A study on the ethical components of nursing practice (moral distress, ethical sensitivity, ethical decision)

This paper is an applied research in terms of objective and a descriptive research in terms of method. Having prepared the research plan, a questionnaire was designed based on goals and hypotheses of the research and was sent to the statistical universe. Also this paper is a field research in terms of data collection. As regards theoretical bases of the research, library data collection method has been applied. So, the required data has been gathered by referring to the related references, books, libraries and so on. To design a questionnaire and gather the opinions of the statistical universe members, field study method and researcher-made questionnaire have been used. The statistical universe comprises nurses and head of ICU and head nurses of Najmieh Hospital in Tehran. The respondents were selected by random sampling method. Also to estimate sample size, Morgan table was applied. The statistical universe consists of 65 members and according to the table, 56 questionnaires were determined for the research. So 60 questionnaires were sent and 58 ones were returned. Face and content validity of the research tool were approved by experts. The test reliability was estimated 0.777 by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient. In this paper, factor analysis based on partial least squares structural equations method has been applied to analyze more important factors and coefficients, estimate independent variables coefficients and even determine effectiveness of each independent variable on each other and determine appropriateness of the questions and their coefficients in explaining the related index. The main result of this paper presents a proper model for the relation of effective variables on nurse performance by using regression model. © IDOSI Publications, 2014

Deterministic normal contact of rough surfaces with adhesion using a surface integral method

The fundamental problem of adhesion in the presence of surface roughness and its effect on the prediction of friction has been a hot topic for decades in numerous areas of science and engineering, attracting even more attention in recent years in areas such as geotechnics and tectonics, nanotechnology, high-value manufacturing and biomechanics. In this paper a new model for deterministic calculation of the contact mechanics for rough surfaces in the presence of adhesion is presented. The contact solver is an in-house boundary element method that incorporates fast Fourier transform for numerical efficiency. The adhesive contact model considers full Lennard-Jones potentials and surface integration at the asperity level and is validated against models in the literature. Finally, the effect of surface roughness on the adhesion between surfaces was studied, and it was shown that the root mean square gradient of surface roughness can change the adhesive pressures irrespective of the root mean square surface roughness. We have tested two adhesion parameters based on Johnson's modified criteria and Ciavarella's model. We showed that Civarella's model introduces the most reasonable criteria suggesting that the RMS roughness and large wavelength of surfaces roughness are the important parameters of adhesion between rough surfaces

Anthropogenic impacts on mosquito populations in North America over the past century.

The recent emergence and spread of vector-borne viruses including Zika, chikungunya and dengue has raised concerns that climate change may cause mosquito vectors of these diseases to expand into more temperate regions. However, the long-term impact of other anthropogenic factors on mosquito abundance and distributions is less studied. Here, we show that anthropogenic chemical use (DDT; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and increasing urbanization were the strongest drivers of changes in mosquito populations over the last eight decades in areas on both coasts of North America. Mosquito populations have increased as much as tenfold, and mosquito communities have become two- to fourfold richer over the last five decades. These increases are correlated with the decay in residual environmental DDT concentrations and growing human populations, but not with temperature. These results illustrate the far-reaching impacts of multiple anthropogenic disturbances on animal communities and suggest that interactions between land use and chemical use may have unforeseen consequences on ecosystems

Resolving multi-dimensional plasma phenomena in Hall thrusters using the reduced-order particle-in-cell scheme

Plasma in Hall thrusters exhibits a complex behavior, characterized by the interplay between various dominant processes in each of the thruster’s coordinates. The emergence of high-power Hall thrusters in the recent years and the design modifications intended to extend the lifetime of these devices have further amplified the three-dimensional nature of the plasma behavior. In this regard, the novel reduced-order particle-in-cell (PIC) scheme provides the possibility to resolve the multi-dimensional interactions in a Hall thruster at a computational cost up to two orders of magnitude lower than current multi-dimensional PIC simulations. To demonstrate this point, we present in this article the results from a series of pseudo-two-dimensional simulations we performed in three configurations: axial-azimuthal, azimuthal-radial, and axial-radial. We show that, in each configuration, the pseudo-2D PIC scheme provides a significantly improved picture of the involved physics compared to a one-dimensional PIC simulation and captures self-consistently the coupling between the plasma processes in different directions, notably similar to the observations from full-2D kinetic simulations

