sara jam barsang

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant global public health issue and a violation of human rights, particularly affecting women’s physical and mental well-being. Health education interventions are effective worldwide. This review aimed to identify Iranian studies utilizing health education models and theories in interventions aimed at reducing or preventing violence.

 This is a narrative review of published articles on the application of health education models and theories in IPV interventions against women in Iran. The search was conducted using English keywords relevant to the topic, including domestic violence, IPV, intimate partner abuse, spouse abuse, sexual abuse, intervention, and Iran. These keywords were combined with Boolean operators such as “AND,” “OR,” and “NOT” to find all relevant articles or exclude those with specific identified keywords. The search was performed in reliable databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed. Additionally, Persian keywords such as domestic violence and wife abuse were used in the country’s databases, including Elmnet, Noormags, the Scientific Information Database (SID), Civilica, and Magiran. The inclusion criteria were: 1. Intervention studies where education using a model or theory aimed at preventing or reducing IPV is their main intervention; 2. Studies conducted in Iran; 3. Studies published between January 1, 2000, and the end of December 2023; 4. Studies for which full text is accessible. The exclusion criteria were: 1. Descriptive, qualitative, and review studies, as well as theses and unpublished studies. 

Out of a total of 289 identified articles related to the topic, only five articles have used models and theories of health education and health promotion in their interventions from 2000 to September 2023.

Health education models and theories can effectively reduce IPV; however, in Iran, there is a lack of investigation into IPV as a public health issue, which has led to the underutilization of interventions based on health education and promotion theories.

Abnormal gestational weight gain (GWG) can carry risks for both the mother and the baby. Diet imbalances are the determining factor in the weight gain of pregnant women.

This study aimed to assess the relationship between nutritional patterns and the weight of pregnant mothers living in Yazd, Iran from 2021-2022.

In this cohort study, data from 1,497 pregnant women aged 18-45 yr with singleton pregnancy who completed the food frequency questionnaire in the Yazd Birth Cohort Study were extracted. This data included demographic variables, GWG (difference between initial weight at 13-15 wk and 1 wk before the expected delivery date), and food intake information before the 13th wk of pregnancy. The women were categorized into 3 groups based on GWG: inadequate, normal, and excessive. Dietary patterns were extracted from the food frequency questionnaireusing principal component analysis, and multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between dietary patterns and GWG categories.

According to the frequency of food consumption, 3 dietary patterns were obtained: the traditional pattern (cabbage vegetables, fruits, and dried fruits), the unhealthy pattern (processed meats and sweetened drinks), and the vegetable/fruit/olive pattern. The analyses results showed that pregnant women who followed the fruit/vegetable/olive pattern had a lower chance of insufficient weight gain during pregnancy (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45-0.98).

Consuming various fruits and vegetables can help regulate GWG in the population of pregnant women lived in Yazd, Iran. Diet can be considered one of the most effective and safe interventions.
 

This article has been extracted from Ph.D. Thesis. (Shahab-Aldin Akbarian)

The existence of administrative corruption in universities is one of the serious challenges that can have widespread negative effects on the educational, research, and social systems. The present study aimed to determine the importance of factors affecting the occurrence of administrative corruption from the perspective of administrative staff at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd.

The present applied, quantitative, and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023. The sample size was 260 individuals, selected through stratified random sampling. The instrument used was a standard questionnaire in the form of a five-point Likert scale. For data analysis, descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and frequency, as well as t-test and ANOVA were used.

Based on the findings, the highest mean value was related to organizational factors (4.00 ± 0.49) and the lowest was related to individual factors (3.77 ± 0.57). Moreover, no significant relationship was observed between factors contributing to administrative corruption and demographic factors such as gender, marital status, age gap, and work experience. However, a significant relationship was found between individual factors contributing to administrative corruption and the education level of the study samples.

Based on the results, to reduce administrative corruption, the priority should be improving organizational factors, including transparency in processes, strengthening supervision, and fostering a healthy organizational culture. Moreover, attention to education level and raising individuals' awareness can be effective as complementary factors in reducing administrative corruption.

