parisa naseri

This study investigated and analyzed the efficiency of sedimentation structures in Kermanshah province, and its results can help improve water resources management and flood control. Control structures such as gabions and drywall have had a positive effect on reducing soil erosion and sedimentation in different basins of the province, so that a significant reduction in erosion has been observed in the Haji Abad basin. In addition, this study introduces a new technology for continuous and controlled sedimentation removal from dam reservoirs. This technology includes a suction system with two separate pumps, one designed to remove sediments and the other to produce a water jet to create turbulence in the sediment layers. Experiments in the Xenon Dam reservoir indicate the positive effect of the water jet on the sedimentation process, and the results show that sediment removal in the case of water jets is much greater than in the case without water jets. The results of this study show that the use of water jets significantly increases the efficiency of sedimentation, and without it, effective removal Settled sediments are difficult to remove. Therefore, this technology can be used as an effective solution for sediment management in dam reservoirs and help improve the efficiency of sedimentation structures.

This article examines the role of the sale date in determining buyer compensation and regularization in Supreme Court unanimous decision No. 811. It discusses the challenges faced by courts in calculating compensation for the decrease in purchasing power of the buyer's cash price and the issuance of conflicting decisions. The article analyzes the purpose and desired outcome of the unanimous decision, provides a systematic interpretation of its provisions, and concludes that the sale date price is primarily a criterion for determining inflation rather than a direct measure of total compensation. After the conclusion of a contract, the buyer may discover that the object of sale is defective. In such cases, the seller is obligated to return the price and provide compensation to the buyer. Due to the lack of clear criteria in the laws regarding the calculation of compensation for the decrease in purchasing power and the absence of consistent judicial procedures,the Supreme Court issued two unanimous decisions on this matter. In 2014, unanimous decision No. 733 established the principle of considering the decrease in purchasing power as a compensable loss. However, the criteria for calculating this decrease remained disputed. Some courts used the general inflation index, while others considered the inflation rate for specific goods. These differences led to the issuance of unanimous decision No. 811 in 2021. Despite this decision, confusion persists regarding the role of the "price on the day of sale" in determining buyer compensation. Some courts consider this price as the total compensation, regardless of the price actually paid by the buyer. Others use it as a criterion for calculating inflation. This article argues that the price on the day of sale is primarily a criterion for determining inflation and cannot be directly equated with total compensation. The purpose of the unanimous decision is to compensate the buyer for the devaluation of their money due to inflation and to restore their purchasing power. To calculate compensation, two criteria can be used: General inflation index:This is a central bank index that measures inflation based on a basket of goods. Inflation rate for specific goods:This measures the increase in price of similar goods to the object of sale. The choice of criterion depends on the circumstances of the case and the buyer's intended purchase. The goal is to restore the buyer's situation to the day before the contract was concluded, so that they can have a similar purchasing power. Unanimous decision No. 811 is significant in that it establishes the objective inflation criterion as the basis for compensation. This provides greater protection for buyers in cases of defective sales. In conclusion, the price on the day of sale is an important factor in determining buyer compensation, but it should not be used as a direct measure of total compensation. The goal is to compensate the buyer for the loss of purchasing power due to inflation, taking into account the circumstances of the case and the price paid.

In Iran, childhood obesity is an emerging problem that the primary health care (PHC) system is not well equipped for yet. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the effect of a PHC-based behavioral management intervention to control overweight and obesity in children.

This quasi-experimental community trial was performed on 200 overweight or obese 6-8 yr. old children, in 5 urban PHC centers (3 interventions and 2 controls) for 12 months. A convenient sampling frame was applied from elementary schools of districts 7 and 8 (as intervention and control groups, respectively) in the northeast of Tehran city, the capital of Iran. Mothers were trained on parenting style and healthy lifestyle behaviors through a 5-session training workshop. Anthropometrics (Weight, Height, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Waist Circumference (, as well as blood pressure of children were measured at the beginning, 3rd, 6th, and 12th months, thereafter. Physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and dietary habits of children were also assessed.

