Background: In recent decades, several medical and scientific studies on yoga proved it to be very useful in the treatment of some diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of yoga on stress, anxiety, and depression in women living in Ilam, Iran. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental study with pre-post test. To collect data, the questionnaire of DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21) was used. For eligible samples, hatha yoga exercises and training sessions were held for 4 weeks (3 time/weeks; 60-70 min each) by a specialist. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: 52 women with a mean age of 33.5 ± 6.5 were included for analysis. Depression, anxiety, and stress decreased significantly in women after 12 sessions of regular hatha yoga practice (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Yoga has an effective role in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Thus, it can be used as complementary medicine.

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Penile inflammatory skin conditions such as balanitis and posthitis are common, especially in uncircumcised males, and feature prominently in medical consultations. We conducted a systematic review of the medical literature on PubMed, EMBASE, and Cohrane databases using keywords “balanitis,” “posthitis,” “balanoposthitis,” “lichen sclerosus,” “penile inflammation,” and “inflammation penis,” along with “circumcision,” “circumcised,” and “uncircumcised.” Balanitis is the most common inflammatory disease of the penis. The accumulation of yeasts and other microorganisms under the foreskin contributes to inflammation of the surrounding penile tissue. The clinical presentation of inflammatory penile conditions includes itching, tenderness, and pain. Penile inflammation is responsible for significant morbidity, including acquired phimosis, balanoposthitis, and lichen sclerosus. Medical treatment can be challenging and a cost burden to the health system. Reducing prevalence is therefore important. While topical antifungal creams can be used, usually accompanied by advice on hygiene, the definitive treatment is circumcision. Data from meta-analyses showed that circumcised males have a 68% lower prevalence of balanitis than uncircumcised males and that balanitis is accompanied by a 3.8-fold increase in risk of penile cancer. Because of the high prevalence and morbidity of penile inflammation, especially in immunocompromised and diabetic patients, circumcision should be more widely adopted globally and is best performed early in infancy.

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Background: Hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) are antihyperlipidemic drugs with an established efficacy in stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques and preventing atherogenesis and reducing cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of simvastatin on serum Vitamin D status in dyslipidemic patients as Vitamin D status has an impact on monocyte/macrophage function and may also contribute to cardiovascular risk. Methods: Selected individuals (n = 102) were treated with simvastatin (40 mg/day), or matching placebo in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Each treatment period (with simvastatin or placebo) lasted for 30 days and was separated by a 2-week washout phase. Serum Vitamin D concentration was assessed pre- and post-treatment. Results: Seventy-seven completed the trial, noncompliance with the study protocol and drug intolerance or relocation were the causes for drop-out. No significant carry-over effect was observed for the assessed parameters. There was a reduction in the serum levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.001), total cholesterol (P < 0.001), and triglycerides (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, simvastatin therapy did not significantly affect serum level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and Vitamin D level (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Short-term treatment with simvastatin (40 mg/day) does not have a significant affect on serum levels of Vitamin D.

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Tobacco smoking is one of the greatest causes of mortality in the world, responsible for over 5 million deaths per annum. The prevalence of smoking is over 1 billion people, with the majority coming from low or middle income countries. Yet, the incidence of smoking varies vastly between many countries. Some countries have been able to decline the smoking and tobacco related morbidity and mortality through the introduction of health promotion initiatives and effective policies in order to combat tobacco usage. However, on the other hand, in some countries, the incidence of smoking is increasing still further. With the growing body of evidence of detriment of tobacco to health, many control policies have been implemented as health promotion actions. Such methods include taxation of smoking, mass advertising campaigns in the media, peer education programs, community mobilization, motivational interviewing, health warnings on tobacco products, marketing restrictions, and banning smoking in public places. However, the review of the effectiveness of various health promotion methods used for smoking prevention and cessation is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this review is to identify and critically review the effectiveness of health promotion methods used for smoking prevention and cessation. All available studies and reports published were considered. Searches were conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid, Karger, ProQuest, Sage Journals, Science Direct, Springer, Taylor and Francis, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane and Wiley Online Library. Various relevant search terms and keywords were used. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected 23 articles for the present review.

