Journal of Arak University of Medical Sciences

Mina Gaeeni

Introduction: The fundamental role of marital satisfaction is vital in family formation and marriage survival. Marital dissatisfaction can make couples fail to solve their conflicts. Marital discontent, combined with job-related stress such as pre-hospital emergencies, can lead to heightened conflict in job responsibilities. It leads to the effect on personnel, patients, and their families. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the marital satisfaction of pre-hospital emergency personnel at Qom University of Medical Sciences in 2023.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 pre-hospital personnel of Qom University of Medical Sciences in May 2023. The sampling method was a stratified cluster. The data collection tool included the "Demographic Information" checklist and Enrich's "Marital Satisfaction" questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive tests, Independent T-test, and Regression.
Results: The average age of the participants was 37.3 ± 7.06. More than half of the participants had a bachelor's degree. Most people had rotating shifts. The average score of marital satisfaction was 145.94 ± 22.21. Based on the results of the multivariate regression test, the variables of education, employment status, work experience, type of shift, having a second job, and having a job other than medical staff explain 63% of the variance of marital satisfaction of pre-hospital personnel.
Conclusions: According to the findings of the present study, in general, the marital satisfaction of pre-hospital emergency personnel of Qom University of Medical Sciences is at an average to high level. People with a fixed shift, with a second job, high work experience, without a fixed job status, and bachelor's and associate's degrees had less marital satisfaction than others. Therefore, managers and policymakers in the health field must pay more attention to the quality of family life, especially the married life of pre-hospital emergency workers with the mentioned conditions.

Effect of Aerobic and Interval Training on Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1, GATA4 Gene, and Cardiac Structure

Mohammad Ali Gharaat

Introduction: Physical activity causes cardiac hypertrophy by a non-pathological change in cardiac structure, called physiological hypertrophy. Several molecular changes are involved in this process. Insulin-like growth hormone-1 (IGF-1) is an important hormone involved in hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes. Also, the role of GATA4 as a possible gene involved in cardiac hypertrophy is controversial. Therefore, the present study was conducted to find the effect of aerobic and interval training on IGF-1, GATA4 gene, and cardiac tissue.
Methods: Eighteen male Wistar rats (243.72 ± 23.41 g) were randomly divided into control, aerobic, and interval training groups (n = 6). The aerobic group trained for 8 weeks/4 days a week/38 minutes/ 65% of maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max). The intermittent group trained 8 weeks/4 days a week/5 set/4 minutes/85-90% of VO2 max running with 2 minutes rest between the sets. The weight of the heart and left ventricle, IGF-1 concentration, and GATA4 gene expression were measured 48 hours after the training. The evaluation was conducted with a one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The weight of the heart and left ventricle increased significantly in trained groups. IGF-1 and GATA4 gene expression increased in both the training groups than the control group.
Conclusions: Aerobic and Interval training increases IGF-1, GATA4 gene, left ventricle, and heart weight. Considering the shorter time interval training takes, it seems that interval training is more beneficial than aerobic training.

MultiModal Emotional Recognition by Artificial Intelligence and its Application in Psychology

Mohammad Reza Yamaghani

Introduction: Nowadays, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning has impacted all fields of study. Utilizing these methods for identifying individuals' emotions through integrating audio, text, and image data has shown higher accuracy than conventional methods, presenting various applications for psychologists and human-machine interaction. Identifying human emotions and individuals' reactions is crucial in psychology and psychotherapy. Emotional identification has traditionally been conducted individually and by analyzing facial expressions, speech patterns, or handwritten responses to stimuli and events. However, depending on the subject's conditions or the analyst's circumstances, this approach may lack the required accuracy. This paper aimed to achieve high-precision emotional recognition from audio, text, and image data using artificial intelligence and machine learning methods.
Methods: This research employs a correlation-based approach between emotions and input data, utilizing machine learning methods and regression analysis to predict a criterion variable based on multiple predictor variables (the emotional category as the criterion variable and the features, audio, image, and text variables as predictors). The statistical population of this study is the IEMOCAP dataset, and the data type of this research is a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach.
Results: The results indicated that combining audio, image, and text data for multi-modal emotional recognition significantly outperformed the recognition of emotions from each data alone, exhibiting a precision of 82.9% in the baseline dataset.
Conclusions: The results demonstrate a considerably acceptable precision in identifying human emotions through audio integration, text, and image data compared to individual data when using machine learning and artificial intelligence methods.

Investigating the Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Gene Related to Angiogenesis and Interleukin-10 in Experimental Breast Tumor Model

Fereshteh Dadfar

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and the principal cause of death in women. One of the mechanisms of cancer cells for the lack of access to the immune system is the production of compounds suppressing immune responses, such as interleukin-10. On the other hand, vascular endothelial growth factor, by binding to its receptors on the surface of endothelial cells, plays a significant role in vascular permeability and tumor vascularity. In this study, the expression of interleukin-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor in breast tumor tissue was investigated in an experimental tumor model.
Methods: First, mammary tumors were experimentally induced in Balb/C mice, and RNA was extracted from the tumor tissue. cDNA was synthesized from the extracted RNAs, and the expression level of 10-IL and VEGF genes was evaluated by RT-PCR.
Results: The results of data analysis showed that the expression of IL-10 and VEGF genes in the tumor tissue was higher than in the cells of the control group, but this increase in expression was not statistically significant.
Conclusions: In general, the expression level of Interleukin-10 and VEGF genes was increased in the experimental tumor model, but broader research and the correlation with other involved factors seem necessary.

