masumeh zamanlu

Autonomic psychophysiology has opened a new field in modern sports science and practice, providing effective means to improve swimming training and skills. Of the famous items of this technology is extremity temperature, which gives an estimate of pleasure and autonomic balance. Nevertheless, the literature on this area and swimming shows a significant gap. This study measures and interprets the extremity temperature of swimmers during swimming training, which can be beneficial for adjusting training approaches and designing neuroscience interventions (including biofeedback) for athletic peak performance.

A total of 10 teen swimmers voluntarily participated in this research. They were 11 to 13 years old (30% male [n=3]). They were under training by the leading researchers, selected with available sampling, and grouped as fully trained and semi-trained (each group n=5). Informed consent was obtained, and a 15-min recording session of the extremity temperature was performed, during rest along with the challenge of swimming competition imagery. The findings were ultimately compared in the two groups.

The semi-trained group had a higher extremity temperature than the fully trained group (29.52±3.19 vs 30.74±4.83), indicating more pleasure and autonomic balance during swimming imagery. Therefore, complete swimming training was associated with relative dominance of sympathetic activity and unpleasant autonomic imbalance.

The present study’s findings showed that competitive tensions and involvement in technical details at the end of swimming training might cause unpleasant emotions and physical alterations. Such conditions ought to be adjusted.

This article is an attempt to summarize the most updated information on heart rate variability (HRV) in ischemic stroke and to contribute to the clinical translation of this field. A wide range of pathologies, including vascular diseases (with stroke as a hallmark), are related to HRV. The parameters of this phenomenon can open a window to improve clinical approaches. The interval between two consecutive heartbeats is changed by the autonomic nervous system and these changes are called heart rate variability or HRV. Higher range and complexity of HRV fluctuations indicate better and more effective vascular and autonomic self-regulation and repair capacities.

The keywords including “heart rate variability”, stroke, and “cerebrovascular event” were used and PubMed, Scopus, SID, and Google Scholar databases were searched. Reference books on neurology and clinical neurosciences were also used. Researchers checked the relevance of the documents and excluded irrelevant findings.

Several book chapters, together with 50 related reports and journal articles were identified, all of which were studied. The important and acceptable concept line of this field was extracted and reported here.

HRV fluctuations decrease after ischemic stroke, therefore, they show autonomic impairments leading to an increase in sympathetic activity and a decrease in parasympathetic activity in the acute stage of stroke. These changes may persist and be associated with an increased risk of subsequent mortality. In patients with acute ischemic stroke, HRV could be a biomarker with prognostic value and may differentiate favorable and unfavorable outcomes of treatments. Moreover, HRV parameters have a predictive value for the occurrence of ischemic stroke, especially in normal people or patients with significant vascular risks. Overall, HRV recording can be valuable not as an independent tool but as a complement to remove barriers and gaps in the clinical management of stroke; and perform the task of objectifying the patients’ vascular conditions and alterations. Recording these parameters is practical, inexpensive, portable, and therefore, easily implemented in various clinical situations.

To date, of essential goals in psychiatry and establishment of future medical centers is creating therapeutic environments with the aim of improving clinical outcomes, preventing the progression of personality difficulties to serious psychiatric disorders, increasing self-satisfaction in society, facilitating personal growth and actualization, as well as reducing high medical costs. In this regard, the Personality Modulation Clinic in 2016 in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences was established, with the aim of providing appropriate mental health services for clients who do not fulfill criteria for a specific mental disorder, in the traditional classifications; nevertheless, desiring to eliminate inner obstacles towards mental growth, self-actualization, spirituality and the proper well-being they lack. The services in this clinic provide clients with support in order to seek innovative growth opportunities within themselves, by removing inner obstacles towards personality development. These obstacles are roughly equivalent to the diagnosis of “personality difficulty” in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Moreover, the therapeutic foundation of this clinic is an emerging medical paradigm known as Cosmetic Psychiatry. At the beginning of any new scientific establishment, as usually happens, and was true for this clinic as well, the bond of philosophical concepts are unveiled, and this is the irreversible and undeniable link between science and philosophy. Thereby, important questions appeared, which were approached philosophically.

