JOURNAL OF RAFSANJAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND HEALTH SERVICES
Year:2010 | Volume:9 | Issue:2 (35)|Papers Count:10

Background and Objectives: Previous studies have suggested that glucocorticoids have modulatory effects on acute pain, and possibly one of the mechanisms that mediate these effects is nitric oxide. The aim of this study was to determine the interaction between Corticosterone and Nitric Oxide (NO) system on acute pain in Hot plate (HP) and Tail Flick (TF) models in mice. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was done in Semnan physiology research center in 2008. One handered forty male albino mice (25-30 g) were used. For evaluation of acute pain, HP and TF tests were used. All animals received two IP injections, L-NAME (10 mg/kg) as a NO synthesis inhibitor or L-Arginine (20 mg/kg), as a NO precursor or saline (6 ml/kg) for 60 min. Different doses of Corticosterone (I and 3 mg/kg) or Vehicle (Propylene glycol + Saline in 6 ml) were injected for 30 min before the evaluation tests. One way and two way ANOVA and Tukey test were used for data analysis. Results: Findings indicated that Corticosterone at doses of 1 and 3 mg significantly reduced acute pain reaction in mice (p<0.001). Also pretreatment of LA inhibited the analgesic effects of Corticosterone in both tests (p<0.05), while injection of LN did not have any significant effects. Conclusion: It is concluded that Corticosterone induced analgesic effects possibly through modulation of NO system. The increase of NO production inhibits this effect.

Background and Objectives: Brith sex ratio could be affected by several factors such as stress due to natural disasters like earthquake. This study was performed to determine the sex ratio and the perinatal outcomes after Bam earthquake.Materials and Methods: This case-control study was designed in two sections for the evaluation of earthquake effects on brith sex ratio and the perinatal outcomes. The case group in both sections consisted of 301 live births born 9 months after the earthquake in Bam's maternity hospital. The control group consisted of all live births for the same period in the previous year in Bam. Regarding the perinatal outcomes' evaluation, due to the destruction of documents in the hospital after the earthquake; second, control group consisted of mached pregnancies of Afzalipoor Hospital in Kerman. The data were analysed by X2 and t- test. Results: Birth sex-ratio increased after earthquake and the difference was significant (OR=1.31, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in low birth weight and Apgar score between the two groups, but the number of preterm delivery in the case group increased significantly (OR=2.96, p<0.014). Conclusion: Results of this study, unexpectedly, showed that; sex-ratio after Bam earthquake has increased, and also; earthquake had no effect on birth weight and Apgar score. Since Barn earthquake caused not only environmental, behavioral and social changes but also changes in the population, it seems that more investigations need to be conducted.

Background and Objectives: Suction is a necessary and common method which aids in the release of secretion from the respiratory system for the patients who have undergone mechanical ventilation. One of the most common complications of suction is hypoxemia which causes dysrhythmia and death. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of open and closed-endotracheal suction on cardiovascular and ventilation parameters for patient’s undergoning mechanical ventilation.Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 30 adult patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation in a medical intensive care unit in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital of Yazd, Iran in 2007. Each patient underwent both methods: open and closed-endotracheal suction, and received 100% oxygen about one minute before and after each suction. The blood pressure and arterial blood gases were captured and recorded. Results: Within the first minute after open endotracheal suction, arterial oxygen pressure was decreased by 15% and arterial carbon dioxide pressure was increased by 4%; however, after the five minutes they were back to the previous level. In the closed-endotracheal suction, arterial oxygen pressure was increased by 21% and arterial carbon dioxide pressure was decreased by 3%, during the first minute after suction, and after five minutes, they were back to the previous level. Although, there was a significant increase (by 3%) in the Mean Blood Pressure during the close- endotracheal suction method, and a 5% increase during the open-endotracheal suction method within the first minute, pulse rate did not change significantly.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that patients receiving close-endotracheal suction method compared to open-endotracheal suction method have less hypoxemia, which results in less dysrrhythmia and mortality.

Background and Objectives: Solvents are widely used in industries. Occupational exposure to organic solvents can lead to dysfunction of the nervous system. Since color-vision impairment can be a sensitive and early marker of neurotoxic damage, this study was designed to determine the influence of chronic occupational exposure to organic solvent mixtures on color vision.Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in an automobile plant in 2008. Workers employed in the painting saloon were considered as exposed and workers in the assembly were used as non-exposed. A questionnaire containing required data of workers was administered. After considering exclusion criteria, color vision of 157 exposed workers were compared with 174 non-exposed workers, using X2 test. Results: The percentage of acquired dyschromatopsia was 43% in the exposed group and 3.45% in the other group. The percentage of acquired dyschromatopsia exposed employees was significantly higher than that of the non-exposed subjects (OR = 21.95, CI = 9.16- 52.57) (p<0.001). Mean of the color-confusion index for exposed employees was significantly higher than that among the other subjects (1.32 and 1.02 respectively) (p<0.001). The logistic regression for color confusion index indicated that the color-confusion index was positively related to exposure to mixed organic solvents (p<0.001).Conclusions: The results of this study suggested that chronic occupational exposure with mixture of organic solvents, in higher amounts of permissible levels, can cause acquired color vision defects.