Extremely low frequency (ELF) waves are less than 300 Hz. Electrical devices with city electricity are one of the most important sources of generating ELF waves. The main objective of this research was to investigate and compare the magnetic fields produced by ELF electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) waves in different parts of residential houses in Yazd city.

Thirty-three houses were selected, and an EMF-828 was used (made in Taiwan) for ELF-EMF intensity measurement in three parts of the kitchen, living room, and bedroom and three modes of Normal, OFF, and ON electrical instruments.

Two-way ANOVA was used to compare two-by-two ELF waves in three modes: OFF, Normal, and ON. A significant value was obtained (p-value=0.036) in OFF and ON modes in the living room. Similar results were for kitchen (p-value=0.014) in two modes of ON and OFF. However, there was not a significant relationship (p>0.05) between the mean intensity of ELF-EMF waves and the studied building parameters.

The mean intensity of the ELF waves in different modes was not the same in kitchen and was in the order of ON> Normal> OFF that could be related to high-wave generation equipment. The comparison of mean intensity ​​of ELF-EMF waves in different locations of the investigated houses was much lower than the standard level set by ICNIRP. Preventing the simultaneous use of high-power electrical instruments led to both save consumption and reduce EMF-ELF waves exposure risk.

Healthcare professionals are the frontline soldiers against Corona.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on all personnel at a teaching hospital located in Yazd City. Each participant completed a questionnaire that included demographic information as well as their history regarding the frequency and length of daily contact with a patient infected with COVID-19. It also covered the duration of personal protective equipment (PPE) usage and alcohol-based hand rub application during direct exposure (with 1 meter) and throughout aerosolizing procedures performed on the patient. Incidence rate, Frequency rate, probability, severity rate, and risk of corona infection were evaluated among various occupational groups within the hospital.

40.66% of the staff employed in the hospital were infected with corona virus. The highest frequency of corona infection was observed among nurses (51.60%). Over 90% of healthcare personnel who did not utilize PPE for 95% of their work time faced a high-risk level for the coronavirus. Physicians reported the highest number of daily exposures (averaging 27.94 exposures) and the longest exposure time (averaging 243.89 minutes). The highest risk of infection among doctors (60.93) and nurses (39.49) was observed. The nurses exhibited the highest incidence rate (51.22) and frequency rate (26.27).

 Due to a significant percentage of hospital staff with coronavirus, and with the highest infection rates occurring among nurses, adequate training for the use of PPE is necessary.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that can lead to major reproductive and metabolic complications. Management of glycemic parameters is an important step to improve the symptoms of PCOS.

This study aims to evaluate the effects of the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet and curcumin (Cur) co-administration on glycemic parameters in normal weight and overweight/obese women with PCOS undergoing in vitro fertilization.

In this double-blind randomized clinical study, 104 infertile women with PCOS were divided into 4 intervention groups considering treatment conditions and body mass index. They received 500 mg twice daily of Cur or placebo (Pls) along with DASH or a standard diet (St) based on macronutrient composition (52% carbohydrate, 18% protein, and 30% fat) for 12 wk, (DASH+Cur, DASH+Pls, St+Cur, St+Pls). The effect of these interventions on fasting blood sugar and insulin levels, insulin resistance (IR), and insulin sensitivity were determined.

Participants adhered to the intervention protocol (> 80%). Insulin levels in the supplement intervention (Cur + diet) decreased significantly in the crude model. They remained significant even after adjusting for confounding variables in adjusted models (body mass index classification, energy difference, age, and physical activity levels at the baseline) (ß = -45.3, 95% CI [-73.23, -17.46], p = 0.002). Homeostasis model assessment of IR decreased significantly in the supplement intervention even after controlling for confounding factors in adjusted models. Changes in fasting blood sugar and insulin sensitivity were not significant in either the crude or adjusted models.

