EFFECT OF NURSE-LED GROUP EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFEAMONG PATIENTS WITH IMPLANTED PACEMAKERS

Background & Aims : Cardiac arrhythmia is one of the most common cardio-vascular diseases and pacemaker is a curative method which reduces most of problems in patients with arrhythmia. In spite of benefits of pacemaker, it may lead to some complications such as physical and psychological problems that can affect patients’ quality of life. Thusfollow up is necessary for pacemaker users after discharge. The aim of this study was to detect effects of nurse-led group educational sessions on the different dimensions of quality of lifeamong patients with implanted pacemakers. Materials & Methods : In this clinical trial study sixty patients with pacemaker implantation divided into two groups. Case group patients participated in the group educational sessions while participants in the control group receivedtheir routine care (educational material) for four weeks. We used Assessment of Quality of Life (AQOL) and Short Form Questionnaire (SF36) for assessing the quality of life and semi structure interview was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using Statistical Program for the Social Science (SPSS 13.0) for windows. Independent and Paired-T test also Fisher test analyses were used in this study. Alpha was set at p<0.05 for all data analyses. Results: Prior to the intervention, mean quality of life scores was same between two groups [(57/44 ± 19/27 for intervention group and 52/23 ± 15/84 for control group), p=0/20]. After 4 weeks intervention independent-t-test showed a significant differences among the mean scores between two groups in all aspects of quality of life [76/19 ± 15/62 for intervention group and 54/11 ± 14/86 for control group, (p<0/001)]. Conclusion: Our results confirmed the effect of group educational session to improve the different aspects of quality of life among patients with implanted pacemakers. Consequently employing post-dischargegroup educational session can improve the quality of life among these patients as a cost effectiveness method

Grammar Consciousness-Raising Activities and Iranian EFL Learners' Attitudes Toward English Language

The first purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of consciousness-raising (C-R) activities on learning grammatical structures by Iranian EFL learners. The second one was to investigate the effect of gender through C-R activities and tasks. Finally, this study wanted to investigate the Iranian students' attitudes toward learning English prior to and after applying the C-R activities. An attitude questionnaire was use to investigate the participants' attitudes toward learning English before and after applying C-R activities. Data analysis indicated that using C-R activities in is significantly more effective than the traditional approaches. Regarding gender, male outperformed females. Therefore, it is recommended that other teachers consider C-R activities as useful options in teaching other aspects of language. Based on the statistics and findings, Iranian students' attitudes toward learning English language were not much different prior to and after applying C-R activities

Compositional Analysis and Antioxidant Activity of Volatile Components of Two Salvia spp

Purpose: To identify and compare the composition of volatile components of two Salvia species, and also their free radical scavenging activity.Method: The essential oil of two Salvia species was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) techniques while their phenolic contents were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The in vitro antioxidant activity of the essential oils was evaluated by 1, 1-diphenyl-2 picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging technique.Results: Seven derivatives were identified for S. verticillata and four derivatives for S. suffruticosa. For both species, the main compounds were 1, 8-cineole (S. suffruticosa: 31.21 % and S. verticillata: 38.26 %) and camphor (S. suffruticosa: 27.11 % and S. verticillata: 22.98 %). The content of the phenolic compounds was: ascorbic acid (S. suffruticosa: 23.98 % and S. verticillata: 33.53 %), p- hydroxyl benzoic acid (S. suffruticosa 11.50 % and S. verticillata 3.83 %), vanilic acid (S. suffruticosa 5.86% and S. verticillata: 6.55 %), syringic acid (S. suffruticosa 6.29 %), ferulic acid (S. suffruticosa: 6.35 % and S. verticillata 6.04 %) and sinapic acid (S. suffruticosa 6.26 % and S. verticillata 4.93%). DPPH radical scavenging ability was 0.548 % for S. suffruticosa for S. suffruticosa and 0.558 % for S. verticillata.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that these two species are rich in 1, 8-cineole, camphor and phenolic compounds. There is no significant difference between the radical scavenging activities of the two essential oils.Keywords: S. verticillata, S. suffruticosa, essential oil, antioxidant activity, GC-MS, HPLC activit