mahdi yousefi

A curriculum is a plan that oversees the most important event of education, i.e. learning or reconstructing experiences. Therefore, checking and knowing the quality of curricula is the most effective measure to guide and implement these programs. To improve the coherence of curricula, they should be periodically evaluated and, if necessary, required changes should be applied to them. This study aims to determine the quality of traditional medicine curriculum in the field of medicine.

 A total of 228 students were selected based on a stratified random sampling method. For data collection, a researcher-made questionnaire assessing the quality of the traditional medicine curriculum was used, aligned with Tyler's curriculum elements. This questionnaire consisted of two sections: personal information and questions related to the quality of the traditional medicine curriculum from the perspective of medical students. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and Cronbach's alpha method was used to determine its reliability. After the data were reviewed, they were entered into SPSS version 24.

The average status of the objectives, content, and organization of the content, teaching and learning strategies, and evaluation methods of the traditional medicine curriculum in the medical field, as perceived by medical students, were calculated to be 3.33, 3.34, 3.34, 3.45, and 3.21, respectively. All items significantly indicated a favorable status from the perspective of the students. Based on the analysis of the completed questionnaires, most medical students were aware of the traditional medicine curriculum. No relationship was observed between gender and the evaluation of the curriculum quality. However, interns rated the quality of the traditional medicine curriculum significantly higher than externs.

Educational program planners can benefit from the findings of this research in revising the curriculum of the general medical course, considering the significance and necessity of learning traditional medicine in the medical profession. This can aid in training learners in traditional medicine within the field of medicine.

Despite the emphasis of traditional medical narratives on the importance of eating dinner and the prohibitions against skipping it, some physicians have believed that consuming dinner leads to adverse outcomes, such as eye diseases, earaches, body itching, colic, and neurological problems. This study aims to validate the narration attributed to Imam Sadiq (AS) stating, "The root of bodily ruin is avoiding dinner" (Asl Kharab Al-Badan Tark Al-Ashaa) in terms of its chain of transmission (isnad), content, and its correlation with contemporary scientific and medical findings. The goal is to highlight the importance of eating dinner, correct misconceptions on this matter, and provide solutions rooted in religious teachings and medical science for healthy nutrition.This research employs a comparative-analytical approach, utilizing library-based resources. Initially, the chain of transmission for the narration was critically examined, and the credibility of its narrators was assessed. The content of the narration was then compared against Quranic criteria, authentic hadiths, and medical findings related to nutrition, evaluating its compatibility or contradiction with these sources. The results of this study indicate that the chain of transmission of the mentioned narration is credible, and all narrators are trustworthy. Furthermore, the content aligns with Quranic teachings and other authentic narrations that underscore the importance of proper nutrition and avoiding hunger, particularly during the dinner meal. Additionally, medical findings demonstrate that skipping dinner may lead to metabolic disorders, weaken the immune system, and increase the risk of various diseases. This highlights the need to counter false beliefs about avoiding dinner and emphasizes that while overeating at dinner is harmful, avoiding it entirely can also have detrimental effects.The narration from Imam Sadiq (AS) is supported by a valid chain of transmission and contains content consistent with religious teachings and medical evidence. Consuming dinner as part of a healthy and balanced diet can contribute to maintaining bodily health. It is recommended to avoid overeating and late-night dinners while adhering to the principles of healthy nutrition.

The present study aims to investigate the factors influencing business continuity marketing under conditions of uncertainty in the gas industry. Criteria such as factor loadings using the value of 0.4, Cronbach's alpha, and R2 and Q2 criteria were utilized. Then, using t-statistics and path coefficients, the impact of the variables under investigation on business continuity under conditions of uncertainty was analyzed. Due to the indefinite and unlimited number of members in the population, 384 individuals were determined using the Cochran formula. The results of this research indicate that the ability to finance infrastructure, specialized personnel, and business environmental requirements have a positive and significant impact on business continuity under conditions of uncertainty in the gas industry. Among the variables studied, the ability to finance infrastructure had the highest impact with a path coefficient of 0.437.

