Health Scope
Year:2014 | Volume:3 | Issue:2|Papers Count:10

Background: Improper use of pesticides has become a serious in regard to human health in recent years. Overlooking safety regulations, using pesticides creates many problems and health hazards for people.Objectives: This paper aimed to investigate the use of pesticides by pistachio farmers in Kerman, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Chatroud County, Kerman Province, Iran. A total of 278 respondents were enrolled in this cross-sectional study to investigate pattern of pesticide use among pistachio farmers. An ANOVA test and Pearson coefficient correlation were used to compare the score of function in applying pesticide and the correlation between quantitative variables.Results: Most of the farmers were illiterate or low-literate (completed primary school) (82%). About 58%of the interviewees had used at least one item of safety equipment during their work with pesticides. The mean score of practice showed a reverse correlation with working years. (r=0.37, P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between poisoning and the role of children in spraying (r=0.31, P<0.001).Conclusions: The low level of farmers’ education resulted in the improper use of pesticides. It is necessary to introduce appropriate methods for using pesticides to this group and to train them accordingly.

Background: The complex aromatic structures of dyes make them more stable and more difficult to remove from aqueous solutions.Thus, it is essential to remove dyes from wastewater before discharging them into environment.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of zero valent iron powder (ZVI) in removing reactive red 198 (RR-198) from aqueous solutions and analyze adsorption isotherms and kinetics.Materials and Methods: In this laboratory study, all experiments were performed in batch systems. This study investigated the effect of various factors, such as initial dye concentration, contact time, iron powder dose, and pH, on dye removal. The adsorption adsorption parameters were determined based on Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms, while the kinetic models were used to establish the adsorption mechanism.Results: The results of this research showed pH=3 and contact time=120 minutes, increasing the ZVI dose from 200 to 5000 mg/L in 100 mg/L dye concentration, increased the adsorption efficiency from 36.78% to 97.57%. RR-198 removal followed the Freundlich isotherm (R2= 0.996 at 25oC) and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.Conclusions: Considering the simplicity and efficiency of zero valent iron powder, this method is recommended for removing azo dyes from aqueous environments.

Background: Osteoporosis is a multifactorial skeletal disease, whose mechanisms are not fully understood. It is more common in older people, especially in postmenopausal women.Objectives: Body mass index (BMI) has been suggested as an important measurement to assess bone mineral density (BMD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of age, weight and BMI on BMD in postmenopausal women.Patients and Methods: In a cross-sectional study based on BMD measurement using dual-energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) method, 80 postmenopausal women referred to Rheumatology Clinics in Zahedan were selected; 26 participants had osteoporosis, 28 had osteopenia, and 26 had normal bone density. Weight and height were obtained to calculate BMI.Results: The mean BMD of women older than 50 years compared to those younger than 50 years was significantly different (P<0.05).The mean weight and BMI were found to be significantly lower in patients with low BMD as compared to the normal group (P<0.0001).There was a negative significant association between age and low BMD only in femur neck region (r=-0.37, P=0.006). In addition, a direct association was observed between weight (r=0.41, P=0.002) and BMI (r=0.31, P=0.02) with BMD at lumbar spine.Conclusions: The findings indicated that older women with low BMI were at higher risk of low bone mass. Body weight, BMI and aging may be important predictors of BMD, but they are not the only factors affecting bone loss. Therefore, it is recommended to assess other risk factors with a larger number of patients.

Background: Fenton (Fe2+and H2O2) and modified Fenton (Fe3+and H2O2) are two popular methods used in advanced oxidation processes (AOP) and degradation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as dye compounds. In these processes, Fe2+and Fe3+as catalysts and H2O2 as the oxidizing agent are added to the reactor.Objectives: The aim of the current study is to assess the abovementioned methods for removal of Reactive Red 198 and Blue Reactive 19 from aqueous solutions.Materials and Methods: This research was carried out using lab-scale. After preparation of RB-19 and RR-198 stock solutions (1000 ppm), optimum pH and temperature were determined within the range of (3-11) and (15oC-40oC) respectively, and specific amounts of Fe2+ and Fe3+ (0.8, 1, 3, 7, 14 and 32 mM) were prepared by adding FeSo4.7H2O and FeCl3, and H2O2 30% W/W (2, 5, 11, 23, 47 and 94 mM) were added to the solutions to establish the H2O2/Fe2+, Fe3+molar ratios. Standard jar tests were conducted using jar test apparatus. After sedimentation time, samples were filtered through a 0.45 mm fiber membrane, and then final dye concentrations were measured using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer.Results: The highest dye removal efficiency in both Fenton and modified Fenton methods were obtained at the optimum pH=3, optimum reaction time of 10 minutes, optimum temperature at 25oC and H2O2/Fe2+and H2O2/Fe3+concentrations of 11.3 and 5.1 mM, respectively.In the Fenton reaction the maximum efficiency was obtained at 94.70% and 99.31% for reactive red 198 and reactive blue 19, respectively.Moreover, by the modified Fenton method the maximum removal efficiency for reactive red 198 and reactive blue 19 was 94.8% and 99.43%.Conclusions: Fenton and modified Fenton processes could be used as very effective methods for removal of reactive red 198 and blue reactive 19 from aqueous solutions.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the earliest human diseases which still is considered a public health problem. Both genetic and environmental factors may contribute the susceptibility to tuberculosis.Objectives: Akt is a serine/threonine kinase that has an important role in several cellular processes such as cell cycle control, cell survival, and cellular immigration. The Akt signaling pathway has an essential function in incursion and reproduction of numerous bacteria.Polymorphisms in the Akt genes are known to be related with outcome of infections. We investigated a possible association between Akt1 726 G/A polymorphism and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Iranian patients with PTB. Analysis of the data was done using X2, and independent sample t-test. Genotypes analysis between the groups was done using logistic regression analyses.Patients and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 156 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 154 healthy controls.For detection of polymorphism, we used tetra amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS- PCR) and for determination of PCR products size, we used agarose gel electrophoresis.Results: Frequencies of genotypes GG, GA, and AA of the Akt1 726 G/A polymorphism were 45.6%, 47.4%, and 7% in the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, and 53.9%, 37.0% and 9.1% in the control group, respectively. G allele frequency was 69.2% in patients with PTB and 72.4% in healthy controls. We observed no significant difference in allele and genotype frequencies of the Akt1 polymorphism between patients with PTB and healthy controls.Conclusions: Our finding showed that Akt1 726 G/A polymorphism was not associated with risk of PTB in our population. More studies are necessary to validate our results.

