In this article we present a method to speed up agglomerative clustering used in speaker diarization by using long-term prosodic features. A set of these features is used to decide which clusters should be merged. This strategy reduces the number of decisions that have to be performed using the more calculation-intensive method based on the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). We show a speedu...

BACKGROUND The use of narcotics such as opium exposes addicts as susceptible targets of different diseases so that they might easily be exposed to different diseases such as fungal infections. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of addiction to opium and fungal infection on plasma levels of certain cytokines including interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, IL-17, Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) an...

INTRODUCTION One of the newest non-occupational sources of lead contamination is drug addiction, which has recently been addressed as a major source of lead poisoning in some countries. The present study aimed to investigate the blood lead level (BLL) of asymptomatic opium addicts. METHODS This case-control study was conducted during a one-year period to compare BLL of three groups consisting...

BACKGROUND The main goal of this study is to determine the relationship between opium dependency and frequency of urolithiasis renal colics. METHODS In a cross sectional study we compared opium dependency in urolithiasis patients (case group) with non-urolithiasis patients (control group) and assessed urolithiasis related renal colics as risk factor to opium dependency prevalence. Dependency ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the reliability and validity of self-reported opium use in a rural Iranian population at high risk for esophageal cancer in preparation for a large cohort study. METHOD 1,057 subjects ages 33 to 84 years were recruited from Gonbad city and three surrounding villages in Golestan province of Iran and completed a questionnaire and provided biological samples. The history and ...

BACKGROUND Drug abuse, especially opium abuse, is a major public health problem in Iran. Recent reports suggest that opium sellers cheat their customers by adding lead to the opium. Contaminated opium can threaten the health of consumers. The present study aimed to compare the serum level of lead between opium dependents and a control group. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study in which 5...

BACKGROUND Opium is widely used among addicts in the Middle East countries such as Iran. Recent reports suggest that opium sellers cheat their customers by adding lead to the opium. Contaminated opium can threaten the health of consumers. This study was designed to evaluate the lead concentration in blood sample of oral and inhaled opium user's referring to Amir Al-Momenin Hospital in Zabol, Ir...

Objectives To investigate the association between opium use and subsequent risk of death. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting The Golestan Cohort Study in north-eastern Iran collected detailed validated data on opium use and other exposures at baseline. Participants were enrolled between January 2004 and June 2008 and were followed to May 2011, with a follow-up success rate of over 99%. Pa...

Background: Opium abuse as a relatively common behavior among Iranian population may have an association with the other coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors. Here, we reported the prevalence of opium abuse and its co-exposures with oral health and other CAD risk factors. Methods: We recruited 5900 inhabitant aged 15-75 years using a randomized cluster household survey. All were interviewe...

BACKGROUND Long-term use of opioids has acute effects on homeostasis of the body. Discovering the impacts of opioids on hematological parameters of narcotics withdrawal and dependents blood may be helpful in recognizing the homeostasis condition of their body for the useful treatment. METHODS In this study a cross-sectional method was applied. The abusers of opium and heroin for more than two...