A second chance for authors of hijacked journals to publish in legitimate journals.

This article proposes the republication of articles that have previously been published in counterfeit websites of hijacked journals. The paper also discusses the technical and ethical aspects of republishing such articles.

The story of fake impact factor companies and how we detected them.

Beginning about three years ago, the world of academic publishing has become infected by fake impact factors and misleading metrics that are launched by bogus companies. The misleading metrics and fake impact factors have damaged the prestige and reliability of scientific research and scholarly journals. This article presents the in-depth story of some of the main bogus impact factors, how they approached the academic world, and how the author identified them. Some names that they use are Universal Impact Factor (UIF), Global Impact Factor (GIF), and Citefactor, and there even is a fake Thomson Reuters Company.

Cervical Spine Involvement: A Rare Manifestation of Reiter's Syndrome.

Spine involvement is less common in Reiter's syndrome than in other seronegative spondyloarthropathies. Also, cervical spine involvement rarely occurs in Reiter's syndrome and other spondyloarthropathies. This paper reports a rare case of Reiter's syndrome in which there was cervical spine involvement that presented clinically as an atlanto-axial rotatory subluxation. Reiter's Syndrome (RS) is one of the most common types of seronegative spondyloarthropathies (SSAs) that presents clinically with a triad of symptoms, i.e., conjunctivitis, urethritis, and arthritis. This case highlighted the importance of radiographs of the lateral cervical spine and dynamic cervical imaging for all patients who have Reiter's syndrome with cervical spine symptoms to ensure that this dangerous abnormality is not overlooked.

Seroepidemiology of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV1) in Mashhad.

INTRODUCTION: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-I) is associated with adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The major routes of HTLV-I transmission are mother-to-child, sexual contact, and blood transfusion. Mashhad is one of the main endemic areas in the world for HTLV-I, and minimizing the risk of HTLV-I transmission through blood transfusion is one of the main duties of the Blood Transfusion Center in Mashhad. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HTLV-I in the blood donor population in Mashhad during 2011-2013. METHODS: All the blood donors in Mashhad from March 2011 to April 2013 who were diagnosed with HTLV-I on the ELISA screening test and the Western blot confirmatory test were included in this seroepidemiological study. RESULTS: From 174,662 blood donors, 327 donors were confirmed to be infected with HTLV-I according to Western blot assay. The seropositive donors ranged in age from 17 to 59, and their mean age was 39.88±10.49 years. The overall prevalence rates of HTLV-I infection were calculated as 0.18% and 0.19%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Due to the lower frequency of infection in regular blood donors, younger individuals, and people with higher education levels, the selection of blood donors from these populations should be further considered.

Violence against women by their intimate partners in Shahroud in northeastern region of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Violence against women is one of the worst consequences of cultural, political, and socio-economic inequalities between men and women. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has been identified as an important cause of morbidity from multiple mental, physical, sexual, and reproductive health outcomes. Nonetheless, the prevalence and related factors of this international problem have not been investigated extensively in some parts of the world. The aims of this research were to determine the prevalence of physical and mental violence perpetrated by men against their intimate partners and to assess the associated factors of partner violence among women in Shahroud in northeastern region of Iran in 2010. METHODS: This Cross-Sectional study was conducted in Shahroud, in northeast of Iran in 2010. Cluster sampling was done from primary health service institutions, universities, public schools and governmental organizations throughout the city and six hundred married women completed the study. A structured questionnaire with 34 items was designed in three parts to assess the physically (10 items) and mentally (15 items) violent acts by a current intimate male partner and identify collative behaviors (9 items) of victims. The Logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the net effect of background variables on the IPV occurrence within the past year. RESULTS: About 20% of the participants experienced at least one type of physical violence. Increased risk of physical violence was positively associated with the younger age of the couple (OR=3.08, P<0.05), lower education (OR=2.28, P<0.01) and having a semi-manual skilled occupation of husband (OR=3.62, P<0.05), husband's heavy cigarette smoking (OR=2.62, P<0.01), and his drug abuse (OR=2.1, P<0.05). About 85% of the women had experienced mental harassment within the past twelve months. Logistic Regression Analysis found that lower education (OR=3.06, P<0.01) and having semi-manual skilled occupation (OR=3.8, P<0.05) of husband, increasing years of marriage (OR=2.8, P<0.01), husband's heavy cigarette smoking (OR=2.3, P<0.01) and his abusing the use of drugs (OR=3.4, P<0.01) had significant associations with women's experience of mental violence. CONCLUSIONS: Some socioeconomic characteristics such as educational level, occupational status of men, heavy smoking and drug abusing are associated with the occurrence of violence against one's intimate partner. Since IPV is usually unreported, healthcare providers should be aware of the risk factors associated with domestic violence to be able to design preventive measures against its negative health outcomes in women.

