zahra emami

Hypothyroidism, characterized by an underactive thyroid, is a prevalent condition often accompanied by metabolic changes and goiter. Despite successful treatment, previous research suggests that the quality of life for many patients may be reduced. This study aims to investigate the quality of life in women with hypothyroidism, specifically those treated with levothyroxine, by comparing them to a control group.

A case-control study involving 61 women aged 18 to 65 with hypothyroidism treated with levothyroxine was conducted. The World Health Organization Quality of Life-26 questionnaire (WHO/QOL-BREF) was used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The collected data from the WHO/QOL-BREF questionnaires were compared between the patient group and a healthy control group. Serum T4 and TSH levels were also measured in both groups.

The average WHO/QOL-BREF score for the patient group was 84.7±10.9, while the healthy control group scored 88.3±12.1. Although there was no significant difference in overall HRQOL, significant differences were observed between the two groups in the physical health (13.75±2.54 for patients and 14.9±2.1 for healthy individuals) and psychological health domains (11.84±2.69 for patients and 13.2±2.3 for healthy individuals). No significant differences were found in the social and environmental health domains (social: patients 12.51±3.15, healthy individuals 12.1±3.4; environmental: patients 13.62±1.75, healthy individuals 13.3±2.2) (P-value=0.74).

In this study, significant differences were observed only in the physical and psychological health domains of women with treated hypothyroidism, with their average scores being lower than those of healthy individuals. However, no significant differences were found in the social and environmental health domains between the two groups.

Mortality has been indicated to be high in patients with underlying diseases. This study aimed to examine the comorbidities is associated with a higher risk of death during the hospital course.   

We retrospectively evaluated the risk of in-hospital death in 1368 patients with COVID-19 admitted to 5 academic hospitals in Tehran between February 20 and June 13, 2020.  We also assessed the composite end-point of intensive care unit admission, invasive ventilation, and death. The Cox proportional survival model determined the potential comorbidities associated with deaths and serious outcomes.   

The retrospective follow-up of patients with COVID-19 over 5 months indicated 280 in-hospital deaths. Patients with diabetes (risk ratio (RR), 1.47 (95% CI, 1.10-1.95); P = 0.008) and chronic kidney disease (RR, 1.72 (95% CI, 1.16-2.56); P = 0.007) showed higher in-hospital mortality. Upon stratifying data by age, patients aged ˂65 years showed a greater risk of in-hospital death in the presence of 2 (hazard ratio (HR), 2.68 (95% CI, 1.46-4.95); P = 0.002) or more (HR, 3.47 (95% CI, 1.69-7.12); P = 0.001) comorbidities, compared with those aged ≥ 65 years.   

Having ≥ 2 comorbidities in nonelderly patients is associated with a greater risk of death during hospitalization. To reduce the mortality of COVID-19 infection, younger patients with underlying diseases should be the focus of attention for prevention strategies.

Obesity is a serious chronic disease that adversely affects health and quality of life. However, a significant percentage of people do not participate in or adhere to weight loss programs. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to identify critical barriers to effective obesity management and to examine health practitioners’ attitudes and behaviors towards effective obesity treatment.

This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020. Eligible studies were identified through a systematic review of the literature using Medline, Scopus, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Embase databases from January 1, 2011 to March 2, 2021.

A total of 57 articles were included. Data on 12 663 physicians were extracted from a total of 35 quantitative articles. Some of the most commonly perceived attitude issues included “obesity has a huge impact on overall health”, “obesity is a disease” and “HCPs are to blame”. Health professionals were more inclined to believe in “using BMI to assess obesity,” “advice to increase physical activity,” and “diet/calorie reduction advice.” The major obstacles to optimal treatment of obesity were “lack of motivation”, “lack of time” and “lack of success”.

Although the majority of health care professionals consider obesity as a serious disease which has a large impact on overall health, counseling for lifestyle modification, pharmacologic or surgical intervention occur in almost half of the visits. Increasing the length of physician visits as well as tailoring appropriate training programs could improve health care for obesity.

Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have received much consideration as thermal energy storage systems due to their high storage capacity. However, their heat transfer rate is limited because of the low thermal conductivity. Incorporating of carbon-based nanoparticles into the matrix of PCMs with good dispersion can be an efficient way to solve their deficiency. In this research, graphite nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed within the Eicosane PCM matrix to prepare a Nano-Enhanced PCM (NEPCM). The main objective is to determine the optimum amount of graphite to maximize the thermal properties of NEPCM composites. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the prepared nanocomposites confirmed the excellent dispersion of graphite nanoparticles within the Eicosane layers through an ultrasonic bath-assisted homogenization procedure followed by solidification. In addition, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermal Conductivity Evaluation (TC) of the samples were conducted to determine their heat capacity and thermal diffusivity. The results illustrated that the more the number of graphite nanoparticles, the larger the number of collisions between graphite and Eicosane. As the nanoparticle content increased, the thermal conductivity and diffusivity were enhanced, as well. Numerically, the maximum thermal conductivity was 4.1 W/m K for the composite containing 10 wt% graphite, 15.66 times that of the pure Eicosane. Furthermore, increasing crystal growth and reducing heat capacity for the large number of nanoparticles in the composite were discussed. The significantly improved thermal properties of the prepared NEPCMs with an optimal nanoparticle content could make them applicable for different thermal management applications.

Meat and meat products are introduced as one of the carriers of Clostridioides difficile. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of C. difficile isolates in meat and meat products using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

It was performed a literature search in the primary international and bibliographic databases such as MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science to achieve all articles related to the prevalence and antibiotic resistance rates with no time restriction. A total of 54 studies examined C. difficile in 15,010 samples and its resistance to 10 antibiotics.

The pooled prevalence of C. difficile was 3.4% in all samples. C. difficile pooled prevalence was detected in fish, poultry, and red meat samples with 6.9%, 5.2%, and 3.2%, respectively. Regarding antibiotic resistance, the highest pooled prevalence was for ciprofloxacin (86.6%), followed by clindamycin (42.6%) and erythromycin (34%). The lowest pooled prevalence was observed in metronidazole (7.6%), vancomycin (6.6%), and chloramphenicol (6%). We found low resistance to commonly used drugs for C. difficile infection treatment.

Every antibiotic can be a risk factor for CDI development, and drugs such as clindamycin, cephalosporins, and lately fluoroquinolones carry the highest risk. Therefore, we recommend the rational use of antibiotics in veterinary and human medicine

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of the third model of Muslim women on political culture. Countless historical evidences show that the issue of Iranian women's political participation has its roots in the religious culture of Shiism, without having anything to do with the women's movement in Europe and the West. The ideology governing the European women's movement was based on feminism and secularism, but these principles did not have a foundation among the women who participated in the constitutional movement as well as the Islamic revolution. Political culture reveals the structures and meaning of the political arena in the same way that culture in general clarifies the correlation of the integration of the life of political culture. The method of this research was discourse analysis with reference to Ayatollah Khamenei's statements based on the opinions of Lakla and Moff. Considering the components of the political culture in Iran, such as the culture of authoritarianism/citizenship, women's political participation has decreased in history. had.

To be up-to-date, the medical community must have the ability to communicate in the electronic environment and search for information resources. The present study aims to develop a questionnaire to assess the attitudes of Iranian medical students towards searching for information resources by formulating clinical questions and evaluate its validly and reliability.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were 190 interns from two educational hospitals in Tehran, Iran who were randomly selected. Exploratory factor analysis was used for assessing construct validity of the questionnaire in SPSS software, version 22.

The face validity and content validity of the 18-item questionnaire were assessed and confirmed by five experts. Based on the results of exploratory factor analysis, four factors of self-learning, learning motivation, information proficiency, and analysis were identified. The results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor model. The total reliability and the reliability for all factors were calculated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient which were reported above 60%. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient and Bartlett test coefficient were 0.822 and 0.934, respectively (P=0.000).

