فاطمه عباسی فیجانی

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and debilitating condition. People with COPD often experience exacerbations that may require hospitalization. Pattern analysis of respiratory variability can provide valuable insights into the complexity of the respiratory control system. Therefore, this study investigated respiratory pattern variability during stable and exacerbation phases in patients with COPD. We analyzed respiratory signal data from 14 patients with COPD during exacerbations and stable phases and compared them with 12 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Respiratory pattern variability analysis of 30-minute inter-breath intervals (IBI) time series was performed using sample entropy and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis. Sample entropy analysis of the IBI revealed that respiratory variability was more regular during both stable and exacerbation phases in patients with COPD. Also, the short-term (α1) and long-term fractal-like correlation (α2) significantly decreased during both exacerbation and stable phases compared to healthy controls. The respiratory control system in patients with COPD shows less variability (lower entropy and fractal correlation). This reduction in respiratory signal variability indices in COPD patients is still lower than in healthy people, even when their disease status is stabilized.

Health systems have obtained valuable experience in dealing with various epidemics. The present study, by systematically reviewing the successful experiences of countries, presents a model for a coordinated response to pandemics by various actors in the primary healthcare system. 

Thirty-eight articles were obtained from Magiran, SID, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases after applying the search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, time-bound of 2005 to 2022, and quality assessment by Strobe checklist. The articles were assessed in terms of title, abstract, and text, and after removing duplicate and irrelevant ones, the final articles were selected.

This study assumed the PHC system as a leafy tree, which requires 25 background factors to strengthen its roots. Three groups of health policymakers, healthcare providers, and society must carry out the necessary measures in a coordinated and synergistic program in the four phases of crisis management, including prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Strengthening PHC in prevention, screening, testing, and outpatient treatment and mobilizing the community to take care of itself are the most successful experiences dealing with epidemics compared to treating patients in hospitals and spending significant financial and life costs.

Nasal obstruction and mouth breathing which occur in some of clinical conditions are associated with neurocognitive abnormalities. Theses abnormalities may be caused by different reasons such as sleep disorders and the effects of inflammatory mediators on central nervous system; however, the precise underlying mechanism is unclear. The present study aimed to assess the effect of nasal obstruction on spatial memory and learning in rats. Fourteen male Wistar rats, weighting 250-30 gram, were divided randomly into two groups of control and bilateral nasal obstructions. In order to make nasal obstruction, the surrounding tissue of the external nostrils was burned by placing a surgical cauterizing instrument on the nostrils. This procedure induced complete nasal obstruction after 7 days. All animals were tested for spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze task. The result showed that bilateral nasal obstructions significantly impaired both acquisition and retrieval of spatial memory. Impairment in nasal air flow might be resulted to impairment in both acquisition and retrieval of spatial memory which might be related to non-olfactory functions of olfactory system.