The factors affecting substance abuse relapse based on theory of planned behavior in male addicts covered by addiction treatment centers in Southern Iran.

BACKGROUND: Given the destructive nature of addiction and its relapse after quitting, the present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting substance abuse relapse based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in male addicts covered by addiction treatment centers in Shiraz, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 male addicts covered by addiction treatment centers in Shiraz, Iran, in 2021-2022. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22 software through descriptive statistical methods, linear regression, and binary logistic regression. RESULTS: 190 people (47.50%) were aged 31-40 years, 265 people (66.25%) were married, 224 people (56%) lived with their spouses, and 192 people (48 percent) had their first use at the age of 16-20. The substance respondents used were methamphetamine (59.5%), heroin (53%), opium (48%), and alcohol (40%). 138 people (34.5%) had their first place of consumption at friends' houses (Tables 1 and 2). 342 people (85.5%) had a history of relapse, and 172 people (50.29%) had 1-5 relapses. Marital status, occupation, and income were among the demographic risk factors, and addicted friends and close relatives were among the behavioral risk factors for drug relapse among people with a history of relapse. Personal desire and the insistence of friends were also among the individual and interpersonal factors of drug use among participants. The regression results showed that the constructs of awareness, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention were predictors of drug relapse among addicts (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The current study's findings indicate that among the behavioral risk factors for drug relapse in individuals with a history of relapse are addicted friends and close relatives, while marital status, occupation, and income are among the demographic risk variables. Among the individual and interpersonal factors influencing drug usage among participants were personal desire and friends' insistence. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the TPB's structures might be used to predict drug relapse in addicts.

Effect of educational intervention based on theory of planned behaviour on promoting preventive behaviours of oral cancer in rural women.

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer has created an alarming situation around the world, and being the 16th most common cancer worldwide, it has become a global concern. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on a theory of planned behavior (TPB) on promoting preventive behaviors of oral cancer in rural women. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 120 female hookah users referring to rural health centers in Fasa and Shiraz city, Fars province, Iran. The subjects were divided into experimental and control groups by simple random sampling. The educational intervention for the experimental group consisted of 8 training sessions of 50 min. Both groups completed a questionnaire including demographic characteristics and constructs of TPB before and four months after the educational intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software through independent t-test, chi-square, and paired t-test (p = 0.05). RESULTS: The mean age of the experimental and control group subjects were 41.12 ± 8.86 and 40.63 ± 9.62 years, respectively (p = 0.185). The mean age of onset of hookah use in the experimental and control group was 24.16 ± 9.50 and 23.35 ± 9.44 years, respectively (p = 0.182). Also, before the educational intervention, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of knowledge (p < 0.189), attitude (p < 0.122), perceived behavioral control (p < 0.142), subjective norms (p < 0.236), behavioral intention (p < 0.126), oral cancer prevention behaviors (p < 0.108) and nicotine dependence (p < 0.218); however, four months after the educational intervention, there was a significant increase in the experimental group in all variables except nicotine dependence (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Due to the alarming situation of oral cancer and the prevalence of hookah use among women, educational programs based on TPB could effectively prevent hookah use and oral cancer.

Individual genetic variability mainly of Proinflammatory cytokines, cytokine receptors, and toll-like receptors dictates pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease.

Innate and acquired immunity responses are crucial for viral infection elimination. However, genetic variations in coding genes may exacerbate the inflammation or initiate devastating cytokine storms which poses severe respiratory conditions in coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Host genetic variations in particular those related to the immune responses determine the patients' susceptibility and COVID-19 severity and pathophysiology. Gene polymorphisms such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of interferons, TNF, IL1, IL4, IL6, IL7, IL10, and IL17 predispose patients to the severe form of COVID-19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2). These variations mainly alter the gene expression and cause a severe response by B cells, T cells, monocytes, neutrophils, and natural killer cells participating in a cytokine storm. Moreover, cytokines and chemokines SNPs are associated with the severity of COVID-19 and clinical outcomes depending on the corresponding effect. Additionally, genetic variations in genes encoding toll-like receptors (TLRs) mainly TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 have been related to the COVID-19 severe respiratory symptoms. The specific relation of these mutations with the novel variants of concern (VOCs) infection remains to be elucidated. Genetic variations mainly within genes encoding proinflammatory cytokines, cytokine receptors, and TLRs predispose patients to COVID-19 disease severity. Understanding host immune gene variations associated with the SARS-COV-2 infection opens insights to control the pathophysiology of emerging viral infections.

