{"title":"Analysis of Clonal Relationships among Shigella spp. Isolated from Children with Shigellosis in Ahvaz, Iran","authors":"M. Bagheri, M. Gholi, L. Shokoohizadeh, Farah Taj","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11733","url":null,"abstract":"Shigellosis is one of the important gastrointestinal bacterial infections, particularly among children of developing countries such as Iran. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern and genetic typing for epidemiological purposes are of significant issues in Shigella infectious control. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility and genetic relationship among Shigella strains isolated from children with shigellosis at paediatric hospital in Ahvaz, south west of Iran. This study included all Shigella strains isolated from paediatric patients with diarrhea admitted to Abuzar pediatric hospitals in Ahvaz, during January-June 2015. Shigella isolates were identified using standard microbiological and serological methods. Shigella spp strains also were studied by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) - PCR analysis. Total of 50 Shigella strains were isolated from children with dysentery diarrhea. In total, 31 (62%) were identified as Shigella flexneri, 16(32%) and 3 (6%) were Shigella sonnei and Shigella boydii respectively. High level resistance were detected against ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and cephalotine. All isolates were sensitive to ceftriaxone, imipenem gentamicin and amikacin. The results of ERIC-PCR data analysis showed 11 different types of Shigella with four closely-related patterns. S. flexneri was the predominant serogroup of Shigella spp. in children in the referral pediatric hospital in Ahvaz. Ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is no longer recommended for shigellosis empirical treatment and should be replaced by other antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or ciprofloxcacin. Diverse but genetically close strains of shigella were responsible for shigellosis in paediatric patients in Ahvaz, south west of Iran.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"34 1","pages":"45-51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88338292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MATLAB-based software for Size-Specific Dose Estimation (SSDE) in Computed Tomography Examinations","authors":"Daryoush Khoramian, Soroush Sistani","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11728","url":null,"abstract":"Primary and widely in use Computed Tomography (CT) dose descriptor is a volumetric CT Dose Index (CTDIv) that is usually measured by a pencil ionization chamber with active length of 100mm and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom. CTDIv depends on scan parameters such as mAs, kV, collimation, tube rotation time but is independent of patient’s size and shape. For the purpose of a good estimation of dose received by the patients, American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) published the conversion factors for both 16 and 32cm (head and body phantoms respectively); through this, users can extract conversion factors according to lateral (LAT) and/or anterior-posterior (AP) sizes and calculate real CTDIv. Since this procedure is time consuming, we designed MATLAB-based software to reduce such calculations. To design the software, GUI toolbar of MATLAB software was used. To test the software, scan parameters of two patients for head and pelvis scan were read from PACS and lateral (LAT) and anterior-posterior (AP) sizes were measured. Finally, SSDEs were calculated for two patients by the software. The software can be measured based on AP and/or LAT measures and/or in special cases (under the age of 18) through patients' age.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"30 1","pages":"35-38"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88463090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparing Health Information Channels between Male and Female Users of Iranian Public Libraries","authors":"L. J. Saravi, F. Babalhavaeji, N. Hariri","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11694","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11694","url":null,"abstract":"Nowadays people are seeking health information to raise their awareness. They use many ways to get this information. This study examines the health information channels used by users of public libraries. The population of the present survey consisted of 461 users of public libraries throughout the country, randomly selected in a two-stage cluster sampling method. The questionnaire data were analyzed using SPSS. Cronbach's alpha value was obtained as 0.89. Friedman test showed that there is a significant difference between the preferred channels of women and men for getting health information. Most health information was obtained through TV and the Internet channels. Most of the health knowledge was gained by users through parents, family members and self-study. Libraries played a second role after parents, schools, experiences of visiting doctors and self-study. Users preferred printed materials in the libraries to get health information. Television and the Internet were the most-used information channels. The public library as one of the channels of getting health information can provide reliable updated information to the users. Strengthening the print resources in the health field and introducing and evaluating scientific updated databases must be performed.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"132 1","pages":"8-14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76229049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Asghari, Athena. Rafieepour, S. Shahedi, M. Mirzahoseini, Masoumeh Chavooshi, M. Abbassinia
{"title":"ASSESSMENT CRITERIA OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF EXPERT TEACHERS BASED ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH STUDENTS’ VIEWPOINTS IN TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES","authors":"M. Asghari, Athena. Rafieepour, S. Shahedi, M. Mirzahoseini, Masoumeh Chavooshi, M. Abbassinia","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11700","url":null,"abstract":"Notating the criteria of an expert teacher based on the students’ viewpoints and using them in teaching process has a prominent role in enhancing the education quality. This study aims at identifying those characteristics in occupational health students' opinions. In this cross-sectional study in 2012, using random sampling method, 200 of occupational health students in Tehran University of Medical Sciences were selected. Requirement data collection was using a questionnaire with α= 0.85. The questions were designed in two domains, demographic and expert teacher criteria. Finally, data analysis was carried out through SPSS software version 16. Results showed that before, after and current education of four domains ability, features such as analysis method and text selection (81.4%), accurate and comprehensive examination in final (80.2%), dominance over the scientific subjects (91%) and in general, abilities, educational discipline and manual (86.4%) were respectively recognized as important factors for experted teacher. Moreover, no significant relationship was found among gender and field of study and the above mentioned four domains (p> 0/05). In this study, teaching ability was the most important factor in students’ viewpont; hence, it is recommended that the mentioned points should be taken inro more consideration in this domain for enhanced teachers’ operation.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"37 1","pages":"29-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81800844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mahdi Khalili, H. Majd, S. Khodakarim, B. Ahadi, M. Hamidpour
