Quality of Life and Job Satisfaction of Dispensing Pharmacists Practicing in Tehran Private-sector Pharmacies

Abstract As there is no evidence of previous studies on evaluating the level of job satisfaction and the major causes of dissatisfaction among the pharmacists in Iran, this study was designed. This study is a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of pharmacists practicing in Tehran private-sector pharmacies. We selected a stratified random sampling using number of prescriptions as a variable for stratification. The questionnaire was divided into three sections containing the demographic characteristics, general health perception and job satisfaction. Of all the participants, 62% were the owners of pharmacies and 38% were pharmacists in charge (non-owner). Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported satisfaction about their psychological and physical state. Just 11% of pharmacists were financially satisfied and 49% felt relaxed at the workplace. There was no correlation between the satisfaction and owning the pharmacy or sex of respondents. Spearman›s correlation showed that the income satisfaction correlated negatively with age (p ≤ 0.001) and years of experience (p < 0.05). Moreover, the average working hours was significantly higher among men compared to women (p < 0.01) and among owners relative to non-owners (p < 0.05). Overall, general health perception and quality of life among the respondents were at satisfactory level. However, work-related satisfaction was not high enough and most interviewed pharmacists were financially dissatisfied

The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome is an endocrine disorder with many complications. This syndrome is a growing concern among adolescents around the world, with varying reports of its prevalence in different parts of the world. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescents by a systematic review and meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: In this study, a search for published articles with an English language limitation and without a time limit was done in different databases (Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science, Emabse and Cochrane) in January 2019. The 12 studies that met the criteria for entering a qualitative assessment scale of 5 and higher were subjected to systematic review and meta-analysis. Egger and Begg’s tests were used to check the publication bias. Data were analyzed with STATA software, version 11.1. Results: Twelve studies were included for meta-analysis. The total number of participants in the study was 149,477. The average quality score of all studies was 8.67 (range: 5–10). The prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome in adolescents based on the Rotterdam criteria was 11.04% (95% CI: 6.84–16.09%), based on the National Institute of Health criteria, it was 3.39% (95% CI: 0.28–9.54%), and based on Androgen Excess and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Society, it was 8.03% (95% CI: 6.24–10.01%). Conclusion: The result of this study showed that there is a variation in the prevalence of PCOS in adolescents based on different criteria; we suggest more community-based studies among adolescences in different parts of the world

Modafinil’s effects on cognition and sleep quality in affectively-stable patients with bipolar disorder: a pilot study

IntroductionDespite advances in the treatment of bipolar disorder (BD), most patients do not achieve complete inter-episode recovery and functional disability is common. During periods of relative remission, many patients continue to experience neurocognitive dysfunction, reduced daytime activity levels, and sleep disturbances. This 8-week, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study evaluated the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of the wake-promoting drug, modafinil (Provigil®), on neurocognitive functioning, daytime sleepiness, and sleep quality in affectively-stable BD patients.MethodsTwelve individuals with affectively-stable BD were recruited and randomized to a flexible dose of modafinil (100 to 200 mg/day) or placebo, adjunctive to a therapeutic dose of a mood stabilizer. Weekly in-person visits tracked sleep quality and daytime sleepiness as well as side effects and mood symptoms. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed at baseline, week 4, and week 8.ResultsNo serious adverse events were reported. Newly emergent side effects in the modafinil group included heart palpitations, itching, fatigue, and decreased energy. Two patients discontinued modafinil owing to side effects and one of these patients withdrew from the study. One patient discontinued placebo and was withdrawn from the study. Preliminary evaluations of clinical efficacy showed a marginally significant interaction between treatment group and time in two cognitive domains (speed of processing and verbal learning), indicating greater improvement in the modafinil group versus placebo. Additionally, there was a marginally significant effect of treatment group on daytime sleepiness, suggesting lower daytime sleepiness in the modafinil group versus placebo. Counterintuitively, we found a significant treatment group by time interaction effect on sleep quality, suggesting greater improvement in sleep quality in the placebo group versus the modafinil group.DiscussionResults suggest that modafinil is a relatively safe medication for affectively-stable BD patients when given with adjunctive mood stabilizers. Results are suggestive of cognitive benefit and improved daytime sleepiness, but worse sleep quality in those patients prescribed modafinil. A fully powered clinical trial is warranted with specific attention to the characteristics of patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment with modafinil and other methodological lessons learned from this pilot.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01965925

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world.

