Background and Aim: Breast cancer is the abnormal cell growth in the breast. In both benign and malignant masses, there is rapid and high cell growth. Nowadays, due to the development of technologies, the diagnosis of diseases has become non-invasive and physicians attempts to diagnose the disease without surgery and based on internal organ images.
Methods & Materials: In this study, by using images prepared from the Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM), a new method is proposed for detecting cancerous masses in the mammographic images using geometric features extraction and optimization of Support Vector Machine (SVM) parameters to classify breast cancer masses automatically. First, images were pre-processed and then boundaries were determined using threshold method. Next, morphological operators were used to improve these boundaries and the segmentation of images was carried out to classify cancerous masses. Finally, by using the SVM parameter optimization method, Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA), and 4-fold crossvalidation method, data were classified into two groups of benign and malignant (cancer) masses.
Ethical Considerations Images from DDSM database were used in this research, all images are open access in this database.
Results: The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity values for applying the Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel in SVM classifier (before optimization process) were obtained 97%, 100% and 96, respectively. After optimization of SVM parameters by the GOA, it was reported 100% for all accuracy, sensitivity and specificity indices for applying linear kernel function, indicating the high accuracy of the proposed method. The average values of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity indices for applying all three SVM kernel functions after optimization were 95.83, 100 and 94.81%, respectively.
Conclusion: The extracted geometrical features from breast cancer masses are highly efficient for model training and the diagnosis of breast cancer. The GOA could improve the overall accuracy of the proposed method by optimizing the SVM parameters. The results showed the higher performance of the proposed method compared to other methods.

Background and Aim: Hypertension is a common disease and universal that can cause cardiovascular disease and kidney damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an eight-weeks massage on blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), heart rate and C-reactive protein in women with hypertension. 
Methods & Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 44 volunteer women with Mean±SD age of 42.12±5.31years were selected from women referred to Arak Oil Company specialized polyclinic with hypertension. Four women excluded from the study for some reason, and the rest were divided into experimental and control groups. In massage group massage was done for three sessions per week, 45-60 minutes in each session, on the back and upper limbs for eight weeks. Data analysis was conducted using dependent and independent t-test by SPSS V. 25 statistical software at the significant level of (P≤0.05).
Ethical Considerations: This study (Code: 92-160-26) was approved in Research Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences.
Results: The results showed that eight weeks of massage reduced blood pressure (P=0.001), the heart rate (P=0.001), and C-reactive protein (P=0.001) in women with hypertension compared to the control group (P=0.62).
Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that massage for eight weeks is an efficient and appropriate method to improve systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and C-reactive protein in patients with hypertension.

Background and Aim: Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disorder and auto-immune disease that is associated with symptoms of fluctuating muscle fatigue and dysfunction of the neuromuscular junction system. This disease greatly affects various aspects of the patient's life and impacts the person's perception of the quality of life. The aim of this study was to explain and analyze life experiences with myasthenia gravis disease in a young girl.
Methods & Materials: This report is a qualitative case with interpretive phenomenological approach that examines the life experiences of a young girl with myasthenia gravis in 2019. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Van Manen's phenomenological approach.
Ethical Considerations: This study was registered in the Research Ethics Committee of Khatam University (Code: 3299/100/P/98).
Results: Thematic analysis indicated that myasthenia gravis disease affects all aspects of person's life world. These four aspects include living and feelings with time, body, space, and others. Eventually, three interrelated themes emerged from the patient's perception of the world around her, including physical weakness, future ambiguity, and frustration.
Conclusion: The present study shows a clear image and understanding of the problems of living with MG in a young girl. The phenomenological world of mixed by physical weakness, ambiguity in the future, and frustration that indicating the suffering and distress that the patient experiences following the illness. The results of this study contribute to the awareness of health and rehabilitation specialists in the field of work and research in myasthenia gravis as a neurological disease.

