Psychometric properties of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure in an Iranian hospital setting

Background: Students’ perceptions of the educational environment are an important construct in assessing and enhancing the quality of medical training programs. Reliable and valid measurement, however, can be problematic – especially as instruments developed and tested in one culture are translated for use in another. Materials and method: This study sought to explore the psychometric properties of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) for use in an Iranian hospital training setting. We translated the instrument into Persian and ensured its content validity by back translation and expert review prior to administering it to 127 residents of Urmia University of Medical Science. Results: Overall internal consistency of the translated measure was good (a=0.94). Principal components analysis revealed five factors accounting for 52.8% of the variance. Conclusion: The Persian version of the PHEEM appears to be a reliable and potentially valid instrument for use in Iranian medical schools and may find favor in evaluating the educational environments of residency programs nationwide

Degradation of phenol using US/periodate/nZVI system from aqueous solutions

In the present work, the degradation of phenol from aqueous solutions was investigated using periodate/zero valent iron nanoparticle (nZVI) in the presence of ultrasound at a batch reactor. The Experimental tests were carried out using pre-designated concentrations of nZVI, periodate, and pH ranging from 1-7 mM, 0.5-5 mM, 3-11 respectively. During the all experimental tests the ultrasonic reactor was operated at a fix frequency (40 kHz), temperature (33±1) and power (350 W). The results of nZVI/periodate/ultrasound system on degradation of phenol showed that the removal efficiency was indeed affected by the amount of free radicals produced to initiate the oxidative decomposition of phenol. also, by increasing the nZVI loading to 3 mM and periodate concentration to 3 mM, the efficiency of phenol removal was increased. Besides, the acidic pH (pH = 3) was found to be more effective than neutral and alkaline pH in degradation of phenol. © 2019 Global NEST Printed in Greece. All rights reserved

Substance Use Patterns Among Women Living with HIV Compared with the General Female Population of Canada

BACKGROUND: HIV infection and substance use synergistically impact health outcomes of people with HIV. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of substance use among women living with HIV (WLWH) and compared them with expected values from general data. METHODS: Cigarette smoking, frequency of alcohol consumption, last-month non-prescribed cannabis use (vs. last-year use), and last 3 months regular (≥once/week) and occasional ( RESULTS: Compared to expected estimates from general population women, a higher proportion of WLWH reported daily cigarette smoking (SPD: 26.8% [95% CI: 23.9, 29.7]), smoking ≥20 cigarettes/day (SPD: 11.6% [9.8, 13.6]), regular non-prescribed cannabis use (SPD: 8.0% [4.1, 8.6]), regular crack/cocaine use (SPD: 16.7% [13.1, 20.9]), regular/occasional speed use (SPD: 2.4% [1.2, 4.7]), and heroin use (SPD: 11.2% [8.3, 15.0]). However, WLWH reported lower frequencies of alcohol consumption and binge drinking than their counterparts in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smoking and illicit drug use, but not alcohol use or binge drinking, were more prevalent in WLWH than would be expected for Canadian women with a similar age and ethnoracial group profile. These findings may indicate the need for women-centered harm reduction programs to improve health outcomes of WLWH in Canada

Automatic alignment of surgical videos using kinematic data

Over the past one hundred years, the classic teaching methodology of "see one, do one, teach one" has governed the surgical education systems worldwide. With the advent of Operation Room 2.0, recording video, kinematic and many other types of data during the surgery became an easy task, thus allowing artificial intelligence systems to be deployed and used in surgical and medical practice. Recently, surgical videos has been shown to provide a structure for peer coaching enabling novice trainees to learn from experienced surgeons by replaying those videos. However, the high inter-operator variability in surgical gesture duration and execution renders learning from comparing novice to expert surgical videos a very difficult task. In this paper, we propose a novel technique to align multiple videos based on the alignment of their corresponding kinematic multivariate time series data. By leveraging the Dynamic Time Warping measure, our algorithm synchronizes a set of videos in order to show the same gesture being performed at different speed. We believe that the proposed approach is a valuable addition to the existing learning tools for surgery.Comment: Accepted at AIME 201

Patterns of social determinants of health associated with drug use among women living with HIV in Canada: a latent class analysis