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Background: Waist circumference (WC) is an accurate and simple measure of abdominal obesity as compared to waist-hip ratio (WHR). The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between body mass index (BMI) with WC and WHR and suggest cutoff points for WC among Rural Malaysian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 669 respondents from three villages in Tanjung Karang, located in the district of Kuala Selangor. Data collection was carried out by guided questionnaires and anthropometric measures. Results: The prevalence of abdominal obesity for BMI was almost similar for both gender across Caucasian and Asian BMI cutoff points. Based on Caucasian cutoff points, the prevalence of abdominal obesity for WC was 23.8% (male) and 66.4% (female) while for WHR was 6.2% (male) and 54.2% (female). Asian cutoff points gave higher prevalence of abdominal obesity compared to that of WC among male respondents and WHR for both genders. WC showed strong and positive correlation with BMI compared to WHR (in male WC r = 0.78, WHR r = 0.24 and in female WC r = 0.72, WHR r = 0.19; P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested WC cutoff points of 92.5 cm in men and 85.5 cm in women is the optimal number for detection of abdominal obesity. Conclusions: WC is the best indicator as compared with WHR for abdominal obesity for Malaysian adults.

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Background: HIV/AIDS is one of the diseases which not only makes threats to physical health, but also, due to the negative attitudes of people and the social stigma, affects the emotional and social health of patients. The aim of this study was to identify the psychological, social, and family problems of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Iran. Methods: In this qualitative study, we used purposive sampling to enroll PLWHA, their families, and physicians and consultants in two cities of Kermanshah and Tehran. Each group of PLWHA, their families, physicians, and consultants participated in two focus group discussions (FGDs), and a total of eight FGDs were conducted. Six interviews were held with all key people, individually. Results: Based on the views and opinions of various groups involved in the study, the main problems of PLWHA were: Ostracism, depression, anxiety, a tendency to get revenge and lack of fear to infect others, frustration, social isolation, relationship problems, and fear due to the social stigma. Their psychological problems included: Marriage problems, family conflict, lack of family support, economic hardships inhibiting marriage, and social rejection of patient's families. Their family problems were: Unemployment, the need for housing, basic needs, homelessness, and lack of social support associations. Conclusions: It seems that the identification and focusing on psychological, social, and family problems of affected people not only is an important factor for disease prevention and control, but also enables patients to have a better response to complications caused by HIV/AIDS.

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Background: This study was performed to effects of garlic and lemon juice mixture on lipid profile and some cardiovascular risk factors in people 30-60 years old with moderate hyperlipidemia. Methods: In a parallel-designed randomized controlled clinical trial, a total of 112 hyperlipidemic patients 30-60 years, were recruited from Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center. People were selected and randomly divided into four groups. Control blood samples were taken and height, weight, and blood pressure were recorded. (1) Received 20 g of garlic daily, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice, (2) received 20 g garlic daily, (3) received 1 tablespoon of lemon juice daily, and (4) did not receive garlic or lemon juice. A study technician was done the random allocations using a random numbers table. All participants presented 3 days of dietary records and 3 days of physical activity records during 8 weeks. Blood samples were obtained at study baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention. Results: Results showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol (changes from baseline: 40.8 ± 6.1, P 0< 0.001), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (29.8 ± 2.6, P < 0.001), and fibrinogen (111.4 ± 16.1, P < 0.001) in the Group 1, in comparison with other groups. A greater reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed in Group 1 compared with the Groups 3 and 4 (37 ± 10, P = 0.01) (24 ± 1, P = 0.02); respectively. Furthermore, a great reduction in body mass index was observed in the mixed group compared with the lemon juice and control groups (1.6 ± 0.1, P = 0.04). Conclusions: Administration of garlic plus lemon juice resulted in an improvement in lipid levels, fibrinogen and blood pressure of patients with hyperlipidemia.