Verification of the generalized reduced-order particle-in-cell scheme in a radial-azimuthal E×B plasma configuration

In this article, we present an in-depth verification of the generalized electrostatic reduced-order particle-in-cell (PIC) scheme in a cross electric and magnetic field configuration representative of a radial-azimuthal section of a Hall thruster. The setup of the simulations follows a well-established benchmark case. The main purpose of this effort is to demonstrate that our novel PIC scheme can reliably resolve the complex two-dimensional dynamics and interactions of the plasma instabilities in the radial-azimuthal coordinates of a Hall thruster at a fraction of the computational cost compared to full-2D PIC codes. To this end, we first present the benchmarking of our newly developed full-2D PIC code. Next, we provide an overview of the reduced-order PIC scheme and the resulting “quasi-2D” code, specifying that the degree of order reduction in the quasi-2D PIC is defined in terms of the number of “regions” along the simulation’s directions used to divide the computational domain. We compare the predictions of the quasi-2D simulation in various approximation degrees of the 2D problem against our full-2D simulation results. We show that, by increasing the number of regions in the Q2D simulations, the quasi-2D results converge to the 2D ones. Nonetheless, we also highlight that a quasi-2D simulation that provides a factor of 5 reduction in the computational cost resolves the underlying physical processes in an almost indistinguishable manner with respect to the full-2D simulation and incurs a L2-norm error of only about 2 % in the ion number density and below 1 % in the electron temperature

Fluoride Concentration in Drinking Water Resources; North of Iran

Abstract Aims: Fluoride is one of the anions present in soil and water, and determining its level in drinking water is vital for preventing dental and bone diseases in societies. This research aimed to determine fluoride concentrations in drinking water sources of rural and urban areas of Babol City, Iran. Instrument & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Babol City, Iran, in 2014. 384 water samples were taken from 43 wells and 3 springs in the rural areas, and from 20 wells, 3 water reservoirs, and the water distribution system in the urban areas. Fluoride concentrations of water samples were measured with a model DR2000 spectrophotometer using the standard SPADNS method. Data were entered to SPSS 16 software and were analyzed by ANOVA test. Findings: The mean fluoride concentrations in the water samples of the deep wells were higher compared to those of the springs (p=0.01). The mean fluoride concentrations in the plains areas were higher compared to the mountainous regions (p=0.02). The mean fluoride concentrations in the wells of the urban areas, in the urban reservoirs, and in the urban water distribution system were 0.40±0.14, 0.39±0.15, and 0.40±0.15mg/l, respectively (p=0.07). Fluoride concentrations in water in urban areas during various seasons varied from 0.31 to 0.45mg/l (p=0.06). Conclusion: Fluoride concentrations in all drinking water sources in urban and rural areas of Babol are less than the ranges recommended by WHO and Iranian national standards

Effect of daily consumption of dried ginger in the level of some hormones, cholesterol, and total fat in women's sample

This study was carried out at the General Al-Mohmmodia Hospital/ Al-Mohmmodia district/ Baghdad/Iraq. Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale) has become a subject of interest due to its bioactive contents such as an antioxidant and androgenic affect in diseases treatment in more countries world-wide. As an antioxidants ginger has an effective role on spermatogenesis and blood biochemical parameters. Thirty women almost of them suffering from high blood lipid profile and cholesterol, some of them had kidney dysfunction were taken. All women were conducted to explore the consumption of about 1gm daily for complete month on the physiological performance, lipid profile, kidney function and testosterone and progesterone hormones. The result of BMI showed significant difference of all ages groups and for all the kind of overweight and obesity. However Hb level showed a significant differences (p<0.05) between different ages, Hb showed no significant differences within the same age before and after consumption the ginger powder (p˃0.05). Blood glucose was not differ significantly between the group ages, but it was significantly (p<0.05) difference before and after the ginger powder consumption. Serum cholesterol, total glyceride. LDL, HDL, and VLDL levels revealed significant (p<0.05) differences between group ages, but within group age 31-40 years were no significant (p˃0.05) differences. On the other hand, result of this study showed a significant (p<0.05) differences in kidney functions (urea, creatinine, and salts) when compared its with normal ranges. However serum testosterone showed a significant (p<0.05) differences with all ages of women, the progesterone showed no significant (p˃0.05) differences. Results revealed that consumption of 1gm daily of ginger powder significantly increased blood Hb, cholesterol, lipid profile, testosterone hormone, and improved kidney functions. So that we can suggest that ginger may be a promising in kidney and fertility function. In addition, its improve the biochemical parameters Keywords: ginger-biochemical parameter-lipid profile- kidney function- hormone

