BackgroundBreast cancer ranks as the first most common cancer among the Iranian women. The regular repeat of mammography with 1–2 year intervals leads to the increased efficiency of early detection of breast cancer. The present study examined the predictors of repeat mammography. It was hypothesized that higher social support is connected with mammography repeat.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out among 400 women 50 years and older in Sanandaj, Iran. Data was collected by the questionnaire including information on socio demographical variables and measuring social support level. Data was analyzed by SPSS16 software. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the predictive power of demographic variables and dimensions of social support for repeat mammography.ResultsWomen aged 50–55 years had three times odds of repeat mammography compared to women aged 56–60 years) OR, 3.02). Married women had greater odds of repeat mammography compared to single women (P < 0.006). The probability of repeat mammography in women with higher social support was 0.93 times greater than the women with lower social support (OR, 0.93; 95 % CI, 0.91–0.95; P < 0.0001).ConclusionsIranian women are less likely repeat mammography than other Asian women. Identifying the associations between perceived social support and repeat mammography may offer detailed information to allow for future study and guide the development of interventions not only for Iranian women but also for similar cultural that received pay too little attention to date in the breast cancer literature.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

During the lifespan of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) system, some heterogeneities between the cells constituting the stack can appear. The voltage of one particular cell in a stack may decrease because of specific aging or local malfunctioning such as drying. As a result, more heat is generated in this cell leading to an increase in its temperature and thus an additional voltage loss. This snowball effect can result in the failure of the cell. Therefore, the lifetime of a PEMFC stack can be increased by applying energy management to its cells. Notable that the output voltage of a cell is lower than a stack. Hence, a high conversion ratio converter is necessary to implement such energy management. An efficient way to increase the output voltage is to connect the output capacitors of the converters such as the boosts in series. Ensuring the converters' controllability is a key point to implement energy management. In this paper, an equalizer system is proposed to ensure the controllability of the boost converters. The balancing speed and the low number of switches are the main advantages of this system. The validity of the proposed system is verified through simulation and experiments.

BackgroundSocial support can provide psychosocial benefits to promote positive health behaviors such as mammography screening. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Mammography Social Support (MSS) scale among Iranian woman.MethodsParticipants were selected from women referring to healthcare centers in Sanandaj, Iran. A total of 434 questionnaires were completed (response rate 91%). The study sample for study 1 included 204 participants for the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using a study sample of 230 women in study 2. The reliability coefficient for each scale was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha, corrected item-total correlations and test-retest respectively.ResultsCFA affirmed the three-factor structure of the MSS in measuring the functional dimensions of social support for mammography behavior consisting of 19 items. Initial results of the CFA did not fully support the proposed three-factor model. After the model was modified, the fit indices indicated, x2 was 2.3, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.96, Tucker- Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.95 providing a strong fit to the data. Cronbach’s alphas for the subscales ranged from 0.82 and 0.90, whereas the alpha for the overall scale was 0.91. The 2-week test-retest reliability of MSS was 0.95.ConclusionThis study provides evidence for the psychometric properties to support the Farsi version of the MSS when applied to Iranian women. Exploring the three-factor model in relation to related concepts is suggested for future studies.

No abstract