Study of Population Structure and Genetic Prediction of Buffalo from Different Provinces of Iran using Machine Learning Method

Considering breeding livestock programs to milk production and type traits based on existence two different ecotypes of Iranian’s buffalo, a study carried out to investigate the population structure of Iranian buffalo and validate its classification accuracy according to different ecotypes from Iran (Azerbaijan and North) using data SNP chip 90K by means Support vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF) and Discriminant Analysis Principal Component (DAPC) methods. A total of 258 buffalo were sampled and genotyped. The results of admixture, multidimensional scaling (MDS), and DAPC showed a close relationship between the animals of different provinces. Two ecotypes indicated higher accuracy of 96% that the Area Under Curve (AUC) confirmed the obtained result of the SVM approach while the DAPC and RF approach demonstrated lower accuracy of 88% and 80 %, respectively. SVM method proved high accuracy compared with DAPC and RF methods and assigned animals to their herds with more accuracy. According to these results, buffaloes distributed in two different ecotypes are one breed, and therefore the same breeding program should be used in the future. The water buffalo ecotype of the northern provinces of Iran and Azerbaijan seem to belong to the same population

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (REFS)

Introduction: Despite the importance of refereeing judgments and the sensitivity of referees' role in holding sports competitions and the impact of referees' decisions on the outcome of the game, little research has been done on various aspects of the referees' profession and occupation. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the self-efficacy scale in referees.Methods: The present research, was a descriptive-correlational study. For this purpose, 228 referees of team and individual sports completed the Persian version of the self-efficacy scale in referees. First, using the open-translation method, the accuracy of the Persian version of the questionnaire was confirmed, and then to determine the construct validity of the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis based on structural equation modeling was used, and to determine internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. Also, for the time reliability of the questions, intra-class correlation with the test-retest method was used.Results: The results showed that the goodness of fit index and the comparative fit index are higher than (0.90). Time reliability (0.76) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient for self-efficacy and its dimensions above 0.7 (acceptable index value) were obtained.Conclusion: Based on the results, the Persian version of the self-efficacy scale in referees has structural validity and internal and temporal reliability desirable and acceptable for referees of team and individual sports and therefore can be used as a valid and reliable tool to assess the self-efficacy of Iranian referees

The Effect of Foot Massage on the Consciousness Levels in Comatose Patients With Brain Injury Hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit (Icu): A Randomised Control Trial

Introduction: Coma results from traumatic or non-traumatic brain injuries. Foot massage can influence the level of consciousness in comatose patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of foot massage on the level of consciousness in comatose patients due to brain injury who were hospitalized in the ICUs of selected hospitals in Qazvin. Methods: This study was a clinical trial which was conducted on 40 patients with coma who were hospitalized in the ICUs of Shahid Rajaee and Razi hospitals in Qazvin in 2014. Patients were assigned to case and control groups, using randomize blocked allocation. Massage of both feet was performed in a Stroke manner (5 minutes for each foot) and once a day for 14 days. Then, the level of consciousness was recorded using Glasgow Coma Scale. Statistical tests (chi-square, Independent t-test, dependent t-test and Repeated Measures variance analysis) were used for analysis. Results: The results showed that there is significant difference between the mean of consciousness level before (5.80±1.58) andafter (10.6±2.41) massage in the intervention group(P=0.001). While the mean of consciousness level was (5.3±1.72)before and (6.94±3.03)after the intervention in the control group andit was not statistically significant (P=0.06). Conclusion: Foot massage could increase the level of consciousness among patients in comatose patients due to brain injury. It is recommended to use this intervention for increasing patientsconsciousness level

Designing and Standardizing of Bodily – Kinesthetic Intelligence Assessment Questionnaire in Iranian Society