In this study, a method for automatic prediction of the survival rate of patients with glioblastoma tumor based on machine learning methods and MRI images is presented.

The data set used in this study is the BraTS 2017 database with 163 samples. Each sample of database images has four different imaging modalities as well as information such as the patient's overall life expectancy according to the patient's day and age. Database images are labeled into three categories, short-term, medium-term, and long-term, based on patient longevity after treatment. To improve the prediction results, different types of features were extracted and taught by different machine learning methods. The considered features include texture, volumetric, statistical, and deep features. The machine learning methods used include support vector machine, nearest neighbors, linear discriminant analysis, and decision tree.

The best prediction accuracy based on the classification was obtained using deep features extracted by a pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) and by linear discriminant analysis.

Deep learning approaches showed a good performance in the prediction of medical parameters such as survival rate time.

Hypothyroidism is characterized by insufficient production of thyroxine by the thyroid gland. Levothyroxine may not fully alleviate patients' symptoms. This study aimed to assess the impact of a herbal product on weight, body mass index (BMI), thyroid hormones, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS), depression, and quality-of-life scores in patients. 72 patients with primary hypothyroidism, aged between 20 and 65 years old, participated in the trial and they were randomly allocated into two groups. The intervention group received the herbal powder containing Trachyspermum ammi L., Nigella sativa L., and Citrus aurantifolia L. while the control group received Avicel for 8 weeks. Treatment with the herbal product resulted in statistically significant reductions in anthropometric variables such as BMI (p=0.03), hip circumference (HC) (p=0.008), waist circumference (WC) (p<0.001), and waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WHR) (p=0.003) in the intervention group in comparison between intervention and control groups. However, the decrease in weight was not statistically significant (p=0.08) in the intervention group compared the control group. In comparison between two groups, the depression score exhibited a statistically significant decrease in the intervention (p=0.001) and control groups (p=0.01), while there was a statistically significant increase in the quality-of-life score only in the intervention group (p<0.001) in comparison between intervention and control groups. The results indicate the potential beneficial effects of the herbal product on anthropometric variables in patients. Furthermore, the intervention yielded significant improvements in depression symptoms and quality-of-life scores among the patients.

Functional dyspepsia is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by discomfort and fullness after eating, early satiety, epigastric pain, or burning. While not life-threatening, it significantly impacts the quality of life of patients. This study reviews evidence-based interventions by Persian Medicine specialists for treating functional dyspepsia.

This systematic review was conducted in 2024, searching PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Iranian databases such as SID and Magiran. Inclusion criteria encompassed all Iranian clinical trial articles on functional dyspepsia and complementary medicine published in Persian and English from 2000 to 2024. Keywords included terms for the disease (dyspepsia, functional dyspepsia, Helicobacter, flatulence, gastric pain, fullness, epigastric pain, fullness after a meal) and types of interventions (herbal medicine, Persian medicine, complementary medicine, Iran, Iranian medicine) in English and Persian. Abstracts of all relevant titles were screened, and articles not meeting the inclusion criteria were excluded. Full texts of the remaining articles were then reviewed for necessary information.

The findings indicate that several plants —such as Ajwain, Black Cumin, Celery, Dill, Thyme, Mastic, Pepper, Ginger, Oregano, Jollab syrup, Coriander, Amla, Rose, Basil leaves, Aniseed, Valerian, Black Seed, Savory, and Broadleaf Plantain seeds— were effective in alleviating functional dyspepsia symptoms either alone or in combination in clinical trials.

Medicinal plants recommended in Persian Medicine, whether used alone or alongside modern medicine, can effectively and safely improve dyspepsia symptoms. However, more high-quality, large-scale, and rigorously designed clinical trials are needed to establish definitive therapeutic effects.

