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Showing 7 results for Ahangari
Volume 4, Issue 3 (8-2016)
Abstract
Aim: Psychosocial problems override in patients with type 2 diabetes than healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety in patients with type 2 diabetes as well as their association with demographic factors.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 201 patients with type 2 diabetes were incorporated using convenience sampling method from the Tehran-based Dornian Care Clinic. The instrument consisted of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS). The collected data were analyzed in the SPSS software (ver. 16) at the significance level of 0.05.
Findings: In this study, there were 25% male and 75% female participants, with a mean age of 47 years. In terms of education level, they had high school diploma. The prevalence rate of depression, stress and anxiety was 83.1%, 78.1% and 96%, respectively. There was no significant association between stress and age. Depression, anxiety and stress correlated significantly with education level. There was also a significant relationship between anxiety and diabetes complications. Nevertheless, there were no significant relationships between anxiety, stress and depression and the demographic factors of age, duration of diabetes and marital status.
Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety in patients with type 2 diabetes, it seems necessary to administer a screening program for mental disorders. Provision of psychiatric consultation also appears beneficial.
Volume 5, Issue 4 (12-2017)
Abstract
Aim: Diabetes mellitus and the patients’ need for self-care may bring several challenges in the daily life of diabetic patients. This necessitates the obligation to adopt coping strategies against stress in order to adjust with the governing conditions. The purpose of this study was to explore coping styles in type 2 diabetic patients and their potential associations with demographic factors.
Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 201 patients with type 2 diabetes were incorporated from the Tehran-based Dornian Care Clinic and evaluated using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (ver. 16) at the significance level of 0.05.
Findings: The diabetic patients in this study adopted avoidant (72.1%), emotion-oriented (17.9%), and problem-based (10%) coping strategies. While problem-oriented and emotion-oriented strategies correlated with gender, avoidant style did not. Married individuals used avoidant strategies more than singles. There was a significant relationship only between the use of problem-solving strategies and education level. Also there was a significant relationship between the complications of diabetes and adoption of problem-oriented strategies.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, diabetic patients have hard times in the face of stresses of life events and the subsequent challenges of their disease. Counseling seems beneficial in order for effective teaching of coping strategies to diabetic patients.
Volume 14, Issue 1 (March & April 2023 (Articles in English & French) 2023)
Abstract
The present study explored the effect of explicit Communication Strategies (CSs) instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ usage of these strategies in their educational tasks at different proficiency levels. To conduct the study, the researchers chose 20 Iranian EFL teachers and their 150 students at two universities in Tabriz, Iran. Accepting a mixed-methods design, the researchers used a questionnaire, an English language proficiency test, and a semi-structured interview to collect the required data. The findings indicated that after receiving communication strategy instruction, teachers and students had positive attitudes toward the usefulness of CSs in the language learning process. However, learners in different proficiency levels had different preferences toward CSs. While advanced learners showed their inclination to use compensation strategies, intermediate learners preferred to use metacognitive. Elementary learners favoured using cognitive CSs. These differences can be attributed to individual differences and contextual factors that suggest pedagogical implications for both teachers and students and provide tentative subjects for further studies.
Volume 20, Issue 4 (12-2018)
Abstract
Objective: Morphine and its derivatives are well-known for their strong analgesic effects in medicine. However, their medical long-term administration is severely restricted because of tolerance and dependence. Morphine fails to induce endocytosis of Mu opioid receptors whereas other encephalin analogues such as DAMGO induce rapid endocytosis of these receptors. Repeated use of opioid drugs alters gene expressions. In current study, we analyze the effects of long-term opioid treatment on Dnm1L and Rab22a genes. Methods: HEK293 cell lines that expressed MOP receptors were treated separately with morphine, methadone, and DAMGO. mRNAs were extracted from the cell suspension and we amplified the cDNA. Next, we analyzed Dnm1L and Rab22a gene expressions compared to control samples by qRT-PCR. Results were statistically validated by Graph Pad software. Results: Amplification graphs from qRT-PCR showed that Dnm1L gene expression was induced by 2.37-fold, whereas Rab22a gene expression decreased by 0.39-fold in response to long-term treatment of cells with morphine compared to control samples. Dnm1L gene expression was not significantly affected by treatment with methadone and DAMGO. Rab22a gene expression decreased by 0.41-fold with methadone treatment and by 0.45-fold in response to DAMGO treatment. Conclusion: The Dnm1L gene could be involved in cellular pathways of morphine-induced tolerance which would indicate the difference between morphine and other similar Mu opioid receptor agonists.
