JOURNAL OF RAFSANJAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND HEALTH SERVICES
Year:2014 | Volume:13 | Issue:1|Papers Count:11

Background and Objective: The number and proportion of elderly people are increasing in the world. The present century is not concerned with survival, but the increase in the quality of life and psychological wellbeing of people. The most important indicator of psychological well-being in the old age is the morale. One of the parameters affecting compatibility with the aging process and problems resulting from aging and its stresses and the predictor of morale rate is social support. Social support is related with improvement and development of psychological adjustment and compliance mechanisms. Considering the types of social support and strengthening them as social capital can improve the quality of life and morale of elderly. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between social supports with morale of elderly people of Mashhad.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 elderly people in 2012. Research tools included of personal information, Duke social support scale and Philadelphia elderly center morale scale.The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation coefficient.Results: The results showed that 247 (70.61%) of the elderly were male and the rest were female. The average of their age was 66.42±5.61 years. Average of morale score was 10.19±4.58. The results also showed that the mean score of family support 47.34±21.73) was higher than non-family support (38.58±26.74). A significant correlation was found between the scores of family social support (rs=0.39) and non-family social support (rs= 0.22) with morale scores (p<0.001).Conclusion: Social support is an important factor in improving elderly morale and has a prediction role in morale rate.

Background and Objective: Employment is one of the important social determinants of health. The aim of this study was determining the relationship between job satisfaction and Health-Related Quality of Life (QOL) in Gilan-e-Gharb teachers in 2013.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on teachers of Gilan-e-Gharb City (n: 375) in 2013. They were selected by Multi-stage cluster sampling method. The Minnesota Job satisfaction and SF-36 questionnaires and demographic checklist were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using independent t test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation tests and multiple linear regression.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 40.71±5.26 years, 48.1% (n=169) of them were female.Pearson's correlation test showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between job satisfaction and dimensions of QOL including: Vitality (p=0.024; r=0.120), Mental Health (p=0.005; r=0.148), Social Functioning (p=0.011; r=0.136), Role-Emotional (p=0.032; r=0.114) and General health (p=0.002; r=0.169).Among variables entered in the regression model, the variables of educational level, employment status, exercise status and intrinsicsubscale of job satisfaction, explained 12.6% of overall health-related QOL changes (R= 0.355).Conclusion: In this study, the relationship between job satisfaction and QOL in teachers was supported.Considering the great importance of teaching and the special responcibility of the teachers designing and implementation of purposeful programs by the Ministry of Education in order to make positive effects on job satisfaction and promotion of QOL in teachers seems essential.

Background and Objective: Stretching exercises with stimulation of proprioceptors and increasing flexibility of soft tissues and vibration with stimulation of proprioceptors can play an important role in improving postural stability. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of static stretching exercises and vibration on postural stability indices in healthy women.Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was performed in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in 2011.Forty-five healthy female students were selected through available sampling and they were randomly assigned into three equal groups. The first group received 5 seconds duration static stretching exercises for 4 weeks, 5 sessions per week, and each session lasting 20minutes. The second group received vibration with moderate pressure, high-frequency range, 2500 cycles per minute with the same dosage as the first group. The control group did not receive any protocol. Before and after the intervention, overall anteroposterior, and mediolateral stability indices were measured by Biodex Balance System in different positions. Paired t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for data analyses.Results: In static stretching group, overall stability index in right unilateral standing with eyes open decreased from5.08±0.44 to 4.98±0.44 (p=0.027), and mediolateral stability index in bilateral standing with eyes closed decreased from 1.90±0.36 to 1.75±0.32 (p=0.006). All stability indices decreased in vibration group (p<0.001).However, before and after the intervention, no significant differences was found across the groups regarding all the study variables (p>0.05).Conclusion: The results showed that vibration increases postural stability in the majority of the studied balance situations.

Background and Objective: Aloe-emodin is a Hydroxyanthraquinone that exists in Aloe Vera leaves and has been known to have anti-tumor effects. Various studies have mentioned the biological effects of Aloe Vera such as antiviral, antimicrobial and some hepato-protective effects. Recently its antitumor effects have attracted the attention of many researchers.Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, accounting for 30% of all female cancers and< 1%of all cancer cases in men. Breast cancer is also responsible for 15% of cancer deaths in women. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-cancer effects of aloe-emodin on human breast cancer MCF-7cell line.Materials and Methods: In this laboratory study MCF-7 cells were cultured in RPMI medium with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The cytotoxic effect of different concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 μM) of Aloe-emodinon cultured cells were evaluated by MTT assayat different times (24, 48, 72 h). Apoptosis and CD95 (Fas) expression were analyzed by flow-cytometry using an Annexin V-FITC/PI kit and Fas (CD95) kit according to the manufacturer’s protocol.Results: Aloe-emodin decreases the viability of MCF-7 cell line in a time and dose dependent manner, so that the most effective concentration of this substance was100mM and 72 h after treatment. According to the data of Fas (CD95) expression and Annexin-PI, the highest apoptosis induction rate was seen in 100μM and 72 h.Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicated that Aloe-emodinhas has some antitumor effects and can be used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, further investigation of its cytotoxic effects against tumor cells, both in vitro and in vivo, is recommended.

