The Role of Local and National Radio and TVs in Disaster Management: A case study of 2012 East Azerbaijan – Iran Earthquake

According to Iran's vulnerability to natural disasters and the important role of the mass media in managing such disasters, the purpose of this study is to achieve a model describing the role of local and national radio and TV in disaster management. The data were collected through interviews with three groups including the victims of the earthquake in Azerbaijan, managers and employees of local radio and TV in Azerbaijan, and experts in the field of media and crisis. Using grounded theory method to analyze the data collected from victims, their media needs were identified that consist of need for information, need for media attention, need for training and need to have a representative. A comprehensive model of national and local radio and TV channels role in disaster management was based upon such media needs. The model was designed according to the views of managers of local radio and TV in Azerbaijan and was ultimately approved by the experts. According to this model, in the event of natural disasters, local and national media play four key roles that are educating and culture-building, informing and making communication, monitoring and demanding as well as winning public participation and creating national solidarity. Using this model, local and national channels are able to interact effectively with one another to manage natural disasters in an integrated way. Keywords: local and national radio and television, natural disasters, Iran, disaster managemen

A Comparative Analysis in the Exegesis of “Evil Words/Women Are for Evil Men; And Good Words/Women Are for Good Men” from Sunni and Shi’ite Perspective

Received: 02/05/2019   |   Accepted: 30/08/2019 Within the recent era, interreligious comparative research studies have been conducted mostly by the Shi’ites with the purpose of critical analysis of Sunni and Shi’ite perspectives. In this regard, this study aims to analyze the 26th verse of Surah an-Nur, about which there are different views by Sunni and Shi’ite commentators, as well as exegetical narratives by Ahl al-Bayt, companions and followers of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). On the one hand, the ideas of Sahabah and followers of the Prophet, and on the other hand, the narratives of Ahl al-Bayt are reported in this article. Afterwards, Shi’ite and Sunni commentators’ views are compared. The results of this comparative analysis showed that the Sunni and Shi’ite interpreters have represented two different perceptions in this regard: Most of Sunni commentators hold that the term “Khabithat” refers to “evil words” whereas most of Shi’ite commentators believe that means “impious women”. There were some drawbacks in the interoperation of both denominations, and after discussion, the Shi’ite perceptions revealed to be more authentic. Furthermore, it was attempted to represent another interpretation which is more compatible with the Qur’anic approach

Emergence of fosfomycin resistance among isolates of Escherichia coli harboring extended-spectrum and AmpC β-lactamases

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common type of infectious disease globally. The aim of this study was to detect the frequency of fosA3 and fosC2 genes in extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and blaDHA, blaCMY-2, and blaCMY-42 genes in AmpC β-lactamases-producing isolates of Escherichia coli. In total, 120 isolates of E. coli were collected from three teaching hospitals between March 2014 and February 2015. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out by disk diffusion method. The presence of blaCMY-2, blaCMY-42, blaDHA, fosA3, and fosC2 genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. Of the 120 strains, 92 (76.6%) were identified as ESBL producers, 30 (25%) were determined as AmpC β-lactamase producers, and 24 (20%) had both ESBL and AmpC β-lactamase enzymes. Imipenem, fosfomycin, and nitrofurantoin had the best effect against isolates of E. coli. PCR assay demonstrated that the frequency of blaCMY-2, blaCMY-42, and blaDHA genes among AmpC β-lactamases-producing strains were 39%, 1%, and 17.5%, respectively. This study reports the first detection of fosfomycin resistance in Iran. This study indicated the increasing prevalence of UTI isolates of E. coli-harboring ESBL and AmpC β-lactamases genes in Iran. Therefore, due to the high rate of blaDHA and blaCMY genes and emergence of fosfomycin-resistant E. coli isolates, we recommend continuous monitoring of antibiotic resistance as well as attention to guidelines of infection controls

The possibility of access to the kidneys from posterior axillary line in supine position for percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Please cite this article as: Tabibi A, Kashi AH, Mirjalili SAM, Mahmoudnejad N, Kashani P, Salavatipour B, Soltani MH. The possibility of access to the kidneys from posterior axillary line in supine position for percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Novel Biomed 2013;1(2):43-47.Objectives: To evaluate the possibility of access to the kidneys from posterior axillary line (PAL) in supine position for percutaneous nephrolithotomy.Materials and Methods: 102 consecutive patients who were candidated for abdominal CT scan, enrolled in this study. In cases of impossible access, the point on the posterior surface of body which permitted safe access was determined and the percent of movement toward body midline (relative to PAL) was calculated (M.PER).Results: Percutaneous access was simulated from upper and middle calyces of the kidney in 13% and 75% of cases, respectively. Access to the lower region was possible in 90% of right and 79% of left lower calyces, respectively (p=0.03). In cases with impossible access from PAL, the M.PER for a safe access was 46-47% for upper region and 34- 38% for middle and lower calyces of the kidney (P = 0.0001).Conclusions: Access to upper calyces from PAL was limited in some cases regarding to the presence of solid organs. Presence of colon made access impossible in the lower right and left calyces in about 10% and 20% of cases, respectively. In upper region, more deviation toward midline was necessary to establish a safe access compared with middle and lower calyces

An Approach to the Role of Context in the Exegetic Differences between Ayatollah Sadeqi Tehrani and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli in the Verse of Shortening the Prayers