Mental health and treatment approaches have indeed garnered attention in health care. Treatment approaches have shifted from severe and chronic disorders prevalent in the past to milder disorders. Further, these approaches aid in improving performance, health, happiness, and superiority.1 To this end, new diagnostic systems have been introduced to move away from traditional approaches (i.e., stratified diagnosis and treatment) to a dimensional approach. This shift in attitude may affect major current mental health practices requiring innovative approaches, guidelines, and care to revolutionize mental health. Thus, setting up the clinic of personality modulation was inevitable as it provides educational-therapeutic services in accordance with the most up-to-date diagnostic classification system. It can also promote the growth of mental health. Even healthy people or those who pay attention to their mental growth and development can also benefit from the clinic's services. In a dimensional approach, services are provided for those who fall in the category of difficult code of personality in the new psychiatric divisions of the ICD-11. These services will lead to their personal and professional development.
To compensate for the shortcomings of previous classification systems, the ICD-11 has adopted a dimensional approach, a new approach to the classification of personality disorders, in which the focus is primarily on diagnosing and determining the severity of the disease. Moreover, the range of symptoms includes five ranges of traits related to personality disorders. These five domains encompass Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Dissociality, Disinhibition, and Anankastia .2,3 Thierry, Crawford, Mulder, Bleschfeld, Farnam, et al.,4 establishing this dimensional classification, proposed a new diagnosis called personality difficulty. Diagnosis of the personality difficulty is not a psychological disorder in itself. However, it can still be used for the clinical benefit of virtually normal individuals and has been included in the Z-scores of the ICD-11 for Non-Patients. This diagnosis consists of people who are neither typically ill nor have a personality disorder. Rather, these people have problems with life management that causes medical problems and incurs costs for the community and treatment systems.5 The researchers concluded that the proposed changes could aid clinical efficacy in diagnosing the personality disorder and selecting appropriate treatment. In this way, the misconceptions concerning the false label attached to the disorder term can be dispelled.4
Therefore, current psychiatry is moving in a direction with a program not only for patients but also for almost normal people who have problems in their lives or feel that there are some difficulties in developing their personality. One style of psychiatric treatment called cosmetic psychiatry6 or positive psychiatry7 has attracted attention among the whole range of psychiatric disciplines. Cosmetic Psychiatry refers to the empowerment and strengthening of people's cognitive, behavioral, and emotional processes who do not suffer from a specific disorder. In other words, the treatment is to improve a person's mental state in the absence of any clinical disorder.8 The development of the ICD-11 has led to innovative approaches which were not available before. The reason for the clinic's foundation lies in the philosophical theories presented by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Sadr al-Muta'allehin Shirazi. They saw soul and psyche as a constantly evolving category. According to their theories, the soul is inherently growing and ascending unless a factor disrupts this process.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are developing in scientific areas while biologic and immunologic effects have been proven in many studies. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of 50 Hz EMFs in the manner of the whole body exposure on the T-helper balance (Th1/Th2) in rats.

This experimental research evaluated the impact of the EMF on T-helper balance, including 30 rats that were randomly divided into 3 groups. The control group and experimental groups were exposed to 50 Hz EMF with the intensity of 0.5 mT for one and two month(s), respectively. At the end of the exposure period, blood samples were collected from the left ventricle of the hearts of the rats and the serum levels of interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interferon gamma (INF-γ) were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared in all three groups.

The level of IL-4 and INF-γ showed a notable change (P=0.032) during one month of EMF exposure, indicating a shift of T-helper balance toward the Th2 arm, meaning more strong allergic reactions and weaker immune responses against tumors and many other diseases. After 2 months, the levels of cytokines and the balance of the T-helper came close to the baseline (the control group samples), representing the adaptive trends of T-helper balance in longer exposures.

The results of the present research revealed that EMFs produced important changes in IL-4 and INF-γ levels and affected the T-helper balance shift toward the Th2 arm, implying stronger allergic reactions and weaker defense against tumor and various other diseases. However, understanding the true nature of these changes and their actual health effects requires further studies.