The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

Effectiveness of Educating Problem Solving and Decision making Skills on Mental health and Resilience of Female University Students

Background: The term resilience is used in mental health to describe a person’s capacity to cope with changes and challenges, and to bounce back during difficult times. Good problem-solving and decision making skills help young people to think abstractly, reflectively and flexibly. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of educating problem solving skills and decision-making on mental health and resilience of female university students.Material and Methods: It was done through a quasi-experimental design with pre-test - post-test and control group. The sample consisted of 30 university students who were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in problem solving and decision-making for seven sessions of 2 hours. The assessment tool consisted of Ryff scales of psychological well-being (RSPWB), Symptom Checklist (SCL-25), and Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC). Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance.Results: The results showed that educating problem-solving and decision-making skills increased mental health and resiliency of female university students (p≤.05).Conclusion: It can be concluded that educating problem-solving and decision-making skills can promote mental health and resiliency and can be effective in preventing the incidence and severity of mental health problems

Assessment of burnout rate and related factors in selected wards

Background and Aims: Nurses experience numerous stresses in their work which may cause burnout .Thegoal of present study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with burnout in nurses workingin selected departments of teaching hospitals of University of Medical Sciences and Health Services in Fasaand Jahrom cities.Materials and Methods: In this cross – sectional study,120 nurses working in teaching hospitals Fasa andJahrom cities were included. Data were collected by a questionnaire which consisted a demographicinformation section , the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and a list factors related to burnout. Internalconsistency of the questionnaires were obtained by calculating cronbach alpha which was = 0.7 and=0.76 for "Copenhagen Burnout Inventory" and "related factors with burnout questionnaire " respectively.Test –re test reliability was r=0. 89 and r=0.70 for "Copenhagen Burnout Inventory" and "related factors withburnout questionnaire " respectively. Data was analyzed with SPSS 17 software .Finding: The results showed that the mean scores was for personal-related burnout 52.94 ± 18.35% ,workrelatedburnout 54.14 ± 18.64%, the client-related burnout 41.91 ± 19.91 percent. According to theclassification made, burnout in the area of personal and work-related burnout among nurses was high leveland within client-related burnout was moderate. This study showed that the economic factor was the lessimportant factor for burnout , and the care related factors had the most significant association with burnoutin study units.Conclusion: High levels of burnout in this study indicate the need for more attention from managers andresolving the causes of burnout in nurses.Keywords: Burnout, Related factors, Nurs

Predictors of social intermediate factors associated with sexual quality of life of women: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Sexual problems and diminished sexual quality of life can adversely affect the physical, psychological, and emotional health of women. The present study was done to determine the social intermediate factors of health associated with sexual quality of life in women of reproductive age. Design Systematic review and Meta-analysis. Data sources Embase, Web of Science, PubMed/Medline (NLM), ProQuest, and CENTRAL. Eligibility criteria Observational studies (cross-sectional, case-control, cohort) from 2010 to 2022 with no language constraints were included. The sexual quality of life, as the main variable of the study, has been evaluated using Symonds women’s sexual quality of life scale (SQOL-F). The health social determinants intermediate factors based on WHO model were considered as exposure variables. Data extraction and synthesis The data of included studies were extracted by two independent persons through a researcher-made checklist according to the study aims. Quality assessment of studies was done using Newcastle-Ottawa instrument. R software (Version R-4.2.1) were used for meta-analysis. Publication bias was evaluated by Egger & Begg tests. Sensitivity analysis was done through one-out remove approach. Results Eventually, 15 studies were eligible to be included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Variables of depression, quality of marital relation, body image, self-esteem, physical activity, and sexual function were among the health social intermediate factors associated with sexual quality of life. Publication bias had no effect on the obtained results; no study affecting the results was found through sensitivity analysis. Conclusion Considering the relationship between modifiable factors and sexual quality of life, it seems that identification of these factors can be an important step towards designing interventional studies to help women experience enhanced sexual quality of life

