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JOB STRESS AMONG IRANIAN FIREFIGHTERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
No full textINTRODUCTION: Firefighters, as the first responders to disasters, are exposed to dangerous and stressful situations and experience high job stress due to the nature of their work, affecting various physical and mental health dimensions. The aim of this study was to assess job stress in Iranian firefighters by systematic review. MATERIAL AND METHODS: PRISMA guideline was used to conduct the present study. Data resources of SID, Magiran, Scopus, PubMed, ISC, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched. Conference papers and the reference list of retrieved articles were screened to identify additional studies. Literature searches were conducted in both Persian and English without any time limit until the end of 2020. RESULTS: Initially, 147 studies were identified, and finally 13 eligible studies were systematically reviewed. In this study, 2378 Iranian firefighters were studied. Most of the studies had cross-sectional designs. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study showed that most Iranian firefighters are exposed to job stress, influencing other life aspects such as quality of life, job satisfaction, etc. As appropriate interventions can reduce job stress, providing firefighters with adequate training at the beginning of employment and also with in-service training, it is possible to reduce their job stress. Copyright © 2022 Via Medica
Effect of COVID-19 on food security, hunger, and food crisis
No full textCOVID-19 affected the world’s socioeconomic and food security more than other infectious diseases. In many countries, food industries’ workers were moderated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused food factories to reduce or slow down their production. Airline closures, national and international restrictions, and lockdowns have severely disrupted the food supply chain. These, along with structural weaknesses in the world food system such as production, distribution, access, and stability in the food chain, have exposed more people to the food crisis and acute hunger in the world. Therefore it is necessary to use proper planning by governmental organizations and charities in the field of food supply in critical situations. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Comparing the COVID-19 Mortality Rate in Cancer Patients with and Without a History of Chemotherapy
No full textBackground: Patients with cancer are potentially vulnerable to COVID-19 infection due to the immune-compromised state of cancer or its treatment complications. Objectives: This study compared the COVID-19 mortality rate in cancer patients with and without a history of chemotherapy. Methods: This registry-based cohort study launched from March 2020 to March 2021 contains 2350 records in which 64 COVID-19 patients with cancer were included, of which 27 patients underwent the chemotherapy plan within eight weeks before confirmed COVID-19. In addition, age and sex were matched in patients without a history of cancer as a control group. Two groups of cancer patients with and without a history of chemotherapy compared to the control group using cox proportional hazard regression models in Stata.10 software. Results: Patients with cancer had a higher hazard for in-hospital mortality from COVID-19 infection (adjusted HR; 2.27, 95 CI: 1.25-4.13, P = 0.007) after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and co-morbidities. Our result showed no significant association between chemotherapy and control groups (adjusted HR; 1.65, 95 CI: 0.60-4.56, P = 0.33). Conclusions: Patients with cancer faced a risk of mortality from COVID-19 two times higher than those without cancer. However, chemotherapy did not increase the mortality following COVID-19 infection. © 2022, Author(s)
Complications of Tuberculosis Packs and Iron Chelators in Patients with Thalassemia Major in Mostafa Khomeini Hospital in 2018-19
No full textBackground and Purpose: Thalassemia major (TM) is an inherited hemolytic disease with a high prevalence. Nowadays, no complications have been studied in these patients. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the complications of tuberculosis packs and iron chelators in patients with TM in Mostafa Khomeini Hospital in 2018-2019. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Mostafa Khomeini Hospital in 2018-2019. All eligible patients' records and necessary information, including age, sex, and periodic tests (cardiac, liver, bone, and hormonal and infectious examinations), were reviewed and collected using a checklist. Data were analyzed using SPSS22 software with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Enrolled patients were 93 cases with TM. The incidence of osteopenia and osteoporosis (69.9) was the most common, and the lowest cases were hypogonadism (35.5), hypothyroidism (9.7), heart failure (5.4), hepatitis C (2.2), and liver failure. Hepatitis B and HIV were not seen in these patients. Conclusion: Results demonstrated that the highest rate of complications was related to the bony part of the body structure, which is due to the pathophysiology of the disease. The low rates of heart failure and liver failure were because the patients with this level of complications may not survive for long. © 2022 by SPC (Sami Publishing Company
