A nanoscale electrochemical guanine DNA-biosensor based on a flower-like nanocomposite of Tb-doped ZnO for the sensitive determination of pemetrexed.

Pemetrexed is an antineoplastic drug used in chemotherapeutic treatments, especially in malignant mesothelioma and non-small cell lung carcinoma, but can also cause a variety of complications, like stomach pain, nausea, burning, vomiting, numbness, and tingling, emphasizing the need for an approach to quantify the drug in biological matrices. Herein, a DNA-based biosensor was introduced for pemetrexed determination. A hydrothermal approach was used for synthesizing flower-like nanoparticles (NPs) of zinc oxide (ZnO) doped with Tb (FL-NP Tb3+/ZnO). Moreover, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), zeta potential, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were used for characterizing the as-prepared nanocomposite. According to the impedance analysis, FL-NP Tb3+/ZnO was accompanied by very good electrochemical functions for a simple transfer of electrons. In the case of the immobilization of double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ds-DNA) on the FL-NP Tb3+/ZnO and polypyrrole (PP)-modified pencil graphite electrode (ds-DNA/PP/FL-NP Tb3+/ZnO/PGE), a considerable enhancement was found in the electrochemical oxidation of guanine in ds-DNA residue bases. Since there was an interaction between ds-DNA and pemetrexed, the voltammetric current of guanine over the ds-DNA/PP/FL-NP Tb3+/ZnO/PGE declined in the presence of pemetrexed in the electrolytic solution. Moreover, under optimum conditions (25 mg L-1 of ds-DNA and 10 min incubation time, in acetate buffer at 25 °C), a linear decrease in the guanine signal was observed on the ds-DNA/PP/FL-NP Tb3+/ZnO/PGE as the pemetrexed concentration increased in the range from 0.001 µM to 175.0 µM with a limit of detection of 0.17 nM. Finally, the new DNA-based biosensor was successfully used for determining pemetrexed in real samples, indicating its application potential.

Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts after Disaster and Mass Casualty Incidents in the World: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: After accidents and disasters, people suffer from mental disorders due to physical, economic and social injuries. These include anxiety, stress, depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Due to the fact that some of these measures can endanger a person's life, it is important to pay attention to these psychological factors. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to investigate prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts after disasters in the world. Method: The present study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt after disaster in the world. Accordingly, all articles published English-language from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2020 were extracted from Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Psych Info, Science Direct and Google scholar and evaluated. Statistical analysis of data was performed using the fixed and random effects model in meta-analysis and Cochran test. Results: A total of 33 studies with a sample size of 61,180 people entered the meta-analysis process. Accordingly, the prevalence of suicidal ideation was estimated at 12.9% (CI95%: 10.3% -15.5%) in the whole population, 10.6% (CI95%: 6.1% - 15.0%) in males and 15.8% (CI95%: 10.0% - 21.6%) in females. Moreover, prevalence of suicide attempt after disasters was estimated at 8.8% (CI95%: 6.6% - 11.0%). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt is high and prevalence of Suicide idea in women was about three times higher than in men.

Comparison of music and vapocoolant spray in reducing the pain of venous cannulation in children age 6-12: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Venous cannulation is among the most stressful and painful experiences of children hospitalization. Children with thalassemia need regular blood transfusion which needs venous access each time. The quality of care and quality of life of children will be improved if appropriate methods are used to reduce pain. This study aimed to compare vapocoolant spray and music in the reduction of pain of Venous cannulation in children with thalassemia. METHODS: The study was a randomized controlled clinical trial with a cross-over design. Thirty-six children with thalassemia from Thalassemia Patients of Pasteur Hospital in Bam from October to December 2020 and were recruited and randomly allocated to two arms. The pain of venous cannulation (no treatment) was measured in the first blood transfusion session as control. In the second and third sessions, two arms received music and vapocoolant spray before the venous cannulation with a cross-over design. The intensity of pain was measured by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The change in pain scores was tested by ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test between three measurements. RESULTS: During and after the cannulation, the pain was significantly lower in the vapocoolant measurement than in control and music (p < 0.05). There was a significant effect of vapocoolant spray during the procedure F (2, 90) = 25.604, p = 0.001. Also, there was a significant effect of vapocoolant spray after the procedure F (2, 90) = 10.087, p = 0.004). Music did not reduce the pain during cannulation (p = 0.413) and after that (p = 0.807) significantly when compared with control. CONCLUSIONS: Vapocoolant was an effective method of pain reduction in the reduction of venous cannulation pain. Music was not effective in the reduction of venous cannulation pain when we compared it with controls. The pain of venous cannulation is rated as high and it can have negative effects on the children. There is a need to do more research on the methods of pain reduction of venous cannulation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered: IRCT20111019007844N13, 13/03/2020. Available at: https://en.irct.ir/trial/42904 .

Time Management Behaviors and Emotional Intelligence in Head Nurses in Emergency and Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUND: Time management is of particular importance in nursing. One of the most effective variables associated with time management is emotional intelligence (EI). This study assessed the relationship between time management and EI and the level of EI and time management skills in head nurses in emergency and intensive care units. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on all head nurses in the emergency and intensive care units of nine educational hospitals at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2015 using Bradberry-Greaves' EI and Macan's Time Management Questionnaires. RESULTS: Participants' total time management score was (104.15 ± 6.98); total EI score was (128 ± 15.80). There was no significant relationship between overall EI and time management skills. There was a significant relationship between age and the emotional self-awareness dimension of EI (p = .027) and the mechanics dimension of time management (p = .037), and between work experience and overall time management skills (p = .049) and the mechanics dimension of time management (p = .038). CONCLUSIONS: Specific EI and time management skills may help head nurses to cope with the challenges they face, which may improve the quality of nursing care. Nursing leaders should consider the importance of time management and EI in increasing motivation and satisfaction of nursing staff and improving quality of care.