Background and Aim: Conventional post-operative rehabilitation programs focus on quadriceps strengthening and knee range of motion. However, hip muscle weakness is evident in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The present trial study aimed to investigate the effects of adding early hip muscle strengthening exercises to conventional rehabilitation programs on pain, Range of Motion (RoM), Quality of Life (QoL), and physical function in patients with unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA).
Methods & Materials: The intervention was initiated from the second day after surgery and continued for 10 sessions, 3 times a week on 24 participants in the control and intervention groups. Both research groups received Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation (TENS) and Infra-Red (IR), followed by exercises. The control group performed knee extensor and flexor strengthening and RoM exercises. The intervention group conducted hip-strengthening exercises in addition. Outcome measures included pain, knee flexion, and extension RoM, and QoL using the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, Step Test, Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and Hip and Knee Muscle Strength test.
Ethical Considerations: This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences (IR.IUMS.REC.1396.9511340012) and it was registered in the Clinical Trial Registration Center (Code: IRCT 20150314021459N6).
Results: All outcome measures improved in both research groups. The improvement in the scores of pain (P=0.03), knee extension RoM (P=0.007), and TUG test (P=0.033) were significantly higher in the intervention group, compared to the control group. The strength of knee flexors (P=0.023), hip flexors (P=0.040), hip extensors (P=0.028), hip adductors (P=0.040), and hip external rotators (P=0.047) significantly improved higher in the intervention group.
Conclusion: According to the present research results, both treatment approaches were effective on patients with unilateral total knee arthroplasty. Considering the better result of some of the outcome measures in the intervention group, the addition of hip strengthening exercises to knee exercises can be useful.

Background and Aim: Breast cancer is among the most prevalent cancers in women with extensive associated biopsychological problems. The present study aimed to determine the effects of holographic reprocessing therapy on cognitive flexibility and posttraumatic growth in women with breast cancer.
Methods & Materials: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and a control group design. The statistical population included all patients with breast cancer who underwent mastectomy and who were being treated in the chemotherapy ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ardabil City, Iran, in 2020.
By convenience sampling method, 30 women with breast cancer were selected and randomly divided into the experimental and control groups (n=15/group). The experimental group, while receiving pharmacotherapy, collectively underwent holographic reprocessing therapy in 9 one-hour sessions (two sessions per week) for 5 weeks; however, the control group received only pharmacotherapy. Both research groups were assessed in pretest and posttest phases by the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010) and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). Finally, the obtained data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS v. 23.
Ethical Considerations: All study subjects provided a signed written informed consent form. The Research Ethics Committee of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences approved this study (Code: IR.ARUMS.REC.1399.393).
Results: The current study results indicated that holographic reprocessing therapy was effective on cognitive flexibility (F= 42.319, P<0.01) and posttraumatic growth (F= 18.300, P<0.01) in women with breast cancer; this method also increased their cognitive flexibility and posttraumatic growth.
Conclusion: Considering psychological factors and information processing methods in patients with cancer is highly important. Thus, counselors and psychotherapists are advised to use holographic reprocessing therapy as a complementary treatment without adverse effects along with medical treatments to reduce the psychosocial problems caused by the disease.

Introduction: Today, with the increase in population, the per capita production of waste materials and the subsequent threat and destruction of the environment is an increasing process, and waste management by the people of a society can play an essential role in reducing this problem. Therefore, the aim of this study was determine of predicting the waste management behaviors of households in Arak city in 2022.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional and analytical study that was carried out on 600 mothers of households in Arak city, who were selected by multi-stage sampling. The data collection tool was a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire that included demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and behavior of households in the field of waste management. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and t-test, chi-square and regression tests. This study was approved by the research ethics committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.ARAKMU.REC.1401.040).
Results: The average age of the studied was 39±11 years and the number of family members was 3.6. In terms of type of housing, most of them lived in apartments (44%) and a smaller number lived in complexes (14%). 65 percent of the people had not received the training on the waste separation plan from the source, and among the effective training methods, the majority (38 percent) of the people had overestimated the effectiveness of the training through the Internet. The mean and standard deviation of knowledge was 66±19, attitude was 84±11 and performance was 73±18. The majority of the people studied had a good level of awareness and attitude. The regression analysis model showed that the greatest impact on the waste management behavior of the samples was the age of the people, their knowledge and attitude, which predicted a total of 33% of the waste management behavior.
Conclusions: Considering the favorable state of awareness and attitude of households in Arak city, it seems that for better waste management, other environmental factors should be emphasized, including sources of waste production at the source. Also, based on the prediction model, it is still important to inform and change the attitude of households in Arak city for better performance at younger ages.