Mindfulness and related factors among Iranian nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Nursing students experience a number of emotional challenges during their educations, leading to high levels of stress among them. One of the strategies of stress management in nursing students is the use of mindfulness. This study aimed to assess mindfulness and related factors among Iranian nursing students. In a cross-sectional study, 100 nursing students studying at Nasibeh Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran was enrolled. Data were collected via census sampling from May to June 2018. Data were collected using a three-part questionnaire including demographic characteristics, Kentucky Mindfulness Skills scale, and Spielberger State Anxiety scale. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Chi-squared, and ANOVA tests. The mean score of mindfulness of nursing students was 117.35 ± 12.89. The mean scores of mindfulness in the dimensions of observation, description, act with awareness, and acceptance without Judgment was 36.33 ± 6.0, 25.68 ± 4.91, 28.17 ± 4.49, and 27.17 ± 3.80, respectively. The mean score of anxiety in nursing students was 14.17 ± 3.78. There was a significant relationship between age and dimension "description" of mindfulness (r = 0.22, p = 0.029). There was a significant relationship between dimension "observation" of mindfulness and experience stressful events during the last six months (t = 2.327, df = 96, p = 0.022). Therefore, due to the importance of mindfulness among nursing students, it is possible to reduce the risk factor by creating the necessary conditions such as continuing education

Clinical Features of Patients with Probable 2019 Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia in Rasht, Iran: A Retrospective Case Series

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is the first pandemic infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus. Viral pneumonia is a severe complication of COVID-19. AIM: Due to the high prevalence of this disease globally, especially in Iran, the aim of this study was to determine the clinical features of seven patients with probable COVID-19 infected pneumonia in Rasht, North Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective case series study, we described the clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of seven patients with probable COVID-19 infected pneumonia at Razi Hospital, Rasht, north of Iran, from February 27 to March 16, 2020. RESULTS: In this study, the most common clinical symptoms during hospitalization in patients with COVID-19 were poor appetite (seven cases), dehydration (seven cases), cough (six cases), dyspnea (six cases), fatigue (six cases), fever above 38°C (five cases), myalgia (five cases), Chills (five cases), feeling fever (five cases), sore throat (five cases), and nausea (five cases), respectively. The average body temperature in these patients was 39.32°C. In laboratory findings, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was elevated in three patients. Contrary to most of the evidence, C-reactive protein was not elevated in five patients. All patients received antibiotic and antiviral medications and received symptomatic treatment. Finally, four patients responded to the treatments and were discharged from the hospital; two patients were still hospitalized and only one patient died. CONCLUSION: Patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia can be treated by evaluating and implementing appropriate therapeutic management. However, at the moment the disease progression for patients with COVID-19 cannot be accurately predicted

An Estimation of Wave Attenuation Factor in Ultrasonic Assisted Gravity Drainage Process

It has been proved that ultrasonic energy can considerably increase the amount of oil recovery in an immiscible displacement process. Although many studies have been performed on investigating the roles of ultrasonic waves, based on the best of our knowledge, little attention has been paid to evaluate wave attenuation parameter, which is an important parameter in the determination of the energy delivered to the porous medium. In this study, free fall gravity drainage process is investigated in a glass bead porous medium. Kerosene and Dorud crude oil are used as the wetting phases and air is used as the non-wetting phase. A piston-like displacement model with considering constant capillary pressure and applying Corey type approximation for relative permeabilities of both wetting and nonwetting phases is applied. A pressure term is considered to describe the presence of ultrasonic waves and the attenuation factor of ultrasonic waves is calculated by evaluating the value of external pressure applied to enhance the flow using the history matching of the data in the presence and absence of ultrasonic waves. The results introduce the attenuation factor as an important parameter in the process of ultrasonic assisted gravity drainage. The results show that only a low percentage of the ultrasonic energy (5.8% for Dorud crude oil and 3.3% for kerosene) is delivered to the flow of the fluid; however, a high increase in oil recovery enhancement (15% for Dorud crude oil and 12% for Kerosene) is observed in the experiments. This proves that the ultrasonic waves, even when the contribution is not substantial, can be a significantly efficient method for flow enhancement

Monitoring and Characterizing the Finger Patterns Developed by Miscible Displacement in Fractured Heavy Oil Systems

