Zinc and copper status in children with high family risk of premature cardiovascular disease

Background: Zinc and copper are beneficial to health, growth and development, and also for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with regards to improved dietary habits as a preliminary step in CVD prevention. This study was conducted among 2-18-year-old children with high family risk of premature CVD in comparison to controls. Subjects and Methods: One hundred randomly selected children whose parents had premature myocardial infarction were included in the study. The controls were 100 individuals randomly selected from the case group's neighbors and matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status. A four-day food record questionnaire was used to assess zinc and copper intakes, and their serum levels were determined using Flame-Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The data were analyzed by SPSS/Windows V6 software, using the Student's t and Mantel-Hanzel tests. Significance of differences was considered at P<0.05. Results: The daily zinc intake was significantly lower in the case than control group (6.89±2.97 vs. 8.30±2.45 mg, P=0.047). The mean serum zinc level was not significantly different between both groups (82.12±14.1 vs. 92.26±23.7 µg/dL, P>0.05). Zinc deficiency was more prevalent among the case in boys than their controls (58% vs. 18%, P=0.04). This difference was not significant in girls (44% vs. 40%). The daily intake and serum level of copper were not significantly different between the case and control groups. No case of copper deficiency was found. The mean systolic blood pressure was not significantly different between the zinc-deficient and zinc-sufficient subjects. Although the mean diastolic blood pressure of the former was higher than the latter, there was no statistically significant difference. About 23.7% of all studied sample had mild-to-moderate degrees of failure to thrive, with significantly lower daily intake and serum zinc level than other subjects (5.41±1.06 mg, 82.09±12.74 µg/dL vs. 6.89±2.14 mg, 99.25±27.15 µg/dL, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusion: It is recommended that emphasis be placed on the consumption of food rich in zinc by children, especially those with high family risk of premature CVD. Ann Saudi Med 2002;22(5-6):291-294

Happiness and health: Potential related factors

As a temporary emotional situation and a relatively stable state of being happy (subjective happiness level), happiness can be considered. In fact, people with high subjective happiness level think more positively than others. There are many factors with potential positive or negative effects on happiness such as: the (dark and milky) chocolate, Yoga, outdoor group walks in the natural environments, personality, social exclusion, negative emotional feelings, normative and subjective oral health status, socioeconomic factors, leisure time program, training like skills for coping with stress, increasing marriage satisfaction, improving economic status, and religion. Due to different related factors affecting on each person, it is not an easy task to clarify the methods of raising happiness in the communities . Each part of the world has its own culture and traditions, resulting in the fact that there is no identical way to make happier people. It is recommended to have several studies on happiness worldwide to investigate the specific policy for each region

The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on psychological capital and psychological well-being of patients with thalassemia: a quasi-experimental study

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on psychological capital and psychological well-being of patients with thalassemia. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental trial with a pretest-posttest design along with a control group. The statistical population included all patients with thalassemia referred to the office of the Thalassemia Association located in Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital in Kermanshah. Thirty patients were selected as the sample by targeted sampling method and then randomly assigned to experimental and control groups equally (each n=15). The instruments included Ryff psychological well-being questionnaire and Luthan’s Psychological Capital Questionnaire. After performing the pretest, the experimental group underwent an ACT intervention, while the control group received no treatment. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 according to analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: There was a significant difference between the mean of psychological well-being and psychological capital variables in both experimental and control groups (P=0.014 and P=0.005 respectively). By eliminating the effect of pre-test psychological capital scores as a covariate variable, the main effect of the independent variable on post-test psychological capital scores was significant (F=53.601, P=0.001). By eliminating the effect of pre-test psychological capital scores as a covariate variable, the main effect of the independent variable on post-test psychological well-being scores was significant (F=181.34, P=0.001). Conclusion: ACT was effective on the psychological capital and the psychological well-being of thalassemia patients. Moreover, ACT can be used to improve the psychological capital and psychological well-being of patients with thalassemia

The Effectiveness Of Mothers Training With Adlerian Approach On Improving Emotional Cognitive Strategies Of Depressed Children And Reducing Depression

The training of mothers to improve the mother-child relationship has been one of Adler's most important services and supporters. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Adlerian approach to mothers' training on emotional positive strategies of depressed children and reduction of depression. The present study is a library research method and it is a type of applied research and data collection method is survey type. Semi-experimental research is an interventional, pre-test, post-test with control group. The findings were obtained by SPSS software and CADS questionnaire (Jan 2005). Alpha coefficient with Cronbach's alpha method is equal to 0.8616. The statistical population consists of all students of the sixth grade elementary schools of Kamyaran city in the academic year of 96-95, which is 818 people. At first, two schools were selected through cluster sampling method from the schools of boys and girls in Kamyaran city. Sixty mothers of students were divided into two experimental and control groups (based on age, occupation and mother's educational level) And completed the questionnaire, 30 of them were selected as research sample. As a result, it was found that maternal education had a significant effect. Students whose mothers are employed are more prone to depression than their mothers, and also found that students with mothers who are younger are more likely to develop depression than those with older mothers

Nitration of Halterman porphyrin: a new route for fine tuning chiral iron and manganese porphyrins with application in epoxidation and hydroxylation reactions using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant

International audienceA methodology is reported for the regioselective nitration of the phenyl groups of Halterman porphyrin, using NaNO2. These nitro-porphyrins can be reduced to aminoporphyrins and then N-dimethylated to give new optically active porphyrins. Applications to the asymmetric epoxidation of styrene derivatives by H2O2 to give optically active epoxides (ee up to 60%) and hydroxylation of alkanes to give optically active secondary alcohols (ee up to 69%) were carried out in organic solvents (dichloromethane/methanol) using chiral iron and manganese porphyrins as catalysts

Iran’s Economic Considerations after the War and its Role in Renewing of Iran-Saudi Diplomatic Relations

Iran-Saudi relationship has constantly been frictional after Islamic revolution of Iran. In general, Saudi heavy support of Iraqi government during Iran-Iraq war and Iran’s holding political demonstration so-called the Liberation from Infidels gave rise to frigidity of mutual relations of the two countries. Meanwhile, one of the means that Saudi Arabia, as ally of Iraq, applied to put Iran under pressure was oil and reduction of its price in order to decrease Iran’s foreign exchange revenues in which it could not supply its essential armaments. The problems, finally, led to cutting off Iran-Saudi bilateral relations in 1988. However, after termination of the war and in the early years of 1990s, Iran’s relations with Persian Gulf countries in particular Saudi Arabia improved gradually. The present article hypothesizes that Iran’s internal economic necessities such as reconstruction of the war-torn areas, improvement of economic situation and also public demands for better life in 1980s, mainly resulted from Iran-Iraq eight-year war, in one hand and its dependency on oil revenues to change the terrible situation on the other hand caused Iran to re-conciliate its relations with Saudi Arabia due to its influence on oil price and quota within OPEC. The study concludes that Iran’s reliance on petrodollars and its endeavor to increase oil revenues as well as regaining its previous leadership in OPEC led to renewing of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in 1991 and also their cooperation within the organization afterward.Key words: Iran; Saudi Arabia; Iran-Iraq war; Economic considerations; petrodollar

Les Alternarioses (Alternaria spp.) des agrumes: Diagnostic et méthodes de lutte

Alternaria species causes brown spot disease and black rot in citrus fruits and are mainly due to Alternaria alternata f.sp citri, A. citri and Alternaria alternata. These pathogens are responsible for important damage to agricultural products both in the field and in post-harvest. They attack leaves, stems and fruits. Alternaria species are necrotrophs. They kill plant cells by producing toxins. Molecular characterization by conventional and real-time PCR have been shown to be useful in identifying Alternaria species. To control effectively the brown spot of citrus, prophylactic measures have been adopted. Thus, several studies have reported the use of resistant cultivars and certain isolates of Trichoderma harzianum, Bacillus subtilis, and certain plant extracts as biocontrol agents in the management of brown spot in citrus. However, the control of this disease is still largely dependent on the applications of fungicides based on difenoconazole, mancozeb and copper compounds. Imazalil and Pyrimethanil are the only products registered against Alternaria sp. on citrus in Morocco. Keywords: Alternaria alternata, Alternaria citri, Citrus, black rot, brown spot, molecular characterization, biocontrol, fungicidesLes alternarioses provoquent principalement la maladie des taches brunes et la pourriture noire des fruits d’agrumes et sont causées par Alternaria alternata f.sp citri, A. citri et Alternaria alternata. Ces pathogènes sont responsables des dommages aux produits agricoles au champ et en post-récolte. Ils attaquent les feuilles, les tiges et les fruits. Les espèces d’Alternaria sont des nécrotrophes. Elles tuent les cellules végétales par la production de toxines. La caractérisation moléculaire par PCR conventionnelle et en temps réel se sont avérées utiles pour identifier les espèces d'Alternaria. Afin de contrôler efficacement les alternarioses des agrumes, des mesures prophylactiques ont été adoptés. Ainsi, plusieurs études ont rapporté l’utilisation des cultivars résistants et certains isolats de Trichoderma harzianum, Bacillus subtilis, et certains extraits de plantes comme agents de biocontrôle dans la gestion des alternarioses des agrumes. Cependant, la lutte contre cette maladie dépend encore largement des applications de fongicides à base dedifénoconazole, le mancozèbe et les composés de cuivre. L’Imazalil et le Pyriméthanil sont les seuls produits homologués contre Alternaria sp. sur agrumes au Maroc. Mots clés&nbsp;: Alternaria alternata, Alternaria citri, pourriture noire, tache brune, caractérisation moléculaire, biocontrôle, fongicide

Designing a Model for Reducing Behavioral Emotions through the Mindfulness of Social Security Organization Employees

Introduction: The present study was conducted to present a model for reducing behavioral emotions through the mindset of Social Security employees.Methods: it is applied and developmental research in nature. The research method is mixed (qualitative-quantitative). This research used a non-random and snowball sampling method to collect the opinions of 30 participants (university professors and staff of the Social Security Organization) within three phases. The statistical population included all managers and employees of the Social Security Organization, which was about 420 people, of whom 200 people were selected as the sample size according to the Krejcie and Morgan Table. Also, the Fuzzy Delphi method was used to identify the components, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the effect of the identified variables.Results: The results identified 76 themes and factors. Twelve sub-indices for behavioral emotions were classified in the form of variables, including descriptive observation, conscious deed, acceptance without judgment, and lack of reaction. Another 12 sub-indices for mindfulness were classified in the form of variables, including anger, anxiety, stress, fear, and sadness.  Conclusion: Considering high occupational tension and the Social Security Organization workplace, it is possible to reduce behavioral emotions by providing a calm and stress-free workplace for the staff