The study results show that adding Cur to the diet can positively reduce insulin levels, improve IR, and lead to faster recovery of hyperinsulinemia. Cur supplementation with a healthy diet has synergistic beneficial effects on glycemic parameters. Larger clinical trials with longer durations are needed to confirm these results.
 

This article has been extracted from Ph.D. Thesis. (Tayebeh Zohrabi)
Registration ID in IRCT: IRCT20200915048731N1

In the last few decades, in many research fields, different methods were introduced to discover groups with the same trends in longitudinal data. The clustering process is an unsupervised learning method, which classifies longitudinal data based on different criteria by performing algorithms. The current study was performed with the aim of reviewing various methods of longitudinal data clustering, including two general categories of non-parametric methods and model-based methods. PubMed, SCOPUS, ISI, Ovid, and Google Scholar were searched between 2000 and 2021. According to our systematic review, the non-parametric k-means Clustering Method utilizing Euclidean distance emerges as a leading approach for clustering longitudinal data This research, with an overview of the studies done in the field of clustering, can help researchers as a toolbox to choose various methods of longitudinal data clustering in idea generation and choosing the appropriate method in the classification and analysis of longitudinal data.

Operating room technologists are crucial in ensuring patient safety in surgical units. The study aims to assess the validation of the observational performance assessment tool related to patient safety using a tool, the World Health Organization Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (WHOBARS), among operating room technologists in Iran.

The cross-sectional study was conducted at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. The WHOBARS tool was designed based on the surgical safety checklist of the World Health Organization. In the first step, the translation-back translation process was done and the external validity of the tool was confirmed. In the next step, content and face validity were evaluated qualitatively. Quantitative content validity was evaluated through two indices: content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI). The reliability of the tool was measured by two methods of internal consistency and test-retest. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, percentage, standard deviation) by SPSS 26 software.

With the agreement of all experts in the first phase of the study, the face and content validity of the tool was confirmed. All items of the tool obtained CVR higher than 0.49 and CVI higher than 0.79 which were retained in the tool. Finally, the quantitative and qualitative validity of the 15-item performance measurement tool was confirmed. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was 0.86.

According to the findings, the Iranian version of WHOBARS is a reliable and valid tool for the evaluation of safety performance among operating room technologists.

This study aims to examine the interplay between COVID-19-related knowledge, anxiety, and preventive behaviors among individuals who have survived COVID-19.

A descriptive cross-sectional design recruited 230 participants from three public hospitals through simple randomization. Participants completed a questionnaire via email and phone, comprising sections on personal information, the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS), and COVID-19 knowledge and preventive behaviors. Data analysis utilized T-tests, ANOVA, and regression models.

Out of 230 individuals, 200 responded (an 87% response rate). Education level significantly correlated with COVID-19 knowledge and preventive behaviors. Job status also showed a significant association with participants' understanding and actions regarding COVID-19. Regression analyses revealed that higher levels of knowledge (β=0.5, p=0.001) and anxiety (β=0.182, p=0.001) were linked to increased engagement in preventive behaviors.

 This study focused on COVID-19 survivors, finding that anxiety may serve as a motivating factor for engaging in preventive behaviors. These findings hold implications for policymakers in promoting effective preventive measures.

Given the high prevalence of age-related diseases and physiological changes in addition to the susceptibility of the elderly to falls, this issue has become a major public health problem. This study assesses the risk of falls and related factors among the elderly living in rural areas.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 302 elderly people in rural areas of Yazd Province, Iran, using the multi-stage sampling method. They completed a multi-section questionnaire, including demographic questions and the Tinetti gait and balance scale for assessing gait and balance in the elderly. The data were entered into the SPSS software, version 20 and analyzed by the chi-square test and ordinal logistic regression model. The statistical significance level of P<0.05 was considered in all tests.

