The effect of hand reflexology on anxiety in patients undergoing coronary angiography: A single-blind randomized controlled trial

Background This study aimed to evaluate effects of hand reflexology on anxiety level in coronary angiography patients. Materials and methods This clinical trial recruited 80 eligible patients >6 months. The patients were randomly assigned to receive routine care plus either hand reflexology or a simple hand massage. Data were collected using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Both groups' anxiety levels were measured before (T0) and 30 min (T1) and 1 h after the intervention (T2). Findings The mean anxiety level in the intervention group decreased from 57.54 at baseline to 55.47 after the intervention (P = 0.0001). The values in the control group were 54.27 and 51.4, respectively. The two groups had statistically significant differences in the mean scores of anxiety at T0 and T1 (P = 0.003), T1 and T2, and T0 and T2 (P = 0.0001). Conclusion Hand reflexology could effectively decrease anxiety in coronary angiography patients

Developing geographic weighted regression (GWR) technique for monitoring soil salinity using sentinel-2 multispectral imagery

Soil salinity is a widespread natural hazard that negatively influences soil fertility and crop productivity. Using the potential of earth observation data and remote sensing technologies provides an opportunity to address this environmental issue and makes it possible to identify salt-affected regions accurately. While most of the utilized methods and model development techniques for monitoring soil salinity to date have been globally considered and tried to detect salinity and create predictive maps with a single regression algorithm, fewer studies have investigated the potential of local models and weighted regression techniques for estimating soil salinity. Accordingly, this research deals with monitoring surface soil salinity by the potential of Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery using the geographic weighted regression (GWR) technique. The field study was conducted in an area that has suffered from salinization, and the salinity of several soil samples was measured to be used as a source of ground truth data. The most efficient satellite features, which accurately predict surface soil salinity by its higher spectral reflectance, were derived from the Sentinel-2 data to be used as explanatory variables in the analysis. The GWR algorithm was then implemented with a fixed Gaussian kernel, and the optimized bandwidth was calculated in a calibration process using the cross-validation score (CV score). The results of the analysis proved that the GWR method has a great capability to predict soil salinity with an accuracy of two decimal places. The visual interpretation of the local estimates of coefficients and local t-values for each predictor variable has also been provided, which highlights the local variations in the study site. Finally, the achieved results were compared with the outcomes obtained from implementing two global regression techniques, Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), which confirmed the higher performance of the GWR algorithm

Effect of life review therapy with spiritual approach on the life quality among cancer patients

Background: Cancer as a global problem can affect different aspects of a patient's life. The number of people of all ages suffering from cancer is increasing. Psychological problems and reduction in quality of life are the most important issues among cancer patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of life review with spiritual approach on the life quality in cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial study was performed on 80 cancer patients in Kashan. Patients were randomly assigned to the two equal groups: the experimental and control groups. The quality of life questionnaire, EORTC QLQ - C30, was completed for both groups before the intervention. Then, six sessions of individual counseling on life review therapy with spiritual approach were held for the experimental group. One week after the last session, the quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ - C30) was completed for both groups again. Results: The mean quality of life scores changed from 27.5 in pretest to 75 in posttest for the experimental group, and from 33.75 in pretest to 21.87 in post-test for the control group. According to the results, the quality of life in the experimental group has significantly increased after the implementation of life review. Conclusion: Life review therapy with spiritual approach can improve quality of life in cancer patients. Therefore, this treatment can be used as an effective way to improve the life quality of these patients

Association between impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and acute myocardial infarction

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the most common cause of mortality affects the majority of adults. In addition to the risk associated with overt diabetes there appears to be a graded rise in cardiovascular risk with increasing degrees of glucose intolerance. This study was done to evaluate the association between acute myocardial infarction (MI) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Materials and Methods: In this case-control study 100 men and women were taken part in two equal groups. All participants of case group manifested nonfatal MI, while the participants of control group had no history of MI. The medical history and physical examination for evaluating diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dislipidemia history of cigarette smoking and related laboratory data were gathered. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square, OR, CI. Results: Mean age in control and case group was 54.9±9.82 and 53.1± 8.1, respectively. Twenty patients (42.5) in case group and 8 patients (16.3) in control group had impaired glucose tolerance. The results revealed statistically a significant difference between two groups (P=0.005, OR=3.72, CI=1.464-8.469). No significant difference was seen in sex, previous history of MI and other risk factors between the two groups prior to the study. Acute inferior MI in 22 patients was the most common type of MI (44). Anterior MI (42), lateral MI (12) and posterior MI (2) were other common types of MI. Conclusion: IGT is considered as a risk factor for MI. In conclusion, control of IGT for the patient having the risk factor for coronary artery disease is recommended

Behavioral habits and ischemic heart disease in Kashan, 1995

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are among the most common cause of death in Iran. Changes in life styles and habits may be accompanied by less mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular diseases. The present study was performed to determine the behavioral habits in ischemic heart disease in patients hospitalized in Shaheed Beheshti hospital in Kashan.Materials and methods : For this case-control study, patients admitted in CCU were considered as case and those noncardiac disease admitted in surgery or internal medicine wards were referred to as control. Groups were matched according to the sex and age. A questionnaire including sex, age, occupation, marital status, education level, smoking habit, daily activity, and OCP usage was completed for all participants. Results : 400 patients were equally distributed in two groups of case and control. In the case group70 patients (35) aged 66 or higher, 121 (60.7) were males, 87 were married, 62 were illiterate, an 35.5 were housewife. 39 (19.5) have frequently had salty meals. 57 (28.5) used animal-based oils. 132 (66) used tea or coffee frequently. 119 (59) reported mild-moderate physical activity. 53 (26.5) were smoker, among these, 53 smoked for 10-20 years and 30 smoked for more than 20 years. 18 (23) were OCP users, among these, 34 used these drugs for more than 5 years. Conclusion : A large proportion of our studied patients was married males aged greater 66 years. Further educational programs regarding low salt and fatty food intake as well as regular physical activity, cessation of smoking are strongly suggested