Volume 22, Issue 1 (Winter 2018)
Abstract
Aims: The correlation between high levels of blood lipid with the induction of some diseases indicates significant effects of hyperlipidemia and especially on the immune system, inflammatory response, and secretion of cytokines. This is due to changes in the composition of cholesterol in the cell membrane and macrophage cytoplasm, which disrupts the signaling pathway necessary for the innate immune response. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of on phenotype properties of T cells and the expression of its associated activation markers.
Materials & Methods: In the present experimental study 3ml of peripheral blood samples were collected from 30 patients and 30 healthy subjects. The distribution of activation markers was evaluated by Immunophenotyping with anti-CD4, CD8, CD25, and CD69 antibodies.was used and output data were analyzed using Flow Jo 10 and SPSS 16 software.
Findings: Evaluation of the activation markers located T cells of patients with showed a significant decline by 0.8% and 2% in the expression of CD25 marker and 1.92% and 2.12% in the expression of CD69 marker on CD8+ CD4+ T cells, respectively (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The changes in the phenotype properties of T cells and the decreased expression of activation markers in high-level cholesterol conditions might weaken the immune system in hyperlipidemia patients.
Materials & Methods: In the present experimental study 3ml of peripheral blood samples were collected from 30 patients and 30 healthy subjects. The distribution of activation markers was evaluated by Immunophenotyping with anti-CD4, CD8, CD25, and CD69 antibodies.
Findings: Evaluation of the activation markers located T cells of patients with showed a significant decline by 0.8% and 2% in the expression of CD25 marker and 1.92% and 2.12% in the expression of CD69 marker on CD8+ CD4+ T cells, respectively (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The changes in the phenotype properties of T cells and the decreased expression of activation markers in high-level cholesterol conditions might weaken the immune system in hyperlipidemia patients.
Volume 22, Issue 3 (Summer 2019)
Abstract
Aims: Nef protein has been considered as an attractive target for the development of therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine. Furthermore, strong immunological properties of heat shock proteins (HSPs) led to their use as for subunit vaccine candidates. In the current study, the generation of Hsp20-Nef fusion protein was performed in E. , and in BALB/c mice.
Materials and Methods: At first, of Hsp20-Nef recombinant protein E. BL21 and Rosetta strains by SDS-PAGE and western blotting using anti-Nef monoclonal antibody. Then, the recombinant protein was purified by a reverse staining method. Finally, its potency was evaluated to elicit antibody response against HIV-1 Nef antigen using indirect ELISA in mice.
Findings: Our data showed a clear band of ~1230bp related to Hsp20-Nef fusion on agarose gel indicating the correct gene cloning in pET28a vector. The expression of Hsp20-Nef protein was confirmed as a clear band of ~47 SDS-PAGE and western blotting. In the immunological assay, the Hsp20-Nef protein and also the Nef protein emulsified with Freund’s adjuvant significantly enhanced the level of total compared to other groups. Moreover, of Hsp20-Nef was higher than Freund’s adjuvant/Nef in protein regimens (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The Hsp20-Nef fusion protein was effectively expressed in E.
Mrs Simin Akbari, Dr Seyed Aziz Arman, Dr Abdolmajid Ahangari,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (Spriing 2025)
Volume 25, Issue 1 (Spriing 2025)
Abstract
Aim and Introduction
The international exchanges of business cycles influence the domestic economy through channels. Such exchanges can arise from global shocks (e.g., in oil prices), unobserved global factors (e.g. technological advancement or regional political development), or even national shocks in a particular country. To understand the impacts of such shocks on domestic economy, it is required to model the economy in the form of a global model. The global modeling of countries and the study of the relative importance of different movement sources of macroeconomic variables in the global economy to understand the impacts of global shocks on the domestic economy of Iran have been overlooked. However, a number of studies investigated shocks in oil prices by assuming interrelations of countries, no study has been conducted on the impacts of oil price shocks on the economy of Iran by assuming interrelations of Iran with its business partners. Although, a large number of studies have explored the impacts of oil price shocks , however, the impacts of the prices of other commodities on the economy in Iran or other countries have not been studied. Therefore, the aim is to investigate the effects of global changes on Iran's macroeconomic changes, including the real exchange rate, inflation, interest rate and real production.