The results showed that 38.1% of the participants presented a high fall risk, 20.5% demonstrated medium risk and 41.4% showed a low fall risk. Gender, age and visual status had a significant relationship with the risk of falls in the elderly (P<0.05). The probability of falls in women was 2.6 times higher compared to men. Moreover, the likelihood of falls in people with visual impairment was 1.7 times higher compared to subjects with no visual impairment and the probability of falls increased by 15% as they aged.

Visual impairment, gender, and age factors are diagnosed as related risk factors for falls in rural elderly people. It is recommended to consider these factors for the greater effectiveness of interventions to reduce falls in the elderly.

Healthcare seeking behavior is crucial for early detection and proper management of hypertension in the elderly. This study investigated the factors influencing healthcare seeking behavior among elderly hypertensive patients residing in Taft, Iran.

This cross-sectional study recruited 230 hypertensive individuals aged 60 and above residing in Taft, Yazd Province, Iran. Participants were randomly selected and completed a questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire assessed their healthcare seeking behaviors and potential influencing factors. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software. Correlation tests and linear regression analysis were employed to identify significant relationships (p < 0.05).

A significant majority (70%) of participants reported always paying attention to symptoms of high blood pressure. When experiencing symptoms, over half (53.9%) of the participants indicated a preference for visiting health centers, general practitioners' offices, or emergency departments. Among the factors studied, awareness (B = 0.228) emerged as the most significant positive predictor of healthcare seeking behavior (p < 0.05). Other positive influences included decision-making autonomy (B = 0.177), prior experience with healthcare services (B = 0.131), and social support (B = 0.131) – all statistically significant at p < 0.05. Conversely, barriers to healthcare seeking had a negative and significant impact (B = - 0.064, p < 0.05). Collectively, the investigated factors explained 23% of the variation observed in healthcare seeking behavior among the elderly participants (R2 = 0.23).

This study identified awareness of hypertension as the strongest predictor of healthcare seeking behavior in elderly patients. Additionally, providing accessible and supportive healthcare services can further encourage elderly hypertensive patients to seek necessary care.

Social support is a crucial factor in how well older adults adjust to the aging process and related challenges, such as anxiety about death. Body image in older adults is a complex and important concept, yet it has been under-researched. This study examined the correlations between social support, death anxiety, and body image in older adults residing in Yazd City, Iran.

This cross-sectional study involved older adults from Yazd City, Iran, who visited comprehensive urban health centers in 2022. A convenience sample of 200 participants was selected. They completed questionnaires on demographics, social support perception, body image concerns, and death anxiety.

The total social support score (p < 0.01) as well as the score of family support (p < 0.05) and others' support (p < 0.01) showed a significant negative correlation with death anxiety. However, no significant association was found between death anxiety and body image, nor between social support and body image. Regression analysis revealed that only "support from others" was a significant predictor of death anxiety (p < 0.01). Men reported receiving more friends' social support than women (p < 0.05). Participants with higher socioeconomic status were more likely to receive greater family’s social support (p < 0.01) and experience less death anxiety (p < 0.05).

Social support positively impacts the mental well-being and morale of older adults. It can, therefore, be considered a readily available resource and a form of social capital to reduce death anxiety, enhance their sense of purpose, and improve their quality of life.

Improving the quality of working life of organizations' employees affects the quality of the services they provide, their productivity, and their mental health. Studies have shown that the low quality of working life increases the number of employee complaints, the rate of absenteeism, and the application of disciplinary regulations, but decreases the employees' positive attitude and discourages their participation in the suggested system programs. Meeting the needs of employees, on the other hand, leads to the improvement and long-term efficiency of the organization. Moral intelligence refers to the capacity and ability of an individual to understand right from wrong, have strong moral beliefs and act based on them, and behave appropriately. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between moral intelligence and quality of working life of the officials working in different units of the teaching hospitals in Yazd city, Iran.

