Journal of Health Sciences and Surveillance System
Year:2021 | Volume:9 | Issue:1|Papers Count:9

Background: Given the novelty of COVID-19, reviewing diagnostic methods can be of great help to community health policymakers. Considering the importance of diagnosing COVID-19 and the need for reducing the number of false positive and false negative cases that appear to be different in various diagnostic methods, this systematic review aimed at comparison of PCR test accuracy with laboratory data and CT SCAN in COVID-19. Methods: In this systematic review, EMBASE (Elsevier, 2018), MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine, 2018), Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, 2018b), and Google Scholar data bases were searched for the studies published prior to 3 April 2020. Based on the inclusion criteria, 20 out of 859 primarily screened studies were finally assessed. Results: The results indicated that the laboratory diagnosis of viral nucleic acid could have false-negative results, and serological testing of virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies should be used as an option for diagnosis. Moreover, chest Computerized Tomography (CT) was found to be more sensitive in comparison to Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) (98% vs. 71%). Hence, the articles offered the combined use of chest CT, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, and multiplex PCR. Conclusion: Follow-up RT-PCR and chest CT are necessary in COVID-19. In addition, serological testing of virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies along with laboratory diagnosis of viral nucleic acid can lead to the highly sensitive and accurate diagnosis. Moreover, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is one of the cost-effective methods in epidemic conditions in low-and middle-income countries.

Background: In the last two decades, the number of people who have referred to mental health services due to concerns about gender identity has increased dramatically. The aim of this study was to present the most important and fundamental results of studies on transgender psychological and behavioral disorders and compare these results. Methods: This is a narrative review study. Search for articles related to common psychological and behavioral disorders in transgender people was done by two trained researchers between December 2019 and March 2020 in 5 Latin scientific databases (Google Scholar, PubMed / Medline, Scopus, ISI Web of Science and Embase). Results: Psychological and behavioral disorders were much higher in transgender people than in the general population. The most common disorders included anxiety and depression, suicidal attempt, drug abuse, self-injury without suicidal tendency, and H I V. Conclusion: Transgender people are constantly harassed and abused by friends, acquaintances, classmates and teachers, and even their families. Having multiple sexual partners increases the risk of HIV infection and other sexual misconduct. Therefore, governments need to implement their support programs through training centers and counseling for transgender individuals.

Background: Edo State has recorded recurrent Lassa fever (LF) outbreaks in the past and had the highest proportion of confirmed cases in Nigeria in 2018. The aim of this study was to profile Lassa fever contacts and demonstrate the implications of contact tracing in the control of the disease. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was based on secondary analysis of information derived from Lassa fever contact tracing forms used during the response to the LF outbreak of 2018 in Edo State. Contact tracing and data management were part of WHO's support to the State. Using SPSS, associations and other relationships between selected variables were tested. The significance level was set at P<0. 05. Results: Total contacts followed up were 2527 during the period under consideration. Higher mean contacts per case (CPC) was significantly associated with contacts in Edo South, with contacts of cases that died and with cases with symptomatic contacts (F=8. 307, P<0. 001; t=14. 995, P<0. 001; t=6. 161, P=0. 014 respectively). Following the integration of contact tracing with awareness campaigns, the number of newly diagnosed cases per week dropped from over 30 in the 7th week to 2 in the 13th week (42 days or 2 incubation periods). Conclusion: Effective contact tracing contributed significantly to the identification of symptomatic contacts and to rapid control of the 2018 Lassa fever outbreak in Edo State. We recommend the deployment of effective contact tracing in the control of outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers especially Lassa fever.

Background: The mental health of healthcare workers has been a concern during the outbreak of 2019 novel Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19). Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the anxiety of the healthcare workers during Covid-19 epidemic and to discover the factors affecting it. Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional descriptiveanalytical study. In this study, the anxiety of 124 nurses, operating room staff, midwives and anesthetists working in different wards of Imam Reza Hospital in Lar in 2020 was assessed using the Corona Anxiety Scale Questionnaire. Results: The results showed that most of the samples were female, married, with a bachelor’ s degree and an average age of 33 years. 53 (42. 8%) participants had mild anxiety and 34 (27. 4%) had severe anxiety. Comparison of anxiety levels based on demographic variables of participants in the study showed that there was no significant relationship between anxiety levels with gender, marital status, education level, and field of study (P> 0. 05). Conclusion: According to the results of the study and the worsening of the COVID-19 epidemic, there is a need to strengthen the awareness and address the issues related to mental health of healthcare workers.

Background: Having an appropriate appearance in adolescent girls is one of the important traits of adolescence that is affected by various psychological factors and causes the formation of different eating attitudes and behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of body checking behaviors associated with alexithymia and parenting behavior to eating attitudes of adolescent girls. Methods: The research method was cross-sectional, descriptivecorrelation based on structural equations. The statistical samples of the study included all female high school students in Torbat-e Heydarieh, Khorasan Razavi in the academic year of 2018-2019 (N=2832); of them, 390 were selected according to the Slovin formula and multi-stage cluster sampling. They filled out alexithymia questionnaires by Bagby et al., and parental rearing methods by Baumrind, and body checking by Reese et al. The obtained data were analyzed by regression equations using SPSS 23 and Amos 18 software. Results: The findings showed a positive and significant correlation between the variables of alexithymia, permissive, authoritarian parenting behavior and body checking behaviors with eating attitude; also, there was a significant negative correlation between the variables of assertive and authoritative parenting behavior with eating attitude (P<0. 01). Also, eating attitude based on alexithymia, authoritarian and authoritative parenting behaviors could be directly and indirectly predictable through the mediation of body checking behaviors, and the research model was approved. It can be concluded that when alexithymia and parental behavior are combined with body checking behaviors, they have more effects on the intensity of eating attitudes. Conclusion: According to the results, training parenting methods and emotional skills affect the formation of positive attitudes about the body checking and creating normal eating attitude.