The questionnaire has acceptable validity and reliability to be used by medical community in Iran and in future studies.

The present article is written using a descriptive-analytical method, the data having been compiled using library resources, and it tries to explain the foreign policy of the Obama and Trump administrations. This study seeks to answer the question that how the Obama and Trump administrations' foreign policy approaches differed. Therefore, it first considers and compares the discourse and orientation of US foreign policy during the presidencies of Obama and Trump, and then goes on to examine the case-by-case policies of each US president towards NATO, terrorism, East Asia, Iran‟s and North Korea‟s nuclear program, as well as world trade. Finally, the research findings show that the policies of Obama and Trump are fundamentally different because the announced and applied policies of the Obama administration have emphasized a multilateralist approach and the issue of security, while the Trump administration has adopted a unilateral approach with the slogan "America First" and has put an emphasis on the economy in its foreign policy agenda.

One of the most important issues that today is emphasized in the strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran is self-reliance. Numerous factors have motivated the Islamic Republic of Iran to pay attention to and emphasize self-reliance, including the experience of imposed war and international sanctions. However, it remains to be seen what the effect of the implementation of this strategy on national security is, because for a long time, the issue of national security has always been the most important concern of past and present governments and has been expanded and taken under the influence of various factors. Accordingly, the leading question of this study is what effect does the idea of self-reliance have on the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran? The hypothesis is that the underlying factors of self-reliance such as national cohesion, major geo-political position of the country, historical-civilizational background, will of political independence, mutual trust of people and rulers, and also the effective and constructive relationship with regional and international players on the realization idea of self-reliance and national security will be effective too. Also, the method used in this research is descriptive-analytic method using survey method. The statistical population was selected from the academic elite and researchers, and then the collected data were analyzed by SPSS l. Finally, the data were analyzed by descriptive-analytic method with reference to the Copenhagen theoretical ideology. The findings showed the existence of a meaningful relationship between contextual variables and national security.

This study aimed to assess the relationship between the osteoporotic condition and periodontitis in postmenopausal women.

Ninety‑four women aged 50–80 years were studied in this cross‑sectional study. Bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar vertebra BMD (LBMD), total hip BMD (HBMD), and neck of femur BMD (NBMD) was assessed using standardized dual‑energy X‑ray absorptiometry (DXA) (normal: T‑score ≥−1, osteopenic: −2.5 ≤ t‑score <−1, osteoporotic: T‑score <−2.5). Bleeding point index (BI), O’Leary plaque index (PI), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were recorded. Cementoenamel junction, alveolar‑crest distance (CEJ‑AC) was measured from cone‑beam computed tomography images. Periodontitis severity was represented by CAL and CEJ‑AC distance. One‑way analysis of variance followed by Post hoc Tukey was performed for examining differences among the groups for different variables. Pearson correlation coefficient® and backward regression analysis were used to investigate the effect of confounding variables on CEJ‑AC as the dependent variable. Significance was considered at P < 0.05.

Mean CEJ‑AC was significantly higher in the osteoporotic and osteopenic groups compared to the normal group (P = 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between CEJ‑AC and NBMD and LBMD (P < 0.001). The associations between LBMD and CEJ‑AC existed even after adjusting for confounding factors (P = 0.002). The differences in BI, PI, and CAL were not statistically different between the groups (P > 0.05).

Although osteoporosis is not the main cause of periodontitis, it can indirectly affect periodontal status by increasing CEJ‑AC. Early diagnosis of osteoporosis followed by early referral to a dentist for the treatment of potential existing periodontal diseases is important to avoid complications among postmenopausal women

