Marital Satisfaction of Iranian Deaf Women: The Role of a Life Skills Training Program

Given that marital satisfaction and the factors influencing it are of high importance among deaf women, the present study aimed to examine the impact of life skills training on the marital satisfaction of deaf women in the Iranian Deaf Association (IDA). A multiple-baseline, single-case experimental design was conducted. The statistical population consisted of all deaf women in the IDA during 2014-2015. A total of 3 deaf women who met the inclusion criteria were selected using a purposeful sampling method. They participated in a 9-session life skills training program for 45 minutes a week. The instrument used in the present study was the 47-item version of the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS). The data from repeated measures was processed using the trend comparison charts, and the clinical significance of the data was determined using the recovery rate formula. The results from the trend comparison charts, recovery rate formula, and visual analysis showed that the life skills training improved the marital satisfaction of the samples. According to the study findings, it can be concluded that life skills training improves the marital satisfaction among deaf women. Therefore, the method used in the present study can be recognized as an appropriate method in psycho-educational interventions for strengthening family foundation and improving marriage durability of deaf couples at the beginning of marriage

A radiobiological comparison of hypo-fractionation versus conventional fractionation for breast cancer 3D-conformal radiation therapy

Background: The present research was aimed to compare the toxicity and effectiveness of conventional fractionated radiotherapy versus hypo-fractionated radiotherapy in breast cancer utilizing a radiobiological model. Materials and methods: Thirty-five left-sided breast cancer patients without involvement of the supraclavicular and axillary lymph nodes (with the nodal stage of N0) that had been treated with conventional or hypo-fractionated were incorporated in this study. A radiobiological model was performed to foretell normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and tumor control probability (TCP). Results: The data represented that TCP values for conventional and hypo-fractionated regimens were 99.16 ± 0.09 and 95.96 ± 0.48, respectively (p = 0.00). Moreover, the NTCP values of the lung for conventional and hypo-fractionated treatment were 0.024 versus 0.13 (p = 0.035), respectively. Also, NTCP values of the heart were equal to zero for both regimens. Conclusion: In summary, hypo-fractionated regimens had comparable efficacy to conventional fraction radiation therapy in the case of dosimetry parameters for patients who had left breast cancer. But, utilizing the radiobiological model, conventional fractionated regimens presented better results compared to hypo-fractionated regimens.

The Effectiveness of Group Plays on Psychomotor Development of Educable Mentally Disabled Preschool Boys in Preschool in 2011

The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of group plays on psychomotor development of educable mentally disabled boys (aged 5 to 7 years old). Thestatistical population of this study includes all boys with educable mental disability in preschool. The sample consists of 20 boys who are randomly selected from three special schools in Isfahan city. Then they are randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. The instrument used in this research is Lincoln Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and Education Group Play. A pretest is administered on both the experimental and control groups. Then education play training is employed on the experimental group for one mouth and 12 sessions. A post test is administered on both groups at the end of training. The results show there is a significant difference between the mean scores of Lincoln Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency in the experimental and the control groups in the post test (p<0.001). The effect size is 69%. It is therefore concluded that group play could increase psychomotor development in educable mentally disabled boys. So we can use group plays on psychomotor development in preschool children in addition to another method

The Impact of Anjir –tangeh Coal Washing Plant on Concentration of Some Heavy Metals in the Native Vegetation, Mazandaran Province, Iran

A large volume of tailings has been produced in Anjir-tangeh coal washing plant for 22 years of human activity. The coal washing activities have reduced plant diversity near the plant. The environmental impact of coal washing plant on the vegetation around the factory was studied in two seasons. The concentrations of Pb, Cd and Cr, measured in different native plant species, were in normal ranges in summer. In fall, the concentrations of Pb, Cd and Cr in the plants around the factory were similar to those in plants in the control area. In summer, however, the metal concentrations were considerably higher in plants grown near the factory than in the plants of the control area. This difference was statistically significant at 0.01 levels for Cd, but not for Pb and Cr. Among the studied plant species, Oxalis Sphad the highest Cd concentration (0.409 ppm), but Chenopodium album L had the lowest Cr concentration in summer. Season was an effective factor in the uptake of heavy metals by plants; metal concentration in plants was considerably higher in fall than in summer

Investigation on the oxygen transport mechanisms in the Sarcheshmeh waste rock dumps

