Psychometric assessment of the persian version of a dimensional instrument to measure gender identity disorder

Abstract: Introduction & Aim: Regarding dimensional approachto the gender dysphoria, the aim of the presentstudy was to evaluate validity and reliability of the DimensionalMeasure of Gender Identity Disorder Questionnairein Persian.Methods: Participants included 62 patients with genderdysphoria (46 female-to-male patients, and 16 male-tofemalecases) and 150 people as the control group (83women and 67 men) along with parents or close relativesof 34 patients. The questionnaires given to participantsincluded Persian version of the Dimensional Measure ofGender Identity, together with the Bem Sex Role Inventory,and Gender-Masculine and Gender-Feminine scalesderived from Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2).Results: The adolescents’ form of the Dimensional Measureof Gender Identity Disorder Questionnaire showeda poor correlation with gender roles. Cronbach’s alphawas 0.992 for men and 0.989 for women. Factor analysisshowed one-factor solution in both groups and explained92.6% of the total variance in men and 92.3% in women.The correlation between adolescents (reported by theperson) and childhood (reported by parents) forms of thequestionnaire was 0.59 in men and 0.61 in women.Conclusion: The Persian version of the Dimensional Measureof Gender Identity Disorder Questionnaire showedsatisfactory internal consistency and diagnostic value,with a single factor structure in both men and women.This questionnaire measures gender identity irrespectiveof gender roles. However, psychometric features of thequestionnaire should be assessed in other clinical groups

EFL/ESL Teachers’ Writing Assessment Literacy: State of the Arts

The ability to assess the language learners’ progress has been known as one of the most important parts of EFL/ESL teachers’ literacy. Language assessment literacy (LAL). The notion of LAL has evolved over time, as a large number of researchers showed to be enthusiastic to study this research area. However, the number of studies on teachers’ Writing Assessment Literacy (WAL) is scanty. As writing skill is very necessary for language learners to communicate with native speakers of the English language, it is very important for writing teachers to develop assessment tasks to positively contribute to the rate of learners’ progress in writing skill. Therefore, it is of much significance to review the related studies on assessment literacy, language assessment literacy, and writing assessment literacy. In this review study, the relevant studies were reviewed and further directions for writing assessment literacy of EFL/ESL teachers are suggested to the researchers interested in the field

Comparison of gender roles in male and female in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with control group and it’s correlation with severity of clinical symptoms

Introduction: The objective of this research was to comparethe gender masculine and the gender feminine rolesin patients with borderline personality disorder and controlgroup. This study was aimed to determine the correlationcoefficient of the gender masculine and the gender feminineroles with severity of borderline personality disorder.Methods: In this case-control study, 17 males and 25 femaleswith borderline personality disorder, and 22 malesand 18 females in control group were examined. To evaluatethe sex roles, the Bem sex role inventory (BSRI) andthe gender masculine (GF) and gender feminine (GF) rolesderived from the Minnesota Multi-Stage Personality Inventory(MMPI-2) were used. The borderline personalitydisorder and its severity were diagnosed using a semistructuredclinical interview based on DSM-IV for personalitydisorders (SCID-II). Pearson correlation coefficientand variance analysis were used to analyze the findings.Results: According to GM inventory, no significant differencewas found between the male patients and controlgroup subjects. No significant difference was foundbetween female patients and control group subjects andbetween male patients and two groups of women. Basedon the GF inventory, the femininity of male and femalepatients and control group of men was less than that ofcontrol group of women. Based on BSRI, gender masculinetraits score was significantly higher in men and womenwith borderline personality disorder than those in controlgroup of men and control group of women. In gender femininetrait score, control group of women obtained higherscores than both of control group of men and men withborderline personality disorder. There was no significantdifference between control group of women and womenwith borderline personality disorder. There was a significantcorrelation between the severity of borderline personalitydisorder in women and gender masculine trait score basedon the Bem sex roles index (BSRI) (r=0.410, p=0.042).Conclusion: Men with borderline personality disorder hadmore masculinity than control group of men, althoughthey showed no significant difference with control groupbased on sex role. Higher masculinity was associated withmore severe personality disorder in women

Clinical Features of Patients Newly Admitted to the Emergency Department of a Psychiatric Hospital with an Emphasis on Physical Examination