With the withdrawal of Britain from the European Union as one of the most important members of the European Union, the strengthening of nationalist views as a factor in shaking the approach to European regional integration disappears. Brexit could be the beginning of the process of withdrawal of the other members of the European Union and its collapse. While the EU has taken steps to maintain its cohesion and meet its se- curity, economic and political challenge, the UK's withdrawal has been welcomed by the US, which some see as a deeper rift between the EU and the US. This article, which has been compiled analytically-descriptively using library resources, seeks to answer the question of what is the US and EU approach to Brexit? In this regard, the article will examine Britain's withdrawal from the Union and the approaches of the United States and the European Union. The findings show that in the Obama era, due to multilateral policies, peaceful relations, cooperation with the European Union in various fields, and the emphasis on the transatlantic treaty, we see disagreement with Britain's withdrawal from the EU, but in the Trump era due to unilateralism policies and Britain's encou- ragement not to join the EU; On the other hand, the European Union continues to call for the integration and preservation of its members, especially the United Kingdom, for its own economic, political and security interests. The issue of Brexit is one of the caus- es of divergence between the United States and Europe.

Women’s employment, its possibility or subordination, has been a serious and questionable issue for women within the discourse of the revolution as well as for its external critics after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. This paper, with a central focus on   Ayatollah Khamenei's books, positions, and speeches, aims at enumerating the discourse nuclei for permissibility or impermissibility of women’s employment  as well as its perceived limits. As far as women’s employment is concerned, Islamic Revolution discourse from Ayatollah Khamenei's standpoint, specifically its framework, is in some ways in line with modern discourse; however, it is in some other ways different from or even in some aspects in sharp contrast with the latter. Accordingly, Islamic revolution discourse paves the way for a quite different life style. This study— theoretically on the basis of Ayatollah Khamenei's third model of womanhood and methodologically using the discourse analysis approach of Laclau and Moff (2001) and library data collection — introduces the relevant discourse nuclei .The results indicate that in Ayatollah Khamenei's view, women's employment and social action are not only irreprehensible but also necessary for the development of the Islamic society. Five major reidentified nuclei in this regard  show his concern for the simultaneous development of women at the individual, family, and social levels. These discourse nuclei are as follows: employment as an example of human rights, agreement as well as the need for women's employment without any harm to their health and dignity, maintaining the proper spiritual status of women in employment including their chastity and dignity, balance of family roles including spousehood, motherhood, child -rearing, their social imaginary , and finally  avoiding any kind of mixing and masculinity in women's employment.The enumerated discourse reflects the lack of the originality of the modern logic and its being merely individualistic and believing in gender equality, i.e., absolute similarity of men and women in the field of employment, which form the basis of feminist and Western views.

Social network analysis (SNA) evaluates the connections and behavior of individuals in social groups. The scientific collaboration network is a kind of SNAs. A social network could be defined as a collection of nodes (social existence) and links (connections) associated with the nodes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the scientific outputs and collaboration networks of the countries and authors using indicators of SNA in the field of pituitary disorders between 2000 and 2020.

This is a practical study performed by applying a scientometric approach and SNA. We retrieved 31257 papers in the field of pituitary disorders between 2000 and 2020. Data were analyzed using scientific software, namely, VOSviewer, UciNet, and Netdarw.

Based on degree centrality, Colao and Pivonello in the world, Shimon and Kadioghlu in the Middle-East (ME), and Khamseh, Ghorbani in Iran achieved the top ranking. Based on the betweenness centrality, Pivonello, Colao, and Chanson in the world, Laws, and Kadioghlu in the Middle-East, and Larijani, Mohseni, and Khamseh in Iran were known as the top authors. According to closeness centrality, Pivonello, Colao, and Chanson in the world, Kadioghlu and Kelestimur in the Middle-East, and Mohseni, Khamseh, and Larijani in Iran were the top authors. The map of the authors’ collaboration in the field of pituitary disorders consists of 92 nodes. A total number of 77313 authors had global collaboration. The global collaboration network was comprised of 129 nodes (country) and 2694 links (country’s collaboration). The Middle-East collaboration network revealed 69 nodes and 1708 links. The collaboration network of the Middle-East countries consists of 13 nodes and 50 links.