TREND ANALYSIS OF SOIL SALINITY IN DIFFERENT LAND COVER TYPES USING LANDSAT TIME SERIES DATA (CASE STUDY BAKHTEGAN SALT LAKE)

Soil salinity is one of the main causes of desertification and land degradation which has negative impacts on soil fertility and crop productivity. Monitoring salt affected areas and assessing land cover changes, which caused by salinization, can be an effective approach to rehabilitate saline soils and prevent further salinization of agricultural fields. Using potential of satellite imagery taken over time along with remote sensing techniques, makes it possible to determine salinity changes at regional scales. This study deals with monitoring salinity changes and trend of the expansion in different land cover types of Bakhtegan Salt Lake district during the last two decades using multi-temporal Landsat images. For this purpose, per-pixel trend analysis of soil salinity during years 2000 to 2016 was performed and slope index maps of the best salinity indicators were generated for each pixel in the scene. The results of this study revealed that vegetation indices (GDVI and EVI) and also salinity indices (SI-1 and SI-3) have great potential to assess soil salinity trends in vegetation and bare soil lands respectively due to more sensitivity to salt features over years of study. In addition, images of May had the best performance to highlight changes in pixels among different months of the year. A comparative analysis of different slope index maps shows that more than 76% of vegetated areas have experienced negative trends during 17 years, of which about 34% are moderately and highly saline. This percent is increased to 92% for bare soil lands and 29% of salt affected soils had severe salinization. It can be concluded that the areas, which are close to the lake, are more affected by salinity and salts from the lake were brought into the soil which will lead to loss of soil productivity ultimately

Evaluation of characteristics of children with leukemia in Kashan area from 1994-99

History and Objectives: Because leukemia is the most common disease and one of the curable malignancies in children, the present study was performed for the determination of characteristics of children with leukemia in Kashan area. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out on existing data of patients undergone diagnostic procedure and treatment in the ward of pediatric disease. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, cytogenetic and immunophenotype characteristics of patients were evaluated. Results: The study showed that frequency of leukemia in children before 1-year-old 5.5. ALL, AML frequency were 89 and 11 respectively. The most common clinical symptoms were paleness (60.5) hemorrhage (50) and fever (44). 17 of cases had WBC count more than 5000/mm³ and 27.5 of cases had platelet count less than 50000. Relapse occurred in 22 of cases with the bone marrow the most common place (11). Frequency of leukemia was 55.5 in boys and 44.5 in girls. 50 of patients had anemia. From cytogenetic point of view 44.5 were diploid and 5.5 aneuploid and evaluation was not performed for the rest. From immunophenotype point of view cases were divided to ALL with B cell origin (50), ALL with T cell origin (11), ALL with unknown origin (5.5), AML (11) and this evaluation wasn't performed for the 4 cases. Conclusion: Due to nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms of leukemia among children, for early diagnosis and treatment, more percise examination by physicians is emphasized. Also more extensive studies on the prognosis of patients is suggested

Epidemiology of head trauma in Kashan

Background: Head trauma is one the most common cause of death and hospitalization worldwide. With respect to the lack of informative data, the present study was carried out to determine the epidemiology of head trauma in Kashan. Materials and methods: It was a descriptive study. All patients who had referred during a one-year period to Naghavi Hospital with head trauma were included. Data were gathered through physical exam and also imaging modalities including CT scan. GCSS criteria was used to determine the severity of trauma. Results : Totally, we have studied 802 individuals with head trauma, of which, 71 were males and 29 were females. Their mean age was 25.7 years. Individuals under 10 years old were the most common affected age group (29.6). Car accident (49.6), falling down (35.3), and conflict (14.1) were the most common causes. Conclusion : The prevalence of head trauma is relatively high. Young adults are more commonly injured. This may impose further economic problems both for family and society

An investigation on the effect of continuous care model on depression, anxiety and stress among renal transplant patients

Renal transplant patients suffer from various mental and spiritual problems due to their fear of transplant rejection. In spite of some advancement in medical treatment of these patients, their mental problems are less considered. This research aims to study the effect of the continuous care on renal transplant patients' depression, anxiety, and stress in Kashan. The study was conducted in 2014. This is a clinical trial with 80 participants randomly classified into two groups of 40. Finally, there were 35 in each group. Data were gathered by the demographic questionnaire and the specialized depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) completed before and after the intervention. The control group received ordinary care and the experimental group received the continuous care for 3 months. Data were then analyzed by descriptive statistic, paired sample t-test and Mann-Whitney test with SPSS13. The participants' age mean was 48.19 ± 10.79. 43 were male and all transplantations were from mostly married strangers. There was no significant difference between two groups in terms of context features. Applying the continuous care model to the experimental group significantly reduced the mean scores for depression (p = 0.003), anxiety (p = 0.04), and stress (p = 0.01). However, no significant difference was observed in the control group. Additionally, there was no significant difference in depression, anxiety, and stress between two groups after the intervention. Applying the continuous care model reduces the mental disorders among renal transplant patients. So, to reduce the level of depression, anxiety, and stress, this model can be used