Methodology
The present work employed the seasonal data of Iran and its business partners, including China, India, Russia, EU (i.e. Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands), Turkey, and South Korea from 2001 to 2022. The variables were selected based on model of Pesaran et al. (2004). The internal variables of the present study included the real production , inflation , short-term interest rate , and real currency exchange rate . The weight matrix was obtained by using the separate exports and imports of the countries for 2001-2022, calculating the external variables. The relative contributions of the countries to the economy of Iran were obtained using the channel of the business sector of the economy. The weight matrixes of the countries were calculated based on the GVAR model by using the ratio of the total of each country’s exports and imports from Iran to the total of Iran’s exports and imports to introduce the relative contributions of the countries to Iranian business into the model. The global variables of the present study included global commodity price shocks, including the logarithmic prices of oil, metals, and agricultural raw materials. The data were collected from the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Findings
All three global prices have positive effects on the real currency exchange rate; however, the effects of oil prices are more significant, and those of basic metal prices are less significant. The positive shock effects of agricultural raw material prices on the currency exchange rate of Iran are not significant. Finally, the interest rate in Iran has positive and significant impulse responses to shocks in the prices of basic metals and agricultural raw materials and negative impulse responses to the price shocks of oil. That is, the government adopts an expansionary monetary policy (i.e. reducing the interest rate) in response to rising basic metal and agricultural raw material prices and a restrictive monetary policy (i.e. increasing the interest rate) in response to rises in the oil prices.
Discussion and Conclusion
Concerning the effects of increased global prices on the internal macroeconomic variables, it can be said that such price rises could increase the final cost of domestic products and raise inflation through the cost pressure channel if these commodities are seen as internal consuming items for production. This is reflected in the form of the positive impacts of global prices on internal inflation in the impulse response functions. However, these effects can be investigated from the demand perspective. Since Iran exports oil, basic metals, and agricultural raw materials, a rise in the global prices of these commodities raises the foreign revenues of Iran. As Iran has a relatively constant currency exchange structure, the foreign currency resources of Iran in the Central Bank rise, increasing liquidity and inflation. In such a case, the Central Bank reduces the currency exchange rate (i.e. the expansionary monetary policy) due to increased revenues of basic metal and agricultural raw material prices to support the domestic production of these commodities. This policy has increased the inflationary impacts of the prices of basic metals and agricultural raw materials within Iran. While oil revenues rise, the expansionary monetary policy is adopted to alleviate the initial inflationary effects. As a result, the initial positive effects of increased oil prices on inflation and domestic real production become insignificant. From this perspective, the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not adopt the same policy in response to increased revenues arising from increased global commodity prices. It can be said that the Central Bank of Iran adopts an inflation control policy for increased revenues of oil exports and an economic growth enhancement policy in response to the increased revenues of exporting basic metals and agricultural raw materials and increased real production in China. These policies can be explained by the relatively exogenous revenues of oil exports since oil revenues are not endogenous incomes arising from production structures in the economy. Moreover, since oil revenues are higher than other revenue sources, the inflationary effects of oil could be stronger. As a result, the Central Bank would have to adopt an inflation control policy. When global commodity prices and foreign currency revenues rise (which reduces the currency exchange rate in a floating exchange system) and induce inflation, the real exchange rate is expected to reduce. The results, however, revealed increased real exchange rate and, therefore, increased nominal currency exchange rate due to the Iran Parliament’s Managed Floating Currency Exchange Act of 2003. This act was in fact passed to avoid Dutch disease with the Iranian economy. According to the act, the currency exchange rate should be increased by the external-internal inflation difference every year. As a result, due to the inflationary effects of increased global prices and the policy structure of the Central Bank, increased foreign currency revenues and inflation weaken the Iranian currency and raise the real currency exchange rate
The international exchanges of business cycles influence the domestic economy through channels. Such exchanges can arise from global shocks (e.g., in oil prices), unobserved global factors (e.g. technological advancement or regional political development), or even national shocks in a particular country. To understand the impacts of such shocks on domestic economy, it is required to model the economy in the form of a global model. The global modeling of countries and the study of the relative importance of different movement sources of macroeconomic variables in the global economy to understand the impacts of global shocks on the domestic economy of Iran have been overlooked. However, a number of studies investigated shocks in oil prices by assuming interrelations of countries, no study has been conducted on the impacts of oil price shocks on the economy of Iran by assuming interrelations of Iran with its business partners. Although, a large number of studies have explored the impacts of oil price shocks , however, the impacts of the prices of other commodities on the economy in Iran or other countries have not been studied. Therefore, the aim is to investigate the effects of global changes on Iran's macroeconomic changes, including the real exchange rate, inflation, interest rate and real production.