The effects of aerobic exercise training on psychosocial aspects of men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIM: This study was conducted to examine the effects of aerobic exercise training on psychosocial aspects (mental health, the aspects of physical symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social functioning, and depression) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: 53 men who had type 2 diabetes mellitus for a mean duration of the disease for 3±5 years were selected purposely and classified randomly into experimental (27 patients) and a control group (26 patients). Patients in the experimental group did aerobic exercise training three times a week for eight weeks. The exercise included an aerobic activity for 45 to 60 minutes during which the patients' heart rates were maintained at 60-70 percent of heart rate reserve on ergo meter bikes. RESULTS: The eight-week aerobic exercise training had significant effects on mental health (p = 0.002), subscales of physical symptoms (p = 0.006), and anxiety and insomnia (p = 0.001). It had no significant effects on subscales related to disorder of social functioning (p = 0.117) and depression (p = 0.657). CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic exercise training can be considered as an appropriate program for improving the health of the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and it also can improve their mental health.

Humanin: a possible linkage between Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes.

The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is higher among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. In T2DM patients, the progression of AD is more rapid. Furthermore, several pathophysiological pathways are common to AD and T2DM. Humanin is a recently introduced, mitochondrial-derived peptide with neuroprotective effects. Humanin can alter the mechanisms involved in AD and T2DM pathogenesis. Insulin resistance as well as oxidative stress has been shown to be associated with increased amyloid deposition in brain neurons and islet beta cells. Moreover, advanced glycation end products and lipid metabolism disorders are common pathways of oxidative stress and low-grade systemic inflammation in AD and T2DM. These common pathways may explain AD and T2DM pathogenesis and suggest common treatments for both diseases. Treatments for T2DM and AD attempt to slow cognitive decline, and recent investigations have focused on agents that may alter pathways common to AD and T2DM pathogenesis. Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs, such as interleukin-1 antagonists and statins, are possible drug candidates for both AD and T2DM.

Effect of Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery on Patients' Quality of Life.

BACKGROUND: Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery is a common technique used to control the incidence of myocardial ischemia and to increase the lifespan of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). There is still considerable controversy about effect of OPCAB on patients' quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of OPCAB on different aspects of the patients' quality of life. METHODS: A total of 190 patients who underwent elective OPCAB surgery at Afshar Hospital in Yazd, Iran, from October 2012 through April 2013 participated in the study. Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) questionnaire was used in structured interviews before and 3 months after the OPCAB surgery. Independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney test and analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Quality of life from the aspect of pain (P = 0.014), energy (P = 0.001), emotional reaction (P < 0.001), social isolation (P = 0.002) and physical activity (P = 0.005) were significantly different, but there was no significant difference in sleep between men and women (P = 0.06). Women achieved a better quality of life 3 months after OPCAB surgery (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in patients' quality of life in terms of their ejection fraction (P = 0.06). There was no significant difference in patients' quality of life in terms of their New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class score (P = 0.57). Patients' quality of life scores before OPCAB surgery and 3 months after the surgery showed no significant difference after adjusting for history of myocardial infarction (P = 0.82), hyperlipoproteinemia (P = 0.38), cigarette addiction (P = 0.2), hypertension (P = 0.7) and diabetes mellitus (P = 0.15). CONCLUSION: Most aspects of patients' quality of life were better after OPCAB surgery. The most obvious finding to emerge from this study was that women's quality of life was better than men's after OPCAB surgery. Since CAD is prevalent and OPCAB is one way to treat and manage this disease, patients' quality of life can be improved if they are managed appropriately after OPCAB surgery (especially for men).