Introduction: This research aimed to design and standardize the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence assessment questionnaire in Iranian society.Methods: The current research method was a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods with an exploratory design – an instrument development model. In the qualitative stage, after conducting 12 semi-structured interviews, related categories were collected and after checking the face and content validity, a 36-item questionnaire was designed. In the quantitative stage, the validity and reliability of the researcher-made questionnaire were examined. The statistical sample consisted of 808 teenagers from five provinces of the country who were selected by the multi-stage cluster sampling method and all the subjects completed the questionnaire. To determine the concurrent validity, the KTK3+ motor competence standard test was used, and to check the temporal reliability and consistency, test-retest and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used.Results: Through exploratory factor analysis, five factors of physical fitness factors related to health and skill, perceptual ability, non-verbal communication, enjoyment and participation in various physical activities, and learning and experience of motor skills were identified and these five factors explained 51% of the total variance. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the goodness of fit index and the comparative fit index was higher than 0.90. In concurrent validity, the correlation between the scores of the two tests was 0.51 and Cronbach's alpha coefficients (0.89) and intra-class correlation (0.87) were also obtained.Conclusion: In general, it can be concluded that the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence questionnaire has a suitable and acceptable validity and reliability, and by using this questionnaire, the assessment of the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence of teenagers is possible

Assessment of Risk Factors Related to Traffic Crashes among Drivers in Kashan

  سابقه و هدف: ايران يكي از كشورهاي داراي بيشترين موارد جراحات و مرگ‌ و مير ناشي از حوادث ترافيکي است. هدف از انجام مطالعه حاضر بررسي عوامل خطر مرتبط با حوادث ترافيکي در رانندگان شهر کاشان، ايران بود. روش بررسي: در اين مطالعه مورد شاهدي 155 راننده صدمه‌ديده يا فوت‌شده در اثر سوانح رانندگي مرتبط با اتومبيل به عنوان گروه مورد انتخاب شدند و به ازاي هر مورد، يک راننده که در همان ساعت و روز هفته از مکان رخداد تصادف عبور مي‌کرد، به‌عنوان شاهد انتخاب شد. تحليل داده ها با استفاده از آزمون کاي دو و مدل رگرسيون لجستيک در نرم افزار SPSS نسخه 21 انجام شد. يافته ها: در اين مطالعه درمجموع 310 راننده اتومبيل (در هريک از گروه‌هاي مورد و شاهد 155 راننده) موردبررسي قرار گرفت که 304(1/98 %) نفر آن‌ها مرد و 6(9/1 %) نفر زن بودند. پس از حذف اثر متغيرهاي مخدوش‌کننده با استفاده از مدل رگرسيون لجستيک ارتباط معني‌دار بين شغل (25/6=OR)، تحصيلات (33/8=OR)، عادت رانندگي در شب (91/4=OR)، عدم استفاده از کمربند ايمني (26/5=OR)، سابقه تصادف (63/2=OR)، سابقه مصرف دارو (70/3=OR)، وضعيت بينائي (31/5=OR) و وقوع سانحه رانندگي مشاهده شد. نتيجه‌گيري: براساس نتايج اين مطالعه، وقوع حوادث ترافيکي با متغيرهاي مختلفي همچون تحصيلات پائين تر، رانندگي در شب، نبستن کمربند ايمني، سابقه تصادف قبلي و سابقه مصرف دارو ارتباط معني دار دارد. از نتايج مطالعه حاضر مي‌توان در طراحي بهتر برنامه‌هاي پيشگيري از سوانح ترافيکي و ارتقاء ايمني معابر عمومي استفاده نمود.    How to cite this article: Moradi A, Rahmani Kh, Hasani J, Gilasi HR, Darabi F. Assessment of Risk Factors Related to Traffic Crashes among Drivers in Kashan. J Saf Promot Inj Prev. 2018; 6(2):55-64.  Background & Aim:Iran is one of the countries with most injury and death resulted from road traffic crashes. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors related to road traffic crashes among drivers of Kashan, Iran. Materials and Methods : In this case control study, 155 victims drivers were selected as case and one driver who transported from case place in same time was determined as control. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and logistic regression model using SPSS 21 software. Results: In this study, 310 car drivers as the cases and 155 drivers as the control group, were examined, of which 304 (98.1%) of them were male and 6 (1.9%) were female. After eliminating the effect of confounding variables, using a logistic regression model, there was a significant relationship between occupation (OR = 6.25), education (OR = 8.33), driving habits at night (OR = 4.91), no using seat belts (OR =5.26), previous history of road traffic crashes (OR = 2.63), history of drug use (OR = 3.70), visual acuity (OR = 5.31) and occurrence of traffic crashes were found. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, road traffic crashes had significant relationship with different variables including lower education, driving at night, not using seat belt, history of previous crash and history of drug use. The results can be used to design efficient prevention programs and in order to promote the safety of public streets.   How to cite this article: Moradi A, Rahmani Kh, Hasani J, Gilasi HR, Darabi F. Assessment of Risk Factors Related to Traffic Crashes among Drivers in Kashan. J Saf Promot Inj Prev. 2018; 6(2):55-64. &nbsp

