Looking at infertility through the lens of religion and spirituality: a review of the literature

In spite of the growing body of literature that has focused on medical, psychological, social, and cultural consequences of infertility, issues such as religious and spiritual dimensions of infertility have received little attention. Considering that infertility is a multifaceted problem and results in multiple losses, we argue that health professionals need to consider all aspects of holistic care when caring for women with fertility problems. Holistic care considers not only the psychological, social and cultural needs of individuals, but also their religious and spiritual needs. Women may use their religious/spiritual beliefs to cope with crisis, and to find meaning and hope in their suffering. This article reviews the literature on religion/spirituality and infertility using Medline, CINAHL, PBSC, IBSS and ISI Web of Knowledge from 1985 to the present. It focuses on religious and spiritual care as one aspect of holistic care of women with fertility problems, and draws attention to the religious perspectives of infertility and reproductive technologies. It highlights the spiritual dimension of the infertility experience in previous research, and concludes with a discussion on the gaps in the literature and the implications of including religious and spiritual issues in infertile women's care.     

Comparing GnRH agonist long protocol and gnrh antagonist protocol in outcome the first cycle of ART

Purpose  

This prospective study evaluated the efficacy of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol in comparison with the GnRH agonist protocol in the first cycle of assisted reproductive technique (ART).     

A DFT study on nanocones,nanotubes (4,0), nanosheets and fullerene C60 as anodes in Mg-ion batteries

In this article, we studied the interactions between Mg atom and Mg²⁺ ion and four nanostructures, including a nanocone, nanotube (4,0), nanosheet, and C₆₀ nanocage, to obtain the cell voltages (V) for Mg-ion batteries (MIBs). Total energy, geometry optimization, frontier molecular orbital (FMO) and density of states (DOS) analyses have been performed using the ωB97XD level of theory and the 6-31G(d) basis set. The DFT calculations clarified that the changes in energy adsorption between Mg²⁺ ion and the nanostructures, E_ad, are in the order tube > cone > sheet > cage. However, V_cell for the nanocone is the highest. The changes in V_cell of the MIBs are in the order cone > tube > sheet > cage. This study theoretically considers the possibilities of Mg as an anode in batteries due to its high V_cell values.

In this article, we studied the interactions between Mg atom and Mg²⁺ ion and four nanostructures, including a nanocone, nanotube (4,0), nanosheet, and C₆₀ nanocage, to obtain the cell voltages (V) for Mg-ion batteries (MIBs).     

Persian Verb and Sentence Production Protocol (PVSP) and its efficacy on Persian-speaking agrammatic non-fluent persons with aphasia

ABSTRACT

Background: The semantic/syntactic representation of the verb is directly correspondent with the information required for generating well-constructed messages. Although various verb and sentence impairment therapies for persons with aphasia (PWA) are presented, there has been no published study of Persian verb treatment protocol for linguistic and cross-linguistic purposes.

Aims: This study was aimed at introducing a verb treatment protocol founded upon the Persian syntax, teaching to link the key thematic information of verbs, and targeting treatment at the word and sentence level.

Methods & Procedures: A single-subject study with multiple baselines design across participants was conducted. The efficacy of Persian Verb and Sentence Production Protocol (PVSP) on three agrammatic non-fluent patients was examined. Verb production skills at the word and sentence level were examined. The Mean Sentence Length (MSL) and sentence production across different tasks were measured at baseline and daily treatment probes.

Outcome and Results: Three participants notably improved in verb percent production at the word level in experimental items (from 3.3% to 88% for participant 1, from 1.17% to 27.6% for participant 2 and from 3.75% to 58.6% for participant 3). Generalisation to control items were observed (from 10% to 81.2% for participant 1, from 24.9% to 52.98% for participant 2, from 19.7% to 60.89% for participant 3). All participants also enhanced in verb percent production at the sentence level in experimental items (from 13.3% to 67% for participant 1, from 16.6% to 40% for participant 2, and from 5.7% to 55% for participant 3). Generalisation to control items was noted (from 20% to 57% for participant 1, from 23.3% to 43.5% for participant 2, from 5% to 61% for participant 3). The results of the maintenance and follow-up phases were subsequently remarkable. Pre-post measures of MSL in connected speech (free speech) were improved outstandingly (from 1 to 4.3 for participant 1, from 3.5 to 8 for participant 2, from 0 to 5.2 for participant 3).

Conclusions : PVSP seems to be beneficial to various degrees for Persian-speaking agrammatic non-fluent patients, enhancing their verb retrieval and sentence making skills.     

Cycloaddition of atmospheric CO2 to epoxides under solvent-free conditions: a straightforward route to carbonates by green chemistry metrics

The conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into value-added organic compounds has received more and more attention over recent years, not only because this gas is one of the major anthropogenic greenhouse gases, but also because it has been regarded as an abundant, inexpensive, nontoxic, nonflammable, and renewable one-carbon (C1) resource. Along these lines, the synthesis of five-membered cyclic carbonates employing CO₂ as a safe alternative to toxic reagents such as phosgene or its derivatives is of great interest because of their wide range of applications in organic synthesis. However, most of CO₂ incorporation reactions into carbonates are carried out in toxic and non-recyclable organic solvents. Furthermore, these transformations usually proceed at elevated pressures or supercritical CO₂ conditions. Recently, several catalytic systems have been developed that allow the synthesis of functionalized carbonates from the reaction of atmospheric CO₂ with corresponding epoxides under solvent-free conditions. This review is an attempt to summarize the most important advances and discoveries in this interesting research arena. The review is divided into three major sections. The first section will discuss ionic liquid catalyzed coupling reactions. The second will cover organocatalyzed reactions. The third focuses exclusively on metal-catalyzed fixations. Notably, the third section has been classified based on the metal element that carries out the catalysis (i.e. copper, palladium, zinc).

The conversion of CO₂ into value-added organic compounds has received more attention over recent years since this gas is one of the major greenhouse gases, as well as an abundant, inexpensive, nontoxic, nonflammable and renewable one-carbon (C1) resource.     

Rigid contact lens fitting based on keratometry readings in keratoconus patients: predicting formula

AIM: To find a simple mathematical correlation between the lens base curve (BC) and keratometry findings (krf). METHODS: This retrospective study included 400 keratoconic eyes (350 patients) previously fit with rigid contact lenses at an academic eye center over a five year period. The patients were classified into five groups based on the keratometry findings (krf<7, krf:7-8, krf>8, krf-krs (difference between two keratometry; flat and steep)= 0.3-0.6, krf-krs >0.6mm as groups 1 to 5, respectively. Multivariate linear regression and Munro's correlation coefficient were employed to defer the formulas. RESULTS: A linear correlation could be found in all groups except for patients in group 3. For group 1, BC=0.211×krf+ 5.904. For group 2, BC=0.456×krf+4.160. For group 4,BC= 0.321×krf+5.219. For group 5, BC=0.337×krf+ 5.090. CONCLUSION: The development of new formulas for RGP fitting enables ophthalmologists to work with confidence and prevents unnecessary and frequent lens trials. The customary lens fitting methods are needed to be replaced by new formulas, which help to save time and costs.