[ prevalence sarcocystis infection in slaughtered animals in slaughterhouse of Shahrekord, using histhopathological method, 2008]

Sarcosystosis is a cosmopolitan protozoan zoonotic infection and is caused by different species of sarcosystis. This parasite can cause contamination in many animals and cause a lot of hygienic and economic effects in society. This study was aimed to determine sarcosystis infection in slaughtered animals of Shahrekord, using hitopathological method. In this descriptive study, 70 samples were obtained from healthy goats and 70 samples were obtained from healthy sheep during summer 2008 Esophagus, thigh, diaphragm and heart of each animal were macroscopically evaluated for having sarcosystis cysts. To prepare a pathology section for microscopic examinations, hearts were kept in formalin and after providing tissue sections, samples were studied using a microscope. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. In macroscopic evaluations of diaphragm of the sheep and goats, sarcosystis cysts were detected 15.7% and 2.8%, respectively. In addition, 7.1% and 1.4% of esophagus from sheep and goats were also infected by sarcosystis, respectively. We also performed microscopic investigations on healthy hearts and found that 80% of sheep's hearts and 70% of goats' hearts were infected by sarcocystis cysts. Considering the high prevalence of sarcocystis contamination in the world and Iran [up to 100%], more studies are needed to detect sensitivity andspecificity of histhopathology method to confirm our findings. Finally looking at the our results it is likely that in healthy hearts some comments should be considered, such as appropriate meat keeping, sufficient cooking, and moving from traditional animal husbandry into industrial husbandry in future

effect of progressive muscle relaxation on anxiety and stress in nursing students at the beginning of the internship program

Anxiety is a complicated process appearing from low to high which may reduce the learning ability. It is common among nurses as they struggle to cope with increasingly complicated stressors such as examinations, article preparation and practical experiences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of muscle relaxation on reduction of anxiety in nursing students before starting the internship program. In this study, 40 nursing students who were going to start their internship program were randomly divided into two equal groups. Before starting the internship program, all students were asked to fill a questionnaire [Spielberger Test Anxiety] to measure their anxiety. In addition, physiological parameters [blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature] were collected before and after the study in both groups. During a 45-min session, muscle relaxation training was given to the test group. Muscle relaxation practice was continued three times per day for two weeks. Two weeks after starting the internship, Spiel Berger Test Anxiety and physiological parameters were collected again in both groups. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and t tests. The average age of the students in both groups was 22.7 +/- 2 [range=21 to 25 years] and the majority of the students were female [75%]. No significant difference was observed between two groups for willingness to the nursing profession, birth rank and the average scores of the students from the previous years. The average anxiety score in control group before and after the study was 27.5 +/- 10.2 and 28.3 +/- 8.8 respectively [P > 0.05]. Average anxiety score in test group before and after the study was 25.4 +/- 19.5 and 29.2 +/- 14.1 respectively [P < 0.05]. To alleviate stressors associated with practical practice and create a healthy work environment for practice, it is recommended that nursing students have some progressive muscle relaxation before entering practical environments

[Comparison of the effects of lecture and booklet methods on awareness and attention of parents of children with Thalassemia major]

Thalassemia is one of the most important genetic diseases in Iran. Warning of their parents about their children's disease prevents the related problems and reduces its complications. This study was aimed at comparing the influence of lecture and booklet methods on enhancement of awareness and attentions of parents of children with Thalassemia major. In this interventional study, a total of 90 parents of children with Thalassemia who referred to Hajar hospital for medical treatments, were selected using simple sampling and were randomly divided in three groups of 30 parents. The parents in lecture group attended for seasons of lecture for 30 min. each with 3 weeks interval. A booklet with the same contents as the lecture group was given to the booklet group without any intervention. A questionnaire was designed to gather some information about the disease from parents of all three groups. To determine the statistical relationships, student t-test, Spearman's correlation and of ANOVA tests were used. No significant differences were found among the three groups tested in terms of the mean age, gender, level of education, job, number of affected children, and age of the children. The results showed that the mean of knowledge before and after the education in the lecture group was 10.53 +/- 4.37 and 16.5 +/- 4.73 [P<0.05] and in the booklet group was 10.7 +/- 3.06 and 14.6 +/- 2.7 [P<0.05], respectively. There was no significant difference between lecture and booklet groups based education. After the education, the knowledge in the two groups was significantly more than that in control group [P<0.05]. The results showed that lecture and booklet methods have positive effects on increasing of the parent's knowledge about the disease. Thus, providing of the booklet for the parents, particularly in the region with high prevalence of the disease, is recommended

[ case report: an atypical Kawasaki syndrome following aseptic meningitis in a 9-month old infant]

Kawasaki syndrome is an acute, sometimes fatal vasculitis of young children. The ethiology of the illness is unknown, but its clinical and epidemiologic features are most consistent with an infectious cause. We treated a 9-month-old infant with diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. He received wide spectrum antibiotics. He was clinically improved but in 8th day of admission he again developed pharyngitis, diarrhea and high grade fever. He has had raising of erythrocyte sedimentations rate [ESR] and thrombocytosis. According to these clinical manifestation with impression of atypical Kawasaki disease, treatment was started for him and after 24 hours his fever subsided and other clinical signs relieved. On the basis of this case report in the course of bacterial meningitis if the patient developed elevated ESR and fever, Kawasaki syndrome with the other complications of meningitis should be considered