In this descriptive study, a census sampling method was adopted to investigate all officials (i.e., 75 individuals) working in different units of teaching hospitals affiliated with Shahid Sadougi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran in 2023. Two standard questionnaires including moral intelligence of Kiel and Lenik and the quality of life of Casio were used to collect the required data. It should be noted that the demographic information including age, sex, education, and work experience was provided at the beginning of the questionnaires and before its main items. The questionnaires were distributed and collected by the researcher visiting the hospital and providing additional explanations. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS version 22 software, descriptive statistics (i.e., prevalence, mean, standard deviation), as well as t-test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Majority of the participants were females (62.7%), aged 31-40 years (49.3%), had a work experience of 10-20 years (56%), and had bachelor's degrees (54.7%). The total score of the quality of working life of the participants was (107.82±18.63), and the total score of the moral intelligence was (163.76±16.11). Therefore, the scores of both variables were above the average level. Generally, there was no significant relationship between the two variables of quality of working life and moral intelligence (P=0.051), but a significant relationship was observed between the participation and communication dimensions of the overall score of moral intelligence (P<0.05).

It was recommended that the policy makers and macro decision makers in the field of health and treatment should pay more attention to the improvement of communication between employees and officials as well as to the encouragement of participation in decision-making and goal-setting processes, which, in turen, may have contributed to strengthening moral intelligence and improving the quality of their life in the organization.

Academic staff have different roles which may impose a high mental workolad on them and affect their cognitive function. This study was designed to assess different subscales of mental worklaod and cognitive function in university academic staff. 

This was a cross-sectional study on 86 faculty members of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Stratified sampling was used to select participants from different schools. The participants were divided into basic sciences and clinical faculty members. Mental workload was assessed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Cognitive function was assessed by Stroop test. Data were analyzed by SPSS 26 using Shapiro-Wilks test, Student’s T-test, Mann Whitney U test, univariate ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis test. The level of significance was 0.05. 

Mean age and work history of the participants was 43.6±8.6 yr. and 11.7±9.1 yr., respectively. Mental workload, especially two aspects of mental demand and performance, was high and it was significantly higher in the participants from school of medicine and among those with executive/administrative responsibilities. From subscales of mental workload, physical demand was significantly higher among clinical than basic sciences faculty members (p<0.05). Among different aspects of cognitive function, only numbers of congruent errors were significantly higher among clinical faculties. Mental workload and cognitive function were not significantly correlated.

This study showed a high level of mental workload in university academic staff, especially in clinical faculty members, but this high mental workload did not affect their cognitive function.

Droughts and precipitation imbalances in various parts of the world have underscored the significance of alternative water resources. In recent years, recycled water has emerged as a viable alternative, with wastewater being treated to a safe level for diverse purposes. However, the public acceptance of water reuse plays a pivotal role in determining the success of recycling initiatives. This study aims to identify the barriers and facilitators influencing public acceptance of water reuse in Yazd, Iran, during 2020.

A cross-sectional study involving 384 individuals in Yazd city during 2020 was conducted. Participants were selected using the stratified sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation test in SPSS software version 23.

The most crucial facilitator for acceptance was the concept of segregating drinking water and recycled water networks. The primary barrier to acceptance was the perceived risk of recycled water contamination and potential health hazards. Water reuse was most widely accepted for construction purposes, followed by toilet flush tanks and irrigation of green spaces in parks and sports fields. A positive correlation (r = 0.416) existed between facilitators and acceptance of water reuse, indicating that enhancing facilitators positively affected acceptance.

To successfully implement water reuse projects, it is essential to consider key facilitators such as segregated water systems for different household uses, raising public awareness about the benefits of water reuse, and building public trust in recycled water safety.

Rape is a serious global problem linked to long‑term physical health complications in women. Women survivors of rape have different needs, the identification of which ensures optimal services and improves their health conditions. This study aimed to explore the needs of women survivors of rape through a narrative review.

