Early marriage is a worldwide problem associated with a range of health and social consequences for teenage girls. Designing effective health interventions for managing early marriage needs to apply the community-based approaches. However, it has received less attention from policymakers and health researchers in Iran. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore determinants of early marriage from married girls' perspectives. The study was conducted from May 2013 to January 2015 in Ahvaz, Iran. A purposeful sampling method was used to select fifteen eligible participants. Data were collected through face-to-face, semistructured interviews and were analyzed using the conventional content analysis approach. Three categories emerged from the qualitative data including “family structure,” “Low autonomy in decision-making,” and “response to needs.” According to the results, although the participants were not ready to get married and intended to postpone their marriage, multiple factors such as individual and contextual factors propelled them to early marriage. Given that early marriage is a multifactorial problem, health care providers should consider a multidimensional approach to support and empower these vulnerable girls.

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In this study, taurine (2-aminoethane sulfonic acid), an amino acid found in large amounts in most mammalian tissues, was incorporated with poly (ε-caprolactone) and gelatin in order to develop a drug-loaded composite wound dressing material. The composite mats from poly (ε-caprolactone)/ gelatin (1:1 (w/w)) solution incorporated with 3%, 5%, and 10% (w/w) of taurine were produced by electrospinning. The electrospun mats were evaluated regarding their morphology, wettability, water uptake capacity, water vapor transmission rate, tensile strength, and cellular response with L929 cell line. The mat containing 5% of taurine was chosen as the optimum dressing for in vivo study on the full-thickness excisional wounds of Wistar rats. The results showed that after 2 weeks, the wounds treated with the taurine-loaded dressing achieved a significant closure to nearly 92% compared with the sterile gauze, as control, which showed nearly 68% of wound closure. The histological examination of the wounds revealed that the wounds treated with the taurine-loaded dressing had densely packed collagen fibers with parallel alignment. Whereas, the sterile gauze-treated wounds had loosely packed collagen fibers with an irregular arrangement. Our results provided evidence supporting the possible applicability of the taurine-loaded wound dressings for successful wound treatment.

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Domestic violence during pregnancy is a major health problem with significant psychological and physical impairments for pregnant women. To assess the relationship between domestic violence during pregnancy and women’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a cross-sectional study was conducted on 341 postnatal women who referred to urban health care centers in Gachsaran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Domestic violence was assessed using a questionnaire modified from the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS), and Iranian version of Short Form-36 questionnaire was used to assess women’s HRQoL. The findings of the study showed 44.5% of women reported experiencing domestic violence during pregnancy. All the SF-36 subscales including both physical and mental health dimensions scored lower in the abused women compared to the non-abused women, and differences between the groups in the six subscales of SF-36 except ‘physical functioning’ and ‘bodily pain’ were statistically significant (P<.05). These results suggest that domestic violence during pregnancy is associated with poor HRQoL in abused women.

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Background: During hypoxia, the increased production of reactive oxygen species occurs during the re-oxygenation phase of periodic continuous hypobaric hypoxia. Objectives: In this study, we surveyed the effect of supplementary flaxseed (Fx) on oxidative damage to the hippocampus of the hypoxic rat model. Methods: In this study, 24 adult Wistar rats were randomly divided and studied in four groups: (1) The control group with normal oxygen and food (Co.), (2) The sham group placed in a hypoxia chamber with normal oxygen and food (Sh.), (3) Hypoxia induction group with normal food (Hx), and (4) Hypoxia induction group with 10% Fx food (Hx + Fx). Both the Hx and Hx + Fx groups were kept in a hypoxic chamber for 30 days while the atmospheric pressure was reduced (oxygen 8%, nitrogen 92%) for four hours daily. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels were evaluated in the hippocampus region of the brain tissue. Neuronal damage was examined using histological studies. Blood samples were collected to measure interleukin-18 (IL-18). Results: A significant increase was recorded in the IL-18 level and hippocampal dark neurons of the CA1, CA2, CA3, and dentate gyrus (DG) areas in the Hx group as compared to Co. and Sh. groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, a significant decrease was noted in the dark neurons in the Hx + Fx group as compared to the Hx group (P < 0.05). A significant increase was observed in the TAC concentration in the Hx + Fx group in comparison with the Co., Sh., and Hx groups (P < 0.05), while a significant increase was observed in the MDA concentration in the Hx group as compared to the Co. and Sh. groups and a significant decrease in the Hx + Fx group as compared to the Hx group (P < 0.05). Conclusions:This study suggested that the consumption of flaxseed could be a useful strategy for preventing the harmful effect of hypoxia on the hippocampus of the rat brain.

Bakground and objective: Sleep disorder is among the most common problems in the life of postmenopausal women. Because of the complications of chemical drugs, many women prefer to use herbal supplements for relieving sleep problems. So, the main objective of this study was to determine the effect of the jujube seed capsule on sleep quality in postmenopausal women. Materials and methods: This study was a double-blind clinical trial conducted on 106 postmenopausal women in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. All participants were selected by a simple non-probability sampling method. Data were collected through a demographic data form and the Pittsburgh sleeps quality index (PSQI). Individuals were randomly divided into intervention (n ¼ 53) and control (n ¼ 53) groups. The intervention group received 250 mg oral jujube seed capsule and the control group received a placebo capsule twice a day for 21 days. After the treatment, the PSQI was completed in both intervention and control groups. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test and the Chi-square test using SPSS software version 24, and p-value < 0.05 was considered as the significance level. Results: The results revealed that after treatment, the mean scores of sleep quality decreased in the intervention and control group. Although this difference was statistically significant in both intervention and control groups (pvalue < 0.05), more reduction observed in the intervention group (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion: Consumption of the jujube seed capsule had a positive impact on improving the sleep quality of postmenopausal women and could be recommended as a useful herbal medication.