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The aim of this review is to show the historical aspects of hands washing for healthy life and explains how can reduce the transmission of community-acquired infectious agents by healthcare workers and patients. This review article is prepared based on available database. The key words used were hands washing, risk assessment, hands hygiene, bacterial flora, contamination, infection, nosocomial, tap water, sanitizer, bacterial resistance, hands bacterial flora, washing methods, antiseptics, healthcare workers, healthcare personnel, from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar. Data were descriptively analyzed. The insistence on hand washing has a history of 1400 years. The research results indicate that the bacteria released from the female washed hands in wet and dry condition was lower than from the male's hands with a significance level (3 CFU vs. 8 CFU; confidence interval 95%, P ≤ 0.001). The valuable results of the study indicated that released amount of bacterial flora from wet hands is more than 10 times in compared to dry hands. In addition, established monitoring systems for washing hands before and after patient's manipulation as well as after toilet were dominant indices to prevent the transfer of infectious agents to the patients. Increasing awareness and belief of the healthcare workers have shown an important role by about 30% reduction in the transfection. Hand washing could reduce the episodes of transmission of infectious agents in both community and healthcare settings. However, hand washing is an important key factor to prevent transmission of infectious agents to patients. There is no standard method for measuring compliance. Thus, permanent monitoring of hand washing to reduce the transmission of infections is crucial. Finally, the personnel must believe that hand washing is an inevitable approach to infection control.

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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common hormonal disorders, occurring in 5–10% women in reproductive ages. Despite a long history of studies on PCOS, its etiology is still unknown. Oxidative stress is now recognized to play a central role in the pathophysiology of many different disorders, including PCOS. Although intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and propagation are controlled by highly complex antioxidant enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems, understanding of mechanisms that oxidative stress is important to develop strategies for prevention and therapy of PCOS. This article reviews the literature data related to the mechanisms of oxidative stress in PCOS.

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Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is a common problem for pregnant women. Researchers have recently paid special attention to complementary medicine methods for the treatment of NVP. Regarding the high prevalence of NVP as well as maternal and fetal adverse effects of chemical drugs, the present study, focusing on clinical trials carried out in Iran, was conducted to assess safety and efficacy of different nonpharmacological methods in relieving NVP. This systematic review focused on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and assessed complementary medicine on NVP for which databases including MedLib, Magiran, Iran Medex, SID, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar search engines from 2000 to 2015 were searched. Those articles that gained score 3 or higher, according to Jadad criteria, were recruited for the study. In this study, 31 clinical trials assessing NVP were conducted on Iranian pregnant women. After removing ten articles, 21 articles with scores 3 and higher, according to Jedad criteria, were assessed. Out of 21 papers, 10 papers were about ginger, one was about cardamom, one was about lemon, two were about peppermint aromatherapy, six were about pericardium 6 (P6) acupressure, and one article about KID21 acupressure. Most studies have demonstrated a positive effect on reducing NVP; however, no adverse effect was reported. According to the results of this review, the majority of methods employed were effective in reducing the incidence of NVP, among which ginger and P6 acupressure can be recommended with more reliability.

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Depression is defined as a cluster of specific symptoms with associated impairment affecting 7.4% of the adolescents globally. As part of the systematic review, around 1000 relevant articles published between January 1978 and December 2017 were identified by systematic online search from 6 electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, Science Direct, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar) and overall, 56 relevant studies were included in the current review as per the inclusion criteria. Findings highlight the potential importance of the relationship between healthy dietary patterns or quality and positive mental health throughout life span. Various nutrition and dietary compounds have been suggested to be involved in the onset maintenance and severity of depressive symptoms and disorders. Nutritional compounds might modulate depression associated biomarkers. In this context, several healthy foods such as olive oil, fish, nuts, legumes, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables have been inversely associated with the risk of depression and might also improve symptoms. In contrast western dietary patterns including the consumption of sweetened beverages, fried foods, processed meats, baked products have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of depression in longitudinal studies. Diet and nutrition offer key modifiable targets for the prevention of mental disorders. Evidence is steadily growing for the relation between nutrition deficiencies, diet quality and mental health and for the efficacy and use of nutritional supplements to address deficiencies or as augmentation therapies. We advocate recognition of diet and nutrition as crucial factors in prevention and management of mental disorders.

