Evaluation of Lifestyle Health Promotion of Dormitory Medical Students Regarding Comprehensive Aspects

Objective: Lifestyle improvement has a key role in empowering people and facilitating their duties. Most of the students who live in the dormitories, are apparently not locals and their lifestyle improvement is even more essential to increase their efficiency and productivity. The aim of this study is to assess health-promoting lifestyle of medical sciences students who live in dormitory with respect to different aspects such as nutritional status, stress management, physical activity, health responsibility, social support and perception of life. Moreover the results are provided separately for male and female students and compared with each other. Materials and Method: In this paper, an analytical descriptive study was conducted with 220 students who live in dormitory and random stratified sampling was used. Data collection was based on a standard health-promoting lifestyle questionnaire. The minimum lifestyle score was 52 and the maximum score was 208. The validity of the Persian version of health-promoting lifestyle has been done by Mohammadi Zeidi et al. Cronbach alpha of 0.85 were obtained for all of the questionnaires and the data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics®. Results: Average scores of the male and female students" lifestyle were moderate (122.63 ± 25.18). The lowest score was related to the physical activity of female students (16.71 ± 4.47) and the highest score was for the social support between male students (23.71 ± 4.09). Independent t test showed that the difference between the means of nutrition and health responsibility for male and female students were significant (P = 0.05). Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is a relationship between all aspects of lifestyle (P = 0.01). It is investigated that there is relationship between gender and physical activity by doing a regression. Conclusion: Considering the fact that the students had an average score of health promoting lifestyle, paying attention to the health education and the behaviors related to the health promotion of this population is more essential and cost-effective

Maladaptive schemas, behavioral activation-inhibition systems, and experiential avoidance in patients with chronic somatic symptom disorders and healthy people

BACKGROUND: Somatic symptom disorders have relation with mental health. Hence, this study aimed to compare early maladaptive schemas (EMSs), behavioral activation system/behavioral inhibition system (BAS/BIS), and experiential avoidance in patients with chronic somatic symptom disorders and healthy people.METHODS: This was a casual-comparative study. Of patients with psychosomatic disorders referring to the Palliative Medicine Center and Educational and Medical Center of Shahid Sayyad Shirazi in Gorgan, Iran, 120 eligible patients were selected through convenience sampling, then were compared with 120 normal individuals (without psychosomatic disorders) who had been matched with patient group in terms of age, sex, education, and marital status. Brain Behavioral System Questionnaire (BAS/BIS Questionnaire), Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) were used. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and SPSS software.RESULTS: Demographic information of patient and healthy groups indicated that in patient group, 36.7% were single and 63.3% were married, 1.7% had elementary education, 10.0% had secondary school education, 45.0% had diploma, and 43.3% had higher education degree. In normal group, 60.0% were single and 40.0% were married, 3.3% had secondary school degree, 51.7% had diploma, and 45.0% had higher education degree. The results indicated a significant difference between EMSs, behavioral systems, and experiential avoidance in patients with somatic symptom disorders and normal people in Iran (P < 0.001).CONCLUSION: Patients with somatic symptom disorders have more active BAS-BIS, high EMSs, and more experimental avoidance than normal people

Educational need assessment of infertile women admitted to yazd reproductive sciences institute

The purpose of this study was to assess the educational need of infertile women admitted to Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted in Yazd, Iran. The statistical population included 200 infertile women who were selected through convenience sampling method. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire with statistical validity and reliability. Data were collected through interviews and self-reports and then analyzed using SPSS v.16 along with descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: The mean awareness scores of factors related to infertility, sexual satisfaction and nutritional needs were 4.36, 4.03, and 5.02, respectively. There was a significant relationship between awareness of infertility factors and variables such as level of education, spouse’s level of education and place of residence. Moreover, there was a non-significant relationship between awareness of infertility factors and variables such as age, spouse’s age, profession, spouse’s profession, number of referrals to the institute, and insurance type. There was also a significant relationship between awareness of nutritional needs and profession; whereas a non-significant relationship was seen between the specified awareness and variables such as age, spouse’s age, spouse’s profession, level of education, spouse’s level of education, number of referrals to the institute, place of residence and insurance type. Conclusion: Since the studied participants exhibited limited awareness of related factors to infertility, it appears that developing a proper training program to raise awareness of infertility followed by its implementation and evaluation is necessary

Comparison of Activated Charcoal and Industrial Charcoal in Prevention of GI Absorption of Diazepam

BBackground: GI decontamination is required frequently in management of intoxicated patients. Activated charcoal is used for this purpose normally. Is it possible that powdered industrial charcoal is used as a substitute? Present study was conducted to determine efficiency of industrial charcoal in prevention of absorption of diazepam, compared to activated charcoal. Method: 30 Sprague–dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 equal groups. 20 mg/kg diazepam was given orally to all 3 groups. No GI decontamination was performed for the control group. Activated and industrial charcoal (1 g/kg dissolved in 10 ml of water) was administered for other two groups. The urinary concentration of diazepam was used for evaluation of level of the drug absorption in the animals. Results: The mean urine concentration of diazepam was considerably lower in groups taking charcoal, compared control group. However the concentration in the group taking activated charcoal was lower than the concentration in the group taking industrial charcoal. Conclusion: Results of present study suggest that industrial charcoal can be used as a substitute for activated charcoal, though with a little lower efficacy for absorption of drugs and toxins

