دکتر اکبر برزگر

 One of the effective programs in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders among nursing assistants is the use of educational interventions on patient handling. The aim of this study was evaluating the effect of patient handling training based on Precede-Proceed model on musculoskeletal disorders among nursing assistants.

 This was a semi-experimental study conducted in 1401 on nurses working in a hospital in Kermanshah province, Iran.  in the three stages before, one and three months after the intervention. The data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, the Nordic questionnaire, the body map scale, a visual analog scale and a musculoskeletal disorders prevention behaviors questionnaire including items based on the Precede-Proceed model. Data analysis was done in SPSS software.

 In all 100 nurses were entered into the study (50 nurses per each group). Before the intervention, there was a significant difference in the rate and intensity of musculoskeletal disorders between the intervention and control groups only in some parts of the body, but after the intervention, there was a significant difference in the rate and intensity of the disorders between the two groups in all areas (P-value <0.05) indicating the improvement in intervention group. Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the score of knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, reinforcing and enabling factors and behavior in the intervention and control groups (P-value>0.05), but after intervention, these scores had significant differences between the two groups (P-value<0.05) showing improvements in the intervention group.

 The patient handling training based on the Precede-Proceed model had a significant effect in reducing the rate and severity of musculoskeletal disorders. Conducting more studies on a larger sample is recommended.

Toluene is one of the most important volatile organic compounds that threaten human health and introduce many environmental problems. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the performance of a biofilter based on pine cones/compost to remove toluene vapors from polluted air streams.

In this research, a biofilter with a volume of 19.468 L was designed and built. The biofilter bed consisted of two parts 26 cm in height and packed with a mixture of compost and pine cones in 1:1 volumetric ratio. After inoculating the bed with sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant and making it compatible with toluene, the performance of the biofilter in different parts of the bed was investigated at the inlet toluene concentrations of 2.5-5.5 g/m3 and Empty Bed Retention Times (EBRTs) of 1.3, 1.7, and 2.43 min. Also, the results were analyzed statistically.

At EBRT of 2.43 min and different inlet toluene concentrations of 2.5-5.5 g/m3, the removal efficiency reached 100 percent. Also, the removal efficiency decreased with the reduction of EBRT. The results showed that removal efficiency was higher in the first part of the biofilter bed relate to the second part. At an inlet toluene concentration of 2.62 g/m3 and EBRT of 1.7 min, the maximum elimination capacity (ECmax) of 2.74 g/m3.min was obtained.

In all experimental conditions the outlet concentration of pine-cone/compost biofilter was below the WHO standard (260 µg/m3). Also, the high elimination capacity of biofilter verified its capability toward toluene removal from polluted gas streams.

 Proper food labeling can help improve a diet and health. Due to the importance of sodium in the diet, determining the amount of sodium in food and comparing it with the amount reported on nutrition labels was the objective of the present study.

 In this study, 96 high-consumption foods were examined in 5 groups, including meat and protein products, dairy products, snacks, white sauce, tomato paste, and macaroni. Sodium content was measured by a flame photometer (Halstead, Essex, England). Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and Pearson correlation coefficient.

 Mean values of sodium found in meat and protein products (409.35±183.04 mg) were significantly higher than the amount reported on nutritional labels (317.90±273.95 mg) (p=0.005). For groups of white sauce and tomato paste, mean values of sodium were significantly lower than the nutritional labels (p=0.002). For dairy products and macaroni was no significant difference between the sodium content reported on the nutritional labels and the actual value. In 67% of examined food, the amounts of sodium did not match those reported by nutritional labels, being lower or higher than the value reported. 

 This study demonstrated that the amount of sodium reported on nutritional labels significantly differed from the amounts used in raw materials. Therefore, it is essential to carefully control the amounts of sodium during food production processes and monitor nutritional labels.