Journal of Health Sciences and Surveillance System
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Apr 2018

The goal of this study was to analyze the cost-effectiveness of harm reduction programs among Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs) who referred to Drop-In Centers (DICs) for prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) infection.

To calculate the cost-effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention, we used data from a cross-sectional study carried out in 2009 in which we selected 13 DICs out of 45 active DICs using systematic random sampling. Through interview, data of all IDUs (1309) who had attended DICs were collected by means of a questionnaire approved by 3 experts. Averted cases of HIV infection were considered as the unit of effectiveness. The cost was also calculated from the perspective of governmental service provider and all costs were converted into US dollar (USD). Sensitivity analysis was used to measure the effect of some uncertain parameters in modeling the number of HIV cases that have been averted; also, Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) was estimated.

Results showed that the DICs averted around 120.2 HIV cases in one year (102.977 cases from drug injection, 11.45 cases from homosexual and 5.77 cases from heterosexual ways). ICER for each HIV infection averted was 13,248.5 USD. Sensitivity analysis showed that providing harm reduction services in the best and worst case scenarios could change the ICER from 13,055 to 13,954 USD for each HIV case averted, respectively.

Since the most common cause of transmission and spread of HIV infection in Iran is drug injection via needle shared by IDUs, DICs programs in.

This study investigated the bioremediation of lead and zinc in contaminated soils by the compost worm Eisenia Fetida.

The initial concentrations of 50 and 100 mg/kg for zinc and lead respectively as well as 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg for the control group were studied. 30 earthworms were used for bioremediation of 500g samples of the polluted soils during 14 and 28 days. Then, Pb and Zn were measured by atomic absorption kit (Varian 240) in the soil and earthworm’s tissue.

The mortality rate of earthworms was insignificant statistically, so that it was lower than 20% when exposed to 86 mg/L of lead. Moreover, the removal efficiency of Pb and Zn was higher than 90% in th soil. Initial concentration of Pb and Zn was 3 and 6 mg/kg and the bioaccumulation was 0.16 and 32 μg/g respectively during 14 days, while they were 0.31 and 59 μg/g at the end of 28 days. The removal efficiency of Pb and Zn was increased as the exposure time and concentration of Pb and Zn in the earthworm bodies increased.

As a consequence, the use of earthworms is an appropriate organic and cost-effective method for bioremediation of Pb and Zn significantly. However, the improvement and modification of bioaccumulation in earthworm bodies is an environmental challenge that should be managed.

Safety is a part of organizational climate and reflects the workers’ current perception toward safety issues in an organization. The aim of this study was to survey the level of safety climate and its associated factors in various enterprises.

Data were collected using Persian version of Nordic safety climate questionnaires (NOSACQ) which was distributed among 661 employees of different industries in Qazvin Province. This questionnaire consists of six dimensions. The data were analyzed using IBM-SPSS Statistics 2010 and Microsoft office excel. We used the Mann-Whitney Test, Kruskal-Wallis Test, Spearman’s Rho-Kendall’s Tau-B, Tukey (POST-HOC) and - Way ANOVA tests to find the association between the variables and safety climate scores.

The mean age of the subjects was 29.97±5.53 years; 66% of them were married, 91% were males, 31% had a college degree, 47% were rotating- shift workers, and 80% were employed through contracts. Their average work experience was 17.27±15.4 years. The values of Cronbach’s Alpha were acceptable in the study groups; the highest and lowest levels of safety climate were observed in ceramic and mine industries, respectively.

There were some relationships between the safety climate and variables of level of education, work shift, presence of occupational and health department (OH&S) as well as safety management system, age and work shift.

Simultaneous existence of excessive amounts of fluoride and nitrate in drinking water can cause health problems for humans. In this study, simultaneous removal of fluoride and nitrate from aqueous solutions was investigated using a combination of electroreduction and electrocoagulation processes in a batch reactor with different electrodes.

In this study, at first, an optimum electrode was selected. Afterward, the effects of different operating parameters such as the current density (12- 36 mA/cm2), initial pH (5.5-8.5), NaCl concentration (0.5-1.5gr/L), and electrolysis time (15-120 min), on the removal of fluoride (initial concentration: 6 mg/L) and nitrate (initial concentration: 150 mg/) were evaluated, respectively.

The highest efficiency of the concurrent fluoride and nitrate removal with Al-Cu electrode and in optimal experimental conditions of the current density of 36 mA/cm2, pH of 7, NaCl concentration of 1gr/L, and electrolysis time of 90 minutes was obtained 87.04 and 89.70%, respectively.

High catalytic activity of the copper cathode resulted in better performance than other cathodes in the simultaneous removal of fluoride and nitrate. Generally, it can be concluded that the electrochemical process can reduce the levels of fluoride and nitrate to the amounts below the WHO standard limits, 1.5 mg/L and 50 mg/L, respectively.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Metalization-based Treatment (MBT) are two approaches to the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The present study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of dialectical behavior group therapy and metallization-based group therapy on reduction of the severity of symptoms in patients with BPD.

This is a single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial conducted on 36 patients diagnosed with BPD by a psychiatrist. They were examined by a semi-structured clinical interview. Data were collected from March 2017 to June 2017. The participants were categorized into intervention and control groups. Before, immediately and two months after the intervention, the participants filled out the Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index (BPDSI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) questionnaires.

The two group therapy based on MBT and DBT were effective in reducing the symptoms of borderline personality disorder equally (P=0.4). Both treatments were more effective than the control group receiving only medication (P<0.001). This improvement was persistent two months after the intervention (P<0.001).

The results of the study revealed that group psychotherapy based on metallization and dialectical behavior combined with pharmacotherapy is considerably more effective than treatment with pharmacotherapy. Metallization can be a common factor in any successful treatment of BPD.

The presence of quantities of dye chemicals in the textile industry effluent is clearly visible and harmful environmental impacts caused by chemical compounds are also as a noticeable challenge. Regarding this issue, control of the pollution has been considered.

In this study, an absorbent of Sodium Montmorillonite modified by Methylene Blue dye was used to remove Brilliant Red dye from the textile effluent. All batch experiments were carried out in 250mL of solution of 640 mg/L Methylene Blue with 2g of adsorbent and performed on a shaker with a shaking of 120 rpm; the precipitate was placed in an oven at 60◦C for 24 hours. The effective parameters on the adsorption including: pH, absorbance dose, dye concentration and contact time were optimized by using both one factor at a time technique and Central Composite Design method by designing 30 experiments with four variables (n=4 ) and two levels (low (-) and high (+)).

The optimal values of the influencing parameters such as pH, absorbance dose, dye concentration and contact time were determined at 6, 0.3 g, 80 mg/L and 60 min with an approximate 92% removal percentage, respectively. The results illustrated that the process was more consistent with Langmuir adsorption isotherm and pseudo-second kinetics equation.

The adsorption behaviors of the modified absorbent showed that the adsorption kinetics and isotherms were in good agreement with pseudo-second-order equation and the Langmuir equation, respectively. The potential for regeneration and reuse of the modified absorbent was proved by the desorption studies.

Malaria is one of the most important vector-borne diseases, a major health problem, and a serious cause of mortality around the world. Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) together with insecticide-treated nets is among the primary methods used for controlling and reducing the burden of malaria. The present study aimed to determine the appropriate time for malaria management based on entomology, vector abundance, temperature, and precipitation data.

The study data were collected using the entomological data existing in Kazerun’s health and treatment network and weather station between 2009 - 2016. The data were analyzed via time series models with monthly time intervals, which included 96 months. The following models were applied: Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA), Moving Average (MA), Autoregressive (AR), and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). Indeed, kriging approach was employed for interpolation of temperature and precipitation in the study points. All analyses were done using Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) software.

Temperature followed a similar trend in the six villages under investigation. It was predicted up to 20 months after the observations using MAmodel. Accordingly, the mean of temperature was 30 °C.The trend of precipitation showed great fluctuations; thus, the results of the precipitation model were not accredited. The trend of Anopheles abundance was predicted using ARMA in Jahad- Abad, Hakimbashi, Seyed Hossein, and Dadin and using ARMA in Khesht and Jareh. According to the results, Anopheles abundance followed a descending trend in the study regions. Considering the temperature trend and peak of Anopheles abundance in the areas under investigation, the best time for residual spraying was two weeks prior to the peak of Anopheles abundance within the temperature range of 25-30 °C.

Considering entomology and temperature data, two weeks prior to the peak of Anopheles abundance within the temperature range of 25-30°C was found to be the best time for residual spraying in order to prevent and control malaria. Other preventive and control measures, such as active case detection, timely treatment of patients, and public education should also be intensified at this time.

This research was conducted to evaluate antibiotic residues in raw milk samples in Sepidan, using ECLIPS 50 kit and TWINE SENSOR kit.

In this cross-sectional study, one hundred raw cow milk samples were randomly collected from different farms and milk factories in Sepidan and Beyza townships from winter 2017 to spring 2018. The ECLIPS 50 and TWINE SENSOR kits were used to monitor antibiotic residues in milk samples. The data were analyzed employing Chi-square test, using SPSS software version 20. The significance level was considered P<0.05.

In total, 100 raw milk samples were collected, of which 60 (60%) were from Beyza and 40 (40%) from Sepidan. A total of 95 samples (95%) were antibiotic-free and 5 (5%) contained antibiotic residual. 5 samples (5%) of ECLIPS 50 kit, 5 samples (5%) of TWINE SENSOR kit were shown to be positive, using both kits.

There was no difference between ECLIPS 50 kit and TWINE SENSOR kits in detecting antibiotics residue in raw milk samples. The positive samples in the two sets of kits were identical. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the two types of kits regarding the season and region.