Determination of Species of Leishmania Using HSP70 Gene in Patients Referred to Selected Health Centers of Iran

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania major and Leishmania tropaica. Iran is considered as one of the world's largest leishmaniosis centers. In this study, the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-PCR method was used to determine the species of pathogenic parasites. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 120 patients with suspected cutaneous ulcer referring to the selected medical centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were selected. Their demographic characteristics were recorded. After diagnosis of parasite by microscopy, positive samples were cultured in NNN medium. After DNA extraction of cultured parasite, PCR was performed for amplification of the HSP70 gene. The PCR products were digested with HaeIII restriction enzyme; the obtained patterns were compared with the same genes in the GenBank database. Results: A 1422 base pair fragment was detected in PCR of HSP70 gene in 30 positive samples. After digestion, 16 (53.3%) of the samples, had an enzymatic digestive pattern compatible to L. major and 14 (46.7%) others had the L. tropica profile. More information concerning demographic aspects were obtained after analyses them with the infected samples. Conclusion: Regarding the history of patient trips to their hometown, the transfer does not appear to have occurred in areas covered by the university's medical centers, but the presence of these patients in these areas requires careful monitoring them. Additionally, control of population and mosquito species is needed. The results of this study sustain that the HSP70 gene still has sufficient ability to differentiate between two different species of L. major and L. tropica

Color Stability of Two Bulk-Fill Composite Resins

Objective: Bulk-fill composites are a group of composite resins designed for easy and fast filling of large cavities. This study aimed to assess the color stability of bulk-fill composites subjected to xenon radiation and evaluate their color change (ΔE) following polymerization.Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, 30 specimens (4mm in height and 8mm in diameter) were fabricated of x-traFil and Tetric N-Ceram universal color bulk-fill composites and A2 shade of Grandio composite (as control). Bulk-fill composites were placed in the mold in 4mm thickness according to the manufacturers’ instructions. In the control group, composite was applied to the  mold in two layers each with 2mm thickness. Tetric and Grandio composites were cured for 20 seconds and x-traFil was cured for 10 seconds with a LED light-curing unit. A total of 15 specimens (five of each composite) were used for each test. For assessment of color change due to polymerization, L*, a* and b* color parameters were measured before and immediately after polymerization and also 30 days after immersion in distilled water in an incubator at 37°C and 70% humidity using a spectroradiometer. For xenon test, the specimens were subjected to color analysis after 48 hours of storage in distilled water. Next, they were subjected to xenon lamp radiation in xenon environment chamber for 122 hours at 22°C and 25% humidity and then the color parameters were measured again. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of all values were calculated. One-way and repeated measures ANOVA were used to compare ΔE and ΔL among the groups. Tukey’s HSD test was used for pairwise comparisons.Results: The value of ΔE immediately after polymerization was the lowest for Grandio (4.91) and  the highest for Tetric (9.44). Thirty days after the polymerization, ΔE was the lowest in Grandio (3.07) and the highest in Tetric (9.27); ΔE showed a decreasing trend over time in all specimens. Under xenon light radiation, Grandio showed the lowest (1.50) and Tetric showed the highest ΔE (11.15).Conclusion: Following polymerization and under xenon lamp radiation, ΔE of conventional composite was less than that of bulk-fill composites

CO2-plume geothermal: Power net generation from 3D fluvial aquifers

Previously CO2, as a heat-extraction fluid, has been proposed as a superior substitute for brine in geothermal energy extraction. Hence, the new concept of CO2-plume geothermal (CPG) is suggested to generate heat from geothermal aquifers using CO2 as the working fluid. In January 2015, a CPG-thermosiphon system commenced at the SECARB Cranfield Site, Mississippi. By utilising CO2, the demand for the pumping power is greatly reduced due to the thermosiphon effect at the production well. However, there are still parameters such as aquifer thermal depletion, required high injection rates, and CO2-plume establishment time, that hinder CPG from becoming viable. Moreover, the fluvial nature of sedimentary aquifers significantly affects the heat and mass transfer inside the aquifer, as well as the system performance. In the present study, a direct-CO2 thermosiphon system is considered that produces electricity from a 3D braided-fluvial sedimentary aquifer by providing an excess pressure at the surface that is used in the turbine. The system performance and net power output are analyzed in 15 3D fluvial heterogeneous - with channels’ widths of 50, 100, and 150 m - and three homogeneous aquifer realizations with different CO2 injection rates. It is observed that the presence of fluvial channels significantly increases the aquifer thermal depletion pace (22-120%) and therefore, reduces the system’s performance up to about 75%. Additionally, it is found that the CPG system with the CO2 injection rate of 50 kg/s and the I-P line parallel to the channels provides the maximum cycle operation time (44 years), as well as the optimum performance for the heterogeneous cases of the present study by providing about 0.06-0.12 TWh energy during the simulation time of 50 years. Also, to prevent rapid drops in excess pressure, a system with a yearly adjustable injection rate is implemented, which prevents the production well bottomhole temperature to fall below 80 ◦C