Ardabil University of Medical Sciences
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Hospital Occupational Safety and Health Risk Assessment
Full text linkBackground: Safety in hospitals is highly important for economic, human, and ethical viewpoints. Risk management in hospitals is a measure to lower the risk and frequency of preventable accidents.
Aim: To assess occupational safety and health risks in educational hospitals using the HOSHRA index in 2019.
Methods: The study was carried out using a cross-sectional method in 24 wards of four Ardabil-based educational hospitals in 2019. The data were collected using the HOSHRA checklist and analyzed using the recommended formulas.
Results: The highest obtained score in the physical factors field was for radiation subgroup and the lowest score was for chemical factors. The scores of chemical, ergonomic, psychological, physical, and biological hazards were at moderate level.
Conclusion: The highest level of safety level in the hospitals under study was in the physical factors field and in radiation subgroup and the lowest safety level was with chemical hazards. The assessment of chemical, ergonomic, psychological, physical, and biological risks showed that the risk level was not acceptable and further modifications were needed in the future
Synthesis and antileishmanial effect of a few cyclic and non-cyclic n-aryl enamino amide derivatives
Full text linkBackground and purpose: The prevalence of leishmaniasis is reported in more than 98 countries and Iran is
one of the endemic areas. There is no vaccine for this disease and few effective drugs are available to treat it.
Moreover, drug resistance to the disease is increasing. During the past decade, several in vitro and in vivo
studies have been performed on dihydropyrimidine derivatives as antileishmanial agents.
Experimental approach: In the present project, a few 6-methyl-4-aryl-N-aryl dihydropyrimidinone/thiones
(A7-A11) and N-heteroaryl-3-(para-methoxy benzyl) amino but-enamides (A1-A6) were synthesized,
structurally characterized, and finally subjected to in vitro anti-leishmanial effect against Leishmania major
promastigotes.
Findings / Results: Results of the study showed that compound A10, 4-(3-chlorophenyl)-6-methyl-N-phenyl-
2-thioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxamide, exhibited superior anti-leishmanial effect with IC50
value of 52.67 μg/mL (more active than standard drug Glucantim® with IC50 71000 ± 390 μg/mL).
Conclusion and implications: It was demonstrated that some dihydropyrimidine thiones were able to inhibit
Leishmania major promastigotes. Structure-activity relationship evaluations indicated that more electron-poor
rings such as isoxazole afforded higher activity within A1-A6 series and in these derivatives, N-benzothiazole
rings reinforced anti-leishmanial activity concerning thiazole. It was also observed that higher anti-parasite
activities of A10 and A11 concerning A7-A9 might be related to the incorporation of the sulfur atom into C2
position, replacement of N-thiazole carboxamide by N-phenyl carboxamide on C5 position of
dihydropyrimidine ring, and also replacement of para with meta-substituted phenyls within C4 of
dihydropyrimidine ring. The results may help unveil new 4-aryl-5-carboxamide dihydropyrimidines as
potential anti-leishmanial agents and their further structural modification toward more potent derivatives
Case report: a report of a rare case tumoral calcinosis syndrome in a patient afflicted with psoriatic arthritis
No full textSummary
In this report, we describe the case in which tumoral calcinosis occurs in a patient afflicted with psoriatic arthritis.
Introduction
Tumoral calcinosis is a benign disease which occurs quite rarely. It is similar to a neoplasm and appears as the result of calcium deposition in the soft tissues around large joints. This disease can develop as a primary or secondary disease in patients.
Case report
In this report, the authors describe the case in which tumoral calcinosis occurs in a female afflicted with psoriatic arthritis. We review the patient’s clinical and para clinical findings.
Conclusions
Our report is the first one in which an Iranian patient with psoriatic arthritis has been diagnosed to have tumoral calcinosis. Imaging and pathological examinations are the common diagnostic methods. The main treatment for that is tumor resection
Association between serum zinc and copper levels in HTLV-1 infected subjects
No full textHuman T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infects T lymphocytes and is found intracellular. Khorasan Razavi province in Iran is one of the regions where a high prevalence of HTLV infection has been reported between 2 to 3%. The virus can play a role in causing some inflammatory diseases.
Zinc is one of the most important trace elements in the cells that is involved in many hemostatic mechanisms of the body, including the regulation of the immune system. Copper is also a rare and essential element for the body, which in some studies has been shown to be essential for T cell proliferation and secretion of interleukin-2. Since HTLV-1 infection affects the immune system and zinc and copper play a role in regulating the body's immunity. In this study, we investigated the relationship between HTLV-1 infection and serum zinc and copper levels.
Methods & Materials: This study was performed on serum samples of 264 people infected with HTLV-1and serum samples of 266 people who were negative for HTLV-1 infection as a control group. Serum levels of copper and zinc in serum samples were measured by atomic absorption method. The relationship between serum copper and zinc levels and infection with this virus as well as demographic information of patients was investigated.
