javad shapouri

Strategically, Iran is located on the East, West, North and South Highways of the world, and from a geopolitical point of view, with a large number of neighbors, being located in Hartland, the world's energy, easy and extensive access to open waters, from it has a special position. Meanwhile, Iran's strategic air position, in conjunction with its geopolitical position, could turn Iran's airspace into an air hub and regional transportation. On the other hand, the mentioned components have been introduced as the main sources of national power, which is directly related to the geopolitical weight of the country.The present study, which is descriptive-analytical, explains the relationship between Iran's strategic air position and geopolitical weight. The results show that Iran's geopolitical position makes air transportation from Iran's skies economically viable. Therefore, security protections for the development of the aviation industry and the facilitation of air transport from the airspace of Iran, will improve the weight and geopolitical status of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 The increasing trend of both obesity and postural disorders in pediatric population.

 We aimed to determine the prevalence of lower extremities' postural disorders among school children in Qom province, Iran.

 In this cross-sectional study, a representative sample of schoolchildren aged 6 - 7 years was selected by multi-stage clustering method from all urban and rural regions of Qom province. Presence of postural deformities of lower limbs, including genu valgum, genu varum and flat foot were evaluated and recorded. Prevalences of deformities in different categories of weight status (underweight, normal and overweight) were compared.

 Out of 20000 school children 1450 students were randomly selected. Genu valgum, genu varum and flat foot was present in 256 (17.7%), 351 (24.2%) and 194 (13.38%) of studied population. 1021 (70.41%), 161 (11.1%) and 268 (18.48%) students were normal weight, underweight and overweight/obese, respectively. Prevalence of flat foot and genu valgum was significantly higher in obese/overweight students (P < 0.01). Mean of skin fold thickness was significantly higher in students with genu valgum (P < 0.001). A significant relation existed only between occurrence of lower limb postural deformities and body mass index [OR = 1.89, CI (95%) = 1.18 - 3.03].

 The findings of this study indicate that prevalence of genu valgum and flat foot are higher in overweight/obese children. In addition to early diagnosis and timely treatment of the deformities, developing and validation of a multidisciplinary care for obese and overweight children to reduce the occurrence of obesity related musculoskeletal complications is of importance.
 

Background and Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and is a major public health problem worldwide. In recent years, the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has increased in children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the effect of silymarin on children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
In this randomized crossover clinical trial, 40 children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease were divided into two period treatment groups. Patients in group A received 140 mg silymarin capsules, three times a day in the first three months, and after one-month washout period they received placebo for three months. Group B received placebo at first and then silymarin. Liver enzymes, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels were measured at baseline and after the first and second stages. At the end of three months, the patients underwent ultrasonography.
The study included 36 boys and 4 girls. After treatment with silymarin no significant changes were seen in weight, AST, ALT, HDL, LDL and TG levels of patients compared with those of the control group (P>0.05). However, fatty liver grade decreased significantly after treatment with silymarin (P=0.02).
As previous studies on adults, our results showed beneficial effects of silymarin on reducing fatty liver grade in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Larger studies with longer treatment periods are recommended in order to achieve comprehensive results.

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most important preventable causes of mental retardation in the world. In the recent years, overtreatment and under treatment episodes are considered as one of the most important causes of neurocognitive developmental disorders in patients with CH, which have been taken into consideration in recent years. The current study aimed to evaluate the frequency of overtreatment, undertreatment and dose of respective drug in these in patient with CH in Qom city. In a study performed according to the existing data (Routine Data Base Study) in Mirei Clinic of Qom city, 201 medical records and 823 thyroid function tests were extracted from 2006 to 2011. The data were analyzed using independent t- and chi-square tests. The significance level was considered p<0.05. Of 201 patients whose records were complete, respectively, 173 patients (86.07%) and 69 patients (34.3%) had at least one episode of overtreatment and undertreatment. In 151 (87.2%) and 30 (43%) patients, respectively, at least one episode of overtreatment and one episode of undertreatment were reported before 6 months of age. The mean weight and primary T4 in undertreatment patients were significantly higher. There was no significant difference between two sexes in the two groups of overtreatment and undertreatment. 449 (83%) out of 538 overtreatment episodes were in patients who took the treatment dose lower than recommended dose. According to the results of this study, the prevalence of overtreatment and undertreatment in first 6 month of treatment was more common. The highest incidence of overtreatment occurred with lower than recommended dose. Also, the weight and primary T4 can be a guide for adjustment of drug doses in patients with CH.