Depression associated with aggression can lead to violent behaviors. The present study was aimed to determine how sertraline, a standard medication for depression treatment, can efficiently decrease aggression and affect psychophysiological parameters in patients with depression.

Patients with depression and aggression were included in a six-week trial with sertraline (50 100 mg/day). Depression diagnosis was confirmed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Depression severity before and after treatment was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Aggression was evaluated by Spielberger’s State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXIII). The BDI and STAXI-II were finally applied to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. For each patient, peripheral and central psychophysiological parameters were recorded using peripheral biofeedback apparatus and electroencephalogram in the initial and final stages of treatment. These recordings were attempted to assess variations of the autonomic nervous system and electrocortical activity in response to treatment.

Depressive and aggressive symptoms decreased significantly over the six-week treatment period, as measured by BDI and STAXI-II. Significant changes in some of the peripheral and central psychophysiological variables were observed. Sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)/theta ratio (p=0.01) have decreased during a task, delta (p=0.02) and theta (p=0.008) wave activity and theta/alpha ratio (p=0.01) have increased during task, and theta/beta ratio has increased during both rest and task (p=0.02 for both). Among peripheral psychophysiological variables, skin conductance during task decreased significantly (p=0.03).

Several numbers of psychophysiological parameters were influenced significantly after successful pharmacotherapy of aggressiveness in patients with depression.

The current report presents the clinical presentations and paraclinical findings of the second confirmed mortality case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Qom, Iran, with an emphasis on the results of the direct cardiac consequences of COVID-19 infection.  
Case Report: A 63-year-old male patient was admitted to the Emergency Department of Kamkar-Arabnia hospital in Qom, with productive coughs, chills, anorexia, and fever. The patient had taken no recent trips and had no exposure to individuals with respiratory symptoms. Pulmonary auscultation and related imaging indicated serious pulmonary involvements. Laboratory findings showed evidence of anemia, uremia, hepatic dysfunction, and cardiac involvement, including electrocardiography changes, cardiac enzyme elevation, and relatively large cardiac space in the chest X-ray. Mortality occurred by cardiopulmonary arrest with a prominent feature of asystole and no little response to long durations of resuscitation which could originate from both acute respiratory distress syndrome as well as direct cardiac involvement.

Considering the enormous capability of coronaviruses for miscellaneous pathogenesis and outstanding mortality rate of COVID-19, it is necessary to pay more concentrated attention to the direct cardiac consequences of this disease.

The novel coronavirus, formerly named as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) caused a rapidly spreading epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Wuhan, China and thereafter, progressed globally to form a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in numerous countries; and now confirmed cases are reported from several provinces of Iran. Now various medical centers, clinicians and researchers around the world share their data and experiences about COVID-19 in order to participate in the global attempt of controlling the pandemic. The current report investigates the clinical presentations and paraclinical findings of the first confirmed cases and mortalities in the initiation of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran.

Existential anxiety is an outstanding issue both in psychology and philosophy. It implies the mental rummage following the notion of existence, inexistence and related concepts. Martin Heidegger is a philosopher incorporating the meaning of existential anxiety and time perception in a unique comprehensive view, suggesting that there is a relation between being, time and anxiety. To the best of our knowledge, no empirical study has assessed any association between time perception and existential anxiety. The current study aims at investigating the mentioned association. Eighty four students in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences voluntarily participated in this study and gave their written informed consent. Time perception was assessed by verbal and production tests. The score of existential anxiety was obtained by the Good & Good Existential Anxiety Questionnaire. Association of time perception and existential anxiety was analyzed statistically. Mean score of existential anxiety of subjects was 7.57±4.75 out of 32. Accuracy of time perception was significantly related to existential anxiety score (P</em> = 0.034); in the manner that inaccurate time perceivers had higher existential anxiety scores. The results of this study are preliminary in line with the existential concepts presented by Heidegger; indicating that existential anxiety and time perception may have common roots. This understanding about existential anxiety suggests further explorations and deeper existential reasonings, as well as more efficient psychological and psychiatric clinical practice.

