Study of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Traditional and Device-Made Ice Cream in Qazvin, 2017-2018: A Short Report

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in traditional and device-made ice cream in Qazvin. Materials and Methods: In this cross- sectional study, 100 samples of traditional and device-made ice cream in Qazvin were randomly collected over a period of one year and in different seasons. The culture method was then confirmed by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technique. Results: The inflammation rate of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was 5% in most seasons in the traditional and device-made ice cream and the most inflammation was in summer, and 80% (4 cases) of the isolated bacteria were methicillin resistant. Conclusion: The use of pasteurized ice cream and observance of health principles in producing traditional and device-made ice cream will reduce the risk of contamination and food poisoning

Do medical records outsourcing affect insurance deductions? An Interrupted time series in Qazvin’s trauma center

Introduction: The reform in medical records processes is recognized as one of the effective measures implemented for reducing insurance deductions. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of outsourcing the medical records unit on the insurance deductions in Qazvin Trauma Center within 2013-2018. Methods: The present study was a descriptive and analytical study which was conducted in Qazvin Trauma Center. The intervention variable was the performance of the outsourcing plan in the medical records unit. Changes in the level and trend of basic insurance deductions before and after outsourcing were at the significance level of 0.05 using the independent t-test and segmented regression model in Stata software (version15). Results: The percentages of deductions before and after performing the outsourcing contract were measured at 0.038±0.112 and 0.194±0.068 for the health insurance (P <0.001), respectively. These values were reported as 0.077±0.028 and 0.031±0.126 for the social security insurance (P<0.001), respectively, and they were obtained at 0.105±0.060 and 0.124±0.087 for the armed forces insurance (P=0.369), respectively. Finally, for the relief committee insurance, these percentages were reported as 0.154±0.078 and 0.183±0.080 (P=0.209), respectively. Conclusions: As evidenced by the obtained results, the level of y-intercept increased in all observations after outsourcing. Therefore, it can be concluded that outsourcing the services of the records unit did not directly affect the insurance deductions and the insurance deductions can be attributed to some other reasons, apart from the outsourced tasks

The Effect of Edible Coating based on Oleaster(elaeagnus angustifolia)flour and Beeswax in combination with Propolis extracts on Safety and Microbial Quality of Chicken breast Stored at Refrigerator

Given that chicken meat is a perishable food that the process of its spoilage accelerates under improper maintenance conditions and decreases its quality and shelf-life, using edible films and coats containing natural antimicrobial compounds is one of the ways of food storage and packaging that in addition to being biodegradable, they can be used to improve their quality and increase their shelf life by limiting the growth of microorganisms that cause spoilage and prevent oxidation of fats and proteins. This study has been conducted to evaluate the effect of edible coat of oleaster flour and beeswax containing ethanol extract of propolis in concentrations of 1 and 5% on the shelf life of chicken breasts meat at refrigerator temperature. Propolis extract was prepared by the method of immersion in alcohol. The chicken breast meat was coated in 3 groups: without inoculation of pathogenic bacteria, inoculated with Pseudomonas bacteria, Inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by edible coat of oleaster flour and beeswax and propolis extract. Chemical properties (TVN, TBA, PH) microbial quality (aerobic bacteria, Mesophilic, Psychrophilic, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus aureus), extract released volume (ERV), and sensory features of chicken breast meat. On days 1,3,5,7,10 in coated samples and control group kept in refrigerator temperature were evaluated. The results of microbial tests showed that the effect of edible coat of oleaster flour and beeswax with propolis extract on reducing the growth of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, psychrophilic and bacteria inoculated into chicken breast (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus) during storage at refrigerator temperature was significantly effective and microbial corruption in samples with edible coats was delayed in coated samples compared to samples without edible coats. The most antibacterial effect was observed on restraining gram-positive bacterial activity compared to gram-negative bacteria so that the treatment with 5% extract had a greater effect on reducing Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and its value reached 4/1 cfu/gr on the last day. By inhibiting the activity of microorganisms, samples with extract influenced significantly on the amount of ERV compared to control sample. So that its amount in uncoated samples is less than coated chicken meat samples which shows that bacteria growth that was more in uncoated samples, its amount decreased in all samples. On the last day, the lowest amount was related to the control sample and the highest amount was related to the sample with 5% extract. TVN and PH in samples with edible coats was lower than uncoated samples. In samples without edible coats their amount increased during storage. Samples containing 5% extract were significantly effective in reducing them. The highest amount of TVN was related to uncoated sample on the last day of storage (44/3±1/5), and the lowest amount was related to the sample with 5% extract (8/3±0/4) that this difference was significant (P<0/05). During storage, the amount of TBA increased in all samples, but the amount of increase in coated samples was less than uncoated samples. Using the extract in a concentration of 5% had a greater effect on reducing the rate of oxidation and its amount reached 0.66MDA/gr on the last they. Samples containing extract had a negative effect on the color parameter so that the lowest score on the last day was given to samples with 5% extract (1/2±0/422), And in comparison with other samples was significantly different(P<0/05) . Samples with 1% extract recorded higher sensory scores than control sample. According to the findings of this study, using extract in higher concentrations was effective in improving physicochemical properties, but negatively influenced sensory features. Generally, edible coat of oleaster flour and beeswax containing extract of propolis with anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial properties can be used to increase shelf life and to maintain the quality of chicken breast meat at refrigerator temperature. Keywords: chicken breast meat, shelf-life, oleaster flour, beeswax, propolis extrac