Of the total, 20.8% (n=41) of children were overweight and 79.2 % (n=156) were obese. Compared with controls, the intervention group had smaller BMI-Z scores. The slope of BMI-Z score reduction was more impressive in the intervention group compared to the control group. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the intervention group was significantly lower compared to the control group in all three measurements. In the intervention group, a significant decrease in the frequency of fast-food consumption and sedentary behaviors time was observed (p-value= 0.022 and 0.055, respectively). There was no significant difference between the two groups in waist circumference, fruit, vegetable, and breakfast consumption, calorie intake, and physical activity at the end of the study.

The protocol of the study is being used as a basis for developing childhood obesity management programs within the health system in Iran.

Ensuring equal utilization of health services has always been a priority in health systems globally. Iran implemented reforms such as the Health Transformation Plan (HTP), in which one objective was to reduce inequity in access to inpatient and outpatient services. These studies aimed to measure inequality in health services utilization in Qazvin, Iran, and clarify inpatient and outpatient utilization patterns among socioeconomic subgroups of the population. This cross-sectional study recruited 442 households living in Qazvin, Iran, in 2019. We collected data using a tool that included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and health services utilization. We applied the concentration index to measure inequality and performed data analysis using STATA 15. Based on our estimates, the utilization rates of outpatient and inpatient services in the study sample were 0.89±1.39 and 0.45±0.94, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the use of outpatient healthcare services in terms of gender and insurance coverage of the households, while literacy, age, and health condition had statistically significant effects on inpatient healthcare utilization (P<0.05). Furthermore, the marginal effects of age and literacy on the utilization of outpatient services were statistically significant (P<0.05), so that literacy and aging increased the outpatient HSU. Except for age, the marginal effects of other characteristics on the utilization of inpatient services were statistically significant (P<0.05). Our findings indicated that inequality in healthcare utilization reduced over time, showing that in addition to reducing inequality in HSU, population groups with lower socio-economic status have benefited more from both inpatient and outpatient services.

Sea shells are natural-biological objects. They are embedded in geological layers in the form of fossils, but also, to find in archaeological deposits as a result of human activities. Archaeologists can use the provenance of shells in the functional analysis of ancient sites in terms of social archeology and prehistoric trading activities. Aarcheological excavations in several sites of the Iranian Plateau have shown that from the 3rd third millennium B.C. onwards, finds of of sea shells (e.g. Lambis, Dentalium, etc.) rapidely increased. Such shells were for instance discovered from ritual cemetery contexts such as Shahdad, Tepe Hesar, Kale Nisar cemeteries or Bani Surma. These objects are mainly used as natural or polished shells. In some cases, they served as a raw material for making all kinds of beads, buttons, and other ornamental objects.. The main question is to understand the relationship between the use of seashells and archaeological context, and also, their role in Bronze Age ritual life. In this article, the descriptive, analytical method has been used in the biological recognition of all types of shells. This method is also used based on similar studies on this issue in Mesopotamia's archeology of the Sumerian-Akkadian period. The distribution of recognizable species shows that these objects are concentrated in the settlements from south to southeast of Iran in the coastal strip of the Persian Gulf, and from the Oman Sea to the Zagros intermountain valleys, as well as in the northwest and northeast of Iran. The biological origin can be placed in the northern shores of the Oman Sea to the Gulf of Kutch on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean. It seems that with the growth and development of urbanization in Southwest Asia and especially the development of sea trade, oysters have been traded as valuable goods and other prestige goods. The importance of the shell findings is more than the value of the shells themselves because they were used as sacred goods in religious affairs. Analysis of the fields where the shells were discovered is more related to cemeteries and temples as sacred spaces. Also, the significant presence of Lambis shells for the production of specific ritual bowls, placed together with bronze axes in graves, can be seen as the reflection of a patriarchic tradition in the social-political organisiation of the third and second millennia B.C. Despite many excavations and the discovery of many samples of these types of shells, no furthergoing investigation on these specific objects was undertaken so far. This desideratum reveals more valuable findings in the archeology of the Iranian plateau. Therefore, one of this article's final goals is to focus more on analyzing the context of the discovery of seashells in future Excavation

We aimed to investigate the latent smoking classes in men and their association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of themselves, their wives and offspring.

