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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between coping styles and social identity among adolescents residing in marginal and non-marginal areas. Method: A cross-sectional study design with a descriptive-analytic approach was utilized. The study population consisted of adolescents aged 12 to 19 from Kermanshah city, with 222 participants evenly distributed between marginal and non-marginal areas. Adolescents were enrolled in the study using a multi-stage sampling method (stratified cluster, simple randomized method). Data were collected using the Standard Social Identity questionnaire and Lazarus and Folkman's Coping Styles questionnaire. The data were analyzed statistically in the SPSS software environment (version 25) using appropriate statistical tests. Results: The results of the study showed that there is a significant relationship between the components of social identity and coping styles in adolescents (P < 0.05). Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping styles had the ability to explain social identity in the adolescents of Kermanshah city. Also, in comparing the coping styles and social identity between adolescents from marginalized and non-marginalized areas in the city of Kermanshah, there was no significant difference (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of understanding how coping strategies influence social identity among adolescents across different socio-environmental contexts. The findings highlight the need for further research to explore the mechanisms underlying these relationships and consider the role of contextual factors in shaping adolescent development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The cognitive function of older adults is an important indicator of healthy aging. Living arrangements have been identified as a potentially important factor affecting cognitive function among older adults. This study investigated the relationship between living arrangements and cognitive function among older adults aged 65 years and older in Kermanshah City, Iran. Methods: The cross-sectional study design was used in this study. Participants aged 65 years and older in Kermanshah City, Iran were recruited for the study. The Neuropsychiatric Unit Cognitive Assessment (NUCOG) was used to assess cognitive function, and demographic information was collected to assess living arrangements. Results: The study found that cognitive function was generally within the normal range among older adults, and that age, education level, and living arrangements were significantly associated with cognitive performance. Discussion: These results highlight the importance of considering demographic factors when developing interventions aimed at promoting cognitive health among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hemodialysis is a crucial treatment for patients with chronic renal failure. Despite its effectiveness in managing end-stage renal failure, hemodialysis patients face multiple physical and psychological stressors. Recognizing the interconnectedness of body and soul, religious and spiritual views can potentially provide valuable support. Previous research has indicated that spiritual beliefs impact patients’ health and self-esteem. This study surveys the relationship between spiritual intervention and self-esteem in hemodialysis patients in the Iranian population. Material and methods: The study is semi-experimental and involves 44 hemodialysis patients in Kermanshah in 2016. After convenience sampling, the patients were divided into two groups, control (22 patients) and intervention (22 patients), using random allocation. For the intervention group, spiritual-religious sessions lasting 45-60 minutes were scheduled twice a week in a group format. Inclusion criteria for participation included being 18 years or older, having undergone hemodialysis for at least 6 months, and providing informed consent. Data collection involved assessing demographic features and using the Coppersmith Self-Esteem Scale. Finally, the data were analyzed using the independent sample t-test, Fisher’s exact test and the chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Before the intervention, mean self-esteem in the intervention group was 23.80 ±1.99. Mean self-esteem in the control group was 23.85 ±2.03. After the intervention, mean self-esteem in the intervention group increased significantly to 37.28 ±2.53 after the spiritual-religious intervention (p < 0.05). Mean self-esteem in the control group remained relatively stable at 23.42 ±1.88 (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The findings suggest that spiritual-religious sessions have a positive effect on the self-esteem of hemodialysis patients. Incorporating spiritual care into the patients’ overall care program may contribute to improving their self-esteem. Therefore, recognizing the holistic needs of patients, including their spiritual well-being, can enhance patients’ self-esteem during the challenging process of hemodialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a chronic disease that is spreading day by day. Most people with cancer suffer from a lot of anxiety and stress. With regard to this issue, the present study investigated the effect of group training program for stress-inoculation on existential anxiety and resilience of cancer patients. The study was a randomized clinical trial conducted on 30 people with cancer who referred to Imam Reza Hospital in Kermanshah, Iran. Then they were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Questionnaire was used to collect information. Before the intervention, both groups completed the questionnaires. Then the intervention group received 8 sessions of 60–90-min stress-inoculation training. At the end of the intervention, both groups completed the research questionnaires immediately and after one month. The data was analyzed using SPSS25. The results showed a significant decrease in existential anxiety (p ≤ 0.001) and an increase in resilience (p ≤ 0.001) after stress-immunization training in the intervention group. During one month of follow-up, the results showed a significant