Improving access to psychological intervention in low-middle income settings: Results from a waitlist-controlled, proof-of-concept trial of the MemFlex intervention for trauma-exposed Afghan youth.

Background: Low-intensity interventions targeting a range of mental health issues offer a scalable approach for young trauma survivors in low-middle income countries.

Aims: Here, we present results from a proof-of-concept, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial evaluating MemFlex, an autobiographical memory-based intervention, for trauma-exposed Afghan youth residing in Iran. MemFlex seeks to reduce the negative and overgeneral memory biases which maintain and predict poor mental health.

Exploring Emotion Recognition Patterns Among Iranian People Using CANTAB as an Approved Neuro-Psychological Assessment.

Introduction: Emotion recognition is the main component of social cognition and has various patterns in different cultures and nationalities. The present study aimed to investigate emotion recognition patterns among Iranians using the Cambridge neuro-psychological test automated battery (CANTAB) as a valid neuropsychological test.

Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 117 males and females (Mean±SD of age 32.

Proof of Concept for the Autobiographical Memory Flexibility (MemFlex) Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Autobiographical memory distortions are a key feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial ( = 43), we evaluated an autobiographical memory flexibility intervention, MemFlex. We aimed to determine whether the mechanism-focused intervention, which aims to improve autobiographical memory processes, may also affect other cognitive predictors of PTSD and potentially reduce PTSD symptoms in Iranian trauma survivors diagnosed with PTSD.

The Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Emotional and Cognitive Vulnerability in Iranian Women With Breast Cancer.

The psychological cost on emotional well-being due to the collateral damage brought about by COVID-19 in accessing oncological services for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment has been documented by recent studies in the United Kingdom. The current study set out to examine the effect of delays to scheduled oncology services on emotional and cognitive vulnerability in women with a breast cancer diagnosis in Iran, one of the very first countries to be heavily impacted by COVID-19. One hundred thirty-nine women with a diagnosis of primary breast cancer answered a series of online questionnaires to assess the current state of rumination, worry, and cognitive vulnerability as well as the emotional impact of COVID-19 on their mental health.

Impaired Autobiographical Memory Flexibility in Iranian Trauma Survivors With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Reduced ability to retrieve specific autobiographical memories is a well-defined feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and science-driven interventions have emerged to improve memory specificity and thereby symptoms. However, research in depressed samples indicates that the ability to flexibly move between retrieval of specific and general memory types (i.e.

Emotional working memory updating in individuals with borderline personality features.

Background And Objectives: Individuals with features of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are highly sensitive to social rejection. Working memory (WM) may play a critical role in processing emotional interpersonal information in BPD. Yet, little is known about how emotional WM operations are related to sensitivity to rejection cues and BPD features.

Measles Outbreak in a Rural Population in Bahar District, Hamadan Province, West of Iran in 2018.

Background: Measles is in elimination phase in Iran. Following occurrence of two cases of measles in two children under six years old with the history of measles immunization in one of the villages affiliated to Bahar District, west of Hamadan Province, northwest of Iran, this study was conducted to determine the immunity status of people living in the village affected by the measles outbreak in spring of 2018.

Study Design: A cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study.

Predictors of positive and negative post-traumatic psychological outcomes in a sample of Iranian cancer survivors.

Objectives This study aimed to identify predictors of positive and negative post-traumatic psychological outcomes within a sample of Iranian cancer survivors. Methods In this cross-sectional research, 300 (167 females; age M = 53.00, SD = 27.

Investigating Emotion in Malay, Australian and Iranian Individuals with and without Depression.

This study investigated the influence of culture and depression on (1) emotion priming reactions, (2) the recall of subjective experience of emotion, and (3) emotion meaning. Members of individualistic culture (Australia, n = 42) and collectivistic culture (Iran, n = 32, Malaysia, n = 74) with and without depression completed a biological motion task, subjective experience questionnaire and emotion meaning questionnaire. Those with depression, regardless of cultural group, provided significantly fewer correct responses on the biological motion task than the control group.

Molecular Characterization of Aquaglyceroporine: A Novel Mutation in from (MRHO/IR/75/ER).

Background: The first line treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis is pentavalent antimony such as sodium stibogluconate (pentostam) and meglumine antimonite (glucantime). One of the most important ways to uptake the drug is by a trans-membrane protein, called aquaglyceroporin encoded by (). In this study, molecular characterization of was reported.

A preliminary study investigating time perception in adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to conduct a preliminary investigation into time perception in adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and healthy controls.

Method: Iranian adolescents with PTSD (n = 15) or MDD (n = 15) and healthy, non-trauma-exposed control participants (n = 15) completed 3 measures of time perception: a verbal time estimation task, a production task, and a reproduction task.

Results: The PTSD group was found to have significantly poorer overall time perception accuracy compared to the control group (d = 1.

A Novel Therapy for cocaine dependence during abstinence: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Topiramate is an anticonvulsant drug and an ideal candidate for reducing the craving in people relying on cocaine. Contingency management is one of the common therapies in the domain of addiction.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate and compare three medication methods of Topiramate (TPM), Contingency Management (CM) and the combined TPM treatment and cash intervention on craving during abstinence.

