Koomesh
Year:2009 | Volume:10 | Issue:2 (30)|Papers Count:13

Introduction: Since teachers play an important role in education, thus, the higher education organizations have items to evaluate their performance to promote the quality of education to determine the characteristics of a good teacher. This study was performed to evaluate the opinions of students in Semnan University of medical sciences about the features of a good academic lecturer.Materials and Methods: This analytical-descriptive study was performed on 133 para-medical and nursing students. A two-part questionnaire containing 24 features of a good educator was given to students. In this questionnaire, reliability and validity was considered and the students’ view was asked in the scale of Likert measuring attitude in the form of without importance, low importance, nearly important, important, and too important. Then, these features were categorized in the fields of research, methodology of teaching, in dividable character, and communication ability.Results: 76% of students were females and 53.4% were studying for B.S. degree. The most important features obtained in this study were proficiency on the course, fluency in speech, organizing the contents and having interest to teaching. On the other hand, decisiveness of teacher, having interest to research and the teaching experience were those items that had the least important for students. In addition, the results showed that there was a significant relation between the gender and the teacher’s personality features (P=0.025).Conclusion: According to the results, proficiency on the course, fluency in speech and having interest in teaching are the items that in selecting the teachers should be considered. Therefore, it seems some workshops are necessary for university lecturers about how to organize the contents, teaching methodology, and how to communicate with others in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Introduction: Following the seizure there is an inhibitory period named “post-ictal depression period” which has a depressing effect on the following seizure. In this study, the role of GABAA receptors on post-ictal depression period was investigated in amygdala kindling model of epilepsy in rat.Materials and Methods: Animals were kindled by electrical stimulation of amygdala. Then, they were divided into four groups. Different groups of kindled animals were received a second stimulation at 10, 30, 60 and 90 min after the first stimulation and the percentage of suppression of seizure parameters after the second stimulation was calculated. In another four groups, bicucullin, a selective GABAA receptor antagonist (100nM), was intra-cerebroventricularly microinjected 10 min before the second stimulation and its effect on the percentage of suppression induced by the first stimulation was investigated. Six animals were used in each group.Results: When the second stimulation was applied at 10 and 30 min after the first stimulation a significant reduction was observed in the seizure severity and seizure parameters were depressed after the second stimulation. Bicucullin microinjection significantly decreased the percentage of depression in seizure parameters following the second stimulation compared to the animals received the solvent alone (P<0.05). This decrease was significant when the second stimulation was applied at 10 and 30 min after the first stimulation.Conclusion: Obtained results showed that activity of GABAA receptors by endogenous GABA is one of the mechanisms involved in post-ictal depressing period. However, the blocking of these receptors could not completely prevent this period. Thus, other factors have also role in its induction.

Introduction: Occupational injury is a major health problem in developing countries. The first step in trade Occupational injury problems is to identify pattern and characteristics. Thus, the aim of this study was to demonstrate status of work injuries admissions to trauma hospital in Semnan, as a main industrial city of Iran.Material and Methods: This descriptive study was performed based on the information collected from all injured patients admitted during to hospitals in Semnan during 2002-2006. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 11Results: The results showed the incidence rate of occupational accidents was 3.8/1000 during years between 2002 and 2006. Occupational accidents were greater in young (20-24 years), male and married workers. Most of accidents had been happened between 7and 10 am. Finally, most related factors were personal factors (fatigue, multi-job, family problems, and using of medicines. These factors were responsible for 53.6% of all occupational accidents.Conclusion: It seems that constant safety education for the public and professional training for workers would reduce the incidence of occupational injuries. Prevention strategies and guidelines, particularly about personal factors that are implicated in injuries during working, must be provided and coordinated on a national level. These guidelines should.

Introduction: Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is one of the most widely used techniques for non-invasive assessment of bone status. Radiation dosimetry is well established technique for pencil beam and fan beam DXA system, for the assessment of the surface absorbed dose. No published assessment of the absorbed dose for the various depths of the critical organs such as the thyroid and uterus was found. Therefore, in this study, we measured the surface dose and depth dose of critical organs to determine the correlation between the depth dose and the surface dose.Materials and Methods: A Lunar DPX-MD (pencil beam) system was used in this study. An anthropomorphic phantom was designed. AP spine and femur scan modes were used to measure the surface and depth doses of the thyroid left and right lobes and uterus in various deeps and scan centers. TLDs-400 were placed at the surface, near the source and also inserted at different depths in thyroid and uterus of the anthropomorphic phantom. Absorbed doses were measured on the phantom for AP spine and femur scans. The correlation between the absorbed dose and the depth was found using the linear regression analysis.Results: There was no significant correlation between the depth dose and the scan center dose except in the femur scan. AP spine effective dose were calculated as 0.064, 0.059, 0.061 and 0.242mSv for thyroid left, right lobes, uterus and ovary, respectively.Conclusion: It is concluded that there is significant correlation between the surface and the dose of various depths of the scanned sections.

