Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences
Volume:14 Issue: 3, Jul 2022

Vitamin D deficiency can adversely affect women’s health and their offspring. Studies have uncovered many determinants of vitamin D; however, few have explored its relationship with socioeconomic status.

We aimed to determine the serum 25(OH)D level and its relationship with socioeconomic status.

In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 182 women aged 18 to 65 years from eastern Nepal. Sociodemographic variables were obtained from a semi-structured questionnaire and used to construct separate and aggregate indicators of socioeconomic status. The association of these indicators with vitamin D status was examined. We used serum 25(OH)D levels as a measure of vitamin D status and classified them as deficient (< 20 ng/mL), insufficient (20 - 29 ng/mL), and sufficient (30 - 100 ng/mL).

Median serum 25(OH)D was 18.6 ng/mL (14.3 - 23.9 ng/ml). Of women, 103 (56.5%) had serum 25(OH)D < 20 ng/ml, 61 (33.5%) had 20 - 29 ng/mL, and 18 (9.9%) had ≥ 30 ng/mL. The association between vitamin D status and socioeconomic indicators was assessed using the chi-square test or Fischer’s exact test, showing a significant association with total household income per month (P = 0.006) and income to poverty ratio (P = 0.005).

Women living in low-income houses and poverty have a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.

Oral candidiasis is an opportunistic fungal infection that leads to acute and chronic infections in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. According to studies, common antifungal drugs have some side effects and sometimes fail in Candida albicans candidiasis infections.

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of Aloe vera to that of nystatin on oral Candida species in vitro.

This laboratory study was prepared in vitro from a collection of fungi and bacteria in Iran. The measured inhibitory concentration was within the range of 1:1 to 1:2048. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 24).

In C. albicans species, the inhibitory concentration of Aloe vera gel was 312.5 μL/mL. The inhibitory concentrations for Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis were 1250 and 625 μL/mL, respectively. In all groups, there was a significant relationship between Aloe vera and nystatin.

Aloe vera gel showed antifungal properties in all tested species. The inhibitory concentrations of Aloe vera were much higher than nystatin. Therefore, to use this plant for humans, the concentration of its toxicity to humans should be estimated beforehand to avoid possible harm.

There has been no validated instrument to identify barriers and facilitators to practicing preventive COVID-19 measures.

The present study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument to identify facilitators and barriers to practicing COVID-19 preventive measures.

The present study was conducted in two phases from September 2020 to December 2021. In the first phase, the researchers interviewed 20 residents of Sanandaj city, Iran, recruited using the purposive sampling method. Thematic analysis was done to elicit the initial codes from the interview scripts; then, themes were generated to develop the questions. In the second phase, psychometric properties of the test, including face validity, content validity, construct validity, and internal consistency, were investigated among 100 people using an online questionnaire. Afterward, the face, content, and construct validity were investigated through exploratory factor analysis. The entry criterion included people living in Sanandaj city, and the exit criterion was unwillingness to continue cooperation.

Participants included nine women and 11 men, with an average age of 28.95 years. After finishing the first phase of the study, 24 statements were generated. They were expanded into 31 statements after reviewing the related literature. The statements were categorized into three classes: adherence to practice, barriers, and facilitators. The results revealed five factors for adherence to practice, two factors for facilitators, and two factors for barriers. The instrument's reliability was reported at 0.91, calculated using Cronbach's alpha.

The developed instrument might help investigate barriers and facilitators to practicing COVID-19 preventive measures. The findings may result in developing more effective strategies to promote practicing COVID-19 preventive measures.

Identifying the effects of industrial complexes on the environmental components is essential in the industrial activities’ development planning.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the environmental impact of Khorramabad industrial parks using hybrid modeling.

In the study, a fuzzy expert system was used to evaluate the environmental impact of industrial parks. In the proposed model, a fuzzy inference system (FIS) was designed based on the Mamdani method and rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) model.

The most negative effects are observed in the –E (major negative impacts) and –C (moderately negative impacts) ranges. About 24% of the negative effects of activities of industrial park 1 are in the –E range. In industrial park 3, the most negative effects are observed in the –C range (27%).

Industrial parks cause negative impacts on different parts of the environment. These consequences are a major issue for environmental planners and managers. The proposed approach could increase the accuracy and flexibility of effects in decision-making.

There is an increase in psychological well-being among employees who receive high levels of organizational support.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hospital support during the COVID-19 epidemic and nurses' levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

In this cross-sectional study, 230 nurses working in the COVID and non-COVID units of Ganjavian Hospital were enrolled using the convenience sampling method from February to October 2021. Modified organizational support and a 21-item DASS questionnaire were used to collect information. Independent t-test and pearson correlation were used to analyze the data using SPSS software version 16.