Quality of Virtual Education from the Perspective of Students and Professors during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textBackground & Objective: Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19, Universities of medical sciences was forced to shift from face-to-face education toward online educational activities according to WHO recommendation to observe physical distancing. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the quality of virtual education classes from the perspective of students and professors at Ilam University of Medical Sciences. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in five faculties of Ilam University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Thirty professors and 370 students participated in the study by convenience sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire based on the viewpoint of university professors and students about the quality of virtual classes. The questionnaire included 30 questions in four sections: the ability to use the educational system, feelings and attitudes towards the virtual class, learning and educational environment, interactive learning and perceived effectiveness, plus five questions addressing satisfaction with the training course. The data were analyzed using independent t-test at a significance level of P <0.05 by SPSS 22 software. Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) score of the quality of virtual education classes from the perspective of professors and students was 48.6(16.2) and 47.9(25.9), respectively, which is considered moderate. There was a significant difference between professors' and students’ viewpoints about satisfaction with virtual education classes (P= 0.004), indicating that the professors were more contented than students. Conclusion: Generally, professors and students rated the overall quality of virtual classes as moderate, and they were also relatively satisfied with the course. © 2021, Journal of Medical Education Development. All rights reserved
Machine Learning-Based Clinical Decision Support System for Automatic Diagnosis of COVID-19 based on Clinical Data
No full textIntroduction: Needless to say that correct and real-time detection and effective prognosis of the COVID-19 are necessary to deliver the best possible care for patients and, accordingly, diminish the pressure on the healthcare industries. Hence our paper aims to present an intelligent algorithm for selecting the best features from the dataset and developing Machine Learning(ML) based models to predict the COVID-19 and finally opted for the best-performing algorithm. Methods: In this developmental study, the clinical data of 1703 COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients Using a single-center registry from February 9, 2020, to December 20, 2020, were used. The Minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (mRMR) feature selection algorithm identified the most relevant variables. Then, chosen features feed into the several data mining methods, including K-Nearest Neighbors, AdaBoost Classifier, Decision Tree, HistGradient Boosting Classifier, and Support Vector Machine. A 10-fold cross-validation method and six performance evaluation metrics were used to evaluate and compare these implemented algorithms, and finally, the best model was implemented. Results: Out of the 34 included features, 11 variables were selected as the essential features. The results of using ML algorithms indicated that the best performance belongs to the AdaBoost classifier with mean accuracy = 92.9, mean specificity = 89.3, mean sensitivity = 94.2, mean F-measure = 91.6 , mean KAPA = 94.3 and mean ROC = 92.1 . Conclusion: The empirical results reveal that the Adaboost model yielded higher performance than other classification models and developed our Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) interface to discriminate positive COVID-19 from negative cases. © 2022 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited
Prevalence of postpartum depression in women amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textCOVID-19 outbreaks appear to be related to exacerbation of psychological problems such as depression and anxiety in high-risk population such as pregnant women and the postpartum period due to stress and life-threatening illnesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) during COVID-19. This study protocol is registered in PROSPERO with CRD42021278425 code. Data sources including Google Scholar, ISC, Magiran, Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science and reference list of included articles were used to identify related studies. Observational studies that reported the prevalence of PPD in both Persian and English during COVID-19 between January 20, 2020 and August 31, 2021 were included. Data were collected and analyzed with a random effects model for meta-analysis. In this study, 671 initial articles were identified and after removing duplicates, 454 studies were screened and finally 24 studies entered the meta-analysis stage. According to this study results PPD based on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) >/=9, EPDS >/=10, EPDS >/=11, EPDS >/=12, EPDS >/=13, Postpartum Depression Screening Scale-Short Form (PDSS-SF) >/=17 and total prevalence was reported 12 (95 confidence interval CI = 0.07-17, I(2) = 97%), 27% (95% CI = 15-39, I(2) = 99%), 44% (95% CI = 40-49, I(2) = 0.0%), 27% (95% CI = 0.06-49, I(2) = 97.4%), 28% (95% CI = 18-39, I(2) = 98.5%), 37% (95% CI = 32-42), 28% (95% CI = 23-33, I(2) = 98.5%). The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of PPD in women is relatively high during COVID-19. Therefore, considering the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of pregnancy and the postpartum period in terms of the emergence of mental disorders, especially depression, it seems necessary to perform interventions and physical and psychological support
