Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences
Volume:6 Issue: 3, Jul 2014

Noise exposure is known as a risk factor for hearing loss and one of its effects is noise-induced stress. Cortisol as a stress hormone is used in noise-induced stress assessments.. The aim of this study was to measure and compare saliva cortisol concentrations in the morning and evening in normal work day and rest day in both case and control groups and to assess the association between industrial noise exposure and salivary cortisol concentrations in the two groups..Patients and This study included 200 male participants (100 industrial workers and 100 office employees). Morning and evening saliva samples were collected at 7 AM and 4 PM respectively. Noise exposure levels were assessed by sound level meter and noise dosimeter. All measurements were performed in two days; rest day and then in working day. Descriptive statistics, paired and independent sample t-test and regression analysis were used with α = 0.05.. There was no significant difference between morning salivary cortisol concentrations in the two groups on the rest and work days. A significant higher level was observed comparing evening cortisol concentrations in work day with rest day in worker group, but this was not observed in the control group. The evening cortisol in the working day in worker group was significantly higher than control group.. Our study revealed that industrial noise exposure with levels higher than 80 dBA has a significant effect on salivary cortisol elevation..

The light is one of the electromagnetic waves that can be created from conversion of electrical energy into a visible energy for human eye. The illumination intensity is measured in order to compare with the quality standards of light and for estimation of energy waste and lighting system performance. Therefore, the systematic and scientific measurement principles in data validation are very important.. The purpose of this study was to measure the actual artificial lighting by various valid procedures.. The overall, artificial and natural lighting has been measured at different times and in rooms with open and closed blinds mode and based on the various measuring stations.. The results show the artificial lighting obtained by difference methods of the overall lighting from natural lighting in closed blinds mode equal to 266 Lux and night lighting 283.5 Lux that they have no significant differences with each other (P = 0.269). As well as the illumination intensity obtained from a standard grid method is 283.5 Lux and illumination intensity based on Luminaires layout model is 274 Lux with no significant difference (P = 0.269). The present study shows that method of difference (subtracting the overall light from natural light) can be a good option to measure the illumination intensity of artificial lighting system in any state (open or closed curtains) and time of the day and a standard method for measuring the lighting per residential, administrative and training units..

Prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) in workers, especially in nurses is high, but their knowledge of ergonomics is not enough.. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of ergonomic training on low back pain and neck pain, posture, and function in female hospital personnel of Najaf-Abad, Iran..Patients and In this queasy experimental study, 47 female staffs with LBP or NP were selected through a simple consecutive sampling method. The subjects completed a questionnaire on LBP and NP and were evaluated for posture, back tests, and cost of related treatments. Afterward, they participated in an ergonomic training program, including face to face and group education sessions on ergonomic risk factors for LBP and NP, in the work place. After six months of follow up, all the tests and data collection were repeated and data was analyzed using paired t-test and regression analysis.. Prevalence of LBP and NP were 87% and 45.7%, respectively. Repetitive motions were the most frequent cause of pain (67%). Pain intensity, posture, risk of musculoskeletal disorders, weight, waist circumference, sick leaves, and the costs of treatments reduced significantly after intervention (P < 0.05).. With regards to the influence of ergonomic training on improving LBP and NP and decreasing the treatment costs, this intervention beside others can be useful for controlling musculoskeletal disorders in hospital personnel..

Burnout is a common syndrome associated with job stresses in the health sector personnel, especially female nurses.. The aim of this study was to investigate burnout and its association with types of capital among female nurses in educational hospitals of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences..Patients and This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. The study population was all female nurses working in educational hospitals of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Participants completed a questionnaire containing three parts as: Maslach Burnout Inventory, the types of capital and sociodemographic characteristics. Data Analysis was done using SPSS version 18.. In total, 40% of female nurses had a high level of burnout. The mean scores of the emotion exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment were 33.7, 16 and 25.7, respectively. In addition, 50% of female nurses had a high social capital, 86% of them had a moderate economic capital and 49.3% had a low cultural capital. Finally, there were significant negative correlations between burnout and capital types (economic, cultural and social).. The prevalence of burnout among nurses is high. Capital types had a positive impact on reducing burnout. Therefore, maintaining capital types should be considered to decrease burnout in nurses..

