The Relationship between Social Capital and Nurses’ Performance in Hospitals of Mashhad City, Iran

Introduction: One of the most important issues that managers are facing is the improvement of their staffs’ performance that could improve and increase the productivity of the organization. This study was performed with the purpose of determining the relation between social capital and the nurses’ performance in the Hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is an applied and Cross-sectional study performed in 2012. The statistical population included 320 employed nurses of the hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using social capital measuring questionnaires designed by the author. The questionnaires were scientifically confirmed and had the Reliability of 84% using Cronbach’s Alpha Test. Data were analyzed using the Spearman test. Results: A significant and direct relationship was found between social capital and 5 of its components (social participation, mutual trust and reciprocity, social networks and perception of the environment) and nurses performance in the mentioned hospitals (p<0.001). Conclusion: managers can improve their staff’s performance and their motivations by recognizing and developing the social capital. Therefore it is suggested that efforts should be made in improving the components of social capital in hospitals, which are one of the most important organizations in providing services

Travel Medicine: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Travel medicine is devoted to the health of travelers who visit foreign countries. It is an interdisciplinary specialty concerned not only with prevention of infectious diseases during travel but also with the personal safety of travelers and the avoidance of environmental risks. Methods: This review examines 15 appropriate papers by PRISMA from 28 papers searched in PubMed via the NCBI Entrez system. Results: A traveler’s health and safety depends on a practitioner’s level of expertise in providing pretravel counseling and vaccinations, if required. Conclusion: The standards of medical care given to travelers before, during and after travel should be as high as those practiced in every other field of medicine

Effect of Type of Surface Treatment and Adhesive System on Shear Bond Strength of Composite Resin to a Non-Precious Metal Alloy

Background and Aim: Fractured metal-ceramic restorations may be repaired with composite in some cases to postpone the fabrication of a new restoration. Knowledge about the bond strength can help predict the success rate of this treatment modality. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of two types of mechanical surface treatment of metal along with the use of different adhesive systems on bond strength of composite to a non-precious metal alloy. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, 110 metal discs were fabricated of nickel chromium alloy and were randomly divided into two groups of surface preparation with sandblasting (S) and bur (B). In each group, the samples were divided into five subgroups based on the adhesive system and composite resin used: Group NC: Z350 composite without application of adhesive; group AC: Alloy primer/Clearfil AP-X; group ZA: Z-Prime Plus/Aelite; group MT: Monobond Plus/Tetric N Ceram; group AZ: Adper Single Bond Plus/Z250. In the positive control group (PC), metal discs were covered with feldspathic porcelain. All samples were then subjected to 1000 thermal cycles and shear bond strength was measured. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD test (P<0.05). Results: The interaction effect of type of surface treatment and type of adhesive system on bond strength was significant (P<0.05). The highest bond strength (148.7 MPa) was noted in group PC and the lowest bond strength (2.78 MPa) was noted in group B+NC. The bond strength was 13.72 MPa in group S+AZ, 10.84 MPa in group B+AZ and 12.72 MPa in group S+ZA, which did not have a significant difference with the bond strength of group PC. Conclusion: Type of surface preparation and adhesive affect the bond strength. Surface preparation by sandblasting or bur combined with the use of Adper Single Bond Plus and also combination of Z-Prime Plus adhesive and sandblasting yielded the highest bond strength value

Antimycobacterial activity assessment of three ethnobotanical plants against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis: An In Vitro study

Objective/Background: Resistances to herbal medicines are still not defined and finding natural remedies against drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) has research priority. The antimycobacterial susceptibility method for herbal extracts is unclearly defined and there is no standard method for assessment of the materials against bacteria. In the present study, time kill of three medicinal plants was determined against MTB. Methods: The clinical isolate of MTB from a patient who harbored confirmed tuberculosis was used in the study. Aqueous extracts of Aloe vera leaves, mint, and Hypericum perforatum were prepared using reflux distillation. Disk diffusion methods were conducted in Petri dishes and McCartney bottles containing Löwenstein–Jensen medium to measure the sensitivity of plant extracts in serial concentrations of 0.25–8 mg/mL. A pour plate method was performed by mixing 0.7 mL of each concentration of extract in 5 mL Löwenstein–Jensen medium followed by surface culturing of MTB fresh cells. The time kill method was conducted by bacterial suspension in equal amounts of the extract and viable evaluation in fresh culture at the beginning, and at 24-h, 48-h, 72-h, and 1-week intervals. All cultures were incubated at 37°C for 4 weeks. Inoculum concentrations were considered as a variable. Results: The zones of inhibition of A. vera, H. perforatum, and mint extracts in the disk diffusion method in McCartney bottles were 60 mm, 41 mm, and zero, respectively, but Petri dishes did not have repeatable results. In the pour plate method, an extract concentration up to 1 mg/mL could inhibit cell growth. In mint extract, colony forming was four times more than the others at 0.5 mg/mL. Time kill of 95% of cells occurred when exposed to extracts of A. vera and H. perforatum separately, but was 50% in 24 h and 20% in 10 min. The time kill for mint was 95% in 1week. Conclusion: The results give some scientific basis to the use of plant extracts for growth control of MTB cells. Clinical trials are recommended for assessment of the extract as complementary medicine, as well as for antisepsis