Mortality rates due to Bladder cancer in Iran during 2001-2007: A national cancer registry-based study

Introduction: Bladder cancer is the ninth common cause of cancers in both sexes worldwide. Nevertheless, little is known about the descriptive and analytic epidemiology of bladder cancer in Iran. The present study aimed to describe the nationwide distribution of death due to bladder cancer in Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data of bladder cancer cases who were registered in the national cancer-registry system by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education during 2001-2007. Age-standardized mortality rates due to bladder cancer were presented according to nine geographic poles across the country.Results: The overall mortality rate of bladder cancer (per 100,000 population) was 2.26 in men and 1.36 in women; while the rates were constantly higher for men across all age groups.  The highest and lowest age-standardized mortality rates in provinces (per 100,000 population) belonged to Mazandaran (6.126) and Tehran (1.112), respectively.Conclusion: Death from bladder cancer seems to increase by age in Iran, mainly among men. This association might be partially due to increased life expectancy, altered high-risk lifestyle behaviors and/or improvement in cancer registration system. Information on the distribution of mortality due to bladder cancer could be useful for local prevention strategies, where specific profile of communities and patients is taken into account.

Hepcidin and HFE polymorphisms and ferritin level in β-Thalassemia major

Background: Thalassemia patients need repeated transfusion that lead to increased blood ferritin level and iron overload in the heart and liver. Because the roles of hepcidin antimicrobial peptide (HAMP) and hemocromatosis protein (HFE) in iron metabolism have been confirmed, this study investigated the effects of these gene's polymorphisms on blood ferritin levels and iron overload in the heart and liver in patients with beta thalassemia major Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 91 patients referring to the Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, Iran in 2015. After the blood samples were collected, the ferritin levels were measured, DNA was extracted from the blood cells, and the types of polymorphisms were determined using PCR-RFLP. Data of MRI T2 * in the heart and liver were drawn from the patients' medical files. Data analysis was conducted by t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: There was no significant correlation between blood ferritin level and c.-582 A>G polymorphisms of hepcidin gene (p=0.58), and H63D of HFE gene (p=0.818). In addition, there was no significant association between the polymorphisms and heart and liver MRI, but there was a significant association between blood ferritin level and qualitative heart and liver MRI (r=-0.34, p=0.035 and r=-0.001, p=0.609, respectively). Conclusion: In patients with β-thalassemia major, the presence of c.-582A>G HAMP and H63D HFE polymorphisms is not effective on blood ferritin level and iron overload in the heart and liver in the studied region

The Design of a Quality Improvement Dashboard for Monitoring Spinal Cord and Column Injuries