The Failure of Petrochemical Industries in the Oil Economy with a Special View on the Field of Human Resources Management

Today, the acceptable issue in the mind of public is human development. Humans are known as the goals, the means, and the guarantors of development. The human resource system is the advantaging resource in organizations that should be evaluated in order to be transformed to the actual resources. The human resources are considered as the main capital of organizations due to having thought capacity, creativity, and innovation, it has been also considered as the essential agent of production in organizations, as the efficieny would be possible by them. In recent years, human capital has become as the most important advatages in industries; however, there are also some theoretical ambiguities in determining components in terms of qualitative promotions of human capital, these complexities are due to the lack of comprehensive model. Therefore, it has been perceived that the qualitative promotion of human resource in oil and petrochemical industries have a paradigm model. The general complexity of the oil industry and the specific complexity of project-oriented organizations have challenged the establishment of a balance between the two permanent parts of oil industry companies and their projects. Human capital, oil rents, degree of trade openness, and energy intensity are the most important reasons for the difference in total factor productivity in East and West Asian countries. Human capital and oil rents in West Asia have caused a decrease in TFP, while human capital in East Asia has led to an increase in TFP. This article has been done with a descriptive-library method in order to find out the reasons for the failure of petrochemical industries in the oil economy with a special view to the field of human resource management

Gender differences in the link between depressive symptoms and ex vivo inflammatory responses are associated with markers of endotoxemia

Depressive symptoms are often linked with higher inflammation and inflammatory responses, although these associations are not always consistent. In a recent study (N = 160, 25–65 years, 67% women), our group reported gender differences relevant to this association: In men higher depressive symptoms were related to heightened ex vivo inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), whereas in women higher depressive symptoms were related to attenuated inflammatory responses. In the present manuscript, we investigate markers of endotoxemia – i.e., markers of the presence of endotoxin in the blood, presumably due to bacterial translocation from the gut – as factors that elicit gender-dependent immune responses that may be associated with links between depressive symptoms and inflammation. We examined ex vivo inflammatory responses in whole blood via a composite index of LPS-stimulated cytokines. The ratio of LPS-binding protein to soluble CD14 receptor (LBP:sCD14) was quantified as an index of endotoxemia that captures the relative reliance on pro-inflammatory versus non-inflammatory pathways for bacterial clearance. Levels of endotoxemia markers in blood were found to moderate gender differences in the link between depressive symptoms and stimulated inflammation (Gender × Depressive Symptoms × Endotoxemia: B = −0.039, 95%CI [-0.068, 0.009], p = 0.010). At lower LBP:sCD14 levels, depressive symptoms and stimulated inflammation were unrelated in both men and women. However, with higher levels of LBP:sCD14, men showed an increasingly positive correlation and women showed a negative correlation between depressive symptoms and stimulated inflammation. Hence, men and women exhibited similar associations between depressive symptoms and inflammatory responses at lower endotoxin marker levels, but these associations became divergent at higher levels of endotoxin markers. This information provides a novel perspective on risk factors for depression-linked alterations in inflammation, which may help to determine susceptibility to the downstream physical consequences of depressive symptomatology

Emotion Regulation, Parasympathetic Function, and Psychological Well-Being.

The negative emotions generated following stressful life events can increase ones risk of depressive symptoms and promote higher levels of perceived stress. The process model of emotion regulation can help distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies to determine who may be at the greatest risk of worse psychological health across the lifespan. Heart rate variability (HRV) may affect these relationships as it indexes aspects of self-regulation, including emotion and behavioral regulation, that enable an individual to dynamically adapt to the changing demands of both internal and external environments. In this study, we expected individual differences in resting vagally mediated HRV to moderate the influence of emotion regulatory strategies among our sample of 267 adults. We found support for the hypothesis that higher vagally mediated HRV buffers against the typical adverse effects of expressive suppression when evaluating depressive symptoms and found weak support when considering perceived stress. There was no evidence for an interaction between cognitive reappraisal and vagally mediated HRV but there was a significant, negative association between cognitive reappraisal and depressive symptoms and perceived stress. Future work may determine if intervening on either emotion regulation strategies or HRV may change these within-persons over time