سیامک صبور

Harmful factors in the workplace such as noise and heat stress can have adverse effects on muscle activity. This study was performed to investigate the effect of simultaneous exposure to noise and heat stress on the activity level of biceps and flexor muscles.

This experimental study was performed on 24 male students in laboratory conditions. Participants in three groups exposure to SPL of 75, 85 and 95 dBA and WBGT =22, 30 and 35°C randomly. During light manual activity, the activity level of biceps and flexor muscles was measured in a sitting manner using surface electromyography. Normalized RMS (Root Mean Square) of muscles was used to compare the level of muscle activity in different conditions. ANOVA test was used to examine the relationship between variables.

The mean (SD) age of the study participants was 21±1.6 years. Based on the muscle activity WBGT=30°C and SPL=85 dB were defined as border points in changes of biceps activity. The highest and lowest levels of flexor muscle activity were observed at SPL of 75 and 95 dB, respectively. The interaction between noise and heat stress exposure show that exposure to both factors causes significant changes in muscle activity levels (P.value<0.05).

Exposure to noise and heat stress in the workplace affects the function of the biceps and flexors muscles. To more accurately determine the effects of noise exposure and heat stress on muscle activity, further studies are recommended.

The antimicrobial effect of phenytoin on ulcers has been addressed in few studies. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial effect of phenytoin on common contaminating microorganisms of oral cavity ulcers in vitro. Three standard microbial species including Staphylococcus aureus, Actinomyces naeslundii, and Candida albicans were prepared. Twenty four-hour cultures of the species was accomplished on BHI Agar medium at 37°C in aerobic situation in an incubator. After 24 hour, 0.5 McFarland concentration were prepared from microorganism colonies. Meadow cultivation of microorganisms was done in plates containing BHI Agar medium. In each plate 4 wells were created for 4 concentrations of phenytoin (0.5, 1, 3, and 5%). Then one drop of each phenytoin solution was poured in the wells in certain concentrations. For each microorganism species, one well containing 0.2% chlorhexidine was prepared as positive control. The plates were placed in incubator and after 24 hour, diameter of non-growth halo around all wells was measured in all plates using a caliper. These steps were repeated three times to ensure the accuracy of process and results. Diameters of non-growth halo around colonies of Staphylococcus aureus, Actinomyces naeslundii, and Candida albicans were 0 millimeter in all four concentrations of phenytoin. Phenytoin was found to have no antimicrobial effect on common contaminating microorganisms of oral cavity ulcers in vitro.

Evaluation is a systematic process of gathering, analysing and interpretation of data for assessment and judgement.This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a workshop regarding exam development on quality of final written exams. In this semi-experimental study, written final exams of all theoretical courses# 2 were gathered before and after presenting a workshop and a booklet regarding “Standard rules of questions”. Taxonomy, content relevance, and content coverage of exams were analyzed by three lecturers of course# 2 of each department. Other indices such as difficulty and differential coefficients, value of distracter and borderline choices, error coefficient, and considering structural rules were calculated by means of Millman’s checklist, and standard formulae. Independent Samples t. Test, Mann-Whitney U Test, and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Before intervention, content relevance and difficulty coefficient were in acceptable levels. Proportion of multiple choice questions, content relevance, and differential coefficient increased after intervention, whereas consideration of structural rules, difficulty coefficient, amount of distracters needing revision, error coefficient, amount of questions needing revision, and coverage relevance decreased. Generally, the intervention just decreased the error coefficient practically. A short- term course on standard rules of question development does not affect quality of exam questions considerably, and continuous education is mandatory in this regard.

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are the most common infections in community and hospitalized patients. Irrational consumption of antibiotics and creation of drug resistance make the treatment of these infections more difficult. Hence, determination of antibiotic resistance pattern is necessary to manage the treatment correctly; this was the main purpose of the present survey.

This was a retrospective and cross-sectional study with targeted community of 2566 hospitalized patients with heart diseases in Tabriz Shahid Madani Cardiovascular Hospital, Iran, during 2009-2010. Urine cultures were studied for type of microorganisms and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. The gathered data were analyzed.

