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Background: Aging phenomena needs suitable life-time situation. According to WHO report, the number of 70 years old people has reached 585 million troops in 2001, 9% of total world population. Because of the problems in care, maintenance and health livelihood improvement are necessary in this age group, especially those about oral health. The aim of this study was to investigate the dental health needs in elderly group.Methods: Through a cross-sectional study, 77 elderly people as residents and 74 non-residents, in elderly home in Yazd city were examined clinically and interviewed by questionnaire. Dentostomatic problems, dental care need, edentulism and prosthetic tooth were variables of study. Data were analyzed by chi-square test via SPSS software.Findings: According to the results, there were statistically significant differences between variable of treatment tendency (P = 0.0001), treatment need dental caries (P = 0.049), edentulous status (P = 0.009), prosthetic complete full denture (P = 0.0001), dental knowledge (P = 0.0001), use of tooth brush and paste (P = 0.0001) and daily interval times of tooth brushing, but no difference between orodental problems in two groups.Conclusion: According to the results, both elderly home residents and non-residents need attention to their orodental health situation, which should be done through the promotion of dental health care.

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Background:In addition to the known risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, many studies reported that there are some new risk factors such as hemocystein, lipoprotein (a), fibrinogen and factor VП affecting the morbidity and increasing the risk of disease. The current study was designed to evaluate such risk factors in relation to those previously established in a case-control study design. Methods: 40 patients with heart disease among those admitted to Shahid Mustafa Khomeini Hospital in Ilam were randomly selected as case while 60 healthy people who had no sign of heart disease as the control group. A questionnaire including some demographic and clinical questions was completed for each individual, prior to blood sample to be taken after a written consent was taken from each patient. From each individual in case and control group 8 ml blood was taken and the sera were extracted.  FBS, LDL, HDL, TG, cholesterol, lipoprotein (a) and hemocystein all were measured using a BT 3000 Auto Analyser in Ebne Sina lab in Ilam. Findings: The mean age of case and control groups was 49.48±10.37 and 42.25±13.03 years, respectively. The mean sera hemocystein level was 13.51±3 and 13.42±3 in case and control groups, respectively with no significant difference. Individuals in case group had increased their sera levels of LDL, TG, and cholesterol much more than those for control group. The sera hemocystein level also increased with increase of age in both groups with significant correlation for the case group (p< 0.006). Conclusion: Although the Hemocystein level increased with increase of age which can be interpreted as a risk of increasing the possibility of cardiovascular disease, the correlation of haemocystein in case and control groups was not significant. There was a significant correlation between HDL and hemocystein but the results showed that hemocystein is not as effective as other risk factors such as LDL, TG and cholesterol in prevalence and severity of disease. It is suggested that some more studies with broader spectrum in sample size and risk factors be designed in order to evaluate such a correlation in more details. 

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Background: The family physician program and referral system considered as one of the important programs of country__AWT_QUOTE__s health that has been implemented since 2005.Considerng that health is a spontaneous phenomenon and information in this regard should be given to individuals, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between knowledge and attitudes of rural people with information resources about family physician program in Shahrekord. Methods: In this descriptive analytic survey, 1100 individuals under the program of rural family physician in Shahrekord were selected by multistage sampling method. Data collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by t-test and ANOVA tests. Findings: Mean age of studied population was 34.23.5% of rural population have been trained regarding family physician program. There was significant relationship between the mean scores of knowledge and attitude of rural people with the training giving (p< 0.05).Most of the rural population had received their information in this regard from health workers and health centers employee (34%).There was significant relationship between information resources and knowledge and attitudes of villagers(P< 0.001).  Conclusion: The findings of current study indicated that people__AWT_QUOTE__s information about the program was moderate. Considering that most of the rural population had received their information from health workers, so, implementation of educational programs for doctors and health workers and transfer to other members of society can improve the quality and effectiveness of this program

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Abstract:   Introduction: Due to the importance of influenza type A (H1N1) as an epidemic disease as well as the type of educational method applied, this study investigated the effects of educational workshop method on students' influenza type A (H1N1)-related knowledge.   Methods: In this quasi-experimental study 67 undergraduate students in School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, were selected through random sampling method. The national self-administered questionnaire about influenza pandemic was used for data collection. For analyzing data, SPSS version 17 was used to perform descriptive and inferential statistical tests.   Results: The effect of educational workshop on knowledge of students about influenza type A was significant (P < 0.05). The level of knowledge after educational workshop method was significantly different among female and male students (P < 0.05).   Conclusion: Educational workshop method can sufficiently increase students' knowledge about influenza type A (H1N1).  