This work concerns experimentally quantifying finger behavior during miscible displacements in fractured porous media. A series of miscible tests were performed on five-spot fractured micromodels which were initially saturated with heavy crude oil, and the developed finger patterns were quantified using an image analysis technique. The results revealed that the numbers of macro fingers formed is well correlated with the square root of dimensionless time, while the rate of finger initiation is independent of fracture characteristics. The level of bypassed oil linearly decreases with dimensionless distance traveled by front precisely. The transient fractal dimension behavior experiences a minimum due to advancement of front in fractures, and subsequently, growth of side fingers. Variable transient behavior of fingers fractal dimension may suggest that miscible injection in fractured media does not obey fractal theory. Therefore, more care is required for upscaling of miscible displacements in fractured media using fractal characteristics

Challenges and Strategies for Master of Science in Nursing Education in Iran: An integrative review

Introduction: The development of postgraduate nursing education and its transformation needs to know the educational process, awareness of modern methods of its implementation, recognition of material resources and facilities, and awareness of the role and duties of human resources. This integrative review has been conducted with the aim to identify the challenges and strategies of Master of Science in nursing education in Iran. Methods: In this integrative review, an extensive search of databases such as Iranian Nursing Journals Index (nindex.ir), Iranian Journals Database (magiran), Scientific Information Database (SID), Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), the Islamic World Science Citation Database (ISC) and the Regional Information Center For Science and Technology (RICeST) was conducted from 1988 (the beginning of the first master's degree in nursing in Iran) to December 4, 2021, using Persian and English keywords related to the aim of the study. Results: Altogether, 10 articles from 291 studies were selected. There are several challenges in postgraduate nursing education that nursing educators are looking for solutions to address them. Master nursing education in Iran is not based on goals and mission and graduates do not have a good quality of work. In Iranian universities, the role of the master of nursing in society is not clear and so far, no special review has been made in this regard. Finally, it seems that the master's degree program in nursing in Iran is being implemented without direction and considering the needs of society. Conclusion: Developing a coherent theoretical and practical training program in accordance with the needs of the community can be considered as the first step in reforming the program of master of science in nursing education in Iran

Effect of a forensic nursing virtual education course on knowledge and clinical decision-making of master’s nursing students in Iran: a non-equivalent control group pre- and post-test study

Purpose Forensic nursing is a specialty in the nursing profession based on legal procedures. This study aimed to assess the effect of a forensic nursing virtual education course on knowledge and clinical decision-making among master’s nursing students. Methods In a quasi-experimental study with a pre- and post-test, 106 master’s nursing students at Guilan (n=65) and Mazandaran (n=41) Universities of Medical Sciences, Iran were enrolled. Data were collected using census sampling from March to April 2021. Participants in the intervention group received a forensic nursing virtual education course in three 90-minute sessions for 2 days. Results A total of 88 out of 106 master’s nursing students were enrolled in this study. The mean post-education score for knowledge in the intervention group was significantly higher than in the control group (12.52 vs. 7.67, P<0.001). The mean post-education score for clinical decision-making in the intervention group was significantly higher than in the control group (16.96 vs. 13.64, P<0.001). Conclusion The level of knowledge and clinical decision-making of master’s nursing students regarding forensic evidence improved after the forensic nursing virtual education course in the intervention group compared to the control group. Nursing managers and policymakers can develop appropriate strategies to improve the knowledge and clinical decision-making of nursing students by using forensic nursing education courses in the curricula of nursing programs, especially in postgraduate education as an elective or mandatory course

Candidemia among Iranian Patients with Severe COVID-19 Admitted to ICUs

As a novel risk factor, COVID-19 has led to an increase in the incidence of candidemia and an elevated mortality rate. Despite being of clinical importance, there is a lack of data regarding COVID-19-associated candidemia (CAC) among Iranian patients. Therefore, in this retrospective study, we assessed CAC epidemiology in the intensive care units (ICUs) of two COVID-19 centers in Mashhad, Iran, from early November 2020 to late January 2021. Yeast isolates from patients’ blood were identified by 21-plex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing, then subjected to antifungal susceptibility testing according to the CLSI M27-A3 protocol. Among 1988 patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICUs, seven had fungemia (7/1988; 0.03%), among whom six had CAC. The mortality of the limited CAC cases was high and greatly exceeded that of patients with COVID-19 but without candidemia (100% (6/6) vs. 22.7% (452/1988)). In total, nine yeast isolates were collected from patients with fungemia: five Candida albicans, three C. glabrata, and one Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Half of the patients infected with C. albicans (2/4) were refractory to both azoles and echinocandins. The high mortality of patients with CAC, despite antifungal therapy, reflects the severity of the disease in these patients and underscores the importance of rapid diagnosis and timely initiation of antifungal treatment