Journal of Archives in Military Medicine
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Jun 2019

Given the relatively high prevalence and emphasis on the pathogenicity of Blastocystis sp., especially in immunocompromised patients and other at risked populations like military personnel, this study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in the city of Karaj during 2014 - 2015. In this descriptive study, 2500 stool samples were screened for Blastocystis sp. using microscopically examinations and iodine-stained, wet-mount preparations and formalin-ether as a sedimentation method. Demographic information such as age, gender, and symptoms of patients, were recorded in the questionnaire. Three stool samples were collected from each patient in disposable plastic containers. Data were analyzed using chi-square, ANOVA, and t-test SPSS V. 24 software. From the total of 2500 cases, 345 (13.8%) cases were positive for Blastocystis sp., 56.5% of patients were male, and 43.5% were female. A total of 33.3% of patients had a clinical symptom and 66.7% of patient had no clinical symptoms. Anorexia was the most common symptom in patients with Blastocystis sp. The use of appropriate diagnostic laboratory procedures in hospitals and medical centers can provide an effective and accurate diagnosis that will play an important role in the promotion of community health; considering some unspecific signs could help the health professionals to have correct diagnose.

The most successful and effective preventive measure against infection from a particular disease is to get vaccinated. Traditional vaccines use a dead or a weakened pathogenic microbe or a toxin from a pathogen. The introduction of an attenuated or dead pathogen into a healthy individual generates an immune response. Vaccines aid in creating a memory of the antigenic specificity of disease in the individual, thus immunizing the individual against that particular disease for a long period. Therefore, getting vaccinated for a disease is the best measure one can take, especially for military forces. Due to the circumstantial juxtaposition of a soldier in harsh environments while serving his nation with little to no amenities, the threat of a biological agent increases significantly. Thus, the maintenance of hygiene and immunity is of utmost importance in the military to prevent any setback in the line of duty. Some vaccines do require booster doses to retain the memory of antigenic specificity. Various techniques have been developed or are under development to produce effective vaccines for several diseases. A key development in traditional vaccines is the reduction of booster doses required, as well as the reduction of side effects. Any technique used to produce vaccines has to ensure the provision of long-term immunity to the individual, no side effects on the individual due to the vaccine, no relapse or reversion of pathogenicity, and induction of an immune response at a low dosage. This article aims to highlight the progress and failures in the development of different types of traditional vaccines, along with the procedures and techniques used in traditional vaccine production.

Educational quality measures are those activities you undertake to demonstrate the accuracy and precision of your monitoring. A good strategy for increasing educational services quality can be achieved by considering the result of SERVQUAL (Gap Analysis) model. Quality measurement of educational services that are offered at the Military University of Medical Science is evaluated based on the SERVQUAL model in this study. This study is a descriptive-analytic study. In this study, the dimensions of the quality of service provided by the SERVQUAL (Gap Analysis) model have been investigated in Five dimensions including tangible, responsiveness, empathy, reliability, and assurance. Data set of this sectional analytical descriptive study coordinates 317 students and 102 professors’ observations in the mentioned university. Stratified sampling method, according to the number of students and professors in each faculty (five faculties) and SERVQUAL questionnaire, were used. Descriptive statistics and statistical inferences were done by SPSS23 software. Based on the findings, a negative gap was observed in all dimensions of the model. Empathy dimension (-2.215) had a maximum gap value, while the responsiveness dimension (-2.109) had a minimum gap value based on the student’s viewpoint. Moreover, based on the professor’s viewpoint maximum gap was related to physical dimension (-1.866) and the minimum gap was related to the responsiveness dimension (-1.292). Unlike professors, students who are studying in different faculties have not unique idea regard to services quality. The quality gap can be sufficiently predicted by using a logistic regression model with assuming age as a predictor variable. Professor’s viewpoint is not affected by their age and gender. Based on the results, student’s and professors’ expectations are greater than their perceptions. Empathy and physical dimensions are the priority of the model as they have a positive relationship with the quality.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a result of interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The recognition of GC risk factors is very important for early diagnostic and prevention from this cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of some factors such as Thr241Met polymorphism on GC occurrence in Iranian military population. Investigated samples in the present study were 53 tissue samples from patients with pathologically proven GC and 91 sex-age matched blood samples from healthy controls. Data for cases and controls were obtained through registered files and questionnaires, respectively. Genomic DNA was extracted and PCR-RFLP was used for genotyping of Thr241Met polymorphism. Chi-square and odds ratio (OR) were used to determine the factors affecting the incidence of GC. The Thr\Met genotype of Thr241Met polymorphism of the XRCC3 gene (P = 0.04 and OR = 2.99) and blood type B (P = 0.04 and OR = 2.99) significantly affected the incidence of GC. This study did not prove the significant effect of smoking (P = 0.08 and OR = 2.47) and positive family history (P = 0.13 and OR = 2.25) on GC risk. These findings may be helpful in early identification of high-risk individuals, especially in military population and prevention from GC.