Prevalence of Neurological Symptoms in Patients with COVID-19 Hospitalized in Hospitals of Arak University of Medical Sciences

Ali Jadidi

Introduction: One of the clinical manifestations of coronavirus is neurological symptoms. However, due to the emergence of this virus, little information is available about its symptoms. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of neurological symptoms in patients with coronavirus at hospitals in Arak.
Methods: In this study, all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in two hospitals in Arak who were willing to participate were selected by census. The questionnaires consisted of two parts: demographic information and the prevalence and severity of neurological symptoms, which were completed by interviews with patients.
Results: 208 patients with a mean age of 60.5±14.1 years participated in the study. Of the 20 neurological symptoms studied, only two (tingling around the mouth and cranial nerve palsy) were absent in patients. The most common neurological symptoms in patients were headache (82.5%), fatigue (81%) and muscle pain (74.9%), respectively. Also, according to the visual scale, participants reported the highest severity for headache (average: 7.5), followed by fatigue (average: 7.03), and muscle weakness (average: 6.9).
Conclusions: The results showed that the most common neurological symptoms in patients with coronary heart disease include headache, fatigue, and muscle pain and the most severe neurological symptoms in these patients are headache, fatigue, and muscle weakness. According to the findings of this study, these results can be used to diagnose patients and follow them up.

Designing a Cognitive-Behavioral Coping Training Package with the Stress of Infertility and Its Effectiveness on Hope in Infertile Women

Keivan Kakabraee

Introduction: For many people, infertility is a prominent crisis and cause of mental stress that causes many unfavorable psychological reactions. The purpose of the research is to design a cognitive-behavioral coping training package with the stress of infertility and its effectiveness on the hope of infertile women.
Methods: The present study was conducted using a mixed method using the qualitative part, content analysis type, and the quantitative part, semi-experimental, in the pre-test-post-test-two-month follow-up design with the control group. The statistical population of this research was infertile women referring to infertility centers and gynecology and infertility specialists in Kermanshah in 2022. A sample of forty women was selected as a sample using the purposeful sampling method and replaced in two groups (experimental and control) in a simple random manner. Data were collected from Newton et al.'s infertility stress questionnaire (1999) and Schneider's Hope (1991). The data was analyzed using a content validity test and repeated measurement variance analysis tests.
Results: The designed educational package was valid and adequate. The findings showed a significant difference between pre-test, post-test, and follow-up in the component of hope, and this difference continued until the follow-up stage.
Conclusions: The educational package on cognitive-behavioral coping with the stress of infertility of infertile women can be used to reduce the stress and increase the hope of infertile women.

The Effect of Emotion Regulation Training on Improving the Quality of Life and Life Expectancy of Cardiovascular Patients Referring to Health Centers in 2023

Mohammad Ali Sepahvandi

Introduction: The main consequence of heart failure is a decline in patients' functional abilities, leading to limitations in occupational and social-family tasks, as well as impairments in cognitive and emotional health, ultimately resulting in a reduced quality of life. This research was conducted to assess the effectiveness of emotion regulation training in improving the quality of life and life expectancy of cardiovascular patients referred to health centers in Khorram Abad City.
Methods: The current research used a semi-experimental design of pre-test-post-test type and three-month follow-up with experimental and control groups. The statistical population of the research included all patients with cardiovascular diseases referred to the health centers of Khorram Abad City in 2023. Among the statistical population, 40 people were selected by direct sampling and randomly divided into two experimental (20 people) and control (20 people) groups. The experimental group was trained in emotion regulation during eight 90-minute sessions for 8 weeks. Both groups completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHO-QOL-BREF) and Schneider et al.'s (1991) Life Expectancy Questionnaire in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The multivariate covariance analysis method and Bonferroni post hoc test were used to analyze the results.
Results: The results showed that emotional regulation training is efficacious in improving the quality of life and life expectancy of cardiovascular patients (P < 0.01), and this effect remained stable in the three-month follow-up phase (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: Emotion regulation training is recommended to enhance cardiovascular patients' quality of life and life expectancy.

Medicinal Plants and Their Bioactive Compounds in the Control of Hyperlipidemia: A Review Study

Azam Mivefroshan

Introduction: Hyperlipidemia, a chronic metabolic disorder marked by elevated blood lipid levels, significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in individuals with diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. While pharmacological interventions exist, factors such as medication side effects, cost considerations, and a growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine have stimulated research into the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants in managing hyperlipidemia. This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of these botanical agents in reducing blood lipid levels.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across reputable databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and other relevant online platforms. Keywords such as "hyperlipidemia," "herbal medicine," "traditional medicine," "herbal extract," and "herbal therapy" were employed to identify studies published up to 2024. Inclusion criteria were established to select studies that reported the impact of medicinal plants on lipid profile modifications.
Results: Based on the results, the study revealed that various medicinal plants, including Thymus vulgaris, Apium graveolens, Cichorium intybus, Fumaria officinalis, Heracleum rawianum, Anthemis altissima, Gundelia tourneforttii, Cynodon dactylon, Anthriscus sylvestrianum, Solanum nigrum, Arum elongatum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Berberis vulgaris, Rheum ribes, and Mentha spicata, are commonly used in traditional medicine to address hyperlipidemia.
Conclusions: The use of indigenous Iranian medicinal plants for managing hyperlipidemia is deeply rooted in the country’s ancient history and has been increasingly validated by contemporary scientific research. These natural compounds can help lower blood lipid levels by inhibiting fat absorption and boosting lipid metabolism. The growing interest in traditional medicine and medicinal plants can be attributed to their inherent advantages, such as a lower incidence of side effects compared to synthetic drugs. Ongoing scientific research in this field offers promising avenues for developing innovative and effective herbal-based therapies