This review was conducted by searching databases of ISI Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane, PubMed, Scientific Information Database (SID), the Iranian Magazine Database (Magiran), Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), Iranian Medical Articles Database (IranMedex), and the Google Scholar engine.All English and Persian articles published from January 2000 to August 2022 were searched using the keywords rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, victim, survivor, demands, and needs. Two independent researchers conducted all steps of article extraction and review to avoid possible bias, and a third person reviewed the articles in the case of disagreement between the two researchers. The final related articles were selected and evaluated using a pre‑prepared checklist.

Out of 112 articles, 26 articles were selected for final evaluation. The needs of women survivors of rape were divided into six categories, including sociocultural, educational, legal and judicial, psychological, spiritual and religious, and healthcare.

Women survivors of rape need survivor‑centered, culturally appropriate services, necessitating careful planning and policymaking to address health and judicial issues from different dimensions considering their real‑world needs.

 Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of the study was to investigate between the genotype of the NFKB1 gene and the cardiometabolic risk factor in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 462 adults (male and women) aged between 35 and 75 years who referred to Afshar Hospital for coronary angiography in 2021- 2022. The polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to detect the genotype of rs28362491. Biochemical parameters were measured using commercial kits. Gensini and Syntax scores were calculated using the angiography result to assess the extent of coronary artery stenosis. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between genotype variants and cardiometabolic risk factors.

 There was no association between variant genotypes and abnormally levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P value=0.51), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P value=0.99), triglyceride (TG) (P value=0.48), total cholesterol (P value=0.79), low density lipoprotein-cholestero (LDL-C) (P value=0.31), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (P value=0.53), fast blood sugar (FBS) (P value=0.39), systolic blood pressure (P value=0.14), diastolic blood pressure (P value=0.64), Gensini score (P value=0.48) and syntax score (P value=0.74) in the crude model even after adjustment for confounding factors.

 We found no association between the ATTG polymorphism and cardiometabolic risk factors in patients who had coronary angiography. Further investigations are needed to assess the association between variants of 28362491 and cardiometabolic markers.

Individualized care is a concept that describes personal characteristics of patients in clinical conditions, their personal life situation, and their preferences in order to promote participation in decision-making. The purpose of this study was to validate the Persian version of the Suhanen et al.'s (2005) individualized care scale.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. Initially, the individualized care scale of Suhanen et al (2005) was translated in forward-backward way with 19 items and on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = completely disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = no opinion, 4 = agree, 5 = completely agree). Content and face validity were then assessed using the opinions of 10 health management professionals (majors of health care management, health policy and health economics) Internal reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using the opinions of 20 patients admitted to gynecology, internal medicine and surgery wards of Yazd 3 teaching hospitals, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.93) was calculated using SPSS 20 software.

The results of content validity calculation showed that all items of the current questionnaire had acceptable Content Validity Ratio, and the Content Validity Index was 0.73 for this questionnaire. Face validity analysis also demonstrated that all experts approved the questionnaire items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole questionnaire was 0.93, and for "clinical status", "personal life situation" and "decision-making control over care," was 0.90, 0.87 and 0.90 respectively; the values were acceptable, and the reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed; none of the items were removed.

The questionnaire can be used as a credible and valuable tool for assessing individualized patient care.

This study aimed to assess the ecological status of the educational environment (online) from the perspective of students in the school of PublicHealth at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 287 undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students from the School of Health, enterd via stratified random sampling. Two questionnaires about the online learning environments that were developed by Kaufmann and Chou were used in the study. The Kaufmann questionnaire included four domains: “instructor behaviors, student connectedness, course structure, and Course Clarity” and Chou’s questionnaire included three domains: "Learning climate, and learning satisfaction". Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software.

Our findings indicate that students viewed the ecological status of the online learning environment as moderate level. The domain ability and learning environment received a score of 3.2 ± 0.62, satisfaction with learning was rated 3.07 ± 0.73, and general learning atmosphere received a score of 3.05 ± 0.73. The teacher's behavior received 3.8 ± 0.83, the structure of the training course 2.92 ± 1.12, the ease of implementation 3.14±0.98, and the interaction of learners 3.66 ± 0.85.