Volition as an important component of the psychological element of crime is one of the important issues of criminal law, whose role in the realization of criminal responsibility has different dimensions and has always been the solution of debates and opinions. In this article, an attempt has been made to examine the role of volition in criminal responsibility from the perspective of Iranian and French jurisprudence and law. The current article is descriptive and analytical and has investigated the mentioned question by using the library method. The findings indicate that both in Iranian jurisprudence and French law, although material behavior is necessary for the realization of criminal responsibility, it is not sufficient and it is necessary that this behavior is done with free volition. Therefore, if the perpetrator does not have the volition to carry out that behavior, no type of criminal responsibility volition be realized. In fact, the basis of criminal responsibility is the volition of the behavior. If a person does not have the right to freely choose his own behavior, which means that he lacks freedom of volition or there is no opportunity for him to choose his behavior, then he cannot be held criminally responsible. In Iranian jurisprudence and law, lack of volition in cases such as coercion, reluctance, sleep and anesthesia is a civil liability. In French law, coercion in a way that is out of tolerance, as well as drunkenness and any mental disorder that destroys the volition, are responsible for blasphemy. Of course, in both Iranian and French laws, in cases such as drunkenness, the removal of responsibility does not mean the removal of compensation, and the perpetrator must compensate the damage caused to the victim.

Kidney stones are one of the most common urological diseases. Renal colic is a medical emergency due to severe pain, and the repetition of its periods greatly impacts the patient's life quality. Providing different treatments while increasing the patient's life expectancy causes changes in their lifestyle, health status, and life quality. This study aimed to evaluate the life quality of patients with kidney stones in Mashhad in 2019 with a review of Persian medicine.

The present descriptive-analytical study was performed on 96 patients. Data were collected by SF-36 quality of life questionnaire, researcher-made demographic questionnaire, and the Salmannejad temperament determination questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-16 software.

The mean age of patients was 45.6 years; the mean number of stones was 18.1± 84.1 and the mean size of stones was 12.32 ± 8.53 mm. The mean and standard deviation of patients' life quality was 369.26±98.32. The highest mean was related to the physical function dimension (82.68 ± 21.8) and the lowest mean was related to the pain dimension (52.23 ± 25.47). There was a statistically significant relationship between some dimensions of life quality with blood pressure and temperament (Mizaj) variables (p <0.05).

Several factors improve the life quality of patients with kidney stones. Paying special attention to the characteristics of patients with kidney stones and modifying the type of nutrition based on their temperament can prevent the recurrence and re-formation of kidney stones.

Wet cupping is one of the therapeutic or preventive bloodletting methods with a long history that is recommended during certain times in Persian Medicine sources, but there is no recommendation regarding the amount of blood flow. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of time and circumstances of the applicants on the amount of removed blood.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, by easy sampling method with 739 participations of men who referred to a fixed center for wet cupping in Saveh city in 2022. The data was collected using an Information gathering form, and analyzed by SPSS-16.

Totally 739 men were referred. The average age was 34.91 years, height 174.92 cm, weight 80.32 kg and body mass index (BMI) was 26.25. The mean amount of blood excreted during cupping was 89.04 g. The amount of exited blood during cupping had a positive correlation with day and lunar month as well as age, height, weight, BMI, history of cupping, and the number of previous cupping records, and the statistical difference was significant (P <0.001) but the based on its doing time (day of the week and solar month) was not significant (P> 0.05).

The amount of excreted blood during cupping has a statistically significant relationship with age, height, weight, BMI, previous cupping history, and time of cupping.

 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading rapidly as a pandemic and posed numerous challenges to healthcare workers (HCWs), especially nurses. This study aimed to investigate the occupational challenges experienced by intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in caring for patients with COVID-19.

 This qualitative study was conducted using a conventional content analysis method in September and October 2020. The study environment was the ICU wards dedicated to the patients of COVID-19 in a large hospital in east of Iran. The participants were selected by purposeful sampling method, and data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 17 nurses working in the COVID-19 ICUs. Data analysis was done with MAXQDA 2020.

 The data analysis led to the extraction of 6 main categories and 17 sub-categories. The main challenges included “payment system”, “human resource management”, “consumable resource supply”, “psychological and ethical distress”, “personal or family problems”, and “staff motivation and welfare issues”.

