The Pedagogical Influence of Interpersonal and Cognitive Discourse Markers on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension

This study attempts to determine whether the recognition and interpretation of interpersonal and cognitive discourse markers will enhance students’ listening comprehension ability in authentic situations. Students were tested to determine their comprehension of content information in audio-taped conversations. After the treatment period of ten weeks, where the experimental group received strategy training in the recognition and interpretation of discourse markers in spoken discourse, both groups were again tested. Their results were statistically compared. The findings have pedagogical implications for material designers, teachers, and teacher trainers

Fatalities Among Iranian High-altitude Outdoor Enthusiasts: Causes and Mechanisms

Purpose: This study was performed to determine the possible causes and mechanisms of fatalities among Iranian mountaineers during climbing. Methods: By contacting several sources, deceased mountaineers were identified. Data about the causes and mechanism of death was retrospectively obtained using a standard questionnaire for each case. Results: A total of 29 deaths were identified from March 2006 to June 2010. Deceased subjects had a mean age of 39 years (SD: 12.8, Range: 20-67). Falling was the most common accident leading to death of outdoor enthusiasts (n = 14, 48%). Asphyxia (n = 6, 24%) was the most common cause of death among the subjects, followed by heart attack, internal bleeding, cerebral hemorrhage and hypothermia (17%, 17%, 17% and 10%, respectively). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that education of medical service providers of the climbing groups on facing victims in high altitude areas, where they have limited resources, can be particularly helpful. In addition, a national program to educate mountaineers might help to reduce fatalities

Metabolic syndrome in menopausal transition: Isfahan Healthy Heart Program, a population based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>There is a remarkable increase in cardiovascular disease after menopause. On the other hand, metabolic syndrome as a collection of risk factors has a known effect on cardiovascular diseases. Hormone changes are considered as one of the main relevant factor regarding cardiovascular disease as well as some recognized relationship with metabolic syndrome's components. This study was carried out in order to search for prevalence of metabolic syndrome during menopausal transition.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>In a cross sectional study in urban and rural areas of Isfahan, Najafabad and Arak cities, 1596 women aged more than 45 years were investigated using Isfahan Healthy Heart Program's (IHHP) samples. Participants were categorized into three groups of pre-menopause, menopause and post-menopause. Leisure time physical activity and global dietary index were included as life style factors. The association of metabolic syndrome and its components with menopausal transition considering other factors such as age and life style was analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>there were 303, 233 and 987 women in premenopausal, early menopausal and postmenopausal groups respectively. Metabolic syndrome was found in 136(44.9%) premenopausal participants and significantly increased to 135(57.9%) and 634(64.3%) in early menopausal and postmenopausal participants respectively, when age was considered (P = 0.010). Except for hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia, there was no significant difference between three groups of menopausal transition when metabolic syndrome's components were considered.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In contrary to the claims regarding the role of waist circumference and blood glucose in increasing of metabolic syndrome during the menopausal transition, this study showed this phenomenon could be independence of them.</p

The Relation Between Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) and Coronary Artery Disease Severity and Risk Factors: An Angiographic Study

<br /><strong>BACKGROUND</strong>: The current study aims to determine the relation between ankle&ndash;brachial<br />index (ABI) and angiographic findings and major cardiovascular risk factors in patients with<br />suspected coronary artery diseases (CAD) in Isfahan.<br /><strong>METHODS</strong>: In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytic research, patients with suspected CAD<br />were studied. Characteristics of studied subjects including demographics, familial history, past<br />medical history and atherosclerotic risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension,<br />hyperlipidemia and smoking were obtained using a standard questionnaire. ABI was measured<br />in all studied patients. ABI &le; 0.9 (ABI+) was considered as peripheral vessel disease and ABI &gt;<br />0.9 (ABI-) was considered as normal. Then, all studied patients underwent coronary artery<br />angiography. The results of the questionnaire and angiographic findings were compared in ABI+<br />and ABI- groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS 15 using ANOVA, t-test, Spearman's rank<br />correlation coefficient, and discriminant analysis.<br /><strong>RESULTS</strong>: In this study, 125 patients were investigated. ABI &le; 0.9 was seen in 25 patients (20%).<br />The prevalence of ABI+ among men and women was 25.9% and 7.5%, respectively (P = 0.01). The<br />prevalence of atherosclerotic risk factors was significantly higher in ABI+ patients than in ABIones<br />(P &lt; 0.05). ABI+ patients had more significant stenosis than ABI- ones. The mean of<br />occlusion was significantly higher in ABI+ patients with left main artery (LMA), right coronary<br />artery (RCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD), diagonal artery 1 (D1) and left circumflex<br />artery (LCX) involvements (P &lt; 0.05).<br /><strong>CONCLUSION</strong>: The findings of this research indicated that ABI could be a useful method in<br />assessing both the atherosclerotic risk factors and the degree of coronary involvements in<br />suspected patients. However, in order to make more accurate decisions for using this method in<br />diagnosing and preventing CAD, we should plan further studies in large sample sizes of general<br />population.<br /><strong>Keywords</strong>: Ankle&ndash;Brachial Index, Angiography, Atherosclerotic Risk Factors

