Shifts in Social Development and Fertility Decline in Iran: A Cluster Analysis of Provinces, 1986-1996

Iran is experiencing the third phase of demographic transition (low levels of birth and death), following a sharp fertility decline experienced during 1986-1996 period and is still underway. Using the analytic framework of Davis and Black, we examined the impact of social development and contraceptive prevalence, respectively as the structural and proximate determinants, on rapid fertility decline in Iran. We found that the social development level of provinces had a great impact on fertility decline through contraceptive prevalence indirectly. The cluster analysis of social development indices in 1986 and 1996 revealed that 15 out of 24 provinces of Iran moved from a lower developed status in 1986 to a moderate or a higher developed status in 1996 (twelve provinces moved from a “less developed” state in 1986 to a “moderate developed” state in 1996, and three provinces moved from a “moderate developed” state in 1986 to a “developed” state in 1996). In addition, regarding to the social development levels and fertility rates, the gap between provinces decreased during 1986-1996. That is, a shift from heterogeneous to more homogeneous patterns of social development and fertility occurred across Iran’s provinces during 1986-1996

Abortion in Iran: What Do We Know?

Abstract not availabl

Attitudes that Differentiate Alternative Family Sizes

Taking advantage of both a national survey on families (Canadian General Social Survey, 2001) and a local qualitative survey (Orientations to Relationships and Childbearing over the Life Course, 2000), this paper studies the attitudes that differentiate respondents who indicate alternate expected or completed family size. While we find some evidence of differing values that differentiate those intending not to have children, there is more evidence of a common culture of reproduction than of heterogeneity in preferences. The alternative outcomes in family size would also appear to be a function of the difficulties experienced in relationships and problems of financial security, given the felt need to make high investments for each child

Do Spousal Intimate Relationships Affect Fertility Intentions and Preferences?

The fertility influence of spousal intimate relationships is unknown. Drawing on the Giddens’s theory of transformation of intimacy, this study proposed a hypothesis that couples supporting egalitarian intimate relationships, with a greater risk profile attached to the relationship, and having less attachments to the external normative pressures shaping marital relations, are more likely to have low-fertility intentions and preferences. Using data from a self-administered pilot survey (n = 375 prospective grooms and brides) designed by the authors, and employing multivariate regression models, we found that the lower attachment to external social forces in mate selection was associated with the lower ideal number of children, and those with a greater spousal relational egalitarianism and a higher risk profile attached to their relationships preferred lower number of children and were less likely to intend to have children after marriage. The study sheds new light on the determinants of low fertility.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canadahttps://doi.org/10.13039/501100000155Nipissing Universityhttps://doi.org/10.13039/100009369Peer Reviewe

Socioeconomic History and Preventable Disease: A Comparative Analysis of Fundamental Cause Theory

Fundamental cause theory suggests that because persons of higher socioeconomic status have a range of resources that benefit health, they hold an advantage in warding off whatever particular threats to health exist at a given time. Therefore as risk factors that stratify health are eliminated, socioeconomic disparities in health remain. Accordingly, SES should be more strongly associated with diseases that are more preventable than with less preventable diseases, and SES should have a stronger relationship to health in countries where high economic inequality and no universal health insurance leads to greater competition for resources. Using longitudinal data from Canada (National Population Health Study) and the U.S. (Panel Study of Income Dynamics), trajectories of socioeconomic status are identified using latent class analysis and used to predict the odds of experiencing a highly preventable disease compared to a less preventable disease. Preliminary findings indicate that a history of low income increases one’s odds of experiencing a highly preventable disease in the U.S., but not in Canada. This suggests that social policies and level of economic inequality may buffer the relationship between socioeconomic resources and the incidence of preventable disease. Andrea Willson is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Western Ontario and Director of the Aging and Health Research Centre. Her research focuses on the role of long-term processes and cumulative experience on inequalities in health. Current projects include a SSRCH-funded comparative analysis of differences in the processes linking socioeconomic status to health over the life course in Canada and the United States; an examination of the links between adult health, socioeconomic status, childhood adversity, and the intergenerational transmission of health risk; and she is part of a CIHR-funded research team studying the effects of personal, social and economic resources on the health of women after leaving an abusive partner. Amir Erfani is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Nipissing University in Ontario, with a PhD. in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario. His research is in the areas of social, family, and health demography, studying reproductive health, health inequality over the life course, family transformation and childbearing behavior in developed and developing countries. Amir has recently studied induced abortion, contraceptive behavior, and low fertility in Iran; socioeconomic status and health over the life course in Canada and the U.S.; and familial orientations and childbearing behavior and non-marital births of Canadians

Determinants of Attitudes toward Having Children outside Marriage

In the context of low fertility and a high proportion of persons who are not living in marital unions, it is important to study the attitudes toward having children outside of marriage. Based on a sample from Oxford and Middlesex counties in Ontario, Canada, we find that there are more positive attitudes toward having children outside of marriage for persons who have a more liberal orientation to gender division of labour and to cohabitation, those who are less religious, have smaller ideal family size, and where the first relationship was a cohabiting union. While the relation was not significant, there were also more positive attitudes toward non-marital childbearing for respondents whose parents experienced cohabitation or marital dissolution. The effect of having full-time employment differed by gender: women who had full-time employment were more likely to favour non-marital childbearing, but the opposite holds for men