Background and Objectives: Through out the history, medicinal plants have had great importance. Date palm is a species of phoenix Dactylifera and a genus of palamse. The pollen of date palm contains five chemical compounds. Quercetin, Rutin, Beta-Amyrin, Beta-Sitosterol and Uronic-Acid. Four of these compounds have biological activities. The present study aim was to determin of the effects of date pollen on serum density of estrogen, progesterone and gonadotropin in female rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, forty female vistar rats were first classified into five groups of eight. In order to set them in the same sex cycles hormones, we used of sexy hormones. Phoenix dactylifera was given in peritoneum for 14 days. Experimentsl groups received 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of Phoenix dactylifera. Control group received no medication, and the sham group received only distilled water. Blood samples were taken at the end of the 14 days and serum concentration of LH, FSH, Estrogen and Progesterone was measured.Results: The results of this study showed that the serum density of LH and FSH in the experimental group was not significantly different compared to the control group. Received groups 200 & 400 mg/kg Phoenix dactylifera showed increasing the amount of Estrogen and Progesterone hormones (p<0.05). Concluation: According to the findings of this study, phoenix dactylifera increases Estrogen and Progesterone, but has no effect on the Gonadotropins.

Background and Objectives: The editorial peer review has an important role in the publication of scientific articles. Peers or reviewers are those scholars who have the expertise regarding the topic of a given article. They critically appraise the articles without having any monetary incentives or conflicts of interest. The aim of this study was to determine the most important aspects of the editorial peer review. Materials and Methods: The Pubmed search engine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) and the Scientific Information Database search engine (http://www.sid.ir/fa/index.asp) were applied using "Editorial Peer Review". as the keywords. In the next step, by altering the search strategy and also using the reference lists of the retrieved papers, the most up-to-date references for this review study were retrieved.Discussion: Based on the retrieved articles, at first the definition and the different methods of the editorial peer review are discussed. Then the usual biases within the editorial peer review process are explained. At the end of the article, various responsibilities of the peers are referred to. Conclusion: Reviewing the scientific articles is an ethical responsibility of the scientists, and should be considered by them as an honor rather than as an extra burden. When accepting a review, scientists should carry out the task based on the highest feasible standards. They should not only help the editor-in-chief to take the best possible decision about the article, but also assist the authors in raising the quality of their articles.

Background and Objectives: Working in incorrect posion has put this job in the 12th rank for musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, back, and upper limb among Sailers. The present study aimed to assess the labor situation and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among chain grocery store workers.Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 31 grocery workers in various parts in Qazvin, in 2009. To assess their postures, the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was performed. The RULA scoring system ranges from I (the best position) to 7 (the worst position).Results: In the posture assessment, 26.7% of females and males obtained score 7. Also, results of musculoskeletal prevalence showed that about 33.3% of the men suffer from back pain, while 38.5% of females suffer form pain in the neck and also 34.6% reported pain in the arms. According to the RULA results, there is a considerable difference between scores extracted by RULA and self reported pain in antis and necks among the women.Conclusion: Based on the fact that the majority of pain was reported in the neck, back and shoulders, the following suggestions are in order: regulating of work station to prevent the frequent bending of the neck using back supportive chairs; and also use of automatic scan.

Background and Objective: Non-ionized radiation from arc welding may cause retinal lesions such as photo retinitis. In this report, a patient with bilateral macular bleeding which had been caused by inappropriate use of protective safety glasses is introduced.Case Report: On 26 July 2008 a 23-year-old male with blurred vision was referred to Shahid Beheshti's faculty of Rehabilitation Clinic. He reported that the previous week he had done welding arc for about 7 hours, without using appropriate safety glasses. At the time of admission, his visual acuity was 2/10 ocular uterque (OU) in near and distance. Indirect ophthalmoscopy showed bilateral macular hemorrhage.Conclusion: Non-ionizing radiation, which is emited in large amounts during welding arc, may cause photokrataties and cataract, and are due to Ultra Violet (UV) radiation. Visible (VL) and Infrared (IR) radiation resulting from welding arcs rarely cause maculaphathy. In sever cases; this injury leaves permanent damage and is not treatable. Use of appropriate safety glasses can prevent these injuries.