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Background: Maintaining health, as one of the main and old concerns of mankind, is influenced by various factors. Therefore, global health-related declarations and strategies emphasize proper drug provision and consumption, as well as effective treatments. Self-medication, a controversial health issue, is three times commoner in Iran than the world average record which makes the country stand the second in Asia. Investigating the causes of self-medication based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) is a scientific and effective method to control the problem. Thus, this study attempted to identify and rank the factors associated with self-medication. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study, 380 elderly adults were selected based on stratified random sampling with proper ratios. The data were collected through structured interviews using a 47-item questionnaire which covered the HBM subsections. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. The data were analyzed through SPSS16. Findings: The age average of the participants was 66 ± 5.31. Moreover, 36.10% of the subjects were retired, 29.40% had an education of primary school level, 53.90% were under the support of social insurance, 77.60% consumed over-the-counter drugs, 85.30% kept drugs at home, 42.30% took sedative drugs, and 15.10% consumed psychiatric drugs. The score for perceived sensitivity and barriers were 50.21 and 70.23, respectively. Self-medication was found to be significantly related with gender, marital status, and education level. In addition, a successful previous experience of self-medication and considering drugs as harmless were suggested as the main causes of self-medication. Furthermore, mass media were discovered to be the most effective solution to prevent self-medication. Conclusion: In this study, the prevalence of self-medication was high and the alterable factors were in undesirable conditions. Although the subjects did not show a minimum score of 50% in different subsections of HBM, the self-efficacy average was desirable which could lead a false sense of confidence and increased self-medication.

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Background: Development of industries, population growth, and improved health level have caused wide usage of detergents. These materials are discharged into surface waters through domestic wastewater and make environmental risks. The aim of this study was to separate anionic surfactants from surface waters by dissolved air flotation (DAF) method. Methods: A DAF pilot unit was constructed with continuous flow including coagulation, flocculation, and flotation basins. The calibration curves were made with standard concentrations of anionic surfactants. Raw water was mixed with anionic surfactants and the experiments were performed in saturation pressures between 3-5 atm, coagulant dosages from 5 to 15 mg/l, and flotation times from 19.3 min to 26 min. Findings: During the experiments, pH of the water was 8-8.2 and the raw water turbidity varied normally from 7.4 to 144 NTU. The optimum dosage of coagulant was found as 15 mg/l. The maximum efficacy of linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) removal in the flotation time of 26 min and 19.3 min was between 91% and 41.1%. Statistical analysis showed a positive correlation between LAS removal and turbidity. Conclusion: In this process, the performance of dissolved air flotation was affected by pressurized recycle water or saturation pressure, flotation time, and the concentration of coagulant. Removal of surfactants was obtained by foaming as well as rising particles attached to bubbles.

