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Effect of the virtual training program for managing fever and seizures on the stress of mothers of children with febrile seizures
No full textBackground and aims: This study investigates the effect of virtual training on the stress of mothers of children with febrile seizures.
Methods: This quasi-experimental research was conducted on 64 mothers of children with febrile seizures in Shahrekord in 2022. The samples were randomly distributed into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received WhatsApp training during three individual and 3 group sessions, and the control group received routine training. Mothers' stress was measured using the Pediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP) questionnaire, completed by two groups before, immediately, and two months after the intervention. Data analysis was done using the SPSS 18 version, descriptive statistics, repeated measure analysis of variance, independent t-test, chi-square, and Fisher tests.
Results: Before the intervention, the average total score of stress in frequency level in intervention and control groups was 117.29±20/70 and 122.50±24.69 and in difficulty level in intervention and control groups were 122.21±25.32 and 129.83±3.24. There was no statistically significant difference on the two levels between the groups (P=0.363) and (P=0.285). Immediately after the intervention, the average total score on the two levels in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group (P=0.001) and (P=0.003). Two months after the intervention, the average score on two levels in the intervention group was lower than the control group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Using virtual training is suggested as an effective method to reduce the stress of mothers of children with febrile seizures.
Keywords: Distance education, Stress disorders, Febrile seizur
An Investigation into the Relation of Coping Skills with Mental Health and Quality of Life in Family Members of Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textObjectives: During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, health care workers, including nurses and their family members, experienced various psychological problems. Coping skills may help them deal with the current challenge and maintain their mental health and improve their quality of life. Therefore, this study investigated the relation of coping skills with mental health and quality of life of the nurses' family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the family members of the nurses working at Hajar Hospital of Shahrekord dedicated to admission and hospitalization of COVID-19 infected patients using a census sampling method in 2020. Participation in this study was voluntary and finally 220 persons were included in this study. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 through respiratory droplets or contact, a weblog was created using blogging software that contained questionnaires for collecting data on demographic information, mental health (PHQ-9), coping skills (coping responses inventory [CRI], Billings & Moos), and quality of life (SF-36). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests in SPSS software version 22 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Results: Of the 220 participants in this study, 101 participants were male and 119 were female. The mean age of the subjects was 35.78 years, and 56.4% of them had an academic education level. The Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between coping skills and mental health, quality-of-life items, total quality-of-life score, and demographic variables of participants (except education) (P < 0.05). This was a direct relationship in such a way that as the score of coping skills increases, so does the score of mental health and quality of life. Based on the results of regression analysis, the predictive power of mental health, coping skills, and education level was obtained to be 0.634. The coping skill variable was the strongest predictor (ss = 0.467), and after that, the mental health variable (ss = 0.421) had the highest predictive power. Conclusion: The obtained results showed that coping skill is the association between psychological health and quality of life such that the coping skill has a significant direct effect on psychological health and quality of life. The results also showed that, at the time of crisis, further attention should be paid to coping skills to develop and improve the quality of life and psychological health
Investigating the effectiveness of Case‐Based Technology‐Enhanced workshops ( e‐Flipped vs. Online) among health worker nurses during the COVID ‐19 pandemic
No full textAim: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of e-flipped and online case-based workshops on the nurses' knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding thalassemia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A pre-test-posttest interventional study was conducted with two intervention groups and a control group. Methods: One hundred and fifty nurses were recruited from comprehensive urban health centres in June-December 2020. The nurses were randomly allocated to one of the three groups: case-based e-flipped workshop (n = 50), case-based online workshop (n = 50) and control (n = 50). A researcher-made questionnaire was completed by eligible subjects at baseline, after the end of the training sessions and 4 weeks after interventions to assess their knowledge, attitude and behaviour. Data were analysed in IBM SPSS v16.0. ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc tests were used to compare the three groups. Results: The mean knowledge, attitude and behaviour scores in the intervention groups increased significantly more than that in the control group (p < .001). One week and 4 weeks following the intervention, the mean score of knowledge, attitude and behaviour in the e-flipped group was greater than that in the online group (p < .001). According to the results, e-flipped and online case-based workshops can improve nurses' knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding thalassemi
Proteome-Wide Screening of Potential Vaccine Targets against Brucella melitensis