Methodology
The present work employed the seasonal data of Iran and its business partners, including China, India, Russia, EU (i.e. Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands), Turkey, and South Korea from 2001 to 2022. The variables were selected based on model of Pesaran et al. (2004). The internal variables of the present study included the real production , inflation , short-term interest rate , and real currency exchange rate . The weight matrix was obtained by using the separate exports and imports of the countries for 2001-2022, calculating the external variables. The relative contributions of the countries to the economy of Iran were obtained using the channel of the business sector of the economy. The weight matrixes of the countries were calculated based on the GVAR model by using the ratio of the total of each country’s exports and imports from Iran to the total of Iran’s exports and imports to introduce the relative contributions of the countries to Iranian business into the model. The global variables of the present study included global commodity price shocks, including the logarithmic prices of oil, metals, and agricultural raw materials. The data were collected from the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Findings
All three global prices have positive effects on the real currency exchange rate; however, the effects of oil prices are more significant, and those of basic metal prices are less significant. The positive shock effects of agricultural raw material prices on the currency exchange rate of Iran are not significant. Finally, the interest rate in Iran has positive and significant impulse responses to shocks in the prices of basic metals and agricultural raw materials and negative impulse responses to the price shocks of oil. That is, the government adopts an expansionary monetary policy (i.e. reducing the interest rate) in response to rising basic metal and agricultural raw material prices and a restrictive monetary policy (i.e. increasing the interest rate) in response to rises in the oil prices.
Discussion and Conclusion
Concerning the effects of increased global prices on the internal macroeconomic variables, it can be said that such price rises could increase the final cost of domestic products and raise inflation through the cost pressure channel if these commodities are seen as internal consuming items for production. This is reflected in the form of the positive impacts of global prices on internal inflation in the impulse response functions. However, these effects can be investigated from the demand perspective. Since Iran exports oil, basic metals, and agricultural raw materials, a rise in the global prices of these commodities raises the foreign revenues of Iran. As Iran has a relatively constant currency exchange structure, the foreign currency resources of Iran in the Central Bank rise, increasing liquidity and inflation. In such a case, the Central Bank reduces the currency exchange rate (i.e. the expansionary monetary policy) due to increased revenues of basic metal and agricultural raw material prices to support the domestic production of these commodities. This policy has increased the inflationary impacts of the prices of basic metals and agricultural raw materials within Iran. While oil revenues rise, the expansionary monetary policy is adopted to alleviate the initial inflationary effects. As a result, the initial positive effects of increased oil prices on inflation and domestic real production become insignificant. From this perspective, the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not adopt the same policy in response to increased revenues arising from increased global commodity prices. It can be said that the Central Bank of Iran adopts an inflation control policy for increased revenues of oil exports and an economic growth enhancement policy in response to the increased revenues of exporting basic metals and agricultural raw materials and increased real production in China. These policies can be explained by the relatively exogenous revenues of oil exports since oil revenues are not endogenous incomes arising from production structures in the economy. Moreover, since oil revenues are higher than other revenue sources, the inflationary effects of oil could be stronger. As a result, the Central Bank would have to adopt an inflation control policy. When global commodity prices and foreign currency revenues rise (which reduces the currency exchange rate in a floating exchange system) and induce inflation, the real exchange rate is expected to reduce. The results, however, revealed increased real exchange rate and, therefore, increased nominal currency exchange rate due to the Iran Parliament’s Managed Floating Currency Exchange Act of 2003. This act was in fact passed to avoid Dutch disease with the Iranian economy. According to the act, the currency exchange rate should be increased by the external-internal inflation difference every year. As a result, due to the inflationary effects of increased global prices and the policy structure of the Central Bank, increased foreign currency revenues and inflation weaken the Iranian currency and raise the real currency exchange rate
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