Introduction: Hemodialysis patients face with many challenges in their daily life requiring them to use coping strategies for adjustment. The purpose of this study was to determine the coping styles among Iranian dialysis patients.Materials and Methods: In a case-control study, one hundred consecutive hemodialysis patients referred to Hemodialysis center of Noor hospital, Isfahan, were selected based on the inclusive and exclusive criteria and compared to one hundred normal people randomly selected from population visiting inpatients and they were matched with case group. Data collected by using a demographic questionnaire and the Jalowiec Coping Scale, and then MANCOVA and co-variance were used to analyze the data.Results: The findings of MANCOVA showed significant difference between two groups in coping styles (P= 0.0001). Also, the results of covariance indicated significant differences in three coping styles including confrontive coping style (P= 0.0001), evasive coping style (P= 0.002) and palliative coping style (P= 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in other coping styles between two groups.Conclusion: Generally, the findings confirmed that the hemodialysis patients have low tendency to use confrontive coping style. The commonly used coping strategies among the hemodialysis patients in deal with stresses are evasive and palliative coping styles. Thus, it seems that the hemodialysis patient’s deal with challenges due to their illness and treatment predominately by using emotion oriented coping styles. The findings emphasis the role of hemodialysis patients` psychological appraisal from challenges due to their illness and treatment, or new concept called “illness representation” in coping styles.

Introduction: b-thalassemia major due to ineffective erythrocyte life span leads to severe anemia requiring regular transfusion, which it can lead to major organs damage. Renal damage can be attributed to chronic anemia, iron over load and or defferoxamin toxicity. The object of this study was to analyze renal tubular and glomerular function in pediatric patients with beta-thalassemia major.Materials and Methods: 39 patients with b -thalassemia major whose mean ages were 11.8 yr and 22 sex and age matched healthy children as control group were studied. Blood rine samplesand uwere obtained for measuring biochemical markers. Urinary N-Acetyl- b.D.glucosaminidase (NAG) and urine NAG to creatine ratio (U Cr /NAGratio) were measured.Results: No significant differences were found between serum BUN, creatinine, and also creatinine clearance between both groups. Also there were no significant differences in urine osmolality between patients and controls. Urine NAG was significantly higher in thalassemic patients than control group (p<0.000). There was positive relation between urinary NAG and duration of illness(r=0314, p<0.01). There was no significant relationship between urinary NAG and serum ferritin. Finally, no significant difference was found in GFR of both groups.Conclusion: Our study showed renal tubular function is impaired in in patients with b-thalassemia major as indicated with increased urinary NAG. Further, we have found a positive relationship between urinary NAG and duration of disease. Thus, in spite of normal GFR and other biochemical marker such as BUN and creatinine, increased urinary NAG may be as an early marker of renal disease in patients with b-thalassemia major.

Introduction: Brucellosis as a zoonosis is still a public health problem in many countries such as Iran. To perform preventive, control and eradication policies about the disease, we need the exact epidemiologic information and patterns of brucellosis in our country. In this study, we investigated frequency of reported cases of Brucellosis to province health center from public and private sectors in Semnan during 2006-2007Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, we only enrolled the patients who had brucellosis in 2006-7 and there was a record of their disease in the public health centers of Semnan including Sorkheh, Mehdishahr and Shahmirzad. A checklist was prepared for the patients and the data analyzed by computer.Results: The findings showed that only 26 out of 62 (41.9%) patients with brucellosis had a disease record in the health center of Semnan province. Private laboratories, educational hospitals, general practitioner and specialist physicians’ surgeries reported only 7.6, 20, 18.2 and 50% of their diagnosed brucellosis cases to the health center of Semnan province, respectively. Three patients with brucellosis who were diagnosed in non- educational hospitals had no a disease record in the health center of Semnan province. Meanwhile, 93.7% of the cases were diagnosed in one of the public heath centers had a disease record in the health center of Semnan province.Conclusion: These results showed therapeutic and diagnostic centers, except public heath centers, had no enough attention for reporting of brucellosis cases to Semnan province public health center. Therefore, there is no exact information about the number of brucellosis cases in the province and it makes some difficulties about preventing and control of the disease.

