The effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the severity of fatigue in women with multiple sclerosis: a Randomized Controlled Trial study

Background and aims: Multiple sclerosis, as a chronic and progressive disease of central nervous system, affects different aspects of patient’s life. Considering importance of fatigue in these patients and on the other hand, increasing acceptability of complementary therapies in health care system, this study was aimed to determine the effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy on the severity of fatigue in women with multiple sclerosis that was conducted during 2014. Methods: This study was a two-group, three-stage (before, right after and a month after the intervention) clinical trial that was conducted on 66 women with multiple sclerosis who had the inclusion criteria and referred to medical centers of Isfahan. After convenient sampling, participants were equally divided into two groups of control and intervention by random allocation. The intervention group received eight 90-minute group sessions (a session per week) for cognitive behavioral therapy. Control group along with receiving the usual drug therapies, participated in 3 group sessions and expressed their feelings and experiences. Data was gathered using a questionnaire and fatigue severity scale (FSS) and was analyzed by SPSS software using independent t-test, Mann-whitney, Chi square and one-way ANOVA tests. Results: There was no significant difference between the mean score of severity of fatigue in both groups before the intervention (P=0.532), but this score was significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group right after the intervention and a month after the intervention (P= 0.03). Also, the results of post-hoc LSD showed that the mean score of severity of fatigue in the intervention group right after the intervention and a month after the intervention was significantly lower than before the intervention (P<0.001). Conclusions: Considering the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the severity of fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis, the use of this therapeutic method, as a clinically beneficial, effective, cost effective and reasonable method, is recommended

Extractive Capacity of Oleyl Alcohol on 2, 3-Butanediol Production in Fermentation Process with Use of Klebsiella pneumoniae PTCC 1290

ABSTRACT: Recovery of metabolites from fermentation broth by solvent extraction can be used to optimize fermentation processes. End-product reutilization, low product concentration and large volumes of fermentation broth and the requirements for large bioreactors, in addition to the high cost largely contributed to the decline in fermentative 2,3-butanediol production. Extraction can successfully be used for in-situ alcohol recovery in 2,3-butanediol fermentations to increase the substrate conversion. In the present work organic extraction of 2,3-butanediol produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae fermentation was studied to determine solvent effect on 2,3-butanediol production

Effect of Self-care on Quality of Life of Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

مولتیپل اسکلروزیس به عنوان یک بیماری غیرقابل درمان و دارای معلولیتهای فراوان، تا حدود زیادی زندگی طبیعی مبتلایان را تحت تأثیر قرار می دهد. با آموزش مراقبت از خود می توان از بروز یا پیشرفت بسیاری از عوارض کاست، زندگی مطلوب را افزایش داد و در تحمل بسیاری از مشکلات بوسیله سازگاری با شرایط به وجود آمده، خانواده را یاری داد؛ لذا این پژوهش با هدف بررسی تاثیر خودمراقبتی بر کیفیت زندگی مبتلایان به مولتیپل اسکلروزیس صورت گرفته است. این پژوهش به صورت نیمه تجربی، یک گروهی و دو مرحله ای انجام شده است. تعداد کل نمونه ها 28 بیمارمبتلا به مولتیپل اسکلروزیس مراجعه کننده به یکی ازدرمانگاه های خصوصی ونیز درمـانگاه بیمارستان الزهرا بوده اند که با روش نمونه گیری آسان انتخاب شده اند. اطلاعات مورد نیاز با استفاده از پرسشنامه خود ساخته کیفیت زندگی جمع آوری گردیده است. نتایج حاصل با استفاده از آمار توصیفی و استنباطی با نتایج قبلی مورد مقایسه قرار گرفت. یافته های پژوهش نشان داد که افزایش چشمگیری در میانگین امتیازات کیفیت زندگی در حیطه های عملکردجسمانی، روانشناختی ،حیطه عملکرد اجتماعی و سلامت عمومی بعد از اقدام به خودمراقبتی ایجاد شده است. همچنین یافته های پژوهش نشان داد که میانگین امتیازات کلی کیفیت زندگی بعد از خودمراقبتی افزایش بارزی نسبت به قبل از خودمراقبتی داشته است. نتایج حاصل از پژوهش نشان می دهد که انجام خودمراقبتی تاثیر مثبتی بر روی اجزای کیفیت زندگی دارد. امید است با ایجاد و تقویت انجمن های آموزشی و حمایتی، امکان انجام اقدامات خود مراقبتی برای بیماران مبتلا به مولیتپل اسکلروز فراهم گردد

Effect of Self-care on Quality of Life of Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

Long term diseases and their psycho-cognitive physiologic defects or signs affect life quality of the patients in different life stages and threaten their health resulting in their disabilities. Multiple sclerosis (MS) as a long-term life threatening disease can make acute disabilities affecting patients’ life trend. Unknown manner of disease, poor prognosis and treatment on one hand and hard prevention on the other hand have all limited the treatment to a supportive one although patients can have almost a normal length of life with appropriate self-care. Self care can well diminish the disease extension and complications provides the patient with a better life quality and his family with a better coping ability against new conditions. So this study was carried out with the above title. This study was quasi-experimental and the method of data gathering was questionnaires which included two sections as follows 26 MS patients referring to private and clinic of Isfahan Alzahra hospital were selected by convenient sampling. After that, the subjects started self-care programs for three weeks and then life quality questionnaire was filled either with the patients or the researcher. The findings were analyzed and compared with former findings through descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed a noticeable increase in life quality mean score in domain of physical function (P<0.001), psycho cognitive domain (p<0.001), social function (P<0.001) and general health (p<0.001) after self care program. There was also a sharp increase in total life quality score after self-care program compared with before that. The findings showed that self-care could positively affect life quality items. It is hoped that by formation of educational supportive associations or at least a well equipped rehabilitation center for the patients, the patients can be provided with facilities of self-care as well as a condition in which the patients themselves carry out their self care

