Intellectual capital knowledge management: organizational value creation

In the knowledge-based economy, products and organizations ensure their survival based on knowledge; the most successful organizations are those which are using these intangible assets better and faster. Studies have shown that, unlike return loss of traditional sources, knowledge is really a resource to increase the value of organizations and to gain competitive advantage and business performance. In strategic perspective, nowadays, knowledge and intellectual capital are used to create and enhance organizational value, and the success of an organization depends on its ability to manage these scarce resources. So, mental assets and the knowledge of individuals are as important as other financial and physical assets of organizations, recently. In organizations, the important matter ­is the role of knowledge and intellectual capital, which are trying to efficiently manage them so that in their processes they can effectively use these key capitals to get to a higher positions. This paper examined the relationship between intellectual capital and knowledge management ­ and their roles in creating ­Organizational value

Health Village and its place in the Health System

Background & Objectives: Health Village is a residential/healthcare place for natural remedies combined with other medical treatments. Health village can be set in different sizes, depending on the amount of investments and the investors’ strategic objectives. In fact, a complete health village can cover all aspects of health and meet all the health needs of a community. Methods: In this review study, Persian and English articles indexed in valid databases such as Google Scholar, SID, Pubmed, Irandoc Science direct and Scopus were searched using the MESH terms of “ Health village” and “Health resort” without time limitation. Results: Providing health services in natural areas and away from urban pollution can restore the health and well-being and also can cause psychological and physical relaxation not only in patients but also in those who are interested in living in places with services such as water therapy, herbal therapy, gravel treatments, mud therapy, and other services. Conclusion: The effort to create environments such as the health village, due to the potential of such centers in providing high levels of physical and psychological comfort for audiences, can be considered as a beneficial local business. Therefore, the health village is an environment that can contribute to the social and economic development while serving the health of the community. Key­words: Medical Tourism, Health village, Health system Citation: Kochak Yazdi S, Asadi A, Ghorbani Nia R. Health Village and its place in the Health System. Journal of Health Based Research 2019; 5(1): 57 -71 . [In Persian

Measuring self-rated social health of Iranians: a population based survey in three cities

Abstract:Background and objectives: Social health as third dimension of health, along with physical and mental health, has drawn more attention in recent years among policy makers and health system managers. No other study, to our knowledge, has documented measuring individual-level social health in Iran. In response to this need, our study tends to assess Iranians self-rated social health through conducting a survey in 3 cities of Iran. Methods: We conducted a survey using cross sectional method in three cities of Iran included people more than 18 years old. We use a random sample size of 800 people. The scale provides a total score of social health and three sub-scores. Total score was calculated by summing all 33 items, so the range was between 33 to 165, considering that higher score indicating better social health. Psychometric parameters of scale were acceptable. To interpret scores, respondents were categorized into five ordered groups as quintiles for amount of social health. To compare social health scores in different demographic groups multiple linear regression was employed to interpret association between demographic variables and social health score. Results: From a pool of 800 persons, 794 (99%) agreed to participate and filled out the questionnaire completely.  The mean of self-rated social health score was 105.0 (95% confidence interval, 103.8 to 106.2). 50% of participants had medium level of social health. social health score was higher for those who live in Urmia as a small city in comparison with big cities- Tehran and Isfahan (P V< 0.001) and was lower for unemployed people (PV= 0.029). There was no association between social health score and other factors such as sex, age and educational level (PV>0.05) Conclusion:This study may be considered as the first step in evidence-based policy-making in the field of social health in Iran. Certainly, it is necessary to conduct more studies to measure social health and its determinants in a nation-wide approach

Anti-hyperelipidemic effects of sumac (Rhus coriaria L.): Can sumac strengthen anti-hyperlipidemic effect of statins?

People believe that sumac is used as reducing fat. In the present study, the hypolipidemic effect of sumac fruits was compared with lovastatin in patients suffered hypercholesterolemia. In a randomized double-blinded-controlled trial, 172 patients diagnosed as hypercholesterolemia (high LDL level) and indicated for lipid-lowering schedules were randomly allocated to receive lovastatin (20 mg/day) or a combination of lovastatin (20 mg/day) and sumac (1 gram equivalent to a teaspoon/day, soluble in water). Immediately before initial assessment and also after a 3- month period of drugs prescription, the level of serum lipid profile was measured in both intervention groups by enzymatic assay and serum LDL level was determined using the Friedewald's equation. At baseline, the mean level of LDL was 149.26±22.36 mg/dL in the group received combination therapy, and 146.25±19.89 mg/dL in the group received lovastatin alone with no significant different (p=0.352). However, following administration of the two treatment schedules, the level of LDL was significantly more reduced in combination treatment group compared with another group that the serum level of LDL after 3-month study period was 105.75±21.21 mg/dL in combination therapy group and 117.04±15.78 mg/dL in single therapy group (p≤0.001). The positive response rate in the two groups was 93.0% and 75.6%, respectively (p=0.002). Using Multivariable logistic regression model, the use of sumac combined with statin led to higher response rate indicated by lowering serum LDL level (p=0.019). Sumac has a potential role in lowering LDL level especially when combined with anti-hyperlipidemic drugs as statins