Online teaching and learning is a complex process that involves various factors such as the instructor's skills, inclusiveness, course structure, and educational design. The ease of implementation and interaction of learners are also important in the learning ecology. Therefore, it is essential to have the necessary infrastructure that facilitates the teaching-learning process when planning for the creation and development of online education.

 Corresponding Author:Fatemeh Keshmiri
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The present study examines the association between ambient air pollution and harmful consequences at birth in Yazd, Iran during 2017-2020.

This time series study by the autoregressive (AR) and moving average (MA) or ARMA model was conducted in Yazd, Iran. Birth information including fetal sex, birth weight, birth height, and head circumference as well as preterm birth (PTB) and abortion was collected from mother and birth cohort databases. Data on air pollutants concentrations in the corresponding gestational period were obtained from fixed air monitors of Yazd Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. The time series model statistical test was performed to find the relation between ambient air pollution and harmful consequences at birth.

2131 singleton live births were monitored for 3 years. In ARMA models, the ratio of girl births to total births (Coef: 7.943, 95% CI: 2.797, 13.089), preterm delivery (Coef: 2.915, 95% CI: 0.224, 5.606), and spontaneous abortion (Coef: 44.751, 95% CI: 26.872, 62.629) was associated with NO2 exposure. Distributed mismatch models also suggested associations between the Air Quality Index (AQI) in pregnant women with a sex-premature birth relationship (Coef: 0.001, 95% CI: 0.000, 0.001).

Exposure to air pollution, even at low levels, may increase the risk of sex ratio in singletons, premature birth, and spontaneous abortion. However, the results of the present study could not definitively show the relationship between air quality and other birth problems. More research studies are required to investigate the present findings.

Background: 

Recently due to adverse effects of synthetic antioxidants, there has been a growing interest in the application of natural essential oil in vegetable oils. The present study investigated the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of clove essential oil (CEO) and its addition to sesame oil.

composition and antioxidant activity of clove essential oil The CEO was prepared and analyzed by GC-MS. Then, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were determined. The CEO at different concentrations (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08%) and TBHQ (0.02%) were added to sesame oil and samples were stored at 60 °C for 5 weeks. Peroxide value (PV), p-Anisidine value (p-AV), total oxidation (TOTOX) value and Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) were determined in sesame oil samples every week for 35 days. A total of 5 components including eugenol (96.25%), eugenol acetate (1.88%), trans-Caryophyllene (1.66%), α-humulene (0.16%), and caryophyllene oxide (0.06%) were determined as the main components of CEO.

The TPC of CEO was 345.95±7.85 mg GAE/g. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of CEO for DPPH (IC50) and FRAP methods was estimated 0.83 ± 0.11 mg/ml and 112.37±8.81 mM Fe2SO4. It was shown that peroxide, p-AV, TOTOX, and TBARS values of all sesame oil samples increased during 5 weeks of storage at accelerated conditions. TBHQ showed better function in preventing oil oxidation, but CEO had acceptable function especially in 0.08% concentration.

The CEO in vegetable oil due to high phenolic content could retard lipid peroxidation. It could be mentioned that CEO could be considered as an alternative of synthetics ones in vegetable oils.

Studies have shown that children’s food preferences play a main role in the formation of long-term eating habits and nutritional patterns in their future lives. This study aimed to investigate food preferences of primary students in Yazd, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 420 primary school students of Yazd, both male and female, using two-stage sampling method. The data collection tool was a self-administered questionnaire including demographic variables and food preferences checklist. The data were entered in SPSS 23 software and analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. The significance level of the tests was considered as P-value < 0.05.

Starchy food category with the mean score of 3.70±0.44 was reported as the highest food preference and protein category (3.17±0.69) was reported as the lowest food preference among food categories in students. Gender, economic status, and body mass index (BMI) were related to students’ food preferences (P < 0.05). The median score of food preference for vegetables, fruits, and proteins in girls was higher than boys (P < 0.05), and for starchy food, fast foods, snacks, and fats was higher for boys than for girls (P < 0.01). The mean score of starchy food preference in students with lean and normal BMI was higher than students in overweight and obese group (P= 0.01).

