INSURANCE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION USING BSC-AHP COMBINED TECHNIQUE

Abstract. Insurance companies are expected to show successful performance in achieving their goals. The extent to which awareness of this organizational performance has been successful in achieving goals and where the position of organization is situated in the modern complex and dynamic context have taken on special importance to managers and organizations. Organization survival and activity are determined by competition ability and adoption of the most suitable policy for environmental changes. One of the most effective practices used by organizations is the use of performance evaluation in order to determine weaknesses and strengths of organizations and fix them and enhance their strengths. Performance management and evaluation play a prominent role in determining and implementingstrategies, as well as contributing to organizations’ competition power. In this regard, possessing a model for evaluating organization’s strategic performance seems essential. One of the techniques is the balanced scorecard which was introduced to evaluate organizations’ performance for the first time and is still recognized as a method of strategic planning which can be applicable. The balanced scorecard is a managerial concept which helps managers at all levels controls their key activities. In this research, we aim to assess the performance of various representatives of Kosar Insurance Co. in Qazvin using a combined approach, the balanced scorecard (BSC) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and prioritize them and explore their strengths and weaknesses.Keywords: performance evaluation, balanced scorecard, analytical hierarchy process, Qazvin Kosar Insuranc

New and known type 2 diabetes as coronary heart disease equivalent: results from 7.6 year follow up in a middle east population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate whether the known diabetes mellitus (KDM) or newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus (NDM) could be regarded as a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk equivalent among a relatively young Middle East population with high prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population based cohort study of 2267 men and 2931 women, aged ≥ 30 years. Prior CHD was defined as self-reported or ECG positive CHD at baseline, KDM as subjects using any kind of glucose-lowering medications and NDM according to fasting plasma glucose and 2-h postchallenge glycemia.</p> <p>Participants were categorized to six groups according to the presence of known or newly diagnosed DM and CHD at baseline (DM-/CHD-, DM-/CHD+, NDM+/CHD-, NDM+/CHD+, KDM+/CHD-, KDM+/CHD+) and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of CHD events for these DM/CHD groups, given DM-/CHD-as the reference.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During 7.6-year follow up, 358 CHD events occurred. After controlling traditional risk factors, HRs of CHD events for DM-/CHD+ group were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.1) and 5.2 (3.2-8.3) in men and women respectively. Corresponding HRs for NDM+/CHD-were 1.7 (1.1-2.7) and 3.1 (1.8-5.6) and for KDM+/CHD-were 1.7 (0.9-3.3) and 6.2 (3.6-10.6) in men and women respectively. The HRs for NDM+/CHD+ and KDM+/CHD+ groups (i.e. participants with history of both diabetes and CHD) were 6.4 (3.2-12.9) and 8.0 (4.3-14.8) in women and 3.2 (1.9-5.6) and 4.2 (2.2-7.8) in men, respectively.</p> <p>The hazard of CHD events did not differ between KDM+/CHD-and DM-/CHD+ in both genders using paired homogeneity test, however the HR for NDM+/CHD-was marginally lower than the HR for DM-/CHD+ in women (<it>p </it>= 0.085).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>KDM patients in both genders and NDM especially in men exhibited a CHD risk comparable to nondiabetics with a prior CHD, furthermore diabetic subjects with prior CHD had the worst prognosis, by far more harmful in women than men; reinforcing the urgent need for intensive care and prophylactic treatment for cardiovascular diseases.</p

Association of rs16917496 polymorphism at the miR-502 binding site in the SET8 3'UTR with the risk of Prostate Cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can bind to the 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of messenger RNAs, where they interfere with translation and thereby regulate cell differentiation, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis. Genetic polymorphisms in the 3'-UTRs targeted by miRNAs alter the strength of miRNA binding in a manner that affects the behavior of individual miRNAs. The histone methyltransferase SET8 has been reported to be a regulator of Tumor Protein 53 (TP53) methylation, a tumor suppressor gene, and regulate genomic stability. Furthermore, an association between the TP53 and Prostate Cancer has been reported in several studies. The present study aimed to evaluate whether (rs16917496) polymorphism at the miR-502 binding site in the 3' untranslated region of the histone methyltransferase SET8 is associated with the expression of this gene in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) patients.Materials and Methods: We examined whether an rs16917496 polymorphism is associated with the risk of PCa and BPH in the Iranian population. This case-control study included 40 patients with pathologically confirmed PCa, 59 patients with BPH, and 45 controls. The rs16917496 polymorphism was determined using a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).Results: We found significant association of rs16917496 in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The most frequent genotype in the control, prostate cancer, and BPH groups were TT, TC, and CC, respectively.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the heterozygote genotype of the SET8 polymorphism in the mir-502 gene could be considered a risk factor for the emergence of prostate cancer

The Genetic Causes of Male Infertility in Iranian Population; A systematic Review