Suicide Death Rate after Disasters: A Meta-Analysis Study.

BACKGROUND: Disasters have undesirable effects on health among individuals such as psychosocial disorders which may lead lead to suicide in some cases. Thus, the present study aimed to measure the rate of suicide death after disasters all over the world. METHODS: In the present meta-analysis study, all of the articles published in English until the end of 2019 were probed in electronic databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Google Scholar. Then, the data were imported to STATA ver.13 software and analyzed through fixed- and random-effects models, meta-regression, and Cochrane statistical tests. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies including a sample size of 65495867 were considered. Suicide death rates before and after the disasters were calculated as 13.61 (CI95%: 11.59-15.77) vs. 16.68 (CI95%: 14.5-19:0) among the whole population, 28.36 (CI 95%:11.29-45.43) vs. 32.17 (CI95%: 17.71-46.62) among men, and 12.71 (CI95%: 5.98-19.44) vs 12.69 (CI95%: 5.17-20.21) among women. The rate of suicide death significantly increased in the whole population and men, while no significant difference was reported among women. CONCLUSION: Suicide death rate increases after disasters indicating the destructive impact of this phenomenon on peoples' health. Therefore, implementing supportive and interventional measures is highly suggested after disasters in order to prevent suicide death among the affected people.

The Association between Moral Distress and Moral Courage in Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Moral distress and moral courage among healthcare professionals have received considerable attention in recent years. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating these topics among nurses. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the association between moral distress and moral courage among nurses in an Iranian sample population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted during February-December 2018. Corley's Moral Distress (MDS-R) and Sekerka's moral courage scales were used to collect the data. MDS-R is a 21-items scale which includes frequency and intensity ranges from 0 (never) to 4 (very frequently) and 0 (none) to 4 (great extent), respectively. In addition, the moral courage scale contains 15 items ranging from "never true" (1 point) to "always true" (7 points). In total, 225 eligible nurses were entered into this study. Finally, SPSS-16 was used for statistical analysis at the α = 0.05 level. RESULTS: The mean scores of the frequency and intensity of moral distress and moral courage were 45.41 (95% CI = 43.37-47.45), 44.24 (95% CI = 42.98-45.42), and 59.63 (95% CI = 58.50-60.87), respectively. Eventually, a significant relationship was found between the moral courage and frequency of moral distress (r = 0.46, p < 0.001) and the intensity of moral distress (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In general, encouraging healthcare managers and administrators is considered as crucial for developing supportive structures and highly sensitive management which promotes moral courage while reducing moral distress in nurses' work setting.

Environmental Related Risk Factors to Road Traffic Accidents in Ilam, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are the most serious health issue in the world and the main cause of death after the first year of birth. Environmental factors are among the most important and effective aspects of RTIs occurrences and their human consequences. AIM: This study aimed to identify the environmental factors associated with road traffic accidents (RTAs) in Ilam province. METHODS: All crash data in Ilam province in 2012 were investigated. RTI's data was collected using COM 114 form which included some human, environmental and vehicle related factors. Through Chi-Square test and logistic regression model, the association between environmental factors and RTIs was examined. For all statistical analyses we used the package Stata 13.1. RESULTS: A total of 2314 traffic accidents were investigated. The highest 1659 (72.3%) and lowest 19 (0.83%) frequency of RTAs occurred during day and sunrise respectively. The majority of RTAs took place in July and September. The maximum number of RTAs was when the day was clear (91.7%) 2103 and the minimum when it was cloudy (3.5%) 81. A significant relationship was found between fatal RTAs and factors such as; the sort of the road, the hindered visibility, the location of the accident, the accidents' place, the climate, and lighting of the day (P<0.05). The adjusted chance of traffic accidents causing death or injuries in main streets was 9.7 times more than in highways; in sidetracks it was 3.54 times more. And when it was cloudy, the chance was 2.60 times more than when was clear (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Regarding the standards of road construction, development of the roads, and educating drivers how to adjust their driving behavior to the environment and road conditions could have a great role in decreasing RTAs causing death or injury.

The Estimation of Survival and Associated Factors in Self-Immolation Attempters in Ilam Province of Iran (2011-2015).

BACKGROUND: Self-immolation is the most common method of suicide in Ilam province. AIM: This study aimed to estimate the survival rate in self-immolation attempters in Ilam and identify the associated factors. METHODS: A descriptive-analytic study was conducted based on data collected at Taleghani Hospital in Ilam, Iran. All persons passed away due to self-immolation or those hospitalised in the centre of the self-burned patients located in Ilam during 2011 to 2015 were assessed. Survival rate was calculated based on Kaplan-Meier. To compare the survival rate between groups, Univariate Log Rank and for multivariate analysis, the Cox test of STATA12 software was used. RESULTS: During 2011 to 2015, 236 persons including 168 females and 69 males committed self-immolation. The mean and median of survival time in attempters were 32.2 ± 4.7 and 3 ± 0.33 days, respectively. In Univariate Log-Rank test, the following variables including age, sex, burn degree, Total Body Surface Area (TBSA), and burns in neck and head and lower limbs had a significantly meaningful relation with survival, while in multivariate Cox Regression test only two variables including Total Body Surface Area and age remained in the model. CONCLUSION: The mean and median survival rate in self-attempters are very low. Quickly hospitalisation without waste of time should be considered. Providing prompt treatments and compensating dehydration in early hours especially within the first 24 hours of self-immolation are very vital. Younger persons and those with lower burn surface have more chance for longer survival and recuperation.