Analysis of Factors Affecting Adoption and Application of Sprinkler Irrigation by Farmers in Famenin County, Iran

Due to its location in the dry belt, the vast country of Iran has always been faced with the problem of water shortages. In such a climate one should take measures to increase the productivity and improve the efficiency of irrigation through expansion of water-conserving technology in the agricultural sector, as this is the largest and most important consumer of water. Therefore this study aimed at investigating factors affecting the adoption and application of sprinkler irrigation technology by farmers in the county of Famenin, Iran. Survey research was the dominant approach. The statistical population consisted of farmers in the Famenin County, and, using Cochran’s formula, 280 of them were selected through multi-stage stratified random-sampling equally among adopters and non-adopters. In order to assess the validity of the questionnaire the opinions of experts were used and to measure the reliability of the questionnaire Cronbach’s alpha statistic was used (82%). The results showed the adoption of sprinkler irrigation systems to be influenced by environmental factors such as the area under cultivation, access to water, water quality, and non-environmental factors such as the workforce number in the family, employment diversity, and participation in extension education and courses on agricultural water management. Ultimately the logit model is estimated in this paper. Adopters have also expressed reasons such as failure to adequately train farmers for maintenance after system installation, scientific and practical justifications, lack of availability of efficient repairs, inappropriate design and implementation by companies, low-quality components and fittings, clogging of sprinklers due to salty water, non-compliance with environmental conditions, difficulty using machines, the large area occupied by these systems, transportation, parts shortage, lack of security and the possibility of the theft of parts and fittings, and communal ownership of water resources as their dissatisfaction factors

Pulmonary Function Tests in Thunderstorm-associated Respiratory Symptoms: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Epidemic thunderstorm asthma is an observed increase in cases of acute bronchospasm following thunderstorms. This study aimed to compare the frequency of obstructive airway disease or bronchial hyperresponsiveness in subjects with thunderstorm-associated respiratory symptoms with subjects with similar symptoms presented at other times.Methods: A cross-sectional study from June to November of 2013 was conducted on subjects with thunderstorm-associated respiratory symptoms living in Ahvaz City, Iran. Thunderstorm-associated subjects were presented with asthmatic symptoms in thunderstorms, and other patients presented with similar symptoms at other times. Baseline spirometry was performed on patients to examine the presence of obstructive airway disease. In all patients with normal spirometry, a provocation test was applied. A comparison of qualitative and quantitative variables was made using the Chi-square and independent t test, respectively. All analyses were carried out using SPSS Statistics Version 22. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  Results: Out of 584 subjects, 300 and 284 participants were in thunderstorm-associated and non-thunderstorm-associated groups, respectively. After the final analysis, 87 (30.6%) and 89 (33.3%) of the thunderstorm-associated subjects and non-thunderstorm-associated group, respectively, had pieces of evidence of airflow limitation (P=0.27). Among the patients with normal spirometry, 161 (81.72%) of the thunderstorm-associated patients and 100 (56.17%) patients of the non-thunderstorm-associated symptoms group had a positive methacholine challenge test result (P<0.001). Conclusion: Most of the patients with thunderstorm-associated respiratory symptoms had no obvious evidence of airflow limitation in spirometry

Urogenital chlamydia trachomatis treatment failure with azithromycin: A meta-analysis

Background: Chlamydia Trachomatis is one of the most common pathogens transmitted through the genital tract in humans that leads to urogenital infection. Objective: Given the high prevalence of chlamydia infection and its adverse effects on the health of women and men, the present meta-analysis was conducted to determine the rate of treatment failure with azithromycin. Materials and Methods: Databases including MEDLINE, ISI - Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, ProQuest, and Science Direct were searched for articles published between 1991 and 2018. The quality of the selected articles was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. Heterogeneity was determined using the I2 and Cochrane Q-Test. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used to compare the prevalence rates on different levels of the variables. Results: A total of 21 articles that met the inclusion criteria were ultimately assessed. The pooled estimate of azithromycin failure rate was 11.23% (CI 95%: 8.23%-14.24%). Also, the azithromycin failure rate was 15.87% (CI 95%: 10.20%-21.54%) for the treatment of urethritis, 7.41% (CI 95%: 0.60%-14.22%) for cervicitis, and 7.14% (CI 95%: 10.90%-3.39%) for genital chlamydia. The pooled estimate of failure rate difference was 2.37% (CI 95%: 0.68%-4.06%), which shows that azithromycin has a higher failure rate in the treatment of chlamydia compared to doxycycline and other examined medications. The meta-regression results showed that the patient’s age contributes significantly to the heterogeneity for azithromycin treatment failure rate (β = 0.826; p = 0.017). Conclusion: Azithromycin has a higher failure rate than doxycycline and other studied medications in treating urogenital chlamydia infections. Key words: Azithromycin, Chlamydia trachomatis, Urogenital, Treatment failure, Meta-analysis

Analysis of Factors Affecting Adoption and Application of Sprinkler Irrigation by Farmers in Famenin County, Iran

Due to its location in the dry belt, the vast country of Iran has always been faced with the problem of water shortages. In such a climate one should take measures to increase the productivity and improve the efficiency of irrigation through expansion of water-conserving technology in the agricultural sector, as this is the largest and most important consumer of water. Therefore this study aimed at investigating factors affecting the adoption and application of sprinkler irrigation technology by farmers in the county of Famenin, Iran. Survey research was the dominant approach. The statistical population consisted of farmers in the Famenin County, and, using Cochran’s formula, 280 of them were selected through multi-stage stratified random-sampling equally among adopters and non-adopters. In order to assess the validity of the questionnaire the opinions of experts were used and to measure the reliability of the questionnaire Cronbach’s alpha statistic was used (82%). The results showed the adoption of sprinkler irrigation systems to be influenced by environmental factors such as the area under cultivation, access to water, water quality, and non-environmental factors such as the workforce number in the family, employment diversity, and participation in extension education and courses on agricultural water management. Ultimately the logit model is estimated in this paper. Adopters have also expressed reasons such as failure to adequately train farmers for maintenance after system installation, scientific and practical justifications, lack of availability of efficient repairs, inappropriate design and implementation by companies, low-quality components and fittings, clogging of sprinklers due to salty water, non-compliance with environmental conditions, difficulty using machines, the large area occupied by these systems, transportation, parts shortage, lack of security and the possibility of the theft of parts and fittings, and communal ownership of water resources as their dissatisfaction factors

Perceived needs in women with gestational diabetes: A qualitative study

Introduction: Diabetes is the most common medical complication of pregnancy. It can be associated with many complications for mother and fetus. Gestational diabetes is also one of the main health issues in Iran. Therefore, the present study is aimed at a deeper understanding of women’s experiences of gestational diabetes and their perceived needs to inform future lifestyle interventions. Methods: This qualitative content analysis study was carried out in 2015. Participants were pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes in the 24th to 36th week of pregnancy, who were referred to the clinics affiliated with Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University in Tehran, Iran. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants, using semi-structured questions. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Conventional content analysis was carried out for data analysis. Interviews continued until data saturation was obtained. Data were coded in MAXQDA software (version 11). Results: Content analysis highlighted two themes; educational needs and need to support. The former was featured with five main categories: information sources, education process, unknown and known, weaknesses of public information system, and eagerness to learn. The latter was featured with two main categories: family support and social support. Conclusion: Clarifying the needs of the mothers with gestational diabetes, leads to better and proper education planning and a program toward the improvement of health, self-care, and prevention of diabetes

A Comparison of Cephalexin with Fosfomycin Trometanol (monurol) in the treatment of pregnant women with lower urinary tract

Background : Because of the relation between bacteriuria in pregnancy and low birth weight and immaturity, a proper and suitable treatment is important. Fosfomycin Treometamol is one of the most safe drugs in pregnancy. This study was designed to compare it with Cephalexin. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 166 pregnant women with. positive urine culture (cfu >105) were randomized into two groups to receive Cephalexin and Fosfomycin. Urine cultures were repeated one week and one month after treatment. Results: The most bacteria in Cephalexin groups were E.coli (87.8%), Streptococcus (7.3%)< Proteus (2.4%) and Klebsiella (2.4%), and in the later group they were E.coli (84.5%), Streptococcus (9.5%)< Proteus (4.8%) and Klebsiella (1.2%) with no significant difference (p=0.737). After one week, success rate in Cephalexin group was 92.7% and for Fosfomycin was 91.7% (p=1). The odds ratio was 15.15 and relative risk was 1.01. All the cultures were negative after one month. 2 in the Cephalexin group and 3 in the Fosfomycin group had diarrhea (p=0.68). Conclusion: Considering the equality between Cephalexin and Fosfomycin, Fosfomycin can be used to treat uncomplicated bacteriuria in pregnancy

The importance of sleep hygiene in polycystic ovary syndrome from the view of Iranian traditional medicine and modern medicine