Authors with a higher degree, betweenness and closeness centrality have greater efficiency (the number of articles) and effectiveness (the number of received citations). Moreover, the authors and countries that published more scientific products received more citations. In addition, in the Middle-East countries, the interdisciplinary scientific collaboration between the researchers in the fields of endocrinology, neurosurgery, pathology, and radiology has a significant impact on improving scientific outputs.

Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is associated with an increase in the risk of mortality in ICU-admitted septic patients. It should be suspected not only in patients with septic shock but also in those with sepsis. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of AI in the spectrum of septic patients and determine the main predictors of this condition.

This study included 99 patients with the diagnosis of sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock. Patients with basal cortisol < 10 μg/dl or those with ∆ cortisol < 9 μg/dl after the cosyntropin test were considered as having AI. Appropriate statistical tests were used for comparing the variables between the two groups. A logistic regression model was applied to determine the predictors of AI. The P-value <0.05 was considered as a significant level.

AI was found in 25 (25.3%) of these patients. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of AI in patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock. Patients with positive blood culture (OR (95% CI); 7.8 (3.5-9.1); p=0.021) or those with CRP≥ 3+ (OR (95% CI);  14.1 8 (5.7-16.2); p<0.001) were more likely to develop AI.

AI is prevalent among ICU admitted septic patients even in the absence of septic shock. The main predictors of AI are high levels of CRP and positive blood culture.

Evaluation and analysis of scientific outputs and between-keywords relationship could provide the investigators with useful information. The aim of this study was mapping of scientific outputs in the field of physiotherapy, with applying the co-word analysis in the ISI Web of Science database.

This study was a scientometric approach using the co-word and network analyses in the field of physiotherapy. Published papers from 2000 to 2018 were reviewed and the results were analyzed by Excel, UCINET, Netdraw and VOSviewer.

Results showed an increasing trend of scientific outputs in the field of physiotherapy. United States of America (USA) achieved the first rank (7400 documents) followed by England and Australia. Among the Middle East countries, Turkish with 981 documents achieved the first rank while Iran with 235 documents owned the third rank. Regarding the frequently used subjects, the most scientific outputs in the field of physiotherapy were shared with Physical medicine and Rehabilitation, Orthopedic, Neuroscience, Sport medicine, Internal medicine, Surgery, Rheumatology, Health medicine, Pediatrics, and Pulmonology. Results revealed rehabilitation, physiotherapy, exercise, physical therapy, and management based on degree centrality and disability, therapy, physiotherapy, outcome based on both of the betweenness and closeness centrality had the most impact on the network.

Regarding the trend of scientific outputs, physiotherapy is most related to orthopedic, neuroscience, and pediatric. Moreover, scientific interaction to increase scientific outputs in Iran and other Middle East countries seems to be essential. Additionally, mapping of co-word analyses could provide the policy makers with information regarding the research, key words, and the relationship between key words in the field of physiotherapy. Therefore, they can plan essential and appropriate programs to improve both the quality and quantity of the scientific outputs in this field.

Convergence and divergence of subject matter in the field of international relations, in the meantime, security and defense policy of the Union for Europe of the United States of America under Obama and Trump in the years 2008-2020 for the areas of convergence and divergence between the two political units has provided . Mutual security, cultural profile and economic integration are key components of the convergence of the United States and the European Union. In contrast, Russia's efforts to move closer to the eastern part of the European Union and to weaken the transatlantic alliance are the most important cause of divergence between the United States and the European Union. The above factors raise the question of what are the factors of convergence and divergence in the political-security relations of the United States and the European Union (2008-2020)? In response to this question, it was hypothesized that since سال since We are witnessing convergence in US-EU relations in areas such as human rights, terrorism, Iran, and the emphasis on the transatlantic alliance and divergence, with emphasis on endangering US hegemony due to Russia's convergence with the EU.

DNA polymerases, in addition to being indispensable in replication and repair, are also very useful in a number of molecular biology techniques such as DNA amplification, site-directed mutagenesis, DNA sequencing, different kinds of PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), etc. After the invention of PCR, efforts have been made to focus on the identification and isolation of thermo-tolerant enzymes that amplify DNA efficiently at high temperatures.