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Background: Untreated leachate is being discharged into the environment in many countries worldwide. Leachate treatment methods have not been unified so far due to the variable composition of leachate. Moreover, the lack of appropriate treatment and disposal of leachate causes environmental pollution. This study aimed to compare removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) of leachate of the Isfahan compost plant using ferrous sulfate, ferric chloride and poly ferric sulfate, and identify the most convenient coagulant and co-coagulant. Methods: This experimental study was conducted to investigate the COD and TSS removal from leachate of the Isfahan compost plant using different coagulants and co-coagulants. Different concentrations and pH levels for each of the coagulants were tested and the most convenient coagulant was identified. This experiment was conducted using the Jar test method. TSS and COD levels were measured by standard methods of B-5210 and D-2540 respectively. Findings: According to the results, pH level of 10, ferrous sulfate with the dose of 2 g/L and 2.5 g/L resulted in maximum removal efficiency of 43% for COD and 38% for TSS. In pH = 10, ferric chloride with dose of 1.5 g/L and 2 g/L resulted in maximum removal efficiency of 31% for COD and 47% for TSS respectively. In pH = 11, poly ferric sulfate with the dose of 2 g/L and 2.5 g/L resulted in maximum removal efficiency of 49% for COD and 51% for TSS respectively. The most convenient co-coagulant for ferric chloride and poly ferric sulfate was SNF-AN913 that resulted in 41% and 58% COD removal, respectively. Concerning ferrous sulfate, the preastol co-coagulant with 51% COD removal had the highest removal efficiency. Conclusion: The best coagulant for COD and TSS removal was poly ferric sulfate which contributed to better results with an alkaline pH. According to obtained data flocculation and coagulation can be used as convenient, inexpensive pretreatment methods to treat leachate of the Isfahan compost plant, and process the leachate for a better and more convenient treatment using other methods.

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Introduction: The quantity and quality of dietary carbohydrate intake is of great importance in enhancing exercise performance. Therefore, several studies have investigated the role of glycemic index (GI) in exercise performance.This study aimed to review the current evidence on carbohydrate consumption with different glycemic indices on exercise performance.Methods: We searched PubMed for related publications using "exercise" and "glycemic index" as keywords. This search considered papers that had been published between 1990 and 2010 and had human subjects.Findings: Consumption of low-glycemic index carbohydrates before the exercise results in enhancing of the exercise performance was controversy. The quantity of the carbohydrate is much more important than its quality in exercise performance in elite athletes. Consumption of high glycemic index foods after the games has been consistently reported as a factor in enhancing the exercise performance.Conclusion: Due to the consistent findings on the effect of high glycemic index foods during and after exercise on performance, it seems that future investigations should focus on meals before the exercise.

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Background: One of the most important changes during pregnancy is maternal weight gain. As optimal weight gain is still a controversial issue, this matter is frequently discussed and surveyed. A limited number of studies have been performed on the correlation between pregnancy weight gain and birth weight in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine maternal weight gain during pregnancy based on the recommended standards, and its correlation with infant birth weight in Isfahan, Iran, in 2011.  Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study. The data collection tool was an information form, which was completed through the patients__AWT_QUOTE__ family health files. The study samples were 225 mothers, who referred to health centers in Isfahan and were selected through the multistage cluster sampling method. Data were analyzed through SPSS software, with the significant level at P < 0.05. Findings: The mean weight gain during pregnancy was 11.73 kg. In the current study mean birth weight was 3193 g, while approximately 7.11% of them were LBW and 6.22% weighed higher than 4000g. Mean BMI before pregnancy was 25.3 kg/m2 in the study group. The Pearson__AWT_QUOTE__s correlation coefficient showed that pre-pregnancy BMI and pregnancy weight gain were significantly correlated with birth weight. Conclusion: Although, mean weight gain during pregnancy in this study was about its optimal value, we found that a significant percentage of mothers with low and normal weight, in the BMI subgroups, had failed to reach the optimal weight. On the other hand, a significant percentage of mothers diagnosed with overweight and obesity had gained more weight than the standard rate. However, there were a direct significant correlation between pregnancy weight gain and infant birth weight.

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Background: The heavy metals include two types of necessary and unnecessary elements which are significant in eco-toxicology. These elements have high stability and can generate toxicity in the organisms. The aim of this study was to measure the heavy metals concentration in water and sediments of Gorgan Gulf, Iran, as a baseline measure for determination of future trends. Methods: In the winter of 2010, 30 samples (15 from water and 15 from sediments) were drawn from 5 sampling stations (4 stations in Gorgan Gulf and one station in estuary of Gorganroud River). The samples were measured by atomic absorption spectroscope for concentration of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), chrome (Cr) and cadmium (Cd). Findings: The results obtained from the present study showed a significant difference in concentration of heavy metals in water and sediments sampled from various stations. The highest concentration of heavy metals was detected in water and sediments of Gorgan and Gharasou estuaries (stations 1 and 2) and the lowest concentration was found in Galougah seaside and Khozeini canal (the stations 4 and 5). Among the studied metals, Pb and Zn had the highest amount in water and sediments, respectively.  Furthermore, when compared to standard limits in water, Cr, Cd, and Pb had more concentration than standard limits of world health organization. The results from metal concentrations in sediments also showed that metal concentration were lower than global standards. Conclusion: Increase of population and pollution can change the amounts of heavy metals in the study areas, hence their measurement should be considered as a continuous and important approach for future studies.

