Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Female Members and Non-members of the Elderly Support Association.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) in postmenopausal members and non-members of the elderly support association in Borujen city, Iran. METHODS This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study being applied to the participants were postmenopausal women of over 55 years. Thus, 40 postmenopausal members of the elderly support association of Borujen city and 40 non-members were randomly selected. The 36 item short-form health survey (SF-36), with the 4 psychological, social, physical-movement, and environmental domains, was completed. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS The mean total score of QOL of member of the association was significantly greater than non-members. Student's t-test showed a significant relationship between QOL and membership of the association (P < 0.05). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the mean QOL of postmenopausal women, according to membership and marital status (P < 0.01), housing (P < 0.01), and underlying disease (P < 0.01), was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS According to the results, supportive measures, such as increasing the participation of the elderly in public life through proper preparations to join them and membership in peer groups such as support associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can be greatly effective in improving QOL. The results showed that the QOL of the participants was at a moderate level and membership in support associations for the elderly was effected on the QOL in postmenopausal women. Moreover, considering the importance of the elderly in the community

Extraer estándares y criterios de hoteles hospitalarios con un enfoque de diseño hospitalario especializado

Background and Aim: Hospital design is based on the theoretical foundations of architecture and careful planning based on activities, equipment, standards and specific relationships between spaces. Applying the right standards and relationships between functions has a direct impact on the proper context of treatment. According to what has been said, the purpose of this study is to extract the standards and criteria of the hospital hotel with a specialized hospital design approach. Materials and Methods: The present study is a quantitative-qualitative method and based on this, first the qualitative evaluation of hospital environments in Kermanshah and then in the next stage, the obtained and presented standards have been proved. In order to evaluate the quality and evaluate the compatibility of the use of the standard environment, a semi-structured individual interview with hospital design specialists and researchers in this field and qualitative analysis of texts were used. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed by coding method and in the next step, using the confirmatory factor analysis and laser software, the presented indicators were proved. Results and Results: In establishing hoteling standards in a specialized hospital, in addition to designing the initial physical spaces appropriate to the type of disease, three main questions were: Reasons for using the hospital hotel standard, the fit of the standards with the patient's needs and what these standards are. From the present study, we can point to the required standards in the field of hospital hotels with the approach of a specialized hospital with four basic indicators such as building and equipment, welfare services, human factors and functional factors. These are among the basic and emphasized standards that have been neglected.Background and Aim: Hospital design is based on the theoretical foundations of architecture and careful planning based on activities, equipment, standards and specific relationships between spaces. Applying the right standards and relationships between functions has a direct impact on the proper context of treatment. According to what has been said, the purpose of this study is to extract the standards and criteria of the hospital hotel with a specialized hospital design approach. Materials and Methods: The present study is a quantitative-qualitative method and based on this, first the qualitative evaluation of hospital environments in Kermanshah and then in the next stage, the obtained and presented standards have been proved. In order to evaluate the quality and evaluate the compatibility of the use of the standard environment, a semi-structured individual interview with hospital design specialists and researchers in this field and qualitative analysis of texts were used. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed by coding method and in the next step, using the confirmatory factor analysis and laser software, the presented indicators were proved. Results and Results: In establishing hoteling standards in a specialized hospital, in addition to designing the initial physical spaces appropriate to the type of disease, three main questions were: Reasons for using the hospital hotel standard, the fit of the standards with the patient's needs and what these standards are. From the present study, we can point to the required standards in the field of hospital hotels with the approach of a specialized hospital with four basic indicators such as building and equipment, welfare services, human factors and functional factors. These are among the basic and emphasized standards that have been neglected

Flood-pedestrian simulator: an agent-based modelling framework for urban evacuation planning

Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) is an increasingly used approach for characterisation of human behaviour in evacuation simulation modelling. ABM-based evacuation models used in flood emergency are developed mostly for vehicular scenarios at regional scale. Only a few models exist for simulating evacuations of on-foot pedestrians responding to floods in small and congested urban areas. These models do not include the heterogeneity and variability of individuals’ behaviour influenced by their dynamic interactions with the floodwater properties. This limitation is due to the modelling restrictions pertaining to the computational complexity and the modelling flexibility for agent characterisation. This PhD research has aimed to develop a new ABM-based pedestrian evacuation model that overcomes these challenges through an ABM platform called Flexible Large-scale Agent Modelling Environment for the Graphics Processing Units (FLAME GPU). To achieve this aim, a hydrodynamic model has been integrated into a pedestrian model within the FLAME GPU framework. The dynamic interactions between the flood and pedestrians have been formulated based on a number of behavioural rules driving the mobility states and way-finding decisions of individuals in and around the floodwaters as well as the local changes in the floodwater properties as a result of pedestrians’ crowding. These rules have been progressively improved and their added value has been explored systematically by diagnostically comparing the simulation results obtained from the base setup and the augmented version of the model applied to a synthetic test case. A real-world case study has been further used to specifically evaluate the added value of rules relating the individuals’ way-finding mechanism to various levels of flood-risk perception. The findings from this research have shown that increasing the level of pedestrians’ heterogeneity and the effect of pedestrians’ crowding on the floodwater hydrodynamics yield to a considerably different prediction of flood risk and evacuation time. Besides, accounting for pedestrians’ various levels of flood-risk perception has been found to be one determinant factor in the analysis of flood risk and evacuation time when there are multiple destinations. Finally, the sensitivity analysis on the simulation results have shown that the deviations in the simulation outcomes increases in line with the increase in the sophistication of human behavioural rules

