Journal of Inflammatory Diseases
Year:2013 | Volume:16 | Issue:4 (65)|Papers Count:22

Background: In orthodontics, bonding is a term commonly used to describe the connection of brackets to tooth surfaces using bonding resins. Different factors are involved in bond strength of orthodontic brackets, among those is the maintenance medium.Objective: To investigate the effect of maintenance medium on shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets.Methods: This was an experimental study performed on 105 healthy premolars in 2012. The teeth were kept at ambient temperature for three months in storage media such as distilled water, formalin 10%, chloramine T 0.5%, thymol 0.2%, ethanol 70%, isotonic saline solution, and sodium hypochlorite 5.25%. Buccal surface of teeth were prepared with 37% phosphoric acid etched for 30 seconds and then washed with water for 15 seconds. Later, stainless steel brackets (Dentarum with 0.018 inch slots) were installed with composite and Transbond XT (3M USA) in the geometric center of the buccal surface which was perpendicular to the long axis of teeth. The shear bond strength of brackets was measured by universal testing machine at a speed of 1mm/min. Data were analyzed by one way variance, Npar, ANOVA and Tukey’s test.Findings: The highest mean shear bond strength (20.95 MPa) was found in chloramine T 0.5% and the lowest in formaldehyde 10% (13.08 MPa), showing a significant difference between two media. ANOVA revealed a significant difference between the mean shear bond strength within the groups whereas Tukey’s test failed to demonstrate any significant difference in alcohol and thymol with another groups. The teeth kept in chloramine T 0.5% showed significant differences in shear bond strength compared with samples stored in formalin 10% and isotonic saline solution. Samples kept in distilled water revealed significant differences with those maintained in formalin 10%.Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, a reasonable strength was only found in chloramine- T 0.5% compared to control samples (distilled water).

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the main causes of mortality and morbidity. According to many reviews in developed countries, the socio-economic indicators are strong predictors in cardiovascular diseases.Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the socio-economic status and mortality from cardiovascular diseases in Qazvin in 2009.Methods: This was a descriptive study performed on 878 persons who had passed away because of cardiovascular diseases in Qazvin in 2009. A self-made questionnaire composed of two parts including the demographic characteristics (age, sex, residence), the socio-economic status (education, job classification, income, and income percentile), and other information (insurance coverage, per capita home space) was used for data collection. Data were obtained via telephone interview with households.Findings: The average age of people died of cardiovascular diseases was 73.33±13.49 years. The prevalence of mortality showed a positive correlation with age. The rural/urban ratio for cardiovascular mortalities was 2. (OR=2.4-1.8). Of total deaths, 67% were related to illiterate people and mostly in farmers of whom 69.7% were within the two low income percentile. The ratio of mortality prevalence in people of the first cluster income (with incomes in the three low 10%) to those in the third higher income cluster was 18.Conclusion: According to our findings, it seems that the newly established family physician plan, based on referral system and preventive measures, should be followed up and supervised more seriously. In this way, training plans, promotion of health literacy and case finding especially in vulnerable groups of the society (illiterates, farmers, and low income people) both in urban and rural areas must be the focus of more effort and control.

Background: leptin, a hormone product by adipose tissue, plays an important role in regulation of fat-carbohydrate metabolism.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of extended aerobic exercise on serum leptin and insulin resistance in male individuals with type 2 diabetes.Methods: This semi-experimental study (2011) was performed on 30 obese adult males with type 2 diabetes who were divided into two control and experimental groups. Blood samples were collected before and after aerobic exercise (3 times/week for 12 weeks) to measure the levels of serum leptin, insulin, and fasting blood sugar in all patients. Fasting glucose and insulin were used for calculating insulin resistance. Data were analyzed using t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.Findings: There was no significant difference between the two groups in all variables at baseline. Serum leptin and fasting glucose levels as well as anthropometrical indexes significantly decreased in experimental group (P<0.05). In addition, aerobic exercise led to decrease in insulin resistance in experimental group (P<0.05). All variables remained unchanged in control group.Conclusion: Based on data obtained in our study, it seems that prolonged aerobic exercise combined with weight loss to be a non-pharmacological treatment method to regulate systemic leptin and decrease glucose and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic patients.