Using Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS), 1781 men with marital stability and 8-18-year-old offspring were followed for 15 years (1999-2014). Latent class growth modeling (LCGM) was used to identify men's smoking patterns in 1139 men with at least three non-missing measurements of cigarettes per day (CPD); they had 1908 children (8-18 years at baseline). HRQoL and its physical and mental component summaries (PCS and MCS) was measured at the last follow-up using the SF-12v2 questionnaire. The associations of men's smoking classes with HRQoL of the family members were examined using generalized linear model.

LCGM revealed four trajectories for men's smoking patterns; non/rare smokers, decreasing light, persistent moderate smokers, and persistent heavy smokers. Persistent smoking men, regardless of the amount of smoking (light or heavy), had lower scores in general health (ß= -7.80 for moderate and ß= -10.71 for heavy class) but not overall PCS. Al three trajectories of smoker men had poorer overall MCS than non/rare smokers. Living with persistent heavy smoker men was associated with decreased overall MCS in women (ß= -4.20), in particular role emotional (ß= -8.82) and mental health (ß= -9.42). No significant association was detected between fathers' smoking patterns and offspring HRQoL in young adulthood.

Our results show men's heavy and persistent smoking worsens their own and their spouses' HRQoL, mainly in mental health dimensions.

Shell, as the natural shell of some mollusks, has always interested humans. Some of these ‎species have been part of man's diet since the beginning of his cultural development. In contrast, others ‎have been used as natural utensils or as ornaments. Among the people, the characteristics of this ‎shell group are clarified based on their spatial analysis, which is often placed in religious ‎contexts such as shrines as special offerings and gifts or grave gifts with the deceased‏. ‏While in ‎some Far Eastern cultures, they have been used as money in some cases. The Surkh  Lori is one ‎of the key areas of the second millennium BC. It is located in western Iran's region behind the mountain ‎‎(Lorestan). It was first excavated by Erich Schmidt in 1938 and introduced as a ‎temple. Many of the objects found in this area are votive offerings made by the area's people ‎for the good of this Temple. Among these objects, at least 532 sea shells have been found. Their origin is determined according to their biological typology from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of ‎Oman. The abundance of shells such as Kowzak or Cowries indicates that this Temple belonged to a ‎female goddess, probably "Ninlil," because of the accompaniment of such shells in the context of ‎the first millennium BC; It is commonly reported in the graves of women and children.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between personal and clinical characteristics of adults in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) with depression, anxiety, and stress.

Data of 2272 adults participating in the 6th phase of TLGS were used for univariate analysis to investigate the association between socio-demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics and participants’ emotional states. Thereupon, the predictors with a P value<0.20, at least for one of depression, anxiety, and stress in the primary analysis, were included in the model for multivariate modeling.

The mean age of participants was 47.23±14.87. The mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were higher in women (P value:<0.001,<0.001, and 0.004) than in men. Higher age was associated with lower anxiety (β=-0.04, P=0.004) and stress (β=-0.13, P<0.001) in men, but only lower stress in women (β=-0.07, P=0.001). Highly educated participants experienced lower depression (β=-2.26, P=0.01, β=-2.26, P=0.003). Although married men robustly experienced lower depression than others (β=-1.69, P=0.009), a less powerful relationship existed between being married and depression in women (β=-1.37, P=0.05). All cigarette smokers experienced higher depression, anxiety, and stress, but only female hookah smokers had higher anxiety and stress. Physical activity and chronic disorders had no relationship with emotional states. Obesity was associated with stress in women (β=1.95, P=0.001).

This study provides an update on factors associated with mental health outcomes in a large general population. Examining the factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress through a sex-sensitive lens could help clinicians diagnose and plan the best preventive and therapeutic approach.

