Effects of low level laser therapy on mucositis in patients under chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation

Background: Oral mucositis is among the most important adverse effects of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation and prevention from this side effect is important to improve the situations in patients. Hence, in this study the main aim was to determine the effects of low-level laser therapy on mucositis in patients under chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Materials and Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 60 consecutive patients under chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation in a training hospital in 2018 were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either low-level laser therapy (630 and 780 nm) or off-laser. Finally, the frequency rate and severity of mucositis (grades 0 to 4 according to WHO severity index) were determined and compared across the groups. Results: Mucositis was present in 30% and 56.7% in laser and control groups, respectively with statistically significant difference (p=0.037). The severity of mucositis was same across the laser and control groups (p=0.785). Conclusion: Low-level laser therapy is an effective modality for preventing from mucositis in patients treated by chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Accordingly, utilization of this safe and effective therapeutic method is recommended

An Investigation on determining the factors which affected Iranian and its neighbor countries’ students to choose Finland for study destination

Today, the progress of countries depends on the training of people and the use of their capabilities. Sustainable development can be achieved by paying attention to and effectively utilizing the ideas of creative and motivated people. This requires the education of these people in the universities of advanced countries. Fortunately, the number of countries that are actively involved in attracting international students has increased significantly in recent years, and the significant development trend of internationalizing Finnish higher education is not an exception. Given the increasing competition between countries for international students, it has become increasingly important for higher education institutions to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence international students' decision on study destination. According to this issue, the purpose of this study is to understand what factors have attracted students from Iran and its surrounding areas to study in Finland and this will help higher education institutes to formulate better policies and marketing strategies for attracting international students. The data collection process was performed via semi-structured interviews with current bachelor students who study at Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences. The findings indicate five groups of factors that influence Iranian and surrounding areas students’ decisions on study destination, which include the economic, environment of the home country, communication, location, and social factors are influential. The main result of this study is to emphasize the significance of economic factors, such as tuition fees, living expenses, and future employment possibilities, that have a considerable impact on Iranian and surrounding area students' decisions regarding where to study. To develop strategies and policies focused on attracting Iranian and surrounding area students, Finnish universities could benefit from offering more financial aid and scholarships, lowering the cost of living and studying, and improving job prospects

The effectiveness of academic counseling based on a narrative approach on academic resilience and academic emotions of students with academic failure

Background and Aim: Students experience different emotions in academic situations. Emotions are always present in educational and clinical environments. Academic resilience also refers to high levels of motivation for progress and performance, despite limited conditions. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of teaching compassion, academic counseling based on a narrative approach, on resilience and academic emotions of students with academic failure. Methods: The research method was a semi-experimental type with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. Using targeted sampling, 30 students from among the students with academic failure from the second grade boys' high schools of the second period of the 12th district of Tehran were determined and randomly placed in the experimental and control groups (15 people in each group). In the pre-test and post-test stages, students responded to the academic excitement questionnaires of Pakran et al. (2002) and the academic resilience questionnaires of Martin and Marsh (2009). The academic counseling protocol based on Pine's (2004) narrative approach was held for the experimental group for 8 sessions. Results: The results of covariance analysis showed that academic counseling training based on a narrative approach is effective on academic resilience (P=0.001 and F=19.98) and academic excitement (P=0.001 and F=34.001). Conclusion: Therefore, according to the results of the research, it is suggested that school counselors use group educational counseling trainings based on a narrative approach to control negative emotions and increase academic resilience

Prediction of family resilience based on marital commitment and psychological capital in married couples of Takab city

The present study was conducted with the aim of predicting family resilience based on marital commitment and psychological capital. For this purpose, a random sample of 296 people was selected from the statistical population of married men and women in tatkab (from West Azarbaijan province). In this research, in order to collect data, McCubbin et al.'s family resilience questionnaire (1986) and Stanley and Markman's marital commitment questionnaire (1992) and Luthans Psychological Capital Questionnaire (2007), were used. The data obtained from the research were analyzed with SPSS-23 software. The results of multivariate regression showed that marital commitment can predict family resilience with 99% confidence and among the components of psychological capital, self-efficacy can predict family resilience with 95% confidence. As a result, in order to face and deal with problems and crises, it is emphasized on preserving family unity and marital commitment and psychological capital

Therapeutic effect of acupuncture in BALB/c model of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Background: Current research findings demonstrate that acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine, has beneficial effects on several acute and chronic infectious and inflammatory diseases. Acupuncture promotes tissue healing and regulates immune response in various disease conditions. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan from genus Leishmania. Acupuncture is supposed to accelerate healing of CL because of common mechanisms involved in the cure of the CL lesions. Materials and Methods: 60  BALB/c mice were experimentally infected with L. major strain MRHO/IR/75/ER and divided into three groups: (1) Treatment group received acupuncture 2 times a week for 5 weeks (10 sessions) with intraperitoneal diazepam as a sedative agent. (2) Diazepam control group only received diazepam the same as the treatment group. (3) Control group did not receive any intervention. Size of the lesions was measured before the experiment, on session 5 and 10 and 4 weeks after the experiment. Parasite burden was evaluated by microscopic assay as well as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. Results: Size of the lesions decreased significantly on session 5 in treated group in comparison with session 0 (P = 0.02) while the size of the lesions increased significantly in two control groups on session 5 and 4 weeks after treatment (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01 respectively). Mean parasite burden did not show a significant difference between or within groups on session 0 and 10 by any methods. Conclusions: This investigation showed that acupuncture decreased size of the CL lesions by session 5 in the BALB/c mice model, but did not cause a significant reduction in parasite burden

The Iranian blood pressure measurement campaign, 2019: study protocol and preliminary results

Purpose Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for premature mortality and morbidity in Iran. The objective of the Iranian blood pressure (BP) measurement campaign was to identify individuals with raised blood pressure and providing appropriate care and increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension. Methods The campaign was conducted in two phases. The first (communication) phase started on May 17th (International Hypertension Day). The second phase started on June 8th, 2019, and lasted up to July 7th during which, blood pressures were measured. The target population was Iranians aged >= 30 years. Participants voluntarily referred to health houses in rural and health posts and comprehensive health centers in urban areas in the setting of the Primary Health Care network. Additionally, over 13,700 temporary stations were set up in highly visited places in urban areas. Volunteer healthcare staff interviewed the participants, measured their BP, and provided them with lifestyle advice and knowledge of the risks and consequences of high blood pressure. They referred participants to physicians in case their BP was high. Participants immediately received a text message containing the relevant advice based on their measured BP and their past history. Results Blood pressure was measured for a total of 26,678,394 participants in the campaign. A total of 13,722,148 participants (51.4%) were female. The mean age was 46 +/- 14.1 years. Among total participants, 15,012,693 adults (56.3%) with no past history of hypertension had normal BP, 7,959,288 participants had BP in the prehypertension range (29.8%), and finally, 3,706,413 participants (13.9%) had either past medical history of hypertension, used medications, or had high BP measured in the campaign. Conclusion The campaign was feasible with the objective to increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension in Iran