Policies and Programs for Prevention and Control of Diabetes in Iran: A Document Analysis

Trend analysis in 2005 to 2011 showed high growth in diabetes prevalence in Iran. Considering the high prevalence of diabetes in the country and likely to increase its prevalence in the future, the analysis of diabetes-related policies and programs is very important and effective in the prevention and control of diabetes. Therefore, the aim of the study was an analysis of policies and programs related to prevention and control of diabetes in Iran in 2014. This study was a policy analysis using deductive thematic content analysis of key documents. The health policy triangle framework was used in the data analysis. PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched to find relevant studies and documents. Also, hand searching was conducted among references of the identified studies. MAXQDA 10 software was used to organize and analyze data. The main reasons to take into consideration diabetes in Iran can be World Health Organization (WHO) report in 1989, and high prevalence of diabetes in the country. The major challenges in implementing the diabetes program include difficulty in referral levels of the program, lack of coordination between the private sector and the public sector and the limitations of reporting system in the specialized levels of the program. Besides strengthening referral system, the government should allocate more funds to the program and more importance to the educational programs for the public. Also, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the private sector should involve in the formulation and implementation of the prevention and control programs of diabetes in the future

Sesquicarbene Complexes:Bonding at the Interface Between M-C Single Bonds and M=C Double Bonds

Allylic dimetalated complexes [M2C(vinyl)]+ (M = Au(IPr) and Cr(CO)5 -) incorporate a new coordination mode of carbon. Digold complexes of this type have recently been detected experimentally. The intrinsic bond orbitals, partial charges, and structural parameters of the gold complexes and of chromium analogs were studied computationally and compared to those of the respective monometalated species and hydrocarbons. This showed that such digold complexes have a carbene character at both Au-C bonds comparable to typical carbene complexes of gold. Dichromium complexes with their stronger π-backdonation compete for interaction with carbon's π-orbital; each of the chromium atoms partakes in double bonding that is significant but weaker than that in the carbene analogs. Containing two M-C bonds on the interface between single and double bonds, these bridged complexes can be conceived as "sesquicarbene complexes". The π-system acted in a very adaptive manner and employed additional stabilization of the vinyl system only where needed. Significant carbene character is found simultaneously in both M-C bonds at the same carbon center. The discovery of these complexes with relatively strong double bond character between one carbon and two metal atoms could bring unusual single-carbon-centered organometallic cascade reactions to the horizon

Satisfaction with hearing aids based on technology and style among hearing impaired persons

Introduction: Hearing loss is one of the most disabling impairments. Using a hearing aid as an attempt to improve the hearing problem can positively affect the quality of life for these people. This research was aimed to assess satisfaction of hearing impaired patients with their hearing aids regarding the employed technology and style. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic cross-sectional research was conducted on 187 subjects with hearing loss who were using a hearing aid. The subjects were over 18 years of age and were using a hearing aid for at least 6 months. The Persian version of Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire was the instrument which was used for assessing satisfaction with the hearing aid. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to be 0.80 for instrument reliability. Results: A significant difference was observed among satisfaction subscales' mean scores with hearing aid technology. Also a significant difference was observed between the total satisfaction score and the hearing aid model. With respect to the analysis of satisfaction with the hearing aid and its style, cost and services was the only subscale which showed a significant difference (P=0.005). Conclusion: Respondents using hearing aids with different technology and style were estimated to be quite satisfied. Training audiologists in using more appropriate and fitting hearing aids in addition to using self-reporting questionnaires like SADL for estimating patients' social condition and participation in their life can essentially change their disability condition and countervail their hearing loss