Results: The mean age of the subjects in the HTLV-1 positive group was 49.01 years and in the control group was 48.41 years. In this study, a statistically significant relationship was observed in copper level (P-value = 0.004) and also in copper to zinc ratio (P-value <0.001) between HTLV-1 positive subjects and control group, but no significant relationship was observed in age, gender, and employment, education, marital status, and body mass index. Also, no significant relationship was observed at the zinc level between the HTLV-1 positive subjects and control group.
Conclusion: In this study, the amount of zinc in the both of HTLV-1 positive subjects and control group did not show a statistically significant difference, but the copper level and the ratio of copper to zinc in the HTLV-1 group were statistically significant compared to the control group. There was a statistically significant difference between zinc levels in men and women in both groups, which was higher in the HTLV-1 positive group but was not statistically significant. Due to the fact that the basic levels of copper and zinc in the virus infected individuals may be different, it is better to conduct a prospective study to investigate the effect of copper and zinc levels on the pathogenesis of HTLV-1 and the levels of these elements in sequence in different years, to investigate the association of deficiency or increase in the progression of infection to symptomatic disease
Antibiotic resistance profiles of Salmonella serotypes isolated from animals in Iran: a meta-analysis
Full text linkBackground: Salmonella infection (salmonellosis) is a zoonotic bacterial disease. Widespread use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry production for different purposes such as treatment and growth promotion has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella, causing treatment of Salmonella infections more difficult with each passing year. Aims: To determine the antibiotic resistance prevalence of Salmonella serotypes isolated from animals in different provinces of Iran. Methods: To find eligible articles, we searched the international and national electronic databases using appropriate keywords in English and Persian. Results: After applying predefined criteria, 54 articles reporting antibiotic resistance profiles of Salmonella serotypes were included. Salmonella isolates were mostly resistant against nalidixic acid (67%), tetracycline (66.9%), and streptomycin (49.6%), followed by trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (41.6%) and kanamycin (23.6%). The highest sensitivity was observed against imipenem, meropenem, and cefepime with 1.7%, 1.4%, and 1.9% of all isolates being resistant, respectively. Conclusion: Results revealed that the prevalence of resistant isolates to nalidixic acid, tetracycline and streptomycin is high and their use must be restricted. In addition, resistance to other antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, ampicillin, cephalothin, cefixime, and enrofloxacin is at an alarming level that calls for attention in the future infection control and antibiotic stewardship programs
Determining Ddimer serum level related to incidence of lower limbs deep vein thrombosis detectable with color Doppler ultrasonography
Full text linkBackground: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is one of the manifestations of venous thromboembolism. The mortality rate from DVT is about 6% and the mortality rate from pulmonary embolism is about 12% . The American Society of Surgeons lists pulmonary embolism as the most preventable cause of death in hospitalized patients . Therefore, early detection of DVT and its effective treatment can reduce this rate.
Aim: To determine the serum level of D-dimer associated with the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities.
Matherials and Methods: A total of 96 patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups. The first group of pregnant patients referred with DVT symptoms, the second group of patients with active cancer referred with DVT symptoms and the third group of patients who underwent surgery in the last 12 weeks and referred with DVT symptoms.
Result: The mean age of the first group was 28.14 years, the second group was 61.23 and the third group was 56.41. It was not possible to determine the diagnostic range of D-dimer in the group of pregnant women and the group with a history of surgery in the last 12 weeks. Regarding the diagnostic range of D-dimer in the group of patients with active cancer, from 39 patients who presented with early symptoms of DVT. In 23 cases, the definitive diagnosis of DVT was positive and in 16 cases DVT was rejected. The mean D-dimer was 421.3 in the DVT definitive group and 195.5 in the negative group. Statistical analysis by T-test showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups. Sensitivity and specificity were 82.6% and 68.7%, respectively.
Conclusion: In patients with DVT symptoms and a history of cancer, level of D-dimer can be helpful in diagnosing DVT
Study on serum paraoxonase activity in association with cholinesterase in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome
No full textBackground: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women of childbearing age. The pathogenesis of PCOS is complex and still unclear. Insulin resistance، which is a factor associated with metabolic syndrome، is more common in patients with PCOS than in the general population. Most recent studies have shown that PCOS is not just an endocrine and reproductive disorder، but a metabolic disorder associated with many cardiovascular risk factors such as insulin resistance، diabetes، lipid profile disorder، and hypertension. This syndrome is associated with different clinical outcomes including reproductive، metabolic، psychological، and some cancers. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is an antioxidant enzyme that has been shown to reduce serum PON1 activity، which may help increase the susceptibility to insulin resistance and atherosclerotic heart disease (AHD) in women with PCOS. Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzymes are bio-cleansing enzymes in serum and exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. PON1 is associated with diseases caused by high oxidative stress، and BuChE is involved in the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome and related disorders.
