JOURNAL OF RAFSANJAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND HEALTH SERVICES
Year:2020 | Volume:18 | Issue:10 |Papers Count:12

Background and Objectives: Research suggests that women lose their sexual desire after childbirth, leading to a reduction in couples' sexual intimacy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of group counseling with a psychological training approach on the sexual propensity of breastfeeding women. Materials and Methods: This study is an educational trial that was conducted in the society of obstetric women of Rafsanjan city in 2018. 70 lactating women were selected from two health centers and divided into two intervention and control groups. At first, both intervention and control groups completed the sexual intimacy questionnaire. Then, the intervention group received 6 educational sessions (one session per week). After the end of the training period, both groups were asked to complete the sexual intimacy questionnaire again. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent t-test and single-variable covariance analysis. Results: The results revealed a significant difference between the mean of sexual intimacy scores between the intervention and control groups in the post-test, which shows the positive effect of group counseling on the sexual intimacy of lactating women in the intervention group (p<0. 001). Conclusion: Considering the results of this study that indicate that group counseling has a positive effect on the sexual intimacy of lactating women and leads to increased sexual intimacy, it is recommended that facilities for this period be regularly held for pregnant women in health centers throughout the year.

Background and Objectives In recent years, excessive use of groundwater resources and the discharge of urban and industrial wastewater in the environment has contaminated and reduced the quality of groundwater resources. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of drinking water resources in Rafsanjan city using water quality index (WQI) in 2018. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 7 drinking water wells in Rafsanjan city in 2018. One year data (2017 year) about 11 parameters including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), bicarbonate (HCO3-), chlorine (Cl-), sulfate (SO4-), nitrate (NO3-), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) was obtained from water and wastewater company of Rafsanjan. Then the WQI model was used for evaluation and calculation of water quality. Results: The results showed that the mean concentration of all parameters of the water resources in Rafsanjan was within the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. The assessment of the water quality of Rafsanjan based on the WQI model showed that the water quality of 14. 28% of the resources was in the excellent and very good range and 85. 72% in the good range. The mean and standard deviation score of water resources quality according to the WQI model was 55. 78± 4. 71, which is in a good quality range. Conclusion: Considering the quality of drinking water resources in Rafsanjan, in order to prevent the reduction of this quality, the implementation of proper management and preventing unnecessary use of water resources should be considered.

Background and Objectives: Even though women’ s perception of factors affecting vaginismus is taken into account as a mental concept that can be induced by sociocultural values, it has not been assessed so far in the form of a qualitative study in Iranian culture. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify psychological factors associated with vaginismus in married women referring to Tolou Clinic in Rasht, 2018. Materials and Methods: A qualitative content analysis method was employed in this study. Using a purposive sampling method, the data were saturated with a total number of 11 women affected with vaginismus referring to Tolou Clinic in the city of Rasht from March 2018 to January 2019. Moreover, in-depth semi-structure interview was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis Results: During the process of content analysis, the participants elucidated three main categories of “ culturaleducational factors” , “ sexual knowledge” , and “ sexual cognition and arousal” . Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, vaginismus was introduced as a sociocultural and psychological disorder that is determined by internalization of norms and values in a society with lack of well-timed sexual instruction, induction of negative sexual arousal and cognition, district educational styles for girls and creating duality and contradiction in girls’ mental structure between what they have learned and what they are expected to do as a woman.

Background and Objectives: Combination therapy has been considered as a potential approach to overcome antimicrobial resistance. In this study the antimicrobial effects of active compounds produced by some marine Streptomyces spp. in combination with some standard antibiotics against multidrug-resistant pathogens was investigated. Materials and Methods: In this laboratory study, the bacteria isolated from Caspian Sea were tested for their ability to produce antimicrobial compounds active against some drug-resistant pathogens using disc diffusion methods. Then, the producer strains were cultivated in suitable liquid media. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the ethyl acetate extracts were measured against some drug-resistant species including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) using microbroth dilution technique. Data was analysed using paired t-test. Results: In the first screening, strains MN2, MN39, MN40 and MN41 showed a broad antimicrobial activity against MRSA, VRE, Salmonella typhi and pseudomonas aeruginosa, among which, the best MIC against MRSA was obtained from strain MN39 at 280 (μ g/ml). These extracts in combination with some standard antibiotics resulted in a noticeable improved antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, while in some cases the activity was decreased. Conclusion: The bioactive compounds produced by actinomyces possess remarkable antimicrobial properties against drug-resistant pathogens when used in a combination therapy with standard antibiotics which requires further research in the future.