Which interventions work for dementia family carers?: an updated systematic review of randomized controlled trials of carer interventions

Objective: The aim of this study was to update the literature on interventions for carers of people with dementia published between 2006 and 2016 and evaluate the efficacy of psychoeducational programmes and psychotherapeutic interventions on key mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, burden, and quality of life). Methods: A meta-analysis was carried out of randomised controlled trials of carer interventions using MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Results: The majority of studies were conducted in Western and Southern Europe or the United States and recruited carers of people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia grouped as a whole. The most commonly used outcome measures were depression and burden across studies. The updated evidence suggested that psychoeducation-skill building interventions delivered face-to-face can better impact on burden. Psychotherapeutic interventions underpinned by Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) models demonstrated strong empirical support for treating anxiety and depression and these effects were not affected by the mode of delivery (i.e., face-to-face vs technology). A modern CBT approach, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), seemed to be particularly beneficial for carers experiencing high levels of anxiety. Conclusions: Future research needs to explore the efficacy of interventions on multiple clinical outcomes and which combination of interventions (components) would have the most significant effects when using CBT. The generalisation of treatment effects in different countries and carers of different types of dementia also need to be addressed. More research is needed to test the efficacy of modern forms of CBT such as ACT. 246/250 word

Designing Durable Vapor-Deposited Surfaces for Reduced Hydrate Adhesion

The formation and accumulation of clathrate hydrates inside oil and gas pipelines cause severe problems in deep-sea oil/gas operations. In the present work, durable and mechanically robust bilayer poly-divinyl benzene/poly(perfluorodecylacrylate) coatings are developed using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) to reduce the adhesion strength of hydrates to underlying substrates (silicon and steel). Tetrahydrofuran (THF) dissolved in water with a wt% concentration of 0–70 is used to study the formation of hydrates and their adhesion strength. Goniometric measurements of the THF–water droplets on the substrates exhibit a reduction in advancing and receding contact angles with an increase in the THF concentration. The strength of hydrate adhesion experiences a tenfold reduction when substrates are coated with these iCVD polymers: from 1050 ± 250 kPa on bare silicon to 128 ± 100 kPa on coated silicon and from 1130 ± 185 kPa on bare steel to 153 ± 86 kPa on coated steel. The impact of subcooling temperature and time on the adhesion strength of hydrate on substrates is also studied. The results of this work suggest that the THF–water mixture repellency of a given substrate can be utilized to assess its hydrate-phobic behavior; hence, it opens a pathway for studying hydrate-phobicity.Chevron Corporation (MIT-Chevron University Partnership Program

Association of fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors (PB) against COVID-19 in Iran

Introduction: The world is currently experiencing a pandemic of COVID-19. The pandemic may affect physicaland mental health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the fear of COVID-19 and study the relationshipbetween fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors against COVID-19. Material and methods: We conducted a web-based cross-sectional study to evaluate the fear of COVID-19 andpreventive behaviors against COVID-19 among the volunteer population in Golestan Province, Iran in May 2020 andJune 2020. The online questionnaire included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and the prevention behaviorsagainst COVID-19, which are used to assess the fear and prevention behaviors of the population, respectively.The data were presented by mean and frequency. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identifyfactors associated with Fear of COVID-19 at a significant level of 0.05 in Stata 14. Results: A total of 734 of the 900 individuals contacted completed the survey, with a participation rate of 81.5%.The mean age of the participants was 33.97 ± 10.68 years and 375 (51.9%) were females. The mean Fear ofCOVID-19 score in the participants was 19.69 ± 5.96. There was a significant positive correlation between Fearof COVID-19 and preventive behaviors (r = 0.19, p &lt; 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed participantswith a higher perceived threat of COVID-19, women, married participants, health workers and peoplewith underlying diseases had higher levels of fear of COVID-19. Conclusions: The fear of COVID-19 in Iranian society is high, which indicates the need to pay attention tothe mental health in pandemic conditions. Appropriate intervention action can be designed and implementedaccording to the factors that affect fear. In addition, it should be noted that people with less fear are less likelyto observe the COVID-19’s preventative behaviors

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Lebanon Waterpipe Dependence Scale in a Sample of Iranian Waterpipe Smokers

Background: Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) has recently increased in Iran. There is no valid instrumentto measure the level of nicotine dependence among its consumers. This study was aimed to investigate thevalidity and reliability of the Lebanon Waterpipe Dependence Scale-11 (LWDS-11).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the year 2017 whereby 367 waterpipe smokers wererecruited from Golestan Province of Iran. LWDS-11 scale is composed of 4 subscales: 1) nicotine dependence,2) negative reinforcement, 3) psychological craving, and 4) positive reinforcement. The validity of thequestionnaire was examined using construct validity. Reliability of this scale was examined using test-retestreliability and internal consistency.Findings: The four-factor model for LWDS [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.985, Tucker-Lewis index(TLI) = 0.979, standardised root mean residual (SRMR) = 0.059, root mean square error of approximation(RMSEA) = 0.049 (0.031, 0.061)] demonstrated good fit to this data. Cronbach’s α was 0.825 for totalscale and it was 0.818, 0.746, 0.624, and 0.670 for each individual subscale. The test-retest reliability of thescale was 0.925.Conclusion: All goodness of fit indices (GFIs) represented a good fit of model. The LWDS-11 scale had anappropriate remarkable validity and reliability for waterpipe consumers to measure the level of nicotinedependence and it appeared to be likely useful for utilizing in the clinical and epidemiological studies