Familial Orientations and the Rationales for Childbearing Behaviour

Using a local qualitative sample from Ontario, we explore the rationales for childbearing behaviour across contrasting familial orientations. There are considerable similarities among respondents with traditional and modern familial orientations in terms of the reasons for having children and the costs and values of children. Nonetheless, persons with modern orientations are more likely to give individual related reasons for having children, and to see the value of children in terms of personal needs and desires. The largest difference relates to the ideal timing of childbearing, as persons with modern orientations are more likely to prefer childbearing in the late 20s or early 30s. While the rationales offered by respondents indicate a culture that is supportive of childbearing, and individuals with more modern orientations have similar views on ideal family size and on the value and cost of children, they will probably have fewer children given their more individualistic orientation to childbearing and the conviction that later childbearing is better

Zwitterionic microscale hydrogels for protein delivery, stabilization, and immobilization

Proteins are incredibly useful in medicine and industrial chemistry. Many of the most recent breakthroughs in cancer therapy are based on monoclonal antibody treatments. Yet, there are major difficulties that can act as deterrents in developments of such therapies. Sustained subcutaneous, oral or pulmonary deliveries of such therapeutics are limited by the poor stability, short half-life, and non-specific interactions between the therapeutic biomolecules (e.g. antibody) and the delivery vehicle. Similarly, usage of proteins as enzymes in processes is limited by poor stability, short half-life, and difficulties with reusability. With growing usage of proteins as pharmaceuticals and biocatalysts, and apparent shortcomings in both fields, there is a growing need to design materials that are protein compatible and can improve protein stability. The key to successfully utilizing proteins as therapeutics, biocatalysts or biosensors is to maintain their conformation and function. There is emerging evidence that biomimetic, biocompatible zwitterionic polymers can prevent non-specific interactions within protein systems and increase protein stability. In this work, zwitterionic microscale hydrogels of two different zwitterionic moieties (carboxybetaine and sulfobetaine), were synthesized. For the purpose of protein delivery, a biodegradable zwitterionic poly(carboxybetaine), pCB, based microscale hydrogel (microgel) covalently crosslinked with tetra(ethylene glycol) diacrylate was synthesized for antibody encapsulation. The resulting microgels were characterized via FTIR, diffusion NMR, SANS, and cell culture studies. The microgels were found to contain up to 97.5% water content and showed excellent degradability that can be tuned with crosslinking density. Cell compatibility of the microgel was studied by assessing the toxicity and immunogenicity in vitro. Cells exposed to the microgel showed complete viability and no pro-inflammatory secretion of interleukin 6 (IL6) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFa). The microgel was loaded with Immunoglobulin G (as a model antibody), using a post-fabrication loading technique, and antibody sustained release from microgels of varying crosslinking densities was studied. The released antibodies (especially from the high crosslinked microgels) proved to be completely active and able to bind with antibody receptors. Furthermore, for the purpose of protein immobilization, a reaction scheme was developed and studied for covalent immobilization of the protein (a-chymotrypsin) (ChT) within the zwitterionic microscale hydrogels. Confocal laser microscopy studies showed that immobilized ChT (i-ChT) was distributed within the hydrogel. The enzyme-immobilized microgels showed excellent reusability (72% of its initial activity after 10 uses) and could undergo several freezing/drying/rehydration cycles while retaining enzymatic activity. The i-ChT activity, half-life, and conformational stability were studied at varying pH and temperatures with results compared to free ChT in buffer. ChT immobilized within pCB hydrogel showed increased enzymatic stability as observed by a 13 degrees C increase in the temperature at which i-ChT loses activity compared to free ChT. Furthermore, enzyme half-life increased up to seven-fold for the pCB immobilized ChT, and the increased stability resulted in higher activity at elevated pH. The i-ChT was most active at pH of 8.5 and was partially active up to the pH of 10.2. This research paves the way for designing protein delivery vectors as well as fabrication of enzyme immobilized materials with extended enzyme lifetime and activity

Localization of determinants of fertility through measurement adaptations in developing-country settings: The case of Iran Comment on “Analysis of economic determinants of fertility in Iran: a multilevel approach”

Studies investigating fertility decline in developing countries often adopt measures of determinants of fertility behavior developed based on observations from developed countries, without adapting them to the realities of the study setting. As a result, their findings are usually invalid, anomalous or statistically non-significant. This commentary draws on the research article by Moeeni and colleagues, as an exemplary work which has not adapted measures of two key economic determinants of fertility behavior, namely gender inequality and opportunity costs of childbearing, to the realities of Iran’s economy. Measurement adaptations that can improve the study are discussed

Salvurmin A and Salvurmin B, Two Ursane Triterpenoids of Salvia urmiensis Induce Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest in Human Lung Carcinoma Cells

Background: Ursane triterpenoids could be considered as novel multi-target therapeutic anti-cancer agents. Salvurmin A and Salvurmin B are novel cytotoxic ursane triterpenoids isolated from the aerial parts of Salvia urmiensis, an endemic plant species of Iran. Methods: In this study, we assessed cytotoxicity of these compounds against two human cancer cell lines and one human normal cell line and investigated its mechanism via apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Results: Salvurmin A and B showed the most cytotoxic effect on A549 cells compared to other studied cancer cells. IC50 values for Salvurmin A and B against A549 cells were 35.6 ± 1.5 and 19.2 ± 0.8 µM, respectively. Based on annexin V staining, both of these compounds significantly induced apoptosis in A549 cells. Moreover, these two compounds significantly increased cell accumulation in G2/M and decreased the number of cells in G0/G1 phases in A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Based on the results Salvurmin B can be considered as potential candidate for further studies against human lung carcinoma