Addressing the problems faced by married international students

In recent decade, there has been an increasing rate of international students all over the world, but little is known about the marital life of this population. The need to understand graduate students’ intentions to pursue an academic career has become more important over the years. While International students’ cross-cultural adjustment has received considerable attention in the sojourner literature, there is a paucity of research that addresses the unique challenges faced by the married international students. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the empirical findings of various studies that explore factors which contribute to problems of married international students, and have an integrated perspective on the problems that this population faces during their study. The results revealed that acculturation stress, financial stress and social support are the utmost problems that international couples experience. This study offers suggestions for universities to provide facilities that would decrease international students’ marital problems; also to prepare workshops to increase couples’ knowledge of different conflict resolution methods which would be helpful to avoid conflict during their study abroad

Addressing the Problems Faced by Married International Students

In recent decade, there has been an increasing rate of International students all over the world, but little is known about the marital life of this population. The need to understand graduate students\u27 intentions to pursue an academic career has become more important over the years. While International students\u27 cross-cultural adjustment has received considerable attention in the sojourner literature, there is a paucity of research that addresses the unique challenges faced by the married International students. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the empirical findings of various studies that explore factors which contribute to problems of married International students, and have an integrated perspective on the problems that this population faces during their study. The results revealed that acculturation stress, financial stress and social support are the utmost problems that International couples experience. This study offers suggestions for universities to provide facilities that would decrease International students\u27 marital problems; also to prepare workshops to increase couples\u27 knowledge of different conflict resolution methods which would be helpful to avoid conflict during their study abroad

Addressing the Problems Faced by Married International Students

In recent decade, there has been an increasing rate of international students all over the world, but little is known about the marital life of this population. The need to understand graduate students intentions to pursue an academic career has become more important over the years. While International students cross-cultural adjustment has received considerable attention in the sojourner literature, there is a paucity of research that addresses the unique challenges faced by the married international students. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the empirical findings of various studies that explore factors which contribute to problems of married international students, and have an integrated perspective on the problems that this population faces during their study. The results revealed that acculturation stress, financial stress and social support are the utmost problems that international couples experience. This study offers suggestions for universities to provide facilities that would decrease international students marital problems; also to prepare workshops to increase couples knowledge of different conflict resolution methods which would be helpful to avoid conflict during their study abroad. Keywords: marital relationship, international students, socio cultural adjustment, academic proble

Stress and marital satisfaction of married Middle Eastern students in Malaysia

This study examined the relationship between stress and marital satisfaction from the perspective of the vulnerability–stress–adaptation model. We hypothesised that some stress factors were associated with lower marital satisfaction. Making use of the structure equation modeling, the results of data analysis on 462 Middle Eastern students in Malaysia, supported the hypotheses of our study and showed that a higher level of stress is strongly related to a negative marital satisfaction. Moreover, the results indicated that marital stress is the strongest stressors that negatively affect the marital satisfaction of the respondents. This research provides a general view of stressors that have an impact on the marital satisfaction of married Middle East students who live as sojourners in Malaysia

Layout Optimization of Planar Braced Frames Using Modified Dolphin Monitoring Operator

Determining the optimum placement of braces in steel frames has always been one of the most challenging issues in structural engineering. In this paper, the size and placement of the X-braces in planar frame structures is determined in a way that the total weight of the braced frames becomes minimum, while satisfying the design requirements and constraints. Variables of the optimization contain the cross sections for beams, columns, and X-braces as well as the placement of these braces in the frames. Attempt has also been made to consider all the constraints of an actual design problem. One of the other objectives of this study is to investigate the effect of including or excluding some of the constraints affecting the optimization of the planar frame design. For this purpose, the Colliding Bodies Optimization (CBO) and CBO-MDM algorithms have been utilized. Modified Dolphin Monitoring (MDM) operator is recently developed for improving the performance of the metaheuristic algorithms. Here, this operator is utilized to enhance the performance of the CBO algorithm to optimize the weight of the frames. For additional comparison of the results, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) are used

Hepatitis B virus in cervicovaginal lavage samples of pregnant women in Gorgan city, north of Iran

Background: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major public health problem worldwide. Vertical and horizontal transmission of HBV could affect neonates and partners. This transmission can vary in populations. Also, high-risk behaviors and clinical records affect the transmission of this virus. Due to the lack of information on vaginal discharge related to HBV in the north of Iran, we aimed to assess the presence of HBV in pregnant women's vaginal secretion referred to Sayyad Shirazi Hospital in Gorgan City, north of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 315 cervicovaginal lavages from pregnant women. Viral DNA was extracted, and the gene fragments of the virus were checked by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Clinical, demographic, and behavioral data were entered into SPSS version 16. The chi-square tests were used to determine any association between categorical data. Results: Hepatitis B virus DNA was detected in 2.2% (7/315) of samples. The age range of patients was from 14 to 43 years. Anal sex (P = 0.043) and not using a condom (P = 0.047) were significantly associated with HBV-positive cases. Abortion, unusual discharge, and some other clinical and demographic information showed no related statistical correlation. Conclusion: The results showed a similar rate of infection in the general Iranian population. In pregnant women, the risk of HBV transmission and chronic HBV can be critical in newborns; therefore, it is strongly recommended to conduct screening and provide management for women during pregnancy

The prospective epidemiological research studies in IrAN (PERSIAN) birth cohort protocol: Rationale, design and methodology

Background: Birth cohorts are essential for developing evidence-based policies and advancing knowledge on different aspects of the concept of developmental origins of health and diseases (DOHaD). The Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in IrAN (PERSIAN) is a multicentre cohort in Iran. It is one of the pioneers of DOHaD research in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This profile provides a brief overview of this birth cohort, focusing on the objectives and design of the study. The main objective of this birth cohort is to evaluate the associations of socio-economic characteristics, lifestyle, diet, environmental exposures and epigenetic factors with outcomes of: pregnancy; mother and child mental and physical health and well-being; child neurodevelopment; and the establishment of chronic disease risk factors. Methods: The enrolment of PERSIAN Birth Cohort participants is currently ongoing in five Iranian cities (Isfahan, Yazd, Semnan, Sari and Rafsanjan). We plan to recruit 15, 000 mother-offspring pairs, and to follow them for at least ten years. Data collection consists of three consecutive phases: (1) periconception until birth; (2) infancy (0-2 years); and (3) childhood (3-11 years). We are collecting data on both ‘determinants of health’ and ‘health outcomes’. In addition to questionnaires and physical examination, various biological samples, including blood, urine, hair, nail, cord blood and breastmilk are being collected. Growth and neurodevelopment of children will be monitored. Appropriate data analysis schemes will be employed to assess the role of early life factors in health and disease that would facilitate international comparisons