Atypical Yersinia virulence markers isolated from children with diarrhea

Background and Objective: Yersinia is a gram-negative bacillus that cause diarrhea through consumption of contaminated food and water. This study was performed to identify the atypical Yersinia virulence markers isolated from children with diarrhea

Methods: This descriptive cross -sectional study was done on 384 fecal samples of 0- 14 years old children admitted at children medical center from August 2011 to August of 2012. Fecal samples, for the enrichment, after 21 days of incubation in alkaline buffer with pH=7.2 at 4degree C, on days 7,14 and 21 samples were cultured on CIN agar and Mac agar and then confirm the differentiation atypical Yersinia from other typical Yersinia species from fermentation of different sugars. Isolates were tested for marker of virulence including calcium dependence, auto agglutination, Congo red uptake and binding of crystal violet

Results: Out of 384 stool samples, 4 [1.04%] were infected with Yersinia [Yersinia frederikseni, Yersinia kristensenii and Yersinia enterocolitica]

Out of these three, only two samples in association was positive with virulence markers

Conclusion: Phenotypic markers can be used to study the properties of phenotypic strains of Yersinia

[Evaluation of correlation between lifestyle and morbidity of Ischemic heart disease]

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of 17,000,000 worldwide deaths annually. If the current trends continue, the number of deaths will increase to 25,000,000 by the year 2020. Lifestyle contributes to many chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between lifestyle and ischemic heart disease. This case-control study was carried out in Damavand sevvom sha'ban hospital. The sample of the study consisted of 65 cases [patients suffering from coronary artery disease] and 65 healthy controls. Data were collected by three questionnaires: General Health Questionnaire [GHQ], FFQ [Food Frequency Questionnaire] and physical activity questionnaire . These questionnaires were completed by interviewing the participants. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. There was a significant correlation between Age, Marital status, Smoking, Physical activity, diet and Mental health and ischemic heart disease. Insufficient physical activity, high fat and low fiber diet, inappropriate mental status were risk factors and major causes of in heart ischemia incidence

[Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among People in the Age Range of 18-70 Years in Arak, Iran]

High fruit and vegetable intake has been introduced as one of the key factors of healthy diet to prevent chronic disease. This study attempts to explore the fruit and vegetable intake in Arak city and its relationship with demography and socio-economic factors. In this cross sectional study, 660 people in 18 -70 age range were selected with a two-stage cluster sampling and were interviewed for demography and socio -economic questionnaires and a 56- items semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess fruit and vegetable intake. After univariate analysis, the association of the significant variables with fruit and vegetable intake was also evaluated with multiple linear regression. In this study, over 60 percent of subjects consumed less than the minimum recommended amount of fruit and vegetable [5 servings or 400 gr a day].The total consumption of fruit and vegetable indicated an inverse significant relationship with age [p =0.04 and beta = 0.02], and a direct significant relationship with economic status [p<0.001 and beta =0.10]. The father's educational level [beta=-0.005 and beta =0.38 for diploma level and beta =0.03 and beta=0.36 for academic education] and physical activity level [p =0.001 and beta -0.03 per hour] were factors associated with fruit consumption. The gender was only associated with vegetable consumption so that women had higher consumption in this study [p=0.03 and beta=0.23]. The findings of this study indicate low fruit and vegetable consumption in the population under study. In this study, age, physical activity, and socioeconomic status and fathers' education were the factors that were significantly associated with fruit and vegetable consumption

Substance abuse in high school students in association with socio-demographic variables in Northwest of Iran

Substance abuse in adolescents and its often tragic consequences, including addiction, is one of the preventable major public health problems. The aims of this paper were to estimate the prevalence of substance abuse and to evaluate its some associated factors in adolescents of Tabriz City [northwest of Iran]. A self-administered questionnaire was completed in 4903 randomly selected students with mean age of 15.7 years old. The aim of the questionnaire was obtaining information on substance abuse, socio-economical information, cigarette smoking behavior, general risk taking behavior, self-esteem, attitude towards smoking and self-injury as well as demographical characteristics. Prevalence of substance abuse was 1.4% [95% CI: 1.1-1.7] which was different statistically significant between boys [2.4%] and girls [0.6%] [P<0.001]. Older age [OR=1.43], not living with parents [OR=2.34], having general risk taking behavior [OR=2.26], higher smoking stage [OR=2.39], lower self-esteem [OR=1.09] and positive attitude toward smoking [OR=1.08] were factors associated with student's ever use of substance. The result has shown low prevalence of substance abuse in Iranian adolescents. Our findings showed some associated factors such as lower self-esteem with adolescent's substance abuse