1. Introduction: The world's population is rapidly ageing due to low birth rates and rising life expectancy. It is expected that between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of world's population over 60 years will double from about 11% to 22%. The global trend in population ageing is unprecedented in human history, pervasive across societies, enduring and will affect every community, family and person. Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon and dramatically proceed in low and middle income countries.

Background: Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) is one of the most important instruments frequently used to assess sleep quality. This questionnaire is used to assess sleep styles and quality in adults through seven dimensions.Objectives: The study aims to investigate the reliability, validity and factor structure of the Persian version of PSQI. Materials and Methods: A Survey method with quantitative analytic approach was used in this research. A sample of 415 employees of Kerman hospitals participated in this study and filled the questionnaire. Forward-backward method was applied to translate the questionnaire from English to Persian. The following aspects of the Persian version of PSQI were evaluated: internal consistency (using Chronbach’s alpha), concurrent validity (correlation with GHQ-28), and factor structure of the questionnaire.Results: Mean age of the participants was 35.18 years, and participants’ average year of education was 15.3. The Chronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.55. According to the factor analysis, three factors were extracted accounting for 63.485% of the total variance. There was a significant correlation among different dimensions of the Persian version of PSQI. Concurrent validity analysis showed that PSQI and GHQ-28 were correlated significantly.Conclusions: The Persian version of PSQI exerted a satisfactory validity and reliability in our sample.

Background: Universities, like any other organization, are working in a variable and dynamic environment. In order to empower these organizations to deal with constant change, they should focus on organizational learning.Objectives: This research aimed to study the relationship between organizational learning and employees' empowerment among the headquarters staff of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2013.Patients and Methods: This was an applied, cross-sectional, and analytical-descriptive study. A sample of 100 headquarters staff of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were selected using stratified sampling proportional to size, and simple random sampling methods. The required data were collected using two questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS 18.0 and statistical tests including; ANOVA, independent-sample t-test as well as Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression (stepwise method). In all tests, P value< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The results showed that the studied employees' empowerment and organizational learning were moderate. In addition, the results of multiple linear regression indicated that only participation (P<0.001) and competence (P=0.001) had a positive and significant association with organizational learning.Conclusions: The studied university could promote employees' empowerment and organizational learning using strategies including job enrichment, providing opportunities for innovation and creativity for their employees, giving rewards to individuals and team learning.

Background: Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral condition characterized by poor attention, hyperactivity and misbehavior. Parent training and behavioral therapy are psychosocial techniques aimed at training parents to manage and change their children’s behavior.Objectives: This study examined the impact of parent training and behavioral therapy to control ADHD children.Patients and Methods: This research was a pretest-posttest study, conducted on 61 ADHD children selected randomly among referrals to psychological clinic (Hamdelan) Zahedan, Iran in 2010. Eight sessions of parent training based on the Barkley method and eight sessions of behavioral therapy were held for children's parents. The measurement tool was a researcher made questionnaires, consisting of diagnostic symptoms and features of ADHD based on DSM IV (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders). Data were analyzed using t-test and SPSS software version 17.Results: Nine girls (14.8%) and 52 boys (85%), 6 - 14 years old, participated in the study. Mean scores showed that the symptoms reduced after intervention significantly (P<0.01). The results indicated that parent training and behavioral therapy were effective in controlling ADHD children's behaviors.Conclusions: The results of the present study can greatly benefit ADHD children since behavioral training may have a greater impact, than just the medication therapy on their social life.

Background: A wide range of groundwater and soil pollutions - due to diuron herbicide - have resulted in intensive studies on their effects and transport in the environment. Modeling of sorption coefficients is an effective technique to investigate the effects and behavior of environmental pollutants such as diuron. Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to present an exact model with minimum required inputs, to predict the soil sorption coefficients (Kd) and the soil organic carbon sorption coefficients (Koc) of diuron, in order to eliminate the need for time-consuming and costly laboratory experiments. Intelligent models based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to achieve this objective. Materials and Methods: Data of this study were driven from the sorption studies, carried out on soils from a paddock under pasture at Flaxley Agriculture Centre, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. Results: The multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural networks (ANN) model with 1-6-1 layout, predicted nearly 98% of the variance of Kd as well as 94% of the Koc variations with soil organic carbon content. Conclusions: Results showed that ANN is a powerful tool for predicting sorption coefficients using soil organic carbon content variations.