Spatial assessment of factors affecting the social vulnerability of coastal cities (Case Study: cities of Bushehr province)

Objective: Nowadays, coastal areas and the cities in it are considered as the most important components and elements of the urban system. Coastal cities are always vulnerable to damages from the environmental hazards and ignoring them will be problematic. Methods: This is a applied research and it is done by descriptive-analytical method that is based on library and statistics information. At first, factors affecting the social vulnerability of cities were identified and then all cities were classified in homogeneous groups and then were evaluated by GWR model. Results: The results showed that factors of lack of access to energy and fuel resources, social, physical, economic, dependent population, lack of access to healthy drinking water sources and population flotation had the most impact on social vulnerability of the studied cities. Also, the results of the cluster analysis model revealed that cities are classified in five clusters. Conclusion: It can be said that the resulting factorscovers almost all the underlying causes of social vulnerability. Also, according to the results, the most investment is needed to address the vulnerability of the lack of access to energy and fuel resources, as the vulnerability of households is more in this area. Also, due to the similar socioeconomic status of households in the cities of Bushehr province, the social vulnerability of most cities in this province is close to each other. Finally, it can be concluded that due to the inappropriate economic and social conditions of households who are living in coastal cities as well as the occurrence of natural hazards in the area, people living in these cities have a high social vulnerability

Effect of health transformation plan on natural childbirth and cesarean section indicators: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis in a Private Hospital of Tehran

Introduction: Increasing natural childbirth and decreasing cesarean section is one of the strategies for improving maternal and neonatal health to achieve the millennium development goals. In order to achieve this goal, health transformation plan and program for promotion of natural childbirth have been developed and implemented in Iran. Therefore, this study was performed with aim to analyze the trend of natural childbirth and cesarean section indicators in order to realize the goals of the health transformation plan in Madaen Hospital, Tehran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data of delivery and cesarean section were collected from 2013 to 2017. Changes in the level and trend of natural childbirth and cesarean sections before and after transformation plan were evaluated by independent t-test and regression model of cut-off in STATA software (version 15). Results: The trend of natural childbirth after implementation of the plan increased by 0.685% per month (p=0.020) and the trend of cesarean section decreased by 0.749% per month (p=0.011). In the 3-year period after the health transformation plan, the percentage of natural childbirth increased by 0.680 per month (p<0.001) and the percentage of cesarean section decreased by 0.744 per month (p<0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, implementation of adoption policies was effective in reducing the rate of cesarean section in the private hospital. Therefore, the promotion of natural childbirth in order to implement the transformation plan leads to achieve the goals of improving maternal and neonatal health

Evaluation of Tetracycline Antibiotic Residue in Honey Samples Using ELISA and HPLC

ABSTRACT: Honey is used worldwide due to its medicinal and nutritional properties. Antibiotics are used to treat diseases such as American foulbrood and European foulbrood or as a drug for preventing disease in the beehives. Antibiotic residues should be carefully monitored because they can have adverse effects on the general health of human. In this study, the amount of tetracycline residue was measured in honey samples. A total of 80 honey samples were collected from different regions of Qazvin province, Iran. The methods used included enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). ELISA method showed that the maximum and minimum levels of tetracycline residue were 40 ppb and 1.26 ppb, respectively. The areas with values above the kit’s LOD include Takestan (14.28%), Abeyek (4.76%), and Alamot-e-gharbi (4.54%), respectively. In the Alamot-e-sharghi samples, the antibiotic values above the kit’s LOD were not found. Samples with values above the kit’s LOD in ELISA method were measured using HPLC method. According to ELISA results, of the 80 honey samples, 4 samples (5%) had antibiotic more than the highest LOD of the kit. These 4 samples were tested using HPLC method. The results of HPLC showed that out of 4 honey samples, one sample was more than 40 ppb, but 3 samples were less than 40 ppb. There is a significant difference between ELISA and HPLC (p < 0.05). If the antibiotic residue levels of tetracycline are too high in food, it can cause serious harm to the health of consumers, therefore, monitoring of antibiotics residue in food is very necessary

