Examining the effects of psychological reactance on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: Comparison of two countries.

BACKGROUND: Despite the public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines being necessary to achieve ample immunization rates and, in turn, put an end to the global pandemic, vaccine hesitancy and refusal are on the rise. To detect and address the concerns of those who are hesitant, it is critical to identify all potential factors behind vaccine decision-making in order to devise strategies to enhance vaccine acceptance and uptake. METHODS: We retrieved a total of 742 and 685 completed questionnaires from Iran and France, respectively; after initial cleaning and data screening, the number of usable questionnaires dropped to 714 and 664. We evaluate the distinct vaccination and lockdown restrictions in Iran and France and used multi-group analysis to evaluate structural path models of French and Iranian people, revealing a significant difference between the two groups in vaccination-related decisions. This empirical study is one of the first to employ the measurement invariance was evaluated using the measurement invariance for composite (MICOM) approach in testing partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) measurement invariance and one of the first to use both Henseler's MGA and Henseler's permutation method to perform multi-group analysis (MGA). RESULTS: MGA revealed significant differences in the effects of influential factors on vaccine acceptance across France and Iran. In other words, many determining factors are likely to be context-dependent. The study revealed that reactance (due to restrictions and perceived scarcity) and financial strain significantly influenced COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake among Iranians; however, among the French, confidence, and convenience were far more influential. CONCLUSIONS: These cross-cultural differences point to the importance of conducting additional research in this area that directly compares various effects across countries. Each country's public health authorities and policymakers could use these insights to develop more targeted strategies and, in turn, boost vaccination rates among the public

Evaluation of expression levels of microRNA processing elements in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract Background MicroRNAs have a significant role in the function and development of the hearing system. Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a complicated disorder with no long-established reason. Since microRNAs play imperative roles in every aspect of the neural system, their dysregulation may contribute to the onset of SSNHL. The current study aimed to assess the expression patterns of microRNA processing elements (DROSHA, DICER, and DGCR-8) as the vital factors in microRNA biology that can affect the expression levels of microRNA. This study assessed DROSHA, DICER, and DGCR-8 mRNA expression levels in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 50 patients with SSNHL and 50 matched controls. After the isolation of PBMC, total RNA was extracted, and the expression levels of DROSHA, DICER, and DGCR-8 genes were evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR. Results The results illustrated significant up-regulation of DICER and DGCR-8 genes in SSNHL patients at the mRNA level. Furthermore, despite no significant change in DROSHA level, DICER and DGCR-8 were significantly correlated with SSNHL. However, there was no significant correlation between these gene expressions and the clinicopathological features of patients. Conclusion This study verified for the first time that the DGCR_8 and DICER mRNA expression levels were significantly up-regulated in patients with SSNHL, proposing that microRNAs and their processing pathways play key roles in the progression and development of SSNHL