Introduction: Infertility affects an estimated 15% of couples globally and in Iran, a quarter of couples experiences primary infertility. Males are found to be individually responsible for 20-30% of infertility cases and contribute to 50% of cases totally. When assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are used to acquire pregnancy, a sufficient (epi) genetic diagnosis of male infertility (MI) is of main matter to consider if a genetic abnormality will be transmit-ted to offspring. Infertility centers together with Infertility research centers had been founded since 1994 in Iran and many articles from research projects have been published.Materials and Methods: This literature investigated the possible genetic causes mechanisms underlying Iranian male infertility by extensive article searches.  First, we reviewed available data from the Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, IranMedex, MEDLIB, IranDoc and Scientific Information Database were searched for articles published until 2018, using the MeSH terms for a variety of chromosome abnormalities, Y-chromosome microdeletions, gene mutations, expression and polymorphisms, Male infertility and/or Iranian, regional and international population, to provides the evidence- based and a comprehensive, up-to- date evaluation of the multifactorial factors involved in Iranian infertile men.  Results: According to the strategy adopted initially, 274 manuscripts were found. After reviewing the titles, abstracts and manuscripts entirely cited, the total of 139 articles were obtained and selected according to the eligibility criteria. The 139 studies were divided into four predetermined categories that mentioned above.  Studies have good methodological validity. The sample is quite heterogeneous, given the very different design of the studies.Conclusion: MI is a complex, multi-factorial disease and the underlying reasons frequently remain unknown. It seems that the first line of genetic diagnosis in Iranian male infertility is similar to Global One. In all investigations conducted in Iran, there are vacancies in studies such as epigenetic modification studies, RNA (lncRNA, miRNA and piRNA) abnormalities, mutation detection and polymorphism studies in other genes involved in the spermatogenesis process. At present, we have a little information for some polymorphisms (MTHFR, GST, ER, and DAZL) and mutations (mtDNA, CATSPER) which require more extensive studies. Such articles help to find a better insight into the causes of infertility in the Iranian men's community and will provide valuable visions into the development of targeted personalized treatments for patients and the ascertainment of the reasons of idiopathic infertility.

Are the determinants of the progression to type 2 diabetes and regression to normoglycemia in the populations with pre-diabetes the same?

Funding The main project has been funded by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Numerical Simulation of Flow Pattern around the Bridge Pier with Submerged Vanes

Bridges are very important for establishing communication paths. For this reason, it is important to control scour around bridge piers. Several methods have been proposed for scour control. One of the most useful methods is the use of submerged vanes. In the other hand, laboratory circumstances force many considered effective factors to be skipped in the scour phenomenon. In this situation, the importance of using numerical models would appear even more. In this research, numerical simulation of the flow pattern around the piers surrounded by submerged vanes has been carried out. For this purpose, the structure simulated in three dimensions using Fluent software. K-ε turbulence model with VOF and mixture models for multiphase flow simulation were applied. Afterward analysis of the water surface profiles, velocity distribution profiles, and shear tension of the bed in multiple placements conditions including multiple vanes within two flow intensity and two different angles were performed. The results showed that there is a good agreement between numerical and experimental results. The best models in this research were found to be Realizable k-ε turbulence model with VOF multiphase model for water surface profile and velocity distribution profiles. The maximum extracted relative errors for water surface profiles and velocity distribution profiles were 2.23% and 2.92%, respectively. Also, analysis of the counts and placement angles showed that 6 vanes rather to 2 and 4 vanes and also angle of 30 degrees rather to angle of 20 degree performs better in action. The other results of this study, are no change in water surface profiles, reduction of the velocity and the amount of shear stress around the piers in different placement conditions including multiple submerged vanes

Assosition of diabetes and hypertension with the incidence of chronic kidney disease: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

زمینه و هدف: بیماری مزمن کلیوی اختلالی شایع است که با افزایش خطر بیماری های قلبی- عروقی، نارسایی کلیه و بروز عوارض دیگر همراه است. پیر شدن جمعیت و رشد شیوع جهانی دیابت و فشار خون بالا باعث افزایش شیوع بیماری مزمن کلیوی در سراسر جهان شده است. در این مطالعه ما به بررسی خطر دیابت، فشار خون بالا و برهمکنش آن ها بر بروز بیماری مزمن کلیوی پرداختیم. روش بررسی: این مطالعه یک مطالعه ثانویه بر داده های مطالعه قند و لیپید تهران است. در این مطالعه یک جمعیت 7342 نفری20 سال و بالاتر (8/46 مرد) مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. ابتدا شرکت کنندگان به 4 گروه تقسیم شدند: گروه اول: شامل افراد بدون دیابت و بدون فشار خون بالا، گروه دوم: افراد دارای دیابت و بدون فشار خون بالا، گروه سوم: افراد بدون دیابت و دارای فشار خون بالا و گروه چهارم: افراد دارای هر دو عامل دیابت و فشار خون بالا بودند. سپس با استفاده از مدل رگرسیونی چند متغیره کاکس نسبت مخاطره هر گروه نسبت به گروه اول و با تعدیل متغیرهای سن، میزان پالایش گلومرولی، تحصیلات، وضعیت سیگار کشیدن، کلسترول سرم، تری گلیسیرید سرم، HDL سرم، نمایه توده بدنی و نمره گرایش محاسبه شد. یافته ها: در مردان گروه دوم، دیابت (بدون فشار خون بالا) با نسبت مخاطره (69/2-39/1)94/1 و در مردان گروه سوم فشار خون بالا (بدون دیابت) با نسبت مخاطره (96/1-27/1)58/1 هر دو عامل خطر بیماری مزمن کلیوی بودند. به همین ترتیب در زنان نیز نسبت مخاطره دیابت و فشار خون بالا به ترتیب (51/1-93/0)18/1 و (47/1-05/1)24/1 بود. همچنین در مردان و زنان دیابت با فشار خون بالا برهمکنش معنی داری در بروز بیماری مزمن کلیوی نداشتند. نتیجه گیری: یافته های این مطالعه نشان می دهد که فشار خون بالا بدون توجه به حضور یا عدم حضور دیابت در هر دو جنس یک عامل خطر مستقل در بروز بیماری مزمن کلیوی می باشد

