Sadra Medical Sciences Journal
Year:2014 | Volume:2 | Issue:2|Papers Count:12

Background: Porcelain shade selection is very important in dentistry. There are some criteria for selecting the correct shade, but the extent to which these criteria are employed is not clear. The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of general dentists in using the principles of porcelain shade selection in Shiraz in 2012.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 82 general dentists in Shiraz. While the dentists were selecting the shade, we evaluated the use of principles of shade selection (look angle, eye posture, and distance). Then, the data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software.Results: None of the study dentists used commercial light sources and 52.4% benefited from daylight. Moreover, 53.4%, 57.3%, and 69.5% of the dentists had correct eye posture, correct look angle, and correct distance, respectively. The results showed a significant relationship between working experience and correct shade selection (P=0.03).Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated that about half of the general dentists did not follow the principles of shade selection. Thus, dentists’ attention should be attracted to the principles of shade selection. Also, further studies are required to focus on the reasons for not observing these principles.

Introduction: Humans' behaviors and activities result from their needs and motives. Thus, identification of motivational and hygiene factors in workplace can enhance the staffs' performance, productivity, and job satisfaction. This study aimed to determine the motivational and hygiene factors affecting the performance and satisfaction of the employees of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences in 2011.Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 150 employees in North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences were selected through stratified random sampling. The study data were gathered using Herzberg’s occupational motivation questionnaire. Finally, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v.18) and were analyzed using Chi-square, ANOVA, and t-test.Results: According to the results, 64% and 63% of the employees mentioned the motivational and hygiene factors of their workplace to be desirable. Among the hygiene factors, the highest and lowest scores were related to "association" (3.94+0.78) and "salary" (2.71+0.54), respectively. Among the motivational factors also, the highest and lowest scores were related to "nature of work" (3.67±0.73) and "job position" (2.86±0.57), respectively. Most of the employees considered salary and working environment conditions to be effective in their performance and satisfaction. Besides, a significant relationship was found between the staffs' workplace and employment status and some hygiene and motivational factors (P<0.05).Conclusion: Managers' attention to and planning for supplying “salary", "working conditions", "career development", and "job position" can improve the employees' satisfaction and performance.

Background: Medicinal plants which are used for treating diseases have very few side effects compared to synthetic drugs. Avicennia marina plant extracts have been used for centuries as a popular method for treating several health disorders. The present study aimed to determine the antimicrobial effect of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Avicennia marina on Listeria monocytogenes PTCC 1297, Bacillus cereus PTCC 1154, Enterobacter aerogenes PTCC 1221, Enterococcus faecalis PTCC 1237, and Salmonella typhi PTCC 1609 “in vitro”.Methods: In this study, the antimicrobial effect of the extracts was evaluated by two methods, “Collins method” (spreading the extract on medium surface) and “disk agar diffusion method”. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) for both species were determined by using dilution method. Finally, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (version 18) and analyzed by t-test and Duncan’s test.Results: The results showed that in "disk agar diffusion test", ethanolic extract had inhibition effects on Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus faecalis. MIC of Avicenna marina leaves of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts for Enterobacter aerogenes was 128 and 32 mg/ml, respectively. Besides, the MBC of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Avicenna marina leaves for Enterobacter aerogenes was 256 and 64 mg/ml, respectively. Moreover, Enterobacter aerogenes was most resistant to the aqueous and ethanolic Avicenna marina extracts.Conclusions: The ethanolic extract of Avicenna marina leaves “in vitro” has a significant antimicrobial effect on Enterobacter aerogenes and Salmonella typhi (gram-negative bacteria) and Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, and Enterococcus faecalis (gram-positive bacteria).

Introduction: Management is considered as one of the most important factors in growth, survival, and development of organizations. Managers play different roles in an organization, one of the most important of which being negotiation. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between negotiation styles and demographic and occupational variables in executive managers at Shiraz health centers.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 40 executive managers at the health centers of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected using Pireh skill and negotiation questionnaire. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v.16) and analyzed by t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient.Results: The mean scores of realism, normative, analytical, and intuitive subscales were 33.05, 30.52, 32.50, and 29.90, respectively. The results revealed a significant association between the managers' negotiation style and management experience (P=0.039).Conclusion: Realistic people are more successful in their negotiations. Considering the fact that managers with more managerial experience are more skilful in negotiation, it is necessary to involve them more in organizational negotiations. Furthermore, the results of this study showed no relationship between the managers' age and negotiating styles. Therefore, experienced young managers are recommended to be involved in organizational negotiations.

