A comparison of antibiotic disks from different sources on Quicolor and Mueller-Hinton agar media in evaluation of antibacterial susceptibility testing

Background and Objectives: Antibacterial susceptibility testing of clinical bacterial isolates through disk diffusion method plays a major role in antibacterial treatment. One of the main factors affecting the result of these tests is the type, structure and quality of the disks. The main objective of this study was to compare the agreement of antibiotic disks originated from three companies on Quicolor and Mueller-Hinton agar. Materials and Methods: Quicolor and Mueller-Hinton agar media were used in disk diffusion method. Seventy clinical isolates from Enterobacteriaceae family (21 Klebsiella spp., 36 Escherichia coli, 1 Enterobacter spp. and 12 Shigella spp.) were investigated in the study. After obtaining data, the results were interpreted as resistant, sensitive or intermediate. Kappa coefficient measured the agreement of two media. Coefficient of variation (CV) was also calculated for antibiotic disks. Results: The kappa agreement values for three types of antibiotic disks on Quicolor and Mueller-Hinton agar plates were good or excellent for all the examined antibiotics. CV values were also very satisfactory in the majority of cases. Conclusion: Antibiotic disks from three manufacturers can successfully be used on both Quicolor and Mueller-Hinton agar plates

Factors Influencing Self-esteem in Health Sciences Students: An Explanation for the Roles of Lifelong Learning and Learning Style

Background & Objective: Self-esteem is one of the fundamental factors in academic performance of students and recognizing the variables which impact it may help its improvement. The aim of the current study was to assess the impact of factors such as demographic and academic variables, inclination toward lifelong learning, and learning style on self-esteem among health sciences students. Methods: In the present study, 209 students of the School of Health of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) were selected to participate in the study using stratified random sampling. Data collection tools consisted of a demographic and academic information questionnaire, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (KLSI), and the Jefferson Scale of Lifelong Learning. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, oneway ANOVA, Pearson correlation test, and multiple regression analysis in SPSS software. Results: The mean age of participants was 26.7 ± 8.4 years and most (94%) of them were men. In bivariate analysis, factors such as gender, daily study time, some domains of learning style, as well as constructs of lifelong learning were significantly associated with self-esteem. In multiple regression analysis, variables of gender, daily study time, abstract conceptualization from learning style domains, and beliefs of motivation toward learning (a lifelong learning construct) predicted student’s self-esteem. Approximately 38% of variance in self-esteem was explained using variables included in the regression model. Conclusion: Considering that variables such as gender, daily study time, some learning style domains, and inclination toward lifelong learning may be associated with self-esteem, to improve students’ self-esteem, in the line with enhancing their academic performance, appropriate planning should be undertaken considering these factors. Moreover, further studies are necessary in this regard to gain more understanding of these factors. Key Words: Self-esteem, Lifelong learning, Learning style, Determinant

Psychometric characteristics of the Muslim Religiosity Scale in Iranian patients with cancer

Objective: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Religiosity is a factor that may help cancer patients to cope with their disease. The aim of the current study was to validate a Persian translation of the Muslim Religiosity Scale (MRS) in a population of Iranian patientswith cancer. Method: Two thousand patients were invited to participate in this multisite study, of whom 1,879 participated. Patients completed a demographic questionnaire, the MRS, and several scales, including the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the SF–12 quality of life measure. Backward– forward translation was employed to develop a Persian-language version of theMRS. Cronbach’s alpha and two-week test–retest reliability were also assessed. Convergent and discriminative validity as well as the factor structure of the scale were also examined. Results: The internal reliability (a) of the religious practices and beliefs subscales was 0.88 and 0.92, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.92 (range ¼ 0.75–1.0). The scale demonstrated solid convergent and discriminative validity. Factor analysis indicated two main factors, as predicted, with an appropriate goodness of fit (x2 ¼ 76.23,RMSEA ¼ 0.065). Such factors asmarital status, quality of life, social support, and self-efficacy were positively associated with MRS total score, while anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation had negative associations. Significance of results: TheMRS is a useful tool for assessing religiosity in Iranian patientswith cancer and is associated with a number of important health outcomes

Personal hygiene among military personnel: developing and testing a self-administered scale