In this study, Geobacillus stearothermophilus strain10 was selected for the cloning of Bst DNA Pol I - encoding gene. Following DNA extraction from the bacterium, PCR was carried out to amplify the pol A gene using designed primers and to clone via pET32a expression vector followed by transfer to the heterologous E.coli BL21 host. The cloned gene was expressed by induction with IPTG and the resultant protein purified by IMAC column.

The activity of the functional fragment was assessed by LAMP and showed a relatively high DNA amplification ability in comparison with commercial Bst DNA Polymerase which is usually used in this amplification protocol. Discussion and

This study found thatKlenow fragment of recombinant Bst DNA Pol I can amplify uidA gene in E. coli ATCC25923 during the LAMP reaction. Separation of two fragments of the enzyme can improve the activity of Klenow fragment of enzyme in LAMP.

Oral mucositis is one of the painful, debilitating and common complications in the patients under chemotherapy for which no certain and effective treatment has not been considered. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of phenytoin mucoadhesive tablets on treating oral mucositis compared with phenytoin mouthwash.

In this clinical trial, after preparation and in vitro characterization of phenytoin mucoadhesive tablets, 27 patients were enrolled from oncology department of Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. 21 patients with oral mucositis, who had the inclusion criteria due to chemotherapy, were divided into two groups of A (11 patients received phenytoin mouthwash 0.5%) and B (10 patients received phenytoin mucoadhesive tablet). Severity of oral mucositis (WHO grading), oral pain Visual Analogue Scale and the extension of lesions (number of involved sites) were assessed on three intervals (at the beginning and one or two weeks after beginning of the study).

In the first visit, there was no significant statistical difference between the two groups regarding mean age, mucositis severity and visual analogue scale. However, on first and second weeks after beginning of the study, mucositis severity, extension of lesion and visual analogue scale in both groups were significantly lower than onset of the treatment; however, no significant difference between the two groups was observed.

Phenytoin mouthwash and mucoadhesive tablets used for oral mucositis care in patients after chemotherapy showed significant improvement in the lesions. Patients were more satisfied with mouthwash and all the patients in this group were free of lesion after two weeks.

Context: Preterm and low-birth weight are of the most common causes of mortality and critical disabilities in newborns. Although advances in neonatal care improved survival and quality of life in the developed countries, mortality and morbidity due to prematurity are still high in the developing and underdeveloped countries such countries in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). The study aimed at evaluating mortality and morbidity among Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) and Very Preterm (VP) neonates in EMR. Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Current Contents, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Google Scholar, PubMed, PsycINFO, Thomson Reuters, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Medical Library (MedLib) as well as regional WHO database to detect relevant studies published from 1996 to 2016. Study Selection: English Language Literature From EMR countries, which reporting outcomes of VLBW and VP were considered. Finally, 32 full text articles were included.
Data Extraction: Data on VLBW and VP outcomes including mortality, and short- and long-term morbidities were extracted. Meta-analysis results of prevalence of mortality among VLBW newborns was obtained as 32.0%, which was different from Asian and African countries (23% vs. 55%). Pooled odds ratio of mortality among VLBW newborns was estimated as 2.41. The most prevalent comorbidity in VLBW and VP newborns were allocated to septicemia and Neurodevelopmental Delay (NDD), and the rarest belonged to Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) and Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). The main limitation of the current study was lack of relevant studies and adequate sample size. It seems that indicators in EMR should be evaluated independently in Asian and African countries. Septicemia, as relatively curable cause of morbidity, is the most prevalent comorbidity among VLBW infants.

