International Archives of Health Sciences

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Aim: Sleep and rest are the essential physiological needs of human. Nurses are at risk of developing sleep problems than others because of having various shift work. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sleep quality and related factors in the nurses. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 200 nurses were selected randomly from Shahid Beheshti Educational Hospital of Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2016. Persian version of Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire Index and demographic questionnaire were used for the detection of sleep quality. Results: The mean age of cases was 51.31 years, and most of them (73%) were female. The majority of them had rotating shift work and worked over 150 h per month. 95.5% (191 cases) of them had poor sleep quality. The mean total score of sleep quality in females was higher than males (P = 0.04). The nurses with rotating shift work had higher mean total score of sleep quality than nurses with fixed shift work. Nurses with over 150 h per month had more problems in daily function than others (P = 0.04). Conclusion: These results present that the majority of the nurses had poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality could be affect function, mental and physical health, and secondary effect delivery service to patients. Therefore, attention to this issue and strategies for improved sleep quality is necessary.

History and Objective: Obesity is one of the health risks factors, and aerobic exercise is one of the means to prevent and control obesity. The research was designed to compare methods of resistance, aerobic, and concurrent exercises on resistin and C-reactive protein (CRP) serum level of overweight and obese women. Research Methodology: In this semi-experimental research, 36 voluntary overweight or obese women were randomly assigned into three groups (n = 12) of aerobic, resistance, and concurrent exercise programs. The training included 8 weeks of exercise performed with 55%–75% of 1-repetition maximum weight lifting. The aerobic exercise was performed at 55%–75% of maximum oxygen consumption and concurrent training included both programs for 3 days/week. The resistin and CRP serum level of the participant was measured 48 h before the start and again 48 h after the termination of the exercise protocol. The statistical analysis was performed on data using SPSS 22.0 (Chicago, USA). One-way analysis of variance and paired t-test was employed to test the hypothesis at significance level set to 0.05. Results: The result indicated that exercise program significantly decreased CRP level of blood serum (P < 0.05) in all exercise groups. Such effect was present in aerobic and concurrent exercise group but not on the resistance group for resistin level (P > 0.05). Discussion: Aerobic exercise regardless of types has a beneficiary effect on CPR, but resistin level needs different types of exercise to change in overweight and obese women. Conclusion: Some aerobic exercises are beneficiary for overweight and obese women health.

Aims: Bioactive compounds existing in crustacean shells have the potential to inhibit the growth of some pathogenic microorganism. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the antibacterial effects of different extracts of prawn shells (Macrobrachium nipponense) on some human pathogenic bacteria. Materials and Methods: Sampling (prawn) was conducted in summer 2014 from Anzali wetland in southern coast of Caspian Sea. Then, the hydroalcoholic, methanolic, and acetone extracts of prawn shells were applied for this purpose. Two Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis Staphylococcus aureus) and three Gram-negative (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae, and Escherichia coli) were used as test organisms. The antibacterial activity was determined by paper disk diffusion. Results: The prawn shell extracts showed activity against pathogenic bacteria. The highest antibacterial activities were measured in B. subtilis, S. aureus, and V. cholerae with the zone of inhibition being 12.12 ± 0.32 mm, 12.51 ± 0.14 mm, and 12.35 ± 0.27 mm, respectively. Among all the strains, S. aureus exhibits a significant zone of inhibition against all extracts (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this research showed that different prawn shell extracts, particularly hydroalcoholic, have bactericidal effect on B. subtilis, S. aureus, and V. cholerae species.

Aims: Increasing population density in cities has led to an increase in industrial and municipal wastewater sludge generation volume. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) can widely be used for water and wastewater treatment. The aim of our study is to evaluate some DAF design parameters on biological sludge thickening which generated from an industrial wastewater treatment plant. Materials and Methods: This experimental research had been carried out as a laboratory-scale study on DAF process to thickening of the biological sludge. The required amount of sludge was taken once from the Amikabir industrial town wastewater treatment plant in Kashan, Iran. After determination of optimal recycling rate, pH, and coagulant dose, effects of pressure (3, 5, and 7 atm), flotation time (5 and 10 min), and coagulant addition were evaluated on DAF process efficiency. Results: According to this investigation results, the optimal pH and dose of coagulant were obtained 7.5 and 200 mg/L, respectively. Maximum process efficiency for the reduction of total dissolved solids (TDSs), total solids (TSs), and turbidity parameters was 61.01%, 84.02%, and 97%, respectively. Furthermore, the results showed that in contrast to time, coagulant addition and pressure have significant effect on DAF process. Conclusion: DAF process had suitable thickening efficiency to removal of TDS, TS, and turbidity on biological activated sludge.

Aim: To document the frequencies of wrongly filled laboratory request forms with a view to improving process efficiency. Background: Available data have shown that 70% of laboratory errors are preanalytical. Most hospitals in developing countries do not have standardized laboratory request forms and often, laboratory users do not provide all the required information needed for smooth laboratory operations; however, the frequency of these issues are often not documented. This study was aimed to document the frequencies of wrongly filled laboratory request forms with a view to improving process efficiency. Materials and Methods: This was a laboratory-based cross-sectional study. A total of 5000 laboratory request forms, collected from five different laboratory units in the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria were retrospectively reviewed for the completeness of information supplied in the request forms after obtaining appropriate ethical approval. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. Results: Findings showed that laboratory request forms across hospital laboratories were not standardized following international best practice. Required information needed for efficient laboratory operations were either incomplete or not provided in the request forms. Conclusion: The need to standardize all request forms using global recommended template with a view to supplying all the necessary information required for smooth laboratory operation and generation of credible data is highlighted in this study.

Online since 24^th Aug 2017.