shell A type of seashell called Cowrie, which in Persian is called by several names such as “Gajak” or “Kojak” and... So far, in many ancient deposits from the third millennium BC to the first millennium BC, mainly in the form of personal ornaments with the deceased and in some cases from the places of worship in large numbers, has been obtained. In all published reports, the mere accompaniment of these objects with other personal ornaments has introduced them as personal ornaments, while the question arises as to how this decorative tradition has remained for more than five thousand years. Given that some of today’s indigenous peoples believe beyond the aesthetic aspect of shell; These beliefs can be considered remnants of more ancient rituals? Based on this, it is hypothesized that the continued use of a non-indigenous object over time is related to a religious-ritual belief. Why at the same time the scope of such a phenomenon in the form of use in prayer and burial contexts not only in the cultural borders of Iran but also in large areas of the Eastern Levant and the Middle East has already been reported. Field ethnographic study of some indigenous peoples in western and southwestern Iran shows that these objects are used only for children regardless of gender and in adults only for women, which indicates the existence of a kind of gender and age taboo for it and belief The association of these objects with the person, in addition to the special aesthetic aspect, causes the repulsion of an evil eye They eliminate imperfection and attract goodness and blessings. This phenomenon is seen in ancient textures in the form of shell in the graves of women and children in excavation reports. But there is no sign of the use of these shell as a dignified commodity that belongs to a certain class of people in society. In a comparative analysis on the goals envisaged for this Kajak in both the contexts of ethnology today and contexts of ancient attitude toward ritual and spiritual practice, this assumption is approved only aspects of belief has caused Kajak shell has been considered for a long time and have been transported as a precious commodity by a commercial network from the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean to parts of the Iranian plateau.

Containment of pandemic infections mainly depends on prompt identification of carriers, achievable through strict surveillance and truthful diagnostic testing. Although molecular identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the gold standard method, its low sensitivity and long turnaround time are among major concerns.In this retrospective single-center study, we reviewed the results of the lymphocyte and neutrophil counts of 1450 Iranian patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recruited at Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran.Of 1450 patients, 439 cases (30.3%) were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negative; further emphasizing that getting negative molecular testing is not as reliable as a positive result. While the lymphocyte count in cases with less than 50 years old was 1.8×103/µL (1.2-2.5), it was 1.47×103/µL (0.84-2.16) in the older group (p<0.001). Also, men experienced lower lymphocytes as compared to women (1.53×103/µL vs 1.76×103/µL; p=0.002). Of particular interest, the lymphocyte count in the PCR-negative cases was 1.77×103/µL (0.98-2.45) which was significantly higher than its count in their positive counterparts (1.53×103/µL; p=0.004). Unlike lymphocytes, sex and PCR did not significantly affect the number of neutrophils. The odds ratio for neutrophilia in patients aged older than 50, either with a negative or a positive PCR, was 2.46 and 2.23, suggesting old age as the most significant associated factor.The number of lymphocytes along with increased neutrophil count may probably serve as simple, rapid, and economical biomarkers, and are seemingly appropriate items that should be taken into account in the identification of patients with COVID-19, especially those aged more than 50.

Maternal immunity to Toxoplasma gondii is critical during pregnancy. Non-immunized women may be at the risk of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. This parasite can pass through the placenta to the fetus and causes severe complications in the fetus. This study aimed to investigate the seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma infection in pregnant women of Gonabad.

Three hundred blood samples were collected from pregnant women and abortive women of 18-40 years old who referred to the health centers and hospitals of Gonabad. The immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody titers were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The samples were taken from 252 (84.0%) pregnant women and 48 (16.0%) women with abortion. The average age of these women was 29.23 ± 6.24 years. Among these subjects, 56 (22.2%) pregnant women and 15 (31.3%) women with a history of abortion had anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies while 196 (77.8%) pregnant women and 33 (68.7%) women with abortion history did not have this specific antibody. Based on the results, 3 (1.2%) pregnant women had IgM antibodies while this antibody was not observed in any woman with a history of abortion. Finally, the prevalence of toxoplasmosis was 23.6%.

According to the results, 76.33% of pregnant and abortive women in Gonabad have no history of Toxoplasma infection. Therefore, they are prone to toxoplasmosis infection during their pregnancies. In this regard, it is necessary to establish public health and preventive actions, as well as a rapid diagnosis to eliminate risk factors during pregnancy

One of the vital skills which has an impact on emotional health and well-being is the regulation of emotions. In recent years, the neural basis of this process has been considered widely. One of the powerful tools for eliciting and regulating emotion is music. The Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) is part of the emotional neural circuitry involved in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The current study uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to examine how neural processing of emotional musical auditory stimuli is changed within the ACC in depression. Statistical inference is conducted using a Bayesian Generalized Linear Model (GLM) approach with an Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) algorithm.

