hamid afshar

The political and social changes of the late Qajar period, along with the effective arrival of Western orientalists and antiquarians, created conditions in which Iranians, for the first time in their long history, made Iran an object of knowledge. Iranian intellectuals, seeking to gain knowledge of European intellectual movements and, alongside Western orientalism and Iranology, which led to the discovery of Iran's historical background, ancient artifacts, and past glory, realized the need to re-understand and redefine themselves, and on this basis, the discourse of Iranology was formed. At the same time, the profit-seeking goals of Western orientalists and antiquarians, coupled with the ignorance of the Qajar kings, shaped the discourse of Iranian archaeology. Thus, the discourse of Iranology and the discourse of archaeology emerged in close connection and at the same time. The present study, using a genealogical method, has evaluated the zero degree of emergence of these discourses in order to identify their important propositions and how they influence and affect each other in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical foundations, concepts, and common links of the aforementioned discourses. The result of evaluating the influential propositions in these two discourses is that a set of Iranological investigations created a new construction of the national identity of Iranians in accordance with their proud historical past, and archaeological investigations provided tangible data for this thought and made the theory governing society visible.

Avoidance of symmetry in Seljuk brickwork is one of the accessible but Difficult to understand concepts of Islamic art. The use of bricks in a variety of geometric designs without observing the principle of symmetry in the edges of the building led to a dramatic change in the structure of the brick arrays of this period that has never been experienced in any historical period in Iran. Note that changes in the artistic structure of a traditional society do not simply take place, and the coincidence of these with the height and perfection of Iranian brick art has caused a contradiction in the art of this era that has so far received little attention. However, the Seljuk era brick work debate has been a highly repetitive topic in domestic and foreign research, and despite the principle of symmetry in Iranian art, little attention has been paid to the issue of Avoidance of symmetry in Seljuk-era brickwork Explaining and interpreting this deconstruction of the new social class (middle class) as the sponsor of production that followed a new taste is of great importance. Sponsors' taste and bricklayer enthusiasm for displaying their ability, created the style of pop art in brickwork of that era that's like all the pop arts was influenced by social structures and with the political and social changes after the Seljuk era Immediately forgotten. This research aims to reveal new aspects of Seljuk-era brick art that have been neglected so far. This research is based on historical-interpretive method and based on library resources.

Iranology researches have been receiving the attention of scientific circles for some time, but despite their importance, the scientific process of researchers has not been successful in the field of theorizing, paradigm building, and creating a scientific flow. The knowledge of Iranology with the approach of self-knowledge struggles in a lot of data, and in the best case, it should be said that only descriptions of various data have been presented and no proper analysis of their nature has been done. This issue stems from the lack of correct understanding of the theoretical foundations and the separation of Iranology knowledge from other fields of humanities and the emotional approach of the scientific community. The current research is a fundamental research and by posing the question, what are the approaches to the concept of Iranology and its requirements for Iranian researchers? It seeks to provide a comprehensive definition and critique of examples of this concept. Data were collected from library sources and analyzed by qualitative meta-analysis method. The most important goal of this research is to create awareness about the concept and to express the necessities and challenges ahead for a correct understanding of Iranology from the perspective of self-knowledge. By comprehensively evaluating the sources, the researcher has divided the approaches to the concept of Iranology into three general categories: 1- Orientalist approaches, 2- Culturally important and 3- Scientific approaches. Then, by criticizing and evaluating each of these categories and its key sources, he has clarified the ambiguities and some overlapping issues and finally, with special emphasis on the scientific approach, he has explained the issues in the field of the basics of Iranology.

 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a critical syndrome that harms the psychological, communicational, social, and emotional processes of individuals. Considering the importance of this topic, the present study was conducted with the aim to examine the relationship between motivational structure, traumatic events, and psychological distress tolerance mediated by ambiguity intolerance in individuals with IBS.

 The present correlational research was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population comprised all individuals with IBS referring to the Digestive Disease Research Institute of Shariati Hospital, Iran, in 2020. From among these patients, 177 individuals were selected using convenience sampling method. The data were gathered using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Personal Concerns Inventory (PCI), Ambiguity Tolerance Scale-II (MSTAT-II), and Life Events Checklist (LEC). SPSS software was used for the preliminary data analysis and SmartPLS software was used for PLS modeling.