The Association between Apolipoprotein E Genotypes and Serum Malondialdehyde Level with End-Stage Renal Disease

Background: The Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) polymorphism plays an important role in the pathophysiology of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Additionally, ApoE may contribute to the progression of oxidative stress. Thus, this study aimed to determine the ApoE gene polymorphism and evaluate the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in ESRD patients and healthy individuals.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted at 2010 at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Kermanshah, Iran). The study population comprised ESRD patients (n=136) and healthy individuals (n=137). The MDA level was assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the frequencies of ApoE gene alleles were analyzed using restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR). The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 13. The significant differences of ApoE genotypes in case and control groups were assessed using Pearson’s Chi square tests, and two-tailed Student’s tests. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the odd ratio. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: According to the results, ESRD patients had a higher frequency of the E2/E3 genotype than the healthy group (P<0.001). The results indicated that E3/E4 genotype frequency in the patients’ group was higher than that of the control group (P=0.026). Furthermore, the  E3/E2 (OR=5.7, 95% CI=2.68-12.14) (P<0.001) and E3/E4 (OR=1.57, 95% CI=1.05-2.34) (P=0.029) genotypes were found to increase the risk of ESRD. Moreover, the MDA level in ESRD patients was higher than the healthy individuals (P<0.001). The patients with E3/E2 (P<0.001) and E3/E4 (P<0.001) genotypes had a higher level of MDA than the control group. Conclusion: According to the findings, patients with ESRD had higher genotypes of E3/E2 and E3/E4, which suggests a higher risk of developing ESRD

Effects of vitamin B6 on premenstrual syndrome: A systematic review and meta-Analysis

Background and Objective: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to a range of physical and psychological symptoms which regularly occur during the luteal phase of a menstrual cycle and disappear short after menstruation starts. Considering the negative effects of PMS on women's daily life, various treatments have been developed to alleviate its symptoms. Vitamin B6 is one of the complementary therapies used to treat PMS. The present meta-Analysis aimed to investigate the effects of vitamin B6 on PMS. Methodology: Different databases including PubMed, ISI, Scopus, SID, Magiran, Science Direct, and Medlib were searched to identify studies addressing the effects of vitamin B6 on PMS. The relevant data obtained from these papers were analyzed by a random-effects model. Data were analyzed using R Ver. 3.2.3 Software and STATA. Results: There were significant reductions in the mean scores of PMS after treatment with vitamin B6 compare to control groups. Moreover, the mean PMS scores of the two groups were also significantly different after the treatment. The mean difference between the two groups was -1.19 [95% CI: -1.94,-0.44; P = 0.002]. Significant reductions were also observed in physical symptoms (P = 0.006) and psychological symptoms (P < 0.001) of PMS after the intervention. Conclusion: The results of our meta-Analysis confirmed vitamin B6 as a beneficial, inexpensive, and effective treatment for PMS symptoms. Therefore, the administration of this treatment option will enable midwives to achieve the important goal of reducing PMS symptoms

Investigation of the effect of education on nutritional knowledge, attitude and performance of primary school students in Ilam - 2015

Background and objective: Nutritional habits are formed in childhood and will remain until the end of life. Proper nutrition in childhood leads to the promotion of growth and development of child and reduces the risk of chronic diseases during adulthood. This study aimed to assess the effect of education about nutrition on nutritional knowledge, attitude and performance of students in primary schools. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study which is conducted in 2015. 180 students from primary school in Ilam city were selected randomly and assigned into case (90 people) and control (90 people) groups. Before initiation of educations, a pretest was held in both groups. Then for the case group, a nutritional education was performed during 5 sessions of 45 minutes. After 2 weeks of finishing the educational sessions, posttest was performed by giving a questionnaire of knowledge, attitude and performance to case and control groups. Eventually, two groups were compared with each other in terms of nutritional knowledge, attitude and performance. In order to analyze the collected data, SPSS 21 software was used. The significance level of tests was 5% and descriptive statistics including tables and numeric indices and also inferential tests including paired t-Test, independent t-Test and Chi-square were used. Results: Findings of this study showed that in the case group, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of knowledge, attitude and performance of students before and after education (P 0.05). There was also a significant difference between case and control groups after education (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Nutritional education may lead to the improvement of nutritional knowledge, attitude and performance of primary school students. Considering the importance and role of students and also low cost of preventive measures in comparison with therapeutic measures, it looks necessary to expand this type of educational program