Upregulation of biochemical and biophysical properties of cell-laden microfiber, silk-hyaluronic acid composite.

Cell-laden filament-like hydrogels are advantageous for many applications including drug screening, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. However, most of the designed filament vehicles hold weak mechanical properties, which hinder their applications in specific tissue engineering. We present a binary hybrid silk and hyaluronic acid hydrogel microfiber generated through a microfluidic system to encapsulate cells with superior mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Cell-laden hydrogel microfibers were continuously produced through coaxial double orifice microfluidic device and horseradish peroxidase mediated crosslinking, which conjugated introduce phenolic moieties in the backbone of silk fibroin and HA derivatives (Silk-Ph and HA-Ph, respectively). The iterative hybrid Silk-Ph + HA-Ph fibers were fabricated in tunable size distribution between 195 and 680 µm through control of outer flow velocity. Tensile strength and maximum stain of prepared Silk-Ph + HA-Ph sample upregulated more than three times higher than the single HA-Ph sample, which demonstrated significant impacts of synthesized silk derivative in hydrogel fiber composition. The proteolytic degradation of microfibers manipulated by hyaluronidase and collagenase treatment. Encapsulation process and crosslinking did not insert any harmful effect on cell viability (> 90%) and the cells maintained their growth ability after encapsulation process. Cellular filament-like tissue fabricated from proliferation of cells in Silk-Ph + HA-Ph microfiber.

Treatment of Allergic Patients with Adenotonsillar Hypertrophy: Surgery Versus Medication Therapy:.

BACKGROUND: Adenotonsillar hypertrophy (AH) is the most common cause of respiratory obstruction of the upper airway, and tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed surgical interventions in children. It has been proposed that medical treatment in an allergic state could decrease the size of AH. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the outcomes of surgery and medical therapies among allergic children with AH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study was carried out on 68 children with AH in an allergic state who were referred to the Pediatrics Hospital of Tabriz Medical University. They were divided into two groups and matched according to sex, age, and primary clinical signs and symptoms. Patients received surgery (case group) and medication (control groups) for treated AH. Finally, they were compared according to the results of treatment and recurrence rate. RESULTS: The mean age of children in the case and control groups was 6.3±2.3 and 6.8±2.1 years, respectively. There was no significant difference in improving clinical signs and symptoms between the two groups. In the case group, no improvement of clinical signs and symptoms was observed in one patient compared with two patients in the control group. In the control group, no decrease in the size of the tonsils was observed in three patients. Recurrence of clinical signs of AH was observed in six (17.6%) patients of the control group, and there was a significant difference between the two groups (P0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings showed no significant differences in the outcomes of the two therapeutic methods for AH in an allergic state. However, medical treatment needs a long time to affect, but surgery can act quickly. Recurrence of AH after medical therapy could occur.

Caregivers' perception of the caring challenges in coronavirus crisis (COVID-19): a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The nurses act as the guardians of people's health by preventing, controlling, and curing emerging diseases, including coronavirus, a highly infectious and contagious disease which has presented the caregivers in the Iranian healthcare system with many clinical challenges. In view of lack of research on the clinical challenges which arise during health crises, emerging diseases included, there is need for further investigation of those clinical challenges and dilemmas. The aim in present study was to describe the caregivers' experiences of the caring challenges in patients with coronavirus (COVID-19). METHODS: The present study is a qualitative work with a phenomenological-descriptive design. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth, individual interviews. The collected data were analyzed according to Colaizzi's method. The participants were 23 members of the medical staff responsible for coronavirus patients in Iran who met the inclusion criteria. The participants were selected via purposeful sampling which was continued to the point of data saturation. RESULTS: The results yielded 3 main themes "psychological tension", "inefficient management", and "contextual factors" with 11 categories. CONCLUSION: In dealing with coronavirus patients and providing quality care to them, nurses face various clinical challenges which affect their performance. Administrators must, alongside giving instructions to people on how to prevent the coronavirus disease and taking effective safety measures, make sure that clinical centers are managed efficiently in order for nurses to fulfill their caring objectives satisfactorily.