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Background: Nomophobia, a state of socio-psychological illness, refers to a fear of lack of access to mobile phone, which is thought to be a modern age disorder that causes negative health risks and harmful psychological effects. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the smartphone use and nomophobia disorder among university students. Methods: The study utilized a cross-sectional method in which 320 students were selected via cluster sampling. Data collection tools included a nomophobia and smartphones use questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software in two sections: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Results: The incidence rate of nomophobia among the students was moderate (3.1), and 73% of the students were moderate smartphone users. Nomophobia had a significant relationship with gender, age group, and level of education; and the frequency of using smartphones had a significant relationship with age group and level of education. There was a positive correlation coefficient between nomophobia and the frequency of using smartphones. The mobile phone use predicted nomophobia with a beta coefficient of 0.402 (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Given the incidence rate of nomophobia disorder was moderate, it is necessary to make preventive decisions and plan educational programs in this regard for the health of university students. Alternative actions are recommended for the treatment in low rate of nomophobia, but drug therapy should be used in more advanced stages; therefore, it is suggested that more attention to be paid to students' free time and entertainments.

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Background: Musculoskeletal disorders is defined as a musculoskeletal strain reported by an individual. Physical activity prevents many disabling diseases and musculoskeletal disorders. Low level of physical activity is associated with a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. In Saudi Arabia and among medical students, lowest rates of physical activity were found. Our aim is to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its correlation to physical activity. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 392 health specialty students in Taif University was carried out from January 1 to March 1, 2018, using a predesigned questionnaire, including demographic characteristics, an International Physical Activity Questionnaires–short form to assess the level of physical activity, and Standardized Nordic Questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Results: Our study found that 64.8% of the students had musculoskeletal disorders. The highest prevalence was among medical students; 48.4% of them were having musculoskeletal disorders (P < 0.05). The most frequent region was the lower back (33.4%). There is a significant association between the musculoskeletal disorders and the level of physical activity, with 42.9% of the students with a moderate level of physical activity having musculoskeletal disorders (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is higher among medical than pharmacy and health science students. Most of the affected students were having a moderate level of physical activity. Psychosocial stress seems to be a major contributor to musculoskeletal disorders, rather than physical activity level.

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Data from epidemiological and experimental studies have shown that diet and eating patterns have a major role in the pathogenesis of many age-associated diseases. Since 1935, calorie restriction (CR) has been identified as one of the most effective nongenetic dietary interventions that can increase lifespan. It involves reducing calorie intake by about 20%–40% below ad libitum, without malnutrition. Restricting food intake has been observed to increase lifespan and prevent many age-associated diseases in rats, mice, and many other species. Understanding the metabolic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms involved in the anti-aging effects of CR can help us to find dietary interventions that can mimic its effects. Recently, different studies have shown that intermittent fasting, protein restriction, and an epigenetic diet can have similar effects to those of CR. These approaches were selected because it has been indicated that they act through a similar molecular pathway and also, are safe and effective in delaying or preventing diseases. In this review, we focus on the mechanistic pathway involved in CR. Then, we review the mimicking interventions through the mechanistic approach. For this purpose, we reviewed both animal and human articles, mainly available through the PubMed online database. We then selected the most relevant full texts which are summarized in this article.

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Background: Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease. The study's objective is to investigate the effect of an educational program based on Health Belief Model (HBM) on preventing osteoporosis in women. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 120 patients (60 experimental and 60 control) who were registered under the health centers in Fasa City, Fars Province, Iran, were selected in 2014. A questionnaire consisting of demographic information, HBM constructs was used to measure nutrition and walking performance for the prevention of osteoporosis before, immediately after intervention, and 6 months later. Bone mineral density (BMD) was recorded at the lumbar spine and femur before and 6 months after intervention. Results: The mean age of women participated in the study was 41.75 ± 5.4 years for the experimental group, and 41.77 ± 5.43 years for the control group. The mean body mass index was 22.44 ± 3.30 for the experimental group and 22.27 ± 3.05 for the control group. The average number of women deliveries for the experimental group was 2.57 ± 1.47 and 2.50 ± 1.19 for the control group. There is no significant difference between the two groups in education level (P = 0.771), marital status (P = 0.880), occupation (P = 0.673), breastfeeding (P = 0.769), smoking (P = 0.315), history of osteoporosis in the family (P = 0.378), history of special diseases (P = 0.769), and records of bone densitometry (P = 0.543). Immediately and 6 months after intervention, the experimental group showed a significant increase in the knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, internal cues to action, nutrition, and walking performance compared to the control group. Six months after intervention, the value of lumbar spine BMD T-score in the experimental group increased to 0.127, while in the control group it reduced to −0.043. The value of the hip BMD T-score in the intervention group increased to 0.125, but it decreased to −0.028 in the control group. Conclusions: This study showed the effectiveness of knowledge, walking, and diet on bone mass by HBM. Hence, these models can act as a framework for designing and implementing educational interventions for the osteoporosis prevention.

