Effect of gait retraining on balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression in stroke patients

Objectives: Stroke is one of the most common neurological diseases and it is the main cause of physical and mental disability and staying in house. Gait difficulties have high incidence in patients with stroke. So the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gait retraining on balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression in stroke patients Methods: This study was a clinical trial without control group. Sampling was performed by convenience sampling method and 18 patients participated. After recording demographic data, Berg Balance Scale, Barthel Index, SF36 questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II used in pre-test and post-test to assess balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression, respectively. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and paired T-test. Results: The results showed statistically significant correlation in pre-test and difference between mean score of the all instruments before and after the intervention. Discussion: According to high prevalence of gait difficulties in stroke patients, it seems interventions in this area were necessary. Statistical results showed that the gait retraining intervention may have a positive effect on improving balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression of these patients. According to lack of information in this area, further research is needed

Identifying the Components of Effective Learning Environments Based on Health Students\' Perception

Aims: Effective learning environment can lead to establish and strengthen the appropriate conditions of learning in higher education. This study aimed to identify and define the factors associated with effective learning environment in the field of health education. Participants & Methods: This qualitative study with content analysis approach was conducted in 2013. Participants were 9 graduate and 7 undergraduate students of health majors that were selected using purposive sampling method. Data were recorded by interview and were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: Analysis of the data revealed 4 themes and 13 classes active and interactive teaching (participating viewpoints of students in educational planning, engaging students in class discussions, providing practical examples to understand the content, relaxing about expressed thoughts, the possibility of constructive criticism master plan of activities and according to the conditions and individual differences between students), Joyful atmosphere (academic motivation, the joy of learning and attendance, a sense of acceptance and respect from teachers and classroom dynamics and vitality and fatigue), relation of courses with professional needs (knowledge of the needs of the job in training course content and related training to the needs of job opportunities) and professors’ scientific and power and expert (expertise and scientific capabilities in the field of teaching). Conclusion: 4 major themes and their characteristics can help to organize the learning environment in medical education

The Casual Relationship between Perfectionism and chievement Goals with Test Anxiety with Mediating Role of Self-efficacy in High-school Male Students

The aim of the present study was to examine the casual relationship between perfectionism and achievement goals with test anxiety with mediating role of self-efficacy in high-school male students of Ahvaz city. The population of this study consisted of all the high-school male students of Ahvaz city in 1391-92. The sample of this study consists of 360 students who were selected by multi-stage random sampling method. The variables were measured by Test anxiety Scale, Self-efficacy Scale Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and Achievement Goals Questionnaire–Revised. Also the path analysis method was used to test the fitness of the suggested model.  The result of the research showed that the direct paths of self-oriented perfectionism to test anxiety and self-efficacy were significant statistically. Also, the relation between other-oriented perfectionism with self-efficacy was insignificant and its relation with test anxiety was significant and also the relation between society- oriented perfectionism with self-efficacy was insignificant. In addition, the path between mastery-approach goal and performance-approach goal, with self-efficacy was significant and the relation between mastery-approach goal, with test anxiety and self-efficacy is statistically significant. Also, the relation between performance-avoidance goal with self-efficacy was insignificant and its relation with anxiety test was significant and the relation between self-efficacy with test anxiety was significant. On the other hand, the result showed that the indirect relation of from self-oriented perfectionism with test anxiety via self-efficacy was significant and the relation between other- oriented perfectionism and socially-oriented perfectionism with test anxiety via self-efficacy was insignificant. In addition, the result showed that the relation between mastery-approach goal, performance-approach goal and mastery-avoidance goal with test anxiety via self-efficacy was significant and also the relation between performance-avoidance goal and with test anxiety via self-efficacy was in significant

Development a new index for littered waste assessment in different environments: A study on coastal and urban areas of northern Iran (Caspian Sea)

The coastal pollution has been evaluated using indexes like Clean Coast Index (CCI) in many countries. In this study, several coasts and urban areas in northern of Iran along the Caspian Sea, were assessed in terms of number and composition of litters. Furthermore, Clean Environment Index (CEI) was used for the first time to interpret the results. The results indicated that 60 of the coasts and 50 of the urban areas were in a dirty status and only 22 of the total surveyed areas were found to be in a clean status. The highest number of litters observed in the study areas was cigarette butt. Due to the impact of risk factor of different types of littered waste, it was obviously clear that CEI offers a more realistic and rigorous interpretation than CCI. Therefore, this new index can be considered to evaluate litters pollution in various areas. © 2021 Elsevier Lt