A new proposed Bayesian approach was applied for assessing functional response to emotional musical auditory stimuli in a block design fMRI data with 105 scans of two healthy and depressed women. In this Bayesian approach, Unweighted Graph-Laplacian (UGL) prior was chosen for spatial dependency, and autoregressive (AR) (1) process was used for temporal correlation via pre-weighting residuals. Finally, the inference was conducted using the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) algorithm in the R-INLA package.

The results revealed that positive music, as compared to negative music, elicits stronger activation within the ACC area in both healthy and depressed subjects. In comparing MDD and Never-Depressed (ND) individuals, a significant difference was found between MDD and ND groups in response to positive music vs negative music stimuli. The activations increase from baseline to positive stimuli and decrease from baseline to negative stimuli in ND subjects. Also, a significant decrease from baseline to positive stimuli was observed in MDD subjects, but there was no significant difference between baseline and negative stimuli.

Assessing the pattern of activations within ACC in a depressed individual may be useful in retraining the ACC and improving its function, and lead to more effective therapeutic interventions.

Depression and anxiety have a negative effect on cancer, so its evaluation and treatment are important in these patients. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two music-based therapies and to write down the levels of anxiety and depression in students with cancer.

The present semi-experimental study was a pretest and posttest with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all students aged 14-8 years with cancer in the first six months of 2019 who were hospitalized in Bandar Abbas Childrenchr('39')s Hospital; A total of 45 subjects were randomly selected and randomly assigned to two test groups and a control group (15 subjects each). All subjects were tested before and after treatment with the Spence Anxiety Test and the Barlson Depression. The experimental groups underwent music therapy and writing therapy, but the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were analyzed by statistical tests.

The results showed that music therapy and writing therapy had an effect on depression and anxiety in students with cancer, and there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two treatments (P < 0.001).

Based on the results of the research, music therapy and writing therapy can be used as a complementary, non-pharmacological treatment and effective methods to reduce anxiety and depression in students with cancer.

This study aimed to estimate the cure proportion and effects of related factors on colorectal cancer in Iranian patients after surgery.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death. The relative survival of CRC varies worldwide given the quality of care, including surgical techniques.

This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 490 patients, aged 20–94 years, with colorectal cancer. All the colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery in Faghihi hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were prospectively followed-up for 8 years from 2008 to March 8, 2016. We used parametric cure model (mixture and non-mixture) to estimate the cure proportion and the adjusted hazard ration (HR) for colorectal cancer mortality after surgery. Data were analyzed by the “flexsurvcure” package in R software (version 3.4.2).

The median age of patients was 57.5 (interquartile range =18) years. Specifically, 56.33% of the patients were male. The median time of follow-up in patients was 618 days. The cumulative survival proportion varied from 0.90 to 0.49 which indicated a reduction followed by a flat line in the probability of survival by sex. The flexible survival for adjusted cure proportion (%) was 68.3. Only obesity was associated with a decreased risk of mortality (HR=0.34; 95% CI: 0.12-0.97).

The overall eight-year survival proportion and adjusted cure proportion for CRC were 49% and 68.3%, respectively. Knowing the cure proportion and its related factors in patients with CRC, better services can be provided. Thus, early detection and screening strategies are required to reduce mortality and increase survival of patients.

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is a natural and healthyalternative sweetener to sugar and artificial sweeteners, which has become important for human diets and food manufactures. In this study, the effects of stevia or sucralose as tea sweeteners on glycemic and lipid profile of type 2 diabetic patients were investigated.

A double-blind clinical trial was carried out in 34 type 2 diabetic patients. These patients were assigned into two groups of stevia (n=15) (received 1 cup of 2% stevia extract-sweet tea in three meals) and non-stevia (n=19) (received one tablet of sucralose sweetener) daily for eight weeks. Glycemic response and lipid profile of the participants were assessed. Furthermore, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of the participants were measured as well as their dietary intakes at the baseline and at the end of the study.

Findings showed no significant differences in fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels between the base line and after two hours, in participants. Also, no significant differences in insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and lipid levels were found between the two groups.

Results of the current study showed that the highlighted doses of stevia in sweetened tea could be an alternative to sucralose in diabetic patients with no effects on blood glucose, HbA1C, insulin and lipid levels.