Multiple imputation to deal with missing clinical data in rheumatologic surveys: an application in the WHO-ILAR COPCORD study in Iran

The aim of the article is demonstrating an application of multiple imputation [MI] for handling missing clinical data in the setting of rheumatologic surveys using data derived from 10291 people participating in the first phase of the Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Disorders [COPCORD] in Iran. Five data subsets were produced from the original data set. Certain demographics were selected as complete variables. In each subset, we created a univariate pattern of missingness for knee osteoarthritis status as the outcome variable [disease] using different mechanisms and percentages. The crude disease proportion and its standard error were estimated sgscrately for each complete data set to be used as true [baseline] values for percent bias calculation. The parameters of interest were also estimated for each incomplete data subset using two approaches to deal with missing data including complete case analysis [CCA] and MI with various imputation numbers. The two approaches were compared using appropriate analysis of variance. With CCA, percent bias associated with missing data was 8.67 [95% CI: 7.81-9.53] for the proportion and 13.67 [95% CI: 12.60-14.74] for the standard error. However, they were 6.42 [95% CI: 5.56-7.29] and 10.04 [95% CI: 8.97-11.11], respectively using the MI method [M=15]. Percent bias in estimating disease proportion and its standard error was significantly lower in missing data analysis using MI compared with CCA [P< 0.05]. To estimate the prevalence of rheumatic disorders such as knee osteoarthritis, applying MI using available demographics is superior to CCA

[Effects of brewer's yeast on blood pressure and serum lipoproteins in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients]

The increasing trend of prevalence of diabetes mellitus, a diet-related chronic disease has prompted research to find ways to control it. Brewer's yeast may have a potential role because its glucose tolerance factor [GTF] may have beneficial effects on insulin receptors in diabetic patients. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of brewer's yeast supplementation on serum lipoproteins and blood pressure in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM] patients. In a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial 84 adults [21 men and 63 women, 46.3 +/- 6.1 years old] with T2DM were recruited and divided randomly into 2 groups of 42 subjects each, one receiving brewer's yeast [six 300-mg capsules/day, total 1800 mg] and one [control group] receiving a placebo [6 capsules/day] for 12 weeks. Body weight, height, body mass index [BMI], food consumption [based on 24-hour food recall], fasting serum lipids and lipoproteins [total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-c and HDL-c], and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured before and after the intervention. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS-Ver 18.0], the statistical tests being the independent t-test, paired t-test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and analysis of covariance. Brewer's yeast supplementation brought about statistically significant reductions in diastolic and systolic blood pressures [5.7 +/- 0.6 mm Hg, p=0.001 and 4.1 +/- 1.5 mm Hg, p=0.007, respectively] after 12 weeks. Changes in LDL-c, HDL-c, triglycerides and total cholesterol were no-significant. Further analysis of the data showed significant differences between the brewer's yeast and control groups with regard to diastolic [p<0.03] and systolic [p<0.05] blood pressure at the end of the period. Dietary supplementation with brewer's yeast can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients

[Factors affecting quality of life in elderly diabetic residents of the Kahrizak Geriatric Nursing Home of Tehran]

Investigating problems of the elderly, as they age is very important, since any chronic disease can affect their quality of life. Diabetes is one of the diseases that affects the physical, mental and social aspects of such individuals. This descriptive analytical study was conducted on elderly diabetic residents of the Kahrizak Geriatric Nursing Home during 2011. A total of 93 individuals, selected randomly, completed demographic and the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS16 software, using t-test and ANOVA. In this study, 34 men and 59 women, average age 74.2 +/- 8 years, were evaluated in different domains of quality of life. Based on data analysis, men earned higher scores in the physical domain [P=0.017]. Social domain had a significant [P=0.009] relationship with marital status and married individuals had higher scores. There was a significant correlation between the income and quality of life in the mental domain [P=0.035], but no significant relationship was found between educational status and quality of life. The increasing rate of elderly diabetic populations among geriatrics groups, indicates the urgent need for strategic planning of interventions aimed at improving of environmental, social, physical and mental status of these age groups