Introduction: Many medical diseases and their related signs and symptoms are not identified in routine assessments in emergency departments. Objective: We investigated the prevalence of abnormal findings in physical examination of the patients who were newly admitted to emergency department (ED) of a psychiatric hospital. Methods: We studied 200 patients (143 males, 71.5%) who were recently admitted to the ED of a psychiatric university hospital during a 4-month period in 2018. A thorough physical and neurological examination was performed on each subject. Results: Nearly all of the patients (99.3%) had at least one positive finding in physical (non-neurological) examination and 95% had at least one positive neurological finding. We also found at least one problem in gastrointestinal, respiratory or cardiac system of 22.1%, 24% and 33% of the subjects, respectively. The most frequent findings were in cranial nerve I (30%, more common in substance abuse disorder), and visual acuity (52.6%), as well as recent memory (%68.7), attention (%33.7), orientation to time (%29.5), hypokinetic movements (%28.1, more common in females and psychotic patients), akathisia (41.6%), and skin (%85.1, more common in substance abuse and personality disorders). T wave changes were seen in 31.9% and arrhythmia in 16% of the patients. Conclusions: Abnormal findings in examination of the patients admitted to EDs are very prevalent, but most of the abnormalities are not detected or reported in the routine ward examinations. More emphasis should be placed on the examination of olfactory nerve (especially in patients with substance abuse disorder), cognition (especially in older adults), extrapyramidal system, heart, abdomen and skin (especially in patients with personality disorder) during the first week of admission in a psychiatric emergency setting

Quality of the Results Section of Original Dental Articles Published in National Farsi and International English Journals

Objective: Lack of scientific writing skills is one major problem encountered for publication of research results of Iranian scientists in accredited journals. As the result, many research projects or dissertation findings remain unpublished. This study aimed to assess the quality of writing of the “results” section of some original articles published in Iranian Farsi and international English journals.Methods: This analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on 64 dental articles published in 3 international English and 3 Iranian Farsi journals. Selection of journals was non-random but articles were selected randomly based on specific criteria. A checklist containing 32 criteria regarding general statistics, context of the results, statistical tests, tables, charts and graphs was prepared. Obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 10 using Fisher’s exact and chi square tests.Results: Farsi articles met 64.1% and English articles met 65.8% of the checklist criteria. No significant difference was found in the quality of the results section of Farsi and English papers (p>0.05).Conclusion: Most papers did not provide adequate details in the results section to help readers better comprehend the subject

Glass fiber/polypropylene composites with potential of bone fracture fixation plates : manufacturing process and mechanical characterization

Mechanical properties and manufacturing processes of Glass Fiber/Polypropylene (GF/PP) composites for application of flexible internal long bone fracture fixation plates have been investigated. PP/Short Chopped Glass Fiber (PPSCGF), PP/Long Glass Fiber (PPLGF) and PP/Long Glass Fiber Yarn (PPLGFY) were used in fabrication of the fixation plates. The PPSCGF and PPLGF plates were made by the heat-compressing process and Three-dimensional (3D) printing method was used to make the PPLGFY ones. The values of Young’s modulus, tensile strength, flexural modulus and strength, and impact strength of the PPSCGF in the fiber longitudinal direction were found to be [Formula: see text]GPa, [Formula: see text]MPa, [Formula: see text]GPa, [Formula: see text]MPa and [Formula: see text]kJ/m2, respectively. Where, these values for the PPLGF were to [Formula: see text]GPa, [Formula: see text]MPa, [Formula: see text]GPa, [Formula: see text]MPa, and [Formula: see text]kJ/m2 and for the PPLGFY were to [Formula: see text]GPa, [Formula: see text]MPa, [Formula: see text]GPa, [Formula: see text]MPa and [Formula: see text]kJ/m2. These have been found to be in close agreement with the human bone properties. Furthermore, the strength and modulus values of the plates were reasonable to be used as a bone implant applicable for bone fracture reconstructions. Hence, the study concluded that the GF/PP composites are useful for load-bearing during daily activities and would be recommended as a choice in orthopedic fixation plate applications. It will help the researchers for development of new fixation designs and the clinicians for better patient’s therapy in future