  The nursing education program in Iran has been reformed over the past years with the aim of enhancing the moral capabilities and formation of positive professional identity in graduated nurses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of formation of professional identity in nursing students in Iran. Setting and Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Two hundred and twenty-one students studying in the last three semesters were selected using convenience sampling. The Professional Identity Scale for nursing students was used for data gathering. The questionnaire was translated into Persian by the forward-backward translation method. The study was
conducted in 2017 in three of Iran’s capital’s nursing and midwifery school. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed using independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s
correlation, and linear regression. The mean age of the subjects was 23. 15 ± 2.71 years and 50.7% of them were female. The average score for professional identity was 55.61 ± 12.75, and the score for professional self-image
was 20.68 ± 4.82; the benefit of retention and risk of turnover was 11.94 ± 3.70; social comparison and self-reflection was 10.06 ± 2.50; independence of career choice 6.80 ± 1.82; and social modeling 6.42 ± 2.30. The average score of professional identity was higher than half of the expected score, but it was lower than the maximum score. The nursing education program in Iran failed to advantageously shape the professional identity of nursing students.

Crossover designs have applications in a wide range of sciences. The simplest and most common of such designs are the two-period, two-treatment (2×2) crossover. As a consequence, each subject provides a 4×1 vector of responses for data analysis in the following chronological order: baseline (period 1), post-baseline (period 1), baseline (period 2), and post-baseline (period 2). We considered three types of analytic approaches for handling the baselines:1) analysis of variance (ANOVA) method which ignores the first or both period baselines or use a change from baseline analysis 2) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) method which uses an analysis of covariance where linear functions of one or both baselines are employed as either period-specific or period-invariant covariates 3) Joint modeling method that conducts joint modeling of a linear function of the baseline and post-baseline responses with certain mean constraints for the baseline responses. The crossover clinical trial data was analyzed, using the proposed models.          Based on the results on real data among all mentioned models, the first model (direct comparison of post-treatment values) and the second model (post-treatment measurement subtracts corresponding baseline) had the lowest and the highest standard errors, respectively. With respect to Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), the fifth model (comparison of post-treatment values adjusted by all available baseline data) and the eighth model (comparison of post-treatment values adjusted by difference and sum of all available baseline data) had the lowest magnitude, and the ninth model (modeling period baseline jointly with post-treatment values) had the highest AIC for both variables which the values of AIC were 518.1, 520.9 and 1137.8, respectively. To sum up, it is found that baseline data of crossover trial may be used to improve the efficiency of treatment effect estimation when applied appropriately.

Breast cancer is the first cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Iran.
The aim of the present study was to compare the traditional statistical analysis and data mining technique as the research methods for identifying the prognostic factors regarding the survival time of patients with breast cancer. Decision tree method is one of the predictive models that used in the medical field. The most used algorithms are classification and regression trees (CART), the quick, unbiased, efficient statistical tree (QUEST), Chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAIDs) algorithm, and the C5.0 algorithm.
We used data for 438 patients, who were referred to cancer research center in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The patients were visited and treated during 1992 to 2012 and followed up until October 2014. The data were analyzed by regression logistic and decision tree method. Six measures for evaluation of predictive performance of different models were used.
The C5.0 algorithm performed better than CHAID, QUEST, CART algorithms, and the logistic regression in predicting breast cancer survival. The multiple logistic regression results indicated that the factors of age at diagnosis, histologic grade, axillary lymph node status, and type of surgery were statistically significant with regard to the probability of death in patients with breast cancer. Moreover, based on C4.5 they reported that tumor size, age of menarche, hormonal therapy, axillary nodal status, and histological grade are the most prominent variables.
The more precise methods can identify the more accurate predictors. The decision tree method was able to predict the probability of death more accurately compared with the conventional logistic regression. Some improvements for classical classification tree such as boosting and bagging have been developed in order to obtain better predictive performance. We suggest that the modern classification tree method in the breast cancer context be the focus of future studies.