One of the rational principles of conversation among human beings is attention to the context of words to understand their meaning and intent. Discovering the meanings and intent of verses of the Quran is also not exempt from this because they have been revealed in accordance with human language and the rules that govern it. Quranic exegetes have a consensus regarding the actual necessity of a ttention to contexts in exegesis; however, they differ in their views and way of utilizing context and this matter has played an effective role in the emergence of exegetic differences. The present study has been organized with the aim of examining and evaluating the approaches of Sadeqi Tehran and Javadi Amoli regarding the types of contexts and their effects on the exegetic differences about the verse of shortening the prayers using an analytic-comparative method. The findings of the study show that the two exegetes operate differently in their approach to context and its applications in the interpretation of the verse despite being aligned in their exegetic methods and religious denomination and this matter has a great impact on the exegetic differences between the two. Given that Sadeqi Tehrani is inclined, to a great extent, to Quran-sufficiency in interpretation, he has mostly used the conjunct and disjunct contextual proofs of verses and since he has a critical view toward narrations, has used narrative contexts less in the interpretation of the verse. However, even though Javadi Amoli has used proofs such as context and conjunct verses, considering that he regards the abovementioned verse as one of the verses that contain a religious ruling and that there are reliable narrations from the Infallibles (peace be upon them) that explain it, he has mostly used the disjunctive context of narrations

Identifying the Factors Affecting the Management of Addiction Treatment Clinics: A Qualitative Study

Background: Due to the expansion of addiction treatment clinics and the costs that these clinics incur on the government and the families of addicts, monitoring the performance of these clinics and the need to pay attention to the principles of management, efficiency, and effectiveness is essential. Objectives: The present study was conducted to identify the factors affecting the management of addiction treatment clinics. Methods: The present study is a descriptive-applied and cross-sectional study conducted in 2019. Experts and academic experts have been considered as the research community, and 18 people were selected as the research sample by the purposeful snowball method. Data collection tools were the review of relevant national and international documents as well as semi-structured exploratory interviews. Finally, after collecting information from the interview sections and reviewing the sources, the data foundation and coding methods (open, axial, and selective) were used to classify the data.Results: The findings of the study showed that the effective factors in the management of addiction treatment clinics are dimensions such as organization, planning, control, guidance as well as leadership and treatment management. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the effective factors in the management of addiction treatment clinics can be a good basis to evaluate managers so that the policies and programs of the organization can be upgraded, modified, and reviewed

Fictional Worlds, Real Connections: Developing Community Storytelling Social Chatbots through LLMs

We address the integration of storytelling and Large Language Models (LLMs) to develop engaging and believable Social Chatbots (SCs) in community settings. Motivated by the potential of fictional characters to enhance social interactions, we introduce Storytelling Social Chatbots (SSCs) and the concept of story engineering to transform fictional game characters into "live" social entities within player communities. Our story engineering process includes three steps: (1) Character and story creation, defining the SC's personality and worldview, (2) Presenting Live Stories to the Community, allowing the SC to recount challenges and seek suggestions, and (3) Communication with community members, enabling interaction between the SC and users. We employed the LLM GPT-3 to drive our SSC prototypes, "David" and "Catherine," and evaluated their performance in an online gaming community, "DE (Alias)," on Discord. Our mixed-method analysis, based on questionnaires (N=15) and interviews (N=8) with community members, reveals that storytelling significantly enhances the engagement and believability of SCs in community settings

Neurologic complications in percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) has been the preferred procedure for the removal of large renal stones in Iran since 1990. Recently, we encountered a series of devastating neurologic complications during PCNL, including paraplegia and hemiplegia. There are several reports of neurologic complications following PCNL owing to paradoxical air emboli, but there are no reports of paraplegia following PCNL. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who had undergone PCNL in 13 different endourologic centers and retrieved data related to neurologic complications after PCNL, including coma, paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia. Results: The total number of PCNL procedures in these 13 centers was 30,666. Among these procedures, 11 cases were complicated by neurologic events, and four of these cases experienced paraplegia. All events happened with the patient in the prone position with the use of general anesthesia and in the presence of air injection. There were no reports of neurologic complications in PCNL procedures performed with the patient under general anesthesia and in the prone position and with contrast injection. Conclusions: It can be assumed that using room air to opacify the collecting system played a major role in the occurrence of these complications. Likewise, the prone position and general anesthesia may predispose to these events in the presence of air injectio

Overall Survival and Functional Results of Prostate-Sparing Cystectomy

Purpose: To compare two matched groups of men with bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) who underwent prostate-sparing cystectomy (PSC) or conventional radical cystoprostatectomy (CRC). Materials and Methods: Twenty-three men who have undergone PSC with the diagnosis of EODGGHU�7&&��7D±7���IURP������WR������LQ�7HKUDQ��,UDQ�ZHUH�LQFOXGHG�LQ�WKH�VWXG\�DV�WKH�H[- perimental group. The control group composed of 27 men with comparable tumor characteristics and age range, who had non-nerve-sparing radical cystoprostatectomy and orthotopic ileal W pouch reconstruction in the same center. All the procedures were performed by the same surgical group under the supervision of different attending staff. Results: Mean follow-up period was 39 months in PSC and 35 months in CRC group. The 5-year overall survival was 47% and 30% in PSC and CRC groups, respectively. Median survival was 48 months in PSC and 36 months in CRC group, using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (P > .05). Impotence was observed in 16.6% in PSC and in 83.3% in CRC group (P� ��������0HDQ�,QWHUQDWLRQDO�,QGH[�RI�(UHFWLOH�)XQFWLRQ���VFRUH�RI�WKH�36&�JURXS�ZDV� 19.8 compared with 5.7 in the CRC group (P = .003). Only one patient in each group was completely incontinent. Urethral anastomosis stricture occurred in 2 patients in CRC group. Conclusion: Patients who underwent PSC did not show decreased overall survival compared to CRC, which provided better functional results. Keywords: urinary bladder neoplasms, transitional cell carcinoma, cystectomy, male, prognosis, adverse effect