Governments may also use religious soft power in pursuit of national interests and objectives. This article focuses on the role of religious soft power in the foreign policy of three states – the United States of America, India and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The main concern is to assess religious actors’ contribution to the foreign policy environment and agenda in each country. The idea of ...

The prevalence of asthma was determined in a random sample of schoolchildren in Ahvaz city, southwest Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) protocol. The prevalence of ever wheeze and current wheeze was 11.1% and 7.4% among 1410 children aged 6-7 years (parent-reported) and 17.7% and 10.3% among 1450 children aged 13-14 years (self...

Outbreaks of Bacillus anthracis in animals are repeatedly reported in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study soil samples were analysed from endemic regions of the country, and B. anthracis isolates were identified by classical bacteriological and biochemical methods. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was also developed as an alternative for identification of isolates, and ...

-The aim of this research was to compare the ego strength of addicted and non addicted people. The sample size of 200 men (100 addicts+ 100 non addicts) living in Karaj and Tehran cities of Islamic Republic of Iran that was selected through the availability sampling. To collect data, a 52-item BESS (Barrons ego strength scale) questionnaire was used. Averages and t test were applied as statisti...

Concerns about traditional chemical pesticides has led to increasing research into novel mosquito control methods. This study compared the effectiveness of 2 different types of polystyrene beads for control of mosquito larvae in south-east Islamic Republic of Iran. Simulated field trials were done in artificial pools and field trials were carried out in 2 villages in an indigenous malaria area ...

A cluster random sample of 1073 students in the Islamic Republic of Iran (mean age 14.37 years) completed a self-report questionnaire consisting of an exercise measure, selected constructs of Pender's health promotion model and an assessment of stages of behaviour change in exercise. In multivariate discriminant analysis, exercise self-efficacy, perceived barriers to exercise, perceived benefit...

To compare the prevalence of positive autoantibodies in patients with thyroid disorders and healthy subjects in an iodine-replete area of the Islamic Republic of Iran, we studied 930 women in a clinic-based study: 698 patients (286 hypothyroid, 140 hyperthyroid, 272 with simple goitre) and 232 healthy women. Serum thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroid stimulating hormone, and anti-thyr...

This study determined the smoking rate in the urban population of Rafsanjan, Islamic Republic of Iran, in a random community sample of 491 adults (247 males and 244 females) aged > 20 years. The overall prevalence of current smoking (1+ cigarettes per day) was 24.2%; 38.5% in males and 9.8% in females. The mean number of cigarettes consumed per day was 12.1 [standard deviation (SD 8.6)]; 13.6 (...

Community-based initiatives (CBI) are based on integrated multisectoral socioeconomic development with community participation and intersectoral support to improve the health and quality of life of the people. During 2005-06 the World Health Organization supported an evaluation of CBI in the Islamic Republic of Iran by collecting information from intervention villages on social capital and othe...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been implicated in diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhagic colitis and uraemic haemolytic syndrome but is not routinely cultured in laboratories. We tested 322 samples from children referred with diarrhoea to a clinic in Zahedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. There were 21 sorbitol-negative E. coli isolated; serotyping revealed 4 strains positive for O157, out of which only ...