The relationship among mask-wearing, fatalism, and religiosity in a Muslim population: Implications for health education

Background: Understanding the relationship between religiosity and health behaviors helps us to tailor messages based on cultural beliefs. We conducted an online survey to find any relationship between fatalistic beliefs, religiosity, and mask-wearing in an Islamic context. Methods:The participants consisted of 503 subjects from the adult population of Kerman Province located in the Southeast of Iran. The measurement tool consisted of four sections; (A) demographic characteristics, (B) three items related to mask-wearing, (C) The God Locus of Health Control (G LHC) scale consisting of six items measuring fatalistic beliefs, (D) The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) consisting of five items measuring religiosity.Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.5 ± 10.9 years, and females consisted 60% (n=302) of the sample. More than one-fifth (n=109) reported a history of COVID-19 infection. Approximately one-third of respondents (n=163) reported full mask adherence. Logistic regression model showed that there was no significant relationship between mask adherence and religiosity (odds ratio: 1.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99-1.08) and fatalistic beliefs (OR:1.01; 95% CI: 0.98-1.04 ).Conclusion:We found no association of fatalism and religiosity with the mask-wearing during COVID-19 in the Iranian Muslim population. So we can conclude that religious beliefs may have no place in cultural tailoring of health messages for promoting mask adherence

Intravenous Morphine vs Intravenous Ketofol for Treating Renal Colic; a Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: The main purpose of emergency department (ED) management for renal colic  is prompt pain relief. The present study aimed to compare the analgesic effects of intravenus (IV) ketofol with morphine in management of ketorolac persistent renal colic. Methods: This study is a single blind randomized, clinical trial, on patients who were presented to ED with renal colic, whose pain was resistant to 30 mg IV ketorolac. The patients were randomly assigned to either IV morphine (0.1 mg/kg) or IV ketofol (0.75 mg/kg propofol and 0.75 mg/kg) and the measures of treatment efficacy were compared between the groups after 5 and 10 minutes. Results: 90 patients with mean age of 38.01 ± 9.78 years were randomly divided into 2 groups of 45 (66.7% male). Treatment failure rate was significantly lower in ketofol group after 5 (20% vs 62.2%, p < 0.001) and 10 minutes (11.1% vs 44.4%, p < 0.001). ARR and NNT for ketofol after 5 miutes were 42.22% (95% CI: 23.86 – 60.59) and 3 (95% CI: 1.7 - 4.2), respectively. After 10 minutes, these measures reached 33.33 (95% CI:16.16 – 50.51) and 4 (95% CI: 2.0 - 6.2), respectively. NNH and ARI for hallucination or agitation were 12 (95%CI: 5.8 - 174.2) and 8.89% (0.57 - 17.20), respectively. Conclusion: The results of the present study, showed the significant superiority of ketofol (NNT at 5 minute = 3 and NNT at 10 minute = 4)  in ketorolac resistant renal colic pain management. However, its NNH of 12, could limit its routine application in ED for this purpose

Evaluation of salivary glucose levels among children with early childhood caries compared to children with healthy teeth

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The present study was carried out with the aim to evaluate the salivary glucose levels among children with early childhood caries (ECC) compared to a group of healthy children without any caries and help control ECC. METHODS: 55 children with an age range of 5-6 years were selected from some kindergartens. Then the subjects were divided into two groups of with ECC & without ECC as test and control groups, respectively, then they referred to the Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. The salivary samples were collected from the subjects at 8 to 9 in the morning and sent to the laboratory to determine the salivary glucose levels. Data were analyzed using t-test with a significance level of P < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean salivary glucose level among girls and boys with ECC were 0.11 ± 0.06 and 0.15 ± 0.12 mmol/l, respectively, with 0.11 ± 0.07 for girls and 0.13 ± 0.05 mmol/l for boys in the control group. There was no significant difference between ECC and control groups in terms of the salivary glucose levels (P = 0.61). CONCLUSION: The present study showed no significant difference in the salivary glucose levels among children with ECC and the control subjects. KEYWORDS: Dental Caries; Saliva; Glucose; Childre

Correlation between Grades in the Medical Basic Science Course and Scores on the Comprehensive Basic Sciences Exam in Iran

Introduction: Medical students in Iran are required to undertake a Basic Sciences Comprehensive Exam (BSCE) at the end of their BS course in order to progress to the next stage of medical education. BSCE results are widely used to evaluate medical education programs among different medical universities. The aim of this study is to explore the correlation between BSCE results and students’ mean BS course scores.Methods: A cross-sectional study, using secondary data analysis, was carried out in 2007 in Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS) in Iran. Data from the 20th BSCE (held in 1998) to the 36th BSCE (held in 2006) was collected. All medical students who took these exams and for whom the mean results of the BS course and the BSCE were available were eligible for inclusion in the study. For each medical student, data were obtained regarding age at the time of participation in BSCE, together with sex, entrance year, zone as categorised by the national quota system, mean BS course scores, BSCE result, duration of BS course (number of semesters) and number of failed semesters. Students whose data was not complete were excluded from the study. Data was analysed by using SPSS 15 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) software.Results: 372 students undertook the BSCE during the research study period. Complete data was available for 365 medical students (98.1%). Among the participants, 224 (61.4%) were female and 141 (38.6%) were male. The mean age at the time of sitting the BSCE was 22.01±1.22. Mean BSCE scores were higher among students who had not previously failed a semester and who also finished the BS course within five semesters. Students with higher BS course scores had higher BSCE scores (P=0.000).Conclusions: Students’ BS course scores were found to correlate to BSCE results. Hence it may be prudent to identify medical students with low BS course scores, in order to provide additional educational support to improve their medical knowledge and thereby enhance their performance on the BSCE