OBJECTIVE: Good personal hygiene (PH) behavior is recommended to prevent contagious diseases, and members of military forces may be at high risk for contracting contagious diseases. The aim of this study was to develop and test a new questionnaire on PH for soldiers. METHODS: Participants were all male and from different military settings throughout Iran. Using a five-stage guideline, a panel of experts in the Persian language (Farsi) developed a 21-item self-administered questionnaire. Face and content validity of the first-draft items were assessed. The questionnaire was then translated and subsequently back-translated into English, and both the Farsi and English versions were tested in pilot studies. The consistency and stability of the questionnaire were tested using Cronbach’s alpha and the test–retest strategy. The final scale was administered to a sample of 502 military personnel. Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses evaluated the structure of the scale. Both the convergent and discriminative validity of the scale were also determined. RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were >0.85. Principal component analysis demonstrated a uni-dimensional structure that explained 59 % of the variance in PH behaviors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit (goodness-of-fit index = 0.902; comparative fitness index = 0.923; root mean square error of approximation = 0.0085). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that this new PH scale has solid psychometric properties for testing PH behaviors among an Iranian sample of military personnel. We conclude that this scale can be a useful tool for assessing PH behaviors in military personnel. Further research is needed to determine the scale’s value in other countries and cultures

Dimensions of National Cancer Control Programs in Different Countries: A Scoping Review

Considering the growing trend of cancer incidence and mortality in the world, regardless of the human development level, cancer control and prevention programs should be a high priority in health policies. Developing the national cancer control program is in line with these efforts. Therefore, the current review study was conducted to examine the dimensions of national cancer control programs and the strategies used in these programs. This study was conducted to investigate the dimensions of the national cancer control program of different countries. To find relevant articles, the authors searched keywords, such as National Program of Cancer Registries, Screening, Neoplasms, Cancer, and Cancer Control separately and in combination in databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Science Direct. Furthermore, the Persian equivalents of these keywords were searched in Sid, Magiran, and Civilica. Finally, full text articles related to the cancer control program in Farsi or English published from 2000 to 2020 were selected. 586 articles were identified, and finally, 19 were investigated. The dimensions of the national cancer control program differed among countries and they had used different strategies to implement the cancer control program. The National Cancer Control Program is the most logical means to achieve a significant degree of cancer control, even in cases with limited resources

Development of Advanced Thin Films by PECVD for Photovoltaic Applications

Compared to wafer based solar cells, thin film solar cells greatly reduce material cost and thermal budget due to low temperature process. Monolithically manufacturing allows large area fabrication and continuous processing. In this work, several photovoltaic thin films have been developed by rf-PECVD including a-Si:H and μc-Si, both intrinsic and doped on Corning 4 inch glass substrate at low temperature. The conductivity of n type and p type μc-Si at 180ºC was 17S/cm and 7.1E-2S/cm, respectively. B dopants either in a-Si:H or μc-Si films require higher plasma power to get active doping. The B2H6-to-SiH4 flow ratio for p type μc-Si lies from 0.01 to 0.025. Chamber conditions have critical effect on film quality. Repeatable and superior results require a well-established cleaning passivation procedure. Moreover, μc-Si films have been deposited from pure silane on glass substrate by modified rf-ICP-CVD. The deposition rate has been dramatically increased to 5Å/s due to little H2 dilution with crystalline fraction was around 69%, and 6.2Å/s with crystalline fraction 45%. Microstructure started to form at 150ºC with a thin incubation layer on the glass substrate, and became fully dense conical conglomerates around 300nm where conductivity and crystallinity saturated. Additionally, a-SiGe:H films have been developed by modified rf-ICP-CVD. The optical band gaps have been varied from 1.25 to 1.63eV by changing SiH4-to-GeH4 ratio. Also high temperature resulted in low bandgap. Cross-section TEM showed some microcrystllites appeared near interface region. Heterojunction solar cells on p type c-Si wafer have been fabricated using films developed in this thesis. Interference fringes in EQE disappeared on either textured substrate or cells with lift-off contacts. Maximum EQE was 87% around 700nm. I-V curves have also been studied where the interesting kink suggests a counter-diode has formed between emitter region and contacts

Numerical Investigation of a Portable Incinerator: A Parametric Study

The application of incinerators for the municipal solid waste (MSW) is growing due to the ability of such instruments to produce energy and, more specifically, reduce waste volume. In this paper, a numerical simulation of the combustion process with the help of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) inside a portable (mobile) incinerator has been proposed. Such work is done to investigate the most critical parameters for a reliable design of a domestic portable incinerator, which is suitable for the Iranian food and waste culture. An old design of a simple incinerator has been used to apply the natural gas (NG), one of the available cheap fossil fuels in Iran. After that, the waste height, place of the primary burner, and the flow rate of the cooling air inside the incinerator, as the main parameters of the design, are investigated. A validation is also performed for the mesh quality test and the occurrence of the chemical reactions near the burner of the incinerator. Results proved that the numerical results have less than 5% error compared to the previous experimental and numerical approaches. In addition, results show that by moving the primary burner into the secondary chamber of the incinerator, the temperature and the heating ability of the incinerator could be affected dramatically. Moreover, it has been found that by increasing the flow rate of the cooling air inside the incinerator to some extent, the combustion process is improved and, on the other hand, by introducing more cooling air, the evacuation of the hazardous gases from the exhaust is also improved