Fourier Analysis of Keratometric Data in Epithelium Removal versus Epithelial Disruption Corneal Cross-linking

Purpose: To compare epithelium-removal and epithelium-disruption corneal crosslinking (CXL) methods in Fourier analysis of keratometric data and clinical outcomes. Methods: In this double-masked randomized clinical trial, each eye of 34 patients with bilateral keratoconus was randomly allocated to either the epithelium-removal or epithelium-disruption CXL treatment groups. Ocular examination, refraction, uncorrected and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (UCVA and BSCVA, respectively) measurements, and Pentacam imaging (keratometry, pachymetry, and Fourier analysis) were performed at baseline and at six-month follow-up period. Results: Patients’ mean age was 23.3 ± 3.6 years. The preoperative thickness of the thinnest point was 459.20 ± 37.40 μm and 455.80 ± 32.70 μm in the epithelium removal and epithelial-disruption CXL groups, respectively (P = ?). The corresponding figures were 433.50 ± 33.50 μm and 451.90 ± 39.70 μm, respectively, six months after the treatment (P = 0.0001). The irregularity component was 0.030 ± 0.016 μm in the epithelium-removal group and 0.028 ± 0.011 μm in the epithelium-disruption group preoperatively (P = ?). This measurement was 0.031 ± 0.016 μm and 0.024 ± 0.009 μm, respectively at month 6 (P = 0.04). The epithelium-disruption CXL group had better results in terms of the thickness of the thinnest point and the irregularity component as compared to the epithelium-removal group. The two study groups were comparable in spherical equivalent, mean keratometry, UCVA, BSCVA, or other Fourier analysis components (spherical R min, spherical eccentricity, central, peripheral regular astigmatism, and maximum decentration) (P &gt; 0.05). Conclusion: This study shows that epithelium-disruption CXL is superior to epithelium removal CXL regarding the short-term changes in pachymetry and corneal irregularity. Other evaluated parameters were comparable between the two techniques within the six-month follow-up period

Optic Neuropathy following Botulinum Toxin Injection into the Medial Rectus Muscle for Diplopia

Purpose: To report a case of optic neuropathy (ON) following botulinum toxin A (BTA) injection into the medial rectus muscle. Case Report: We describe a 37-year-old man with unilateral ON after a BTA injection into the left medial rectus for treatment of traumatic sixth nerve palsy. Oral prednisolone was prescribed for 14 days. After two weeks, his visual acuity returned to 20/20. Conclusion: Botulinum toxin-induced neuropathy is a rare and vision-threatening complication of BTA. In patients with recent injection of BTA who present with visual complaints, botulinum toxin-induced neuropathy should be considered

Physical Activity of Medical and Nonmedical University Students‏

Background: The role of regular and contagious physical activity are widely recognized in decreases the risk of coronary heart disease, various cancers, obesity, osteoporosis and other health problems. Because investigations suggest that physical activity levels fall significantly during the period between adolescence and adulthood, there is considerable concern about youth physical activity. Since university students represent a significant sector of young adults and form a prominent sector of society from which the policy makers, their physical activities are of particular interest. The present study was carried out and compared physical activity status among Tabriz medical and nonmedical sciences university students. Methods: A descriptive comparative design was carried out with 384 Tabriz medical and 384 nonmedical science university students. Data concerning demographic and physical activity variables were collected by a self reported questionnaire. Independent sample t-test were conducted to compare of mean scores of physical activity and two way ANOVA test were conducted to determine whether socio demographic variables were associated with physical activity. Results: The finding study showed that 39.8% of medical and 37.2% of nonmedical science university students had risky physical activity status and only 6.5% of medical and 5.9% of nonmedical science university students had good risky physical activity status. No significant differences between mean scores of physical activity among two groups. 81.3% of medical and 85.2% of nonmedical science university students had tend to increase levels of their physical activity. Conclusions: It can be concluded that both medical and nonmedical science university students did have not appropriate condition regarding to physical activity and medical science students education and training had no influenced on physical activity of medical science university students. Therefore, universities should implement programs to increase student’s level of physical activity

The Relation Between Body Esteem With Self Esteem And Perceived Social Support In Multiple Sclerosis Patients–Assessment.