Nitric Oxide (NO) which is synthesized by endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS) in both vascular tissues and platelets plays an important role as a protective mediator in the cardiovascular system. It modulates blood pressure, vasodilation and thrombosis. In this regard, eNOS activity and gene expression in platelets and NO levels in patients’ plasmas with Coronary Thrombosis (CT) and stenosis diseases were determined. Blood samples were collected from 60 subjects that where divided into three equal groups [without coronary artery disease, with CT and less than 70% Coronary Stenosis (CS)]. NO concentration in plasma was measured by the Griess reagent system. The eNOS activity was assessed based on a fluorimetric detection system in platelets and the gene expression was quantified by the real time-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. There was a significant decrease in the amount of NO concentration in the plasma of subjects with CT (0.53±0.09 µM, p<0.01) and CS (1.31±0.11 µM, p<0.01) compared to the control group (2.6±0.10 µM). The activity levels of eNOS enzyme were significantly lower in patients’ platelets with CT (0.68±0.013 UF/mn, p<0.01) and CS (0.85±0.017 UF/mn, p<0.01) than the control cases (1.29±0.019 UF/mn). These data were consistent with the reduction of the expression levels of eNOS in patients with CT (75 folds) and CS (4 folds) lower than the control cases. Patients with CT and CS possessed reduced eNOS activity and gene expression in their platelets. Decreased plasma concentration of NO in these patients confirmed the potential significance of the diagnostic and prognostic value of NO in the subjects’ plasma with vascular disease risk.

Scientometric studies are highly important, as they provide information about scientific products worldwide and empower scientists to compare research activities in different regions. The present study was conducted to map scientific research in diabetes mellitus using scientometric analysis in Middle Eastern countries during 2003- 2007. This was an analytical study with a scientometric approach. The study population was formed by the indexed scientific results of diabetes mellitus in the Web of Science database during 2007-2013. Data were analyzed using Excel, and HistCite to map the scientific texts. A total of 6532 records were retrieved from 3926 institutions. These records belonged to 19 323 authors and were published in 1420 journals.
The Journal of Diabetes Care, with 3928 citations, had the most global citation score (GCS). The Journal of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, with 185 citations, achieved the first degree of local citation score (LCS). Most of the scientific documents produced in the Middle East belonged to Turkey (31.91%) and Iran (21.7%). Seven scientific clusters based on LCS, and 5 based on GCS existed in the scientific mapping. Topical clusters based on global and local indices showed that the prevalence of diabetes, hyperglycemia, and pregnancy outcomes, diabetic risk factors, diabetic complications and their new treatments, and glucose monitoring in Type 1 diabetes were the fields being addressed in the main articles of the clusters. Scientific production and local and global citations in diabetes research in Iran (21.7% of diabetes research in the Middle East) have elevated the country to a prominent position. Top ranking countries in diabetic research were Turkey, Iran, and Israel, respectively. Moreover, this paper quantified the studies that were done on different aspects of diabetes. The results of this study can be used by health care providers to employ the best multidisciplinary approach for managing diabetes and its complications. Also, the results can help the policy-makers and governments to determine the priorities for budget allocation based on the burden of diseases. Establishing a regional diabetes network in the Middle East can be beneficial and lead to scientific collaboration and an increase in scientific production in this field.

This study was designed to present initial results on clinical presentation, therapeutic modalities, and outcome information of patients with pituitary tumors registered in Iran Pituitary Tumor Registry (IPTR).
We collected data from a web-based electronic medical records of patients with various pituitary tumors referred to four tertiary care centers in the country. Retrospective analysis was performed on demographic, clinical, and therapeutic information of 298 patients including 51 clinically nonfunctioning adenoma (CNFA), 85 acromegaly, 135 prolactinoma, and 27 Cushing’s disease (CD).
From October 2014 to July 2016, 298 people with the diagnosis of pituitary tumor were registered. Prolactinoma was the most prevalent tumor (45.3%), followed by Acromegaly (28.6%), CNFPA (17.1%), and CD (9%). Female dominance was seen among patients with prolactinoma and CD, while the majority of patients with CNFPA were male and acromegaly was equally distributed between men and women. Hypogonadal symptoms were almost always seen in all types of pituitary groups. Surgery alone was the most common therapeutic modality used in cases of acromegaly, CNFPA, and CD. However, medical therapy alone was frequently applied for cases of prolactinoma. Finally, biochemical cure was achieved in most cases of prolactinoma and CD, but only in 36.5% of acromegalics. Moreover, 80% of patients suffering from CNFPA showed no residual tumor in their imaging.
In conclusion, this comprehensive tumor registry enables early identification, selection of best therapeutic approaches, and evaluation of long-term treatment outcomes. Furthermore, this registry can be used to improve surveillance protocols.

