Focused Ethnography in Health Sciences Research: A Review Article

Introduction: Focused ethnography is a distinct type of sociological ethnography which particularly is predominantly used in applied health studies. Considering Due to the application of focused ethnography in clinical research and lack of Persian sources for this research methodology, this study was conducted to provide a comprehensive thorough explanation of focused ethnography based on the available resources. Method: This paper is a traditional review of 21 articles and 17 books in relation toon focused ethnography which have been published between 1979 and 2015. These documents have beenwere retrieved from databases including ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, and PubMed as well as relevant books using keywords of qualitative research, ethnography, and focused ethnography. and Then, they have beenwere analyzedsed in terms of major themes and common concepts. In this review, English articles, which included certain English search terms in their title or keyword section, were evaluated. Results: Focused ethnography investigates the relationship between cultural beliefs and health behaviors and instead of exploring large cultural groups and ethnicities focusesd on the shared behaviours and experiences of small groups. In focused ethnographic methodsstudies, data are collected through semi-structured interviews and observation combined with field notes, cultural and /personal interactions, and the use of demographic data sheets. The analysis of the data started was conducted simultaneously with data collection. Conclusion: Generally, focused ethnography is a methodology to of building background knowledge in order to take the required measures to design therapeutic interventions in line with the culture of a society, and consequently, improveing public health. Keywords: Ethnography, Focused ethnography, Qualitative study, Health sciences research

Parenting styles and academic procrastination

The present study examined the relationship between the parenting styles and academic procrastination. Three-hundred-ninety- five Shiraz University students (261 girls and 134 boys) were participants of the study. Steinberg's Parenting Styles Scale (2005) and Solomon & Rothblum's Academic Procrastination Scale (1984) were used as measures of the study. Simultaneous multiple regression of academic procrastination total score on the parenting styles subscales, revealed that the “acceptance-involvement” and “psychological autonomy-granting” styles were significant and negative predictor of the academic procrastination, whereas the “behavioral strictness-supervision” style had a significant predict power for the academic rocrastination

Short-term load forecasting of microgrid via hybrid support vector regression and long short-term memory algorithms

© 2020 by the authors. Short-Term Load Forecasting (STLF) is the most appropriate type of forecasting for both electricity consumers and generators. In this paper, STLF in a Microgrid (MG) is performed via the hybrid applications of machine learning. The proposed model is a modified Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) called SVR-LSTM. In order to forecast the load, the proposed method is applied to the data related to a rural MG in Africa. Factors influencing the MG load, such as various household types and commercial entities, are selected as input variables and load profiles as target variables. Identifying the behavioral patterns of input variables as well as modeling their behavior in short-term periods of time are the major capabilities of the hybrid SVR-LSTM model. To present the efficiency of the suggested method, the conventional SVR and LSTM models are also applied to the used data. The results of the load forecasts by each network are evaluated using various statistical performance metrics. The obtained results show that the SVR-LSTM model with the highest correlation coefficient, i.e., 0.9901, is able to provide better results than SVR and LSTM, which have the values of 0.9770 and 0.9809, respectively. Finally, the results are compared with the results of other studies in this field, which continued to emphasize the superiority of the SVR-LSTM model

Prevalence of Epstein–Barr virus, Human Papillomavirus and Porphyromonas Gingivalis in Oral Cancer

Background: Multiple risk factors are supposed to progress oral cavity carcinoma and among them, the role ofneither bacterial nor viral infections should be underestimated. Despite relentless efforts, the accelerating effectsof human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) onoral cancer has not yet been recognized successfully. Taking advantage of these facts, in this study we evaluatedthe prevalence of HPV, EBV, and P. gingivalis in oral cavity carcinoma.Materials and Methods: A total of 43 oral cavity cancerous tissues and 29 healthy oral ones were collected fromLoghman Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between 2016 and 2018. After DNA extraction, the prevalence of HPV, EBV,and P. gingivalis was evaluated by PCR.Results: There were 53.5 well-differentiated (15 male, 9 female), 41.8% moderate (10 male, 5 female), and4.7% poor (1 male, 3 female) adenocarcinoma paraffin-embedded tissue samples. PCR analysis has shownthat there were 1 HPV (age: 46; moderate adenocarcinoma) and 1 EBV (age: 62; moderate adenocarcinoma)positive in different samples. No P. gingivalis was found and there was not any infected tissue with both EBVand HPV. In 31% of control tissues, blisters were observed and in 51.7% there was no mucus. We did not findany association between age, sex, and HPV, EBV positive samples.Conclusion: As sample size can affect the results of epidemiological and clinical study, and due to the lownumber of positive samples in this study, we concluded that HPV, EBV, and P. gingivalis may not have adetrimental effect on the progression of oral cancer, but further studies are needed