Background and AimsIdentifying typologies of social determinants of health (SDoH) vulnerability influencing drug use practices among women living with HIV (WLWH) can help to address associated harms. This research aimed to explore the association of SDoH clusters with drug use among WLWH.DesignLatent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify the distinct clusters of SDoH. Inverse probability weighting (IPW) was employed to account for confounding and potential selection bias. Associations were analyzed using generalized linear model with log link and Poisson distribution, and then weighted risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported.Setting and ParticipantsData from 1422 WLWH recruited at timeâ point 1 of the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS, 2013â 15), with 1252 participants at 18 months followâ up (timeâ point 2).MeasurementsDrug use was defined as use of illicit/nonâ prescribed opioids/stimulants in the past 6 months. SDoH indicators included: race discrimination, gender discrimination, HIV stigma, social support, access to care, food security, income level, employment status, education, housing status and histories of recent sex work and incarceration.FindingsLCA identified four SDoH classes: no/least SDoH adversities (6.6%), discrimination/stigma (17.7%), economic hardship (30.8%) and most SDoH adversities (45.0%). Drug use was reported by 17.5% and 17.2% at timeâ points 1 and 2, respectively. WLWH with no/least SDoH adversities were less likely to report drug use than those in economic hardship class (weighted RR = 0.13; 95% CIs = 0.03, 0.63), discrimination/stigma class (weighted RR = 0.15; 95% CIs = 0.03, 0.78), and most SDoH adversities class (weighted RR = 0.13; 95% CIs = 0.03, 0.58).ConclusionsSocial determinants of health vulnerabilities are associated with greater likelihood of drug use, underscoring the significance of addressing interlinked social determinants and drug use through the course of HIV care and treatment.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149504/1/add14566_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149504/2/add14566.pd

Removal of bisphenol, using antimony nanoparticle multi-walled carbon nanotubes composite from aqueous solutions

This study focuses on preparing Antimony Nanoparticle Multi-walled Carbon (ANMWC) composite as an effective adsorbent and then the effect of produced composite in BPA removal from aqueous solutions was studied. ANMWC were prepared using chemical method and characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). Moreover, the removal efficiency of prepared AMWCNT and Nanoparticle Multi-walled Carbon (MWCNT) in removal of Bisphenol A was investigated. Results revealed that the BPA removal efficiency by AMWCNT increased from 80 to 93 with the increase of contact time 5 to 60 min. The maximum removal efficiency for the both adsorbents was seen at pH 7, which was 85 for MWCNT and 95 for ANMWC composite. According to the results obtained, pHzpc for both adsorbents was 7. Results showed that the adsorption process followed the pseudo-first order model with a high correlation value and BPA adsorption on MWCNT followed the Langmuir isotherm model

High-risk behaviors among regular and casual female sexworkers in Iran: A report fromwestern Asia

Background: Female Sex workers are at risk of obtaining sexually transmitted infections, particularly human immunodeficiency virus. Objectives: This study aimed at comparing the high-risk behaviours between regular and casual sex workers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on sex workers from February to December, 2015, in a city of northern Iran. The research recruited 184 sex workers, who had the inclusion criteria. Three sampling methods were used to recruit the subjects. The test was conducted at an error level of 5 using the SPSS software. Results: The average age of the casual sex workers (32.53±7.39) was older than that of regular sex workers, with a significant difference (P value > 0.05). A significant association was found between the 2 groups on the inconsistent use of condoms and working in brothels (P value > 0.05). The comparison of drug use before sex was not significantly different (P value < 0.05) between the 2 groups. Conclusions: It is very essential to organize peer groups for outreach services for sex workers, which could be more appropriate and consequently decrease the relevant damage in these groups. ©2018, Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The effect of galega officinalis on hormonal and metabolic profile in a rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome

Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been considered as one of the most common endocrine diseases among the females in their regenerative age with a prevalence range of 5 to 21. However, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of Galega officinalis on metabolic as well as hormonal parameters in a rodent model of PCOS. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two Wistar female rats were used (n=8/group) in the study consisting of healthy control and experimental groups. The experimental groups were divided into 3 subgroups, including rats with PCOS which received no treatment (G1), PCOS group in which G. officinalis extract was administered daily at a dose of 200 mg/kg/orally (G2) for 2 weeks, and PCOS group in which G. officinalis extract was administered daily at a dose of 400 mg/kg/orally (G3) for 2 weeks. In all experimental groups, a single intramuscular injection of estradiol valerate led to inducing PCOS. After the end of treatment period, rats in all of the studied groups were anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine (5/1 mg/kg), then the blood samples obtained and their serum samples were applied for testing the fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, aromatase, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, and estrogen. The ovaries of rats were removed and fixed for histopathological examinations. Results: The serum levels of FBS, insulin, LH, FSH, and testosterone significantly increased in G1 in comparison to healthy rats (P < 0.05), while they were all significantly decreased in the treated groups received G. officinalis extract compared to rats affected by PCOS (P < 0.05). Moreover, the serum level of estrogen and the serum activity of aromatase were both significantly decreased in G1 in comparison to healthy rats (P < 0.05), while in treated groups, they were significantly increased compared to G1 which received no treatment (P < 0.05). Moreover, the number of follicles in ovaries affected by PCOS decreased, while both concentrations of G. officinalis extract could prevent this phenomenon. Conclusions: It seems that the extract of G. officinalis has a beneficial effect on the levels of the LH, FSH, testosterone, estradiol, aromatase, FBS, and insulin in alleviating the complications of PCOS. © 2018 The Author (s)

