Annals of Military and Health Sciences Research
Year:2020 | Volume:18 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Dear Editor, One of the most common disorders related to military service is fatigue and weakness of the physical and mental strength. Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion and lack of energy that interferes with physical and cognitive functions. This inability to perform and maintain optimal performance has been attributed to a number of factors, including disruption of the sleep-wake cycle, prolonged stressful state, and high workload (1)...

Dear Editor, As the new novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread across the globe, people are being requested to stay at home (self-quarantine). Staying at home inactive for a long period is a big challenge to our health. Currently, in most countries, fitness centers and other places where people used to do exercises are temporarily closed. The low level of physical activity and sedentary behavior may have directly or indirectly negative effects on our health, well-being, andquality of life. TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) recommends moderate-intensity (for at least 150 minutes) or vigorous-intensity (for at least 75 minutes) physical activity per week. Physical activity can be a valuable tool to continue to protect health during the COVID-19 crisis (1). The research has discovered that exercise can reduce the risk of some respiratory problems such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The ARDS is a respiratory failure characterized by the rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs that prevents oxygen from reaching the organs, and it has been reported in many COVID-19 patients (2). The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the majority (around 42%) of the COVID-19 hospitalized patients develop ARDS and the ARDS was the cause of death among many patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (3)...

Background: The development of virtual human models has recently gained considerable attention in biomechanical studies intending to design for ergonomics. The computer-based simulations of virtual human models can reduce the time and cost of the design cycle. There is an increasing interest in finding the realistic posture of thehumanbody with applications in prototype design and reduction of injuries in the workplace. Objectives: This paper presents a generic method based on a multi-objective optimization (MOO) for posture prediction of a sagittal-plane lifting task. Methods: Improved biomechanical models are used to formulate the predicted posture as a MOO problem. The lifting task has been defined by seven performance measures that are mathematically represented by the weighted sum of cost functions. Specific weights are assigned for each cost function to predict both stoop and squat type postures. Some inequality constraints have been used to ensure that the virtual human does not assume a completely unrealistic configuration. Results: The method can predict the hand configuration effectively. Simulations reveal that predicting a squat posture requires the minimization of certain objective functions, while these measures are less significant for the prediction of a stooped posture. Conclusions: In this study, a MOO-based posture prediction model with a validation process is presented. We employed a threedimensional model to evaluate the applicability of using a combination of seven performance measures to the posture prediction of symmetric lifting tasks. Results have been compared with the available empirical data to validate the simulated postures. Furthermore, the assigned weights are obtained for a range of percentiles from 50% male to 90% female according to the postures obtained by 3D SSPPTM software.

Background: Decision-making is a complex process, and many factors are involved in it. Identifying consumer decision-making styles provides insights that can serve a basis for managers to make decisions about how to deliver goods and services. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the decision-making styles of patients referring to specialty and subspecialty clinics in Iran. Methods: In this study, a qualitative-quantitative approach was used. In the qualitative phase, through the Delphi method, important factors in patients’ decision-making in selecting different clinics were identified in three rounds. In the quantitative part of the study, a questionnaire consisting of 48 questions was prepared using factors identified in the qualitative section. Finally, 460 questionnaires were collected. Exploratory factor analysis using varimax rotation was used to summarize factors and extract decision-making styles. Results: The results identified 10 decision-making styles among patients referring to specialty and subspecialty clinics in Iran. Conclusions: Compared to previous research and the list of decision-making styles (CSI), the results showed that the two styles of being/inclining and paying attention to entertainment/recreation were not found among patients referring to clinics in this study. Each of the three styles of perfectionism/high-quality sensitivity, brand sensitivity, and habitual loyalty shopping was identified in two separate dimensions, and the style of coercion/lack of choice was identified in this study for the first time.