[Evaluation of Pender's health promotion model for predicting adolescent girls' quality of life]

Presently not sufficient attention is paid to adolescent health promotion in many countries, because of the widespread belief that adolescents are generally healthy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate predictors of adolescent girls' quality of life using path analysis based on Pender's health promotion model. The Pender's health promotion model served as the framework of this cross-sectional study, which included a total of 500 adolescent girls [grades 9-11] selected by stratified random sampling from 20 high schools for girls in 4 districts of Kashan province, Iran. Inclusion criteria were being in grades 9-11 and a written informed consent [from teachers, parents and the girls themselves]. Data were collected through interviewing the girls, the interviewers being trained persons, using several standard questionnaires [for perceived self-efficacy, perceived affect, perceived barriers, perceived social support; health promoting lifestyle, and health-related quality of life]. Data analysis was done using SPSS18 and LISREL 8.8, the statistical test being path analysis. All constructs of the health promotion model and health promoting lifestyle were significantly related to adolescent girls' quality of life. Perceived self-efficacy [beta =0.70, p<0/01] and perceived affect [beta =0.21, p<0/01] had the highest correlation with the quality of life. The model and the health-promoting lifestyle as a mediator accounted for 73% and 39% of variance in adolescent girls' quality of life, respectively. The findings of this study indicate that the health promotion model can be used to explain and predict the quality of life of adolescent girls. Thus, the Pender's health promotion model is recommended to health planners for promoting the quality of life in this population

Neospora caninum and leishmania infantum co-Infection in domestic dogs [canis familiaris] in Meshkin-Shahr district, northwestern Iran

Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis [MVL] is an infectious disease that affects both human and animals. Domestic dogs [Canis familiaris] are principal reservoir hosts of MVL caused by Leishmania infantum. Dogs are definitive hosts for Neospora caninum and a risk factor for infecting intermediate hosts. The immunosuppression caused by visceral leishmaniasis [VL] can promote the occurrence of co-infections with other agents such as neosporosis. This study aimed to determine the frequency of co-infection of the both protozoan parasites in the endemic areas of VL from Meshkin-Shahr District, north-west of Iran. Altogether, 171 serum samples were collected from domestic dogs of Meshkin- Shahr District by multistage cluster sampling from October 2008 to August 2009. The collected serum samples were tested for the detection of simultaneous infection of L. infantum and N. caninum using direct agglutination test [DAT] and indirect ELISA, respectively. Of the 171 domestic dogs, 27 [15.8%] and 52 [30.4%] were showed antibodies against L. infantum and N. caninum, respectively. Simultaneous infections of N. caninum and L. infantum was found in 16 [9.4%] of the dogs. In VL-positive and VL-negative dogs, N. caninum infection was found in 59.3% and 25.0%, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found between VL-positive and VL-negative dogs with N. caninum infection [P= 0.001]. These findings indicate that Meshkin-Shahr District in northwestern Iran is an active focus of canine visceral leishmaniasis [CVL]. Neospora caninum and L. infantum co-infection is prevalent in the area and infection by L. infantum seems to enhance susceptibility to N. caninum infection in domestic dogs

[Survival analysis of gastric cancer patients refering to Emam-Khomeini hospital using Weibull cure model]

Due to its high prevalence, the survey on gastric cancer survival in Iran seems too important. In the case of relative long-term survival of the cases, using standard models is not conventional. So cure models are used to estimate the proportion of the cured patients that will never experience the event of interest and also to evaluate the survival function of susceptible individuals who may experience the event and effective factors. This study was carried out to determine the five-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients who have undergone surgical treatment. Three hundred and thirty gastric cancer operated patients with a maximum 10-year survival were enrolled in the study. The patients' life expectancy after surgery and cure fraction and their relationships with some variables were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier and Weibull Cure models were utilized for analyses. The five-year survival rate and the median life expectancy were 24% and 19.9 months, respectively. Univariate analysis using the Weibull model showed that age, existence/site of metastasis and stage of disease influenced on the probability of curing [P<0.05]. On assessing the simultaneous effect of different variables the age and stage of disease proved to be effective on curing [P<0.05], but none of the variables affected the life expectancy of patients [P>0.05]. Using the cure models is beneficial in situations which the population under study suggests the presence of subpopulation. The cure/immune model methodology may separeltery identify the sets of covariates related to the cured proportion and also the failure time distribution of uncured one