Cadmium (Cd) is a nonessential element with many industrial applications and is one of the most toxic pollutants in the environment. The ultimate goal of occupational health is prevention of health hazards on workplace; hence, is as a hazardous chemical contaminant in the workplace, Cd needs special attention.. The object of this study was to determine the effect of ZnCl2 on Cd-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.. Adult male rats were given CdCl2 at doses of 0, 1, 2, and 3 mg/kg. Another series of rats were pretreated with 4 mg/kg of ZnCl2 30 minutes prior to administration of various doses of CdCl2. The experiment was repeated for seven consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after administering the latest dose, animals were sacrificed. Blood samples were analyzed for blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels. Kidney tissues were excised for measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration.. In contrast to the animals that received ZnCl2, CdCl2 induced a dose-dependent elevation in BUN, creatinine, and MDA in those without ZnCl2 pretreatment. Zinc chloride had significantly decreased all biochemical parameters and protected kidney cells against Cd-induced toxicity.. The results of this study supported the potential protective effects of ZnCl2 on rat kidney tissues against CdCl2 toxicity..

Existence of fluoride in drinking water above the permissible level causes human skeletal fluorosis.. Electrocoagulation by iron and aluminum electrodes was proposed for removing fluoride from drinking water.. Effects of different operating conditions such as treatment time, initial pH, applied voltage, type and number of electrodes, the spaces between aluminum and iron electrodes, and energy consumption during electrocoagulation were investigated in the batch reactor. Variable concentrations of fluoride solution were prepared by mixing proper amounts of sodium fluoride with deionized water.. Experimental results showed that aluminum electrode is more effective in fluoride removal than iron, as in 40 minutes and initial pH of 7.5 at 20 V, the fluoride removal process reached to 97.86%. The final recommendable limit of fluoride (1.5 mg/L) was obtained in 10 minutes at 20 V with the aluminum electrode.. In electrocoagulation with iron and aluminum electrodes, increase of voltage, number of electrodes and reaction time as well as decrease of the spaces between electrodes, enhanced the fluoride removal efficiency from drinking water. In addition the effect of pH and initial concentration of fluoride varied with types of electrodes..

Organizational entrepreneurship focuses on proactive actions, which may lead to the new productions, new services and/or new processes. Implementation of organizational entrepreneurship plans has many benefits including organizational cost reduction and the increase of organizational capital assets.. This study aimed to investigate the organizational entrepreneurship status in view of the managers of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences.. This cross-sectional study was performed on 67 of the managers of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences. Data were gathered by a 30-item standard questionnaire. Reliability efficient of the questionnaire was 0.77. Ten dimensions of organizational entrepreneurship including innovation, conditions for demonstration of entrepreneurial behavior, detection and discovery of opportunities, level of flexibility, decision-making system, organizational learning, organizational culture, staff training, reward and incentive system and managerial support system for innovative ideas were studied. Finally, the data were analyzed by using the SPSS version 18. Data analyzing was performed by one-way ANOVA and χ² tests.. Among the 10 dimensions studies in this study, innovation (with mean score 11.47 ± 2.56) and decision making system (with mean score 11.47 ± 2.65 score) had the highest rank. The dimension of managerial support system for innovative ideas and organizational culture had the lowest ranks, respectively. Overall status of organizational entrepreneurship was desirable (with mean score 104.9 ± 24.4). In addition, the results showed that there was not a significant relationship between organizational entrepreneurship status and demographic and job characteristics of the managers, except educational level (P > 0.05).. The status of the organizational entrepreneurship was assessed in view of managers in Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences. The overall evaluation resulted in a desirable scores; however, some dimensions of organizational entrepreneurship such as innovation and decision-making system had better status than other parameters..

Due to the limited fresh water resources and its important role in life and progress of nations, maintaining the water quality is necessary.. The purpose of this study was to evaluate quality of Khorramrood River water using Indexes of water quality including water quality index (WQI) and Wilcox and zoning with geographical information systems (GIS)..Patients and In this cross-sectional study, the quality parameters required for the calculation of quality indicators, i. e. WQI and Wilcox index, were measured by using standard methods at six selected stations during six months in 2012. This Parameters consisted of pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, biochemical oxygen demand, turbidity, temperature, phosphate, nitrate, fecal coliform, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. River zonation was done using the software GIS.. By using WQI, the best water quality was reported in station number one with the scalar quantity of 71.11 (water with best quality) and the worst water quality was in station number six with scalar quality of 42.77 (water with bad quality). By using a Wilcox index for agricultural consumption, the river water based on EC classified in C2 and C3, and based on SAR it classified in S4. The quality parameters concerning the total dissolved solids, turbidity, nitrate, phosphate, and BOD5 in some sampling stations were higher than standard limit of surface water.. According to the average of WQI index, quality of water was good in station number one, medium in station number two, and bad in the rest of stations. According to the WILCOX Index, qualities of water in third station were medium and in the rest were good..