Relationship of Women’s Marital Intimacy with Health Literacy and Attitudes Towards Extramarital Relations of Husbands with Diabetes

AbstractIntroduction: Given the considerable negative effects of diabetes, improving health literacy can play a deciding role in preventing and treating such diseases and in saving resources. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between women’s marital intimacy with health literacy and attitudes towards extramarital relations of husbands with diabetes in Ahvaz.Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive correlational study included all the diabetes patients and their wives in Ahvaz in 2021. The sample of 141 men with diabetes and their wives was selected using convenience sampling. To collect data, the Marital Intimacy Scale, Health Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA), and Attitudes toward Infidelity Scale (AIS) were used. The Pearson correlation coefficient and regression were simultaneously used for data analysis.Results: The results suggested that health literacy (r= 0.35) and attitudes towards extramarital relations (r= -0.27) in men with diabetes had significant positive and negative correlations with women’s marital intimacy, respectively. The regression results indicated that the variables of health literacy and attitudes towards extramarital relations in men had a significant multiple correlation with women’s marital intimacy (P<0.001).Conclusions: The results illustrated that paying attention to health literacy and attitudes of men with diabetes towards extramarital relations for their wives’ marital intimacy was more important than ever before

Health–related quality of life and related factors among members of family medicine teams at Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran

  Background: Different factors affect the health care workers’ health and quality of life which lead to reduced performance, quality, and safety of services provided. The present study aimed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its related factors among members of family medicine teams (FMTs).  Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the winter of 2015. Using SF36 questionnaire, HRQoL of all FMTs (physicians, midwives, and health technicians) at Kerman University of Medical Sciences was evaluated. Data were analyzed using Independent T test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0.  Results: Mean (SD) of total HRQoL score in FMTs was 71.6 (12.3) (out of 100). The Means (SD) of Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores were 75.1(14.3) and 68.0 (14.2), respectively. Also, there was a positive correlation (r=0.49) between the PCS and MCS (P<0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that work experience was a predictor for total HRQoL (P<0.001) and PCS (P<0.001), while marital status was a predictor variable for MCS (P=0.04).  Conclusion: The results of the current study revealed that HRQoL, particularly the MCS, is not at an appropriate level among FMTs. Therefore, it is necessary to design and implement interventions in order to increase their quality of life, especially with focus on mental aspect

Relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and family cohesion with academic engagement based on mediating role of academic resilience in female students

Background: The orientation of academic resilience is towards positive processes of life and psychological empowerment of students, so, academic resilience is a significant factor affects the tolerance of ambiguity and family cohesion in students, resulting in increased academic engagement. This study designed to assess the relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and family cohesion with academic engagement based on mediating role of academic resilience in female students in Ahvaz city. Method: This was a descriptive correlation study accomplished by path analysis. The study population comprised second-grade high-school female students in Ahvaz city in 2020. Using simple random sampling 216 of which were selected as the participants. The data gathering instruments were: the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory, the Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale, the Family Cohesion Scale, and the Academic Resilience Inventory. Results: Results revealed a good fit for the modified model (CFI=1.00, IFI=1.00, RMSEA=0.001). The results indicated that there was a significant direct relationship between family cohesion and academic engagement (β=0.365, P=0.001), and between tolerance of ambiguity and academic resilience (β=0.274, P=0.001). Moreover, there was a positive relationship between family cohesion and academic resilience (β=0.369, P=0.001), and between academic resilience and academic engagement (β=0.328, P=0.001). The results of indirect path analysis indicated that academic resilience had a mediating role in the relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and family cohesion with academic engagement. Conclusion: The modified model had a good fitness, and is an important stage in recognizing the factors affecting the engagement and academic achievement of students

The Mediating Role of Diffuse-Avoidant Identity in the Relationship between Moral Intelligence and Family Functioning with Addiction Potentials of Male Adolescents

Introduction: Substance abuse is a major psychosocial disorder that causes irreparable physical and mental damage based on the different personal, social, and personality characteristics of each person. We aimed to investigate the mediating role of diffuse-avoidant identity in the relationship between moral intelligence and family functioning with addiction potentials of male adolescents. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study, multistage cluster sampling was used to enroll 315 individuals among all male adolescents studying in Tehran, Iran, in 2021. The research instruments included the Addiction Potential Scale (APS), the Moral Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ), the Family Assessment Device (FAD), and the Identity Style Inventory (ISI). The proposed model was assessed using structural equation modeling (SEM), and indirect relationships were examined using the bootstrapping method.  Results: The results revealed that addiction potentials significantly and negatively correlated with moral intelligence and family functioning. Moreover, addiction potentials significantly and positively correlated with diffuse-avoidant identity (P<0.01). The direct paths from all variables (except that from family functioning) to addiction potential were significant (P<0.01). Also, diffuse-avoidant identity meditated the relationships of moral intelligence and family functioning with addiction potential (P<0.01). Conclusion: The proposed model fitted the data well; therefore, the results considerably improved our understanding of factors affecting addiction potential among male adolescents

Evaluation of patients with phenylketonuria before and after screening in Qazvin Province, Iran