decrease in existential anxiety (p ≤ 0.001), but no significant increase in resilience (p = 0.064). According to the results of this study, group training program for stress-inoculation has reduced the level of existential anxiety and resilience in cancer patients. Therefore, it is recommended that stress-inoculation training be considered in cancer patients. Trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20130812014333N100. Registered 2018-08-29, https://www.irct.ir/search/result?query=IRCT20130812014333N100 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, nano‐filtration membranes are made by the reaction between a reactive functional group on the surface of a tight ultrafiltration membrane and a charged branched polymer. This reaction makes the selective layer of the nanofiltration membrane, which plays an essential role in membrane performance. A molecular dynamics simulation with a reactive force field was used to investigate the reaction of carboxylated polyethersulfone as the functional group of the ultrafiltration membrane with polyethyleneimine. Experimental elucidation of the reaction between the PEI amine and carboxyl groups is challenging, and an MD simulation was thus employed. Furthermore, the simulation results show that the PEI and carboxylated polyethersulfone polymers react with each other in a temperature‐dependent manner. While no reaction occurs at 298 K, carboxylated polyethersulfone and PEI begin to react when the temperature is increased from 298 to 323 K. Furthermore, a reversible reaction was observed with a subsequent increase in temperature to 353 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of highly toxic solvents presents significant risks to both the environment and human health. Therefore, the adoption of green solvents will be crucial for achieving sustainable membrane production. This work reports the use of inexpensive environmentally friendly biobased and biodegradable cyclic carbonate solvents, namely ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), and butylene carbonate (BC), to fabricate polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. The solvent dependence of the phase inversion mechanisms, morphology, crystalline structures, and polymorphism of the prepared PVDF membranes were investigated. Polymorph analysis revealed that membrane fabrication in EC or PC yielded exclusively the β-phase product, whereas PVDF membrane fabrication in BC yielded a mixture of α and β phase material. The mechanism of β-phase formation was investigated using molecular dynamics simulation and shown to depend on the extent of hydrogen bonding at the polymer–solvent interface. The PVDF membrane formed in EC exhibited the highest porosity and pure water permeability, and was therefore tested in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), exhibiting promising results in terms of permeate flux and salt rejection. These results suggest that large-scale production of piezoelectric PVDF membranes using green solvents should be practically feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nursing education programs are designed to decrease the gap between theory and practice. It is believed that internship programs can decrease this gap. An internship program has newly been implemented in Kermanshah Nursing School. However, the efficiency of this program has not been assessed. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the challenges related to the internship education of nursing students. Methods: The study was conducted as qualitative research. The participants were eight nursing students who had at least one semester of experience in internship. They were selected through purposive sampling. Data gathering was done through semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and analyzed through a three-stage content analysis approach. For data management, MAXQDA-10 was used. Results: Out of the eight participants, three were male, and all were in the final year of their education. In total, 423 primary codes emerged after analyses, which were placed in seven categories, including: education before internship, lack of support, planning difficulties, interaction with staff, invisible evaluation, welfare defects, and professional identity. Conclusion: The study revealed the challenges of the internship program for nursing students in Iran. Some of the problems were related to educational background, others were associated with the shortcomings of the cultural aspects of the context. Therefore, it is recommended to optimize the clinical training of nursing students in the internship program by addressing these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rate of attempting suicide is growing due to the increasing social and economic problems and a variety of stresses taken by individuals in their lives. Helping people, boosting hope, and improving resilience to life hardships might be helpful in this area. This paper is an attempt to determine the effects of group reminiscence on hope and resilience in care-seekers who have attempted suicide. Method: The study was carried out as a quasi-experimental interventional study. The participants were 57 care-seekers with a history of attempting suicide who met the inclusion criteria. The sampling was done through convenience sampling and the participants were grouped into control (n = 29) and experimental (n = 28) groups randomly. The experimental group received integrated reminiscence sessions (eight sessions; 60–90 min). Hope and resilience of the subjects were measured using Schneider's Hope Scale and Connor and Davidson's Resilience Scale. The scales were filled out by the subjects before, immediately after, and 4 weeks after the intervention. Results: The mean scores of hope in the experimental and control groups were 34.60 and 38.04, respectively, before the intervention. These figures immediately after the intervention were 44.07 and 35.96 in the experimental and control groups, respectively. 