The comparison of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Traits in mothers of 4 -11 years children having OCD Vs control group

Objectives: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)   begins in childhood and adolescence and progresses along with aging .This  survy is conducted to compare temperament and character and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) and OCPD traits in parents of children with OCD and parents of healthy controls.Materials and Methods: In each group, 30 patients were studied. There were 11 boys (%36.7) in the study group (children with obsessive compulsive disorder), and 12 ones in control group (%40.0). In case group, four mothers (%13.3) had obsessive compulsive personality disorder, while the frequency in control group was one (%3.3) and the frequency difference was not considered statistically significant. There was also a case of borderline personality disorder in mothers of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder, but those in control group were not diagnosed with this disorder which showed thta there was still no significant difference between the two groups. No other personality disorders (including mixed personality disorder or NOS)  was detected in two groups.Results:The results indicated that the frequency of preoccupation with details was %46.7 in the case group (children with obsessive-compulsive disorder), and %10.0 in the control group that means no significant difference between the two groups (0.002). The frequency of perfectionism was %43.3 in the treatment group and %20.0 in the control group which again had no significant difference (0.052).Conclusions: The existence of the some symptomsof OCPD according to SCID in parents of children withOCD in comparison to parents of healthy children confirm the necessity of considering the role of personality factors in familial OCD.The results of this study showed that the four dimensions of temperament based on TCI-125 and triple dimensions of attitudes between mothers in the two groups was not statistically different

Original Article A Study on the Frequency of Fungal Agents in Otitis Externa in Semnan

ABSTRACT Background and Objective: Otitis externa is a common condition affecting the externa

A comparative study of 3D printing and heat-compressing methods for manufacturing the thermoplastic composite bone fixation plate : design, characterization, and in vitro biomechanical experimentation

Metallic bone fixations, due to their high rigidity, can cause long-term complications. To alleviate metallic biomaterials’ drawbacks, in this research new Glass Fiber/Polypropylene (GF/PP) composite internal fixations were developed, and an investigation of their mechanical behavior was performed through in vitro biomechanical experiments. Short randomly oriented, long unidirectional prepreg, and long unidirectional fiber yarn were considered as reinforcements, and the effects on their mechanical properties of different manufacturing processes, that is, 3D printing and heat-compressing, were investigated. The constructed fixation plates were tested in the transversely fractured diaphysis of bovine tibia under axial compression loading. The overall stiffness and the Von Mises strain field of the fixation plates were obtained within stable and unstable fracture conditions. The samples were loaded until failure to determine their failure loads, strains, and mechanisms. Based on the results, the GF/PP composite fixation plates can provide adequate interfragmentary movement to amplify bone ossification, so they can provide proper support for bone healing. Moreover, their potential for stress shielding reduction and their load-bearing capacity suggest their merits in replacing traditional metallic plates

The Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of The Cosmic Horseshoe: A Test of Indirect Estimates

High redshift star-forming galaxies are likely responsible for the reionization of the Universe, yet direct detection of their escaping ionizing (Lyman continuum) photons has proven to be extremely challenging. In this study, we search for escaping Lyman continuum of the Cosmic Horseshoe, a gravitationally lensed, star-forming galaxy at z=2.38 with a large magnification of $\sim24$. Transmission at wavelengths of low ionization interstellar absorption lines in the rest-frame ultraviolet suggest a patchy, partially transparent interstellar medium. This makes it an ideal candidate for direct detection of the Lyman continuum. We obtained a 10-orbit Hubble near-UV image using the WFC3/UVIS F275W filter that probes wavelengths just below the Lyman limit at the redshift of the Horseshoe in an attempt to detect escaping Lyman continuum radiation. After fully accounting for the uncertainties in the opacity of the intergalactic medium as well as accounting for the charge transfer inefficiency in the WFC3 CCDs, we find a $3 \sigma$ upper-limit for the relative escape fraction of $f_{esc,rel}<0.08$. This value is a factor of five lower than the value (0.4) predicted by the 40\% transmission in the low-ion absorption lines. We discuss the possible causes for this discrepancy and consider the implications for future attempts at both direct Lyman continuum detection as well as indirect estimates of the escape fraction.Comment: 10 pages, 8 Figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journa