Screening Performance Characteristic of Ultrasonography and Radiography in Detection of Pleural Effusion; a Meta-Analysis

Introduction: The role of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion has long been a subject of interest but controversial results have been reported. Accordingly, this study aims to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on diagnostic value of ultrasonography and radiography in detection of pleural effusion through a meta-analytic approach. Methods: An extended search was done in databases of Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the quality of the articles. Meta-analysis was performed using a mixed-effects binary regression model. Finally, subgroup analysis was carried out in order to find the sources of heterogeneity between the included studies. Results: 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis (1554 subjects, 58.6% male). Pooled sensitivity of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88-0.97; I2= 84.23, p&lt;0.001) and its pooled specificity was calculated to be 0.98 (95% CI: 0.92-1.0; I2= 88.65, p&lt;0.001), while sensitivity and specificity of chest radiography were 0.51 (95% CI: 0.33-0.68; I2= 91.76, p&lt;0.001) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.68-0.98; I2= 92.86, p&lt;0.001), respectively. Sensitivity of ultrasonography was found to be higher when the procedure was carried out by an intensivist or a radiologist using 5-10 MHz transducers. Conclusion: Chest ultrasonography, as a screening tool, has a higher diagnostic accuracy in identification of plural effusion compared to radiography. The sensitivity of this imaging modality was found to be higher when performed by a radiologist or an intensivist and using 5-10MHz probes

Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in Traditional Ice Cream in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Staphylococcus aureus is known to be the third leading cause of food poisoning in the world. Traditional ice cream is one of the dairy products in Iran and some countries in the world that should be controlled for Staphylococcus aureus contamination. The purpose of this review and meta-analysis is to determine the contamination of traditional ice cream with Staphylococcus aureus in different regions of Iran. Search terms “Staphylococcus aureus”, “traditional ice Cream”, and “Iran” were used in Science Direct, Pubmed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and SID, Magiran Magazine until 2018 published without time limitation selected. To review the original articles and remove duplicate articles and review titles and abstracts, articles that have the required qualities for this research were studied in this study. Data were analyzed by the random effects model in STATA (version 11) and MedCalc (version 13) software. Publication bias and sensitivity analysis were assessed by funnel and influence plots. According to a sample size of 3811 from 35 articles, the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus is estimated 32% in Iran (95% CI: 25-38%, p<0.001). The heterogeneity in the estimation of the pooled prevalence among the studies demonstrated; Cochran Q test: 1577.39, p< 0.001, I2 = 97.84%. Based on Begg's adjusted rank correlation test, publication bias was statistically significant (p <0.05). Epidemiological data is useful to determine the distribution of Staphylococcus aureus contamination and provide a broad picture of the prevalence of traditional ice cream Iran and can be used as an important indicator in the model of risk assessment of microbiologic

Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in cream and ice cream using modified QuEChERS extraction and GC-QqQ-MS/MS method: A risk assessment study

The concentrations of six non–dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) were measured using the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with triple-quadrupole (QqQ) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method in cream and ice cream offered in Tehran (Iran). The results showed the limits of detection, limit of quantification and recovery for the PCB analytes in the ranges 0.04–0.16, 0.132–0.482 ng/g fat, 5.2–9.2 and 95.5–107.2%, respectively. The results showed the mean concentration of total 6NDL-PCBs in cream (21.634 � 2.18 ng/g fat) was higher than that in the ice cream (12.317 � 1.524 ng/g fat) samples. The estimated daily intake (EDI) was lower than the tolerable daily intake (TDI < 10 ng/ kg BW/day). Ultimately, the probabilistic model with Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) revealed the incremental lifetime cancer risk levels (95th) of PCB compounds in ice cream (adults = 1.62E−6 and children = 4.37E−6) and cream (adults = 9.65E−7 and children = 7.57E−6) were lower than the level of acceptable risk (10−4 )