Starchy food and protein categories were reported as the highest and lowest food preferences among primary school students, respectively. It seems necessary to pay special attention to increase the awareness of students as well as their parents and primary schools principals about healthy foods in childhood and healthy food environments.

The main mission of hospitals is to provide quality services for patients. Evaluating the quality of hospital services can lead to the targeted allocation of financial resources to areas that are in worse situation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of services of university hospitals in Yazd province.

This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 2020-2021 in 12 university hospitals of Yazd province. In order to conduct the study, the standard questionnaire of SERVQUAL was used. This questionnaire is made up of two parts, administration and expectations, and each of them contains 28 questions and 6 dimensions. The sampling method was stratified randomly. Data analysis was done in SPSS version 24 software.

225 patients participated in the study. The majority of patients were over 50 years old (46.7%). The average score of patients' expectations (128.99±8.12) at the high level, the average score of patients' perceptions (107.98±8.62) at the middle level, and the average score of the total quality of hospital services (236.97±12.24) at the high level reported. In both areas of perceptions and expectations, the dimensions of reliability, responsiveness and assurance had a higher mean score and the physical or tangible dimensions, empathy and access had a lower mean score.

The service quality of university hospitals in Yazd province was in a good condition, but the average score of perceptions was lower than the score of expectations. Although there was no deep gap, it is necessary for hospital managers to pay more attention to improving the quality of services.

Bank employees are one of the groups at risk of covid-19 after the medical staff. One of the effective models in the field of preventive behaviors against contracting Covid-19 is the health belief model. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of educational intervention in the prevention of covid-19 based on the health belief model among the employees of Yazd Bank.

The present intervention type study (intervention and control group) was conducted in 1400 on 106 employees of the National Bank of Yazd. Two WhatsApp groups were formed. Questionnaire links were sent to both groups. The questionnaire used in this study was the standardized questionnaire in the study of Delshad et al. For the intervention group, educational content based on the constructs of the health belief model was prepared in the form of pamphlets, educational clips, info graphics, podcasts, and educational messages and sent in the virtual group (WhatsApp and Yes). Three weeks after the completion of the training program, the link to the questionnaire was again sent to both groups. The data was analyzed using SPSS software.

All constructs of the health belief model were significantly different in the intervention group after the implementation of the educational intervention (p<0.005). After the implementation of the educational intervention, the preventive behaviors against contracting Covid-19 improved significantly (p<0.005). The most significant increase is related to the structure of behavior, where the mean (standard deviation) of the behavior score in the intervention group before the implementation of the educational intervention was 23.94±6.21, and 3 weeks after the implementation of the educational intervention, it was 20.91±3.91 44 increased

Considering the positive impact of the health belief model on preventive behaviors against contracting Covid-19, it is suggested to use the mentioned model in the educational planning of Covid-19.

Vinasse is a well-known associate of sugar cane/beet ethanol production wastewater. In the present work, the electrocoagulation technique at a constant current intensity combined with circulation flow introduces as a new and economic method for the treatment of vinasse effluent using iron and/or aluminum without changing the initial conditions of sample solution. Spectrophotometric determination was used to quantify the COD and turbidity in effluents as the most regarded vinasse footprints. The proposed CCD method was used as an experimental design, having as independent variables, applied current, pH, electrode material, and the reaction time, evaluated for highest COD, turbidity, and color removal. The optimum conditions for removal of COD, color and turbidity determined by response surface modeling (RSM) showed that the proposed circulating electrocoagulation (CEC) method using aluminum-graphite electrodes at 1 A current, pH 7 and reaction time of 45 min is able to be used with high efficiency for the treatment of vinasse wastewater in ethanol production industry. The proposed method is very simple, cheap and fast and can be used as a pilot system in alcohol factories to recover the water which can, in turn, be utilized for agricultural purposes and other industries.