Investigating the effect of nurses’ supportive and educative careon the quality of life in breast cancer patients referred for radiotherapy in Seyedoshohada hospitals in Isfahan in 1392

Background and aims: breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Iran and many countries; but in recent years, survival rate was longer in patients and yet there is a greater emphasis on their quality of life. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the effect of nurses’ supportive and educative care on the quality of life in breast cancer patients. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental, pre- and post- study. 45 patients with breast cancer referred to radiotherapy clinic of Seyedoshohada hospital were studied in 2013. The instruments used in this study were demographic and quality of life questionnaires from Backman institute completed before and after the training and support for patients. Questionnaires were completed and finally the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software and statistical tests. Results: Based on the results obtained on the overall quality of life, it was observed that the average score for the quality of life in the sample was 51.73±13.91 before the intervention and 60.46±13.80 after the intervention (P<0.001). Also, the average scores in all four domains of quality of life after the intervention has increased, but the difference was significant only in two dimensions, physical and mental health (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results confirm the positive effect of nurses’ supportive and educative programs on the promotion of quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Therefore, planning and implementation of such programs on a broader basis and based on the educational and supportive patients' needs is recommended

The sagittal otolith morphology of four selected mugilid species from Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf (Teleostei: Mugilidae)

The members of mugilid species are usually difficult to recognize because of the well-known similarity observed in their external morphology. Nevertheless, their identification is very important for local fisheries management and conservation action. Therefore, in the present study we applied otolith morphology to evaluate its significance in identification of four selected mugilid species; Chelon subviridis (Valenciennes, 1836), Liza klunzingeri (Day, 1888), Ellochelon vaigiensis (Quoy &amp; Gaimard, 1825) and Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 occurring in the Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf in southern Iran. The results indicated several otolith features to be important for identification of the selected mugilid species as follow; the position and sulcus centrality, the curvature of the cauda, and the type of anterior and posterior regions. Based on the total approach evidences, we conclude that otolith morphology in mugilid fishes can be evidently used for the species identification and probably estimation of their phylogeny. The findings are in agreement with the previous studies which documented taxonomic importance of otolith morphology

Morphological comparison of Urohyal and Otolith in taxonomic identification of two species of mullets (Mugilidae: Teleostei) in Persian Gulf

Mullets have fisheries values. These fishes show high interspecific similarities, and this often made them difficult to identify. Therefore, finding the morphological characters for their identification is very important.In this study, taxonomic significance of the hard structures such as Urohyal bone and sagittal otolith were examined. To do this objective, a total of 56 mullet specimens belong to Chelon subviridis and Chelon klunzingeri were collected from Bandar-e-Lengeh, Bandarabbas and Qeshm, and fixed in 75 % ethanol. In laboratory, urohyal bones and sagittal were extracted following the standard method, and their morphology described and interspecific variations were studied. The results showed that both morphology and morphometry of these hard structures can be especially useful in discrimination of the mullets. However, it seems that urohyal bone has particular importance in species separation. Therefore, in addition to the genetic studies, studying of the urohyal bone can play important role in understanding of taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships of the fishes