Background: Pharmaceutical pollutants are one of the most important pollutants for water resources, and their health and environmental effects have been well estimated. Absorption is one of the best methods of the removal of antibiotics using nanocomposite. Methods: This experimental study was performed on Nano composites. The PAC/Fe/Si/Zn Nano composite was successfully synthesized using a co-precipitation method in which iron (Fe), silicon (Si) and zinc (Zn) were loaded on the activated carbon powder (PAC). The structural features of the as-synthesized Nano composite were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The as-synthesized Nano composite was utilized to remove azithromycin and cefixime from aqueous solution with the assistance of UV light. The effect of operational parameters such as pH, irradiation time, initial azithromycin/ cefixime concentration and Nano composite dose on UV-assisted removal performance was evaluated using an optimization process. Results: The UV-assisted removal activities indicated more removal percentage (99. 7%) for azithromycin compared to cefixime (95. 6%). The kinetics of removal was tested using LangmuirHinshelwood model, indicating the first-order reaction kinetics as the best model for UV-assisted removal of both azithromycin and cefixime. Adsorption equilibrium data were modeled using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Azithromycin equilibrium adsorption showed a good fit with both Langmuir and Freundlich models, while the most suitable model for cefixime adsorption was estimated to be Langmuir isotherm. Conclusion: The findings showed that PAC/Fe/Si/Zn Nano composite were well able to degrade non-biodegradable antibiotics in aqueous solutions, which is very valuable from environmental aspects.

Background: Discharging antibiotics into the environment could cause great concern for scientists. In the present study, tetracycline (TC) antibiotic was photodegraded with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) fixed on the polyurethane (PU) in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and optimized through response surface methodology (RSM). Methods: This experimental study was conducted on the most effective variables (pH, contact time, TC concentration, and catalyst doses) for experimental design. The experiments of degradation with the process of PU/UV/nanocatalyst composite were conducted with a reactor glass vessel (1000 mL) as batch mode. Results: The results showed that the quadratic model can be used for the interpretation of experiments. The results of the model represented that all parameters had a significant effect on the tetracycline removal, and the degradation of antibiotics was obtained at the optimum condition that was 95% for ZnO/UV/PU and 97% for TiO2/UV/PU. The main radical for the degradation of TC was hydroxyl ions based on the scavenger study and the first-order kinetic model was best fitted with data. The highest removal efficiency was obtained at pH of 5. 2, catalyst dose of 2. 64g/m2, TC concentration of 25. 21, reaction time of 82 min using ZnO/UV/PU and pH of 5. 8, catalyst dose of 2. 9 g/m2, TC concentration of 25. 12, and reaction time of 90 min using TiO2/ UV/PU. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the process of nanocatalyst fixed on polyurethane can significantly eliminate the antibiotic in the presence of ultraviolet irradiation from the effluent of the wastewater treatment plant.

Background: Occupational health and safety is important for workers and their employers. Unfavorable safety climate can affect the workers' health and performance negatively. Job stress is a harmful pheromone in the industries that have been a concerning issue in recent years. This study aimed to determine the safety climate and its effect on the workers' perceived stress in a tile industry in the west of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 135 employees working in a tile industry in the west of Iran in 2018. The data were collected using demographic characteristics, safety climate, and Cohen's perceived stress questionnaires. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and leaner regression test using SPSS version 22 software. Results: The mean (SD) of safety climate was 3. 06± 0. 55 (out of 5) and that of perceived stress was 26± 8. 22 (out of 56). A significant inverse relationship was found between safety climate and perceived stress (r=-0. 240, p-value= 0. 005). Safety climate was not significantly correlated with demographic features and background factors (P>0. 05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the level of safety climate was moderate to high; besides, the unfavorable safety climate can be a risk factor for perceived stress. Given the inverse relationship between safety climate and perceived stress, improving the staff's safety level by engineering and managerial interventions can be useful in improving the workers' health.

Background: The production and consumption of pharmaceutical compounds, including antibiotics, and their entry into the environment have raised concerns for experts. It is important to find appropriate methods for treatment of these pollutants from aquatic environments. In this study, nano-persulfate process using green synthesis of zero iron nanoparticles was used in decomposition of the antibiotic Metronidazole (MNZ). Methods: In this study, first, zero iron nanoparticles were synthesized using oak leaves. Then, the characteristics of these nanoparticles were determined using electronic images such as SEM, and TEM. In the experimental part of the study, the effect of operating conditions such as nZVI dosage, persulfate concentration and pH of the PS/nZVI process on degradation of MNZ in aqueous solution Was examined. Results: The results of this study showed that the PS/nZVI process had an acidic nature for removal of MNZ. The optimal conditions for this process were: the dosage of nZVI was 1. 8 g/l, the concentration of persulfate was 1. 5 mg/l, and pH was 3 for the degradation of 50 mg/l MNZ at contact time of 90 min. The maximum MNZ removal efficiency using PS / NZVI process was about 98. 4 % in these conditions. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the synthesis of green zero iron nanoparticles is an economical and environmentally friendly method that can be used to remove MNZ from aqueous solutions.