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Abstract Background Hypothyroidism is the most common clinical disorder of the thyroid gland which is associated with an increased prevalence of sexual dysfunction even if treated with medication. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on sexual function in reproductive-aged women with hypothyroidism. Materials and methods This randomized clinical trial was performed on 66 reproductive-aged women with hypothyroidism referring to selected health centers in Izeh, Iran. Data collection tools included demographic information form and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Eligible individuals were randomly assigned to case (n = 33) and control (n = 33) groups using block randomization with the block size of 4. In addition to standard hypothyroidism treatment, the case group received 8 sessions of cognitive-behavioral group therapy, while the control group received only standard treatment. Results Before of treatment, there was no significant difference between the mean score of sexual function and its dimensions between the case and control groups (p

Introduction: Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of evaluation and quality assurance of an e-learning system can help design the systematic structure of the evaluation process in the higher education to elevate the quality of education. In view of this, this study endeavored to elaborate on the strengths and weaknesses of evaluation and quality assurance of e-learning in medical universities. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted by conventional (inductive) content analysis method in the academic year 2020 in Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences. The population consisted of professors, director of the EDC, educational vice-chancellor/president of university. The sample size was selected using purposive sampling. Semi-structured electronic questionnaire was used to collect data and Granheim and Landman content analysis approach was used to analyze the data. Results: The analysis of qualitative data obtained from 153 questionnaires from 46 universities of medical sciences was done in two main areas: strength and weakness including 17 main categories and 65 sub-categories. Strength includes providing e-learning evaluation tools, Stakeholders monitoring and feedback, assessment and adaptation of virtual lesson plans with curriculum, using the system for evaluation, developing protocols and evaluation mechanisms, forming an accreditation committee, so on. Weakness includes lack of comprehensive evaluation and quality assurance protocol, lack of evaluation infrastructure in Navid system, quantification and attention to the number of contents, ambiguity in ensuring the safety of final exams, so on. Conclusion: Providing standards and developing an evaluation mechanism can increase the quality of the e-learning evaluation process and make it easier to implement.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many countries around the world and Iran was no exception. The aim of this study was to evaluate health anxiety of Iranian pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 300 pregnant women in different trimesters (n = 100 in each trimester) were recruited. A demographic questionnaire and the Health Anxiety Questionnaire were used to collect data. Scores of

Bright light exposure is as one of the non-pharmacological measures to sleep management in shift-worker. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of bright light exposure in shift-worker nurses. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement and using existing literature in the following databases: Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, to examine any eligible and relevant interventional (randomized controlled trial, experimental and quasi-experimental studies) which were published by December 31, 2018. The obtained documents were analyzed using Stata 14.1 and Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.3. Five studies met eligibility criteria. Results from fixed-effect meta-analysis of the included studies revealed that the exposure could decrease the sleepiness levels, complaints related to shift-work, insomnia and increased the psychomotor error (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.87,-0.43, p=0.000, I2=98.6%), alertness and daytime sleep duration following night shifts (95% CI: 0.08,0.99, p=0.000, I2=92.7%). However, in the random effects model, none of them were statistically significant. Although the results of fixed-effect are in favor of beneficial effects of bright light exposure in shift-worker nurses, the random effects could not approve these findings. Maybe because of either large heterogeneity or insufficiency of the number of studies. Besides, because of the low number of studies, it was impossible to deal with high amount of heterogeneity using subgroup analysis or meta-regression. So the controversy on this topic continues to persist, which highlights the need for more welldesigned randomized control trials with larger sample sizes in the future.

The outbreak of COVID-19 closed educational institutions and universities. The aim of this study was to explain the strengths and weaknesses of the e-learning system in Iranian universities of medical sciences in the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a qualitative study that was conducted with students enrolled in Iranian medical universities. Data was collected through an open-ended electronic questionnaire based on the interview guide and was analyzed through content analysis.122 students from 46 medical universities participated in this study. 122 questionnaires from 46 universities of medical sciences were completed. From a total of 54 codes extracted from the results, seven (strengths/positive experiences) and six (weaknesses/challenges) themes were extracted, each of which had several subsets. E-learning has both visible and hidden layers in terms of advantages and disadvantages. The e-learning system is an essential tool to continue education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most students believe that e-learning was a great complement to prevent academic failure, but it cannot replicate the same efficiency of face-to-face training.

Introduction: Statins such as simvastatin are recently introduced as agents that may have beneficial effects in schizophrenia regarding their prominent anti-inflammatory properties. Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of simvastatin on schizophrenia symptoms. Patients and Methods: In a double-blinded randomized clinical trial, 40 hospitalized schizophrenia patients (according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria) were studied for 6 weeks. One group of the patients (n=20) received simvastatin (with the dose of 40 mg/d) and the other group received (n=20) placebo. The patients were evaluated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia symptoms. Data were analyzed with mixed model repeated measure ANOVA, t test, and χ2 test or Fischer’s exact test by SPSS software. The significant cutoff was considered at P

The emergence of a highly pathogenic virus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) accounts for severe pneumonia throughout the world. More than 7 million world population have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and the number of deaths is increasing every day. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized patients with an acute respiratory infection (ARI). During an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2, the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 909 hospitalized patients with severe pneumonia, including 517 (56.9%) males and 392 (43.1%) females. All the collected samples were from different cities of Khuzestan province from 19 February to- 27 March 2020. The RNA was extracted from samples and subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2. Simultaneously, the computerized tomography (CT) scan was tested for the presence of ground-glass opacity in the lung among the patients. Of the total number of 909 specimens, 328 (36.08%) cases, including 185 (20.35%) females and 143 (15.73%) males, were positive for the SARS-CoV-2 while, 581 (63.9%) cases, including 374 (41.14%) males and 207 (22.77%) were negative for the SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR (p=0.001).Four hundred sixteen (45.76%) cases were positive for ground-glass opacity in the lung by CT scan, while 328/909 (36.08%) trials proved positive for SARS-CoV-2 by the real-time PCR (p=0.003). In this study, 36.08% of patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Although the results of positive cases by CT scan showed higher than real-time PCR, screening the SARS-COV-2 with a real-time PCR method is the first line of choice.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus has caused fundamental changes in our way of life, leading to a wave of psychological distress associated with the COVID-19 epidemic, including stress, anxiety, perceived threats, and fear. Considering the psychological consequences of COVID-19, the present study was conducted with the aim of mediating the role of compassion in the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety syndrome and COVID-19 burnout. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design of the present study was descriptive correlation. The present study population included all students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in the academic year 2020. Two hundred and fifty-one students were selected and completed the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Questionnaire, Compassion Scale, and COVID-19 Burnout Scale. Pearson correlation coefficient test and structural equation model were performed using SPSS version 18 and LISREL 8.8. RESULTS: The results showed that COVID-19 burnout had a positive and significant relationship with the overall score of anxiety syndrome (r = 0.42, P = 0.01), while it has a negative and significant relationship with compassion (r = −0.37, P = 0.01). Compassion also has a significant negative relationship with anxiety syndrome (r = −0.35, P = 0.01). In addition, the results of path analysis showed that compassion plays a mediating role in the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety syndrome and COVID-19 burnout. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of the present study, it can be said that compassion acts as a protective factor against the negative effects of anxiety syndrome. Therefore, this factor can be considered in the development of prevention and treatment programs for burnout caused by COVID-19.