 Considering the key and important role of nurses in the healthcare system, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to increase their motivation by applying a fair and non-discriminatory payment system and paying special attention to psychological issues. Also, managerial support and provision of required facilities and manpower have a significant impact on reducing their occupational challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19.

Due to the importance of predicting and monitoring river water quality parameters, in the present study, the capability of two models of support vector machines (SVM) and gene expression planning methods (GEP) used to estimate two water quality parameters namely the TDS and SAR in the Tajan River. To estimate the TDS and SAR, parameters which the measurement of these parameters are easy and has low cost, were used as input data to the model. These parameters included the electrical conductivity of water, acidity, sodium, calcium, potassium, the adsorption ratio of sodium, magnesium, chlorine, sulfate, bicarbonate, and river flow. SPSS was used to determine the correlation between independent and dependent variables. Based on data analysis using step-by-step method, different scenarios of combining input data for TDS and SAR prediction were considered. Comparison of the results using statistical criteria showed that the use of three variables, EC, SO4 and SAR in estimating TDS in Tajan river, had the highest correlation coefficient and the lowest error rate. The Na and EC variables also give the best results in estimating the river SAR parameter. In general, the obtained results show the high performance of gene expression planning method in estimating the quality parameters of the Tajan river and therefore it can be used to predict the qualitative parameters of rivers.

The last two decades have seen an increase in the number of studies examining resilience to suicide, and a large number of studies have now been published on the subject. The aim of this study was to construct a structural model of Structural pattern of psychological hardiness, religious beliefs with resilience to suicide: The mediating role of positive dimensions of self-compassion. The research method is descriptive-correlation modeling of structural equations. The statistical population of this study consists of all high school students in nourabad (Delfan) in the academic year (2020 s.c.). The research sample was 350 high school students in nourabad Delfan city who were selected by cluster sampling method and used the psychological hardiness questionnaires of Maddi et al. (1982), religious beliefs developed, resistance to Osman's suicide et al (2004) and the positive dimensions of compassion responded to Reese et al (2011) online. Structural equation modeling and AMOS edition 22 and SPSS 26 were used to evaluate the proposed model. The results of the correlation coefficient showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the dimensions of religious beliefs, psychological hardiness with positive dimensions of self-compassion and resilience to suicide (P≥0.001). The findings indicated that the proposed model fit well with the data. The results of structural equation modeling showed that 62% of the variance of positive dimensions of self-compassion is explained by religious beliefs, psychological hardiness and 69% of the variance of resilience against suicide is explained by religious beliefs, psychological hardiness and positive dimensions of compassion. Low levels of religious beliefs, psychological hardiness, and negative dimensions of self-compassion can be considered as an aggravating factor in suicide attempts that increase the severity of the relationship between risk and suicide attempt.

Cupping is one of the preventive and treatment methods in traditional Iranian medicine, which has two types, dry and wet cupping. The important point is that cupping should be done at the appropriate time and place and by the qualified people to have the most beneficial effects. This study aims to investigate the reasons for wet cupping therapy in Haziran, and the people’s knowledge of the cupping principles.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 in Mashhad and Birjand cities during the last days of June. Finally, 400 eligible samples participated in this study who were selected using a convenience sampling method. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS v. 16 software.

Of 400 participants, 392 completed the questionnaires; 62.8% (n=246) were male, 75.1% (n=292) were married. 40.3% (n=154) had a university education, and 77.7% (n=289) had moderate socio-economic status. 82.2% (n=53) of the women were housewives; 6.6% (n=26) of participants had an underlying disease, 40.8% (n=119) had a history of cupping two times or more in a year, and 42.7% (n=132) had moderate satisfaction with cupping therapy. The most common reason for cupping was the “maintenance of health” (73.9%, n= 272) followed by “disease treatment”. Regarding the people’s knowledge of the principles of cupping, it was found that more than half of  participants had correct information about the best season  (spring) for cupping  (81.5%, n=255), satiety during cupping (74.4%, n=210), the best time for having bath after cupping (after 24 hours) (79.7%, n=240), what to eat after cupping (Honey syrup) (64.7%, n=189) and complications of cupping (69.3%, n=185), but their knowledge was not desirable in other areas such as the best hours of day for cupping (46.9%, n=130), the best day of the week for cupping (21.3%, n=62), and the best days of month for cupping (35.6%, n=86).

