Share of nations in 37 international public health journals : an equity and diversity perspective towards health research capacity building.

Background: This paper contributes to further exploration of inequity in access to health research capacity development by examining the representation of different nations in international public health journals. It also aims to examine the degree of diversity that exists in these journals.Methods: This study is a descriptive survey. It was done with objective sampling on 37 ISI health journals on October of 2008.The number and nationality of people in different editorial positions of the journals was identified. The second analy­sis involved recalculating the numbers obtained for each nation to the population size of nations per million inhabitants. In order to better compare countries in terms of presence in editorial team of the journals, a ‘public health editor equity gap ratio' (PHEEGR) was developed.Results: Low income countries have occupied none of the leadership positions of chief editor or associate /assistant chief editors and middle income countries at maximum shared less than 5 percent. The PHEEGR gap in access to the different editorial positions between highest to the lowest representation of countries was 16/1 for chief editors, 12/1 for associate editors , 335/1 for editorial boards and 202/1 for associate editorial boards. However, after normalizing the data to the country's population, the gap increased significantly.Conclusion: There is an imbalance and possibly even inequity in the composition of editorial boards and offices of interna­tional health journals that should be paid significant attention. This can contribute to fill the equity gap exists between health in developing and developed countries

Construction and validation of the questionnaire of technology learning competencies of student-teachers

Background and Objectives:Given the impact that new technologies have had on individual and social activities, it is the task of education to respond to the growing needs of the society. To emphasize this task, UNESCO, in 2008, in collaboration with major companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, the International Association of Education Technology, the Polytechnic Institute and the University of Virginia, designed a document for teacher information and communication technology knowledge. Due to the importance of the issue and the welcome of member countries, this document was further revised. In the introduction to this document, students and teachers must be able to use technology effectively to live, learn and function successfully in highly complex, knowledge-based and information-rich environments. Education should strive to design students with specific characteristics that meet the needs of today's societies by designing an appropriate environment. Some of these characteristics are: capable of using information technology, searcher, analyst and information evaluator, decision maker and problem solver, capable of effective and creative use of productivity tools, informed, responsible and participatory citizens. By increasing the daily and effective use of technology in the educational process, student-teachers gain the opportunity to learn through technology. The growth and development of various information and communication technologies has made it possible to build a variety of software, hardware and Internet networks that can help the educational system of any country in a variety of formal, informal and free learning. Accordingly, given the important role that the teacher has in organizing learning experiences, it is necessary for them to be trained in a way that finds the necessary attitude, knowledge and skills. Accordingly, in-service and pre-service professional programs for teachers should include objective experiences of information and communication technology in the professional dimension. The present paper aims to construct, validate and estimate the reliability of the questionnaire of technology competencies of student-teachers at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University (SRTTU) in Tehran. Methods: To do so a questionnaire was developed after a systematic review of literature on theories of technology competencies. Through a random cluster sampling a sample of 60 student teachers of SRTTU was selected and the questionnaire was administered among them. The instrument included 49 items. Item analysis such as item discrimination and loop, construct validation (factor analysis) and reliability analysis (Cronbach Alpha) were utilized. Findings: In factor analysis, three factors were identified as: technology knowledge, knowledge consolidation and knowledge production. The reliability of the questionnaire turned out to be .98. The results indicate that the instrument is both reliable and valid and can be readily used to assess student-teachers’ technology competencies. Conclusion: The results indicate that the instrument is both reliable and valid and can be readily used to assess student-teachers’ technology competencies

