Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Iranian Women Towards Breast Cancer Screening Methods

Female breast cancer is the second leading cause of death due to cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women after lung cancer. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice of women about breast cancer\u27s screening methods in order to offer more appropriate training programs if necessary. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a population comprised of women who had referred to public health centers in Sanandaj in 2008. The results of this study do provide some understanding on the topic and suggest that although the majority of Iranian women seem to be quite knowledgeable about breast cancer and screening methods. They need more education on breast cancer, SBE and other methods of early detection. We recommend the establishment of an institutional framework and policy guidelines that will enhance adequate and urgent information dissemination about breast cancer and screening methods to all women in Iran. Since women\u27s beliefs and behaviors may impact young women, designing training courses for this group seems to be essential

Central Obesity and BMI Associated with Different Phenotypes of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Adolescent

Adipose tissue distribution is effective in metabolic complications resulting from obesity. Fat accumulation in the body, particularly increase in visceral fat, is a major risk factor of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity and android obesity based on various phenotypes of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in 14-18 year old high-school girl students in Shiraz in 2009. This descriptive study was conducted on 14-18 year old high-school girl students in Shiraz in 2009. Considering the confidence coefficient of 95% and loss rate of 20%, a 3190subject sample size was determined for the study. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. After obtaining written informed consents, demographic information questionnaire was completed and the participants were examined regarding hirsutism, acne, alopecia, and menstrual disorders. Besides, the criteria proposed by Adams et al. were employed to diagnose PCOS in sonography. Android obesity and Body Mass Index (BMI) were evaluated, as well. The results of independent t-test showed no significant difference among various phenotypes of PCOS regarding mean android obesity and BMI (P>0.05). The results of the present study revealed no significant relationship between girl adolescents\u27 obesity and various phenotypes of PCOS. However, adolescents should be informed about the long-term hyperandrogenic outcomes which are accompanied by insulin secretion and endanger their health after the age of 40 years

Role of mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self-knowledge on psychological well-being among the university students

Background: Studies has shown the effect on environmental conditions on psychological well-being. In this regard, psychological characteristics have an important role. This study aimed to investigate the role of mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self -knowledge amonge the university students. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on the students of Kashan university of medical sciences (n=300) and based on quota sampling, a number of students (n=241) were selected based on the faculty and the major of the study. The administered tools were Ryff scale of psychological well-being (RSPWB-18), mindfulness (MAAS), acceptance and actions (AAQ-II) questionnaires and integrative self-knowledge scale (ISKS). Finally the data were analyzed using correlation and stepwise regression. Results: Pearson correlation disclosed a positive and considerable relation between mindfulness, integrative self-knowledge, psychological flexibility and psychological well-being. In addition, the findings showed significant role of mindfulness, integrative self-knowledge and psychological flexibility to predict the psychological well-being of the students; so these variables can predict 21 of psychological wellbeing changes. Conclusion: This study disclosed that the mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self -knowledge can in part specify the variance of psychological well-being

Heat Exchanger Fouling in Phosphoric Acid Evaporators - Evaluation of Field Data -

Multistage evaporators are frequently used in phosphoric acid plants to increase the concentration of dilute phosphoric acid to 52-55 wt% P2O5. The concentrated phosphoric acid solution is supersaturated with respect to calcium sulfate. As a result, part of the calcium sulfate in the liquor deposits on the heat exchanger tube walls. Since the thermal conductivity of these scales is very low, thin deposits can create a significant resistance to heat transfer. Therefore, regular cleaning of heat exchangers is required, frequently at less than biweekly intervals. As the major costs in modern phosphoric acid plants are the cost of energy, a thorough understanding of the fouling kinetics and of the effects of various operational parameters on the behavior of calcium sulfate is required to improve operation and design of the shell and tube heat exchangers, which are extensively used. In this investigation, a large number of heat exchanger data were collected from shell and tube heat exchangers of the phosphoric acid plant of the Razi Petrochemical Complex (Iran) and the fouling deposits were analyzed with respect to appearance and composition. The overall heat transfer coefficients and fouling resistances were evaluated at different times and a kinetic model for the crystallization fouling was developed. It is shown that the crystallization rate constant obeys an Arrhenius relationship with activation energy of 57 kJ/mol. The predictions of the suggested model are in good agreement with the plant data