Hesperidin improves the follicular development in 3D culture of isolated preantral ovarian follicles of mice

In vitro follicular culture systems provide optimal culture models for research about the physiology of the ovary and support the clinical practices to achieve competent mature oocytes for in vitro fertilization. In vitro maturation of preantral follicles makes it possible to study the effects of therapeutic agents on various conditions or disorders of the ovary. Nowadays, preventive bioflavonoids against cancer, hypercholesterolemia, fatty liver, or a variety of toxic agents are in focus. The aim of this study was to design and investigate the impacts of different concentrations of hesperidin, a glycoside flavonoid, on the in vitro preantral follicle growth and maturation in the three-dimensional (3D) culture system which was made with sodium alginate. Preantral follicles (n = 1363) were mechanically isolated from immature mice ovaries, then, after capsulating, they were randomly divided into four groups: the control group received no concentration of hesperidin, and three experimental groups were supplemented with 10, 22.5, and 50 µmol/L of hesperidin. All groups were cultured for 12 days. At the end of the culture period, the percentage of survival rate, antrum formation, obtained metaphase II oocytes, and the secretion of 17β-estradiol and progesterone were significantly higher in the group Hesp 50 (50 µmol/L hesperidin). Moreover, the mean average of follicular diameter cultured in the group Hesp 50 was also increased and the mRNA expression levels of PCNA, FSH-R, and Bcl-2 genes were higher, while Bax mRNA expression was significantly reduced compared with the other groups. Follicles cultured in the presence of 50 µmol/L of hesperidin had a higher fertilization rate and embryo development. Adding hesperidin at the concentration of 50 µmol/L to the culture medium resulted in higher follicular growth and maturation and increased the rate of in vitro fertilization and embryo development. Impact statement: It has been stated that hesperidin has many pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, antimicrobial activity, and anti-carcinogenic activity; but hesperidin and its derivatives have been under investigation as anti-fertility factors for a very long time. However, our results show that hesperidin can improve mice follicular growth and maturation during in vitro 3D culture. Hesperidin as an antioxidant factor could enhance the mRNA expression levels of two important genes involved in folliculogenesis, PCNA, and FSH-R. Our results prove for the first time that hesperidin not only has deleterious effects on follicular development but can also increase rates of in vitro fertilization and embryo development. © 2019 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Research collaboration in Tehran University of Medical Sciences: two decades after integration

Background: In 1985 medical schools were integrated into the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education was created in Iran. Under this infrastructure education, research and service provision are unified, and it is expected that collaboration between researchers and decision makers become easier in such an integrated context. The question here is how the researchers behavior in the biggest medical university of the country towards collaboration is, i.e. how much do decision makers participate in different stages of research? Which factors affect it? Methodology: The samples under study were all Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) completed research projects that had gotten grants in 2004 and were over by the time this study was done. Two questionnaires were designed for this study: i) the research checklist which was filled for 301 projects, ii) the researcher's questionnaire, which was sent to principle investigators, 208 of which were collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for evaluating the potential factors affecting individuals 'collaboration score'. Results: Only 2.2 percent of TUMS' projects initiated in 2004 have had collaboration as a joint PI or co-investigator from non-academic organizations. The principle investigators mean collaboration score was 2.09, where 6 was the total score. So the collaboration score obtained was 35%. The 'type of research' had significant association with the collaboration score which is shown in the linear regression; collaboration was seen more in clinical (p = 0.007) and health system researches (p = 0.001) as compared to basic research. Conclusion: The present study shows that not many individuals collaborated as co-investigators from outside the university. This finding shows that research policy makers need to introduce interventions in this field. And assessment of barriers to collaboration and its facilitating factors should be considered in order to make it actually happen. © 2009 Majdzadeh et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd