Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training and Assertiveness Training on Resilience and Clinical Symptoms of Students with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder is among the most common psychiatric disorders. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of emotion regulation training and assertiveness training on resilience and clinical symptoms of students with generalized anxiety disorder.Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study with a control group. The statistical population included all 16-18 years old male high school students in Karaj who were studying in the academic year 2019-2020, of whom 75 were selected by multi-stage random sampling and assigned to two groups of 25. Participants in experimental group 1 received eight sessions of assertiveness training for 60 minutes per week. Participants in experimental group 2 received five sessions of emotion regulation training for 60 minutes per week, and participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Resilience questionnaires were used to collect data.Results: Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed that both assertiveness and emotion regulation training programs increased resilience and reduced clinical signs of generalized anxiety disorder in the experimental groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two training programs.Conclusion: It is suggested that assertiveness and emotion regulation training be provided for students and included in their curriculum, to enhance assertiveness and emotion regulation skills

Deformation, Cracking and Formability of Zn-Al-Mg Coatings:Methodology, Optimization and Application

Zn-Al-Mg coatings are important materials in coatings science and technology that are widely utilized in automotive and construction applications. These coatings which are mainly produced by the hot-dip galvanization process, offer excellent corrosion resistance and anti-galling performance for the steel substrates. In contrast, they currently exhibit a high cracking tendency when subjected to plastic deformation and forming processes. The formability properties of these coatings are limited due to the adverse and severe cracking. The generated cracks with a large opening on the coating surface enable the penetration of corrosive media into the coating and subsequently can facilitate the corrosion and degradation of the steel substrates. Therefore, the mechanical integrity and durability of Zn-Al-Mg coated steel sheets are strongly related to the fundamental understanding of the deformation, cracking behavior and formability of the coating. Only through such comprehension, it is possible to generate a scientific guideline to improve the cracking resistance of these coatings. The principal aims of the present thesis are therefore (1) to unravel the origin and mechanism of cracking in Zn-Al-Mg coatings, (2) to resolve the long-lasting cracking and formability problems associated with these coatings. To these ends, comprehensive evaluations on the structure-properties relationship are realized in this thesis. Step-wise and dedicated research works are carried out and in the light of the knowledge obtained, synergic solutions and strategies are applied in order to accomplish crack-resistant and highly-formable Zn-Al-Mg coatings

Mixing sweet cream buttermilk with whole milk to produce cream cheese

peer-reviewedButtermilk is an important by-product of the manufacture of butter. Sweet-cream buttermilk (SCBM) is similar in composition to skim milk, except for its high phospholipid and milk fat globular membrane protein content. The main objective of this investigation was to produce optimum quality cream cheese by replacing whole milk with different proportions of SCBM (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50%). Statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the chemical and organoleptic properties of the samples. As the percentage of SCBM increased, the chemical composition of total solids, fat, protein, fat in dry matter (FDM) and ash of cheese milk decreased significantly, leading to a softer, moister curd. Samples prepared with more than 25% SCBM were not acceptable to the taste panel. The cream cheeses prepared using 25% and 30% SCBM had the highest yields. Total solids and FDM were strong predictors of cheese yield (r2 ≈ 0.589). The results also showed that the best range for replacement using SCBM is 20–25%