Background: Type 2 diabetes and thyroid disorders cause extensive changes in insulin resistance. An increase in serum resistin level is associated with insulin resistance. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the cumulative effect of diabetes and hypothyroidism on the serum resistin levels of type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: Participants were divided into four groups using the convenience sampling method. Each group contained 30 diabetic patients, 32 hypothyroid patients, 30 diabetics + hypothyroid patients, and 29 healthy individuals. Serum samples were taken from participants and their serum resistin levels were measured. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Pearson correlation test, ANOVA statistical analysis, and Tukey post hoc test were used to analyze the data. A P-value of < 0. 05 was used as statistically significant. Results: Among patients with hypothyroidism, resistin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone were moderately correlated (P = 0. 001, r = 0. 580). ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference between the resistin levels in the studied groups (P = 0. 000, F = 6. 813). Conclusions: Serum resistin levels are significantly lower in people with diabetes + hypothyroidism than in people with only one of these two conditions. Therefore, the cumulative effect of diabetes and hypothyroidism on resistin levels cannot be deduced from the findings of the present study.

Background: Family planning is one of the important needs of reproductive health care. For years, stable, reliable, reversible, accessible, and cost-effective methods have been desirable for this purpose. Vasectomy is often considered as the most common contraceptive method, due to the highly effective reversal success rate. Objectives: With the excellent patency and pregnancy rates, the microsurgical end-to-end vasovasostomy procedure has been recognized as a more common method for vasectomy reversal. Methods: Here we reviewed and analyzed the records of our experience of Modified Double-Layer microsurgical technique (MDLT) for the vasovasostomy procedure (n = 30) compared with the Three-Layer technique (TLT) (n = 24) during 3 years. The statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS (V. 15. 0), and a value of P < 0. 05 was considered significant. Results: In this report, 54 participants underwent TLT-VV (group 1) andMDLT-VV (group 2). There was no significant difference in the causes of vasectomy reversal between the two groups (P value = 0. 392). There was no significant difference between study groups in the fertility history (P value = 0. 561), the presence of a sperm granuloma (P value = 0. 21), underlying diseases (P value = 0. 345) and demographic characteristics. We observed a 94% (51/54) patency rate and a 40. 7% (22/54) pregnancy rate without any need for Assisted Reproductive technique (ART). Conclusions: The microscopic vasectomy reversal operation brings advantages to family planning and sexual health. High throughput return fertility, without any need for ART, places this technique in the first step of family planning. It seems Modified Double-Layer technique may be considered as the first step of microscopic vasovasostomy.

Dear Editor, The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread quickly across the globe. The COVID-19 infected people were reported from 216 countries across the world by June 11, 2020. To date, 7, 145, 385 people have been confirmed positive with COVID-19, leading to 408, 025 deaths (1). Up to date, many clinical trials have been conducted to investigate an effective and sound therapeutic regimen for COVID-19. Chloroquine (CQ) therapy is among the accepted regimens (2). The aminoquinoline groups have been used for malaria treatment, and they showed to be effective against the COVID-19 virus in many trials (3). A significant role was observed for chloroquine phosphate in the management of SARS-CoV epidemics and the Zika virus. Chloroquine acts by playing a significant role in elevating the pH of intracellular vacuoles and adjusting the protein degradation pathways, which goes though the acidic hydrolases in the macromolecule and synthesis of lysosomes in the endosomes and post-translational protein modification in the Golgi apparatus. In some antigenpresenting cells and macrophages, CQ normally interferes with antigen processing, hence showing an antirheumatic action (4). Several studies have reported the efficacy of CQ in COVID-19 patients at different stages of severity (3, 5)...

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is closely related to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly in stressful occupations. Firefighting is a hazardous profession and is associated with high metabolic risk. However, limited studies on firefighters are available. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of MetS among firefighters in Zahedan city, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 140 firefighters (age range, 16-55 years) employed at the fire department in Zahedan city, southeast Iran. Anthropometric characteristics and metabolic risk parameters, including blood pressure (BP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and lipid profile were measured, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was assessed based on National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria. Results: MetS was presented in 47 (33. 6%) of the firefighters. Among the metabolic risk factors, abdominal obesity (87. 1%), low-high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) (62. 1%), and hypertriglyceridemia (61. 4%) were more prevalent. Moreover, a significant increasing trend was found with increasing age and work experience (both, P = 0. 05). However, no significant differences were found for the remaining metabolic risk factors. Conclusions: The findings showed that about one-third of the firefighters had MetS. Age, abdominal obesity, and dyslipidemia were independent risk factors for MS in the firefighters. Thus, efforts should be undertaken to implement healthy lifestyle promotion programs for firefighters.