According to the results, 58.4% of nurses in COVID units and 64.8% in non-COVID units received moderate support from the hospital. 64.8% of COVID units experienced low levels of anxiety. As regards depression scores, 90.4% of respondents had low depression, 100% had low-stress levels, and none of the nurses had mild, moderate, or severe stress levels. 61% of non-COVID units experienced low anxiety, and 81% experienced low depression. In terms of stress scores, 97.1% showed low levels. Based on the Pearson correlation, the correlation score between organizational support and depression in the COVID and non-COVID units was (-0.28) and (-0.206), respectively. There was an inverse correlation between organizational support and anxiety in COVID and non-COVID units (-0.27). The relationship between organizational support and stress in the COVID and non-COVID sectors was (-0.29) and (-0.22).

The moderate organizational support nurses received in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 units were associated with low levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Health encompasses physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social dimensions. Parents' spiritual well-being can affect their social health and, therefore, their health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

In this study, we investigated the relationship between spiritual well-being, social health, parent-child interaction, and HRQOL in parents of children with specific learning disorders.

This study investigated the relationship between spiritual well-being, social health, and the statistical population in this descriptive-correlational study comprised all parents of children with certain learning disorders in Andimeshk, Iran, in 2020. Through convenience sampling, 174 parents were selected as the sample. The study used instruments, including the Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire, Keyes's Social Wellbeing Questionnaire (KSWBQ), and the Pianta Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS). Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using Pearson correlation coefficients and simultaneous regression models.

There was a significant positive relationship between HRQOL and spiritual well-being, social health, and parent-child interaction (P < 0.001). In addition, the regression analysis demonstrated multiple correlations between HRQOL and spiritual well-being, social health, and parent-child interaction (R = 0.48, P < 0.001).

The study found that spiritual well-being, social health, and parent-child interactions were essential in the HRQOL of parents of children with specific learning disabilities.

The current state of water resources in Iran and the process of governing them in recent years indicate the importance of demand management and water consumption reduction in all fields, such as agriculture, industry, service, and domestic. Suppose water consumption reduction or demand management are not applied, or accurate knowledge of freshwater consumption assessment is not acquired in various environmental fields due to dwindling water resources. In that case, it will be difficult or uneconomical for industrial production to provide fresh water in the near future. Furthermore, the adverse environmental impact of freshwater consumption on various industries and its recurrence will inevitably cause an imbalance in the ecosystem and result in many problems.

This study analyzed eight parameters of environmental impact assessment through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) after apprising blue water footprints in the production of methane, ethane, propane, butane, gas condensate, and sulfur at the processing units of Asalouyeh Gas Refinery by taking the essential items into account (consumed blue water, electricity consumption, and consumption of common and widely used chemicals in the production process).

The results of the environmental impact assessment of producing each ton of the aforementioned products are as follows: Environmental impact of acidification: The greatest impact was left by gas condensate, which produced 5.086 kg of SO2, whereas the smallest impact was made by sulfur production with 0.813 kg. Environmental impact of eutrophication: The greatest impact with 0.476 kg of 4 - was left by methane production, whereas the smallest impact was made by sulfur production with 0.147kg of 4 - - . Environmental impact of global warming: The greatest impact was made by gas condensate, which produced 1140.161 kg of CO2, whereas the smallest impact was made by sulfur production, which produced 182.425 kg. Environmental impact of photochemical oxidation: The greatest impact was left by gas condensate, which produced 4.313kg of NMVOC, whereas the smallest impact was made by sulfur production, which produced 0.69 kg of NMVOC. Environmental impact of abiotic element depletion: This parameter is considered because of the very small quantities of software in all gas refinery products. Environmental impact of fossil fuel depletion: The greatest impact was left by gas condensate, which produced 85137.066 kg of MJ, whereas the smallest impact was made by sulfur production, which produced 13621.928 kg of MJ. Environmental impact of water scarcity: The greatest impact was left by gas condensate with 15906.544 m3, whereas the smallest impact was left by sulfur production with 2545.046 m3. Environmental impact of ozone layer depletion: The greatest impact was made by sulfur, which produced 8.121 kg of CFC11, whereas the smallest environmental impact, with a large difference from sulfur and a small difference in numerical values, was left by other refinery products.

The results of measuring the blue water footprints in the production process revealed that gas condensate consumed the largest amount of water and sulfur consumed the smallest.