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One of the factors associated to the increase or decrease in breast cancer risk is different dietary patterns of consumption by using different food groups. Therefore, the role of diet has attracted the attention of researchers to the extent that many studies have investigated the role of food groups in the risk of breast cancer. This study aimed to review the current evidence regarding the association of food groups and breast cancer. We searched PubMed for related publications using "dietary fats", "meat and processed meat", "fruit and vegetable", "food group", "dairy" and "carbohydrate" and grains as keywords. We searched for papers that had been published between 2009 and 2011 and were on human subjects. About 400 papers were identified and after the elimination of papers that were unrelated to the subject the 31 relevant studies available for review were examined. Some studies have shown that dietary patterns rich in vegetables, and with less meat and processed food are related to the reduced risk of breast cancer. However, a number of other studies have not attained such results. Certain vegetables and fruits consumption rather than consumption of the whole vegetables group is much more important in reducing the risk of breast cancer. Consumption of processed meat has been consistently reported as a factor in enhancing the risk of breast cancer. The findings of studies on the effects of food consumption patterns__AWT_QUOTE__, rich in vegetables with antioxidant components and low in the glycemic index of carbohydrates, association with reduced cancer risk shoed consistency. Therefore, it seems that future investigations should be focused on the association between different dietary patterns and risk of breast cancer in relation to hormonal and genetic factors.

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Plagiarism is a serious debate in scientific community and in recent years has been in the center of interest in academic and scientific communities. Plagiarism is considered as an unethical and improper act, because it constitutes theft from an intellectual work. Self-plagiarism is considered as a sort of plagiarism and is defined as an improper release of information as a new idea, or using main or a part of self article which previously has been published. There are still doubts in definition of self-plagiarism as theft, fraud and abuse or plagiarism and whether or not such penalties are required, it has been introduced as plagiarism in several studies but in some cases, this view was rejected. Multiple and different definitions are presented for plagiarism, such as republishing articles in other journals or publishing with changes and introducing it as a new article. Sometimes it has been introduced as using phrases, sentences and a part of a previously published article without reference. However, it is clear that self plagiarism is not acceptable to the scientific community, and the authors of this paper believed that using ones own previous works, without proper citation is an instance of plagiarism. Therefore, it is necessary that researchers do not summarize this subject merely as the improper use of words and sentences, and in addition to proper referencing of their works, avoid publishing previous articles as new ideas and dividing data into several articles. This study aimed to present and summarize the views of the authors and editors in published papers in national and international journals for students and scholars, especially for young scholars.

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Background: Identifying and employing appropriate learning styles can ultimately play an important role in selecting teaching styles in order to improve education. The current study was carried out to determine learning styles preferences of first year students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (2010). Methods: A cross-sectional study employed visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK) learning style__AWT_QUOTE__s questionnaire which was done on 184 first year students of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing and health services management at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2010. Validity of the questionnaire was assessed through experts__AWT_QUOTE__ views and its reliability was calculated using Cronbach__AWT_QUOTE__s alpha coefficients (α = 0.86). Data were analyzed by VARK software designed in Excel and employing SPSS for Windows 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Findings: Out of 184 participants that responded and returned the questionnaire, 122 (66.3%) were female, more than two-third (68.5%) of the student were in professional doctorate status (medicine, pharmacy, dentistry) and 31.5% were in undergraduate status (nursing and health services management). 89 students (48.4%) preferred single-modal learning style and the rest of the students preferred multi-modal learning styles. A significant relationship (P < 0.009) was between the gender and single-modal learning styles and also between course level and learning styles (P < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the result, male students more than female students preferred to use kinesthetic learning style, while female students preferred aural learning style more. Knowing the learning styles of students in education is a valuable skill that helps trainers to solve learning problems among students, and also helps students to be more effective learners.