 The results of data analysis indicated the direct effect of adaptive motivation structure and traumatic events on distress tolerance. The aforementioned variables could also affect the distress tolerance of individuals with IBS by influencing their ambiguity tolerance (P < 0.01). However, traumatic events had a higher indirect effect through ambiguity tolerance compared to their direct effect. Furthermore, adaptive motivation structure had no significant direct or indirect effect on distress tolerance.

 This study confirmed the relationship between motivational structure and traumatic events with the mediating role of ambiguity intolerance among IBS sufferers. Furthermore, further studies must be conducted on ambiguity tolerance and the problems of individuals with IBS regarding the plethora of scientific evidence on the etiology of IBS syndrome.

The relationship between meat consumption and mental disorders is less investigated. We examined the association of meat consumption with the odds of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in Iranian adults.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3362 subjects with18-55 years. Usual dietary intakes were assessed through the use of a dish-based 106-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS), and General Health Questionnaire(GHQ), all validated in the Iranian population, were applied to collect data on anxiety, depression, and psychological distress, respectively.

In the current study, 28.6, 13.6 and 22.6%, of participants suffered from depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, respectively. Individuals in the top quartile of red meat intake had a 43% increased risk of depression (OR=1.43; 95%CI:1.09-1.89), compared to those in the first quartile, after adjustment for potential confounders. The highest vs. lowest red meat intake was related to a 92% greater risk of depression (OR=1.92;95%CI:1.17-3.15) in males. In overweight or obese individuals, despite the lack of any association between red meat intake and mental disorders, high intake of white meat was associated with a lower odd of psychological distress (OR=0.64;95%CI:0.42-0.99) and depression (OR=0.68;95%CI:0.45-1.00). In normal-weight participants, the highest vs. lowest red meat intake was related to 66% greater odds for depression than those (OR=1.66; 95%CI:1.14-2.42).

Red meat consumption was associated with an increased risk of depression, especially in men and normal-weight participants. In overweight or obese subjects, white meat intake was inversely associated with psychological distress.

As the diagnostic criteria for psychosomatic research‑structured interview (DCPR‑SI) is a rater‑assessed questionnaire, it has not been used vastly in community‑based studies and clinics. Describing and investigating self‑assessed form of DCPR are an attempt to apply it easier and more worthwhile for medical settings. The aim of this study was to describe and present self‑assessed form of DCPR self‑assessed (DCPR‑SA) and test its validity and reliability.

The DCPR‑SI was translated to Persian according to the best practice methodology and the guideline for adaptation of self‑report measures. In this cross‑sectional study, 540 patients and healthy individuals were recruited and answered DCPR‑SA and some related questionnaires. Inter‑rater (test–interview) and test–retest reliability were determined. Construct, concurrent, discriminant, and known‑group validity were tested.

The kappa coefficients were expressed substantial and almost perfect agreement (0.617–0.784, P ≤ 0.05). In addition, phi correlation coefficients were indicated adequate test–retest reliability for each cluster (0.548–0.754, P ≤ 0.05). Three domains (anxiety‑related symptoms, functional symptoms, and dysfunctional traits and emotional patterns) were confirmed by factor analysis. The results of the discriminate validity analysis were promising.

The findings show that the DCPR‑SA is valid and reliable and can be used by medical professionals as a psychosomatic screening tool and can be used properly in Persian‑speaking population.

