The Role of Business Cycles in the Impact of Government Expenditure Components on Income Distribution (MSAR Approach)

The government expenditure in economic affairs can act as a tool for creating and sustaining development by improving income distribution. Therefore, prioritization and optimal allocation of economic expenditures of governments will be so important. In this regard, the present study has investigated the impact of government expenditure on economic sector and related sub-sectors (agriculture, industry and mining, trade, information technology, energy, housing, transportation, environment, cooperatives affairs, and water resources) on income distribution in Iran's economy during business cycles. In this study, Markov Switching Auto Regressive model (MSAR) has been used to estimate time-series data during the time period between 1973 to 2019. The result of the study indicates that economic sector and agricultural, water resources and transportation subsectors during business cycles, “housing, trade, and cooperative affairs” subsectors during the boom periods, and the environment subsector during the recession periods have reduced income inequality significantly. Also, the government expenditure in industrial, mining, and energy subsectors during business cycles and information technology subsector during the boom periods have increased income inequality significantly. Finally, the subsectors of agricultural, water, industry and mining, commerce and cooperation, transportation have been more stable in the recession regime. Meanwhile, the economic sector and subsectors of information technology, housing and development, environment and energy have been more stable in the boom regime. Therefore, the components of government expenditure on income distribution have asymmetric behavior

Development of a Screening Tool for Functional Movements in Tennis

Introduction: Despite the importance of the functional movement screening tool and the prevalence rate of 4.34 injuries per 1000 hours in tennis, there is no standard protocol for functional movement screening specific to tennis. Therefore, this study aims to develop a tool for screening functional movements in tennis.Methods: the statistical population for qualitative data in this research includes all experts and specialists in the field of tennis, including coaches, teachers, and physiotherapists, and 18 of them were randomly selected as a statistical sample. Data collection was done through structured interviews. The interviews were mainly held in tennis academies, doctors' and physiotherapists' offices, and university faculty members' offices. Six classes of tests that were comprehensive enough to achieve the desired tool were designed with eleven questions in the qualitative questionnaire for these six classes. After defining the initial tests, the interviews were coded; then the codings were controlled and verified. Interview data were analyzed through version 11 of MAXQDA.Results: The results of the interviews were analyzed to determine the qualified tests to be included in the tool.  The analytical process determined initial codes, and finally, 27 tests out of 108 potential tests were identified.Conclusion: It seems that this tool is suitable and practical with features such as simple scoring, acceptable reliability and validity, the possibility of implementation in a short time, and the ability to be used in various researches

Social Support among the Elderly Living in Shahroud, Iran

Background: Social support is one of the key aspects of social health among the elderly, significantly affecting other aspects of health. This study attempted to explore the extent to which the elderly benefit from social support and the contributing factors among the elderly living in Shahroud, northeastern Iran.Methods: During 2015-2016,a total of 496 elderly residents of Shahroud were selected through randomcluster sampling method. Data were collected by a questionnaire for capturing demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, educational level, number of children and grandchildren, economic status, health status, diseases) and Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS). The data were analyzed through independent t-test, simple and multiple linear regressions, and ANOVA.Results:Of the 496 elderly participants in the study, 273 (55.3%) were female with a mean age of 67.9±7.84 years old. The mean score of social support achieved by the elderly was 9.0, ranging from 8.19-9.81 at the confidence interval of 95%. There was no significant relationship between age and social support (p=0.9). However, there was a significant relationship between social support and marital status. The difference in the average score of social support in married elderly was significantly less than that of single, widow(er), and divorced elderly (p<0.001).Conclusion: The elderly in Shahroud were poorly covered by social support. In order to improve this situation, it is crucial to devise appropriate plans on family to population scale.

Social Support among the Elderly Living in Shahroud, Iran

Background: Social support is one of the key aspects of social health among the elderly, significantly affecting other aspects of health. This study attempted to explore the extent to which the elderly benefit from social support and the contributing factors among the elderly living in Shahroud, northeastern Iran.Methods: During 2015-2016,a total of 496 elderly residents of Shahroud were selected through randomcluster sampling method. Data were collected by a questionnaire for capturing demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, educational level, number of children and grandchildren, economic status, health status, diseases) and Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS). The data were analyzed through independent t-test, simple and multiple linear regressions, and ANOVA.Results:Of the 496 elderly participants in the study, 273 (55.3%) were female with a mean age of 67.9±7.84 years old. The mean score of social support achieved by the elderly was 9.0, ranging from 8.19-9.81 at the confidence interval of 95%. There was no significant relationship between age and social support (p=0.9). However, there was a significant relationship between social support and marital status. The difference in the average score of social support in married elderly was significantly less than that of single, widow(er), and divorced elderly (p<0.001).Conclusion: The elderly in Shahroud were poorly covered by social support. In order to improve this situation, it is crucial to devise appropriate plans on family to population scale.