Due to the high popularity of wet cupping in Haziran in Iran, and considering the people’s low knowledge of the proper principles and conditions of cupping (such as the time of cupping), it is necessary to inform the community through the media and use specialists in traditional medicine to monitor proper cupping and observance of its principles in the cupping clinics.

Evaluation of treatment response is one of the most challenging tasks in the treatment planning of cancer cases. Regarding the significant effect of tumor recurrence in the treatment planning of patients with lung cancer, finding an approach to predict the recurrence of these tumors is of great importance. Nowadays, this process is done experimentally, and its accuracy depends on the experience and proficiency of the oncologist. This study aimed to provide an automated method to detect the recurrence of lung cancer based on imaging and clinical features.

Our proposed method was evaluated in 162 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using the NSCLC radiogenomic database in the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) portal. After pre-processing, segmentation was performed using the Otsu method. In the next step, the radiomic features were extracted using pre-trained AlexNet and GoogleNet models, and along with clinical features, they were used to detect lesion recurrence. Finally, all cases were classified into two classes using machine learning methods.

The proposed method used clinical and deep features. The classification was done using various models, and the accuracy of the support vector machine by AlexNet features resulted in the highest performance. The mean values of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for this model are 99.76, 99.77, and 99.76%, respectively.

The main finding of this study was revealing the capability of deep learning methods in extracting features from medical images. For example, the AlexNet was able to extract features from CT images of NSCLC patients, which are very helpful in the recurrence prediction of these lesions.

Medical record documentation by physicians in the emergency department is very important because it determines the required services of patients in the next step. This study aimed to design and implement appropriate tools for the rapid assessment of physicians' documentation in the emergency department.

The present study was a cross-sectional study. First, a comprehensive review of resources was done in Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Iran doc, and SID until 2021. Physician documentation indicators were provided to health information management specialists, emergency medicine specialists, forensic specialists, and the head of the HIM department in hospitals. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate face and content validity for instrument reliability. Then, the proposed tool randomly selected and reviewed 230 medical records of Imam Reza (AS) Hospital in Mashhad. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software.

First, a tool with 26 indicators was developed. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was obtained from the test of 30 medical records 0.980, which was acceptable. Seventeen indicators had scores higher than 0.79, 0.714, and 3.55 and CVR and face validity, including signature, date and time, diagnoses and procedures, correction of errors. The assessment results of 230 medical records showed a relatively good state of documentation of emergency physicians.

The proposed tool allows the rapid assessments of the key index in the documentation of physicians in the emergency department and has high validity and reliability, so it is recommended to be used in the emergency department.

Experiencing complications within the first two weeks after stroke leads to a high risk of mortality and length of hospitalization. The present pilot study was intended to investigate the hypothesis that adult patients treated with safflower or not would present with fewer neurological complications following 15 days. In a randomized controlled trial, subjects diagnosed with ischemic cerebrovascular accident (CVA) based on focal neurological findings on brain imaging who met the inclusion criteria of our study were recruited from Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, between 2016 and 2017. Thirty-six patients were included in the survey and randomly allocated into treatment (A) and control (B) groups. An oral syrup of safflower extract and nasal drop of safflower oil were additionally prescribed for group A. Group B only received a standard anti-ischemic regimen. The primary outcome measure was the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (NIHSS) over 15 days. Safflower treatment led to a notably higher mean difference in the NIHSS score between the baseline score and 15-day post-treatment score in group A in comparison to group B (p < 0.001). However, adjustment for covariates (age, gender, and baseline measures) showed no significant reduction in neurological status between them (p = 0.340). There was a statistically significant difference in neurological symptom scores between the groups (p = 0.044). Based on this pilot study, adjuvant treatment with safflower in addition to the standard anti-ischemic regimen can be more effective than individual conventional drugs for treating ischemic CVA among adults.