Traditionalists have expressed their views on art and architecture in recent decades, and their views have become the dominant one in the interpretation of Islamic architecture. The followers of the school of traditionalism considered art as a cryptic thing and considered it a sacred field.Accordingly, numbers, whose use in architecture is geometrically embodied, took on a mystical and metaphysical nature, and the forms expressed a special meaning. The octagons, which are specifically considered as octagonal planes in this article, are no exception to this rule and have been criticized only from a traditionalist point of view. In the last decade, however, traditionalist thinking has faced challenges and its dominance over the subject of architectural interpretation has diminished. The present article has interpreted and studied the prevalence of octagonal plan use in Seljuk tomb buildings with a practical approach (without considering the mystical point of view) and according to the necessity of using a variety of brick designs. Brick working, which is an art related to architecture, flourished in the Seljuk period with the use of experience and the development of skills, and bricklayers, due to their ability to decorate, faced a limited space due to their desire to provide various and unlimited decorations. Therefore, they used segmentation and framing to present decorations, and finally abandoned the principle of symmetry as a limiting subject to present more decorations. In such cases, having a plan with more sides, such as an octagon, would give more precedence to a quadrilateral plan. Therefore, the expansion of the octagonal plan in the tombs of the Seljuk period, based on the widespread use of brick motifs, is more reasonable than presenting a transcendental nature according to the views of the traditionalists, without any logical argument. The information of this research is collected based on library resources and with a inferential approach and is presented in a descriptive-analytical method.

Understanding the religious architecture of the Jews of Tehran is one of the important aspects of knowing the city as an important archaeological data. The religious architecture of the Jews of Tehran has received less attention from researchers due to reasons such as the disinclination of the Jews to provide information in this field and the lack of significant architecture in the field of religious architecture and for this reason, there is less knowledge about them than other religious minorities who have been studied extensively in the field of religious architecture and hence, the need for study in this filed is palpable. Due to the lack of significant information in this area, the present study compares the architecture of the 7 remaining synagogues of the Qajar and first Pahlavi eras. Some of these synagogues were built in the old Jewish neighborhood of Tehran (Oudlajan) and the other part of it has been created outside the mentioned neighborhood; and their division into three distinct periods, the process of change and evolution of the religious architecture of the Jews of Tehran and how it is influenced by the social and political conditions of the Qajar and first Pahlavi periods will be reviewed. We will also examine and distinguish between Qajar and Pahlavi synagogues. It is worth mentioning that the religious architecture of the Jews of Tehran has been strongly influenced by the social and political conditions of this minority and has been influenced by the residential architecture around it. Accordingly, the view of religious architecture and the reluctance to show the synagogue in the urban context changed with the post-constitutional political changes and the greater freedom of action of the Jews, and caused a level of extraversion and a desire to build magnificent religious buildings in later periods. This research is of fundamental research type. Research data were collected through field study and library research and presented by descriptive-analytical method.

Experienced bodily sensation with basic emotions seems to be a universal phenomenon, but cross-cultural differences are expected.

A cross-sectional study designed to determine the topographic map of changes across six basic emotions  and anxiety in 220 Iranians aged 16 -55 years .The Persian pencil and paper version of the emBODY application was used and validated during the study. The results were analyzed by SPSS software version 20 using generalized linear models (GLM) to determine the relationship between gender and emotion sensation in 5 main body areas and three main facial parts.

The findings supported implicit detection of all basic emotions by participants. Anxiety was the most common reported and anger, fear, sadness, joy, surprise and disgust, respectively were identified basic emotions in both sexes. GLMs were significant (P <0.05) for bodily sensation changes in head and neck, upper body, upper and lower limbs, and all three main facial parts. Results also showed a significant gender difference in lower limbs (P <0.05).

The results suggested the consistency of distinct emotion- triggered bodily sensation maps of Iranians with universal patterns.  Implication of the findings for quantification and documentation of the emotion-related similarities and differences of Iranians with the international communities are discussed.

Urban archeology pays special attention to religious minorities and their role in the historical and social context of cities. The study of subsistence, index architecture, and how religious minorities interact in the urban context are among the topics of interest in this branch of archeology. Tehran’s Ciye Tir and Mirza Kuchakkhan streets, which are the subject of this study, were part of the newly established government neighborhood, according to the division of urban areas in the late Qajar period. Existence of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Armenians, The Gospel Church of St. Peter belongs to Protestant Christians, The Haim Synagogue belongs to the Jews and the Zoroastrian Adrian which were created in this area from the end of Nasser al-Din Shah’s reign to the end of the first Pahlavi period has a distinct urban texture compared to other parts of the city. From the perspective of archeology, the present study will examine the architecture, visibility, and interaction of these works in the historical context of Tehran to reveal the position of these minorities in the social structures governing the city. Also, by comparing these works, the amount of influence of each religion in the context of Tehran will be determined. The study found that the minorities had created distinct structures within the urban fabric by changing their attitudes toward religious architecture over the pre-constitutional era. Meanwhile, Armenians, due to their rich history in architecture, have benefited the most from the socio-political conditions after the constitution and have had a great impact on the urban fabric of Tehran. This research is a kind of fundamental research. The research data were collected by field study and library research and presented by the descriptive-analytical method.