Out of 2566 urine cultures, 479 cases (18.7%) were positive for pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria and yeasts). Three hundred and forty eight (72.3%) patients were women and 131 (27.7%) were men. Mean age was 61.0 ± 18.6 years. Enteric gram-negative rods were the most frequent agents of UTI in different units of the hospital. Among isolated microorganisms, the highest susceptibility [306 cases (64%)] was reported for amikacin. Three hundred and twenty four cases among of all bacterial UTI (79%) were community-acquired infections. In addition, the laboratory had not followed reference guideline in reporting antibiotic susceptibility test results and performing antibiogram test for Staphylococcus aureus.

We suggest amikacin for treatment of UTI in this hospital. Also, disobeying laboratory guidelines may impact treatment outcome and prevalence of antibiotic resistance in this medical center.

Following the renal disease involvement, some variations may occur in the flow, pH and biochemical components of the saliva; therefore, saliva possibly would be a useful tool for diagnosis and monitoring of the renal disease through evaluation of the components. The aim of the present study was to analyse the biochemical composition of the saliva in patients undergone haemodialysis for the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Imam Khomeini Hospital. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 64 haemodialysis patients and 67 healthy individuals were selected and their salivary samples were obtained by spitting method. Salivary biochemical factors were determined by serum kits and auto-analyzer while the samples’ pH was determined by an automatic pH meter. Then, Creatinine, Ca, Mg, urea, α-amylase parameters as well as the salivary flow rate were measured. The saliva biochemical compositions were analyzed using Student t test. The mean (± standard deviation) of the salivary flow rate was statistically lower in ESRD patients than healthy ones (0.34±0.22 ml/min vs. 0.57±0.29 ml/min: P<0.001). Salivary pH (7.87±0.72 vs. 6.99±0.4: P<0.001) and concentrations of urea (134.4±40.8 vs. 40.8±15.1 mg/dl: P<0.001); Cr (1.1±0.9 vs. 0.4±0.1 mg/dl: P<0.001) and α-amylase (1107.4±788.4 vs. 568.3±437.0 mg/dl: P<0.001) were statistically higher in ESRD patients than healthy controls. Ca was significantly lower in ESRD patients than healthy ones (2.8±2.8 vs. 3.6±2.0 mg/dl: P<0.05).). No significant differences were noted between both groups regarding salivary Mg. The mean (± standard deviation) age was statistically higher in ESRD patients than healthy ones (63.2±15.4 years vs. 48.2±15.3 years: P<0.001). No significant differences were noted between both groups regarding weight and gender. Due to the significant alternations of the salivary biochemical concentrations in ESRD patients; saliva can be used as a diagnostic tool for monitoning the involvement of the renal diseases.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the major endocrine disorders among females. PCOS is associated with development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on glycemic status and high sensitive C-reactive protein in women with PCOS. This double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 61 PCOS patients. Subjects in ω-3 fatty acids (n =30) and placebo (n =31) groups take 4 ω-3 fatty acids capsules (each one contained 180 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 120 mg docosahexanoic acid) or placebo daily for 8 weeks. Anthropometric and biochemical measurments and food intakes were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. ω-3 fatty acid supplementation caused significant decrease in serum levels of glucose, insulin (p < 0.001 for both) and insulin resistance (p = 0.002) at the end of the study in comparision with baseline values. This was also statistically significant compared to the placebo group (p < 0.001, p = 0.002 and p = 0.001, respectively). No statistically significant differences in serum levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein were obsereved in any of groups at the end of the study (p > 0.05). ω-3 fatty acid supplementation had some beneficial effects on glycemic status of PCOS patients and may be useful in prevention and control of metabolic conmplication of this syndrome.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the autoimmune diseases with unknown etiology that its prevalence in females to males is 3 to 1. This disease has positive relationship with occurrence of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are taken into account for 50% of death in RA. Regarding the recent researches، antioxidant supplements may have important role in serum lipids reduction and atherosclerosis prevention، due to control oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of combined antioxidant supplement on serum lipids in RA patients. A pre-post study was conducted in a 3 month period on 40 female RA patients which receiving daily one Selenplus capsule (selenium 50mcg، zinc 8mg، vitamin A 400mcg، vitaminC 125mg and vitaminE 40mg). Five ml venous blood was taken from all participants and serum levels of total cholesterol (TChol)، triglyceride (TG)، high density lipoprotein (HDL-c) were measured with enzymatic kits and low density lipoprotein (LDL-c) levels were calculated by Freidwald formula before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed by Shapiro-Wilk test and histogram with normal distribution for normal distribution، and for differences between pre-post data SPSS software version 13. 5 was used. Out of 40 patients، 39 completed the study. There were significant differences among TChol، TG، TG/HDL-c and LDL-c values (p<0. 01، p<0. 001، p<0. 001، p<0. 001 respectively) but no significant differences were seen among HDL-c and HDL-c/LDL-c. The daily intake of combined antioxidant supplement may have positive effect in improving lipid profile and it may reduce atherosclerosis risk in female RA patients.

Adolescents are at risk for many serious health problems including drugs, alcohol, depression and sexually transmitted diseases. Research on these issues is important to establish more effective prevention programs and therapies. However, research concerning adolescents faces challenges for several reasons. First, despite their developing maturity, generally people need to be at least 18 years before they may decide for themselves to participate in research. Below that age, parental permission is generally necessary. However, adolescents may not be willing to participate in research in sensitive topics if their parents are informed about their participation. Second, adolescents vary in their maturity, independence, and ability to make informed decisions. Although they may wish to make their own decisions, adolescents usually benefit from parental guidance. Finally, many of teenagers are exposed to the public health risks and many of them are abused by political aims and research on these problems is often socially controversial.Taking into account the mean age of the Iranian population and also huge number of observational studies which are being done amongIranian adolescents on one hand and the absence of researchers’ complete familiarity with the 26 Code relating to the protection of human subjects in medical research advised by Ministry of Health andMedical Education in 2010 on all the Universities of medical sciences across the country - the main purpose of this study is to summarize those issues and ethical considerations in observational studies on adolescents which should be taken into consideration.

Inadequate folate intake could be associated with increased breast cancer risk. The aim of the present study was to assess the folate intake by designed Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) using plasma folate concentration. This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the validity of the semi-quantitative FFQ (136 items) in 152 women with confirmed breast malignancy aged between 35 - 85 years old.. Folate plasma level was assessed by means of automated electrochemiluminescence. The Pearson and partial correlation coefficients were performed between the plasma level of folate and crude, total and energy-adjusted (residual) folate intakes. Area under ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and odds ratio were fulfilled in two models in order to achieve validity assessment. The folate plasma level was significantly correlated with total intake of vegetables, bread and cereal groups (p=0.001) and also with total intake of fruits (p=0.001) and dairy products (p=0.026). After adjusting for confounders, the folate plasma levels were correlated significantly with daily (β=0.39), and residual (β=0.41) folate intake levels (p=0.001). The area under ROC curves in model I (folate plasma level <5.9 ng/ml) was 0.74 (95%CI=0.63-0.85) and for model II (folate plasma level <10.0 ng/ml) was estimated as 0.61(95%CI= 0.51- 0.71). Model I indicated more appropriate predictive value (p=0.001) of folate intake assessment via FFQ. The results of this study showed that FFQ described in this study could be a valid and appropriate tool for assessing folate intake status in dietary content of breast cancer patients and also could be representative and valid for assessing the folate rich-food intake status.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the common autoimmune diseases with unknown etiology. It has been suggested that serum antioxidant levels is reduced and lipid peroxidation is increased due to oxidative stress. According to recent studies، antioxidant supplements may play an important role in controlling the oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of combined antioxidant supplement on serum arylesterase enzyme (ARE) and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in rheumatoid arthritis patients. A 3-month pre-post study was conducted on 40 female rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving one Selenplus capsule daily (selenium 50mcg، zinc 8mg، vitamin A 400mcg، vitamin C 125mg and vitamin E 40mg). Serum levels of ARE and MDA were measured spectrophotometrically in all participants. In comparison with the baseline، we found significant differences between serum ARE and MDA values before and after intervention. The 3-month supplementation resulted in increasing the ARE activity (P<0. 001) and reduction of the MDA levels (P<0. 001). The combined antioxidant supplements for 3 months resulted in significant improvement in ARE activity and reduction of lipid peroxidation marker and may be helpful in rheumatoid arthritis treatment.