Objective: The aim of this study was to answer the question whether the activity of PON1 enzyme in women with PCOS is higher than the control group or not and whether there is a significant relationship between the activity of BuChE and PON1 enzymes in PCOS and whether the relationship between these two enzymes can be considered dependent on insulin resistance.
Methods: In this case-control study، 56 women diagnosed with PCOS according to the Rotterdam 2003 criteria were selected as the case group and 62 healthy individuals as the control group. Parameters such as menstrual status، fasting plasma glucose (FPG)، fasting serum insulin (Fins)، body mass index (BMI)، insulin resistance homeostasis evaluation model (HOMA-IR) and evaluation of PON1 enzyme activity by Beltowski method were evaluated and measured.
Results: The results of data analysis showed that the parameters of menstrual irregularity (P = 0.001)، fasting insulin concentration (P = 0.008)، insulin resistance (P = 0.014) were significantly higher in the case group but PON1 enzyme activity (P = 0.006) were less in the case group than the control group. In women with insulin resistance، there was no significant difference between case and control groups in terms of PON1 enzyme activity (P = 0.056). Also، no significant relationship was found between the activity of BuChE and PON1 enzymes in the case group (P = 0.07).
Conclusion: The results show that decreased PON1 enzyme activity is involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS and PON1 enzyme can be associated with insulin resistance independent of PCOS. Insulin resistance is likely to lead to abnormal gonadotropin levels, ovarian dysfunction, and menstrual irregularities, affecting PON1 activity. However، determining the association between BuChE and PON1 enzymes in PCOS requires further research
The Mediating Role of Job Control in the Explaining the Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Mental Workload in Nurses
Full text linkBackground and Aim: Nurses are the main staff of the hospital. The large number of clients, the high volume of work and the shortage of staff increase the mental workload of nurses. On the other hand, reducing the control of the work process leads to mental stress. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of job control and explaining the relationship between job satisfaction and mental workload in nurses.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 188 nurses of educational hospitals in Shushtar and Ardabil cities, Iran, in 2019. Research tools included demographic information questionnaire, NASA-TLX questionnaire, Job description index (JDI) questionnaire, and job control questionnaire. For Data analysis the correlation coefficient and regression analysis with SPSS-18 and AMOS-18 software were used.
Results: Based on the results, the final model had good fitness (GFI=0.859, CFI=0.921, RMSEA=0.067). The results also showed that there is a significant relationship between mental workload and job satisfaction (P<0.001, r=-0.33) and this relationship has increased with the presence of job control (P<0.001, r=-0.42).
Conclusion: High levels of job control are associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced workload. As a result, in order to reduce the mental workload and increase job satisfaction, job control of nurses can be increased to improve working conditions
Laterality and sex differences in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in developing rat hippocampus
No full textBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as a member of neurotrophin family, plays an important role in neurogenesis, neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. BDNF is strongly expressed in the hippocampus, where has been associated with memory consolidation, learning, and cognition. In this study, Real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and stereology were used to evaluate the gender differences and left-right asymmetries in the expression of BDNF in the developing rat hippocampus during the neurogenesis-active period, at postnatal days P0, P7 and P14. We found the lowest expression of BDNF in the right side and the highest in the left side hippocampi of both male and female neonates at P14 (P ≤ 0.05 each). At the same time, there were significant differences in the hippocampal expression of BDNF between males and females (P ≤ 0.05 each). No important differences in the number of BDNF expressing neurons in different subregions of right/left hippocampus were observed between male and female animals at P0 and P7 (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the highest numerical density of BDNF positive cells was detected in the both sides hippocampal CA1 in the male/female offspring at P7, and in the CA2, CA3 and dentate gyrus at P14 (P ≤ 0.05 each). Based on these findings, it can be concluded that there are prominent sex and interhemispheric differences in the expression of BDNF in the developing rat hippocampus, suggesting a probable mechanism for the control of gender and laterality differences in development, structure, and function of the hippocampus
Immune and bioinformatics identification of T cell and B cell epitopes in the protein structure of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review
No full textThe beginning of 2020 was marked as the emergence of a COVID-19 outbreak caused by a new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, there is no vaccine or approved treatment for this infectious virus so the invention of an efficient vaccine is certainly a high priority. Some studies have employed several techniques to facilitate the combination of the immunoinformatics approach and comparative genomic approach in order to determine the potential peptides for designing the T-cell epitope-based peptide vaccine using the 2019-nCoV envelope protein as a target. Via screening the bioimmunoinformatic SARS-CoV2 derived B-cell and T-cell epitopes within the basic immunogenic of SARS-CoV2 proteins, we presented a set of inferred B-cell and T-cell epitopes from the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins with high antigenicity and without allergenic property or toxic effects. Our findings provide a screened set of epitopes that can be introduced as potential targets for developing peptide vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus