Estimation of illuminance on the south facing surfaces for clear skies in Iran

Background: Daylight availability data are essential for designing effectively day lighted buildings. In respect to no available daylight availability data in Iran, illuminance data on the south facing vertical surfaces were estimated using a proper method. Methods: An illuminance measuring set was designed for measuring vertical illuminances for standard times over 15 days at one hour intervals from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at three measuring stations (Hamadan, Eshtehard and Kerman). Measuring data were used to confirm predicted by the IESNA method. Results: Measurement of respective illuminances on the south vertical surfaces resulted in minimum values of 10.5 KLx, mean values of 33.59 KLx and maximum values of 79.6 KLx. Conclusion: In this study was developed a regression model between measured and calculated data of south facing vertical illuminance. This model, have a good linear correlation between measured and calculated values (r= 0.892)

Vigilant Care: Experiences of In-Home Caregivers of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients

Background: Home care is always appreciated as an effective alternative method to manage critical conditions, expand hospital capacity, and admit further cases suspected of more severe clinical symptoms.Aim: The present study aimed to reflect on the experiences of in-home caregivers of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Iran.Method: For this qualitative descriptive study, 13 participants (i.e., the Iranian family caregivers of patients with COVID-19) were selected and included using the purposive sampling method. Caregivers were those who accompanied the patient to the outpatient department for three months from 22 June to 22 August 2021. An interview was conducted in a private room with family caregivers of patients. The data were obtained through a series of semi-structured interviews, each one lasting 30-40 min. The data were completed via the MAXQDA software (version 10). Analysis was performed according to the approach of Granheim and Landman 2004 by the conventional content analysis method.Results: The results lead to the emergence of the final theme "vigilant care" containing four categories (e.g., Quarantine fence, Economic management as a bottleneck, Confusion and difficulty in care, as well as Conflicting adaptation and mitigation of psychological stress) and 14 subcategories.Implications for Practice: Vigilance care is a major challenge for caregivers of patients with Covid-19 at home. Therefore, providing educational solutions or training booklets in outpatient wards during discharge can partially resolve the ambiguities and be effective in improving care

The impact of indoor air temperature on the executive functions of human brain and the physiological responses of body

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effect size (ES) of air temperature on the executive functions of human brain and body physiological responses. Methods: In this empirical study, the participants included 35 male students who were exposed to 4 air temperature conditions of 18°C, 22°C, 26°C and 30°C in 4 separate sessions in an air conditioning chamber. The participants were simultaneously asked to take part in the N-backtest. The accuracy, electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and the respiration rate were recorded to determine the effect of air temperature. Results: Compared to moderate air temperatures (22°C), high (30°C) and low (18°C) air temperatures had a much more profound effect on changes in heart beat rate, the accuracy of brain executive functions and the response time to stimuli. There were statistically significant differences in the accuracy by different workload levels and various air temperature conditions(P0.05). Conclusion: The results confirmed that the unfavorable air temperatures may considerably affect the physiological responses and the cognitive functions among indoor employees.Therefore, providing them with thermal comfort may improve their performance within indoor environments

Effects of Shift Work on Cognitive Performance, Sleep Quality, and Sleepiness among Petrochemical Control Room Operators

Background: shift work is associated with both sleepiness and reduced performance. The aim of this study was to examine cognitive performance, sleepiness, and sleep quality among petrochemical control room shift workers. Method: Sixty shift workers participated in this study. Cognitive performance was evaluated using the objective test such as continuous performance test, n-back test, and simple reaction time test; sleepiness scale was measured using the subjective Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS); and sleep quality was assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. ANCOVA, t-test, and repeated-measures ANOVA was used for statistical analyses, and the significance level was set at 'p' < .05. Results: All variables related to cognitive performance, except for omission error, significantly decreased at the end of both day and night shifts ('p' < .0001). There were also significant differences between the day and night shifts in terms of the variables of omission error ('p' < .027) and commission error ('p' < .036). A significant difference was also observed between daily and nightly trends of sleepiness ('p' < .0001) so that sleepiness was higher for the night shift. Participants had low sleep quality on both day and night shifts, and there were significant differences between the day and night shifts in terms of subjective sleep quality and quantity ('p' < .01). Conclusion: Long working hours per shift result in fatigue, irregularities in the circadian rhythm and the cycle of sleep, induced cognitive performance decline at the end of both day and night shifts and increased sleepiness in night shift. It, thus, seems necessary to take ergonomic measures such as planning for more appropriate shift work and reducing working hours

The Effects of Synbiotic Supplementation on Metabolic Status in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: a Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of synbiotic supplementation on metabolic profiles in diabetic patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed in 60 diabetic HD patients. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups to receive either synbiotic capsule, containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidobacterium bifidum (2 � 109 CFU/g each), plus 0.8 g/day of inulin (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. Synbiotic supplementation significantly decreased fasting plasma glucose (β � 13.56 mg/dL; 95 CI, � 23.82, � 3.30; P = 0.01), insulin levels (β � 5.49 μIU/mL; 95 CI, � 6.92, � 4.05; P < 0.001), and insulin resistance (β � 2.25; 95 CI, � 3.02, � 1.48; P < 0.001), while increased the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (β 0.02; 95 CI, 0.01, 0.02; P < 0.001) compared with the placebo. Additionally, synbiotic intake resulted in a significant reduction in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (β � 2930.48 ng/mL; 95 CI, � 3741.15, � 2119.80; P < 0.001) and malondialdehyde levels (β � 0.60 μmol/L; 95 CI, � 0.99, � 0.20; P = 0.003). Moreover, we found a significant increase in total antioxidant capacity (β 142.99 mmol/L; 95 CI, 61.72, 224.25; P = 0.001) and total glutathione levels (β 131.11 μmol/L; 95 CI, 89.35, 172.87; P < 0.001) in the synbiotic group compared with the placebo group. Overall, synbiotic supplementation for 12 weeks had beneficial effects on glycemic control, biomarkers of inflammation, and oxidative stress in diabetic patients under HD. This study was registered in the Iranian website (www.irct.ir) for registration of clinical trials (http://www.irct.ir: IRCT2017090133941N17). http://www.irct.ir: IRCT2017090133941N17. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

The Experiences of Nursing Internship Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran

Background: Nursing internship is a vital period for the formation of professional identity and development of clinical competency of nursing students, which has undergone extensive changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to explain the experiences of nursing internship students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.Methods: This qualitative-descriptive study was conducted using the conventional content analysis method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Participants included 15 nursing internship students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Iran, who were selected using purposive sampling. The interviews continued until data saturation. The trustworthiness of the data was ensured using Lincoln and Guba’s criteria. Data were analyzed via MAXQDA (version 10).Results: Data analysis led to the identification of two themes: (1) Paradoxes in clinical education path (with two categories including impaired learning and effective clinical education) and (2) Psychological pressure in patient care (with two categories including student protection and safety concerns and disruption of professional interaction).Conclusion: The present study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for clinical nursing education that will affect professional competency in the future. Therefore, educational administrators must take into account the experiences of students as the main stakeholders in clinical education planning

The study of the effects of ergonomic interventions in a Steel Company

Introdaction: Musculoskeletal disorders MSDs is one of the most common causes of occupational injuries and disability in industrialized nations and developing countries. Musculoskeletal disorders have a high economic losses. . Musculoskeletal disorders not only impact on individuals, but also on organizations and community. Methods: This interventional study was conducted in the Tundish and Slide gate workstations of a steel company. To assess workers’ postures, the REBA and ManTRA technique were applied before and after the intervention. After data analysis, corrective engineering measures implemented in two mentioned workstations.   Results: The findings showed a 63% and 64% reduction in risk level at Tandish and Slide Gate stations using the REBA method and a 47% and 56% reduction in ManTRA cumulative risk score at the Tandish and Slide Gate stations. Also data analysis showed that mean intensity of risk level score in the Tandish and Slide Gate stations using the REBA and ManTRA technique before and after the intervention were significant.   Conclusions: The simultaneous use of the ManTRA and REBA methods is beneficial for occupations which the entire body is involved and more activity is manual as well as Occupations that work duration is important and limitation each method will be minimized using another method

Health, safety and environment risk assessment in gas pipelines by indexing method:case of Kermanshah Sanandaj oil pipeline

Background and AimsUsing pipelines for oil products transportation involves ranges of safety, health and environmental risks, this option however, is dominant with numerous  advantages. The purpose of this study was; relative risk assessment of abovementioned risk in Kermanshah-Sanandaj Oil Pipeline.MethodsThe method used in this study was Kent Muhlbauer method in which relative risk was assessed using third-party damage, corrosion, design, incorrect operations and leak impact  factor.ResultsOnce applying this method, collection of required data and performing needed experiments, scoring results showed 96 risk segments along the pipeline length in which lengths 100+860, 101+384 and 103+670 had relative risk scores 9.74, 9.82 and 9.91 respectively and therefore these segments were identified as focal risk points and priority for improvement actions.ConclusionRegarding importance of pipeline failure, inspection and regular patrol along the pipeline route, precise control of cathodic protection of pipeline and using communication technologies such as SCADA or optical fibers along the pipeline route were amongst the mostimportant control action suggested by the study