Psychometric properties of the Persian version of co-rumination questionnaire

Background: Although growing studies support features of co-rumination as a vulnerability factor in internalizing symptoms and positive factor in friendship, little attention has been paid to the psychometric properties of the Co-Rumination Questionnaire (CRQ). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of this questionnaire. Methods: This research is a descriptive-exploratory study and 550 high school students who were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. They completed CRQ, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and ruminative response scale (RRS) from winter 2014 to summer 2015. Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and factor structure were investigated. Results: The factor analysis identified two interpretable factors with the eigenvalue higher than 2. The results from concurrent validity measurement in the current study showed that co-rumination has a positive correlation with depression signs (P < 0.01) and rumination response style (P < 0.01). The CRQ validity was determined using the half-split method employing Spearman-Brown (0.82) and Guttman correlation test (0.81) and internal consistency (0.90). According to these values, this questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: The Persian version of CRQ has reliability and validity for assessing co-rumination among adolescent participants. This study provides primary evidence on the applicability of the Persian version of the CRQ in the Iranian population. Copyright © 2020, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

Microfluidics as efficient technology for the isolation and characterization of stem cells.

The recent years have been passed with significant progressions in the utilization of microfluidic technologies for cellular investigations. The aim of microfluidics is to mimic small-scale body environment with features like optical transparency. Microfluidics can screen and monitor different cell types during culture and study cell function in response to stimuli in a fully controlled environment. No matter how the microfluidic environment is similar to in vivo environment, it is not possible to fully investigate stem cells behavior in response to stimuli during cell proliferation and differentiation. Researchers have used stem cells in different fields from fundamental researches to clinical applications. Many cells in the body possess particular functions, but stem cells do not have a specific task and can turn into almost any type of cells. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the ability of changing into specific cells that can be essential for the body. Researchers and physicians are interested in stem cells to use them in testing the function of the body's systems and solving their complications. This review discusses the recent advances in utilizing microfluidic techniques for the analysis of stem cells, and mentions the advantages and disadvantages of using microfluidic technology for stem cell research

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of co-rumination questionnaire

Background: Although growing studies support features of co-rumination as a vulnerability factor in internalizing symptoms and positive factor in friendship, little attention has been paid to the psychometric properties of the Co-Rumination Questionnaire (CRQ). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of this questionnaire. Methods: This research is a descriptive-exploratory study and 550 high school students who were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. They completed CRQ, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and ruminative response scale (RRS) from winter 2014 to summer 2015. Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and factor structure were investigated. Results: The factor analysis identified two interpretable factors with the eigenvalue higher than 2. The results from concurrent validity measurement in the current study showed that co-rumination has a positive correlation with depression signs (P < 0.01) and rumination response style (P < 0.01). The CRQ validity was determined using the half-split method employing Spearman-Brown (0.82) and Guttman correlation test (0.81) and internal consistency (0.90). According to these values, this questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: The Persian version of CRQ has reliability and validity for assessing co-rumination among adolescent participants. This study provides primary evidence on the applicability of the Persian version of the CRQ in the Iranian population. Copyright © 2020, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

A Pilot Study of the Tuning in to Kids Parenting Program in Iran for Reducing Preschool Children�s Anxiety

Objectives: Tuning in to Kids (TIK) is a group parenting program that targets parent emotion socialization (emotional awareness and regulation, meta-emotion and emotion coaching skills) to improve children�s functioning. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the effectiveness of this program when used with parents of anxious preschool children. Methods: The study used a randomized controlled design. Fifty-six mothers of children who scored one standard deviation above the mean on the parent report of the Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) were selected from 358 families who expressed interest in participating in a parenting program. Selected participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 30) or control (n = 26) conditions. Participants in the intervention condition attended the 6 session TIK program followed by two booster sessions at monthly intervals thereafter. Post-intervention and 6- months later the PAS was re-administered to participants in both conditions. Results: Mixed Repeated Measure ANOVA analysis showed a significant difference between participants in the two conditions on parent-reported anxiety at post-test and 6-month follow-up. Clinical significance analyses showed 69 of the intervention group in comparison to 18 of the control group had parent-reported change into the normal range for anxiety scores. These changes remained stable at 6-month follow-up (60 compared to 23). Conclusion: The study suggests that the TIK program shows preliminary effectiveness when used in Iran with preschool children with anxiety. © 2019, The Author(s)

Effectiveness of a visual attention training program on the reduction of ADHD symptoms in preschool children at risk for ADHD in Isfahan: A pilot study

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are difficult to treat. As ADHD is naturally a disorder of attention and related executive functions, attention training (ATT) has been considered as a treatment for the disorder. Although there are few studies investigating the utility of ATT in the ADHD population, published studies provide support for ATT in reducing the symptoms of ADHD. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of training attention on ADHD symptoms in a group of preschool-aged children at risk for ADHD disorder. Methods: In this study, a group of 5-year-old children (n = 30) with ADHD symptoms were assigned randomly to either a traininggroup who participated in 11 sessions of visual attention training based on Pay Attention Program or a non-trained control group. Both versions of Child symptom inventory-4 (CSI-4) were employed to assess ADHD symptoms based on parent and teacher's rating. Also the accuracy and the continuous performance of children were examined with Tolouse-Pierron test. The Assessment was performed in three phases: (1) before, (2) after, and (3) one month after the termination of training. Results: Results of the multivariate analysis of the covariance demonstrate that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the decline of attention deficit symptoms between two groups based on teacher's rating at post-test. In addition, there was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) on the scores of omission error of Toulose- Pieron test at post-test and follow up for the training group. There was no significant reduction in hyperactivity symptoms in two groups. Conclusions: It seems that the performance of children's attention with ADHD improves by visual attention training. © 2017, Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The study of heavy metals (Lead and Iron) contamination in cultured Oncorhynchus mykiss of Guilan province

