4 research outputs found
Electromagnetic Fields of Mobile Phone Jammer Exposure on Blood Factors in Rats
Background: The increasing demand for using mobile phones has led to increasing mobile phone jammers as well. On the other hand, reports show that exposure to electromagnetic field causes an increase in the incidence of diseases such as leukemia, cancer, depression and failure in pregnancy outcomes; therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields of mobile phone jammers on blood factors.
Materials and Methods: Thirty male Wistar immature and thirty mature rats were selected randomly and each one was divided into three groups of ten. The control group did not receive any radiation; the sham group was exposed to a switched-off jammer device and the experimental group was exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) radiated by Mobile Phone Jammer daily eight hours for five days a week during forty days. Blood sample was taken from heart and blood factors including PLT, MCHC and RDWCV were measured. The data were analyzed by ANOVA which was followed by Duncan’s test.
Results: The data from mature rats revealed that jammer usage led to a significant difference in blood factors including RBC, platelet, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV and RDWCV (P≤0.05); however, the number of lymphocytes, WBC and MCVH in the blood was the same in all groups. In immature rats, the exposure to jammer did not change RBC, lymphocyte and WBC count, hemoglobin and hematocrit; while, the platelet count along with MCHC, MVC and RDWCV changed by jammer radiation.
Conclusion: The results exhibited that mobile phone jammer caused frequent changes in blood cell factors
A Challenging Issue in the Etiology of Speech Problems: The Effect of Maternal Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields on Speech Problems in the Offspring
Background: Nowadays, mothers are continuously exposed to different sources of
electromagnetic fields before and even during pregnancy. It has recently been shown
that exposure to mobile phone radiation during pregnancy may lead to adverse effects
on the brain development in offspring and cause hyperactivity. Researchers have
shown that behavioral problems in laboratory animals which have a similar appearance
to ADHD are caused by intrauterine exposure to mobile phones.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the maternal
exposure to different sources of electromagnetic fields affect on the rate and severity
of speech problems in their offspring.
Methods: In this study, mothers of 35 healthy 3-5 year old children (control group)
and 77 children and diagnosed with speech problems who had been referred to a speech
treatment center in Shiraz, Iran were interviewed. These mothers were asked whether
they had exposure to different sources of electromagnetic fields such as mobile phones,
mobile base stations, Wi-Fi, cordless phones, laptops and power lines.
Results: We found a significant association between either the call time (P=0.002)
or history of mobile phone use (months used) and speech problems in the offspring
(P=0.003). However, other exposures had no effect on the occurrence of speech problems.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate a possible association
between maternal exposure to electromagnetic field and speech problems in
the offspring. Although a major limitation in our study is the relatively small sample
size, this study indicates that the maternal exposure to common sources of electromagnetic
fields such as mobile phones can affect the occurrence of speech problems in the
offspring
Short–Term Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields Generated by Mobile Phone Jammers Decreases the Fasting Blood Sugar in Adult Male Rats
Background: Substantial evidence indicates that exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) above certain levels can affect human health through triggering some biological responses. According to WHO, short-term exposure to EMF at the levels present in the home/environment do not cause any apparent detrimental effects in healthy individuals. However, now, there is a debate on whether long-term exposure to low level EMF can evoke detrimental biological responses. Although based on the Communications Act of 1934, selling, advertising, using, or importing mobile jammers which block cell phone calls and text messages are illegal acts, in some countries these devices are being used for security purpose and for prevention of cheating during examinations. Methods: In this study 30 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 each. The control group received no radiation. The sham exposure group was exposed to a switched-off jammer device. After fasting for 12 hours, the exposure group was exposed to EMFs at a distance of 50 cm from the jammer. Blood samples were collected from the tail vein after 24, 48 and72 hours and fasting blood sugar was measured by using a common blood glucose monitor (BIONIME GM110, Taiwan). The significance level was considered 5% and SPSS Ver. 21 was used for statistical analysis. The data were analyzed by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed between blood sugar level in the control and exposure groups after 24, 48 and 72 hours of continuous irradiation (p values were <0.001, <0.001 and 0.002, respectively). No significant difference was found between the level of fasting blood sugar in control and sham groups. Conclusion: Short-term exposure to electromagnetic field generated by mobile phone jammer can reduce blood sugar level in adult male rats. These findings, in contrast with our previous results, lead us to this conclusion that the use of these signal blocking devices in very specific circumstances may have some therapeutic effects. However, further studies have to be performed to find out the exact mechanism by which Jammer EMFs reduce fasting blood sugar
Does Occupational Exposure of Shahid Dastghieb International Airport Workers to Radiofrequency Radiation Affect Their Short Term Memory and Reaction Time?
Background: Airport workers are continuously exposed to different levels of radiofrequency
microwave (RF/MW) radiation emitted by radar equipments. Radars are
extensively used in military and aviation industries. Over the past several years, our
lab has focused on the health effects of exposure to different sources of electromagnetic
fields such as cellular phones, mobile base stations, mobile phone jammers, laptop
computers, radars, dentistry cavitrons and MRI. The main goal of this study was to
investigate if occupational exposure of Shahid Dastghieb international airport workers
to radiofrequency radiation affects their short term memory and reaction time.
Methods: Thirty two airport workers involved in duties at control and approach
tower (21 males and 11 females), with the age range of 27-67 years old (mean age of
37.38), participated voluntary in this study. On the other hand, 29 workers (13 males,
and 16 females) whose offices were in the city with no exposure history to radar systems
were also participated in this study as the control group. The employees’ reaction
time and short term memory were analyzed using a standard visual reaction time
(VRT) test software and the modified Wechsler memory scale test, respectively.
Results: The mean± SD values for the reaction times of the airport employees
(N=32) and the control group (N=29) were 0.45±0.12 sec and 0.46±0.17 sec, respectively.
Moreover, in the four subset tests; i.e. paired words, forward digit span, backward
digit span and word recognition, the following points were obtained for the airport
employees and the control group, respectively: (i) pair words test: 28.00±13.13
and 32.07±11.65, (ii) forward digit span: 8.38±1.40 and 9.03±1.32, (iii) backward digit
span: 5.54±1.87 and 6.31±1.46, and (iv) word recognition: 5.73±2.36 and 6.50±1.93.
These differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusion: The occupational exposure of the employees to the RF radiation in
Shahid Dastghieb international airport does not have any significant detrimental effect
on their reaction time as well as short term memory