Search

Reducing wheat and bread loss and waste is crucial for ensuring global food security and sustainability. The importance of reducing wheat and bread loss is particularly significant in Iran, where wheat is a staple crop and a vital component of the country’s food security. A value stream mapping study was conducted to identify loss and waste hotspots and critical data gaps along the wheat and bread lifecycle (WBL). In October 2018, 14 experts were surveyed in Fars province, Iran’s second-largest wheat producer. The study presents a detailed cradle-to-grave overview of WBL and identifies farms, foodservice, and households as the loss and waste hotspots. The results revealed significant data gaps regarding on-farm wheat loss and household bread waste. Additionally, although data exist in other segments of WBL, they are not readily accessible nor utilized to report loss and waste, highlighting the need for transparency within the WBL system and further research to compile existing data and analyze wheat and bread loss and waste. Other researchers can employ the holistic approach of the present study to investigate loss and waste throughout the lifecycle of other food items in different geographical contexts. The methodology adopted in this study offers advantages for defining the scope of research in lifecycle assessment and circular economy studies.

Among the common methods of quantifying household food waste, direct measurement is regarded as infeasible due to its prohibitive costs, and self-assessment methods tend to underestimate the actual values. This paper aims to propose a methodological approach to reach a compromise between feasibility and accuracy. Bread was studied, since it is a relatable example. The self-assessment method was used to survey 419 households in Shiraz, Iran, during 2019 to estimate household bread waste (BW) and to identify waste-causing consumption recipes (WCCR). These WCCRs were replicated in the lab, and the resulting BW was measured. The underestimation in the self-assessment method was revealed by comparing the survey results with the lab measurements. The underestimation ratio (UR) ranged between 1.24 and 1.80. The pattern of difference between these four bread types was similar among the survey and lab data. In conclusion, the lab measurements may estimate BW caused by the WCCRs more accurately. This suggests that URs can be applied to correct the underestimation in self-assessment surveys. Such an approach could provide the basis for further research on the development of cost-effective methods to quantify waste across a variety of food commodities.

Background and Aim: Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder. There is a heightened risk when conducting potentially dangerous and unnecessary medical investigations and procedures in children with FAPS. The aim of this study was to survey the rate of the psychiatric disorders and family functioning in children and adolescents with FAPS. Methods: The subjects were a consecutive new sample of 45 children and adolescents with FAPS, 45 with an organic abdominal pain, and 45 pain-free comparison subjects aged 5-18 years that were interviewed using the Farsi version of K-SADS. Family functioning and the severity of pain were also studied. Results: About 51.1% of patients with FAPS suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder. Psychiatric disorders in the FAPS patients studied included general anxiety disorder (8.9%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (11.1%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (15.6%), separation anxiety disorder (24.4%), and major depressive disorder (15.6%). Except for generalized anxiety disorder and tic disorder, the other disorders were significantly more common in the FAPS group than in the two other control groups. Family functioning scores were not significantly different between groups. Discussion: There is a high rate of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with FAPS in Iran, but our study found fewer incidences of disorders than previous reports have indicated. Family dysfunction difficulties in FAPS children are not more common than those in the control groups.

Introduction Bipolar disorder is one of ten most debilitating diseases in the world, leading to a lessened quality of life amongst its sufferers. This randomised control trial demonstrates the effectiveness of psycho-education intervention along with a patient support system in the management of this disorder. Methodology In this trial, 108 patients, divided equally into two groups, were randomly assigned to receive either pharmacotherapy alone (control group) or psycho-education along with pharmacotherapy treatment (intervention group) for a two year period. Each individual patient in the “intervention” group received eight, fifty-minute sessions of psychological education, followed by monthly telephone follow-up care and psychological support in the subsequent 18 months. Each group was evaluated, once every 6 months for a period of 18 months, in the areas of “quality of life”, “symptoms of relapse”, “pharmacotherapy compliance” and “number of hospital admission for recurrence of bipolar disorder”. Result The result of this study indicates that patients in the “intervention” group had a statistically significant enhancement in medication compliance ( P = 0.008). Regarding every aspect of life quality, this group was at a better position than the “control” group ( P = 0.000). As to relapse and hospital admission, the “intervention” group reported much lower cases compared with the “control” group at a significance level of P = 0.000. Conclusion and discussion This research has demonstrated that in the psycho-education intervention group, there was a more significant improvement in all areas of quality of life, number of relapses, and hospitalization due to recurrence of bipolar disorder and medication compliance than it was evident in the control groups.

Background/Aims: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, and its definite etiology is still unclear. It has been shown that personality characteristics can affect the disease presentation and attitude of patient toward symptoms. This study was undertaken to evaluate the personality characteristics in patients with IBS in Shiraz, southern Iran. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, the personality characteristics of 60 patients with IBS and 55 healthy persons were compared using Minnesota II Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). The cases were selected from patients who were referred to the Mottahari clinic affiliated to the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Results: The patients recorded the highest scores on the hypochondriasis and psychoasthenia scales. The scores of the patient on the scales of lie, infrequency, hypochondriasis, depression and hysteria showed significant elevation in comparison to those of the control group. Furthermore, the scores on clinical scales in male subjects were higher for psychopathic-deviate, paranoia and social introversion scales in comparison to the males in the control group. Female subjects recorded lower scores on the social introversion scale in comparison to the females in the control group. Male subjects also recorded a higher score on the psychopathic-deviate, paranoia, psychoasthenia and social introversion scales in comparison to females. Female subjects had a relatively higher score on the masculinity/feminity scale. Based on the clinical interview using DMS-IV criteria, the most prevalent symptoms were anxiety and depression in patients with IBS. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with IBS, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy of these patients is recommended.