Effect of immediate and continuous mother–infant skin-to-skin contact on breastfeeding self-efficacy of primiparous women: A randomised control trial

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of mother–infant immediate skin-to-skin contact on primiparous mother's breastfeeding self-efficacy.Study designA randomised control trial.SettingsThe study was conducted in Omolbanin obstetrics hospital (large tertiary hospital), Mashhad, Iran.Participants114 18–35 year-old primiparous, Iranian, healthy and full term mothers who anticipated normal vaginal delivery and intended to breastfeed their babies.InterventionSkin-to-skin contact immediately after birth and then controlling breastfeeding self-efficacy at 28 days postpartum.Main outcome measureMaternal breastfeeding self-efficacy at 28 days postpartum and success in first breastfeeding and mean time of first breastfeeding initiation.ResultsA total of 92 mother–infant dyads (47 dyads in skin-to-skin care skin-to-skin contact group and 45 dyads in routine care group) were monitored and analysed. In skin-to-skin contact group, breastfeeding self-efficacy was 53.42 ± 8.57 SD as compared to 49.85 ± 5.50 SD in routine care group which is significantly higher in skin-to-skin contact group (p = 0.0003).Successful breastfeeding initiation rate was 56.6% in skin-to-skin contact group as compared to 35.6% in routine care group (p = 0.02).Time to initiate first feed was 21.98 ± 9.10 SD min in SSC group vs. 66.55 ± 20.76 min in routine care group (p < 0.001).ConclusionMother–infant immediate skin-to-skin contact is an easy and available method of enhancing maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. High breastfeeding self-efficacy increases exclusive breastfeeding duration.     

On asymptotic distribution of prediction in functional linear regression

There has been substantial recent attention on problems involving a functional linear regression model with scalar response. Among them, there have been few works dealing with asymptotic distribution of prediction in functional linear regression models. In recent literature, the centeral limit theorem for prediction has been discussed, but the proof and conditions under which the random bias terms for a fixed predictor converge to zero have been ignored so that the impact of these terms on the convergence of the prediction has not been well understood. Clarifying the proof and conditions under which the bias terms converge to zero, we show that the asymptotic distribution of the prediction is normal. Furthermore, we have derived those results related to other terms that already obtained by others, under milder conditions. Finally, we conduct a simulation study to investigate performance of the asymptotic distribution under various parameter settings.     

Approximate composite marginal likelihood inference in spatial generalized linear mixed models

Non-Gaussian spatial responses are usually modeled using spatial generalized linear mixed model with spatial random effects. The likelihood function of this model cannot usually be given in a closed form, thus the maximum likelihood approach is very challenging. There are numerical ways to maximize the likelihood function, such as Monte Carlo Expectation Maximization and Quadrature Pairwise Expectation Maximization algorithms. They can be applied but may in such cases be computationally very slow or even prohibitive. Gauss–Hermite quadrature approximation only suitable for low-dimensional latent variables and its accuracy depends on the number of quadrature points. Here, we propose a new approximate pairwise maximum likelihood method to the inference of the spatial generalized linear mixed model. This approximate method is fast and deterministic, using no sampling-based strategies. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated through two simulation examples and practical aspects are investigated through a case study on a rainfall data set.     

Do Work Demands and Resources Predict Work-to-Family Conflict and Facilitation? A Study of Iranian Male Employees

This study examined the effects of some work demands-resources on two dimensions of work-to-family interface among Iranian employees. The results of canonical correlation and multiple-regression showed that among work resources (i.e., social support and autonomy), social support was associated negatively with work-to-family conflict and autonomy was associated positively with work-to-family facilitation. Also, among work demands (i.e., job demands and working hours), job demands were associated with both work-to-family conflict and work-to-family facilitation. Unlike previous studies, working hours shows a positive association with work-to-family facilitation, which may be explained by the specific cultural context in Iran. The findings of the study will be of importance to employees and organizations.

Note From Iran: Self-Reported Elder Abuse in Qazvin, 2012

This brief report provides a first look at self-reported instances of elder abuse by a sample of people 60 years and older living in Qazvin, Iran. Six hundred community-dwelling persons, drawn from the registry files of each health center in Qazin, completed questionnaires during April to October 2012. At least 80% of the participants reported experiencing some form of psychological abuse, financial abuse, and/or neglect at least once during a 2-month period. Physical and sexual abuse were rarely reported. Despite a strong Iranian cultural emphasis on respect for elders, the self-reporting of elder abuse, especially psychological abuse, is greater than our expectation. We recommend that health-related policies and programs begin to identify elder abuse and neglect as a first step in prevention.     

Limits of Social Capital for Refugee Integration: The Case of Gay Iranian Male Refugees' Integration in Canada

Each year thousands of refugees, including racialized LGBT refugees, are resettled in Canada. Currently, economic independence is the foremost policy goal in integrating Canada's refugees. This policy often relies on social capital as a non-economic solution to integration. I draw on 35 multi-sequential interviews with 19 gay Iranian men to connect the empirical and theoretical debates around refugee integration and argue that over-reliance on refugees' deployment of social capital for integration has grave shortcomings for their senses of belonging. I suggest that examining racialized LGBT refugees' integration strategies best reveals communitarian social capital's flaws at the conjunction of sexuality, gender, race, and class. I draw on Bourdieu's writings on social capital to highlight internal group differences, social inequalities, and the vital convertibility between financial, social, and cultural capital in building transferrable resources for refugee integration. I conclude by urging policy-oriented studies of social capital.     

Bayesian spatial regression models with closed skew normal correlated errors and missing observations

This paper is concerned with Bayesian estimation of a spatial regression model with skew non-Gaussian errors. The regression parameters are estimated by using a closed skew normal (CSN) distribution, which is closed under conditioning and linear combination. The proposed model captures skewness in the response variable. Sometimes, we may encounter missing observations in the response variable, accordingly we model and predict the missing observations by a Bayesian approach using Gibbs sampling methods. Next, a simulation study is performed to asses our model validity. Also, the proposed model in this work is applied to CO data from Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Then, the accuracy of the CSN and Gaussian models is compared by cross validation criterion.     

Hamjensgara belongs to family; exclusion and inclusion of male homosexuality in relation to family structure in Iran

This paper looks at current struggles of Iranian gay men to form new sexual identities that are directly tied to family structure and based on values of emotional bond and commitment to a same-sex partner. Based on fieldwork conducted among Iranian gay men in 2012–2014 and through looking at Iranian gay men’s terminologies, Hamjensgara and Gay in particular, I will clarify how Iranian gays, in a way different from that of Western LGBT activists, are trying to portray a positive image of their sexuality in relation to local family standards so they can be integrated into the Iranian family structure, which is the central space of regulating identities in Iran.     

Long-term effects of back extensor strengthening exercises on quality of life in women with osteoporosis

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effect of back extensor strengthening exercises on health-related quality of life (QOL) in women with osteoporosis. In this randomized clinical trial, 183 women with osteoporosis were treated with pharmacotherapy and weight-bearing and balance-training exercises. The case group additionally performed back extensor exercises at home. Patients filled out the Persian version of the Short Form (SF-36) QOL questionnaire at baseline and 6 months post treatment. At the end, all physical and mental parameters of the SF-36 questionnaire improved significantly in the case group, except for one subscale of mental health, compared to the control group. In the control group, only some physical health dimensions (bodily pain, role limitation, physical function, vitality), and mental health status as a mental health subscale improved. In conclusion, considering a major impact of back extensor exercises on improving QOL in women with osteoporosis over the long term, these exercises should be prescribed in routine management of these patients.