The Effect of Listening to the Quran Verses on the Happiness of Girl Students of Junior High School in Borujen

Background: Happiness among students can enhance school performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of listening to the Quran verses on the happiness of female students of a junior high school in Borujen, Iran. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, all students of the 2nd grade of the Distinct Governmental Junior High School in Borujen, Iran, were included by census sampling method. Data were collected by the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire completed by the students. Then, the verses of Hashr sura recited by Mahmoud Minshavi were replayed for one week. After this, the questionnaires were completed by the students again. Finally, the data were analyzed by paired t-tests using SPSS 15. Results: In this study, 92 girl students of Junior High School with an average age of 13.57±0.49 were included. The average score of happiness before and after listening to the Quran verses were 60.39±10.69 and 67.58±14.30, respectively. The scores of happiness significantly increased (P<0.001). Conclusion: The findings show that Quran recitation probably increases the happiness of the students. Therefore, by planning to have Quran recitation in schools, the level of students’ happiness can be increased

Comparison of the Effect of High and Low Doses of Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) in the Management of Infantile Spasms

Introduction:Infantile spasmscan have irrecoverable adverse effects on a child’s brain. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is the most common first line medication for its treatment; however, the suitable dose and duration of treatment continue to be debated among specialists. The common high doses of this drug can produce more side effects; thus, lower doses are preferred. The aim of this study is to determine the effect and extent of complicationscaused by high and low doses of ACTH for children suffering from infantile spasms.Materials and methods:This study is a clinical trial in which 32 infants from 1.5 and 18 months of age suffering from infantile spasms were divided into high and low dose ACTH groups. Treatment lasted for two months. The therapeutic effects and their complications were then compared over the course of 18 months.Results:The results indicate thatthere were no significant differences between groups for short-term prognosis of controlling convulsions, final prognosis of patients for spasm relapse, EEG changes after treatment, post-treatment evolution and development of hypertension. However, there was a significant difference in the frequency distribution for intensity of restlessness and becoming Cushingoid, which were more frequent in the high dose group.Conclusion:These results indicate that high and low dose ACTH are equally effective in terms of controlling spasms, yet the low dose brings about fewer side effects

Effect of Concept Mapping Education on Critical Thinking Skills of Medical Students: A Quasi-experimental Study

BACKGROUND፡ Fostering critical thinking (CT) is one of the most important missions in medical education. Concept mapping is a method used to plan and create medical care through a diagrammatic representation of patient problems and medical interventions. Concept mapping as a general method can be used to improve CT skills in medical students. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of concept mapping on CT skills of medical students.METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 100 second-year medical students which take an anatomy course. Participants were randomly assigned into a control group (lecture-based) and an intervention group (concept mapping). CT levels of medical students were assessed using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test.RESULTS: Before intervention, CT scores of the intervention and control groups were 6.68 ± 2.55 and 6.64±2.74, respectively, and after intervention, they were 11.64±2.29 and 10.04 ± 3.11, respectively. Comparison of mean score differences for both groups before and after intervention demonstrated that CT scores in the experimental group significantly increased after intervention (P=0.021).CONCLUSIONS: Medical students who were taught through concept mapping showed an increase in CT scores, compared with those in the control group. Medical students require effective CT skills in order to make sound knowledge-based assessment and treatment choices during patient care. Therefore, instructors and planners of medical education are expected to apply this educational strategy for developing CT skills in medical students

Frequency of unnatural deaths in Fars province during a five-year period

Background: The study of the mortality patterns in each country helps to improve proper programming to reduce the number of deaths. Our effort was to study the frequency of unnatural deaths from 2006 to 2010.   Methods: In the present cross-sectional research carried out to study the cases of unnatural deaths in Fars province between 2006 and 2010, all documents related to unnatural deaths in Fars Forensic Medicine Registry (FFMR) were investigated. Information about the deceased, including age, gender, education, and type of accident, was extracted and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0.   Results: The findings indicated that during the five-year period studied a total number of 10079 unnatural deaths occured. During the study period, unnatural deaths had a decrease. The most recurring cause of death was traffic accidents (38%), with the death caused by substance abuse (19.2%) and burns (9.5%) the second and the third leading causes of death. Of all deaths, 81% of the deceased were male. The highest frequency of deaths occurred in the age group of 20 to 29 years. Also, the highest number of deaths belonged to individuals with primary and middle school education (52%).   Conclusion: The number of unnatural deaths decreased as the time went by. Unnatural deaths were more frequent in males and in young people and happened more in people with lower education. Implementation of correct policies and appropriate programs focusing on these high risk groups could lead to considerable prevention of unnatural deaths.