Effects of mindful parenting training on clinical symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and parenting stress: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk of impairment in multiple domains. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindful parenting training in reducing clinical symptoms in children with ADHD and parenting stress of their parents. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 2 groups (experimental and control) in 3 phases (pretest, posttest, and 8 weeks’ follow-up). Sixty children with ADHD, who had been referred by the child psychiatrist in the Iranian city of Kashan in the second half of the year 2016, were selected along with their mothers. The mothers were assigned to one of the 2 groups via permuted blocked randomization. The mothers completed the parenting stress index–short form (PSI–SF 36) and the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Parent and Teacher rating scale (SNAP-IV). All the children in both groups received pharmacotherapy with either risperidone or Ritalin. The intervention group received 8 sessions (1 session each week, each session lasting 90 minutes) of mindful parenting training based on the Kabat-Zinn protocol. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 20, via the t test, χ2 test, repeated measures analysis of variance, and nonparametric Friedman test. Results: This study showed a reduction in parenting stress, negative parent-child interactions, and children’s problematic characteristics in the mindful parenting training group compared with the control group in the posttest and follow-up. Our results also demonstrated a significant improvement in ADHD symptoms in the experimental group by comparison with the control group in the posttest and follow-up. Conclusion: Mindful parenting training was effective in reducing parenting stress and ADHD symptoms in our intervention group. Keywords ● Mindfulness ● Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity ● Parenting ● Stress ● Physiologica

New insight into the informal patients' payments on the evidence of literature: A systematic review study

Background: Nowadays, a growing literature reveals how patients use informal payments to seek either better treatment or additional services, but little systematic review has been accomplished for synthesizing the main factors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the content of literatures to demonstrate the factors for informal patient payments. Methods: In this systematic review study, PubMed, Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, Science Direct, Ovid, Scopus, and Iranian databases were investigated without time limitation for eligible English and Persian studies. Achieved data were analyzed using content analysis approach and MAXQDA 10 software. Results: Themes related to informal payments in external context of health system were demographic features of health service consumers, patient's personality features and social & cultural backgrounds of the community. Health system challenges' themes were about stewardship weakness, and sustainable financing and social protection weakness. These were followed by human resources' organizational behavior challenges, drugs, medical products, and services delivery provision process challenges and finally change management weakness for reducing and dealing with IPs. Conclusion: It appears that improving the quality of health care services and accurate monitoring of delivery processes, along with performing some strategies for regulating payroll and medical tariffs, strict rules and regulations and improving health staff motivation, would be effective ways against informal payments. Improving the health insurance contribution, promoting transparency & accountability in health system especially in financing, identify precise control mechanism, using empower patient/public related approach, modifying community perception, reinforcing social resistance to unofficial payments and rebuilt lost social capital in health care are some of the other recommendations in this field. To practice these strategies, a comprehensive and systemic vision and approach is needed, however, the key point is that before applying any strategy the impact of this strategy on access, efficiency, equity, and other health systems' goals and policies should be investigated due to the consideration. © 2020 The Author(s)

A study of affecting factors on the degree of university students loyalty to the brand of nike

There are different factors which affect the way people select and continue their attitudes towards products of certain brands. The main objective of the present study was investigating factors affecting the degree of University students’ loyalty  to Nike brand. This research is functional in regard with objective and descriptive-temporary in terms of kind; it was conducted among BA, MA, and PhD student of Physical Education in Tehran University with a sample size of 248 subjects. Researcher-constructed questionnaire, which examined three influential factors (trust, purchase intent, brand image), on the loyalty of University Students, was used to collect data. Research data was analyzed using EM algorithm and Spss software and stepwise multiple regression was applied to investigate the impact of variables on students’ loyalty. Significant regression model showed that all three variables of trust, purchase intent, and brand image had significant effects. Brand trust was the most influential variable with regression coefficient of   0.740 (p<0.001).Based on the results of the present study, the hierarchical priority of three variables, according to students’ replies, was brand trust, purchase intent, and brand image. The results showed that brand trust had the first priority among variables and that Nike brand has managed, on the basis of quality, to satisfy various needs, intentions, and tasks of larger number of university students.Key words: Nike brand, brand trusts, brand image, loyalty, purchase inten

Alternative derivation of Mie theory with electromagnetic potentials for diffuse particles

Mie's theory of light scattering on spherical particles is being increasingly used in nanophotonics, and these demanding applications have laid bare some shortcomings of Mie theory in its standard formulation. One problem that deserves special attention is the electron spill-out in small metallic nanoparticles, which invalidates the assumption of an abrupt interface. Here we present an alternative derivation of Mie theory without this assumption. To avoid the usual electromagnetic boundary conditions suitable for a hard-wall interface, we set up equations for the electromagnetic potentials instead of the electric and magnetic field. We show that in the limit of a hard-wall interface, the results of the standard Mie theory are recovered. Additionally, a numerical solution scheme is proposed for the equations for the vector potential and the scalar potential. Analysis of the optical cross sections of soft-interface nanospheres shows that the absorption increases and occurs at lower frequencies as compared to hard-walled nanospheres. This effect is rather dramatic in large spheres with large spill-out, due to the disappearance of high-frequency resonance peaks