Post-operative Analgesia in Opioid Dependent Patients: Comparison of ‎Intravenous Morphine and Sublingual Buprenorphine

Background: Acute and chronic pain is prevalent in patients with opioid dependence. Lack of knowledge concerning the complex relationship between pain, opioid use, and withdrawal syndrome can account for the barriers encountered for pain management. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of sublingual (SL) buprenorphine for post-operative analgesia, compared with intravenous (IV) morphine. Methods: A total of 68 patients, aged 20-60 years were randomly selected from whom had been underwent laparotomy due to acute abdomen in a University Teaching Hospital in Arak, Iran, and were also opioid (opium or heroin) abuser according to their history. After end of the surgery and patients’ arousal, the patients were evaluated for abdominal pain and withdrawal syndrome by visual analog scale (VAS) and clinical opioid withdrawal score (COWS), respectively 1, 6, and 24 h after the surgery. They received either morphine 5 mg IV or buprenorphine 2 mg SL, 1 h after end of the surgery, and then every 6 h for 24 h. Findings: VAS was 4.47 ± 0.73 and 2.67 ± 0.53 at h 6 and 24 in buprenorphine group, respectively. The corresponding score was 5.88 ± 0.69 and 4.59 ± 0.74 in morphine group. At the same time, patients in buprenorphine experienced less severe withdrawal syndrome. Conclusion: The present study confirmed the efficacy of SL buprenorphine as a non-invasive, but effective method for management of post-operative pain in opioid dependent patients. Result of this study showed that physicians can rely on SL buprenorphine for post-operative analgesia

Protective Effect of Fish Oil Supplementation on DNA Damage Induced by Cigarette Smoking

The study examined the influence of fish oil (FO) supplementation on serum 8-hydroxy-2\u2019-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels as indicated by DNA damage markers and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) among male cigarette smokers. This double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study was conducted among healthy cigarette smokers (n=40) who were part of a larger prospective cohort study. Twenty smokers were randomly selected to receive FO for 3 months (1 g/day), and another 20 smokers received a placebo for 3 months; 8-OHdG and TAC levels were measured in blood samples before and after the intervention. Serum 8-OHdG significantly decreased (p=0.001) and TAC increased (p<0.001) after 3 months of treatment with FO. Between baseline and endline, the difference in 8-OHdG significantly correlated with the difference in TAC among smokers who received FO (r=-0.540, p=0.014). The study provides evidence that FO supplementation can modify decreased antioxidants and increased oxidative DNA damage in cigarette smokers

Exploring SARS-COV-2 structural proteins to design a multi-epitope vaccine using immunoinformatics approach: An in silico study

In December 2019, a new virus called SARS-CoV-2 was reported in China and quickly spread to other parts of the world. The development of SARS-COV-2 vaccines has recently received much attention from numerous researchers. The present study aims to design an effective multi-epitope vaccine against SARS-COV-2 using the reverse vaccinology method. In this regard, structural proteins from SARS-COV-2, including the spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M), and nucleocapsid (N) proteins, were selected as target antigens for epitope prediction. A total of five helper T lymphocytes (HTL) and five cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) epitopes were selected after screening the predicted epitopes for antigenicity, allergenicity, and toxicity. Subsequently, the selected HTL and CTL epitopes were fused via flexible linkers. Next, the cholera toxin B-subunit (CTxB) as an adjuvant was linked to the N-terminal of the chimeric structure. The proposed vaccine was analyzed for the properties of physicochemical, antigenicity, and allergenicity. The 3D model of the vaccine construct was predicted and docked with the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to evaluate the stable interactions between the vaccine construct and TLR4. The immune simulation was also conducted to explore the immune responses induced by the vaccine. Finally, in silico cloning of the vaccine construct into the pET-28 (+) vector was conducted. The results obtained from all bioinformatics analysis stages were satisfactory; however, in vitro and in vivo tests are essential to validate these results

Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Mokdad AH, El Bcheraoui C, Afshin A, et al. Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. 2018;63(Suppl. 1):165-176.We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 study results to explore the burden of high body mass index (BMI) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (2-19 years) and adults (20 years) in 1980 and 2015. The burden of disease related to high BMI was calculated using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach. The prevalence of obesity increased for adults from 15.1% (95% UI 13.4-16.9) in 1980 to 20.7% (95% UI 18.8-22.8) in 2015. It increased from 4.1% (95% UI 2.9-5.5) to 4.9% (95% UI 3.6-6.4) for the same period among children. In 2015, there were 417,115 deaths and 14,448,548 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI in EMR, which constitute about 10 and 6.3% of total deaths and DALYs, respectively, for all ages. This is the first study to estimate trends in obesity burden for the EMR from 1980 to 2015. We call for EMR countries to invest more resources in prevention and health promotion efforts to reduce this burden

Neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality and morbidity burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Objectives Although substantial reductions in under-5 mortality have been observed during the past 35 years, progress in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has been uneven. This paper provides an overview of child mortality and morbidity in the EMR based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Methods We used GBD 2015 study results to explore under-5 mortality and morbidity in EMR countries. Results In 2015, 755,844 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 712,064–801,565) children under 5 died in the EMR. In the early neonatal category, deaths in the EMR decreased by 22.4%, compared to 42.4% globally. The rate of years of life lost per 100,000 population under 5 decreased 54.38% from 177,537 (173,812–181,463) in 1990 to 80,985 (76,308–85,876) in 2015; the rate of years lived with disability decreased by 0.57% in the EMR compared to 9.97% globally. Conclusions Our findings call for accelerated action to decrease child morbidity and mortality in the EMR. Governments and organizations should coordinate efforts to address this burden. Political commitment is needed to ensure that child health receives the resources needed to end preventable deaths

Maternal mortality and morbidity burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region : findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Assessing the burden of maternal mortality is important for tracking progress and identifying public health gaps. This paper provides an overview of the burden of maternal mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015. We used the results of the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study to explore maternal mortality in the EMR countries. The maternal mortality ratio in the EMR decreased 16.3% from 283 (241-328) maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 237 (188-293) in 2015. Maternal mortality ratio was strongly correlated with socio-demographic status, where the lowest-income countries contributed the most to the burden of maternal mortality in the region. Progress in reducing maternal mortality in the EMR has accelerated in the past 15 years, but the burden remains high. Coordinated and rigorous efforts are needed to make sure that adequate and timely services and interventions are available for women at each stage of reproductive life