum values of F1 in the males and females are /ae/ and /i/ vowels. The maximum and minimum values of F2 are /i/ and /o/ vowels in both the sexes, whereas, the maximum and minimum values of F3 are /i/ and /ae/ vowels in males and /i/ and /a/ vowels in the females. Conclusion According to the results of this study, / ae/ and /i/ vowels in both the sexes are the most open and closest. /i/ and /o/ vowels in both the sexes are the most front and most back vowels. The most spread vowel in males and females is /i/ but the roundest vowel is /ae/ in the males and /a/ vowel in females.
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