International Journal of Health Studies (IJHS - Shahroud University of Medical Sciences)
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The Quality of Websites Related to Hypertension in Iranian Internet Space
Get PDFBackground: Today physicians and other health-related service providers are trying to provide information and training through cyberspace to their patients. The aim of the present study was to determine the quality of the Persian websites related to hypertension.Methods: To identify Persian hypertension related websites in a descriptive cross-sectional study, we started our search in cyberspace using the key words. The keywords that were used are the same as the words that patients or their families use to obtain information about hypertension. The First 50 Google and Yahoo search results, all related links and related websites are listed in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education were examined. Then, the quality of these sites were evaluated based on the scale of Discern and Silberg instruments.Results: As a result, a total of 281 websites were retrieved. Analysis revealed that 62(22%) of these unique websites contained information relevant to hypertension. Seventy nine percent of health related websites had academic or governmental origin, however, only 9% of these websites contained information relevant to hypertension. “Heart center belonging to Tehran University of Medical Sciences” was ranked first based on the Silberg and DISCERN instruments, with scors 7 (from total 9) and 55 (from total 80), respectively.Conclusions: This study showed that, according to the data collecgted and analyzed via Silberg and DISCERN instruments, the quality of Persian websites related to HTN is “low”. According to evidence-based medicine, despite so many barriers to the internet information reaching its necessary to expand health-related Web sites
Occupational Exposure to Blood and other Bodily Fluids among Laboratory Technicians: An Underestimated Risk Factor
Get PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate risk of Needle stick and Sharp Injuries (NSI) and exposure to blood borne pathogens, among laboratory technicians.Methods: 213 self-reporting questionnaires were distributed among the laboratory technicians who were working at three educational hospitals in Tehran. A total of 193 laboratory personnel completed the questionnaire. Results: 69.9% of participants were females. 94 (43.5%) of participants had a history of needle stick injury and 70 (36.3%) had splash injury during their work life. The prevalence of one year (last year) exposure was 25.4% and 17.1% respectively. In 58 out of 94 cases, recapping was the mechanism of injury. 151 laboratory personnel (78.2%) had been immunized against Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). 79.8% of the laboratory personnel usually eat, drink or smoke at workplace. 175 (91%) of the study sample used personal protective equipment such as glove in laboratory environment. Conclusions: In this study, a high frequency of NSI and splash were observed among laboratory technicians in the research context, which was not related to some variables such as age, sex, duration of employment, the HBV vaccination status, participating in workshop of education and training for injury prevention
Unwanted Pregnancy and Its Influencing Factors in the North East of Iran
Get PDFBackground: Unwanted pregnancies and their complications are one of the major problems facing women in the world. This study aimed to determine the factors that affect unwanted pregnancy in the population covered by the Shahroud University of Medical Sciences in 2013.Methods: In this case-control study, 116 cases and 251 controls were randomly selected from those who referred to health care centers and they were studied. The data were analyzed using Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results: The mean age of the participants was 27.6±5.8 years and the average age of husbands was 31.8 ± 6.2 years. Average number of parity was 1.2 ± 1.2 and the number of children born alive was 1.2 ± 1.1 and the average distance between the last and the current pregnancy (interval birth) was 32.4 ± 37.7 months. Multivariate analysis of the data from the final model of the study showed that the use of non-secure methods of pregnancy prevention, rural residence, low education of the mother and the age of the last living child were the main risk factors of unwanted pregnancies (P <0.05).Conclusions: Encouraging qualified women to make use of reliable contraceptive methods specially more permanent methods and encouraging them to get the contraceptive devices from health care units with emphasis on proper training and regular retraining of clients, paying more attention to awareness raising of women in rural areas, and having appropriate birth spacing can be effective in reducing unwanted pregnancies
Prediction of Methane Fraction in Biogas from Landfill Bioreactors by Neural Network Modeling
Get PDFBackground: Predicting the methane percentage of biogas is necessary for selecting the optimized technologies of using landfill biogas for energy. The aim of this study was to predict of methane fraction in biogas from landfill bioreactors by Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling.Methods: In this study, two different systems were applied to predict the methane fraction in landfill gas as a final product of anaerobic digestion, in system I (C1), the leachate generated from a fresh-waste reactor was drained to recirculation tank, and recycled. In System II (C2), the leachate generated from a fresh waste landfill reactor was fed through a well-decomposed refuse landfill reactor, and at the same time, the leachate generated from a well-decomposed refuse landfill reactor recycled to a fresh waste landfill reactor. We monitored the systems for 6 months, after which we modeled the methane fraction in landfill gas from the bioreactors using artificial neural networks. The leachate specifications were used as input parameters. Leachate samples were collected every 7 days from effluent port of each reactor. COD and NH4 were determined according to the Standard Methods (2005). The pH value was measured by a portable digital pH meter (Salemab, Iran). Results: There is very good agreement in the trends between predicted and measured data. R values are 0.991 and 0.993, and the obtained mean square error values are 1.046 and 2.117 for training and test data, respectively. Conclusions: ANN based approaches can be considered as a compromising approach in landfill gas prediction problem and can be used to optimize the dimensions of a plant using biogas for energy (i.e. heat and/or electricity) recovery and monitoring system.