A Study of the Relationship Among Burned Patients' Resilience and Self-Efficacy and Their Quality of Life.

INTRODUCTION: Among the most common causes of death and disabilities worldwide, burn injuries can affect all aspects of the life quality of the burned patients. Despite the apparent impacts of resilience and self-efficacy on the quality of life, few studies have addressed the relationship among these variables in burned patients. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship among burned patients' resilience and self-efficacy and their quality of life. METHODS: The present study was a descriptive, cross-sectional research conducted on 305 burned patients hospitalized in the largest burns hospital in the south-east of Iran. In this regard, the subjects were selected based on total population sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of four sections as follows: a demographic survey, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Lev Self-efficacy Scale, and Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive tests, Pearson correlation, and linear regression at a significance level of P<0.05 in SPSS 22. RESULTS: The results show that there were significant positive correlations between the patients' resilience and self-efficacy (P<0.001, r=0.31), resilience and quality of life (P<0.001, r=0.58), and self-efficacy and quality of life (P<0.001, r=0.63). CONCLUSION: It appears that burned patients' self-confidence and ability in adjusting with their conditions after injury are correlated with their quality of life. Thus, it is recommended that healthcare policymakers adopt some strategies to improve resilience and self-efficacy in burned patients for enabling them to effectively cope with the stressful conditions that they face as a result of their injuries.

Comparison of Auditory Brain Stem Responses and Otoacoustic Emission of Autism with Healthy Children.

BACKGROUND: Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder, including difficulty in establishing relationships and social interaction, difficulty in communication, performing restricted, and repetitive behaviors. The impaired reception and integration of sensory information especially auditory data are one of the main characteristics of children with autism. According to various studies, the brain stem plays a key role in the reception and integration of auditory and sensory data. Hence, this study aims to comparison auditory brain stem responses (ABR) and otoacoustic emission (OAE) of autism patients with healthy children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study was performed on 20 autism children (4-8 years old) as case group who referred to psychiatry clinics affiliated with Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and 20 healthy age-matched as the control group. The severity of autism was evaluated by the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS). Also, ABR and OAE were recorded, and all data compared with the healthy children. RESULTS: The latencies between the waves III-V and I-V bilaterally, and wave V bilaterally and wave I in the left ear showed a significant increase in children with autism compared to the healthy group. CONCLUSION: This study shows that there was a reduced nerve conduction velocity in the auditory pathway of the brain stem in children with autism compared to healthy children.

Effect of adenotonsillectomy on ADHD symptoms of children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and sleep disordered breathing.

BACKGROUND: Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is the most common etiologic agent for the obstruction of the upper airways in children, which might be associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood. Despite the concurrence of these two conditions, i.e., obstruction of the airways and ADHD, no exact etiologic relationship has been established between adenotonsillectomy (AT) and ADHD symptoms. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of AT on the ADHD symptoms in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and sleep disordered breathing (SDB). METHODS: The design of the present study consisted of pre-test and post-test, followed by post hoc tests. Fifty-three children aged 3-12 were included in this study, selected from those referring to the Pediatric Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, with SDB, adenotonsillar hypertrophy and ADHD based on DSM-IV criteria, by availability of the subjects undergoing adenotonsillectomy after evaluation of the severity of ADHD symptoms. The scores of ADHD symptoms were evaluated before AT and at 3- and 6-month postoperative intervals based on Conner's Parent Rating Scale-Revised (CPRS-R) Questionnaire. Repeated-measures ANOVA and Fisher's exact test were used for data analysis. RESULTS: AT resulted in a significant decrease in the severity of ADHD symptoms (oppositional behavior, cognitive disorders, inattention, hyperactivity and ADHD index) at 3- and 6-month postoperative intervals (P<0.001), with more significant decreases at 6-month postoperative interval compared to 3-month interval (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this pilot study, AT in children with SDB associated with ADHD resulted in a significant decrease in the severity of ADHD symptoms.