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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Transferring a premature infant from the hospital to home is a burden for the family. One of the most important goals of the health system is to facilitate the transition of the infant. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the presence of a support nurse on the safe transition of premature infants from the hospital to home. METHODS: This clinical trial was performed in the presence of 60 mothers of premature and very premature infants (26-35 weeks) discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital in Isfahan (2018). Mothers were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. Data collection was done through a questionnaire and a researcher-made checklist. The intervention included the presence of a support nurse from the time of discharge, who accompanied them along the way, and stayed at their home for 1 to 3 hours. The nurse supported the family by training and performing the required care. The effect of the nurse s presence on the variables of home environment, infant health status and safe transition conditions was evaluated and compared. FINDINGS: Based on the results of the study, the mean score of home environment (87.73±10.45) and the mean score of safe transition (83.79±17.90) in the control group were higher more than the intervention group (81.45±16.49 and 80.77±16.52, respectively). The mean score of infant health status was the same in the two groups. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that mothers were well empowered in intensive care units and discharge instructions have been able to provide safe transition for premature infants.

Background: Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral abnormalities. This study aimed to perform a comprehensive review of the literature on CdLS and investigate two cases of CdLS with distinct phenotypes that underwent WES to aid in their diagnosis., Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on CdLS along with performing whole-exome sequencing on two CdLS patients with distinct phenotypes, followed by Sanger sequencing validation and in-silico analysis., Results: The first case exhibited a classic CdLS phenotype, but the initial WES analysis of blood-derived DNA failed to identify any mutations in CdLS-related genes. However, a subsequent WES analysis of skin-derived DNA revealed a novel heterozygous mutation in the NIPBL gene (NM_133433.4:c.6534_6535del, p.Met2178Ilefs*8). The second case was presented with a non-classic CdLS phenotype, and WES analysis of blood-derived DNA identified a heterozygous missense variant in the SMC1A gene (NM_006306.4:c.2320G>A, p.Asp774Asn)., Conclusions: The study shows the importance of considering mosaicism in classic CdLS cases and the value of WES for identifying genetic defects. These findings contribute to our understanding of CdLS genetics and underscore the need for comprehensive genetic testing to enhance the diagnosis and management of CdLS patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Promoting self-care can be an effective way to decrease the rate of transmission and expansion of the infection. However, there seem to be different related factors to self-care by gender. This study aims to assess women's self-care for COVID-19 prevention and some related factors in Tehran-Iran in 2021. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that was performed on 403 women living in Tehran in 2021. Subjects of the study were recruited using a multi-stage sampling method. Data was collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire as well as a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess women's self-care for COVID-19 prevention (SCVP-38). The questionnaires were sent on the Google platform to the eligible participants. After completion of the forms, the created data in the Excel software in Google Drive were converted to SPSS 24 and then analyzed by using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression tests. The overall mean score of self-care was 71.84±17.81 percent. The highest and lowest scores were respectively related to using masks in public vehicles and not touching the face. Significant negative correlations were shown between the women's self-care on Corona prevention with stress, anxiety, concerns, and fear (P<0.001). Linear multiple regression showed two factors including women's age (p = 0.033) and their number of children (p = 0.042) predict the self-care, so that, for increasing each year to women's age, SCVP increases by 0.463 units, and with increasing each child, SCVP decreases by 3.608 units. We concluded that in the COVID-19 pandemic, women in Tehran are performing more than 70% of measures of self-care. Also, education about self-care is recommended for younger women with more children. Moreover, promoting the self-care program can improve women's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Nazarpour et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Along with a global increase in the prevalence of infectious and non-communicable diseases, self-care with an emphasis on reproductive health Self-care has received special attention. Given the importance of women's health, assessment of their self-care status using a valid and reliable tool seems to be necessary to determine the needs for future women's reproductive health promotion interventions. The present study aimed to assess the women's self-care at reproductive age in Tehran, to determine women's health needs based on global guidelines for women's health., Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 1051 women of reproductive age, living in Tehran. The Subjects were recruited using a multi-stage sampling method. The women