Background and Self-care can help patients with diabetes to reduce complications of the disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of diabetes self-care educational programs through tow podcast and pamphlet methods.
Material and The present study was quasi-experimental research conducted in Tehran Aboozar Diabetes Center (2014). 90 patients with type II diabetes were selected and randomly divided into two groups of podcast training group (n = 45) and pamphlet group (n = 45). In both groups, the data were collected using the researcher-made questionnaire. In the podcast group, five audio training files were transferred via Bluetooth to the patients’ mobiles, and the pamphlet group was given an educational pamphlet with a quite similar content. After 12 weeks, the two groups were assessed by the same questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS Software, version 16, through statistical t-test at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05.
The mean of adherence to exercise programs, drug treatment, and diabetic diet were 15.53, 23.92, and 48.20, respectively, for Podcast Group, while these values were 14.48, 24.04, and 46.54 for Pamphlet Group, respectively. After the intervention, the mean of adherence to exercise programs, drug treatment, and diabetic diet increased as follows: Podcast group (20.00, 23.95 and 57.12); Pamphlet group (21.26, 25.40 and 55.59).
The use of podcast such as pamphlet is recommended to increase the adherence rate of self-care behaviors of diabetic patients. Due to the great satisfaction of patients with podcast, the method is suggested as an effective, simple, and attractive method to control diabetes and compliance with care practices.

This research aimed at determining and comparing the precision and recall of general search engines to retrieve images of important diseases in the field of endocrinology.

An analaytical survey was conducted in this applied research, for which 50 keywords in the field of 5 endocrine diseases were selected, and the 30 top images retrieved by each search engine were stored and analyzed, using precision and recall measurement formulas and excel software.

This research show that Google search engine has the most percision (35%) followed by the Bing and Yahoo search engines. Images retrieved for adrenal diseases had the most percision (42%) in google while it was (16%) in yahoo. The Bing search engine had the most recall (77%), followed by the google and yahoo search engines. Diabetes mellitus had the most recall (97%) in the google and bing search engines. Adrenal diseases had the least recall (30%) using yahoo search engine.

Results show that Google and bing search engines were in competition with each other and professionals of endocrinology and other researchers can use these search engines, Google and bing in particular, to retrieve the best medical images. Librarians also can use and recommend these two search engines to related professionals for retrieving medical images of adrenal, pituitary, thyroid, diabetes and para-thyroid diseases.

medicine, there is a rapid development of a knowledge base. Medical professionals need to sustain and advance their competence to practice in response to these varieties. So, there is increased interest in self-directed learning methods. Study guides can make a major contribution to self-directed learning. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of study guides on improving self-learning skills of medical students in the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). In this quasi-experimental study, 46 medical students were randomly assigned into two groups; the intervention group and the control group. Both groups participated in a diagnostic test at the beginning of the course (pre-test). The same test was taken at the end of the course (post-test). The intervention group was provided with study guides on thyroid disorders and diabetes. Meanwhile, they continued their routine clinical training. The control group was only involved in the conventional training program. Students in the intervention group were also asked to complete a designed questionnaire in regard to their attitude toward the study guides. At enrollment, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The mean scores of the pre-test for the control group and the intervention group were 6.18 and 6.13 respectively (P=0.9). In the post-test, the mean score of the students in the intervention group was considerably higher: 9.25 vs. 12 (P=0.002). The students in the intervention group found the study guides useful. The study guides were potentially effective in motivating self-learning in this group of medical students and had a remarkable effect on their final score.