Targeting enteroviral 2A protease by a 16-mer synthetic peptide: Inhibition of 2Apro-induced apoptosis in a stable Tet-on HeLa cell line

AbstractEnteroviridae such as coxsackievirus are important infectious agents causing viral heart diseases. Viral protease 2A (2Apro) initiates the virus life cycle, and is an excellent target for developing antiviral drugs. Here, to evaluate the validity of the 2Apro as a proper therapeutic target, and based on the existing information and molecular dynamics, a 16-mer peptide was designed to specifically target the active site of protease 2Apro in order to block the activity of CVB3 2Apro. We showed that the peptide could compete with endogenous substrate in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, we established a HeLa cell line that expressed 2Apro. Expression of 2Apro resulted in significant morphological alteration and eventual cell death. Western blot and viability assay showed that the 16-mer peptide (200 μg/ml) could significantly block 2Apro activity and its cytotoxic effect. Future modification of the 16-mer peptide can improve its affinity for 2Apro and therefore develop effective antiviral drug

Cytotoxicity and immunogenicity evaluation of synthetic cell-penetrating peptides for methotrexate delivery

Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the most effective therapeutics to treat different types of solid tumors; however, it suffers low permeability limiting its bioavailability and cellular uptake. To tackle this, we aim to design and fabricate different types of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) to improve the intracellular uptake of MTX without causing any immunogenic response. CPPs were synthesized by the solid-phase peptide synthesis method. Peptide-MTX conjugates were prepared via covalent binding of peptide and drug molecule. CPPs and peptide-E8 nanoparticles were characterized using zeta-sizer and scanning electron microscopy. Cytotoxicity of CPPs and peptide-MTX conjugates was evaluated by MTT assay. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to assess the IL-6 and TNF-α cytokine release profile. Amongst all sequences, W4 R4-MTX possessed the highest loading efficiency (97%) and drug to peptide percentage (24.02%). The lowest loading efficiency (36%) and drug to peptide percentage (8.76%) were seen for NGRWK-MTX conjugates. The NGRWR peptide and NGRWR-E8 nanoparticles had acceptable size (~100 nm) with spherical and rod-like structures, respectively. The selected CPPs and peptide-MTX conjugates did not show any cytotoxicity or immunogenicity. The fabricated peptides are represented as promising carriers to improve the intracellular delivery of MTX to cancer cells with low immunogenic and cytotoxic effects on normal cells

Investigate the effect of metformin on some of the behavioral indicators in ovariectomized middle aged mice

Introduction: Aging process is inevitable, which increases the risk of illness and death in people. Menopause occurs as a part of the aging process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of metformin (Met) on muscle strength, anxiety and memory in ovariectomized mice Methods: Thiswas an experimental study.  96 female mice (Age 6 months) (20-25 g) were randomly divided into sex groups, including: (1) sham, (2) ovariectomized, (3 and 4) ovariectomized + Met (1 and 10 mg/kg) (5) Met 10 mg/kg, and (6) healthy. At first, the mice were ovariectomized and then received Met for six months. Muscle strength, memory, and anxiety in the exprimental groups was examined. Statistical analysis was performed via SPSS16 and the differences between groups were analyzed by one way ANOVA. Results: The results of the study showed Met with doses of 1 mg / kg and 10 mg significantly reduced the  anxiety of mice (p = 0.0295 and p = 0.0024, respectively), increased memory (p = 0.0004 and p = 0.0044, respectively) and at dose of 10 mg / kg it improved muscle strength (p = 0.0148) compared to the ovariectomy group. Conclusion: Metformin  has beneficial effects on behavioural manifestations of aging and ovarectom

Description of Ventricular Arrhythmia after Taking Herbal Medicines in Middle-Aged Couples

Medicinal herbs and some derivatives have been used in the treatment of heart disease which is rarely responsible for ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. Ventricular tachycardia (VT) increases the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, only a few reports are available about the cardiac ventricular arrhythmia followed by taking herbal medicines. We present two patients (a couple) without a history of heart disease who referred to the hospital with ventricular arrhythmia