The aim of the present study was comparing the effect of the combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) with Cognitive-Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) on depressive symptoms, quality of life, psychological flexibility, and self-compassion in women with persistent depressive disorder. The research design is quasi-experimental and pretest-posttest and a two-month follow-up assessment have been conducted. The convenience sampling method was used to select 24 patients with persistent depression and then they randomly assigned to two experimental groups. Each experimental group received 14 sessions of treatment and completed Beck Depression Inventory-II, World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life, Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire, and Self-Compassion Scales in pretest, posttest and follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze data. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups, which means that the scores of these four variables changed over time in both groups in the same way. More accurate analyzes show that each of the therapies has been effective in improving the four studied variables during research phases. These findings indicate that combination therapy can be as effective as Cognitive-Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy as a validated treatment for persistent depression and both treatments can be used as adjunctive therapies in addition to pharmacotherapy for people with persistent depressive disorder.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder which its treatment is still a question. According to the literature, the use of antidepressants is common for IBS, while its efficacy in this regard is controversial. This study has been raised to assess the efficacy of venlafaxine in IBS patients.

In this double‑blind, randomized clinical trial, 33 patients with moderate‑to‑severe IBS were included and randomly divided into two groups by using permuted block randomization process of size 4 for each block to receive Venlafaxine or placebo. Venlafaxine in 37.5 mg/day for 2 weeks, followed by 75 mg/day for the next 2 weeks and then 150 mg/day until the end of the study was prescribed. Gastrointestinal symptoms severity, depression, anxiety, stress as main, and quality of life (QoL) as the secondary outcomes were evaluated at the study initiation, within 2, 6, and 12 weeks after treatment and 3 months after intervention cessation.

The gastrointestinal symptoms severity, depression, anxiety, stress, and QoL scores significantly improved in patients who received Venlafaxine but not in placebo group; although after treatment discontinuation they experienced relapse (P < 0.05). Patients treated with venlafaxine experienced significant improvement in IBS symptoms, all three psychological disorders and QoL than placebo group (P < 0.01). The frequency of observed side effects in venlafaxine group including vomiting, nausea, and sleep disturbance was higher than placebo.

Venlafaxine could be considered as an effective treatment for improving gastrointestinal symptoms severity, depression, anxiety, stress, and QoL of patients with IBS. Further studies with larger sample size and longer treatment duration are recommended.

Balint Work is getting introduced and Balint Group Trials are being held in Iran in recent years. This is the first study of a Balint group trial participated by Iranian General Practitioners (GPs). This was a qualitative study to explore the themes which feature the GPs' described experience of their participation. A phenomenological approach was applied to examine the GPs' experience of participation in a seven-session Balint-group-trial. The participants were eight Iranian GPs working in the primary health-care network of Natanz-Iran. A focus group and in-depth semi-structured interviews were applied and the transcribed.  Verbatim were analyzed through a phenomenological explorative and descriptive process by a three-membered research team. Three ground themes and four main-themes emerged as the main features through which the participant-GPs had explained their experience. The main themes were1) Improving the Skills and Wisdom of Doctor-Patient-Relationship, 2) Exceptional Training Method/Learning Experience, 3) Emotional healing for doctors, 4) Job Morality Inspirations. Iranian physicians described their participation in a Balint group trial as a missing, needed and valuable experience of different sort of a peer-discussion-group, an insight-inducing and skill-improving one and an emotionally-supportive one. Minor particularities and major similarities were found between the participation experience as portrayed by Iranian physicians and by physicians of other countries. The study also adds a demonstration of the trans-cultural nature of the Balint group experience. 