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Background: In order to match workers physiological characteristics with job demands and personnel to perform different jobs, maximum aerobic capacity (VO2-max) can be used. This study was conducted to develop a data bank of VO2-max among male workers of the industrial sector in Shiraz, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 500 healthy male workers employed in industries in the city of Shiraz participated voluntarily (20 to 59 years of age). Subjects were assessed by ergocycle test according to Astrand protocol for 6 minutes. A questionnaire consisting of two parts was used as data collecting tool. In the first part, demographic, and in the second part anthropometric and physiological characteristics were included. Findings: 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles of VO2-max of workers were 2.07, 2.72, and 3.02 L.min-1, respectively. The results showed that aerobic capacity decreases at a rate of ~10% per decade. Conclusion: Developing such a data bank can be useful for personnel selection and assessment of  workers__AWT_QUOTE__ physiological characteristics and job demand relevance.

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Background: Malaria is one of the three important diseases in the world. 65% of malaria cases in Iran are reported from Sistan and Baluchestan province. The physicians are the head of health services in rural and urban areas in Iran and have essential role in malaria control. This study evaluated an educational package to increase cognitive and behavioral skills of physician about malaria control. Methods: A pre and post-interventional study was conducted in 2009 in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. An open-ended questionnaire including 62 questions and the checklists for measuring 13 behavioral skills were developed to assess cognitive skills. Four booklets were designed about different subjects related to malaria control and some films and PowerPoint about the required skills. Thirty physicians participated from four districts of the province. Findings: Results of this study showed that cognitive skills were increased from 28 ± 13.8 in pre-interventional phase to 74.8 ± 15.4 significantly in post-interventional phase (P < 0001). The behavioral skills were enhanced from 30.5 ± 10.3 in pre-interventional phase to 51.6±11.3 significantly in post-interventional phase (P < 0001). Conclusion: The results showed that an educational package was a simple and economic way for building capacity among physicians who have essential role in malaria elimination program in malaria areas.

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Background: The evaluation of growth in children in addition to show nutritional status and health of children in each community is considered as a valid tool for measuring quality of life (QoL). UNICEF reported a total of 40,000 daily deaths due to malnutrition. The present study was conducted to review the nutritional status of rural children under 6 in Zahedan, Iran. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 514 rural children 6 to 59 months by multistage random sampling and by questionnaire, interview and house-to-house survey in Zahedan were studied. Data collection tools were scale, questionnaire and metric measurement. Data analysis performed by Nutritional survey, besides anthropometric data were compared to National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). According to these criteria, the moderate and severe underweight, wasting and stunting was Z score ≤ -2 and severity of malnutrition was defined as mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) less than 115. Findings: 17.3%, 25.5% and 6.8% of the studied children had moderate to severe underweight, stunted and wasted, respectively. Overall average height (83 ± 11.4 vs. 82 ± 12.2), weight (11 ± 2.6 vs. 10 ± 2.6) and MUAC (145 ± 14.3 vs. 141 ± 16.2) in the boys was higher than the girls. The prevalence of stunting (29.7% vs. 22.5%), underweight (20.7% vs. 15.7%) and wasted (9.8% vs. 4.4%) were higher in boys than in girls (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicated that the prevalence of malnutrition is one of public problems in the rural children under 6 in Zahedan. Thus, this suggested that the gap might be filled by improvement in nutrition and health services along with the socio-economic development.