Background: Determination of diagnostic value of neurologic syndromes for neurotopographic diagnosis of lesions of central nervous system may decrease unnecessary neuroimaging and its costs.Methods: In this study, 200 patients who had undergone brain MRI and had a single new well defined cerebrovascular lesion in the brain underwent neuroexamination and were categorized based on syndrome diagnosis. This clinical evaluation was performed by a neurologist who was blind to the result of brain MRI.Also, the topography of vascular and parenchymal lesions was reported by a neuroradiologist who was blind to the clinical data. Then, true, false positive and false negative cases were identified compared to the standard method for determination of lesions topography; i.e., brain MRI. Afterwards, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of these syndromes were assessed.Results: The diagnostic accuracy of broca and wernicke aphasia for localization of brain lesion in lateral left frontal and left temporoparietal was 94%. Besides, the accuracy of hemiparesis for localization of brain lesion in the contralateral hemisphere was 95%. Additionally, the accuracy of aphasia and hemihypoesthesia for localization of brain lesion in the left hemisphere and contralateral hemisphere was 100%.Conclusion: Topography of symptomatic cerebrovascular lesions could be more accurately determined using clinical neuroexamination skills for detection of neurological syndromes.

Background: Today, medication errors are considered as a criterion to determine the quality of healthcare personnel’s performance. Since emergency medical technicians are the first line of treatment, they must have sufficient knowledge in the field of pharmaceutical calculations and its usage. The present study aimed to evaluate the ability of pharmaceutical calculations in the staff and technicians of emergency medical centers affiliated to Dezful University of Medical Sciences.Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 56 emergency personnel and technicians were randomly selected. The study data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire including eight questions about the emergency personnel’s knowledge regarding proper calculation of the dosage of widely used drugs. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v.18) and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation).Results: The mean age of the study participants was 31.39±3.15 years and they had averagely worked in the emergency department for 5.35±±1.54 years. In addition, 89.3% of the participants had diplomas and all the participants had passed the Emergency Rescue Course (Basic). However, 67.9% of the participants were not able to answer any of the questions. According to the results, only 3.6% of the subjects had proper knowledge level.Conclusion: Considering the emergency medical personnel’s lack of knowledge regarding pharmaceutical calculations, retraining courses are recommended to be planned for these individuals.

Background: Sustainable development of higher education system, which is a dynamic system, requires harmonious, proportional, and balanced growth of both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. This study aimed to determine the quality gap of educational services from the students’ perspective in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 220 students were selected using classified random sampling in 2012. The study data were collected through SERVQUAL questionnaire which measures the five dimensions of service quality gap, namely tangibles, reliability, assurance, empathy, and responsiveness. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, paired t–test, and one-way ANOVA.Result: The highest quality gap was related to assurance (-1.72±0.91) and accountability (- 1.72±1.02), while the lowest quality gap was related to tangibles (-1.48±0.88). The results revealed a significant difference between perceptions and expectations in all the dimensions (P<0.05).Considering the overall quality of the educational services, the majority of the students (211, 95.9%) attributed negative gap for service quality.Conclusion: Considering the vital role of universities and centers of higher education in a country’s development, enhancing the quality of higher education will provide further improvements. In order to reduce these gaps, customer service and communication training workshops should be executed, training courses on new educational methods should be held for teachers, and culture of customerorientation and student-centeredness should be institutionalized.

Background: Nowadays, violence and aggression can be widely observed in many societies, the effect of which can be seen on both individuals and the society as a whole. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between mother acceptance-rejection and aggression among the B.Sc. students of Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran.Methods: This descriptive, canonical correlational study was conducted on 100 female university students selected through simple sampling. The data were collected using adult acceptance-rejection questionnaire (mother form) and Buss and Warren Aggression Questionnaire. Then, they were entered into the SPSS statistical software and analyzed using descriptive as well as inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient and canonical correlation).Results: Structural coefficients showed that the pattern of high scores in mother’s acceptance and low scores in mother’s rejection was correlated with the pattern of low scores in indirect aggression, anger, hostility, and physical aggression. Therefore, the study findings indicated that the combination of low mother’s acceptance and high mother’s rejection could increase the probability of indirect aggression, anger, hostility, and physical aggression.Conclusion: A significant correlation was observed between mother acceptance-rejection and aggression.