[Occupational noise exposure evaluation in drivers of bus transportation of Tehran City]

Noise in large cities is considered by the World Health Organization to be the third most hazardous type of pollution. Buses are an interesting object of study in the theme of noise pollution. They are at the same time a source of urban environmental [traffic] noise and occupational noise exposure source for drivers. The object of this study is Occupational noise exposure evaluation in drivers of bus transportation of Tehran city. Noise levels in 90 buses were sampled in three separate sub-sample including [1]30 Ikaroos buses [2]30 Man buses [3]30 Shahab buses, which were selected by simple random sampling. Noise exposure level was normalized to a nominal 8-h working day [LEX, 8h]. Simultaneous Octave Frequency Analysis were measured and sound intensity level [SIL] for bus drivers were calculated. Results, which are obtained from separate buses were compared together and too with standard levels. the normalized noise exposure levels [LEX, 8h] in Ikaroos bus drivers[82dB A] were higher than that of in Man bus drivers [77/6dB A] and this Values were higher than that of in Shahab bus drivers[75dB A].SIL values for Ikaroos bus drivers were higher than other that of other bus drivers. Results obtained of Frequency Analysis showed that age of buses in mid frequencies ws a meaningful on noise increase. Results showed that type and age of buses were effective factors in drivers' noise exposure levels [LEX, 8h], which was consistent with previous studies in this field

[Reproductive correlates of female sexual dysfunctions in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad province: a population-based study]

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of female sexual dysfunction [FSD] and its relationship with reproductive variables in married women in urban areas of Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province. This cross-sectional study covered urban areas of Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province. Using a quota sampling method, an ad hoc questionnaire containing items on demographic and reproductive variables, was administered to women attending primary health care delivery centers. Sexual dysfunctions were defined by the DSM-IV criteria. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. A total of 1540 married women residing in urban areas were studied. The mean age of the respondents was 33.2 [SD=9.4] years and most were housewives [84.5%]. The self-reported frequencies of different FSDs were as follows: loss of desire [35.1%], dyspareunia [34.9%, anorgasmia [34.5%] and loss of arousal [31.6%]. Binary logistic regression analysis showed the following risk factors for various FSDs: loss of desire: "age" [46 >/= y: OR=3.07 [1.58-5.99]], "pelvic surgery' [Cesarean Section: OR=1.57 [1.13-2.18]]. Loss of arousal: "age" [36-45y" OR=2.20 [1.27-3.79]], "contraceptive method" [depoprovera/norplant/withdrawal: OR = 1.81 [1.15-2.85]] anorgasmia: "age at marriage" [7-15y: OR =2.93 [1.33-6.42]], "contraceptive method" [depoprovera/norplant/withdrawal: OR = 1.62 [1.06-2.49]], dyspareunia: "age" [31-35y: OR 0.48 [0.29-0.77]], "education" [high school: OR =1.84 [1.10-3.07]], "contraceptive method" [condom: OR= 1.80 [1.02-3.18]]. The findings indicate that FSD is prevalent in the study population. The effects of demographic and reproductive variables should be considered in management of these disorders

Systemic complications and their risk factors among Tehranian blood donors

The systemic complications of blood donation are the first reasons why patients fail to return for further blood donation. This study was designed to determine the frequency of these complications and their associated risk factors among blood donors in Tehran. Also, we aimed to provide suitable methods to decrease the frequency of these adverse events, thereby eliminating the most important causes of withdrawal, while maintaining the health of the donors. This analytical descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 554 blood donors who had donated blood from February 2005 through September 2005 in four fixed blood donation bases and four mobile blood collection buses. Each base was considered as a stratum, and a stratified random sampling proportional to size was done to select the donors. Results showed donor reaction rate to be 13.4%, the most common of which were blackout of vision [7%], dizziness [6.3%], fatigue [6.1%] and nausea [1.8%]. There was no significant relationship between the incidence of these complications and type of base blood donation or fasting at the time of blood donation. Logistic Regression analysis showed that sex, condition of blood donor, exercise or walking, duration of donation, and practice to recommendation had significant effects on the odds ratio of systemic complication. Regarding the frequency values derived for the different systemic complications it can be concluded that attention to risk factors of these complications and their control can help encourage donors to become repeated donors as well as to prevent their withdrawal for further blood donation