Rapid progression in medical and health sciences have caused survival studies, where some patients have long-term survival, especially for chronic diseases such as breast cancer. Cure models can be applicable to analyze such data.
The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with breast cancer, using mixture cure fraction model.
We studied data for 438 patients, who were referred to cancer research center in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The patients were visited and treated during 1992 to 2012 and followed-up until October 2014. The data were analyzed by mixture cure fraction model based on GMW (generalized modified Weibull) distribution and inferences were obtained with Bayesian approach, using standard MCMC (Markov Chain Monte Carlo) methods. All analyses were performed, using SPSS v20 and OpenBUGS software. The significant level was considered at 0.05.
During the follow-up period, 75 (17.12%) deaths occurred by breast cancer and the one-year overall survival rate was 98%. Covariates such as numbers of metastatic lymph nodes and histologic grade were statistically significant. Also, the cure fraction estimation was obtained 58%.
When some patients have a long-term survival, cure models can be an interesting model to study survival and these models estimate parameters better than the traditional models such as cox model. In this paper, the mixture cure fraction model based on GMW was fitted for analysing survival times in patients with breast cancer.

Sleep disturbances are a significant public health issue and such problems are associated with a number of psychiatric disorders. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is an effective instrument frequently used to evaluate sleep style and quality. The present study aimed to assess the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Persian version of PSQI. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1115 citizens of Arak City, Iran aged 18-60 years. They were selected by stratified random sampling method from different parts of the city. The following aspects of the Persian version of PSQI were evaluated to assess its validity and reliability. To assess the validity of the content, the questionnaire was sent to a panel of 15 academic members consisting of experts in the fields of psychology and health education. The internal consistency of the PSQI questionnaire was evaluated by the Cronbach alpha coefficient and item-scale correlation. To investigate the factor structure of the PSQI, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed with a 2-factor solution and varimax rotation. The extraction of principal factors was performed after varimax orthogonal rotation and Kaiser’s criterion. At last, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied to assess the reliability of the PSQI questionnaire. All analyses were performed in SPSS V. 16.0 and AMOS for Windows. The Persian version of PSQI was evaluated in the study with regard to its internal consistency and factor structure. The result showed excellent item content validity index (≥0.78) and excellent scale content validity index (≥0.90). The result of the Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.65. The factors of perceived sleep quality and sleep efficiency were extracted by means of factor analysis and these two factors explained 51.75% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis results show the model’s satisfactory fitting based on adequacy criteria goodness of fit index, goodness of fit index adjusted for degrees of freedom, root mean square error of approximation, and comparative fit index. The non-normed fit index was close to its reference value of 0.90. In general, findings suggest that the Persian version of PSQI displayed satisfactory validity and reliability to measure the quality of sleep of Iranian people, at least citizens of Arak City, Iran.

Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency is a common worldwide problem. The association between hypothyroidism and vitamin D deficiency is controversial. We aimed to study the effect of vitamin D on thyroid function in hypothyroid patients.
Material and In this case-control randomized clinical trial study, 201 hypothyroid patients reffered to endocrinology clinics in Arak, were randomly classified into two groups. All patients were taking levothyroxine. Case group received vitamin D 50000 unit weekly and control group received placebo in addition to levothyroxine. After three months, thyroid function tests were repeated and compared with the results of the beginning of the study both intra groups and inter groups by student t test and paired t test analysis.
Male/Female ratio in both case and control groups were 0.24 and 0.15 respectively (P=0.1). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were 68.7 % (138) and 93.5% (188) and after vitamin D taking were 70% (34.8) and 51.2% (103) respectively.Student t test showed that TSH level in people who received vitamin D had a significant decrease in comparison to the people who received placebo (P Most of hypothyroid patients had vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D taking improved thyroid function by TSH suppression in these patients. We recommend the screening for vitamin D deficiency in hypothyroid patients. Although, more researches are needed to clarify molecular explanations of this hypothesis.