The Larval Stages of Echinostoma spp. in Freshwater Snails as the First and Second Intermediate Hosts in Gilan and Mazandaran Provinces, Northern Iran

Background: Identification of the larval stages of Echinostoma spp. in freshwater snails is an essential guide to continue monitoring the possibility of their transmission and the potential of echinostomiasis in areas where trematodes are the primary agent of parasitic diseases. The aim of this study was investigate Echinostoma using morphological and molecular techniques.Methods: The study was conducted in Gilan and Mazandaran Provinces, northern Iran, from April 2019 to October 2021. Overall, 5300 freshwater snails were randomly collected and were identified using external shell morphology. Meanwhile, snails infected with trematodes were studied via shedding and dissecting methods. Larvae stages of Echinostoma were identified and the genomic DNA of the samples was extracted. The PCR amplification of the ITSI gene was carried out for 17 isolates and products were sequenced. Seven sequences were deposited in GenBank.Results: Totally, 3.5% of snails containing three species (Stagnicola sp., Radix sp. and Planorbis sp.) were infected with two types of cercaria, E. revolutum with 37 and Echinostoma sp. with 45 spines in the collar. Moreover, 35% of the snails were infected with Echinostoma spp. metacercaria. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that isolates were included in two ITSI haplogroups. Conclusion: Results showed the potential hazard of a zoonotic parasite as Echinostoma in northern Iran. The potential of disease environmental relationship investigation and resource control optimization is necessary for effective disease prevention and health management

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017) includes a comprehensive assessment of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 354 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Previous GBD studies have shown how the decline of mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 has led to an increase in life expectancy, an ageing global population, and an expansion of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury. These studies have also shown how a substantial portion of the world's population experiences non-fatal health loss with considerable heterogeneity among different causes, locations, ages, and sexes. Ongoing objectives of the GBD study include increasing the level of estimation detail, improving analytical strategies, and increasing the amount of high-quality data. Methods: We estimated incidence and prevalence for 354 diseases and injuries and 3484 sequelae. We used an updated and extensive body of literature studies, survey data, surveillance data, inpatient admission records, outpatient visit records, and health insurance claims, and additionally used results from cause of death models to inform estimates using a total of 68 781 data sources. Newly available clinical data from India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, China, Brazil, Norway, and Italy were incorporated, as well as updated claims data from the USA and new claims data from Taiwan (province of China) and Singapore. We used DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, as the main method of estimation, ensuring consistency between rates of incidence, prevalence, remission, and cause of death for each condition. YLDs were estimated as the product of a prevalence estimate and a disability weight for health states of each mutually exclusive sequela, adjusted for comorbidity. We updated the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary development indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Additionally, we calculated differences between male and female YLDs to identify divergent trends across sexes. GBD 2017 complies with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting. Findings: Globally, for females, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias in both 1990 and 2017. For males, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and tuberculosis including latent tuberculosis infection in both 1990 and 2017. In terms of YLDs, low back pain, headache disorders, and dietary iron deficiency were the leading Level 3 causes of YLD counts in 1990, whereas low back pain, headache disorders, and depressive disorders were the leading causes in 2017 for both sexes combined. All-cause age-standardised YLD rates decreased by 3·9% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3·1-4·6) from 1990 to 2017; however, the all-age YLD rate increased by 7·2% (6·0-8·4) while the total sum of global YLDs increased from 562 million (421-723) to 853 million (642-1100). The increases for males and females were similar, with increases in all-age YLD rates of 7·9% (6·6-9·2) for males and 6·5% (5·4-7·7) for females. We found significant differences between males and females in terms of age-standardised prevalence estimates for multiple causes. The causes with the greatest relative differences between sexes in 2017 included substance use disorders (3018 cases [95% UI 2782-3252] per 100 000 in males vs 1400 [1279-1524] per 100 000 in females), transport injuries (3322 [3082-3583] vs 2336 [2154-2535]), and self-harm and interpersonal violence (3265 [2943-3630] vs 5643 [5057-6302]). Interpretation: Global all-cause age-standardised YLD rates have improved only slightly over a period spanning nearly three decades. However, the magnitude of the non-fatal disease burden has expanded globally, with increasing numbers of people who have a wide spectrum of conditions. A subset of conditions has remained globally pervasive since 1990, whereas other conditions have displayed more dynamic trends, with different ages, sexes, and geographies across the globe experiencing varying burdens and trends of health loss. This study emphasises how global improvements in premature mortality for select conditions have led to older populations with complex and potentially expensive diseases, yet also highlights global achievements in certain domains of disease and injury