فاطمه باباخانی

Aging is a challenging period and the last stage of human life. Awareness of imminent death causes existential anxiety in the elderly. Therefore, the elderly must have the ability to respond to their basic existential problems. Existential psychotherapy, focusing on the ultimate concerns of humans, including death, loneliness, emptiness, and freedom, seems to be a suitable treatment for the elderly. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of existential group therapy (EGT) on existential anxiety and the quality of life of the elderly. The method of the present study was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population was made up of the elderly between 60 and 85 years old referred to the social work clinic of Aftab Zendi in Shemiranat country, Tehran, in the second quarter of 2019. The sampling of this research was based on convenience sampling method. In general, 24 people were eligible to participate in group therapy in the current research, who were selected after considering the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups. The group therapy consisted of 12 Ninety-minute sessions, performed online due to the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Used to measure the mentioned criterion variables were Massoudi Sani and Bahmani’s existential anxiety questionnaire and Weir and Sherbon’s quality-of-life questionnaire (short form). The analysis of research data was done using analysis of univariate covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-21 software. Results indicated that according to the scores in posttest, existential anxiety has decreased and there is no significant increase in the quality of life of the elderly. In other words, the results of the research figured out that EGT reduces the existential anxiety of the elderly and it is possible to benefit from EGT as an effective treatment to deal with the mood problems in the elderly.

Postharvest conditions have a noticeable effect on the quantity and quality of secondary metabolites of medicinal plants. Accordingly, in the present study, the effects of different storage durations (0, 2, 4, and 6 months) and packaging types (kraft, polyethylene, polypropylene, and without packaging) on the quantity and quality of essential oil and phenol and antioxidant activity of methanol extract in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) fruit were evaluated. Essential oils and methanol extracts were prepared using hydrodistillation (Clevenger, for 3 hours) and Soxhlet extraction methods, respectively. Essential oils were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. In general, increasing the storage duration reduced the essential oil content of fennel (with the exception of kraft packaging) and the rate of this reduction varied depending on the packaging type. The polyethylene-packed fruitsstored for 2 months and unpacked fruits stored for 6 months had the highest (3.25% v/w) and lowest (1.8% v/w) essential oil content, respectively. The number, type, and amount of essential oil compounds were affected by storage duration and packaging type. The highest (75.8%) and lowest (49.46%) amounts of E-anethole were obtained from the essential oil of unpacked fruits stored for 6 months and unstored fruits, respectively. The amount of phenol and antioxidant activity decreased with increasing storage duration, but the effect of packaging type varied at different storage durations. Overall, based on the essential oil content, phenol, and antioxidant activity, storage of fennel could not be recommended, but based on the type of target compound in the essential oil, different storage durations could be suggested. If the storage of fennel is necessary, the polyethylene and kraft packaging could be recommended based on the total characteristics measured in this research.

Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth. belongs to the Lamiaceae family, is a medicinal and aromatic plant native to Iran. The antimicrobial, antifungal and antioxidant properties of this plant have been proven and its aerial part is used in the treatment of skin diseases. In this study, the aerial part of this plant was collected from its natural habitat and then the essential oils of different organs (leaf, flower and stem) were extracted by water distillation method using a clevenger apparatus. The essential oils were analyzed using GC/MS and GC/FID. The results indicated that the essential oil content of leaves (0.4%) was much higher than flowers (0.2%) and stems (0.2%). In all three organs, sesquiterpenes formed the major part of the essential oil. The highest amount of monoterpene hydrocarbons (20.11%), oxygenated monoterpenes (17.36%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (50.69%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (27.89%) were observed in the essential oils of stem, leaf, flower and stem organs, respectively. The dominant components of leaf essential oil were β-elemol, bicyclosesquiphellandrene, α-pinene and 1,8-cineole, respectively. Bicyclosesquiphellandrene, β-elemol, β-calarene and linalool were as the major components of flower essential oil. The main constituents of stem essential oil were β-elemol, bicyclosesquiphellandrene, α-pinene and sabinene, respectively. The observed diversity in the essential oil content and composition of different organs of Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth. can be useful for identify and exploit the desired genotypes in order to domestication, cultivation and breeding of this plant.

 In this study, the average of patientschr('39') expectations of fulfillment from Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and clinicschr('39') websites to make appointments for patients in Isfahan have been investigated.

 The study is a cross-sectional survey. The research population was all patients referred to the clinic of Amin and Al-Zahra hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 1398. The sample size was obtained based on Cochranchr('39')s formula 384. Simple random sampling method was used to select individuals. Data collection tools were two researcher-made questionnaires. The face and content validity of the questionnaires were reviewed and confirmed using the opinions of experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by calculating Cronbachchr('39')s alpha. This average was calculated as 85% for all questions. The collected data were analyzed at the level of descriptive statistics, including average, frequency and frequency percentage, using SPSS software version 18.

The results showed that the average of patientschr('39') expectations fulfillment through IVR appointments in the clinics of Al-Zahra and Amin hospitals in a total of examined six dimensions was 3.65 points (average). The average of patientschr('39') expectations fulfillment through the website in these hospitals was 3.79 points (maximum).

 Patientschr('39') expectations fulfillment from the IVR and the website appointment systems in the clinics of Al-Zahra and Amin hospitals were moderately met. This seems to be improving somewhat with the increase in information about new patient appointment systems.