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is known as the most common hormonal disorder in women at reproductive age. Recent studies have revealed a high prevalence of sleep disorders in PCOS, suggesting that it is an amendable factor for these patients; however, the sleep was not considered in their treatment plan. According to the Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), sleep is an important item in the lifestyle modification of all diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the importance of sleep hygiene in PCOS from the view of ITM and Modern Medicine. In this study, some keywords about “sleep and PCOS” were searched in medical databases and some ITM books. Lifestyle modification is one of the first steps in treatment of patients with PCOS in which the emphasis will be mainly on exercise and diet. Despite proof of the high prevalence of sleep disorders in these patients, modification of sleep is not considered in their lifestyle. ITM as a holistic medicine emphasizes on lifestyle modification under the title of “Settah-e-Zaruria” (In Persian), the six essential schemes for the prevention and treatment of all diseases. Management of sleep is one of these schemes. There are many advices about sleep hygiene in both ITM and modern medicine. It seems that lifestyle modification should be expanded in PCOS patients to include more options, and sleep hygiene should be considered in their lifestyle alongside food and exercise

Probiotics and Treatment of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

Background: Genital infections are among the most common diseases for which women refer to gynecologists. Vulvovaginal candidiasis is the second most common infection among women. Objective: A few studies have been conducted on new therapeutic regimens improving the effectiveness of current medications; accordingly, the present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of clotrimazole with clotrimazole plus probiotics in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Materials and Methods: The present double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 80 women admitted to Shohada hospital in Tehran in 2014. The participants were randomly divided into 2 groups of clotrimazole and clotrimazole plus probiotics. The collected data included the participants’ sociodemographic information and their medical records along with their symptoms and laboratory results before and after the treatment. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using chi-square test, t test, McNemar test and Fisherexact test. Results: The results showed that both treatments (i.e. clotrimazole and clotrimazole plus probiotics) are equally effective in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (P = 0.499). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that supplementing clotrimazole with probiotics results in similar effects compared to administering clotrimazole alone in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis

A Study of 13315 Papanicolau Smear Diagnoses in Shohada Hospital

Objective: This study aimed to review Papanicolaou (Pap) smears in patients of Shohada hospital in Tehran. Materials and methods:  A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out and a database search of all Pap smear reports from 1995 to 2005 at cytopathology department was reviewed. The abnormal Pap smear reports based on the Bethesda System were assessed. Results: A total of 13315 Pap smear reports were reviewed from patients aging 20 to 79 years old. Totally 6065 (45.55%) cases had diagnosis of ‘negative', 293(2.21%) smears were labeled as ‘inadequate', and 6799 (51.06%) reports had ‘Benign cellular changes'. There were 158(1.18%) abnormal Pap smears consisting of 84 (53.18%) SIL with undetermined grade (ASC-US), 28(17.73%) low grade SIL (LSIL), 17(10.75%) high grade SIL (HSIL), 27(17.08%) carcinoma and 2(1.26%) atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS). Overall incidence of the cervical cancer among these samples was 0.2%. Benign cellular changes numbered 6799(51.06%), of which 5365 (78.9%) smears demonstrated infectious processes. Conclusion: The number of abnormal pap smears in this study is less than western countries, but is comparable with Middle East and Islamic regions. More prospective studies are recommended

Cervical consistency index is a valid predictor of preterm birth in low-risk pregnant women

Background Preterm birth (PTB) remains a global problem associated with perinatal morbidity, including low birth weight, growth retardation and irreversible damage to the nervous system. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive value of cervical consistency index (CCI) to indicate the occurrence of PTB in mid trimester screening of low risk pregnant women. Methods This was a prospective study conducted on low-risk pregnant women at 14-28 weeks of pregnancy. The cervical length (CL) and AP cervical diameter were measured and the CCI determined according to the formula AP2/AP1*100. The ROC curves were drawn according to gestational age and the sensitivity and the specificity were calculated for optimal cut-off for 1st, 5th, 10th, 21th, and 24th centiles of CCI. The inter-observer agreement was validated by interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results A total of 149 participants were enrolled in this study. Among them, 12.08% had PTB (<37weeks) and 87.92% had normal birth. Mean CCI for all subjects was 68.60%, but was lower in PTB (48.9%). The best cutoff for predicting PTB based on CCI was 59.46% with 99.18% sensitivity and 85% specificity. The AUC for CCI for prediction of PTB <37weeks was 0.936. There was no inter-observer difference in measurement of CCI and CL (ICC values for CCI and CL were 0.997 and 0.990 respectively). Conclusion In women with normal CL the CCI could predict PTB in the second trimester in low risk women. So, CCI is a valid predictor of PTB in low risk women