Quality improvement in clinical documentation: does clinical governance work?

INTRODUCTION: The quality of nursing documentation is still a challenge in the nursing profession and, thus, in the health care industry. One major quality improvement program is clinical governance, whose mission is to continuously improve the quality of patient care and overcome service quality problems. The aim of this study was to identify whether clinical governance improves the quality of nursing documentation. METHODS: A quasi-experimental method was used to show nursing documentation quality improvement after a 2-year clinical governance implementation. Two hundred twenty random nursing documents were assessed structurally and by content using a valid and reliable researcher made checklist. RESULTS: There were no differences between a nurse's demographic data before and after 2 years (P>0.05) and the nursing documentation score did not improve after a 2-year clinical governance program. CONCLUSION: Although some efforts were made to improve nursing documentation through clinical governance, these were not sufficient and more attempts are needed.

Complementary alternative medicine use among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the primary care setting: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Limited study on the use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), particularly in primary -care settings. This study seeks to understand the prevalence, types, expenditures, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of CAM use among patients with DM visiting outpatient primary care clinics. METHODS: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study of 240 diabetic patients. CAM is defined as a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional Western medicine. Data analysis was done using SPSS v. 19 and multiple logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of CAM use. RESULTS: The prevalence of CAM use was 62.5 percent. Female were 1.8 times more likely than male in using CAM. Malays (75%) were the most frequent users, followed Indians (18%) and Chinese (6%). Biological therapy (50.0%) were the most widely used, followed by manipulative-body based systems (9.2%), energy system (8.8%), alternative medicine systems (4.6%) and mind-body system (1.7%). In biological therapy, a total of 30.4 percent, 24.2 percent, 13.3 percent, and 7.9 percent of diabetic patients consumed bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia), followed by Misai Kucing (Orthosiphon Stamineus Benth), garlic (Allium Sativum), and Sabah snake grass (Clinacanthus Nutans Lindau) respectively. The mean of the expenditure on CAM usage was RM 52.8 ± 101.9 (US $16.9 ± 32.5) per month. According to multiple logistic regression analyses, being Muslim (OR 5.258, 95 percent CI 2.952-9.368) had significant positive association with CAM use. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CAM use was high among diabetics. Islam faith is predictor for CAM use among Type 2 DM patients. The most-common herbs used were bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia) and Misai Kucing (Orthosiphon Stamineus, Benth). Further studies on the anti-glycemic activity of the isolated compound may be needed in the future.

Application of information technology may increase the efficacy of Confidential Unit Exclusion (CUE) in blood donors.

Confidential Unit Exclusion (CUE) refers to a procedure by which a blood donor designates confidentially whether his or her blood might not be safe for transfusion. It applies to situations in which an individual who is not eligible for blood donation in terms of blood safety feel pressured by others to donate his or her blood. A potential problem in the CUE system is misunderstanding of the procedure and its significance by blood donors as well as the lack of their confidence regarding the confidentiality of their private information. Since the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides a secure and confidential atmosphere, it is expected the application of ICT have a positive impact on the efficacy of CUE system.

Development of a questionnaire for assessing factors predicting blood donation among university students: a pilot study.

University students are a target group for blood donor programs. To develop a blood donation culture among university students, it is important to identify factors used to predict their intent to donate blood. This study attempted to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool to be employed in assessing variables in a blood donation behavior model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a commonly used theoretical foundation for social psychology studies. We employed an elicitation study, in which we determined the commonly held behavioral and normative beliefs about blood donation. We used the results of the elicitation study and a standard format for creating questionnaire items for all constructs of the TPB model to prepare the first draft of the measurement tool. After piloting the questionnaire, we prepared the final draft of the questionnaire to be used in our main study. Examination of internal consistency using Chronbach's alpha coefficient and item-total statistics indicated the constructs "Intention" and "Self efficacy" had the highest reliability. Removing one item from each of the constructs, "Attitude," "Subjective norm," "Self efficacy," or "Behavioral beliefs", can considerably increase the reliability of the measurement tool, however, such action is controversial, especially for the variables "attitude" and "subjective norm." We consider all the items of our first draft questionnaire in our main study to make it a reliable measurement tool.