Background: Noise pollution in cities is one of the most important health problems which is growing in severity.Objective: To determine the level of equivalent noise and traffic sound in various cities of Qazvin province.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the winter of 2010 in Qazvin. Measurements were performed by the sound level meter 1353H (TES, Taiwan). The main streets and intersections on the city maps were considered as measuring stations. The levels of equivalent noise, statistical noise, and traffic noise were measured based on the ISO 1999 method approved by the Environmental Protection Organization. Data were analyzed by one sided, two sided, paired t-test.Findings: Of total measuring stations, 63% were found to have equivalent noise level higher than the standard recommended for residential-commercial areas and 24% within the standard levels.Conclusion: In all cities under study, the equivalent noise level was higher than that recommended for residential-commercial areas. The daily equivalent of noise index did not change at different times, indicating a uniform sound level from traffic and acoustic fields.

Background: Recent studies have shown that the use of prolonged or intermittent normobaric hyperoxia (90 percent) can decrease brain damages caused by stroke.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oxygen radicals in potentiating the blood brain barrier caused by normobaric hyperoxia in a rat model of stroke.Methods: This was a experimental study performed in spring 2010. A total of 42 male Wistar rats (250-350 g) were initially divided into two main groups. Both group were exposed to normobaric hyperoxia (90 percent; HO) and room air (21 percent; RA) 4 h/day for 6 days. Later, each main group was subdivided into three subgroups to receive dimethyltiourea. After 24 h, the neurologic deficit scores and blood brain barrier permeability were assessed. Data were analyzed by one way ANOVA and Mann Whitney U tests.Findings: The medians of neurologic deficit scores and blood brain barrier permeability decreased in RA and HO (P=0.02). The neurologic deficit score and the reduced brain edema were significantly relived by MT (P=0.43).Conclusion: The blood brain impermeability caused by intermittent normobaric hyperoxia was relieved by use of oxygen radical scavengers.

Background: Access to prenatal care has an extremely important role in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in the world.Objective: To evaluate the effect of integrated maternal health care program on reducing pregnancy and delivery complications in Qazvin province.Methods: This was a cohort study carried out on 450 pregnant women who were visited at maternal health centers in two cities of Qazvin and Alborz between 2009-2011. The sampling method used was based upon objective. A researcher-made questionnaire composed of three parts marked as prepregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum was used for collecting data. All information was obtained from clinical files, observations, interviews with relevant people in charge (general practitioners or midwives), and mothers who visited the health centers. Samples were followed up from the entry time to study until the time of postpartum visit. The two study groups (one provided with integrated health care and the other with routine health care) were examined for pregnancy complications. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and Mann-Whitney Utest.Findings: The rate of gestational complications including hypertension (P=0.03), preterm delivery (P=0.03), and premature infants (P=0.02) were lower in mothers who received integrated maternal health care. Moreover, the referral rate for the group with integrated maternal health care was higher compared to the one with routine health care (P=0.001).Conclusion: The results of this study showed that, despite the implementation of almost 60% of the integrated maternal program in the city of Alborz, it seems that the program had a positive impact on reducing gestational complications and promoting maternal health.

Background: Obesity has an increasing trend worldwide. Application of body mass index (BMI) cutoff points to classify obesity in different populations is controversial. On the other hand, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a safe, accurate, reliable, and inexpensive method used in some studies to screen overweight and obesity.Objective: Comparison of bioelectrical impedance analysis and body mass index methods in determining the prevalence of overweight and obesity.Methods: This analytical study was performed on 187 healthy women, aged 18 to 45 years (2008). Demographic and anthropometric data were collected by trained students. Body fat percentage (BF%) and body fat mass (BFM) were measured using BIA method. Two BMI cut-off points (≥25 and ≥30 kg/m2) were used as criteria to determine the overweight and obese women, respectively. Also, two BF% cut-off points (≥30 and ≥35%) were considered to define over fat and obesity. One way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for data analysis.Findings: The mean age of women was 34.9±8.1 years. BMI, BF% and waist-to-hip ratio were: 27.7±5.8 kg/m2, 35.5±6.9%, and 0.77±0.08, respectively. Central obesity was prevalent in 32.6% of the subjects. The prevalence of obesity determined by BMI and BIA methods was 35.8 and 57.8%, respectively. The women within normal ranges were detected in 28.9 and 23% of subjects using BMI and BIA methods, respectively (P<0.05). Almost half of the women were overweight or obese. Women with higher age had higher BMI compared to other subjects but the difference in body fat percentage was insignificant.Conclusion: It seems that BIA and BMI methods to act differently in determining the thin, normal, and obese women. The prevalence of obesity was higher when BIA method used.

