A Comparative Study on New Claim in the Appeal Process in Iranian and French Laws

The principle of prohibition of submitting a new claim in the appeal process is one of the governing principles in the court of appeals that is stipulated in Article 362 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Given the opposition between Articles 98 and 362 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is essential to effectively investigate the matter. In view of the French Code of Civil Procedure, the mentioned principle is compared in the Iranian and French legal systems. A comparative study of the two legal systems indicates that Article 564 of the French Code of Civil Procedure and the two subsequent Articles, after mentioning the said principle, specify the exceptions by pointing out the criterion. The criteria mentioned in similar instances can be generalized to reach a united criterion to be applied. After mentioning the said principle as an instance, Article 362 of the Iranian Code of Civil Procedure states the exception and asserts that the said instances cannot be taken as criteria and the instances under Article 362 of the Iranian Code of Civil Procedure should be viewed exclusively, judicial procedure has not reached the unity of procedure and the deficiency shall be amended through enacting appropriate regulation

A systematic review and meta-analysis of pregnancy and COVID-19: Signs and symptoms, laboratory tests, and perinatal outcomes

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Objective: To investigate the clinical manifestations including signs and symptoms, laboratory results, and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Scholarly databases such as PubMed via LitCovid hub, Embase, Scopus, Web of sciences, and Google scholar were searched on April 7, 2020. Meta-analysis was performed via comprehensive meta-analysis software using the Mantel-Haenszel method. The event rate with 95% CI was calculated for each variable. Results: Ten studies were selected. The pooled prevalence for fever, post-partum fever, cough, myalgia, fatigue, dyspnea, sore throat, and diarrhea were 66.8%, 37.1%, 35%, 24.6 %, 14.9%, 14.6%, 11.5%, and 7.6%, respectively. Laboratory test results were 49.8% for lymphopenia, 47.7% for leukocytosis, 83.7% for elevated neutrophil ratio, 57% for elevated C-reactive protein, and 71.4% for decreased lymphocyte ratio. The rate of cesarean section for delivery in all cases was 84%. Of the newborns of the corona positive mothers, only one had a positive test result. Also, there was only one death due to a decreased lymphocyte ratio. Conclusion: Fever was the most common sign and symptom in pregnant women with COVID-19. Among the laboratory tests, the highest amount was related to elevated neutrophil ratio. It seems that due to the differences between pregnant women and the general population, special measures should be considered to treat these patients. Key words: COVID-19, Pregnancy, Diagnosis, Signs and symptoms, Meta-analysis

Equity in Health Financing with an Emphasis on Catastrophic Health Expenditure

Equity in health financing is an important health policy objective worldwide. A health system is fair in the case that its financing is in proportion to the household’s ability to pay. The households are facing Catastrophic Health Expenditure (CHE) when their health expenditure exceeds their ability to pay. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MHME) (Iran) has launched reforms in the health sector evolution plan (HSEP) to improve the conditions in Iran’s health system. One of the main objectives of this plan was financial protection of people. In order to achieve its goals, the program tried to expand the population coverage through pre-payment mechanisms, protect the poor and disadvantaged people, design a benefits package, and decide the level of cost sharing by the patients

Real Earnings Management Reversal and Long-Term Operating Performance

This research is aimed to answer the fundamental question whether there is a significant relationship between return of discretionary reduction of general, sale, and administrative expenditures and reduction of the future performance. The question is presented as two hypotheses. Earnings management is measured using the benchmark for reducing of general, sale and administrative expenditures. The Statistical population of the research includes all firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. The sample consists of 114 listed firms during the period from 2011 to2016. Panel data analysis method, multivariate linear regression and Eviews9 software are used to test hypotheses and estimate coefficients. The results indicate that there is no significant relation between the return of discretionary reduction of general, sale and administrative expenses, and the reduction of future performance. But there is a significant relationship between the return of discretionary reduction in sales, general and administrative expenses, and the company limitation in earnings management of accrual

Table_1_Potential limitations in systematic review studies assessing the effect of the main intervention for treatment/therapy of COVID-19 patients: An overview.pdf

