Hormozgan Medical Journal
Year:2015 | Volume:19 | Issue:2|Papers Count:14

Introduction: Each year, 10 million people are faced with cancer and about 6 million of them die throughout the world. This study aimed at investigating the geographical distribution of cancer and its environmental risk factors in Iran.Methods: The present study was mapping the available data collected from the reports of Iranian Center for Disease Control (Cancer Bureau) regarding the frequency of 10 common cancers (stomach, esophageal, colorectal, bladder, lung, CNS, lymphoma, prostate, ovarian, and breast) as their age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) for each province in between 2005 and 2006 using ArcGIS 9.3. The published information about environmental risk factors was also gathered based on reviewing available public sources of digital databases including Scopus, Pubmed and Persian sources of Iran Medex, Iran DOC, SID, and magiran, as well as through hand searching of books and manuals using keywords.Results: Geographically, the incidence of certain cancers varied in different regions of Iran. Between 2005 and 2006, the estimated ASR of cancers was 102.4 and 117.3 per 100, 000 among females and males, respectively. The ASR of cancer was higher in the north than in the south of Iran. This difference is possibly due to the methods of registry and difference in the site. Lifestyle, infectious agents, environmental exposures, and constitutional factors are risk factors that have been attributed to certain types of cancer.Conclusion: Development, establishment, and implementation of Comprehensive National Cancer Control Program should be the first priority for health policy-makers. Given its nationwide distribution, Iranian Army can provide substantial assistance in collection and analysis of data on cancer in case of access to a record and control system of cancer.

Introduction: Blastocystis hominis is a parasite found in the stools of human as well as in the stools of other animals and recently its pathogenic potential has been increasingly recognized. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a digestive system’s disorder which is featured by change in bowel habits, abdominal pains and other symptoms similar to Blastocystis hominis infection. There is little information about this syndrome and its etiology is still unknown. This study aims at analyzing the relationship between Blastocystis hominis and IBS.Methods: In a case-control study, a total of 81 patients with IBS and 81 patients with other digestive disorders, but without IBS, who had referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Hamedan City, were selected. The disease was diagnosed by a gastroenterologist in terms of the relevant criteria. Blastocystis hominis infection in this study was diagnosed using stool test through four techniques: direct wet mount, stool culture, formalin-ether concentration and trichrome staining.Results: Totally, 43 women (53%) and 38 men (47%), in the age range of 13 to 64 years old, participated in this study. Using the stool culture technique, as the golden standard, infection in 37 members (45.67%) of the case group and 18 members (22.22%) of the control group was reported, which this difference was significant, statistically (P<0.001).There was difference between case and control groups in terms of Blastocystis infection with all four techniques.Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that since the infection rate in the case group was higher than that in the control group, a relationship between Blastocystis hominis infection and IBS is possible. Speaking about infection diagnosis, culture technique was more sensitive than other techniques used to diagnose Blastocystis hominis infection.

Introduction: Human resources in hospitals are one of the most important factors that play a key role in the information management plans success. This study was carried out with the aims of proposing an organizational jobs and positions model for health management and information technology department in Iranian hospitals.Methods: Our descriptive study was completed in two phases. In the first phase, the organizational positions of the mentioned department were extracted from the selected countries and in the second phase a total of 22 unique organizational positions were sent to 36 experts to ask their opinions. Checklists and the researcher’s questionnaire were tools used to collected information in the first and second phases, respectively. After collecting questionnaires, their agreement and disagreement with various dimensions of the suggested model was appraised using descriptive statistical indicators and SPSS Software.Results: The organizational positions related to management department are health information manager and health information senior manager. The organizational position of management and IT is IT manager, statistician, Health information management expert, Information storage and retrieval expert, information analyzer, health informatics and IT expert, IT expert in-charge, and clinical coder.Conclusion: Lack of an organizational structure proper with a department may be problematic for employees of that department who intend to fulfill their jobs. Since in Iran Medical Records departments work mostly based on manual activities and information technology has been marginalized, it is stressed that information management and IT departments perform in concert information related affairs of hospitals, which helps them to achieve their main objectives.

Introduction: In traditional medicine, pumpkin seeds are prescribed and used commonly as energetic and sexual enhancer substances. This study was planned and carried out in order to fill the gap caused by the lack of sufficient scientific evidence on the effect of this substance on oogenesis and hormone-pituitary-ovarian axis. Revealing the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of pumpkin seeds on oogenesis and hormone-pituitary-ovarian axis of mature rats.Methods: In this experimental study a number of 30 mature female Wistar rats (weight range: 180±10) were tested. They were divided randomly into four 6-member groups, including three experiment and a control groups. Members of experimental groups were injected intraperitoneally by the extract (with 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of hydro-alcoholic extract of pumpkin seeds) for 21 consecutive days. A day after the last injection, the rats' blood was taken for analyzing the sexual hormones and ovaries were dissected for histological studies.Results: Injecting hydro-alcoholic extract of pumpkin seeds increases significantly the serum level of estrogen, progesterone, LH, FSH, number of graafian follicles and also decreases significantly the left ovaries' weight and number of primordial, primary, and secondary follicles in experimental groups in contrast to control group (P<0.05).Conclusion: Injecting hydro-alcoholic extract of pumpkin seeds increases significantly the oogenesis procedure, LH, FSH, estrogen and progesterone levels.