completed a socio-demographic and valid and reliable questionnaire to assess their self-care status. The data were analyzed using SPSS 24 and by Pearson, Spearman, ANOVA, and regression tests., Results: The mean score of self-care was 49.57 ± 23.50% in the reproductive-aged women. The lowest scores were related to psychosocial health (32.12 ± 29.93%) and reproductive-sexual health (49.74 ± 27.99%) respectively. There were significant positive correlations between the self-care and women's education level (r = 0.180; p < 0.01), and husband's education level (r = 0.272; p < 0.01), while there was a negative significant correlation between the self-care and the family size (r = - 0.135; p < 0.01)., Conclusion: The findings showed inadequate self-care among reproductive-aged women in Tehran. The most important challenge in their self-care behaviors was related to psychosocial and reproductive-sexual health. It seems to provide a package for promoting women's self-care in four areas of physical, psychosocial, reproductive-sexual health, and screening tests, with an emphasis on the first two priorities, namely psychosocial and reproductive health necessary in Tehran., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Women need special care during and after menopause. Due to the emphasis of the World Health Organization on promoting self-care in postmenopausal women, this study aims to analyze the situation and prioritize the self-care needs of postmenopausal women in the Tehran-Iran., Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study on 486 postmenopausal women aged 46-85 years living in Tehran in 2021. The Subjects were recruited using a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected using a socio-demographic and a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess postmenopausal women's self-care status with four domains including physical health, psychosocial health, reproductive-sexual health, and screening tests. The data were analyzed by SPSS-24., Results: The mean age of the participants was 62.58 ± 7.75 years. The mean score of self-care was 44.63 ± 21.64% in the postmenopausal women. The lowest score and highest scores were related to psychosocial health (25.12 ± 28.21%) and periodic tests (50.62 ± 24.40%) respectively. There were significant positive correlations between self-care with women's education level (r = 0.277; p < 0.001), husband's education level (r = 0.258; p < 0.001), as well as monthly income (r = 0.153; p = 0.001). There was a negative correlation between self-care with the number of children (r = - 0.215; p < 0.001). The level of self-care was higher in employed women (p = 0.001) and also, in women whose husbands were employed (p = 0.012). Multiple linear regression test showed the level of education of the husband (B = 2.72, p = 0.038) and the family size (B = -1.54, p = 0.023) are predictors of the self-care of postmenopausal women., Conclusion: The findings showed more than 55% of challenges in the self-care behaviors of postmenopausal women in Tehran. The most and least challenging self-care behaviors were related to psychosocial health and performing periodic tests. The priorities were in psychosocial health and reproductive-sexual health dimensions. Self-care promotion is necessary, especially in postmenopausal women, who need special care due to various physical, psychological, and social changes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) stimulate alveolar bone loss in chronic periodontitis., Objective: To evaluate the salivary and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) levels of MMP-8 in patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis., Methods: 42 participants were divided into two groups: a case group (21 patients with generalized moderate to severe chronic periodontitis) and a control group (21 healthy periodontal subjects). GCF and saliva samples were obtained from both groups. Salivary and GCF MMP-8 levels of each subject were detected using the ELISA method., Results: Mean±SD values of salivary MMP-8 levels of the control and case groups were 1.52 ± 0.65 ng/ml and 6.06 ± 1.18 ng/ml, respectively, and statistically significant difference was observed (p=0.0001). Also, mean±SD values of GCF MMP-8 levels of the control and case groups were 0.87 ± 0.26 ng/ml and 2.92 ± 0.64 ng/ml, respectively; which was statistically significant (p=0.0001)., Conclusion: Our results demonstrate an increased concentration of salivary and GCF levels of MMP-8 in the patient group.

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common health problem in developing countries. Basic knowledge about etiology and pathogenesis of ECC plays an important role in its prevention., Objective: To determine the relationship between salivary TLR-2 concentration and early childhood caries formation., Methods: Twenty-Eight children with ages ranging from 36 to 71 months (15 in ECC group and 13 in caries free group) were chosen based on inclusion criteria. Their saliva was aspirated in the volumes of 1-2 ml. Resampling was done for 8 subjects of ECC group 3 months after dental restoration. TLR-2 concentration was measured using ELISA., Results: Mean concentrations of TLR-2 in ECC and caries free group were 2.12 and 1.42 ng/ml, respectively. The difference between concentrations was statistically significant (p=0.008). Three months after treatment in 8 ECC, the mean concentration of TLR-2 (0.925 ng/ml) significantly decreased compared to the original concentration in ECC (p<0.001) and caries free groups (p<0.001)., Conclusion: Elevated concentration of TLR-2 in ECC group compared to caries free group and its decrease after treatment point to the participation of innate immune system and specially TLR-2 in the pathogenesis of early childhood caries.