Quality of Services in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers in Shahroud, Iran
Get PDFBackground: Standard cares in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers (SATC) have an important role in treatment success achievement. Patients’ views will provide valuable information to improve the performance of these centers. The purpose of current study was to determine patients’ comments on quality of addiction treatment at SATCs.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013. The study population consisted of addicted patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in SATCs of Shahroud. Using stratified sampling method, a total of 250 individuals were randomly selected from the SATCs. The SERVQUAL service quality model was used to measure service quality in five dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Using paired samples t-test the gap between patients’ expectations of a service offering and the patients’ perceptions of the service received was analyzed by 5-dimensional structure of service qualityResults: Overall, the score of patients’ expectations of service quality (4.45±0.67) was higher than that of their perceptions (4.24±0.0.76). For the dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, the mean difference between patients’ perceptions and expectations of the quality of addiction treatment services was -0.34, -0.17, -0.19, -0.14, and -0.24 respectively. All differences were statistically significant.Conclusions: Although the mean score of patients’ perceptions was good, the patients were not satisfied with the quality of addiction treatment services in the SATCs at Shahroud. The results showed that there is a gap between the current state and the desired state in terms of service quality in SATCs and this gap can be reduced by proper planning, management and training
Investigation of Cadmium Toxicity in Mice Spleen Cells
Get PDFBackground: Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal which is widely spread in our surroundings and has a very strong ability to accumulate in the body organs such as spleen. In this study we aimed to determine the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effects on mice spleen treated with cadmium.Methods: Thirty male mice were enrolled in this study and kept in standard conditions. Mice were randomly divided into2 experimental groups (control and treatment). The treatment group was exposed to Cd intraperitoneally (i.p) (300µm/kg) at different time intervals (0, 6, 12, 24, 48 hrs). Twenty four hours after the last exposer mice were killed and the spleen was removed, then for studying cytotoxicity, oxidative stress markers namely malondialdehide (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were assayed on homogenized spleen, and comet assay was applied on isolated spleen cells for genotoxicity & DNA damage studies. Statistical analyses (T-test and ANOVA) were performed using SPSS 15 software. Results: The concentration of MDA and GSH in control group spleen cells were 278.01±35.30 nmol/g.pr and 16.61±4.89 µmol/g.pr and for Cd- treated spleen cells were 612.24±32.87 nmol/g.pr and 32.52±4.22 µmol/g.pr, respectively which were statistically significant (P<0.003). In addition, SOD activity in control and Cd exposed spleen cells were 69.75±3.12 and 226.91±3.40 U/mg.pr (P<0.001). The comet assay include content comet length, tail length and head diameter showed DNA breakage in treated group which was not observed in the control group. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that Cd has the ability to induce genotoxicity in spleen cells. Moreover, our results show that it is plausible to expect Cd induced -cytotoxicity in spleen cells
Assessment of the Effect of Human and Industrial Activities on Groundwater within the City of Khoy
Get PDFBackground: The present paper aims to study the effect of human and urban activities on the quality of groundwater within the city of Khoy in terms of heavy metals, chemical salts, and minerals from the geological formations of this region. Methods: Samples were provided from 32 pumping wells and the concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn, Fe, As, and B), the main ions (HCO3 ,SO42- ,Cl-, Mg2+,Ca2+, Na+), and NO3- were measured. In addition, TDS, EC, TH, and pH were recorded. For this purpose, graphite furnace atomic absorption, titration, and potentiometric methods were used. The obtained concentrations and values were compared with the approved standards for drinking water and agricultural water.Results: Concentration of most minerals, trace elements, and major ions showed dramatic increase in groundwater of eastern region of Khoy. Thematic maps produced using GIS on concentrations of heavy metals and major ions showed that the concentration of trace elements such as lead, chromium, and manganese and also sulfate and nitrate within the city of Khoy is higher than the western region of Khoy, which would be due to pollution caused by urban wastewater.Conclusions: Unfortunately, due to the lack of correct and principled development of sewage discharge system, especially in industrial and critical areas and discharge of domestic and industrial wastewater into the absorbent wells, the risk of groundwater contamination is strongly felt in the city of Khoy
Effect of Diesel Oil Vapor Inhalation on Liver Function in Male Rat
Get PDFBackground: Studies show that there is association between air pollution and disturbances on normal function of various systems of body. The main aim of this study was to determine the effects of diesel oil vapor inhalation on serum creatine, alkaline phosphatase, SGOT and SGPT levels as indices of liver function in male rats.Methods: Thirty two rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control and three treatment groups that exposed to diesel oil vapor for 1 hour/day, for 2 hours/day and for 3 hours/day. After a period of 6 weeks, blood samples were collected and investigated. Serum level of alkaline phosphatase, creatine, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) were measured by spectrophotometry method. Results: Our findings indicated that there was no significant difference between serum alkaline level of control and experimental rats. Serum creatine level was significantly increased in rats exposed to diesel oil for 1hour/day, 2h/day and 3h/day (P<0.001, P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). Also, SGOT was significantly decreased in rats exposed to diesel oil for 2h/day and 3h/day (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). SGPT was non-significantly decreased in rats exposed to diesel oil vapor compared with control animals. Conclusions: We have shown that exposure to diesel oil vapor can bring about enhanced kinase level, decreased SGPT level indicating the health risk caused by exposure to diesel oil inhalation, in particular, to liver