{"title":"Prediction of the Thromboembolic Syndrome: an Application of Artificial Neural Networks in Gene Expression Data Analysis","authors":"Mahdi Khalili, H. Majd, S. Khodakarim, B. Ahadi, M. Hamidpour","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11696","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11696","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study was to propose a method for improving the power of recognition and classification of thromboembolic syndrome based on the analysis of gene expression data using artificial neural networks. The studied method was performed on a dataset which contained data about 117 patients admitted to a hospital in Durham in 2009. Of all the studied patients, 66 patients were suffering from thromboembolic syndrome and 51 people were enrolled in the study as the control group. The gene expression level of 22277 was measured for all the samples and was entered into the model as the main variable. Due to the high number of variables, principal components analysis and auto-encoder neural network methods were used in order to reduce the dimension of data. The results showed that when using auto-encoder networks, the classification accuracy was 93.12. When using the PCA method to reduce the size of the data, the obtained accuracy was 78.26, and hence a significant difference in the accuracy of classification was observed. If auto-encoder network method is used, the sensitivity and specificity will be 92.58 and 93.68 and when PCA method is used, they will be 0.77 and 0.78 respectively. The results suggested that auto-encoder networks, compared with the PCA method, had a higher level of accuracy for the classification of thromboembolic syndrome status.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"60 1","pages":"15-22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80787323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Rabea, Fazly Bazzaz Bibi Sedigheh, Housaindokht Mohammad Reza, E. Azadeh, R. Omid
{"title":"A Comparison of Explanation Methods of Encapsulation Efficacy of Hydroquinone in a Liposomal System","authors":"K. Rabea, Fazly Bazzaz Bibi Sedigheh, Housaindokht Mohammad Reza, E. Azadeh, R. Omid","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11699","url":null,"abstract":"One of the most important parameters describing the liposomal formulation of hydroquinone is encapsulation efficacy. For the efficacy evaluation of hydroquinone trapped in liposomal structure, there is a need to first separate liposome from the matrix surrounding it. There are various separation techniques; however, in this study, the three techniques of centrifuges with and without washing and dialysis were used. From among the laboratory techniques, an appropriate method is the one that offers responses with a high repeatability. The statistical calculations revealed that encapsulation efficacy with a direct method resulted from a separation via the techniques of dialysis and centrifuge without washing had the highest dispersion with SDs of 6.1 and 8.7, respectively, while the SD value in the technique of centrifuge with washing was 5.2. Through an indirect method, hydroquinone encapsulation efficacy showed the best repeatability with SD values of 2.8 and 2.1 by using the two techniques of centrifuge and centrifuge filtration, respectively. It seems that the treatments leading to the dilution of hydroquinone formulation would result in hydroquinone leakage and a reduction of encapsulation efficacy. It seems that measurement of hydroquinone encapsulation efficacy with an indirect method is a better choice; therefore, a centrifuge technique was utilized to report the mentioned efficacy at a speed of 45000 rcf and duration of 30 min due to having a reasonable price and ease of access.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"626 1","pages":"23-28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74722505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gholinejad Khadijeh, R. Ali, S. Ali, N. Saeed, Kazerouni Faranak, Naser Moghadasi Abdorreza, Rahimi Forough, Boroumandnia Nasrin
{"title":"Anti -MBP autoantibody changes as a predictor of response to treatment in MS patients","authors":"Gholinejad Khadijeh, R. Ali, S. Ali, N. Saeed, Kazerouni Faranak, Naser Moghadasi Abdorreza, Rahimi Forough, Boroumandnia Nasrin","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I2.11311","url":null,"abstract":"Myelin basic protein (MBP) is one of the most important constituents of the CNS myelin sheaths. It is supposed that an autoimmune response directed against MBP is crucial in the demyelination process in patients with multiple sclerosis. Studies have proved that free anti-MBP level in CSF of MS patients is declined when the patient entered into clinical remission. Some researchers evaluate the changes in serum or CSF level of this antibody during immunomodulatory therapy; the results are different and the relation between the changes in this antibody and response to treatment is poorly investigated. The objective of this study was to assess the relation between the changes in serum level of anti-MBP and clinical remission in patients during treatment with fingolimod. 37 MS patients that were non responder to interferon and glatiramer acetate and were candidates to receive fingolimod were nominated for this study. In this study, the serum level of anti-MBP was evaluated before and after 3 and 6 months of therapy and clinical remission was assessed by changes in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores. The result of this study showed that MS patients, after treatment with interferon, have lower serum anti-MBP level than healthy control group and this difference is statistically significant (p =0.03). The present study demonstrated that the serum anti-MBP level in MS patient during 6 months of treatment with fingolimod significantly decreased (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in EDSS of MS patients during 6 months of treatment with fingolimod ( p < 0.001).","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81562764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zahra Naderloo, A. Farahnak, Abolfasl Golestani, M. Eshraghian, Mohamad Bagher Molaei Rad