Abstract:Background& Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabled illness of that can highly effect on body esteem and self-esteem in patients. This study was to examine the relation between body esteem with self-esteem and perceived social support in MS patientsMethodology:This research Study was descriptive correlation that performed on 395 patients of the MS Society in Tehran by conveniencesampling. Data gathering tool was questionnaires of Body esteem, Self-esteem and Northouse social support. For data analysis, SPSS/16 was used.Results:The results showed that at Patients with MS, body esteem was in favorable level (42.25), self-esteem and perceived social support were at moderate levels (76.1, 39.5). Between body esteem with self-esteem and perceived social support and between self-esteem and perceived social support was significant linear relationship. Conclusion:Because of the impact of chronic diseases and complications of them on body esteem, self-esteem and perceived social support is undeniable and regarding that compatibility at chronic diseases as MS occurs faster with this factors thisistheresponsibility ofnursing that with recognizing factors of relatedincrease patient matching and sobe effective at their efficacyandself-care

Relationship of lifestyle with academic achievement in nursing students

A healthy lifestyle is one of the main factor in maintaining the health of people in society. With regard to the role of youth and students in public health, they must complete and follow a training program on lifestyle related factors. One of the main aim of the training centres is to improve the academic achievement of students. Aim: This study was designed to determine the correlation of lifestyle with academic achievement in nursing students. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, wherein all nursing students of School of Borujen Nursing were selected by census sampling. Data gathering tool was Walker’s lifestyle questionnaire which was modified for the purpose of the study. To evaluate the educational status of students, final grade point average was considered as an indicator of academic achievement. To analyze the data, SPSS version 16.0, and descriptive and analytical tests were used. Results: The results indicated that most subjects (61.01%) displayed moderate levels of lifestyle. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed the significant positive relationship between lifestyle and academic achievement (p=0.03 and r=0.628). Conclusion: To improve the academic achievement of students, in addition to the cognitive abilities-perception, their lifestyle should also be considered. Therefore, it is suggested to incorporate lifestyle education in the curriculum of nursing students so as to improve their lifestyle

Concerns of Iranian Muslim patients suffered from cancer in the last stages of life: A qualitative studystudy

Background and aims: Understanding the concerns of cancer patients in the last stages of life in Islamic and Iranian context can be helpful to improve culturally sensitive care towards them. The present study was aimed to explore the concerns for Muslim patients suffering from cancer in the last stages of life. Methods: This was a descriptive explorative qualitative research which was conducted in 2016. The participants consisted of Iranian Muslim patients suffering from cancer in the last stages of life and the family members. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 patients and their families hospitalized in a hematology oncology center in Isfahan using purposeful sampling. In order to understand more deeply the spiritual concerns of patients, patients’ collected data and their families in a palliative care center in Isfahan were also analyzed. Results: In this research, results associated with the nature of spiritual and religious concerns in patients will be discussed that consisted of three sub categories: “relationship to God”, “relationship to self” and “relationship to other people”. “Relationship to God” included following sub categories: “challenge in God justice”, “spiritual theology”, and “fear of death”. “Relationship to self” included subcategories: “decrease in self-esteem” and “impatience”. “Relationship to other people” consisted of subcategory: “impaired interpersonal relationship”. Conclusion: One of the main concerns of cancer patients in the last stage of life is spiritual and religious challenges. Having cancer might make the patients becomes closer to God and might promote their trust and theology. For a few people this long trip might bring to them different concerns like fear of death, challenge regarding God justice and interpersonal relationship problems. These concerns must be considered and is planned culturally sensitive implementations to improve them

Evaluation of relationship self esteem with perceived social support in patients with Multiple Sclerosis‏

Background: Multiple Sclerosis is the chronic and progressive diseases of central neurons in adolescent that almost is accidently and had psychological effects on individuals that this subject can occurrence after change of patients trusts toward self and perceived social support. Therefore, this study was to examine the relation between self esteem with perceived social support in multiple sclerosis patients. Methods: This research Study was descriptive Correlations and in this study, 395 patients of the MS Society in Tehran were selected by continuous sampling. Data gathering tool were questionnaire of Rosenberg self esteem and questionnaire of Northouse social support. For data analysis, SPSS/16 was used. Results: Results showed that the average and standard deviation of self-esteem of patients was respectively 17/5 ± 53/20. Most patients had moderate self-esteem, and only a small percentage of them (2/16%) had high self-esteem. A significant percentage of patients' perceived social support (39/5%) was at moderate levels. The results of the spearman correlation showed that there were a linear direct significant association between self esteem and perceived social support (p<0/001, rs=0.302). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that self esteem with perceived social support had significant linear relationship. The nurses with findings can by development and fortification of social network, support sense of values in patients and by this way help to patients for decision and control on diseases and treatment