Background and Objectives: Pistachio skin is rich in phenolic compounds and an inexpensive source of antioxidants, which can be a good option for combating cancer cells. The aim of this study was to determine the potential of pistacia vera hydroalcoholic extract and its liposomal form as a potential cytotoxic agent in HepG2 cell line, which is related to human liver cancer. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, the inhibitory effects of pistachio hull extract and its liposomal form on HepG2 and L929 cells were determined by the method of 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) at the concentrations of 0 to 4 mg / ml in 24 and 48 hrs, and for each cell line, the survival mean of the cells was analyzed using Dunnett’ s test. . Results: The results of this study showed that the hydroalcoholic extract of pistachio skin reduced the survival of liver cancer cells (HepG2) and decreased the cell viability by increasing time and concentration. Also, the results of the liposomal form of the extract showed that the liposomal extract reduced the survival of liver cancer cells (HepG2). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the extract was more slowly released in the liposomal form than the free extract. Also in the liposomal form of the extract, the extract showed a lower toxicity to healthy L929 cells than liver cancer cells (HepG2).

Adrenergic receptors have an important role in neural excitability and synaptic plasticity. Despite a lot of studies on these receptors, their exact role in brain disorders accompanied with hyperexcitability has not been determined. There are also controversies on their role in synaptic plasticity. In this review article, the important studies done in this regard have been reviewed to achieve a good summary of the effects of these receptors on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity. Despite the controversial results that have been reported in previous studies, it seems that alpha-1 and alpha-2 receptors decrease the neuronal excitability during seizure. Alpha 1A receptors, by acting on inhibitory interaneurons and increasing the GABAergic activity, are primarily responsible for the inhibitory function of alpha-1 receptors in reducing neuronal excitability, while beta-1 receptors may increase the excitability by increasing glutamate release. Moreover, alpha-1 receptor activity mostly induces long-term weakening in synapses. On the other hand, beta-adrenergic receptors increase the neuronal excitability and induce long-term potentiation through increasing both the glutamate release and the neurogenesis.

Background and Objectives: Exposure to welding gases can cause problems and illnesses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the pulmonary, renal and hepatic status of welders in Rafsanjan city. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 78 welders in Rafsanjan city in 2018. To examine the pulmonary, renal and hepatic status of welders, besides using a checklist, a total of 43 participants got laboratory tests, and the results were reported as descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, number and percent). Results: According to the checklist data, 17 (21. 8%) of welders had at least one respiratory problem, 10 (12. 8%) of welders had kidney disease, and one of them had liver disease. Also, aspartate aminotransferase of 2 participants (4. 6%) and alanine aminotransferase 7 participants (16. 2%) were higher than normal. 6 participants (35. 3%) from those who had respiratory problems and 30 participants (35. 3%) from those who had not respiratory problems reported using mask. Conclusion: According to the results, welders' use of mask seems to be effective in reducing respiratory problems, although this finding was not statistically significant.

Background and Objectives: Ulcerative Colitis is an inflammation of colon mucosa that is treated by corticosteroids. Our aim in this study was to report a case of immunodeficiency in this disease caused by long-term corticosteroid treatment. Case Report: This study was a case report of ulcerative colitis patient, who has been using prednisolone from five years ago till now without the doctor's prescription. The patient had referred to the Ali-ebn Abi-Taleb Hospital in Rafsanjan with respiratory complaint which was treated as staphylococcal pneumonia, but no improvement was made. During BAL and sputum culture, mucormycosis was diagnosed and treated. Conclusion: This case report indicates the importance of following up in patients treated by corticosteroids, because if this drug was properly discontinued, he would not face this situation.