Background: There is a discrepancy about the effects of regular exercise training on basal leptin level and most of the existing data are obtained from obese/thin subjects.Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of selected one-year aerobic exercises on basal serum leptin level in normal weight untrained healthy male and female volunteers.Methods: The sample of this semi-experimental study included 44 non-athlete male and female students of Azerbaijan Shahid Madani University in 2010. Subjects were initially homogenized and later divided into two intervention and control groups each consisted of male and female subgroups. The experimental groups experienced one year of specific volleyball training protocol. In two occasions including 24 hours before and 24 hours after the end of study the basal blood samples were collected. Plasma leptin levels were measured by ELISA and the data were analyzed using paired samples dependent and independent t-tests as well as one-way and two-way ANOVA.Findings: The basal plasma leptin levels in healthy young non-athlete individuals did not fluctuate in response to regular long term exercise. Serum leptin levels in women were 29.55±1.45 (pre-study) and 30.05±2.25 (post-study) and those of men 31.22±2.24 and 29.28±3.12 ng/ml, respectively.Conclusion: According to the findings and also the role of fat tissue as the main source of plasma leptin, it could be concluded that lack of effect of physical exercise on plasma leptin concentration might be due to unchanged level of adipose tissue in our subjects during the study.

Background: One of the most common psychological disorders is eating disorder which leads to high comorbidity and is mostly observed in teenage and young girls.Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mental health and eating disorders as well as determining the mental health differences in female students with and without eating disorders.Methods: This was a causal-comparative study in which 420 female students of Guilan University were investigated in 2010. The students, who were selected based on available sampling, completed the eating attitude test (EAT-26) and general health questionnaires (GHQ-28). Test-retest and Cronbach’s alpha were used to identify the reliability and validity of questionnaires. The independent t-test and regression analysis were used to analyze the data.Findings: Based on the EAT-26cut off score, 25.7% and 74.3% and of students were found with and without eating disorders, respectively. Also, there was a significant difference between anxiety in students with and without eating disorder (P<0.05), however, no significant difference between depression, somatic symptoms, social withdrawal, and total score in general psychological health was found in two groups. Regression analysis showed that anxiety could be a suitable predictor for eating disorders.Conclusion: According to our data, anxiety is one of the factors associated with eating disorders in female students and it can predict the presence of eating disorders better than other psychological factors.

Background: Organizations are gradually transferring from small environments of absolute economical and social activities to places for spiritual development. The organizations that provide opportunities for their employees to grow spiritually are more successful than others.Objective: To study the relationship between the spiritual leadership and the quality of working life in employees of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences.Methods: This was an analytical study carried out on all employees of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2011. Information was gathered by Fry spiritual leadership and Casio quality of working life questionnaires. Data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient and analysis of variance (ANOVA) using GLM model.Findings: There were significant correlations between the spiritual leadership and its dimensions including the institutional vision (P=0.006), altruism (P=0.000), faith in work (P=0.006), membership in organizations (P=0.000), organizational commitment (P=0.000), and performance feedback (P=0.019) and the quality of working life in employees of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. No significant correlation between the meaningful work and the employees’ quality of working life was found. In general, there was a significant correlation between the spiritual leadership and the employees’ quality of working life (P=0.02).Conclusion: According to our data, delivery of clear definition of the mission and vision for employees, providing feedback by employees on the values of organization, and attempting to pay more attention to the mental health and the employees’ living conditions can lead to acceptance of organizational goals and values by the employees.

Background: Scientific development is attained by paying attention to all dimensions and branches of knowledge in each society. Researchers, through accessing the new areas of the sciences will become aware of the latest scientific findings and by implementation of such information in their own specific field can improve their professional skills and also guided into new research subjects.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of the published medical researches on different subjects of medicine among Iranian medical journals.Methods: This research was conducted by Content analysis in 2009. The latest issues of 108 published medical journals of Medical Universities of Iran, indexed by the Scientific Information Database (SID), were assessed and coded. Coding the subjects of articles was based on the comparative method and that of subject categorization performed according to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).Findings: Of total 990 investigated articles based on MeSH categorization, almost 34% (335) articles were related to clinical subjects among those 13% associated with female urogenital diseases and pregnancy complications, 9% with skin and connective tissue diseases, and 8% with diseases of digestive system with no reference to the fields of animal and stomatognathic diseases.Conclusion: According to our data, there is an asymmetric distribution of researches in different fields of the medical subjects. Shortage of attention to different subjects eventually leads to instability in the sustained development of the country and scientific growth in all medical subjects.