Frequency of oral Lichen Planus among hypothyroid patients
No full textObjective: Recent investigations have suggested a correlation between thyroid diseases, particularly hypothyroidism (HT), and oral lichen planus (OLP). Objective: This study aimed to assess the frequency of OLP in HT patients. Material and Methods: This analytical descriptive study evaluated 100 HT patients including 94 females and 6 males, who were selected by convenience sampling. The subjects were clinically examined for OLP. The mean age of patients was 42.49±1.29 years. Also, 100 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were examined. The data were analyzed using chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test via SPSS. Results: Of all, 14 (14) HT patients (12 females and 2 males) had OLP while only one case of OLP was found in the control group. The difference between the two groups in the frequency of OLP was significant (P=0.001). The odds ratio (OR) of developing OLP was calculated to be 16.11 in HT patients. Reticular form was the most common type of OLP in patients (50). The buccal mucosa was the most common site of involvement (92.85). The mean age of patients with OLP was 42.93±1.29 years with a median of 46±1.29 years in HT group. Conclusion: The frequency of OLP was significantly higher in HT patients such that HT patients had higher odds of developing OLP by 16 folds. © 2022, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Institute of Science and Technology of Sao Jose dos Campos. All rights reserved
Internet of Things (IoT) Adoption Model for Early Identification and Monitoring of COVID-19 Cases: A Systematic Review
No full textBackground: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a mysterious and highly infectious disease that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The virus poses a great threat to global health and the economy. Currently, in the absence of effective treatment or vaccine, leveraging advanced digital technologies is of great importance. In this respect, the Internet of Things (IoT) is useful for smart monitoring and tracing of COVID-19. Therefore, in this study, we have reviewed the literature available on the IoT-enabled solutions to tackle the current COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This systematic literature review was conducted using an electronic search of articles in the PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases to formulate a complete view of the IoT-enabled solutions to monitoring and tracing of COVID-19 according to the FITT (Fit between Individual, Task, and Technology) model. Results: In the literature review, 28 articles were identified as eligible for analysis. This review provides an overview of technological adoption of IoT in COVID-19 to identify significant users, either primary or secondary, required technologies including technical platform, exchange, processing, storage and added-value technologies, and system tasks or applications at "on-body," "in-clinic/hospital," and even "in-community" levels. Conclusions: The use of IoT along with advanced intelligence and computing technologies for ubiquitous monitoring and tracking of patients in quarantine has made it a critical aspect in fighting the spread of the current COVID-19 and even future pandemics
Inhibitory Effects of Carvacrol on Biofilm Formation and Expression of Biofilm Related Genes in Clinical Isolates of Enterococcus faecalis
No full textBackground: Nowadays, novel antimicrobial strategies are being developed which focus on debilitating, rather than killing the microorganisms. In this regard, anti-biofilm therapy is one of the important ways to combat bacterial infections. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the anti-biofilm activity of Carvacrol against E. faecalis by means of its effects on biofilm formation as well as on the gene expression levels of the two biofilm related genes, Epa and Esp. Methods: A total of 40 clinical strains of E. faecalis were collected from three hospitals in Tehran, Iran during 2020. These isolates were confirmed by biochemical and genotypic methods. Antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity of Carvacrol essence were determined according the standard protocol. Finally, expression level of the biofilm related genes (Epa and Esp) were evaluated before and after the treatment with Carvacrol. Results: A total of 14 isolates were considered as strong biofilm producers and were used for analysis. Carvacrol essence showed the best antibacterial activity at 2,500 mu g/mL concentration against all the isolates, the biofilm formation capacity was decreased by Carvacrol essence, and it was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Expression levels of the Esp gene were decreased in 5 isolates while increased in 3 isolates following the Carvacrol treatment. Expression levels of the EpaI gene was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in 4 isolates following the Carvacrol treatment. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results presented in this study suggest that carvacrol extract exhibits significant antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties against E. faecalis, even against vancomycin resistant isolates