Involvement of the immune system is one of the issues raised in the pathophysiology of depression. BCL2 and BAX genes are related to immune system regulation. We investigated the BCL2 and BAX expression as a probable mechanism of immune system involvement in depression. This case–control study was conducted on 28 patients with major depression (case) and 28 nondepressed individuals (control) within the age range of 18–55 years in the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Clinical interviews, based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, were conducted to detect depression, and Beck’s Depression Inventory was used to measure the severity of depression in the individuals. In addition, a real‑time polymerase chain reaction was employed to compare the level of Bax and Bcl‑2 gene expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The multivariate covariance analysis was used to explore the correlation between BCL2 and BAX gene expression and to control the effect of duration and severity of depression. The results showed that none of the variables including group membership, the duration of depression, and the severity of depression were not significantly correlated with the expression of BCL2 and BAX genes. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant relationship between the Bax and Bcl‑2 genes expression in case and control groups (P > 0.05). Depression may have no impact on Bax and Bcl‑2 gene expression in patients with major depression. Studies with larger sample size are recommended.

Stressful life events can lead to psychological problems, heart disease, stroke, etc. Multidimensional nature of stress calls for advanced statistical methods that could evaluate these dimensions based on symptoms of stress. Therefore, current study aimed at identifying and redefining the dimensions of the stressful life events (SLE) questionnaire using a higher order factor model. This cross-sectional study was done in 4763 people participating in a project called SEPAHAN in Isfahan, Iran 2010. The perceived stress level was evaluated by the Iranian version of SLE questionnaire. First and second order exploratory and confirmatory factor models were applied for data analysis using AMOS V20. According to exploratory factor analysis, 11 domains of stress (first order factors) were extracted from 44 items, which explained 51.42% of the total variance. Based on these domains, two dimensions were identified as second-order factors (stressors), including individual and social stressors that explained 17.3% and 25.6% of total variance, respectively. The similar structure was identified both in total sample and in men and women separately. Also, the results in exploratory factor analysis were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFI =0.78, GFI =0.89, RMSEA =0.05). It was found that the second-order factor model well fitted to the dimensions of the questionnaire identified. SLE questionaire has11 domains and two higher dimensions (individual and social stressors). Studying the types of stressors could be used in preventive strategies against mental health problems and also in training useful copying styles.

Health anxiety disorder (HAD) is defined as anxiety about having a serious illness or fear of a serious illness, despite the assurances of doctors to the contrary. The purpose of this study was to review HAD, its diagnostic criteria, and its impact on health services utilization in a review article in 2018. For this aim, articles in ProQuest, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and ISI Web of Science databases were selected without a publication time limit, and then, data on the nature, diagnostic criteria, and the effect of HAD on health services utilization were extracted. HAD is a relatively common disorder that persists in the absence of suitable management and results in excessive utilization of health services, avoidance of health care, and disruption of the function of individuals. Therefore, with early diagnosis, repetition of counseling, clinical trials, and the use of health services is avoidable and will prevent cost increases. Consequently it is better to have consensus on the diagnosis criteria of this disorder and, if diagnosed, the person is treated.

Although several studies are available linking individual dietary antioxidants to the risk of psychological disorders, data about the association of dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with depression and anxiety are scarce. This study was conducted to investigate the association between dietary TAC and odds of depression and anxiety among Iranian adults. Material & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, dietary intakes of 3297 apparently healthy adults in Isfahan province, Iran, were assessed using a validated detailed food frequency questionnaire. Dietary TAC was estimated using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) international databases. Depression and anxiety were assessed using a validated Persian translated version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire. Having the scores 0-7 in either subscales was considered as “normal” and the scores of 8 or more as the presence of depression or anxiety. Overall, 28.6% (n= 943) of study participants were depressed or at the borderline level, and 13.6% (n= 448) had anxiety or were at the borderline level. After controlling for potential confounders, including dietary intakes of omega-3 fatty acids, we found that those in the top quintile of dietary TAC were 43% less likely to be depressed than those in the bottom category (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.40-0.82, Ptrend= 0.001). Regarding anxiety, there was a significant inverse association between dietary TAC and anxiety comparing extreme quintiles (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.39-0.99, Ptrend= 0.06). A significant inverse association between dietary TAC and odds of depression and anxiety was found among adults. Further prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.

Growth of cardiovascular disease (CVD), variation in provision of medical services, rising costs, and increasing information availability through the media are making patients more actively involved in decision-making process of their treatment. The aim of this study was to better understand the components of patient competence in the context of coronary artery disease (CAD) and to further evaluate their relations with medical, demographic, and psychosocial characteristics. In this cross-sectional study, 148 patients with at least one year diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were enrolled in the study from April to June 2014. Data on demographic characteristics, depression, anxiety, quality of life (QOL), social support, and drug adherence were collected from participants. Pearson correlation, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple linear regression tests were performed for analyzing data. The mean age of patients was 53.63 ± 5.15. Of the participants, 58 (39.5%) and
61 cases (41.5%) were found to be depressed and anxious, respectively. Higher levels of self-regulation correlated with higher education years and social support, and also with lower depression and anxiety (P < 0.050). Stress management and confronting the threat were linked to education years, depression, anxiety, QOL, and social support (P < 0.050). The patients with CAD, in order to be involved in the proper treatment process and manage their emotions during this process, need to have the required competencies. Patient competence as a whole and its components have been related to medical, demographic, and psychosocial characteristics.

Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder pose a high burden among the general population. Etiological factor(s) of such disorders remain unknown. Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic virus that has been suggested as an etiological agent for psychiatric disorders. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of BDV among patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of schizophrenic (n=75) and bipolar (n=55) patients and healthy blood donors (n=125) were extracted form whole blood samples. RNA was extracted from PBMCs and the presence of BDV P40 RNA was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

The BDV genome was not detected in any of the subjects. Positive family history of disease was significantly more frequent among patients (P=0.0001). There was a significant association between contact with animals and psychiatric illnesses (P The results indicate no evidence of BDV genome among patients with psychiatric disorders. Serological examination for BDV antigens or antibodies could provide further information in this regard. In addition, contact with cats is significantly more prevalent among patients with mental illnesses, which might be due to infection with Toxoplasma gondii.

Aim and Background: Somatic symptom is one of the prevalent complaints in patients with psychiatric disorders and in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th Edition (DSM-5) is mentioned as somatic symptom disorder (SSD). In order to assess somatic complaints, validated scales are required. The aim of the present study was preparation of Persian version and determination of factor structure (as one of the psychometric properties) of Screening for Somatoform Symptoms-7 (SOMS-7) scale in Iranian samples. Methods and Materials: This psychometric study was conducted in Psychosomatic Research Center of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, and included 100 patients with anxiety/mood disorders. All participants were asked to complete SOMS-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Validity was confirmed by correlational method, and factor analysis and external and internal reliability were confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and re-test method. Factor analysis was performed by exploratory and confirmatory method. Data were analysed via SPSS software. Findings: Internal consistency of SOMS-7 was obtained 0.92 using Cronbach's alpha and reliability was obtained 0.70 via re-test method in two weeks interval. Factor analysis showed an appropriate two-factor structure in patients. The correlation of these two factors with somatic scale of PHQ was obtained 0.51 and 0.59, respectively, and revealed the construction validity as well as convergent validity. Findings indicate that Persian version of SOMS-7 has suitable reliability and validity for assessment of SSD and also evaluation of treatment effects in these patients.