Background: Nowadays, more and more attention is paid to the glycemic index (GI) of dietary carbohydrates and the glycemic load (GL) of diets.Objective: This study was aimed to review the previous researches about the association between the dietary GI and GL and metabolic syndrome.Methods: The present study was a literature search within PubMed. The search terms glyc (a) emic index and glyc (a) emic load were combined with metabolic syndrome and at least one of the components of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, insulin sensitivity, and also some of associated risk factors such as low density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, respectively. Most studies on humans published until 2010 were considered. Reference lists within the papers reviewed were cross-checked manually. On the whole, 30 papers were studied.Findings: The data from cross-sectional and interventional studies do not strongly support the presence of a relationship between the dietary GI or GL and insulin resistance or insulin sensitivity. Rather, the dietary fiber may be directly responsible for the reported effects of low GI diets on insulin sensitivity in humans. Considering the risk of metabolic syndrome, it is time to replace the carbohydrate resources with low GI (brown rice for white rice) to decrease the risk of metabolic syndrome and to treat the condition especially in populations with high intakes of carbohydrate. In addition, the interventional studies, unlike the cross-sectional studies, cannot strongly support the positive effects of low GI/GL diets on the components of metabolic syndrome. It seems that longterm clinical trials with large samples to obtain solid evidence are needed.Conclusion: Taken together all mentioned studies, low GI/GL diets may benefit lipid profiles and other components of metabolic syndrome especially the individuals with higher BMI, insulin resistance or impaired glucose tolerance.

Sudden hearing loss, as a symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), has been rarely reported in the literature and most patients experience this condition during MS exacerbation. The cause and treatment of this phenomenon are also controversial. In this paper, two patients with unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss, who were subsequently diagnosed of having MS, are presented. Later, following a literature review, a better definition for this rare symptom of MS is presented.

Radiographic diagnosis is extremely important for evaluation and treatment of intra osseous lesions of jaws. The important point is whether excisional surgery could be performed without biopsy and histopathology report. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between radiographic and histopathological findings in distinction of maxillary and mandibular intraosseous lesions. This was a descriptive study in which slides of 41 available radiographs of patients who were referred to oral and maxillofacial pathology department of Qazvin Dental School during 1998-2010 evaluated by three radiologists. Each radiologist made three differential diagnoses for each lesion. The data provided by radiologists were compared with pathology reports. The highest level of agreement was associated with non-odontogenic cysts and the lowest agreement with malignancies. Considering the data found in the present study, radiographic findings alone are not enough for diagnosis of these lesions and histopathological evaluation is the most important part of diagnosis prior to treatment.

Neonatal macrosomia, hypoglycemia, and hypocalcemia are among the complications associated with gestational diabetes. The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of neonatal hypoglycemia and hypocalcemia in macrosomic and non macrosomic infants of diabetic mothers. This was a descriptive analytic study performed on 90 infants born to diabetic mothers in Javaheri hospital during 2005 - 2009. Blood glucose level was determined for all infants during the first 3 hour, between 3-24 hour, and 24 hours after birth. Blood calcium concentration was also measured within the first 3 hour and 24 hours after birth. Data were analyzed by chi square and Fisher exact tests. Of 90 infants, 33.3% were macrosomic. Hypoglycemia and hypocalcemia were more common in macrosomic infants of diabetic mothers compared to non macrosomic neonates.

Non-Normative hospital waste management is considered a serious threat to the health of patients, workers, people, and the environment. In this regard, the present study was performed to evaluate the management of hospital waste in one of the highly specialized hospitals of Tehran in 2010. To collect the necessary information, a questionnaire from the Ministry of Health was used. All items were directly completed through interview with relevant persons in the management of hospital waste. In total, the average amount of solid waste generated in hospital was 1750 kg/ day. The daily percentages of normal, infectious, and sharp winner solid wastes based on each hospital active bed were 54.13%, 43.46%, and 2.41%, respectively. These results showed that there was no appropriate waste management in the hospital and thus, appropriate actions to isolate infectious waste must be implemented.