Introduction: Pain is the most common complaint of patients and therefore its treatment is the most ancient problem of human being. Since opioids have many side effects, morphine (MOR) are administrated limitedly. Recent studies have shown that cimetidine (CIM) induces analgesia in animals and humans. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of CIM in control of post operative pain.Materials and Methods: This study was a double-blind clinical trial. Following filling a consent form, one hundred and twenty patients (male & female) were randomly divided to four groups. The first three groups, as CIM groups, were received different doses of CIM (3mg/kg, 6mg/kg and 8mg/kg) and the last group given MOR (o.1 mg/kg). The drugs were injected (IV) in peak of pain during post operation period. Numeric rating pain scale (RPS) method was used for pain scaling. Pain was measured in 30 min, 60 min and 120 min after injection the drug and compared with pain score before injection of the drug.Results: Pain intensity was not significantly different prior to injection, 30 , 60 min and 120 min after drug injections in all four groups (MOR and CIM groups), but it was significantly lower when compared with pain score before injection of drug (P<0.05). In addition, there were no significant differences in duration of analgesia among four groups.Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that the analgesic effects (time and quality) of CIM (each three doses) are compatible with that those induced by MOR. Therefore, It seems that CIM is a safe drug in control of post operative pain.

Introduction: Cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) are the third and second common cause of death and morbidity in the world, respectively. Since high levels of serum lipids and atherosclerosis are one the risk factors of CVA, and also there are some reports about relation between atherosclerosis and earlobe crease (ELC), the present study was performed to verify any association between ELC and CVA.Materials and Methods: This study was designed as a case-control study. 55 patients with CVA (case group) and 55 patients without CVA (control group) were selected, and then presence of ELC and serum levels of cholesterol, LDL, HDL were measured in both control and case groups.Results: The prevalence of ELC in CVA patients was more than without CVA (%74.1 vs. %26.8- p<0.001). Mean level of Cholesterol and LDL were more in patients with CVA than without CVA (p<0.001). Also, mean level of HDL in CVA group was less than control group (p<0.001). Mean level of cholesterol and LDL were more and mean level of HDL was less in patients with ELC than patients without ELC (p<0.001).Conclusion: The prevalence of ELC in patients with CVA is more than in patients without CVA (OR: 7.81). Mean level of serum lipids in these patients were more than patients without CVA. CVA in patients with ELC is 7.81 times more common than without ELC. In due attention to high prevalence of ELC in patients with CVA, it seems ELC must be evaluated as a risk factor.

Introduction: In diabetic patients, decreasing of oxidative stress level and serum glucose and lipids is clinically important. In this study, the effects of chronic administration of silymarin (S) on blood glucose and lipids and oxidative stress in diabetic rats were investigated.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, male rats (n =40) were randomly divided into 4 groups, i.e. control, S-treated control, diabetic, and S-treated diabetic groups. The treatment groups (in diabetic group, before induction of diabetes by i.p. administration of streptozotocin) were received an initial dose (200 mg/kg) and then a daily dose (100mg/kg) for 8 weeks. Serum glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL- cholesterol levels and activities of superoxide desmolase (SOD) enzyme and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined before the study and after 8 weeks.Results: After 8 weeks, serum glucose, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were increased (P=0.03-0.0001) and HDL- cholesterol level was decreased (P=0.03) significantly in the diabetic group as compared with the control group. S treatment of diabetic rats caused a decrease in serum glucose, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels (P=0.01-0.0001) and an increase in HDL- cholesterol level ((P=0.03). On the other hands, serum SOD antioxidant activity was decreased and serum MDA levels increased in diabetic rats in compared to the control group. In Streated diabetic rats, serum SOD activity was increased and serum MDA levels decreased.Conclusion: Treatment of diabetic rats with silymarin not only decreases the level of serum glucose but also has beneficial effect on serum lipids and oxidative stress level.

Carcinoids are the most common neuroendocrine tumors, which arise commonly in the gastrointestinal or respiratory tract. Breast carcinoid is rare and may be primary or metastatic. Primary breast carcinoids account for <1% of primary breast cancer and can be mistaken with other primary breast cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis can be useful in diagnosis. Here we reported a 78 years old women with right breast mass. Mass resected and patient worked up for extra mammary origin. Finally primary breast carcinoid tumor was diagnosed for the patient and modified radical mastectomy and axillary node dissection performed. No adjuvant therapy was used.