Aim and Comorbidity of psychological disorders is very common in patients with chronic pain, including patients with fibromyalgia; it is in a range of depression, anxiety, stress, disappointment, failure, and anger, and accompanied with psychological consequences such as sleep disturbances, disruptions in daily functions, and worries about the future. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy on depression, anxiety, and stress in women with fibromyalgia.
Methods and Materials: This study was quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, and follow-up, and control group. Among the patients referring to medical centers affiliated to in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2016, 24 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome were selected through convenient sampling method, and randomly divided into two groups. The instrument of this study was a short form of Depression, Anxiety, and Psychological Stress Scale (DASS-21). The experimental group received the therapy based on acceptance and commitment during 8 sessions of 2 hours. The covariance analysis method was used to analyze the data.
Findings: Acceptance and commitment therapy in women with fibromyalgia is more effective to control the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, compared to the control group (P Group therapy based on acceptance and commitment can reduce the psychological damage in patients and increase their life-richness, in spite of pain and illness, through the creation and development of acceptance and increasing value-based practices.

Mental disorders can have physical manifestation and are prevailed as psychosomatic signs. Studies about cognitive skills in psychosomatic patient are clinical trials in order to understand somatotization of mental disorder. This study aimed to compare problem-solving skills and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in patients with psychosomatic symptoms and control population.
This was a causal-comparative study during the third simester of 2016, and study sample included 68 people, 34 with and 34 without psychosomatic symptoms, in Isfahan City, Iran. They were selected via convenience sampling from the clients of Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, and their relatives. The research tools included the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ).
Findings: The Multivariant ANCOVA test showed that a significant difference between problem-solving skills (except avoid the tendency style) and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in patients with psychosomatic symptoms and control population (P We found that problem-solving skills (except avoid the tendency style) and cognitive emotion regulation strategies play a significant role in presence or absence of psychosomatic symptoms.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) that a?ects indi?erent aspects of life and patients experienced depression and anxiety more than others. Tere are several herbal medicines with positive e?ects in these patients. Te aim of this study is to evaluate the e?ects of mixture of Boswellia carterii, Zingiber ofcinale, and Achillea Millefolium on severity of symptoms, anxiety, and depression in IBS patients.
Tis clinical trial study was done in sixty IBS patients (with mild?to?moderate symptoms) divided into two case and control groups. Patients were assessed at the beginning, 1 month, and 3 months after by IBS?severity scoring system (IBS?SSS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. IBS?SSS is used for quality of life evaluation too.
Sixty IBS patients (with mild to moderate symptoms) with a mean age of 38.75 ± 11.74 participated that 55.4% of cases and 72.8% of controls were men. Te most prevalent type of IBS was the mixed type of IBS. Te mean score of abdominal pain severity and frequency, bloating score, and depression and anxiety score were decreased in patients administered herbal medication, but changes in these variables in controls were not statistically signifcant. Te changes in quality of life score between cases and controls were signifcant in men (P = 0.01) although it was not signifcant in women.
A mixture of B. Carterii, Z. ofcinale, and A. millefolium is e?ective in eliminating IBS symptoms and its related depression and anxiety and using herbal medicine in IBS treatment is suggested.

Aim and Obesity has been increasing significantly during the past decade in Iran due to changes in lifestyle and nutrition patterns. Many people turn to obesity surgery after failing in all other methods of weight reduction; however, they face failure again as they do not consider psychological factors. This study was conducted to assess the psychological profile of patients with obesity attended for obesity surgery.
Methods and Materials: The current research was a descriptive study and had been completed periodically over the course of 2012-2013. The studied population included individuals with obesity that has the body mass index (BMI) of above 30 kg/m2. The sample population of 115 people was chosen via convenience sampling method and their psychological data were gathered through various standard questionnaires including hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), neuroticism-extraversion-openness five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI), quality of life survey [short form 36 (SF-36)] and coping operations preference enquiry (COPE) survey. In the next step, raw data were processed and analyzed using the software SPSS in order to compare men and women mean scores.
Findings: The studied population had an average level of anxiety and depression. Among the personality characteristics, amiability has the most and responsibility has the least mean. Problem-solving method has the most and acceptance has the least mean among coping styles. Mean of quality of life score had an average level. There was a significant difference between the anxiety score among men and women; and avoidance and quality of life coping styles were the most used ones among women and men, respectively.
The patients who volunteer for obesity surgical treatment methods suffer from some degrees of anxiety and depression, and use problem-solving coping style to manage their stress. In addition, they have incompatible personality dimensions and average quality of life. These characteristics can alter treatment, and reversibility of surgery outcomes.