BackgroundAlthough several studies have assessed the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of interventions in treating the COVID-19, many of them have limitations that can have an immense impact on their results. This study aims to assess the potential limitations in systematic reviews (SRs) that evaluate the effect of interventions on the treatment of the COVID-19.MethodsPubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences (WOS) databases were searched from inception to January 1, 2022. All systematic reviews investigated the effectiveness, efficacy, safety, and outcome of the main intervention (Favipiravir, Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, or Tocilizumab) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients and reported the potential limitations of the included studies. We assessed the quality of the included studies using the Quality Assessment Tool (QAT) for review articles. We conducted a content analysis and prepared a narrative summary of the limitations.ResultsForty-six studies were included in this review. Ninety one percent of the included studies scored as strong quality and the remaining (9%) as moderate quality. Only 29.7% of the included systematic reviews have a registered protocol. 26% of the included studies mentioned a funding statement. The main limitations of the included studies were categorized in 10 domains: sample size, heterogeneity, follow-up, treatment, including studies, design, definitions, synthesis, quality, and search.ConclusionVarious limitations have been reported in all the included studies. Indeed, the existence of limitations in studies can affect their results, therefore, identifying these limitations can help researchers design better studies. As a result, stronger studies with more reliable results will be reported and disseminated. Further research on COVID-19 SRs is essential to improve research quality and also, efficiency among scientists across the world.</p

Direct and Indirect Costs Associated with Coronary Artery (Heart) Disease in Tabriz, Iran

PURPOSE: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major causes of mortalities worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate the direct and indirect costs of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Iran.PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a prevalence-based cost-of-illness (COI) study that estimates the direct and indirect costs of CAD. The study conducted over a six-month period from April to September in 2017. Patients were recruited from Madani hospital in Tabriz, Iran. A total of 379 patients were investigated from societal perspective. Direct costs were estimated using the bottom-up costing approach and indirect costs were estimated using the Human Capital (HC) approach. A generalized linear model of regression was used to explore the relation between total cost and socio-demographic variables. The total annual mean cost was compared to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita which was reported in the form of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) index. To deal with uncertainty, one-way sensitivity analysis was performed.RESULTS: Total costs per patient in one year were estimated to be IRR 63452290.17 ($PPP 7736.19) at a 95$PPP 4131.18) (54%). Direct non-medical costs were estimated IRR 1655936.68 ($PPP 201.89) per patient (2$PPP 3403.11) (44%), which 62% of indirect costs is related to patients' work absenteeism.CONCLUSION: This study estimates the direct (56%) and indirect (44%) costs associated with CAD. The study explores the essential drivers of the costs and provides the magnitude of the burden in terms of the share of GDP. The outcomes can be used in priority setting, in particular for cost benefit analysis, and adopting new policies regarding insurance coverage and equity issues.</p

Cost-effectiveness analysis of lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography in an Iranian high-risk population

Objective: The results of recent studies have shown that using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for screening of lung cancer (LC) improves cancer outcomes. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of LDCT in an Iranian high-risk population. Methods: A Markov cohort simulation model with four health states was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of LDCT from a healthcare system perspective in the people aged 55–74 who smoked 25 or more cigarettes per day for 10–30 years. Cost data were collected, reviewing 324 medical records of patients with LC, and utilities and transition probabilities were extracted from the literature. The Monte Carlo simulation method was applied to run the model. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis and one-way analysis were also performed. Results: LC screening in comparison to a no-screening strategy was costly and effective. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of screening versus no-screening was IRR (Iranian rials) 98,515,014.04 which falls below the Iranian threshold of three times GDP (gross domestic product) per capita. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the results of the economic analysis were robust to variations in the key inputs for both. Conclusions: Using LDCT for screening of LC patients in a high-risk population is a cost-effective strategy.</p

A national survey of Iranian general population to estimate a value set for the EQ-5D-5L

OBJECTIVES: The main aim of this study is to estimate a national value set of the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire for Iran.METHODS: The composite time trade-off (cTTO) and discrete choice experiment (DCE) methods; and the protocol for EuroQol Portable Valuation Technology (EQ-PVT) were used to estimate the Iran national value set. 1179 face-to-face computer-assisted interviews were conducted with adults that were recruited from five Iran major cities in 2021. Generalized least squares, Tobit, heteroskedastic, logit, and hybrid models were used to analyze the data and to identify the best fitting model.RESULTS: According to the logical consistency of the parameters, significance levels and prediction accuracy indices of the MAE; a heteroscedastic censored Tobit hybrid model combining cTTO and DCE responses was considered as the best fitting model to estimate the final value set. The predicted values ranged from - 1.19 for the worst health state (55555) to 1 for full health (11111), with 53.6% of the predicted values being negative. Mobility was the most influential dimension on health state preference values.CONCLUSIONS: The present study estimated a national EQ-5D-5L value set for Iranian policy makers and researchers. The value set enables the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire to use to calculate QALYs to assist the priority setting and efficient allocation of limited healthcare resources.</p