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN GLAUCOMA AND BLOOD GROUPS

There are reports from different countries that some types of glaucoma are associated with blood groups. This cross-sectional study was performed on 400 glaucomatous patients [100 patients in each group of Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), chronic angle closure glaucoma (CACG), pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) and primary congenital glaucoma (PCG)] and 400 blood donors as control group to assess the association between blood groups and glaucoma. All patients underwent ABO and Rh blood group testing. The prevalence of blood group A was 30% in the control group, 27% in POAG, 33% in CACA, 38% in PEXG and 36% in PCG. The prevalence of blood group B was 24% in the control group, 19% in POAG, 20% in CACG, 15% in PEXG and 34% in PCG (P < 0.025). The prevalence of blood group AB was 8% in the control group, 9% in POAG, 5% in CACG, 12% in PEXG, and 8% in PCG. The prevalence of blood group O was 38% in the control group, 45% in POAC, 42% in CACG, 35% in PEXG and 22% in PCG (P < 0.001). The prevalence of Rh+ was 88% in the control group, 84% in POAG, 87% in CACG, 86% in PEXG and 87% in PCG. Compared to control group, blood group B was more prevalent and blood group O was less prevalent in PCG. There was no association between other types of blood groups (ABO and Rh) and PCG. There was no association between blood groups (ABO and Rh) and other types of glaucoma

Review the Proportion of university seats with body dimensions of students at the School of Public Health of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 1388

Background and aims   Educating of students that have the ability to solve society problems, is considered as the most important task of universities. This important issue is achieved through effective education in a safe and stress free environment. Proper design of classroom seats proportional to anthropometric characteristics of students not only can improve academic quality but also prevent musculoskeletal disorders. In addition it may encourage students to practice correct sitting habits. This study was conducted to check the correlation of physical dimensions of students and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder with educational chair dimensions that provided by companies.   Methods   This descriptive - analytical study was performed on 115 students of 18 to 27 years. 15 anthropometric parameters correlated with sitting on the chair were measured by anthropometry page and anthropometric caliper gauge. Dimensions of two Types of seats provided in the classrooms were compared with the standard seat dimensions.   Results   comparison of dimensions confirmed that seat dimension and students dimensions correspond with one another only in elbow length parameter and other parameters were not correspondent with each other. T-Test showed that there are significant  differences between girl and boy parameters.  conclusion   Comparison of the results of measurement of  physical dimensions and chair dimensions with results of emotional dissatisfaction questionnaire and body map chart showed that plastic chair is better than wooden type in term of comfort, chair kind and slope of back rest, and in using plastic chairs students do not have to change their sitting postures; however,  due to incorrect design of foot rest and high effective depth of sea,،  discomfort and pain in lower limbs is higher in plastic chairs when compared with wooden chairs

Detection of drug resistance gene in trichomonas vaginalis by PCR

Background: Trichomoniasis is a worldwide protozoan parasitic disease. Considering the importance of the disease in public health and the controversial ideas about the prevalence of drug resistance, this study was designed to determine the prevalence of metronidazole resistance gene in trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) with PCR-RFLP method in Tehran and in Kashan. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study 140 samples of T. vaginalis in patients with T. vaginalis infections were collected and assessed microscopically. Then they were isolated and examined by culturing in dorset's medium, DNA extraction and PCR amplification. The PCR products were analyzed using RFLP and suspected samples were sequenced. Results: All but 7 samples were T. vaginalis positive by PCR. Sixty-two samples (44.4) were examined by microscopic, culture and PCR techniques 12 samples (8.5) by microscope and PCR, 56 samples (40) by culture and PCR and other 3 samples (2.1) were positive only by PCR. Two samples (1.5) were also examined for detection of mutation in 18S rRNA gene with RFLP in Tehran. Conclusion: This study shows that T. vaginalis infections in the female population living in Tehran are metronidazole-resistant. Since metronidazole is considered as the drug choice for T. vaginalis infections, more studies are recommended for identification of the drug resistance mechanisms and prevention of the disease

Role of Smart Cities in Creating Sustainable Cities and Communities: A Systematic Literature Review

YesSmart cities can help in achieving UN SDG. This research carries out a comprehensive analysis of the role of smart cities on creating sustainable cities and communities, which is one of 17 UN sustainable goals. Current research focuses on number of aspect of sustainable environment such as renewable and green energy, energy efficiency, environmental monitoring, air quality, and water quality. This study provides a valuable synthesis of the relevant literature on smart cities by analysing and discussing the key findings from existing research on issues of smart cities in creating sustainable cities and communities. The findings of this study can provide an informative framework for research on smart cities for academics and practitioners