4 weeks after the intervention, the mean scores of hope in the experimental and control groups were 44.39 and 35.79, respectively, which is a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). In terms of resilience, the mean scores in the experimental and control groups before the intervention were 48.17 and 57.51, respectively; and immediately after the intervention, these figures were 67.71 and 52.75, respectively. 4 weeks of the intervention, the mean scores of resilience were 59.17 and 52.24, respectively, which is a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Group reminiscence has a positive effect on boosting hope and resilience in care-seekers who have attempted suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, cationic (Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) substitution in X and Y faujasite zeolite structures and their effects on capacity of zeolites for methane adsorption were studied by applying multiple linear regression and expert adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) . Temperature, pressure, and molecular weight of cations were used as the input parameters. The results obtained from application of the proposed ANFIS model showed that at high pressures, the zeolite with smaller cation in their structure have higher methane adsorption capacity. The root-mean-square error, square correlation coefficient ( R ), mean absolute error, and percentage of mean absolute relative error for X and Y faujasite zeolites were evaluated, which indicated that ANFIS model can accurately predict the adsorption of methane gas on X and Y zeolites in the presence of the substituted cations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solubility of all proposed molecular models of asphaltene in various solvents is studied through molecular dynamics simulation to find the structural parameters which have a determining effect on asphaltene solubility. It is found that higher numbers of aromatic rings and heteroatoms such as oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur in the molecular structure of asphaltenes raises their solubility in the solvents, whereas the length of aliphatic group, which increases the chain length, lowers their solubility. In addition, a cubic correlation equation for evaluating the asphaltene solubility parameter as a ratio of number of aromatic rings in the asphaltene molecular core to the number of carbon atoms in the asphaltene side chains is proposed. The results indicate that the relative energy difference (RED) of asphaltene models and isopropyl benzene, as a solvent, is the lowest compared with other solvents. To elucidate the mechanism of asphaltene dissolution in the common solvents the solubility of two asphaltene structural models in three solvents, including isopropyl benzene, toluene, and heptane, were studied by evaluating the radial distribution functions (RDFs) of the asphaltenes, and the results confirm that asphaltene has the highest solubility in isopropyl benzene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adsorption isotherm of hydrogen in zeolites FAU, LTA, KFI, RWY, RHO and TSC has been simulated employing grand canonical Monte Carlo procedure for a temperature range of 77 to 95 K and different pressures. The effects of structural composition, unit cell volume, framework density and specific surface area of zeolite on hydrogen adsorption in zeolites were investigated. The results clearly show that the adsorption of hydrogen in zeolites with the same silica density is a function of oxygen density at low pressures, and it is approximately the same at intermediate pressures. Nevertheless, at high pressures, the adsorption of hydrogen is a function of pore diameter for zeolites with same silica density. The effect of specific surface area on the adsorption isotherm of hydrogen on zeolites with approximately the same specific surface area is significant at low and high pressures. The results clearly indicate that the adsorption of hydrogen in RWY zeolite has maximum value at 77 K and at high pressures. The optimum condition of pressure for hydrogen adsorption isotherm in RWY zeolite is determined to be 600 bar. At a temperature of 77 K and a pressure of 600 bar, the adsorption of hydrogen in RWY zeolite is 6.93 wt %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In addition to physical, mental, and social condition, ESRD and hemodialysis affect the quality of life of patients as well. Psychotherapy and non-pharmaceutical interventions are effective measures to add meaning to life, create a goal and motivation in life, and improve the quality of life in chronic patients. The effect of educational and supportive group therapy on the quality of life (QOL) of hemodialysis patients was examined. Methods: The study was carried out as an interventional quasi-experimental study with the participation of 64 patients who were selected through convenience sampling and based on the patient's hemodialysis days (Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday patients as an experimental group and Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday patients as a control group). There were 32 patients in each group. The experimental group received eight 50 min sessions including two sessions per week. The control group received the normal interventions. The participants were assessed using a demographics form and Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS (v.24). Results: The mean QOL scores of the experimental group before, immediately after, and 4 weeks after the intervention were 36.99, 43.3, and 44.9 respectively. Those of the control group were 36.39, 37.2, and 37.1 respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups before the intervention (P > 0.05); however, the difference between the two groups was significant immediately after and 4 weeks after the intervention (P = 0.0001). The trend of score change in the experimental group was also significant (p < 0.05), and Tukey ad-hoc test showed significant differences between the scores before intervention and those immediately after and 4 weeks after the intervention (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In general, educational and supportive group therapy can expand the interpersonal relationships of hemodialysis patients and positively affect their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]