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Recently, interest in targeted cancer therapies via metabolic pathways has been renewed with the discovery that many tumors become dependent on glucose uptake during anaerobic glycolysis. Also the inability of ketone bodies metabolization due to various deficiencies in mitochondrial enzymes is the major metabolic changes discovered in malignant cells. Therefore, administration of a ketogenic diet (KD) which is based on high in fat and low in carbohydrates might inhibit tumor growth and provide a rationale for therapeutic strategies. So, we conducted this systematic review to assess the effects of KD on the tumor cells growth and survival time in animal studies. All databases were searched from inception to November 2015. We systematically searched the PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholars, Science Direct and Cochrane Library according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. To assess the quality of included studies we used SYRCLE's RoB tool. 268 articles were obtained from databases by primary search. Only 13 studies were eligible according to inclusion criteria. From included studies, 9 articles indicate that KD had a beneficial effect on tumor growth and survival time. Tumor types were included pancreatic, prostate, gastric, colon, brain, neuroblastoma and lung cancers. In conclusions, although studies in this field are rare and inconsistence, recent findings have demonstrated that KD can potentially inhibit the malignant cell growth and increase the survival time. Because of differences physiology between animals and humans, future studies in cancer patients treated with a KD are needed.

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Background: There is an increase in the prevalence of head lice among urban communities with high density in recent years. This study was aimed to determine the efficacy of 1% permethrin shampoo and some traditional physical treatment for head lice infestation in Qom Province, central Iran. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on all 11,223 cases in six categories that were referred to Qom health care system from 2016 to March of 2017. The infested people were treated with 1% permethrin shampoo, twice at a 1-week interval and other recommended therapeutic categories, such as the use of physical treatments such as wooden fine-toothed combs impregnated with a mixture of water and white vinegar on infested hair for 30 min and secondly, carrier oils such as olive oil, bitter almond on infested hair over a therapeutic period. After completing the course of treatment, treatment success was checked by questionnaires. Results: A total of 11,223 cases with head lice infestation were confirmed and were enrolled for study. Out of six categories, three therapeutic categories were utilized as follows: (a) 1% permethrin shampoo and the use of physical treatments; (b) 1% permethrin shampoo and the use of carrier oils; (c) the above-mentioned therapeutic categories combined had high treatment success. It was estimated to be 82.00%, 87.31%, and 94.33%, respectively. Conclusions: According to the findings, in addition to the application of 1% permethrin shampoo, the use of physical treatments and carrier oils such as olive oil, bitter almond can increase the treatment success of head lice infestation.

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Effectiveness of school-based interventions to prevent or control overweight and obesity among school children was reviewed for a 11-year period (January 2001 to December 2011). All English systematic reviews, meta-analyses, reviews of reviews, policy briefs and reports targeting children and adolescents which included interventional studies with a control group and aimed to prevent or control overweight and/or obesity in a school setting were searched. Four systematic reviews and four meta-analyses met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Results of the review indicated that implementation of multi-component interventions did not necessarily improve the anthropometric outcomes. Although intervention duration is a crucial determinant of effectiveness, studies to assess the length of time required are lacking. Due to existing differences between girls and boys in responding to the elements of the programs in tailoring of school-based interventions, the differences should be taken into consideration. While nontargeted interventions may have an impact on a large population, intervention specifically aiming at children will be more effective for at-risk ones. Intervention programs for children were required to report any unwanted psychological or physical adverse effects originating from the intervention. Body mass index was the most popular indicator used for evaluating the childhood obesity prevention or treatment trials; nonetheless, relying on it as the only indicator for adiposity outcomes could be misleading. Few studies mentioned the psychological theories of behavior change they applied. Recommendations for further studies on school-based interventions to prevent or control overweight/obesity are made at the end of this review.

