Reliability and factorial structure of the farsi version of the Arabic scale of death anxiety in an iranian middle-aged sample

The present study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) in an Iranian middle-aged sample. A sample of 55 volunteer Iranian persons took part in the study. Cronbach's alpha of the ASDA was found to be high (0.91) and Spearman-Brown and Guttman Split-Half coefficients were 0.86. The factor analysis of the ASDA items yielded five factors accounting for 72.49 of the total variance and labeled (F1) fear of death and fear of dead people; (F2) fear of postmortem events and fear of tombs; (F3) fear of lethal disease; (F4) preoccupation with after death, and death fear in sleep; and (F5) fear of deprivation of own ones. The ASDA has a good validity and reliability, and it can be used in clinical, educational, and research settings. © 2016 Mahboubeh Dadfar and Fazel Bahrami

Potassium 2-oxoimidazolidine-1,3-diide: An effective and new catalyst for the grinding synthesis of (1H-indol-3-yl)methyl-2H-indan-1,3-diones

Potassium 2-oxoimidazolidine-1,3-diide (POImD) is easily used as an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of 2H-indene-1,3-dione derivatives by a reaction between indoles, 2H-indene-1,3-dione and aldehydes at room temperature. All reactions are performed in humid POImD in high to excellent yield during short reaction time. Further, the catalyst can be reused and recovered for several times without loss of activity.               KEY WORDS: 1,3-Indandione, Indole, POImD, One pot reaction Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018, 32(2), 399-405.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i2.1

Heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of 2, 4-dinitrophenol in aqueous solution by magnetic carbonaceous nanocomposite: catalytic activity and mechanism

Herein, the catalytic properties of a carbonaceous nanocomposite in the catalytic ozonation process (COP) of 2, 4-dinitrophenol (2, 4-DNP) were investigated and the results were compared with those obtained from single ozonation process (SOP). Magnetic carbonaceous nanocomposite, as a novel catalyst, was applied to optimize the condition for the removal of 2, 4-DNP in the COP, and the influential parameters such as pH, catalyst dosage, addition of radical scavengers, and durability were all evaluated. The results showed that the degradation efficiency of 2, 4-DNP and COD in the COP (98.2, 92) was higher compared to the SOP (75, 61) and the highest catalytic potential was achieved at an optimal pH of 6. The first-order modeling demonstrated that the reactions were dependent on the concentration of the catalyst, with the kinetic constants varying from 0.022 (1/min) in the SOP to 1.377 (1/min) in the COP at the catalyst dosage of 4 g/L and the optimum concentration of catalyst (2 g/L). The addition of radical scavenger noticeably diminished the removal efficiency of 2, 4-DNP in the SOP from 75 down to 54, while the corresponding values for the COP dropped from 98.2 to 93. Furthermore, a negligible reduction in the catalytic properties of the catalyst was observed (~5) after five-time reuse. The results also revealed that the applied method is effectively suitable for the removal of 2, 4-DNP contaminant from industrial wastewaters. © 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved

Tumour-necrosis factor-A polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk: a meta-analysis

Inflammation is one of the early phases in the development of gastric cancer. Therefore, several studies have examined the association of polymorphisms in tumour-necrosis factor-A gene (TNF-A) with gastric cancer risk. This meta-analysis reviews and summarises published evidence for these associations. Searching several databases yielded 24 independent studies that reported on the associations between TNF-A polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk. We analysed available data for the most commonly investigated polymorphisms: TNF-A –308G>A (23 studies), TNF-A –238G>A (9 studies), and TNF-A –857C>T (5 studies). Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated in the random-effects model using the DerSimonian–Laird method. Q-statistic and I2-statistic were calculated to examine heterogeneity, and funnel plots were plotted to examine small study effects. The overall ORs (95% CIs) for AG and AA genotypes vs GG genotype for TNF-A –308 were 1.09 (0.94–1.27) and 1.49 (1.11–1.99), respectively. For TNF-A –238, the corresponding ORs (95% CIs) were 1.05 (0.84–1.33) and 1.25 (0.30–5.26), respectively. The overall ORs (95% CIs) for CT and TT genotypes (vs CC) for TNF-A –857 were 1.06 (0.89–1.27) and 1.57 (0.91–2.70), respectively. The statistically significant association between TNF-A –308GG and gastric cancer was limited to western populations. This association showed little heterogeneity (I2=0) and remained consistently strong when analyses were limited to anatomic and histologic subtypes of gastric cancer, or limited to studies in which genotype frequencies were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, or limited to larger studies. These same subgroup analyses did not change results associated with other polymorphisms. In conclusion, TNF-A –308AA genotype was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of gastric cancer, whereas other studied polymorphisms were not. The association between TNF-A –857TT genotype and gastric cancer was near significant, and may become significant if more studies are published

Death Anxiety, Reliability, Validity, and Factorial Structure of the Farsi Form of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety in Iranian Old-Aged Persons

The present study is aimed at examining the level of death anxiety and the sex-related differences among old-aged Iranian individuals sample to compare the old-aged persons with young college students and to explore the psychometric properties of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) factors in old-aged sample. A sample of 146 volunteer Iranian individuals took part in the study. The mean ages were 68.58 (SD = 7.10), men 68.81 (SD = 7.44) and women 68.28 (SD = 6.76), respectively. The mean score of the ASDA was 51.09 (SD = 20.19). Cronbach's alpha of the ASDA was found to be high (0.94); and Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0.92. Women had a significantly higher mean total score on the ASDA. Old-aged individuals had a significantly higher mean ASDA total score than younger college students (M age = 25.77). The factor analysis of the ASDA items yielded three factors accounting for 67.88 of the total variance labeled (F1) fear of dead people and tombs; (F2) fear of lethal disease and postmortem events; and (F3) death fear. These factors were highly replicable with previous factors extracted from a middle-aged Kuwaiti sample. On the basis of the present results, there are the following three general conclusions: death anxiety is not significantly correlated with age; the sex-related differences on death anxiety are striking in the Iranian samples; and the ASDA has a highly replicable factor structure among two Iranian and Arab countries. © 2016 Mahboubeh Dadfar et al

Relationship between Human Resource Accounting in Management Decision Mand Behavior of Employees in Company Stock Based on Structural Equation Modeling

Nowadays, in many countries, human resources is being used as a source of property by many social an economical organizations in order to enhance the level of their operation. Investors and other related groups in order to make better decisions need to use some expressions related to the value of human resources. Using human resource accounting organizations seeking to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human resource management and human resources. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of accounting, human resources managers in decision-making and behavior of employees in the company's stock. This cross-sectional study with a survey approach and applied research are considered. The population of the study in 1394 are some of the companies stock. The results showed accounting, human resources component of research and finally decided Miran is also significant effect. Keywords: Human resource accounting, Human resource Management, Decision makin

Unusual Behaviour of an Earth-Rockhill Dam

The post-construction behaviour of a 47.5 m high and 700 m long earth-rockfill dam, located in northwestern Iran, is described. The embankment dam is founded on Tertiary rock on both abutments, but in the river channel it rests on alluvial deposits of variable composition and thickness. Since the first impoundment, the dam has undergone large deformations, both in vertical and in horizontal directions. These have resulted in unusual differential settlements, visible along the crest, and have produced wide longitudinal cracks in the asphalt pavement of the crest road. The principle features of the dam are described and selected monitoring results of the crest movements for a sixteen year period are presented. Based on the analysis of the available data and taking into account the geotechnical characteristics of the foundation and the fill materials, an interpretation of the unusual behaviour has been attempted