Despite the fact that the prehistoric period and particularly the Bronze Age in Central Zagros have been well studied and identified to some extent, no systematic research has been conducted by foreign or Iranian archeologists on the subject of Harsin County. A total of 29 sites belonging to the Bronze Age have been identified in the archeological investigation of the region between 2002 and 2010. Based on the surface findings, all of these sites belong to the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Furthermore, it was discovered that most of these sites formed on the banks of permanent and seasonal rivers and lakes. As for the extent of residential sites of Bronze Age in the region and their location, it is implied that there were rather important and large sites along with small villages, indicating close relationships with the neighboring regions at the end of the third millennium and the beginning of the second millennium B.c. (Middle Bronze Age). The significance of the current study lies in the fact that no evidence was obtained from the Early Bronze Age (Yanik Culture), while the region has maintained numerous cultural relationships with the neighboring areas such as Kangavar with ceramics such as Godin III, Mahidasht and Lorestan from the Middle to Late Bronze Age. In addition to discussing several assumptions, as well as the analysis and typology of ceramics, it was found that only geometric patterns are visible on painted potteries of Bronze Age in Harsin County. Surprisingly, the most striking similarity has been witnessed among the region’s potteries, Lorestan potteries and eastern Pish-e Kuh. A large number of ceramics probably had local and native patterns.

Menorrhagia is one of the most common gynecological problem and leading causes of poor quality of life and iron deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age. Research in gynecological field relies heavily on repeated measure designs. Repeated measure studies are helpful in understanding how factors of interest change over time. Our goal is to apply statistical methods which are appropriate for analyzing repeated measure data such as gynecological data. Three statistical methods were performed by data collection from 100 patients with menorrhagia. One-hundred patients were randomly assigned to two groups, i.e. intervention group (Urtica Dioica and mefenamic acid) and control group (placebo and mefenamic acid) with an equal size of 50. In this study, generalized estimating equations (GEE) and mixed effects models (MEM) were used for analyzing menorrhagia data to determine the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica Dioica on Menorrhagia. Finally, these methods are compared to the conventional repeated measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA).
Based on the results, the three methods are found to be similar in terms of statistical estimation, the amount of bleeding before and after treatment between and within groups was compared. Results showed the average amount of bleeding was reduced significantly (P˂0/001). The average menorrhagia score in the third month (second cycles after intervention) were 91.38(71.432) and 149.40(127.823) in Urtica Dioica and control groups, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p =0.036). Because their advantages, GEE and MEM should be strongly considered for the analysis of repeated measure data. In particular, GEE should be utilized to explore overall average effects. When in addition to overall average effects, subject-specific effects are of primary interest, MEM should be utilized. With respect to these methods, it seems the extract of Urtica Dioica can be effective in reducing the amount of menstrual bleeding in women of reproductive age with Menorrhagia.

Located on the Silk Road, Harsin, one of the cities in Kermanshah province, has always been inhabited and held historical monuments since Paleolithic to the late Qajar era. This study tries to examine the position of Harsin in the Sassanid era, based on architectural and archaeological findings. The method of the study is descriptive-analytical, along with field study. The research question deals with the explanation of the formation of archaeological data and the function of architectural structures in Harsin. Hypotheses indicate that the Silk Road and suitable environmental conditions played important roles in the formation of structures with religious and non-religious functions. Results show that the city was a summer resort during the Sassanid era. The location of Harsin on the Silk Road and its nearness to Qasr-e Shirin, Ctesiphon (Tisfun) (the capital of Sassanians), and Bisotun has enhanced its significance.

One of the most important goals for researchers in the clinic is to try to find newer and more effective ways to diagnose and cure the diseases. These clinical advances can create new points of view in other sciences and their combination with basic sciences such as statistics can improve these researches. In statistical genetics, linkage analysis is a way of finding the exact locus of a disease gene on a specific chromosome. Finding the location of a specific gene using the mapping strategy or producing an efficient drug for effective treatment are the most important issues in genetic fields. In this study, non-parametric methods in genetic linkage analysis will be discussed. Based on the conducted studies in different databases such as the NCBI (PubMed), Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, SID, and Magiran, few Iranian articles published in English language and also a limited number of Iranian investigations were found therefore, there are few studies om the combination of genetic linkage analysis and statistics in the Iranian population and the present articles in this field are scarce.This paper will be a review of the non-parametric linkage analysis. At first, the basic concepts of allele sharing identical by descent (IBD) and allele sharing identical by state (IBS) will be explained and then, nonparametric linkage analysis will be introduced. In the second step, the explained method will be compared with each other and their weaknesses and strengths will be discussed. Also, the useful software for this type of analysis will be present.Comprehensive work on this issue needs expanded efforts and expending more time.