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Background: Analyzing the possible negative effects of using cell phones on the users' health is an important and vital affair due to rapid growth and extensive use of these devices on human communications and interactions. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of increasing the distance of cell phones to brain tissue on the temperature of the central and gray matters of brain due to the heat generated by radio frequency waves. Methods: This study was an experimental study. A cow's brain tissue was analyzed in a compartment with three thicknesses of 2, 12, and 22 mm, in the distances of 4 mm and 4 cm from a cell phone for 15 min. Lutron thermometer was used to measure the tissue temperature, and the data analysis were done by Lutron and MATLAB software packages. Results: The tissue temperature was increased while confronting with a cell phone in distances of 4 mm and 4 cm in all the three thicknesses of 2, 12, and 22 mm. The tissue temperature was higher after removing the confrontation at 4 mm distance as compared to the distance of 4 cm. Conclusions: During confrontation and after that with the cell phone, reducing the distance of brain tissue and the cell phone increased the tissue temperature intensely. In fact, by increasing the cell phone distance from brain tissue, the thermal effect of radiofrequency waves was reduced.

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Background: This study has aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge about the first aid process among the university students in Jordan. Methods: The study population consisted of students of the 14 scientific and unscientific faculties at Yarmouk University, Jordan. Data were obtained via questionnaires from 883 students. Results: The majority of participants were females (65.9%) with mean age (standard deviation) of 19.9 (2.6) years. Only 29.2% of students had previous first aid experience. When asked, only 11% of students knew the normal respiration rate of an adult in 1 min. Results revealed that female students, having previous first aid experience, and being a student of the health sciences and scientific colleges were the only factors had significant statistical associations with better level of first aid knowledge. Conclusions: The students' knowledge about first aid is not at an adequate level. It would be advisable that first aid course be handled as a separate and practical course at secondary school level.

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Background: Busy care providers focus on the serious complications of postpartum period. This issue causes the seemingly trivial complications, such as mother's pains, fatigue, and psychological status, to be less taken into account. The study aimed to determine the effect of lavender oil aroma in the early hours of postpartum period on maternal pains, fatigue, and mood in primiparous mothers. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 56 participants; 29 in intervention group and 27 in control group. The intervention group received lavender oil in three doses during the first 24 h after delivery. Sesame oil was used in the control group. Intensity of pain, fatigue, and distress level was measured by visual analog scale before and after the interventions. Besides, mood status was assessed through the positive and negative affect schedule. Results: The mean age of all the participants was 23.88 ± 3.88 years. After the first intervention and also in the tomorrow morning assessment, significant differences were found between the two groups regarding perineal pain (P = 0.004, P< 0.001), physical pain (P < 0.001), fatigue (P = 0.02, P< 0.001), and distress scores (P < 0.001). In addition, significant differences were found concerning the mean scores of positive (P < 0.001) and negative (P = 0.007, P< 0.001) moods between the two groups after the interventions. Repeated measures analyses showed that the two groups were significantly different over time in all the evaluated variables. Conclusions: Lavender oil aromatherapy starting in the first hours of postpartum period resulted in better physical and mood status compared to nonaromatic group.

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Adiponectin, an adipokine secreted by adipocytes, is a well-known homeostatic factor for regulating glucose levels, lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity through its anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and antioxidant effects. All these metabolic processes are mediated via two adiponectin receptors, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2. In addition, adiponectin is one of the hormones with the highest plasma concentrations. Weight loss or caloric restriction leads to increasing adiponectin levels, and this increase is associated with increased insulin sensitivity. Therefore, the adiponectin pathway can play a crucial role in the development of drugs to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and other obesity-related diseases affected by insulin resistance like cancers or cardiovascular diseases. Adiponectin appears to increase insulin sensitivity by improving glucose and lipid metabolisms. The objective of this review is to analyze current knowledge concerning adiponectin and, in particular, its role in physiology and pathophysiology.

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