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Background: Work place stress affects the mental health, performance and safety of nurses and their patients in health care centers. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the mental health and stressful life events of nurses working in Tehran Emergency Medical Service, Iran. Methods: This was a descriptive correlational study. Two hundred nurses working in 115 Tehran Emergency Center were randomly selected. Data was collected using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), scaling of life events and were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Findings: There was a statistically significant relationship between mental health and stressful life events (P < 0.001). Mental health status of bachelor nurses was better than operating room and anesthetic technicians (P < 0.001); and they had experienced less stressful events (P < 0.001). Conclusion: To select the right people for the job, it is recommended that psychological tests such as personality traits be performed at the beginning of employment. Regular education programs and psychological counseling for these individuals is also recommended.

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Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most common causes of occupational injuries that appear mainly in back, neck and upper limb. This study was conducted with the objectives of determination of prevalence rate of MSDs among workers of a generator manufacturing company and ergonomics assessment of working conditions. Methods: In this study, 319 workers randomly selected participated with at least one year work experience. In office jobs, data were gathered by using demographic questionnaire, Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire (NMQ) and ergonomics checklist for assessment of working conditions. In operation jobs, demographic questionnaire, NMQ and exposure check quick (QEC) method were applied to collect the required data. Findings: Means of age and Work Experience of study subjects was obtained 35.84±7.05 and 7.54±4.98 years, respectively. Prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorders in office and operation staff were 79.5% and 82.9%, respectively. Working condition assessment by the checklist in office staff revealed that improving work station should be considered as a priority in ergonomics program. The results of assessment of physical exposure to musculoskeletal risks by QEC technique showed among operational workers that totally, in 83.6% of workers studied, the level of exposure to musculoskeletal risks was high or very high. This indicated that the jobs and working conditions in the operational units were conducive for developing MSDs and needed corrections.   Conclusion: In working conditions improvement in participants, pay attention to risk factors of lower back, neck, knee, upper back and shoulder into consideration seemed essential.  

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Background: Presence of heavy metals in leachate due to the biological accumulation characteristics of these materials endangered the living creatures' health especially human. Purpose of this study is to study and investigate the possibility of two metals' absorption i.e, lead and cadmium from leachate by natural zeolite clinopteliolit and increase of the ability to absorb the zeolite by modified surface. Methods: To examine these two metals 'ability in absorption (lead and cadmium) and variables such as type of sorbent, sorbent concentration and contact time were studied. Zeolites samples used by the tests i.e, X-ray Florescence, the spectrum of X-ray diffraction and BET were analyzed for compound identification. Findings: The absorption efficiency of the modified zeolites was increased from 4.2 and 5.3 percent to 71.6 and 75.2٪ for lead and cadmium respectively. With increasing the surfactant concentration from 2 to 20 mmol/L, the absorption efficiency of modified zeolit for lead and cadmium was increased to 71 and 74%, respectively. The best isotherm model for lead adsorption was Freundlich model, with a determination coefficient equal to 0.99, and for cadmium it was Langmuir model with a determination coefficient equal to 0.99. Conclusion: The modified zeolite with surfactant can be used as an appropriate adsorbent for separation of heavy metals from waste leachate. Lead and cadmium absorbed in single layer on the modified zeolite with surfactant and with comparing parameters of different studied isotherm models indicated that the capacity of modified zeolite for lead adsorption was more than cadmium adsorption, but cadmium was absorbed with higher energy.

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Background: Burnout syndrome is the most dangerous threatening factor of worker__AWT_QUOTE__s health working in health. The aim of this study was determined the relationship between burnout and performance of health house workers in East Azerbaijan. Method: This is a cross sectional study which have been done on 89 health house workers in East Azerbaijan__AWT_QUOTE__s. Data collection by Jackson and Mazlak__AWT_QUOTE__s standard questionnaires and check list of health house__AWT_QUOTE__s performance evaluation. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 18 using Pearson correlation and T-test and ANOVA. Findings: Our result showed moderate levels of burnout among health workers and between them there is the risk of burnout. There was no significant relationship between burnout and performance and between subsets of burnout including depersonalization and emotional exhaustion but there was significant relationship between performance and personal accomplishment reduce. Conclusion: Though there was no significant relationship between burnout and performance in this study, we can__AWT_QUOTE__t certainly reject the effect of burnout on the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity in the organizations. It is necessary to notice the other factors that may effect on job burnout or performance of health house workers.