{"title":"In Vitro Study of Mebendazole (Anthelmintic drug) Effects on the Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) Enzyme Activity of Hydatid Cyst Parasite","authors":"Zahra Naderloo, A. Farahnak, Abolfasl Golestani, M. Eshraghian, Mohamad Bagher Molaei Rad","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I1.11295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I1.11295","url":null,"abstract":"Hydatid disease is caused by the larva of Echinococcus granulosus parasite. Mebendazole (MBZ) is used as an alternative choice for the treatment of the disease. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) is an essential enzyme in amino acid metabolism. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of MBZ on AST activity of hydatid cyst parasite in order to detect enzymatic parameter for drug efficiency. In the present study, AST activity was estimated in the extracts of untreated parasite (hydatid cyst protoscolices) and treated samples by MBZ (100 µg final concentration). Samples’ protein quantity and quality were detected by Bradford and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) methods respectively. For the purpose of determining the significant difference between the two independent samples, t-test was conducted. The values of the assayed AST specific activities of treated and untreated parasite samples were measured as 0.18 and 1.53U/ml/mg protein respectively. The difference between AST activities mean values of the two groups proved to be significant (P<0.05). SDS-PAGE demonstrated protein band of 50 kDa for AST enzyme. Considering the effect of the MBZ drug on AST activity in parasite, it can be concluded that this enzyme is useful for improving the drug efficiency.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"138 1","pages":"41-47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73021123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of generalized estimating equations (GEE), mixed effects models (MEM) and repeated measures ANOVA in analysis of menorrhagia data","authors":"P. Naseri, H. Majd, N. Kariman, Atefeh Sourtiji","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I1.11250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I1.11250","url":null,"abstract":"Menorrhagia is one of the most common gynecological problem and leading causes of poor quality of life and iron deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age. Research in gynecological field relies heavily on repeated measure designs. Repeated measure studies are helpful in understanding how factors of interest change over time. Our goal is to apply statistical methods which are appropriate for analyzing repeated measure data such as gynecological data. Three statistical methods were performed by data collection from 100 patients with menorrhagia. One-hundred patients were randomly assigned to two groups, i.e. intervention group (Urtica Dioica and mefenamic acid) and control group (placebo and mefenamic acid) with an equal size of 50. In this study, generalized estimating equations (GEE) and mixed effects models (MEM) were used for analyzing menorrhagia data to determine the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica Dioica on Menorrhagia. Finally, these methods are compared to the conventional repeated measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA). Based on the results, the three methods are found to be similar in terms of statistical estimation, the amount of bleeding before and after treatment between and within groups was compared. Results showed the average amount of bleeding was reduced significantly (P˂0/001). The average menorrhagia score in the third month (second cycles after intervention) were 91.38(71.432) and 149.40(127.823) in Urtica Dioica and control groups, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p =0.036). Because their advantages, GEE and MEM should be strongly considered for the analysis of repeated measure data. In particular, GEE should be utilized to explore overall average effects. When in addition to overall average effects, subject-specific effects are of primary interest, MEM should be utilized. With respect to these methods, it seems the extract of Urtica Dioica can be effective in reducing the amount of menstrual bleeding in women of reproductive age with Menorrhagia.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"32-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73878584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Kazerani, Shiva Malgard, M. Shekofteh, F. Zaeri, Naghmeh Khadembashi
{"title":"Evaluation of the Pharmaceutical theses of the government Universities of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti based on ISO 7144 during 2008 to 2012","authors":"M. Kazerani, Shiva Malgard, M. Shekofteh, F. Zaeri, Naghmeh Khadembashi","doi":"10.22037/JPS.V7I1.11249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22037/JPS.V7I1.11249","url":null,"abstract":"University theses and dissertations are among those credible sources of information which, with regard to their given status of value, and the use of update resources using the international regulations and standards, can be perfect sources for optimal recovery of information and can increase the scientific credibility. This study reviews the accordance of the Pharmaceutical theses of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and the University of Tehran with the ISO 7144 standards: 2008-2012. 765 pharmaceutical theses of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and the University of Tehran at both general and specialized levels were studied, using an analytical method. Data collection was based on the checklist prepared according to ISO 7144 standards. The comparisons were performed based on the t-test, using SPSS software. The results manifested that the theses done at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences adhered more to the ISO standards compared to the University of Tehran. The study also revealed that the mean score of the adherence to the standards of ISO has been more in specialized theses than the general ones. Moreover, it suggests that, due to their scientific and practical nature, theses are among the most important sources, and therefore, the manner through which the data is inserted, is of utmost importance. The accordance of the studied theses of both general and specialized themes in both universities to ISO 7144 standards is below the %50 of the desired standard and has a long way to go to reach the desired status.","PeriodicalId":16663,"journal":{"name":"Journal of paramedical sciences","volume":"283 1","pages":"27-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77497927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}