Background: Interactive dashboards are a powerful tool for dynamic visualization and monitoring of patient performance and serve as a useful to for optimal decision-making. The National Spinal Column and Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) was designed to efficiently display and broadcast important patient care data. This has been achieved through an electronic dashboard display (graph and visual displays), rather than traditional static paper reports (text). Objectives: The objective of this study was to design and develop an electronic visual dashboard as a display system to monitor the quality of care in the NSCIR-IR collaborating centers. Methods: The indicators chosen were 20 pre-hospital and in-hospital quality of care (QoC) assessment tool indicators. A structured query was created from the NSCIR-IR system database to create the dashboard database. The Microsoft Power BI software was used. After data cleaning, filtering of erroneous records, and modeling, visual displays were designed and evaluated. Results: The dashboard reported on quality of care (QoC) for 2,745 patients registered in NSCIR-IR. 17% of registered cases had at least one data error in the quality of care indicators. These errors were automatically filtered by the system. The two most prominent weaknesses in (QoC indicators were delay in patient transfer by EMS (Mean and SD were 9.54 ± 13.8 h) and timing of surgical spinal cord decompression (114.5 ± 45.3 h). Conclusions: Electronic dashboards provide efficient and concise data summaries “at a glance”. However, their value and accuracy are dependent on the entered data quality. Identifying data source errors and correcting them continuously led to improved quality of data

Hepcidin and HFE Polymorphisms and Ferritin Level in β-Thalassemia Major

Background: Thalassemia patients need repeated transfusion that lead to increased blood ferritin level and iron overload in the heart and liver. Because the roles of hepcidin antimicrobial peptide (HAMP) and hemocromatosis protein (HFE) in iron metabolism have been confirmed, this study investigated the effects of these gene's polymorphisms on blood ferritin levels and iron overload in the heart and liver in patients with beta thalassemia major Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 91 patients referring to the Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, Iran in 2015. After the blood samples were collected, the ferritin levels were measured, DNA was extracted from the blood cells, and the types of polymorphisms were determined using PCR-RFLP. Data of MRI T2* in the heart and liver were drawn from the patients' medical files. Data analysis was conducted by t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: There was no significant correlation between blood ferritin level and c.-582 A>G polymorphisms of hepcidin gene (p=0.58), and H63D of HFE gene (p=0.818). In addition, there was no significant association between the polymorphisms and heart and liver MRI, but there was a significant association between blood ferritin level and qualitative heart and liver MRI (r=-0.34, p=0.035 and r=-0.001, p=0.609, respectively). Conclusion: In patients with β-thalassemia major, the presence of c.-582A>G HAMP and H63D HFE polymorphisms is not effective on blood ferritin level and iron overload in the heart and liver in the studied region. KEYWORDS: Ferritin; HFE* Iron overload; Hepcidin; Thalassemi

Epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Kurdistan Province, Iran

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcome of confirmed and suspected hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Iran hospitals affiliated with the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on all confirmed and suspected hospitalized COVID-19 cases in hospitals affiliated with the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences between March and September 2020. Required data were obtained from the Hospital Intelligent Management System of hospitals. Independent t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for univariate analysis. Variables with P-value < 0.3 in univariate analysis were entered into the multivariate model, and the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was calculated. RESULTS: Out of 9176 cases, 3210 cases (35.03%) were confirmed with COVID-19. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of age of the cases was 56.5 ± 19.3 in the confirmed and 57.5 ± 20.6 in the suspected cases. The confirmed and suspected cases’ mortality rate was 15.0% and 10.2%, respectively. In both groups, the most common symptoms of admission to the hospital were respiratory distress, coughing, fever, and muscular pain. The variables of older age, male gender, being transferred to hospitals by ambulance, intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization, being intubated, blood oxygen saturation level less than 93, and having an underlying disease were statistically associated with an increased chance of death. CONCLUSION: The mortality rate among both confirmed and suspected hospitalized COVID-19 cases was significant, and this rate was higher for the confirmed cases. Death-related risk factors should be considered in resource allocation, management, and patient prioritization to reduce the outcome of death