Persian culinary metaphors: a cross-cultural conceptualization

Studies concerning the metaphorical use of language deal with metaphorical units from two particular perspectives: a mapping from one cognitive domain to another domain, and a grounding of the mapping as a reflection within image schema. The present study demonstrates the pervasiveness of culinary metaphors in Persian social and cultural interaction hypothesizing that related food metaphors may single out the unique status of eating/food in Persian culture and society. Investigating the metaphorical conceptualization of “THOUGHT AS FOOD”, TEMPERAMENT AS FOOD, and LUST AS FOOD within the MIND IS BODY concept is primarily based on the assumption that thought, human disposition, and sexual desires are in fact closely interrelated. Utilizing a particular conceptual metaphor model (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 1999; Ahrens, 2002) the image schema and proposition schema of related food metaphors are investigated in order to analyze cultural variations across Persian and English. The researchers suggest that cultural cognition which is distributed across the minds in a cultural group plays a key role as the source of cross-cultural variations

Emotional temperament in food-related metaphors: a cross-cultural account of the conceptualisations of ANGER

The manner temperaments manifested with the semantic domain of eating and food in a certain culture can be understood through a discussion of dietetic and culinary concepts of a particular culture. What people in a society and culture eat or like to eat may become an evaluation of their emotional temperaments and therefore an implication for portrayal of their specific cultural models. Calling into question the strong claims of ‘embodiment’ as an underlying motivation for emerging specific metaphorical concepts by Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff and Johnson 1980, 1999; Lakoff and Kövecses 1987), the close investigation of metaphorical uses of food-related concepts in Persian manifests that, in spite of some correspondences to those in English, ANGER metaphorical concepts are distinctive. The conceptual metaphor disparities highlight many vestiges of Galenic Theory, and Iranian Traditional Medicine Theory, suggesting that the cultural model of humoralism and dietetics have mingled in Persians’ life style. This is because their effects have been extended into Persian metaphoric language, and cognitive conceptualisations of ANGER emotion

Development and Validation of the Determinants of Childbearing Intention Questionnaire Based on Theory of Planned Behavior in Iranian Women

Background and purpose: In today's world, declining fertility rates have led most high- and middle-income countries to pursue pronatalist policies. To plan for fertility desire and intention, it is necessary to examine their determinants in different societies. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the validity and reliability of a questionnaire that could measure the components affecting the intention to have children. Materials and methods: First, based on an extensive review of the literature, the most appropriate conceptual framework for explaining the immediate components related to the intention to have children was identified. After that, using the literature and expert opinions, the desired domains were selected and experts approved the content of the domains and items via deductive method. The designed questionnaire was completed through interviewing 500 married women (15- 49 years) selected from visitors of inpatients in public and private hospitals in Kerman, Iran 2021. Then, the construct validity of the items indicating three main constructs affecting fertility intention were evaluated using exploratory factor analysis and known-groups validity. The item reliability of these three constructs were examined by calculating Cronbach's alpha. Results: The theory of planned behavior was selected as the theoretical framework for compiling the constructs of the questionnaire. The three immediate components affecting fertility intention were attitude (8 items), subjective norm (3 items), and perceived control (3 items). All three factors were factorable and the factor loadings of the items in each of the three constructs were above the acceptable minimum level of 0.4. The three factors explained 58% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha values for the three constructs were 0.83, 0.79, and 0.66, respectively. Conclusion: The determinants of childbearing intention questionnaire designed based on the theory of planned behavior had acceptable validity and reliability and can be used in Iranian married women

Emotional Temperament in Food-Related Metaphors: A Cross-Cultural Account of the Conceptualizations of SADNESS

What people in a society and culture eat or the way they consume their food may become a source domain for emotional temperament and therefore an implication for portrayal of their specific cultural models. Adopting the basic assumptions of the Lakoffian School on ‘experiential realism’ and ‘universal embodiment’ this study is an attempt to delve into the conceptual system of Persian in order to explore its specific socio-cultural motivations for the construction and semantic changes in the use of metaphorical concepts of sadness. The metaphorical uses of food-related concepts in Persian manifest that, in spite of some correspondences to those in English, sadness metaphorical concepts are distinctive in Persian. The conceptual metaphor variations reveal many vestiges of Hippocratic notions of humoral doctrine and Avicennian Traditional Medicine, suggesting that the cultural models of humoralism and dietetics have left their traces deeply in the Persians’ belief systems. The effects, therefore, have been extended into Persian metaphoric language.

Critical value in surgical pathology: evaluating the current status in a multicenter study

Abstract Background The concept of critical value is not evident in surgical pathology, and there is no established protocol for determining, reporting, and documenting these results. Materials and methods A questionnaire was designed regarding critical value in surgical pathology, and all pathologists and some clinicians from five laboratories were asked to participate through an invitation link. The most important items were selected, and all pathologists were instructed to follow a standard operating procedure to deal with critical results for a year. Results A total of 43 pathologists and 44 non-pathologists participated in the study. Some critical or unexpected items were selected. Most participants agreed that the optimal time to announce critical reports is within 24 h of establishing the final diagnosis, and a phone call was the most dependable communication option. In addition, the most qualified recipients were the attending physicians. Therefore, a written policy was implemented for a year. One hundred seventy-seven critical or unexpected cases (0.5%) were detected. Mucormycosis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were the most frequent critical cases. Conclusion There are no set criteria for critical items or the reporting process in surgical pathology. It is possible to establish more uniform norms for reporting these cases by boosting pertinent research efforts and recruiting more pathologists and physicians. Additionally, it is advised that each medical facility compile its own unique critical or unexpected diagnosis list