According to the literature, the incidence of kidney cancer is on the rise worldwide. The aim of this investigation was to provide the data of period prevalence of kidney, renal pelvis, and ureter cancers in the general population including the military or non-military population in Isfahan province, Iran. Data associated with cancers of the kidney, renal pelvis, and ureter were obtained from the Isfahan Cancer Registry between 2011 and 2015. Kidney, renal pelvis, and ureter cancers were defined by topography codes of C64, C65, and C66, respectively. There were 404, 21, and 18 registered cases of kidney, renal pelvis, and ureter cancers, respectively, corresponding to a PP of 8.9 per 100000 population. The mean ± SD of age was 56.6 ± 16.8 years in patients. The age of kidney cancer patients was more than 50 years in 51% of the cases. The incidences were 2.0 in 2011 - 2012, 2.2 in 2012 - 2013, 2.3 in 2013 - 2014, and 2.4 in 2014 - 2015 per 100000 population. The death data confirmed 14% and 86% mortality associated with kidney cancer and renal pelvis, respectively. The incidence rate of kidney cancer showed increases by 20%. The data confirmed high mortality associated with cancer of renal pelvis. In order to decrease cancer incidence, healthcare planning should be based on military management together with a well-structured pharmacotherapy strategy.

Oxidative stress is a state of imbalance in capacity to neutralize the free radicals and its production. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of endurance training and purslane seed consumption on NF-κB and CRP in the heart tissue of rats poisoned by H2O2. Sixty-four adult male rats were randomly assigned into eight groups of eight rats (1) control, (2) endurance training, (3) endurance training with 50 mg/kg/day supplementation of purslane seed, (4) endurance training with 200 mg/kg/day supplementation of purslane seed, (5) endurance training with 400 mg/kg/day supplementation of purslane seed, (6) 50 mg/kg/day supplementation of purslane seed, (7) 200 mg/kg/day supplementation of purslane seed, and (8) 400 mg/kg/day supplementation of purslane seed. During eight weeks groups one through eight received 1 mmol/kg H2O2 three times per week intraperitoneally; groups two through four ran on a treadmill three sessions per week, and groups two through eight received purslane seed intraperitoneally daily. Two-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni post hoc tests were used for statistical data analysis (P ≤ 0.05). Endurance training significantly increased CRP protein levels (P = 0.001), however, the purslane seed consumption significantly reduced CRP protein levels (P = 0.001), and endurance training with purslane seed extract consumption had interactive effects on reduction of CRP protein levels (P = 0.0.001). Endurance training had no significant effect on NF-κB protein levels (P = 0.172), however, the purslane seed consumption had a significant effect on the reduction of NF-κB (P = 0.0.001), and endurance training with purslane seed consumption had interactive effects on reduction of NF-κB (P = 0.0.001). It appears that endurance training with concurrent consumption of purslane seed has interactive effects on the reduction of NF-κB and CRP in the heart tissue of rats poisoned by H2O2.

Tennis elbow (TE) is a common strain injury or microtrauma that causes sore and tender around the outside of the elbow. Using orthotic devices is one way for rehabilitating this condition. The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of taping technique (TT) and counterforce brace (CB) on hand grip strength and pain in the patients with tennis elbow. In an experimental study with pre-test and post-test stages, 29 subjects with TT on their dominant arm were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: TT group (15 subjects) and CB group (14 subjects). The outcomes of the measurement consisted of pain in the lateral aspect of the elbow, as well as grip strength of hand before and 30 minutes after application of TT in one group and CB in another group. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess pain and dynamometer was also utilized to evaluate grip strength. Following elbow taping, the pain was significantly lower than CB group (P = 0.004). However, grip strength with P = 0.06 showed no significant difference between the two groups. The results revealed a significant difference between after and before interventions, with increases in hand grip strength and wrist extension muscle force in TT and CB groups. According to these findings, the improvement of grip strength was not different between the two methods. However, it seems that TT was more effective than CB in the reduction of pain of lateral aspect related to the elbow in these patients.