Chronic neck pain is a common problem and is often associated with changes in sensory-motor functions such as decreased neck proprioception, altered neck muscle coordination, and increased postural fluctuations. The aim of this study was the effectiveness of exercise therapy in improving chronic non-specific neck pain in athletes in Khorramabad.

The present study was a pre-test-post-test clinical trial with an intervention group and a control group. Thirty athletes with chronic neck pain were purposefully selected and randomly divided into two groups of exercise therapy (n = 14) and control (n = 15). Evaluation of neck pain and disability was performed before and immediately after eight weeks of 3 sessions (15 minutes) of rehabilitation exercises by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Neck Disability Index from both intervention and control groups, respectively. Data were analyzed using covariance tests at the level of α = 0.05.

The results showed that the pain intensity (P≤0.001) and functional disability (P≤0.001) after eight sessions of training in athletes with chronic nonspecific neck pain were significantly reduced.

Rehabilitation exercises intervention including stabilizing and strengthening the neck improves pain in athletes with chronic neck pain and disability, so it is recommended that rehabilitation exercises be used as a suitable and practical method in treating athletes with chronic non-specific neck pain.

Thyroid hormones are essential to maintain the tissue’s metabolism throughout the life. Thyroid hormones exert their effects on physiology and almost all body functions. Carrot is a rich source of iodine and carotenoids that can interfere in the synthesis of thyroid hormones.

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of carrot consumption on T4 levels and its effect on memory, nerve conduction velocity (NCV), animal weight, and finally, on water and food intake in Wistar rats. In this study, 24 male rats were used and divided into three groups: Control, Ca 200 mg/kg, and Ca 400 mg/kg.

The results indicated that carrot consumption at Ca 200 mg/kg treated group increased the level of serum T4 and induced hyperthyroidism. Animal weight in both treated groups did not change compared to the control group (P > 0.05). Water and food consumption, and the level of T4 in Ca 200 mg/kg group increased when compared to the control group (P < 0.05). NCV in both treated groups was not significantly different in comparison with the control group (P > 0.05). Spatial memory and passive avoidance memory in both treated groups significantly decreased compared to the control group (P < 0.05).

Carrot consumption, via increases the synthesis of thyroid hormones, creates hyperthyroidism, but due to induced moderate hyperthyroidism did not impact on weight. Moderate hyperthyroidism induced appetite and memory impairment. Then increased food intake or effect of hyperthyroidism on metabolism increased water intake

A great plant diversity can be observed in Chaharmahal Bakhtiari Province, especially in the protected area of Tang-e Sayad, thus being environmentally important. In this study, the flora of the western part of this region (Dastgerd Mountain) was studied via a field survey in 2016-2017. Once every two weeks, various plants that had reached their full growth were collected together with all their plant organs from the rebellious area. Also, the plants whose flowering and fruiting stages had taken place at different times were gathered. A total of 216 species, which belonged to 35 families and 126 genera, were identified in the study area. Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Poaceae with 18, 15, and 13 genera were the largest families present in the region, respectively. Astragalus and Euphorbia were also the largest genera in this region in terms of number of species. Hemicryptophytes were the predominant vegetative form (48.6%) followed by therophytes (36.1%) in the region. Thirty native and 35 medicinal species were additionally reported in the area, respectively. One hundred and seventy species were related to Iran-Turanian elements (74%) as the most abundant corotype in the region. Examination of the collected species showed the presence of 33 less endangered species as well.

The health system transformation plan is a revolution in the field of health in the country with eight services such as social justice, human equality, fight against corruption and defense of the deprived. This plan is trying to solve people's problems, facilitate childbearing, fight against immoral practices and pay attention to science, education and service provision. Since the Holy Qur'an is the holy book of Islam which is the most complete religion and the official religion of Iran, the aim of the present study was to investigate the comparative study of the goals of the health system transformation plan with the Holy Qur'an and an emphasis on its efficiency.

In this descriptive-analytical study, through studying the health transformation plan, its components, matching each of these components with the Holy Qur'an and the verses related to the objectives of the instructions were  extracted  using library studies and its Qur'anic principles were shown. In this research, all ethical issues have been considered. Meanwhile, the authors of the article have no conflict of interest.

After reviewing the texts used, the findings have indicated that issues such as social justice, equality of human beings, fight against corruption and bribery, defense of the deprived and needy, emphasis on the centrality of vulnerable groups, an attempt to solve people's problems and increase their satisfaction, childbearing facilitation, fight against immoral actions and attention to education and science in the country are of the most important Qur'anic components of the health system transformation plan.

Investigating the items of this plan represents the harmony between this plan and the Qur'anic instructions. It is hoped that the realization of this plan will be a turning point in the implementation of a sustainable health system based on Qur'anic teachings.

Oral health plays an important role in determining food intake patterns, meeting nutritional needs, and consequently keeping the health of the elderly and their quality of life. Health literacy is also one of the biggest determinants that significantly impacts disease prevention in the elderly.

This study aimed to determine oral health status and the relationship between health literacy and nutritional status in the elderly referring to health centers in Tabriz City, Iran.

This research is a cross-sectional analytical study performed on 300 older people in Tabriz in 2020. Data collection tools included the geriatric oral health assessment index, seniors in the community: risk evaluation for eating and nutrition, health literacy for Iranian adults, and demographic information questionnaire. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics were used to sort out the data. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check the data normality, and then simple and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between variables and control the effect of intervening variables. The level of significance in this study was considered less than 0.05.

The Mean±SD age of the elderly was 69.7±6.7 years. The number of men and women participating in this study was equal. A total of 257 people (85.7%) were married. The results showed that the oral health status of 51% of the elderly was below mean, 65.33% of the elderly were illiterate, and 69.33% were severely malnourished. Based on the results of multiple regression, the nutritional status of the individuals was a predictor of the oral health score of the elderly (Β=-13.5, 95% CI; -11.3, -15.69, P=0.001). So, people with malnutrition, mildly malnourished, and severely malnourished had lower oral health scores than healthy individuals with the control of the other variables. The R2 value in this study was 0.59.

According to the study results and the relationship between malnutrition and oral health, it is necessary to conduct studies on the factors affecting malnutrition in the elderly by intervening on the factors affecting malnutrition, changing the oral health status of the elderly, and improving their quality of life.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease and its etiology has not fully understood in conventional medicine. It also influences the quality of life as a result of its recurrence and progressive clinical course, then, it has been considered an important public health concern. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of prescription therapy based on the Persian Medicine as a complementary treatment for the mitigation of the symptoms of UC as well as improvement in the disease severity. A total of 30 UC patients with an age range of 15-70 years participated in this clinical trial. They were treated with the “Sahj” capsule containing: Curcuma longa L., Punica granatum L., and Terminalia chebula Retz. for 4 weeks. The “Sahj” capsule was prepared based on the Persian Medicine resources. The bowel frequency at day/night, urgency of defecation, general health, and blood in stool were assessed pre/post intervention and the results were compared before and after the clinical trial. The “Sahj” capsule significantly enhanced the clinical findings. There was a significant increase in simple clinical colitis activity index (SCCAI) score in response to the prescription of the “Sahj” capsule (7.73 ± 1.98 before and 4.30 ± 1.12 after the trial) in which general health condition of patients was increased by 50% after the clinical trial. Bowel frequency at day was remarkably decreased by totally 15 patients with the scores of 1, 2 and 3 were enrolled to score 0. Also, bowel frequency at night was not statically significant (p = 0.267) in spite of 7 patients were improved their score (changed their score from 2 to 1).  Urgency of defecation (p 0.003) and blood in stool (p 0.0001) were significantly decreased compared with pre-intervention stage. These findings suggest an appropriate complementary treatment to reduce the symptoms of ulcerative colitis. However, further studies with larger sample size are warranted to assess the efficacy and safety of the “Sahj” capsule in the treatment of UC.