Humans manifest a behavioral inclination towards more utility of one side of the body, in relation with the dominant hemisphere of the brain. The current investigation assessed handedness together with chewing preference which have not been evaluated in various food textures before. Nineteen young and healthy volunteers chewed hard (walnut) and soft (cake) foods, during surface electromyography recording from masseter muscles. The side of the first and all chews in the two food types were determined and compared with the side of the dominant hand. Results indicated the two lateralities in the same side considerably (60%-70%), implying the solidarity in the control of the dominant hemisphere of the brain. The unilaterality was more prominent in the assessment of all chews in hard food, with higher statistical agreement and correlation. Thereupon masticatory preference is found with probable origins in the dominant hemisphere of the brain.

Male sex is more prone to cerebrovascular disorders, yet the exact role of androgens in cerebral ischemia remains unclear. Here we reviewed current understanding of testosterone (TES) neuroprotective activity against ischemic stroke and mechanisms underlying these effects in aging. TES may exert a neuroprotective effect in aging through pathways including inhibition of oxidant molecules production, enhancing the enzymatic antioxidant capacity of the brain and modulation of apoptotic cell death. Given this, a better understanding of the neuroprotective roles of TES may propose an effective therapeutic strategy to improve the quality of life and decrease androgen-related cerebrovascular problems in the aging men.

Measurement of thrombolytic activity is crucial for research and development of novel thrombolytics. It is a key factor in the assessment of the effectiveness of conventionally used thrombolytic therapies in the clinic. Previous methods used for the assessment of thrombolytic activity are often associated with some drawbacks such as being costly, time-consuming, complex with low accuracy. Here, we introduce a simple, economic, relatively accurate and fast method of spectrophotometric analysis of thrombolytic activity (SATA) assay, standardized by tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which can quantitatively measure in vitro thrombolytic activity.
Blood clots were formed, uniformly, by mixing citrated whole blood with partial thromboplastin time (PTT) reagent, together with calcium chloride. Then, designated concentrations of tPA were added to the samples, and the released red blood cells from each clot were quantified using spectrophotometry (λmax=405nm) as an indicator of thrombolytic activity. The accuracy of the method was tested by assessment of dose-responsibility against R2 value obtained by linear equation and measurement of the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). The SATA assay was validated in comparison with some currently used techniques.
A linear relationship was obtained between different concentrations of tPA versus the spectrophotometric absorbance of the related dilutions of lysed clots, at λmax=405nm. Calculated R2 values were greater than 0.9; with LOD of 0.90 µg/mL of tPA (436.50IU) and LOQ of 2.99 µg/mL of tPA (1450.15IU).
Conclusively, the SATA assay is a very simple quantitative method with repeatable and reproducible results for estimating the potency of an unknown thrombolytic agent, and calculating the activity as delicate as 1 µg/mL of tPA (485 IU/mL of thrombolytic dose).

Love, this eminent humane experience, has been explored not only by writers and poets, but also by philosophers, psychologists and even experimental scientists. This paper aims to discuss a novel aspect in phenomenology of love, as the concept of destructive and constructive nature of love, which is to the best of our knowledge, presented for the first time. The fundamental idea of this paper was obtained from verses of Hafiz, then polished by theories of Robert Cloninger and several other thinkers in the field of human emotions. Many verses of Hafiz display love experience as a necessary step towards growth, in a way that could be evinced further by the development of the "self-aware psych" introduced by Cloninger. He introduces the "self-aware psych" as one of the three constituting domains of human mind and personality, the intuitive essence bringing integrity for personality. If self-aware psych flourishes by favorable growth and development, it would prepare the ground for creativity, wisdom and well-being, otherwise, personality disorders would be contingent. The destructive and constructive nature of love, towards development of self-awareness and mental growth, is further determined by re-explaining the proposed theory of "ego as a complex" by Carl Jung, the theory of "network of intentionality" by John Searle, and the theory of "emotional processing" by Edna Foa and Michael Kozak in this context.