This study was carried out in three farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) of Guilan Province. Heavy metals (Iron and Lead) were measured using Atomic absorption spectrometry in food, water and fish muscles of farms. The amounts of Iron and Lead (Mean ±SD) in all water samples from studied farms were 55.29±2.71 and 2.066±0.714 µg/L, respectively. The amounts of Iron and Lead (Mean± SD) in consumed feed of studied farms were 494.51± 89.18 and 3.494± 1.462 mg/kg, respectively. Also, the amounts of Iron and lead in fish muscle of studied farms were measured as 7.715± 1.050 and 0.39970± 0.073 mg/kg, respectively. The obtained results revealed the existence of higher amounts of iron in fish muscle above Codex standard, 2001 and lower amounts of lead levels from the mentioned standard in studied farms. The obtained data showed no significant differences in water, food and muscle of fish in studied areas (p>0.05)

An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis: Behavioral Treatments for Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: Behavioral interventions are well established treatments for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, insight into moderators of treatment outcome is limited.Method: We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis [IPDMA], including data of randomized controlled behavioral intervention trials for individuals with ADHD[less than]18 years. Outcomes were symptoms of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) and impairment. Moderators investigated were symptoms and impairment severity, medication use, age, IQ, sex, socioeconomic status, and single parenthood. Results: For raters most proximal to treatment, small to medium sized effects of behavioral interventions were found for symptoms of ADHD, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), ODD and CD, and impairment. Blinded outcomes were only available for small preschool subsamples and limited measures. CD symptoms and/or diagnosis moderated outcome on ADHD, HI, ODD, and CD symptoms. Single parenthood moderated ODD outcome, ADHD severity moderated impairment outcome. Higher baseline CD or ADHD symptoms, a CD diagnosis, and single parenthood were related to worsening of symptoms in the untreated, but not in the treated group, indicating a protective rather than an ameliorative effect of behavioral interventions for these children.Conclusion: Behavioral treatments are effective for reducing ADHD symptoms, behavioral problems, and impairment as reported by raters most proximal to treatment. Those with severe CD or ADHD symptoms, a CD diagnosis, or single parents, should be prioritized for treatment, as they may evidence worsening of symptoms in the absence of intervention

General health of beta-thalassemia major patients in Gorgan, Iran

Background and Objective: Thalassemias is the most common inherited disease in the world. This study was designed to assess general health of patients with beta-thalassemia major in Gorgan, northern Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 163 patients with beta-thalassemia major whom referred to Thalghani hospital in Gorgan, northern Iran. Socio-Psychosocial status of patients was assessed by using general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). Results: Socio-Psychosocial status of 44.2%, 46% and 9.8% of patients was normal, suspected and suffered from psychosocial disorders, respectively. Social dysfunction (12.9%) and depression (10.4%) were the most prevalent and anxiety was the less prevalent (4.9%) in the patients. There were significant correlations between psychosocial status and mother’s ocupation (P<0.05), patients level of education (P<0.05) and history of associated diseases (P<0.05). Conclusion: Social dysfunction and depression were the two major general health complications in beta-thalassemia patients in this region

The Frequency of Post-Stroke Depression in An Outpatient Elderly Population

The purpose of the present study is to determine the frequency and severity of depression in post-stroke patients.Methods:Based on a cross-sectional research design,30 recent stroke outpatients were assessed with DSM-IV interview for depression and two self-rating depression scales,CES-D and BDI.Sex differences in depression, the relationship between depression and the location of the brain lesion and other clinical manifestations (sensory,motor and verbal) were also determined.Results:68% of the patients reported depression on CES-D,among them 64% suffered from moderate to severe depression according to BDI and interview-based information.Women were more depressed than men (63% and 37% respectively).Differences were found in lesion side,with patients with lesions in right side reporting higher levels of depression than patients with left side lesions. Motor disturbances were the most prevalent clinical features.Conclusion:There seems to be an increased incidence of depression in stroke patients.The mechanism of pathophysiological processes underlying this association is poorly understood and is an important area for full investigation.Since depression is a significant risk factor for stroke it is important that psychiatric examination of post-stroke patients be conducted

Effectiveness of a visual attention training program on the reduction of ADHD symptoms in preschool children at risk for ADHD in Isfahan: A pilot study

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are difficult to treat. As ADHD is naturally a disorder of attention and related executive functions, attention training (ATT) has been considered as a treatment for the disorder. Although there are few studies investigating the utility of ATT in the ADHD population, published studies provide support for ATT in reducing the symptoms of ADHD. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of training attention on ADHD symptoms in a group of preschool-aged children at risk for ADHD disorder. Methods: In this study, a group of 5-year-old children (n = 30) with ADHD symptoms were assigned randomly to either a traininggroup who participated in 11 sessions of visual attention training based on Pay Attention Program or a non-trained control group. Both versions of Child symptom inventory-4 (CSI-4) were employed to assess ADHD symptoms based on parent and teacher's rating. Also the accuracy and the continuous performance of children were examined with Tolouse-Pierron test. The Assessment was performed in three phases: (1) before, (2) after, and (3) one month after the termination of training. Results: Results of the multivariate analysis of the covariance demonstrate that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the decline of attention deficit symptoms between two groups based on teacher's rating at post-test. In addition, there was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) on the scores of omission error of Toulose- Pieron test at post-test and follow up for the training group. There was no significant reduction in hyperactivity symptoms in two groups. Conclusions: It seems that the performance of children's attention with ADHD improves by visual attention training. © 2017, Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences