Toloo-e-Behdasht
Year:2011 | Volume:10 | Issue:2 (32)|Papers Count:10

Background: Because students play an important role in the future management of every country and are responsible for other social groups of the country towards perfection and goals, their physical and mental health is very significant. This study intends to investigate the relationship between chronic stress and quality of life in female students.Method: This descriptive analytical study was performed on 300 third grade high school students in Yazd. Data collection tools were the standard questionnaires Eshpylberger chronic stress and Quality of Life SF36. Data were collected and compiled by the computer software spss-11 and analyzed.Results: The age average of the students was 16.8±0.6. The findings showed that the mean score of chronic stress in students was 43.59±8.4 and the average score of students in quality of life was 70.98±10.67. According to the results, %39.7 of students who enjoyed good quality of life had lower chronic stress.Conclusion: According to the results, with increasing stress intensity, quality of life in the students decreases.

Background: Waste stabilization ponds are simplest systems applied by human to treat the biological degradable materials. Today, computerized tools and special mathematical modeling is used to manage environmental systems problems. System Dynamics is a system for problems analys is when time is a significant factor. It includes the way action and reaction of system is encountered by external thistles.Methods: After sampling and testing, phosphorus was modeled by using mathematical relationships and system Dynamics method. After making the initial model and its testing, the model was calibrated using three months data from facultative pond in Yazd city in Iran.Results: Algal growth rate, phosphorus settling rate and losses due to algal respiration and excretion were from important agents. Respiration rate of herbivorous zooplankton, non living carbon hydrolysis rate and phosphorous to chlorophyll ratio were from low important agents.Respiration rate of carnivorous zooplankton and phosphorous to carbon ratio were from unimportant agents.Conclusion: In comparison with other models, our System Dynamics Model needs low data. This is also a cheap model and we perceived good operation of it. In sensitive analysis, algal growth rate and phosphorus settling rate were important in phosphorus removal. So, we can manage facultative pond better with increasing retention time in pond. Phosphorous to chlorophyll ratio had low important role in this model. Thus, system can tolerate phosphorous variations in inlet wastewater with sufficient algal growth. Respiration rate of carnivorous zooplankton and phosphorous to carbon ratio do not limit system equilibrium. Ability of the model increases with sufficient retention time and further data. System Dynamics ecological models give useful information for facultative ponds. It is recommended this model be used for management affairs and overall assessment of facultative ponds. For more precise assessment, it is apposite to use two or three dimensions models substitute zero dimensions models.

Background: Nutrition is one of the Most effective factors for establishment of health. Today, fast food consumption has increased due to changes in life style. Over-consumption of these high calorie and high-fat foods and the imbalance between energy intake/expenditure has increased the risk of obesity, diabetes and other diseases. This study assessed the status of fast food consumption among people of Yazd city.Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out on 600 adults in Yazd city using cluster sampling. method The data of fast-food consumption in Yazdi people over 18 years old were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were figured. The data were then analyzed using SPSS V.16 with using drawing on descriptive statistics and Chi-square.Results: About %34 of participant were men and %66 women. %24.7 and %22.1 of participants were between 18-25 and 25-30 years old respectively. More than 90 of participants were in the habit of consuming at least one of the fast food items and only %9.2 of them didn't use fast foods at all. Nearly %82 of them prefered to consume soft drinks and dressings with their fast food. Fast food consumption was observed in %97.5 of the university students and %93.3 of the jobless participants. Sixteen point seven percent of the jobless people and %18.8 of the university students consumed fast foods at least 1-2 times per week.Conclusion: Most of the fast food consumers were men, young, single and student. This finding indicates that young people do not have sufficient knowledge and experience about healthy nutrition. They do not believe that chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension can be started from young age. So, they consume fast foods too much. By increasing age, people pay more attention to health status because of increasing knowledge and risk perception.

Background: Nitrate ion is among the most important pollutants of surface and underground water which enters into aquatic resources through domestic, industrial and agricultural wastewater. Nitrate ion is an indicator of underground water pollution. In addition to its toxicity, high concentration of this ion in water can cause microbial contamination. High concentration of nitrate in water is not recognizable through tasting or smelling. The aim of this research was to study the efficiency of nitrate removal in drinking water using zero-valence iron nano-particle (Fe0) and also determination of the optimum conditions.Methods: In this study, the ratio of sodium boro-hydride and chloro-ferric (1: 3) w/w was used to prepare zero-valence iron nano-particle. Then, effect of factors such as pH (4, 6, 8, 10), exposure time (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 min), concentration of iron nano-particle (10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 g/l) and concentration of nitrate (25, 35, 50, 75, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/l) were studied. Absorption level and nitrate reaction dynamics were determined according to the most common isotherms and absorption kinetic.Results: Nitrate removal at pH 4, exposure time of 60 min, 15 g/l of iron nano-particle and initial nitrate concentration of 50 mg/l were recorded as 90%, 99.1, 95 and 70% respectively. Freundlich isotherm (R2=0.988) and Langmuir type 2 (R2=0.978) had the highest correlation to the studied factors. Also, kinetic analysis showed that nitrate absorption by zero-valence iron nano-particle was done according to grade 2 kinetic (R2=0.989).Conclusions: Findings revealed that nitrate removal level increased as pH decreased and exposure time and concentration of zero-valence iron nano-particle increased. Also, as nitrate concentration increased, removal percentage decreased. Therefore, to remove higher levels of nitrate, optimal experimental conditions should be determined.

Background: The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) has been associated with serious side effects. AAS abuse is growing increasingly among professional and amateur athletes. The purpose of this study was to apply peer education approach to prevent anabolic steroid abuse among male gym users.Method: This study was randomized pretest-posttest control group design which conducted was among young male gym users in Hamadan. Two body building clubs were randomly selected, and 60 participants as intervention group and 60 as control group were enrolled at the baseline survey and were followed up after 2-month. The educational programs to promote knowledge on nutrition in sport, side effects of anabolic steroid abuse and resistance skills were taught to the intervention group. The main communication strategy used in this study was peer education approach.Results: There were statistically significant differences of score in knowledge, perceived severity, and intention reduction for using AAS among interventional versus control group (P<0.05).However no significant difference was found for using anabolic steroid and perceived susceptibility after intervention between the two groups (P>0.05).Discussion: The results showed the increasing knowledge, perceived severity and intention reduction to anabolic steroid after completing the educational program among athletes in the intervention group and the usefulness of instructional programs for them.

Background: For surviving and growth, educational organizations, among other institutions, have no choice except to move towards excellence and continuous improvement. The European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM) can be used as a powerful tool.Experiences of other countries show that higher education institutions in the implementation of the model have been faced with obstacles. The aim of this study was to determine barriers in the implementation of Iran Quality Award based on EFQM model - in the universities of medical sciences in Iran and to present solutions.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using qualitative methods. Through structured interviews with national experts, barriers in the stability of Iran Quality Award fundamental concepts and solutions in University of Medical Sciences. were detected.Results: The most important barriers mentioned by the interviewees included special features of the universities, weakness in the performance of senior managers, poor participation, lack of innovation and creativity, poor communication, poor preparation and stability in the process improvement, weaknesses in the allocation of resources and the problems caused by environmental factors.Conclusion: Regarding the widespread use of the EFQM model in educational institutions in different countries and the obstacles observed, the barriers first have be identified then speculate on the root causes and finally provide solutions for these problems.

Background: Coping appraisal is a cognitive mediating process in Protection Motivation Theory which evaluates one’s ability to cope with or averts threatened danger and included perceived self efficacy, response efficacy and perceived costs of protective behavior. Threat appraisal process evaluates the factors associated with the behavior that potentially creates danger, including the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards accompanying the behavior, the severity of the danger, and one’s vulnerability to it. There are some evidences regarding their effects on intention and behavior of some safety areas but there isn't any study on intention and behavior of driving. The purpose of this study was Comparison of Coping Appraisal and Threat Appraisal in predicting unsafe driving behaviors and intention among 19-years-old-andabove drivers in Yazd city.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, total number of 379, drivers, which had a driving license were included in the study with a clustered random sampling in the city. Data collection instruments were a self-report questionnaire including demographic variables and subscales for measuring coping appraisal, threat appraisal, unsafe driving intention and behavior which was completed by referring to the participants' houses. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were examined and approved. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and t.test, Pearson correlation coefficient and Liner Regression statistical tests.Results: There was a significant negative correlation between coping appraisal and intention and unsafe driving behavior and positive significant correlation between threat appraisal and intention and unsafe driving behavior at 0.01 level. Coping and threat appraisal both predicted %31.1 of variance in unsafe driving behavior in which the coping appraisal (b=0.44) exceeded the threat appraisal (b=0.18). The predition of variances in variances in unsafe driving intention through coping Appraisal and Threat Appraisal came to %11.7 Only coping Appraisal was statistically significant.Conclusion: Cognitive mediating process of coping appraisal was a more powerful predictor of intention to unsafe driving behavior. Therefore increasing self efficacy and response efficacy, and decreasing perceived cost of drivers aimed at facilitating the acceptance of safe behavior could be note-worthy as a principle in education.

Background: Psychoactive drug abuse has been increased among Iranian young people in recent years thus producing health problems so requiring provision of educational preventive programs for this age group. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of problem solving skills training on college students’ perceived behavioral control against psychoactive drug abuse.Methods: A Pre-and-post nonequivalent control group design study was carried out.A total number of 140 students were selected through randomized cluster sampling and were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=70) and the control (n=70) groups. The data-gathering tool consisted of a self-report questionnaire assessing the variables of control beliefs and perceived power. After diagnostic evaluation, a problem solving skills promoting program was applied to persuade the participants against drug abuse. Respondents in the control and experimental groups completed questionnaires at baseline and 2 months after the intervention.Results: The result showed that educational manipulation had significant effect on the intervention group’s average response for perceived behavior control against psychoactive drug abuse (t=2.401, p<0.05). Also, perceived empowerment has more effectiveness of problem-solving skills training (t=4.218, p<0.05).Conclusion: These findings suggest that problem solving skills training would be an efficient tool for preventing drug abuse education programs among college students which must be added to comprehensive life skills programs.