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran: A review of epidemiological aspects, with emphasis on molecular findings

Leishmania parasites can cause zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) by circulating between humans, rodents, and sandflies in Iran. In this study, published data were collected from scientific sources such as Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Springer, ResearchGate, Wiley Online, Ovid, Ebsco, Cochrane Library, Google scholar, and SID. Keywords searched in the articles, theses, and abstracts from 1983 to 2021 were cutaneous leishmaniasis, epidemiology, reservoir, vector, climatic factors, identification, and Iran. This review revealed that CL was prevalent in the west of Iran, while the center and south of Iran were also involved in recent years. The lack of facilities in suburban regions was an aggravating factor in the human community. Some parts of southern Iran were prominent foci of CL due the presence of potential rodent hosts in these regions. Rhombomys opimus, Meriones lybicus, and Tatera indica were well-documented species for hosting the Leishmania species in Iran. Moreover, R. opimus has been found with a coinfection of Leishmania major and L. turanica from the northeast and center of Iran. Mashhad, Kerman, Yazd, and sometimes Shiraz and Tehran foci were distinct areas for L. tropica. Molecular identifications using genomic diagnosis of kDNA and ITS1 fragments of the parasite indicated that there is heterogeneity in leishmaniasis in different parts of the country. Although cutaneous leishmaniasis has been a predicament for the health system, it is relatively under control in Iran

Cervical Infection with Herpes simplex

Tragically, genital tract infections are still a major public health problem in many regions. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of cervical infection with Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) among married women referring to Iranian Hospital, Dubai, UAE. In a retrospective cross-sectional survey, 201 female patients aged 16–80 years who referred to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Iranian Hospital, Dubai, UAE, in 2010 were enrolled. The patients were categorized into three age groups: 15–30 (group I), 31–40 (group II), and ≥41 years old (group III). A cervical swab sample was collected from each woman and the prevalence of cervical infection with HSV, CT, and NG was determined by PCR method. HSV, CT, and NG were detected in 6.5%, 10.4%, and 5.5% of swab samples, respectively. Regarding age, a significant difference was noticed for prevalence of NG and HSV between groups I and III. Because of public health importance of sexual transmitted diseases (STDs), their long-lasting impact on quality of life, and their economic burden, preventing measures and education of women seem necessary

Evaluation of Cause of Deaths' Validity Using Outcome Measures from a Prospective, Population Based Cohort Study in Tehran, Iran

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of cause of death stated in death certificates in Tehran using outcome measures of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS), an ongoing prospective cohort study. METHODS: The cohort was established in 1999 in a population of 15005 people, 3 years old and over, living in Tehran; 3551 individuals were added to this population three years later. As part of cohort's outcome measures, deaths occurring in the cohort are investigated by a panel of medical specialists (Cohort Outcome Panel--COP) and underlying cause of death is determined for each death. The cause of death assigned in a deceased's original death certificate was evaluated against the cause of death determined by COP and sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were determined. In addition, determinants of assigning accurate underlying cause of death were determined using logistic regression model. RESULT: A total of 231 death certificates were evaluated. The original death certificates over reported deaths due to neoplasms and underreported death due to circulatory system and transport accidents. Neoplasms with sensitivity of 0.91 and PPV of 0.71 were the most valid category. The disease of circulatory system showed moderate degree of validity with sensitivity of 0.67 and PPV of 0.78. The result of logistic regression indicated if the death certificate is issued by a general practitioner, there is 2.3 (95% CI 1.1, 5.1) times chance of being misclassified compared with when it is issued by a specialist. If the deceased is more than 60 years, the chance of misclassification would be 2.5 times (95% CI of 1.1, 5.9) compared with when the deceased is less than 60 years