Introduction Pyrite oxidation and acid mine drainage (AMD) are the serious environmental problems associated with the mining activities in sulphide ores. The rate of pyrite oxidation is governed by the availability of oxygen (Borden, 2003). Therefore, the identifying oxygen supplying mechanism is one of the most important issues related to the environmental assessment of waste rock dumps (Cathles and Apps, 1975; Jaynes et al., 1984; Davis and Ritchie, 1986). Although comprehensive researches were performed on the mathematical description of oxygen transport processes using the numerical modeling (Morin et al., 1988; Blowes et al., 1991; Wunderly et al., 1986; Elberling et al., 1994; Jannesar Malakooti et al., 2014), so far, the interactions between these processes and geochemical and mineralogical characteristics has not been studied especially in waste rock dumps. Therefore the main objective of this study is to identify the evidences for knowing the oxygen transport mechanisms in the waste dumps and also, its role in intensity of pyrite oxidation. It is expected that such these structural studies could be useful for better understanding of dominant processes in numerical modeling and also providing environmental management strategies in the study area and other sites by similar characteristics. Materials and Methods In this study, thirty solid samples were collected from six excavated trenches in the waste rock dumps No. 19 and 31 of the Sarcheshmeh porphyry copper mine. Collected samples were studied using several methods such as XRD, ASTM-D2492, paste pH and grain size distribution. The results obtained from these methods were used with the field observations in order to characterize some detail information about oxygen supplying mechanisms for oxidation reactions in the waste rock dumps. Result The main minerals found by the XRD analysis were quartz and muscovite which were present in all samples. Pyrite, orthose, albite, and chlorite were also present in some samples. The carbonate content as the major neutralizing agent was zero in all samples. Due to the presence of sulfide minerals, mainly as pyrite, and also lack of any carbonate minerals, the AMD generation from the Sarcheshmeh waste rocks during the weathering reactions is predictable. At the Sarcheshmeh mine waste, several secondary minerals such as butlerite, jarosite and gypsum were detected by XRD at some depths. Moreover, amorphous iron oxyhydroxide minerals visually observed in waste dumps were not detected by XRD due to being negligible and low level of crystallinity. Hence, they were measured in terms of (Feo-h) by ASTM standard test method. The ASTM-D2492 standard test showed that pyrite, sulphate and iron oxyhydroxide minerals (Feo-h) are present in all samples. Against the XRD method, the test even detected the negligible content of the minerals. The paste pH tests showed that 15 samples were acid-producing because they had pH lower than 4. On the basis of moisture content results, the samples by name A6, A7, B1 and B2 showed high level of moisture which can be sign of the particular status in them. Discussion According to the field observations, channels with a strong flow of warm and humid air were detected in the depth of 3 to 5 meters of the investigated waste rock dumps. High content of humidity (8.25 and 13.43 percent) and sulfate (4.5 and 7.02 percent) were observed together with low content of pyrite (1.5 and 6.23 percent) and acidic paste pH values (3.13 and 2.88) around these channels. Therefore, from the relation of these occurrences, it can be inferred that the air convection is important for supply oxygen to pyrite oxidation in the waste dumps of Sarcheshmeh. The results also indicate that, two main factors including grain size distribution and formation of hardpan layer on top of old weathered rocks are responsible for the decreasing of oxygen transformation rate via the molecular diffusion mechanism through the waste rock dumps. Considering the presence of coarse grain and poorly graded material as a proper media for air convection and also hardpan layer as a confining factor in molecular diffusion of oxygen, it can be deduced that the air convection is the main important mechanism to supply oxygen for weathering and oxidation reactions in the waste rock dumps. The abundance of oxygen and high temperatures in such conditions are also favorable for bacterial activities, which can then accelerate the pyrite oxidation in lower depth of dump. It is expected that the results of this study could be useful as a basis for providing the remediation strategies to control acidic drainage. So that knowing the domination of air convection and presence of hardpan justify controlling the flux of oxygen from the coarse material in bottom of waste dump. Therefore, it would be wrong to construct the impermeable layer on the surface of waste dump for arresting the oxygen diffusion as a traditional method in the remediation. Acknowledgement The authors appreciate the cooperation of the Research and Development Division of the Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex for financial support and access to sampling and analysis facilities. Reference Blowes, D.W., Reardon, E.J., Jambor, J.L. and Cherry, J.A., 1991. The formation and potential importance of cemented layers in inactive sulfide mine tailings. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 55(4): 965-978. Borden, R.K., 2003. Environmental geochemistry of the Bingham Canyon porphyry copper deposit, Utah. Environmental Geology, 43(7): 752-758. Cathles, L.M. and Apps, J.A., 1975. A model of the dump leaching process that incorporates oxygen balance, heat balance, and air convection. Metallurgical Transactions B, 6(4): 617-624. Davis, G.B. and Ritchie A.I.M., 1986. A model of oxidation in pyritic mine wastes: part 1: Equations and approximate solution. Applied Mathematical Modeling, 10(5): 314-322. Elberling, B., Nicholson, R.V., Reardon, E.J. and Tibble, R., 1994. Evaluation of sulphide oxidation rates: a laboratory study comparing oxygen fluxes and rates of oxidation product release. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 31(3): 375-383. Jannesar Malakooti, S., Shafaei Tonkaboni, S.Z., Noaparast, M., Ardejani, F.D. and Naseh, R., 2014. Characterisation of the Sarcheshmeh copper mine tailings, Kerman province, southeast of Iran. Environmental Earth Sciences, 71(5): 2267-2291. Jaynes, D.B., Rogowski, A.S. and Pionke, H.B., 1984. Acid mine drainage from reclaimed coal strip mines 1. Model description. Water Resources Research, 20(2): 233-242. Morin, K.A., Cherry, J.A., Dave, N.K., Lim, T.P. and Vivyurka, A.J., 1988. Migration of acidic groundwater seepage from uranium-tailings impoundments, 1. Field study and conceptual hydrogeochemical model. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 2(4): 271-303. Wunderly, M.D., Blowes, D.W., Frind, E.O. and Ptacek, C.J., 1986. Sulfide mineral oxidation and subsequent reactive transport of oxidation products in mine tailings impoundments: A numerical model. Water Resources Research, 32(10): 3173-3187. <br