BACKGROUND: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a hereditary metabolic disorder and is inherited as autosomal recessive, so it is more likely to occur in consanguineous marriages. Early diagnosis is made by screening and timely treatment can prevent brain damage.METHODS: This was a descriptive study including all children identified with PKU in Qazvin Province, Iran, up to march 2017. The required information was obtained through interviews with parents and reviewing of cases. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.RESULTS: Of the 63 infected patients, 55.5% were residents of Qazvin City and the rest were residents of other cities in the province. Parents of 54.0% of the patients were related. 20.6% of patients had at least one patient with PKU in their family. The mean age that patients were diagnosed before screening was 34 months, and the statistical difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.001). 52.4% of the patients were girls. The most common reason of referring of the patients before screening was a developmental delay. The prevalence of hyperactivity, seizures, and delay in walking and language were significantly different between the two groups (P <0.001).CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis and treatment of children with inherited metabolic diseases can prevent brain damage and retardation in them and reduce the financial and psychological burden of treating these children by maintaining their intelligence quotient (IQ)

A mapping of electric construction machinery and electric construction sites in Norway

The Norwegian construction industry is responsible for ca. 2.2 million tonnes CO2eq in 2021. The rise in GHG emissions, noise and air pollution in the built environment is becoming a potential hazard due to the large growth of construction activities within cities. As a response, actors from the Norwegian construction industry have converted diesel construction machinery to electric operation to reduce these impacts. As a result, the electric construction machinery market in Norway has grown exponentially. However, access to electric construction machinery varies greatly. The aim of this paper is to map the available electric construction machinery on the Norwegian market as first steps towards creating a database of electric construction machinery for subsequent energy and power demand modelling of fully electric construction sites. This paper also maps the regional differences in construction machine availability through mapping the known public construction sites in Norway that use electric construction machinery.publishedVersio

Fault diagnosis of gearboxes using wavelet support vector machine, least square support vector machine and wavelet packet transform

This work focuses on a method which experimentally recognizes faults of gearboxes using wavelet packet and two support vector machine models. Two wavelet selection criteria are used. Some statistical features of wavelet packet coefficients of vibration signals are selected. The optimal decomposition level of wavelet is selected based on the Maximum Energy to Shannon Entropy ratio criteria. In addition to this, Energy and Shannon Entropy of the wavelet coefficients are used as two new features along with other statistical parameters as input of the classifier. Eventually, the gearbox faults are classified using these statistical features as input to least square support vector machine (LSSVM) and wavelet support vector machine (WSVM). Some kernel functions and multi kernel function as a new method are used with three strategies for multi classification of gearboxes. The results of fault classification demonstrate that the WSVM identified the fault categories of gearbox more accurately and has a better diagnosis performance as compared to the LSSVM

Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of Control System for Pneumatic Servo Valve Using Piezoelectric Actuator

In this study design and simulation of controller for piezoelectric pneumatic servo valve is done. The dynamic model of the valve using analytical approach and the working principle of the servo valve is analyzed. The pole placement method is used to design a controller using observed variables. The valve controls the situation and position of actuator. Then for the system, full order state observer and PID controller based on ITAE (Integral Time Absolute Error) criteria are investigated and the response of system with these controllers is shown and a comparison is done for different schemes of controller design and the best design is selected for the system

Estimation of carbon pools in the biomass and soil of mangrove forests in Sirik Azini creek, Hormozgan province (Iran)

Despite the increasing interest in mangroves as one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems, arid mangroves are still poorly investigated. We aimed to improve the knowledge of biomass and soil carbon sequestration for an arid mangrove forest located at the Azini creek, Sirik, Hormozgan Province (Iran). We investigated the biomass and organic carbon stored in the above and belowground biomass for three different regions selected based on the composition of the principal species: (1) Avicennia marina, (2) mixed forest of A. marina and Rhizophora mucronata, and (3) R. mucronata. Topsoil organic carbon storage to 30 cm depth was also estimated for each analyzed area. Biomass carbon storage, considering both aboveground (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB), was significantly different between the cover areas. Overall, the mean forest biomass (MFB) was 283.1 ± 89 Mg C ha−1 with a mean C stored in the biomass of 128.9 ± 59 Mg C ha−1. Although pure Rhizophora stand showed the lowest value of above and below tree carbon (AGC + BGC); 17.6 ± 1.9 Mg C ha−1), soil organic carbon stock in sites under Rhizophora spp. was significantly higher than in the site with pure stand of Avicennia spp. Overall, forest soil stored the highest proportion of Sirik mangrove ecosystem organic carbon (59%), with a mean value of 188.3 ± 27 Mg C ha−1. These results will contribute to broaden the knowledge and the dataset available, reducing the uncertainties related to estimates and modeling of carbon pools in arid mangrove ecosystem, which also represent an important climatic threshold of mangrove worldwide distribution

Towards emission free construction sites in Northern Norway: Results from a regional survey

The concept of emission free construction sites (EFCS) has emerged as a prioritised measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Norwegian construction activities. EFCS have been evaluated through several pilot projects in Southern Norway, whilst none are found in Northern Norway. This study aims to investigate the major barriers and success factors for developing EFCS-projects in Northern Norway through a digital survey amongst construction industry representatives. The results indicate that major barriers for EFCS implementation are related to limited access and capacity of electricity and power supply, and limited availability and high costs of emission free technologies. Similar challenges are identified from EFCS projects in Southern Norway, making the cold climate, poor infrastructure, and remote conditions in Northern Norway an amplifier of these challenges. The identified success factors are to a large extent aligned with the major barriers, emphasizing improved power supply and charging infrastructure, as well as increased availability of emission free technologies. Predictable and equal requirement specifications in public tenders that reward those who invest in emission free technology are requested, emphasizing the importance of implementing requirements. Further work is needed to gather experience from EFCS pilots in cold and remote areas.publishedVersio