Introduction: The global shortage of nurses and their intention to leave their occupation is a worldwide challenge. Intention to stay at nursing profession might be effective in preventing nurses from quitting their occupation. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the intention to stay at nursing profession and its related factors.Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 264 nurses working in the hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The study data were collected using demographic characteristics form and assessment of working experience (years), workplace, working hours per week, employment status, interest in nursing, place of studying, and intention to stay at nursing profession. Then, the data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software (v.16).Results: The findings revealed that 133 nurses (53.2%) had high and very high intention to stay at nursing profession. However, 20 nurses (8%) did not have any intention to continue their occupation.A significant relationship was found between the nurses’ intention to stay at their profession and sex (c2=14.69, P=0.01), age (F=3.95, P=0.004), employment status (c2=18.01, P=0.02), workplace (c2=31.41, P=0.01), and interest in nursing (c2=28.98, P<0.0001). The results of linear regression analysis showed that 50% of the variance of intention to stay at nursing profession was determined by the study variables. Besides, age, sex, and interest in nursing were associated with intention to stay at nursing profession.Conclusion: Females, formal and semi-formal employees, younger individuals, and those who worked in internal wards had higher intentions to stay at nursing profession. However, males and contractual employees had a lower intention to stay at nursing profession. Therefore, authorities should pay more attention to these individuals. Also, more studies are suggested to be conducted on the reasons for these individuals' lower intention.

Introduction: Nowadays, paying attention to food services quality in hospital is one of the important challenges in provided health services and is one of the main concerns of hospital managers. The present study aimed to survey food services quality in hospitals and present strategies to for its improvement.Methods: This systematic review was conducted in 2013 by searching databases, such as PubMed, science direct, Sid, Iran Medex, and Google scholar. The articles which were related to quality of foods and patients' satisfaction were entered into the study. Besides, the data were related to a 6- month period from 2012 to 2013. Overall, 29 out of the 2042 articles were analyzed.Discussion: Paying attention to food services quality is one of the main factors in improvement of patients' health and an inseparable part of the treatment process. Therefore, hospital managers should pay special attention to this issue. In order to improve the food quality and increase patient satisfaction, managers can plan for educating the personnel regarding food preparation and distribution, making up appropriate kitchens, appropriate food temperature, selection of foods by patients, provision of healthy and sufficient equipment, regular examination of the personnel of the nutrition ward, and creation of bulk trolley service and room service systems.

 Nocardia spp. is obligate aerobic filamentous bacilli, gram-positive, partially acid-fast, and nonmotile bacteria. The genus Nocardia can cause infection in different parts of the body, especially the respiratory tract. The clinical signs of nocardiosis are similar to those of tuberculosis. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Nocardia in sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage samples from the patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis using paraffin baiting Technique. In the current study, 250 samples of sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage from the patients with suspected tuberculosis were assessed using paraffin baiting technique. After collecting the samples, some microscopic slides were prepared for different types of staining and the rest of the samples were cultured in carbon-free broth containing paraffin rods and were then incubated at 35oC. The paraffin rods were checked regularly and the suspected colonies were tested for different specific phenotypic test, particularly growth in lysozyme broth.No organisms were detected in the prepared smears. However, according to the results of the culture, two samples were isolated from the sputum. Moreover, staining the colonies by common and specific stains revealed gram positive, partially acid fast, and negative acid fast bacteria. In addition, Nocardia was confirmed by growth of the isolates in the lysozyme medium. Identification of Nocardia should be taken in to account while examination of the patients suspected to pulmonary tuberculosis.

Evaluation and recognition of a university's research status are essential for the university's research planners and policymakers. The present study aimed to assess the scientific output of the paramedical school, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences based on Scopus database until the end of 2012. In this descriptive study, scientometric method was used. The study data, including the research articles by the faculty member of the paramedical school, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, were extracted from Scopus database in May 2013. After providing descriptive information of the faculty members and retrieved documents, citation analysis was used to evaluate the scientific output of the department and the college. H-index of the paramedical school was 13. In addition, department of Optometry gained the maximum H-index and citation per paper (11 and 6.67, respectively). Besides, most of the publications of paramedical school of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences were related to 2011 (27 records in Scopus). The most active authors had 42 and 39 articles in Scopus, and 65.85% of the articles were written by these two authors. Moreover, first or corresponding authors of 46.34% of the articles (57 records) were the faculty members of the paramedical school of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Overall, the scientific output of the paramedical school, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences has had an ascending trend. Additionally, the collaboration coefficient of the faculty members of the paramedical school was higher compared to the average collaboration coefficient in Iran. Increasing research budget, strengthening research structures (related research centers), employing new faculty members, and increasing postgraduate students’ admission are among the strategies which can be utilized to increase scientific output.