Medically unexplained or functional somatic symptoms (FSS) in children constitute a major clinical problem. However, research data on FSS in young children are few, and epidemiological studies are hampered by lack of good standardised measures. The present thesis consists of two studies: In study one, we developed two measures to assess FSS in young children. The first measure is a parent i...

in recent years, the topic of desertification has been discussed in different ways in scientific areas. this event occurred globally, regionally and nationally and many steps were taken to stop it. desertification is challenged universally and its destructive effects are unavoidable and its consequences do endanger the life of inhabitants. the identification of sensitive regions and prevention ...

Acknowledgements Although the actual writing of this thesis has been done by one person, there are a number of people without whom this thesis had never been written. These people, by offering support, ideas, critiques and various comments related and completely unrelated to the subject of this thesis, have guided the writing of this thesis as much as I did myself. First and foremost, out of a ...

When is a cause of a cause of an effect also a cause of that effect? The right answer is either “Sometimes” or “Always”. In favour of “Always”, transitivity is considered by some to be necessary for distinguishing causes from redundant noncausal events. Moreover transitivity may be motivated by an interest in an unselective notion of causation, untroubled by principles of invidious discriminati...

background: maintaining a balance between cost-effectiveness and the delivery of quality patient care is a continual challenge to modern health care systems. in addition to negative effects on the patient and his family's quality of life, readmission after major surgeries imposes substantial adverse economic effects on the health care delivery system. therefore, causes of readmission to alzahra...