As the functions of hospitals change during COVID-19 outbreak and due to lack of nurses’ experience, the development and implementation of special support programs in this regard seems necessary. The present study intended to assess the experienced nurses’ viewpoints in infectious and non-infectious wards regarding hospital support measures.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in IMAMREZA hospital in Mashhad. All together 230nurses caring for COVID-19 patients working in infectious (group 1) and non-infectious (group 2) wards were selected through stratified random sampling. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were examined and confirmed. The Data were analyzed by SPSS with Chi-square and Pearson correlation coefficients.

From the nurseschr('39') viewpoint, the highest satisfaction score was related to the reorganization of the hospital and the allocation of new ward (87.8%). The lowest was related to providing suitable accommodation for the medical staff (26.4%). Statistically significant differences were observed between the level of satisfaction with supportive measures in groups 1 and 2 in the areas related to education and information(P-Value=0.014), training on safety and care of coronary patients(P-Value=0.017) Possibility of receiving counseling and screening and timely dispatch of manpower(P-Value=0.018), supply and timely dispatch of manpower in the ward(P-Value=0.002) and reorganization of the hospital in accordance with the crisis (P-Value=0.002).

Considering the viewpoints of infectious and non-infectious nurses about the same supportive measures taken by the hospitals, managerschr('39') attention to the needs of hospitals’ nursing groups, especially during the crisis time, is suggested to increase job satisfaction.

Anxiety is one of the most important psychological problems during the menopausal period. Anxiety can affect the health and quality of life of postmenopausal women. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of viola odorata syrup on anxiety among postmenopausal women.

This study is a triple blind clinical trial that was performed on 84 postmenopausal women referred to health centers in Mashhad in 2019. In both groups, postmenopausal women received 5 ml of viola odorata or placebo syrup twice a day for one month. Before and after the intervention, anxiety was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale-21. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software version 25 and Mann-Whitney, Chi-square and Fisherchr('39')s exact tests.

Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in women’s anxiety levels between viola odorata group and placebo group, and the two groups were homogeneous (P=0.084). After the intervention, there was a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.004). The corrected average was 3.61±3.02 (2.9-4.2, CI95%) for the violet group and 7.63±3.60 (6.9-8.3, CI95%) for the placebo group. Also, after the intervention the anxiety score decreased in the viola odorata group, and increased in the placebo group. The Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant difference (P<0.001).

According to the results of the present study, viola odorata syrup decreased anxiety in postmenopausal women. Therefore, it can be used as a complementary treatment along with chemical therapies to reduce anxiety in postmenopausal women.

Increasing age is one of the most important predictors of mortality among aged population. Therefore, determining the causes of death among older people could be imperative. The purpose of this study was to investigate non-communicable disease mortality among a sample of older people in Iran from 2007 to 2018.

This was a retrospective descriptive study that applied census sampling technique to investigate 1202 Medical Records of older adults (60 ≤ years old) died during 2007-2018 at three hospitals of Khuzestan province, Iran. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 24 software.

The mean age of participants was 77.4 ± 8.38. Of whom 50.7 % were male. The highest number of deaths were related to the internal ward (41.4%), CCU (29.3%) and ICU (25.6%), respectively. In addition, Angina pectoris, Respiratory disease and Cerebrovascular Accident were the most important cause of death among aged population. Also, the history of hospitalization (87.1%) and cardiovascular disease (82.2%), and hypertension (67.8%) were the prominent risk factors for mortality among aged population. According to chi-squared, there was a significant relationship between smoking and death attributed to cardiovascular diseases among older adults.

Angina pectoris, Respiratory disease and Cerebrovascular accident diseases are the most important cause of death among older adults. Prevention and screening programs should be implemented to discern and screen these chronic diseases at the early stage among older people.