Identification of the Origin and Behaviour of Arsenic in Mine Waste Dumps Using Correlation Analysis: A Case Study Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine

Knowledge of the probable origin and behaviour of arsenic certainly gives valuable insights into the potential for transfer in the environment and of the risks involved in mining sites. Sequential extraction analyses are common experiments often used to study the origin and behaviour of potentially toxic elements. The method, however, presents some deficiencies, including labor-intensive procedure, interferences of phases, being impractical for testing large number of samples in heterogeneous environment as well as inability for determining the individual minerals as source or sink terms for toxic elements. This study attempts to determine the origin and behaviour of arsenic in waste dump using correlation analysis approach. To this end, sixty samples were collected from two waste dumps at the Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine in Kerman Province, Iran. The statistical results along with previous experimental investigations and also sequential extraction experiment revealed that adsorption on muscovite is the main source, and that oxy hydroxides of iron and manganese are the main adsorbent minerals which control the concentrations of arsenic in the waste dumps of the Sarcheshmeh copper mine

Metformin as a new option in the medical management of breast fibroadenoma; a randomized clinical trial

Background: Fibroadenoma (FA) is the most common benign solid breast mass in women, with no definite method of management. Because fibroadenoma is dependent on female sex hormones and comprises hypertrophic changes at cellular levels, we investigated the effects of metformin (MF), a safe hypoglycemic agent with anti-estrogenic and anti-proliferative properties, in the management of fibroadenoma. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial study, eligible women with fibroadenomas were assigned randomly to the metformin (1000 mg daily for six months) or the placebo group. Breast physical and ultrasound exam was performed before and after the intervention, and the changes in the size of fibroadenomas were compared in the two groups. Results: Overall, 83 patients in the treatment, and 92 in the placebo group completed the study. A statistically significant difference in changing size between the two groups was observed only in the smallest mass. In the largest FAs, the rate of size reduction was higher in the treatment group (60.2 % vs. 43.5 %); while a higher rate of enlargement was observed in the placebo group (38 % vs. 20.5 %). In the smallest FAs, the rate of the masses that got smaller or remained stable was about 90 % in the treatment group and 50 % in the placebo group. We categorized size changes of FAs into < 20 % enlargement and ≥ 20 % enlargement. The odds ratio (OR) for an elargemnt less than 20% was 1.48 (95 % CI = 1.10–1.99) in the treatment group in comparison with the placebo group; the odds for an enlargement less than 20% was higher in women with multiples fibroadenomas (OR = 4.67, 95 % CI: 1.34–16.28). In our study, no serious adverse effect was recorded, and the medicine was well-tolerated by all users. Conclusions: This is the first study that evaluates the effect of MF on the management of fibroadenoma, and the results suggest a favorable effect. Larger studies using higher doses of MF and including a separate design for patients with single or multiple FAs are suggested in order to confirm this effect