Accurate testing of aspheric surfaces using the transport of intensity equation by properly selecting the defocusing distance.

In the last decade, the transport of intensity has been increasingly used in microscopy, wavefront sensing, and metrology. In this study, we verify by simulation and experiment the use of the transport of intensity equation (TIE) in the accurate testing of optical aspheric surfaces. Guided by simulation results and assuming that the experimental setup parameters and the conic constants are known, one can estimate an appropriate defocusing distance Δz that leads to an accurate solution of the TIE.

Iranian Version of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale: Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties.

Mental adjustment to cancer is known as a psychological, physical, and psychological health variable among cancer patients. The present study examines the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale (Mini-MAC) in a sample of Iranian adults who suffer from cancer. The sample consists of 320 cancer patients selected through non-random convenient sampling procedure from the hospitals and clinics in the cities of Kermanshah and Shiraz in Iran, using the Mini-MAC scale.

Visual false memories in posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study investigated visual false memories in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Scenic False Memory paradigm (SFM, Hauschildt, Peters, Jelinek, & Moritz, 2012) was administered to male Iranian military personnel who had participated in the Iran-Iraq war and were diagnosed with (n = 21) or without (n = 21) PTSD and a sample of healthy male non-trauma-exposed controls (n = 21). Trauma-exposed participants recalled and recognized a significantly lower percentage of hits and a significantly greater percentage of false memories for both trauma-related and non-trauma-related video scenes, than non-trauma-exposed controls.

Persian Version of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy- Breast (FACT-B) Scale: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Psychometric Properties.

Background: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast (FACT-B) scale is widely used to measure health-related quality of life in cancer patients. The aim of the present study is to validate the FACT-B in a sample of Iranian women with breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: The sample consisted of 300 women selected through non-random convenient sampling procedure from oncology hospitals and clinics in Kermanshah and Shiraz cities.

A pilot randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of MEmory Specificity Training in improving symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Poor autobiographical memory specificity is a cognitive marker of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an independent predictor of poor prognosis. This pilot randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) (an intervention aimed at ameliorating specificity problems) on autobiographical memory recall and PTSD symptoms. Iranian combat veterans with PTSD were randomly assigned into the MEST (n = 12) or control (n = 12) group.

Molecular detection of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in ticks from southeastern Iran.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus is a tick-borne member of the genus Nairovirus, family Bunyaviridae. CCHF virus has been isolated from at least 31 different species of ticks. The virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected tick or by direct contact with CCHF virus-infected patients or the products of infected livestock.

Production and properties of electrosprayed sericin nanopowder.

Sericin is a proteinous substrate that envelops fibroin (silk) fiber, and its recovery provides significant economical and social benefits. Sericin is an antibacterial agent that resists oxidation and absorbs moisture and UV light. In powder form, sericin has a wide range of applications in food, cosmetics and drug delivery.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, executive functioning, and autobiographical remembering in individuals with HIV and in carers of those with HIV in Iran.

Two studies examined autobiographical remembering in those with HIV (Study 1) and in carers of those with HIV (Study 2) in Iran. Study 1 investigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, executive control, and autobiographical remembering in those with HIV. Individuals with HIV (n = 34) and healthy controls (n = 34) completed the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Beck's Depression Inventory-II, Beck's Anxiety Inventory, Autobiographical Memory Interview, Autobiographical Memory Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Tower of London.

Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection among Injection Drug Users Released from Jail.

Background: Injecting drug users (IDUs) and prisoners are considered to be highly vulnerable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Iran. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of HIV infection among IDUs released from jail in Bahar (Hamadan, Iran).

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 118 IDUs who were prisoners during 2001-07 were evaluated.

Overgeneral autobiographical memory recollection in Iranian combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study examined the recollection of autobiographical material in memory among Iranian military veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and healthy non-trauma-exposed control subjects. Participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Test, Autobiographical Memory Interview (counterbalanced), Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Wechsler Memory Scale-III and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. The PTSD group generated fewer specific episodic and semantic details of autobiographical memory compared to the non-PTSD and control groups.

Specificity of episodic and semantic aspects of autobiographical memory in relation to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Two studies examined the relationship between the ability to access specific autobiographical material in memory and presence/symptoms of posttraumatic stress. In Study 1, a sample of refugees with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) completed the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) in which they had to generate specific episodic autobiographical memories in response to emotion-related cue words. Results showed that reduced specificity of memories on the AMT was associated with an increased frequency of trauma-related flashbacks but with reduced use of effortful avoidance to deal with trauma-related intrusions in the day-to-day.

Selective processing of negative emotional information in children and adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Objectives: Research investigating attentional bias for emotional information using the modified Stroop task in younger anxious populations has produced equivocal results. The present data investigated the replicability in younger participants of the prototypical adult finding of Mathews and MacLeod (1985) with patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Method: A sample of 19 child and adolescent patients with GAD and 19 controls completed the modified Stroop paradigm with threat, depression-related, positive and neutral words.