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Background: In various cancers, Ganoderic Acid A (GAA), an active triterpenoid derived from Ganoderma Background: Thalassemia refers to a category of inherited disorders resulting from defects in synthesizing one or several chains of hemoglobin (Hb). The present study aimed to determine the frequency of alpha and betathalassemia mutations in Kurdistan province, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the laboratory data of 340 patients with thalassemia (170 females and 170 males), who were candidates for genetic testing in Kurdistan province, were examined over ten years (2006-2016). The participants were Kurd couples selected from the premarital health screening program. Results: In this demographic study, 20 beta mutations and nine alpha mutations were identified. Among the beta-thalassemia mutations, intervening sequence or intron No. 2-first nucleotide change as splice site mutation (IVS-II-1) (26.1%), codons 8/9 (14.8%), and intervening sequence or intron No. 1-first nucleotide (IVS-I-1) (12.2%) change as splice site mutation), had the highest frequency rates, respectively, constituting 53% of the beta mutations. In addition, a3.7(82.7%), -a4.2(8.3%), and--MED (Mediterranean deletion) (3.75%) were the most frequent alpha mutations, which constituted more than 90% of the alpha mutations. Conclusion: According to the results, the most frequent mutations in the HBB gene are IVS-II-1, Codons 8/9, and IVS-I-1, and in the HBA gene are α3.7, -α4.2, and -MED in Kurdistan province. In addition, the role of race and ethnicity as significant, influential factors in thalassemia was observable in the findings. The obtained results also indicated the communication pattern between the studied region's populations. Identifying common thalassemia mutations in an area could greatly benefit the early detection of thalassemia carriers in genetic laboratories and enhance thalassemia prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Dysfunctional families suffer from poor communication, negative relationships, and countless conflicts. Achieving goals is challenging in such families and requires significant energy. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and integrated behavioral couples therapy (IBCT) in improving intimacy and family functioning in divorce-seeking couples in Bushehr City, Iran in 2020. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The study population consisted of all married couples applying for a divorce in Bushehr City, Iran. A total of 45 couples were selected as the sample through convenience sampling and were randomly and equally assigned to three groups. The research instruments included, Walker and Thompson intimacy scale, and the McMaster family assessment device. The data were statistically analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance via SPSS software. The Bonferroni post hoc test was used to determine the mean difference between the groups. Results: The results showed a significant difference between ACT and IBCT groups with the control group in the posttest scores for intimacy and family functioning (P<0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference between ACT and IBCT in improving intimacy and family functioning in divorce-seeking couples. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, both ACT and IBCT can be used for improving intimacy and family functioning between divorce-seeking couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diabetes is a disease of high prevalence and imposes high costs on people. Therefore, it is important to study the non-invasive and effective therapeutic methods with low side effects in the prediabetes stage that could be accepted by the individuals. With this background in mind, the present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the training, which is based on the Islamic lifestyle model on fasting blood sugar (FBS) and glycosylated hemoglobin in people with prediabetes in Lamerd, Iran Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on 76 subjects with prediabetes who had FBS of 100-125 mg/dL or glycosylated hemoglobin of 5.7-6.4%. The participants were selected through purposive sampling method from Lamerd, Iran and were randomly divided into two groups of 38. The intervention included four sessions of Islamic lifestyle training provided based on the Kaviani lifestyle model. The FBS and glycosylated hemoglobin levels were measured prior to and three months post-intervention in both groups. All the data were analyzed by Chi-square, independent t-test, paired t-test, and Mann-Whitney using the SPSS software version 19. Results: The mean age of the experiment and control groups was 52.89±12.98 and 47.34±11.71 years, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age and gender (P>0.05). The difference between the mean FBS of pretest and post-test was statistically significant (P<0.001). Moreover, the glycosylated hemoglobin was significantly different between the test and control groups (P<0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the FBS and glycosylated hemoglobin reduced significantly after educating the Islamic lifestyle to the subjects with prediabetes. Consequently, in order to prevent diabetes, planning for health approaches aimed to define the culture- and religionbased lifestyle is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]