Background and Objective: Crataegus elbursensi s is one of the important species of Rosaceae family and commonly found in the North of Iran. In this study, the antioxidant, antibacterial properties, total phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents in acetonic extract of Iranian Hawthorn (Crataegus elbursensis) fruits were examined.Materials and Methods: Extraction of fruit bioactive compound was done using %80 acetone. Total phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents were measured spectrophotometrically. The antioxidant capacity of the extract were assessed by DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging activity and compared to synthetic antioxidant BHT (at different concentration of 50, 75, 100, 250, 500 mg/ml). In addition, the stability of the acetonic extract to pH (4, 7 and 9) and also antimicrobial activity of the extract by the broth microdilution method was investigated. Data were analyzed using Duncan's multiple test by SAS software Results: The extract showed higher radical scavenging activity than BHT. Also, the results of extract stability tests in different pH showed that antioxidant activity of the extract remained constant. The extract revealed significant antimicrobial activity against all of tested bacterial. The most efficient bactericidal activity of the extract was against Bacillus subtilis (MBC=2.5 mg/ml) while Salmonella enteric was the most resistant bacterium (MBC=20 mg/ml).Conclusion: The results obtained in this study clearly indicate that C. elbursensis studied proved to be a rich source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties which could be used in food and drug industry and serve to protect human health.

Background and Objective: Preterm birth and low birth weight are considered as causes of morbidity and mortality, developmental disorders and child abnormalities. Since health outcomes differ on ethno-racial groups and there is little information among hand with regards to the said matter in Iran, this study was designed to survey the preterm and low birth weight prevalence on Iranian and Afghan nationalities.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 5925 Iranian and Afghan live births which delivered in Rafsanjan Nik-Nafs hospital on 2011-2012. Data was collected via use of delivery records of hospital medical documentary unit. The criterion for preterm birth was gestational age less than 37 weeks, and for low birth weight was birth weightless than 2500 grams. For data analysis, independent two-sample t -test, chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used.Results: overal, 5532 infants (93.4%) were Iranian and 393 infant (6.6%) were Afghan. Preterm birth prevalence was7.5% (447 cases), so that 7.1% (391 cases) and 14.5% (56 cases) were Iranian and Afghan respectively (p<0.001). In the present study, low birth weight prevalence was 7% (416 cases) out of which 6.7% (367 cases) wereIranian and 12.7% (49 cases) were Afghan (p<0.001).Conclusion: Since high prevalence of preterm birth and low birth weight were seen among the Afghan refugees, it appears that race and different factors such as: lack of proper insurance, availablity of health services and a lower socio-economic status are in linked with this increase.

Background and Objective: Age is related to motion coordination. It is necessary to distinguish age variations to recognize functional changes in human. The correlation between these indices has not been studied in structural equations model; however, in much performed studies about performing clinical motion function standards, the effects of these variations have been studied to perform functional exams and also the correlation between age and anthropometric indices. Hence the correlation between motional function standard and anthropometric indices and age were investigated in this study.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed by multiple measurements on 133 participants aged18- 59 years old and by available sampling method. The data were collected using anthropometric factors measuring and recording the duration of clinical balance tests performance. Three models were evaluated separately. The method of the structure equations modeling was used to analyze data.Results: The third model indicated suitable fitting of data better than the other models (RMSEA=0.038, CFI= 0.992), X2 was not significant (p=0.260). Also in the three models, standard coefficient were significant between the path way of functional tests performance and age (0.540), and between the path way of age and anthropometric indices (0.340).Conclusion: The age affects clinical balance test and anthropometric indices. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the index of age as a standard which influences tests performance to study clinical diagnosis in order to evaluate sport damages such as head damage.

Background and Objective: Some studies have shown that different exercises reduce pain in different levels by affecting the levels of opioid. Therefore, we investigated the effect of exercise on pain and morphine-induced analgesia in the formalin test in male mice.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 120 mice were randomly divided into 8 groups according to three different training sessions and uae of received morphine or saline. The training program was conducted on a treadmill for30 minutes on the speed of 0.3 meters per second with different slopes. Thirty minutes before starting each exercise, 5 mg of morphine per kg of the animal weight was injected intraperitoneally. Finally, all groups were tested using the formalin test. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test.Results: A significant reduction was found in response to painful stimuli in the acute phase (0-5 minutes) among the morphine receiving groups (p=0.001). On the other hand, the response to painful stimuli in the chronic pain phase(16-60 min) showed a signification reduction for the morphine receiving groups as well as the exercise group with a positive slope(p=0.015).Conclusion: If the intensity of exercise can reach the threshold level required to stimulate the endogenous opioids, it is likely to reduce the feeling of pain. Furthermore, the effect of morphine can not be influenced by the kind of exercise.