No full textThe ongoing antibiotic-resistance crisis is becoming a global problem affecting public health. Urgent efforts are required to design novel therapeutics against pathogenic bacterial species. Brucella melitensis is an etiological agent of brucellosis, which mostly affects sheep and goats but several cases have also been reported in cattle, water buffalo, yaks and dogs. Infected animals also represent the major source of infection for humans. Development of safer and effective vaccines for brucellosis remains a priority to support disease control and eradication in animals and to prevent infection to humans. In this research study, we designed an in-silico multi-epitopes vaccine for B. melitensis using computational approaches. The pathogen core proteome was screened for good vaccine candidates using subtractive proteomics, reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatic tools. In total, 10 proteins: catalase; siderophore ABC transporter substrate-binding protein; pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate oxidase; superoxide dismutase; peptidylprolyl isomerase; superoxide dismutase family protein; septation protein A; hypothetical protein; binding-protein-dependent transport systems inner membrane component; and 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptanedioate aldolase were selected for epitopes prediction. To induce cellular and antibody base immune responses, the vaccine must comprise both B and T-cells epitopes. The epitopes were next screened for antigenicity, allergic nature and water solubility and the probable antigenic, non-allergic, water-soluble and non-toxic nine epitopes were shortlisted for multi-epitopes vaccine construction. The designed vaccine construct comprises 274 amino acid long sequences having a molecular weight of 28.14 kDa and instability index of 27.62. The vaccine construct was further assessed for binding efficacy with immune cell receptors. Docking results revealed that the designed vaccine had good binding potency with selected immune cell receptors. Furthermore, vaccine-MHC-I, vaccine-MHC-II and vaccine-TLR-4 complexes were opted based on a least-binding energy score of −5.48 kcal/mol, 0.64 kcal/mol and −2.69 kcal/mol. Those selected were then energy refined and subjected to simulation studies to understand dynamic movements of the docked complexes. The docking results were further validated through MMPBSA and MMGBSA analyses. The MMPBSA calculated −235.18 kcal/mol, −206.79 kcal/mol, and −215.73 kcal/mol net binding free energy, while MMGBSA estimated −259.48 kcal/mol, −206.79 kcal/mol and −215.73 kcal/mol for TLR-4, MHC-I and MHC-II complexes, respectively. These findings were validated by water-swap and entropy calculations. Overall, the designed vaccine construct can evoke proper immune responses and the construct could be helpful for experimental researchers in formulation of a protective vaccine against the targeted pathogen for both animal and human us
Cancer stem cells in colorectal cancer: Signaling pathways involved in stemness and therapy resistance
No full textColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third cause of cancer death worldwide. Although, in some cases, treatment can increase patient survival and reduce cancer recurrence, in many cases, tumors can develop resistance to therapy leading to recurrence. One of the main reasons for recurrence and therapy resistance is the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs possess a self-renewal ability, and their stemness properties lead to the avoidance of apoptosis, and allow a new clone of cancer cells to emerge. Numerous investigations inidicated the involvment of cellular signaling pathways in embryonic development, and growth, repair, and maintenance of tissue homeostasis, also participate in the generation and maintenance of stemness in colorectal CSCs. This review discusses the role of Wnt, NF-κB, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Sonic hedgehog, and Notch signaling pathways in colorectal CSCs, and the possible modulating drugs that could be used in treatment for resistant CR
A comparative study of the curriculum in master degree of medical education in Iran and some selected countries
No full textBackground: When training efficient human resources for the health system, it is necessary to train appropriate student teaching and assessment methods and necessary skills for educational planning and evaluation. Therefore, studies and efforts to train human resources in the field of Iranian medical education have begun since 1994. The aim of the present study is a comparative study of the curriculum in master’s degree of medical education in Iran and some selected countries. Methods: This is applied, descriptive and comparative research. Data were collected by electronic search on the website of the selected universities. Each of these selected educational curricula, the newest curriculum of the studied universities at the time of the present research, was translated into fluent Persian and studied in detail. The model used in the present study is the famous Polish Bereday model. A quota sampling method was used and universities were selected at a 1:10 ratio from each classified area. Institutions that offered master’s degrees in medical education were chosen in each region using the World Health Organization (WHO) classification based on QS World University Rankings (2020). The data collection instrument was a researcher-made checklist, which was used to extract the relevant data available on the website of selected universities. This checklist consisted of eight items, which included course title, course length, mission, vision, goals, admission process, teaching methods (online, In-person, and both), educational strategies, teaching methods, and student assessment. These eight items were compared at selected universities. Results: The samples included seven selected universities including Kebangsaan University in Asia, the University of Toronto in Canada, the University of Michigan in America, the University of Bern and Imperial College in Europe, Monash University in Australia, and Iranian universities. Student admission in Iran is carried out through a centralized exam; therefore, most faculties do not have the option to select students and criteria for student selection. The course length in all universities is between 1–3 years (depending on part-time/full-time) and most of the studied universities offer this field as modular degree courses. Conclusions: The characteristics of the curriculum for the master’s degree of medical education in Iran and selected countries showed the differences and similarities of this course among the top universities of different continents. Unlike other countries, the curriculum for a master’s degree in medical education in Iran is offered in a centralized manner in eight universities of Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Iran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Kerman, and Mashha
Barriers to the participation of men in reproductive health care: a systematic review and meta-synthesis