The multiplicative interactions of leukocyte counts with some other risk factors enhance the prognostic value for coronary artery disease

Background: The markers of inflammation and (apo)lipoproteins are associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Simultaneous assessment of the risk factors has been proposed to improve the diagnosis of CAD. The aim of this study was to examine the potential interactions between leukocyte counts and other risk factors. Methods: The markers of inflammation, (apo)(lipo)proteins, (non)electrolytes, hematological parameters and classical risk factors, were determined in 264 clinically stable angiographically documented subjects. The subjects were classified as CAD cases or controls according to the results of coronary angiography. Results: The frequency and severity of CAD, Framingham CAD scores, relative and absolute risk for CAD and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and smoking were significantly higher in the third relative to the first tertile of leukocyte counts. Subjects with leukocyte counts in the upper tertile had significant higher levels of serum glucose, triglyceride, hsC-reactive protein, potassium, phosphorus and measured osmolality, and lower levels of apoAI, total protein, albumin and the ratio of albumin/globulins. Analyses by bivariate correlation on differential leukocyte counts showed that these associations are carried mostly by neutrophil, except for diabetes, glucose and triglyceride which were due to lymphocyte counts. By constructing dummy combined variables, high leukocyte counts accompanied by smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and high levels of serum glucose, cholesterol, apoB and apoB/apoAI ratio, exhibited amplified high risk for CAD. Conclusions: The results show that leukocyte count does interact multiplicatively with smoking, hypertension, diabetes, glucose, cholesterol, apoB and apoB/AI ratio. The simultaneous assessment of leukocyte counts and interactive risk factors enhances the diagnosis of CAD. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 3: 246&#8211;253

Factors Associated with The Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease in The Mashad: A Cohort Study

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and specifically in Iran. Accurate assessments of Coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence is very necessary for public health. In current study we aimed to investigate the incidence of CHD and importance of several classical, modifiable and un-modifiable risk factors for CHD among an urban population in eastern Iran after 6 years of follow-up. Methods The population of MASHAD cohort study were followed up for 6 years, every 3 years in two step by phone and who reported symptoms of CVD were asked to attend for a cardiac examination, to estimate the incidence of CHD with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as well multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of several baseline characteristics with incidence of CHD event. Evaluation of goodness-of-fit was done using ROC analysis. CHD cases divided into four different classes which include: stable angina, unstable angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. Results In the six years\u27 follow-up of Mashhad study, the incidence rate of all CHD event in men and women in 100,000 people-years with 95% confidence intervals were 1920 (810-3030) and 1160 (730-1590), respectively. The areas under ROC curve (AUC), based on multivariate predictors of CHD outcome, was 0.7825. Conclusion Our findings indicated that the incidence rate of coronary heart diseases in MASHAD cohort study increases with age as well as our final model designed, was able to predict approximately 78% of CHD events in Iranian population

Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) Programme, phase I (cardiovascular system)

Purpose: The main objective of the Bushehr Elderly Health Programme, in its first phase, is to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and their association with major adverse cardiovascular events. Participants: Between March 2013 and October 2014, a total of 3000 men and women aged ≥60 years, residing in Bushehr, Iran, participated in this prospective cohort study ( participation rate=90.2%). Findings to date: Baseline data on risk factors, including demographic and socioeconomic status, smoking and medical history, were collected through a modified WHO MONICA questionnaire. Vital signs and anthropometric measures, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight, height, and waist and hip circumference, were also measured. 12-lead electrocardiography and echocardiography were conducted on all participants, and total of 10 cc venous blood was taken, and sera was separated and stored at –80°C for possible future use. Preliminary data analyses showed a noticeably higher prevalence of risk factors among older women compared to that in men. Future plans: Risk factor assessments will be repeated every 5 years, and the participantswill be followed during the study to measure the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events. Moreover, the second phase, which includes investigation of bone health and cognition in the elderly, was started in September 2015. Data are available at the Persian Gulf Biomedical Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran, for any collaboratio