Introduction: Investigating the effects of colocynth pulp on levels of testosterone and changes in the reproductive system organs in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.Methods: In this study, 32 Wistar rats were divided into four groups of normal (N), normal+colocynth pulp (N+C), diabetic control (D), and diabetic+colocynth pulp (D+C). Groups N and D received orally 2 mL normal saline for two weeks, and groups N+C and D+C received orally 10 mg/kg colocynth pulp for two weeks. Diabetes was induced in rats through intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ).Results: Group D showed a significant increase in glucose levels compared with Group N (P<0.0001), and testosterone levels, body weight, and reproductive organs weight ratio of group D decreased significantly compared with Group N (P<0.0001). In addition, a significant reduction in glucose level (P<0.01) and a significant increase in testosterone level and reproductive organs weight ratio (P<0.01) were observed in Group D+C in comparison to Group D.Conclusion: This study showed that consumption of 10 mg/kg colocynth for two weeks relatively improved glucose and testosterone levels as well as reproductive system damage in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.

Introduction: This study aims at analyzing factor structure of Short Form Healthy Survey (SF-36), Persian Version, for both normal people and patients with chronic diseases.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 585 patients with chronic diseases and 642 over 18-years old normal people were selected using simple casual sampling method.When the survey was completed by the participants, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to determine the survey's validity and reliability. T-test also was used to compare the average score of the survey's domains in both groups.Results: For the group of patients with the chronic diseases, the highest mean belonged to the social functioning domain's score (43.11±18.48). In contrast, for the normal people's group, vitality found the highest mean score (50.83±9.95). T-test results showed that the mean difference in all domains except the role limitations because of social impediments for both normal people and patients was significant. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for all eight domains of the survey for the normal people varied from 0.68 to 0.90, which it indicated an acceptable reliability for the survey; whereas the coefficient for the eight domains of the survey for patients varied from 0.66 to 0.91. CFA results using goodness-of-fit indicators showed that the 8-factor structure, suggested by the developer, is not verified for the patients group and the CFA results in the normal people's group showed that the 8-factor model has an acceptable fitness for the data.Conclusion: CFA is an effective method to analyze structure of different domains of SF-36 in various groups. For this reason, researchers need to be wary when they use the survey and also they need to check initially its reliability and validity in different subgroups.

Introduction: Intimacy and the satisfaction with life are solid foundations of a family. This study aims at analyzing communication skills training through religion-based cognitive-behavioral approach on increasing intimacy and the satisfaction with life.Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental trial with pretest, posttest, follow-ups and control group. Our sample in this study consisted of 30 couples whose SD, according to the intimacy and satisfaction with life questionnaires, was less than mean value. Likewise, these couples were completely homogeneous in terms of age, socioeconomic status, duration of marriage and other variable followed by the author. The experimental group received ten training sessions of religion-based communication skills; however, control group did not any receive any intervention. Broucke and Vertommen’s Marital Intimacy Questionnaire (MIQ) and Diener’s satisfaction with Life Scale were used in this study. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16.Results: The results indicated that there is a significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of intimacy and the satisfaction with life (P<0.001). It means that the posttest scores of intimacy and satisfaction among couples’ tests have been increased significantly in contrast to their scores in pretest and control group. Such results have been continued during two follow-up periods (P<0.001).Conclusion: Communication skills training through religion-based cognitive behavioral approach increases intimacy and the satisfaction with life among couples.

Introduction: Chromium is among the important heavy metals which is found in most industrial wastes and is associated with both health and environmental risks. Therefore, this study tries to analyze the efficiency of lemna and azolla powders in removing hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions.Methods: As an experimental trial, this study was conducted experimentally in the lab scale. Initially, lemna and azolla were collected and washed three times with distilled water. They were desiccated in a dry heat, set on 105°C, for 24 hours and then were sieved with a 10-30-mesh sieve. Variation in pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and initial metal ion concentration were investigated and the remaining concentration was analyzed using spectrophotometer (540 nm). [Equilibrium] Adsorption data were explained using the adsorption isotherms and kinetics.Results: The results of the study indicated that increasing adsorbent dose and contact time will increase adsorption efficiency with both adsorbents (azolla and lemna), whereas the adsorption capacity will be decreased; also, efficiency of [chromium] removal was decreased with decreasing the initial concentration of chromium and the best pH that can be used for removing chromium was found 3. For adsorbents used in this study, the best type of isotherm was Langmuir and the best reaction kinetics was second order kinetics.Conclusion: Generally, the adsorbents considered in this study, as inexpensive adsorbents, can be used successfully for treating industrial wastes and aqueous solutions.

Introduction: Spirituality at work describes employees whose job is satisfying, meaningful and purposeful. Spirituality at work would be accompanied with a meaningful life and job and a high-quality work-life for employees. This study tries to analyze the effect of nurses’ spiritual leadership components on their work-life quality.Methods: This paper is a descriptive cross-sectional study and an applied research. The population of this study comprised all nurses working in various medical wards of five hospitals in Tehran Province. Out of 300 nurses working in these five hospitals, 150 nurses, who were in their workplace when the questionnaires were distributed in the mentioned hospitals, were selected randomly. Demographic data and two five-point Likert questionnaires on spiritual leadership and work-life quality were used in this study to collect information. Data were analyzed with SPSS 18 as well as descriptive and inferential statistical methods and structural equations.Results: Analyzing the results of linear regression and structural equations made it clear that the levels of productivity (significance level: 0.064), vision (significance level: 0.045) and faith (significance level: 0.033) have had the most impact on the work-life quality, respectively and other variables of spiritual leadership have had a relatively weak linear, but without significance level, relationship with work-life quality.Conclusion: This study indicates that spiritual leadership has a positive and significant effect on work-life quality and altruism and membership, among other aspects of spiritual leadership, have the highest impact on nurses’ work-life.