No full textBackground: Despite emphasizing the importance and benefits of men's active engagement in reproductive health programs, their engagement in reproductive health care is low. Researchers have identified different barriers to men's avoidance of participation in various aspects of reproductive health in different parts of the world. This study provided an in-depth review of the hindrances to men’s non-participation in reproductive health. Methods: This meta-synthesis was conducted using keyword searches in databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ProQuest until January 2023. Qualitative English-language studies that investigated barriers to men's participation in reproductive health were included in the study. The critical appraisal skills program (CASP) checklist was used to assess the articles' quality. Data synthesis and thematic analysis were done using the standard method. Result: This synthesis led to the emergence of four main themes such as failure to access all inclusive and integrated quality services, economic issues, couples' personal preferences and attitudes, and sociocultural considerations to seek reproductive healthcare services. Conclusion: Healthcare system programs and policies, economic and sociocultural issues, and men’s attitudes, knowledge, and preferences, influence men's participation in reproductive healthcare. Reproductive health initiatives should focus on eliminating challenges to men's supportive activities to increase practical men's involvement in reproductive healthcare
DeeP4med: deep learning for P4 medicine to predict normal and cancer transcriptome in multiple human tissues
No full textBackground: P4 medicine (predict, prevent, personalize, and participate) is a new approach to diagnosing and predicting diseases on a patient-by-patient basis. For the prevention and treatment of diseases, prediction plays a fundamental role. One of the intelligent strategies is the design of deep learning models that can predict the state of the disease using gene expression data. Results: We create an autoencoder deep learning model called DeeP4med, including a Classifier and a Transferor that predicts cancer's gene expression (mRNA) matrix from its matched normal sample and vice versa. The range of the F1 score of the model, depending on tissue type in the Classifier, is from 0.935 to 0.999 and in Transferor from 0.944 to 0.999. The accuracy of DeeP4med for tissue and disease classification was 0.986 and 0.992, respectively, which performed better compared to seven classic machine learning models (Support Vector Classifier, Logistic Regression, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, Random Forest, K Nearest Neighbors). Conclusions: Based on the idea of DeeP4med, by having the gene expression matrix of a normal tissue, we can predict its tumor gene expression matrix and, in this way, find effective genes in transforming a normal tissue into a tumor tissue. Results of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) and enrichment analysis on the predicted matrices for 13 types of cancer showed a good correlation with the literature and biological databases. This led that by using the gene expression matrix, to train the model with features of each person in a normal and cancer state, this model could predict diagnosis based on gene expression data from healthy tissue and be used to identify possible therapeutic interventions for those patients
Summer and winter variations of BTEX concentrations in an oil refinery complex and health risk assessment based on Monte-Carlo simulations
No full textThe summer and winter concentrations of BTEX pollutants were investigated in various workplaces of an oil Refinery, Iran. In total 252 air samples from the breathing zones of the following employees were collected: supervisors, safetymen, repairmen, site men, and all workers. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk values were calculated based on the USEPA methodology using Monte Carlo simulations. BTEX concentrations were higher in the summer than in the winter season for all workstations, especially for toluene and ethylbenzene. The mean values of exposure to benzene for repairmen and site men were higher than threshold limit value of 1.60 mg/m3 for both seasons. Non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) values calculated for summer season for benzene, ethylbenzene, and xylene in all workstations, as well as for toluene for repairmen and site men exceeded acceptable level of 1. In winter season the mean HQ values for benzene and xylene in all workstations, for toluene for repairmen and site men, and for ethylbenzene for supervisors, repairmen, and site men were also > 1. For all workstations definite carcinogenic risk was indicated as calculated LCR values for benzene and ethylbenzene exposure were higher than 1 × 10–4 in both summer and winter seasons
Acute oral toxicity assessment of galbanic acid in albino rat according to OECD 425 TG
No full textIn spite of the broad biological and also anticarcinogenic effects which have been reported for galbanic acid in various studies, its toxic effects are not still well characterized. The study was accomplished to evaluate the acute oral toxicity of galbanic acid pursuant to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) TG No. 425. Female rats were received asafoetida extract and galbanic acid in distilled water by oral gavage. According to the existing information, limit test was done for aqueous extract of asafoetida and main test was done for galbanic acid. The animals were monitored for 2 weeks. Then under general anesthesia, the blood samples were obtained from the heart for biochemical and hematological assessment and the vital organs of rats were isolated for pathological evaluation. The results showed that although the Median lethal dose (LD50) of asafoetida extract was above the 2000 mg/kg body weight, the galbanic acid estimated LD50 was 310.2 mg/kg. There was no considerable change in body weight of vehicle and extract treated animals but in galbanic acid treated animals, the body weights were not normally increased. A significant rise was observed in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), (aspartate aminotransferase) AST and (alanine aminotransferase) ALT levels as well as in white blood cells (WBC), platelet and lymphocytes counts in galbanic acid group compared to vehicle and extract groups. Based on the obtained results, we suggest that although the asafoetida aqueous extract could be categorized as group 5 (LD50 > 2000 mg/kg), but galbanic acid estimated LD50 is about 310.2 mg/kg and toxicity signs also appeared in lung, liver enzymes and complete blood count (CBC) of galbanic acid treated animals