Iranian Journal of Health Sciences
Volume:9 Issue: 4, Autumn 2021

Currently, the high prevalence of COVID-19 and increased workload in hospitals has posed a threat to the physical, mental, and emotional health of nurses. The present study was an attempt to investigate the workload and its relationship with job stress of nurses in COVID-19 reference hospitals in southern Iran.

This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 on 431 nurses from COVID-19 reference hospitals in southern Iran. Data collection tools included the NASA workload and OSIPOW job stress standard questionnaires. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS23 Software and at a significance level of 0.05

The mean age and work experience of the nurses participating in the study were 31.03±5.23 and 6.42±4.61, respectively. The mean scores of the workload and job stresses were 83.64 ± 17.24 (of 100) and 236.68 ± 16.54 (of 300), respectively. Mental load dimension (85.81 ±19.31, of 100) among workload dimensions and role workload dimension (43.62 ± 19.14, of 50) among job stress dimensions had the highest mean score. Thus, there was found a statistically significant relationship between workload and job stress of nurses (P= 0.04, r= 0.19).

Workload and job stress of the studied nurses were estimated at a high level. There was a significant positive correlation between these two variables, and increasing workload resulted in an increase in job stress.

Vibration caused by ventilation systems in buildings is one of the harmful physical factors that can cause harm to residents. Therefore, measuring and controlling vibration is important.

 In the first step of the study, the vibration accelerometer was placed on the base of a fan where the vibrations were sent toward the duct wall. A vibration assessment of the building was conducted in the other steps to compare with guidelines. In the next step, the isolation method was used to control vibration. By placing the isolator on the duct wall, the accelerometer was located on the body of the duct wall and the value of vibration was measured in a millimeter per second. All stages of the experiment were performed in the Faculty of Health of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2018.

The maximum vibration velocity reduction in the building was related to the frequency of 68 Hz, which reached 33 mm/s after isolation. In addition, the fan vibration at 485 Hz was equal to 2.1 m /s, which decreased to 2 mm /s after isolation.

Comparison of vibration after fan isolation with standard showed that this method has been effective in reducing the fan vibration resulting in the vibration to reach below the standard.

COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge for improving health during the lockdown. Unfortunately, the concern which is expressed for the welfare and the health of the elderly contradicts the actions undertaken for their health and welfare. The psychological research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic rarely includes the people over 60 years old. Hence, the purpose of the current study was to compare emotional wellness and psychological health of active and inactive old adults in Shahrood city with an emphasis on physical activity during COVID-19 pandemic. The subject of the present research is an interdisciplinary one.

The current study was a practical descriptive survey. The statistical population of the research was all the elderly aged over 60 years in Shahrood in 2020 (based on the latest census equal to 17173 people). The sample size was estimated based on the Cochran formula following the convenience sampling method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using SPSS and Excel Software.

The findings indicated that the level of emotional wellness and spiritual well-being of active old adults was more than that of inactive old adults, and inactive old adults had higher levels of unpleasant feelings than active old adults.

Based on the findings, it is essential that the elderly keep doing the recommended amount of exercise and physical activity. Although this could be challenging for them both to have access to sport clubs and parks and to follow health protocols, there are extensive creative activities that could be replaced in order to stay healthy and active at home.

The Phytoremediation efficiency of heavy metals is one of the important points in environmental studies. This research was conducted to investigate the effect of cow manure, elemental sulfur, and EDTA on Cd uptake by Indian mustard in a Cd-polluted soil in the presence of Thiobacillus thiooxidans.

Treatments consisted of applying cow manure (0, 5, and 10 g/kg soil), soil application of elemental sulfur (2 g/kg soil), and Cd-polluted soil (0 and 20 mg Cd/kg soil) with 1.5 mmol EDTA/kg soil in the presence of Thiobacillus spp. After 90 days, the Indian mustard plant was harvested and plant Zn, Fe, and Cd concentrations were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy. In addition, soil microbial respiration was measured.

The use of 2 g/kg soil of elemental sulfur significantly increased the plant Cd concentration in the presence and absence of Thiobacillus by 14.2 and 11.7%, respectively. Adding cow manure to the soil at the rates of 5 and 10 g/kg soil significantly increased the plant Cd concentration by 15.7 and 18.1%, respectively. Also, the application of EDTA chelate at the rate 0f 1.5 mmol/kg soil significantly increased the Cd concentration of the plants grown in the Cd-polluted soil (20 mg Cd/kg soil) by 13.6%.

The results of the present study showed that using elemental sulfur in the Cd-polluted soil can increase the Cd concentration of the plant which was cultivated in the soil amended with cow manure in the presence of Thiobacillus bacteria. However, the role of soil physic-chemical properties on phytoremediation efficiency cannot be ignored.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acute aerobic exercise and 14-days grape seed extract supplementation on total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation, and muscle cell damage biomarkers in untrained males.

In a randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled study, twenty-two male students (age 19±1 years, weight 67.44±7 kg, BMI 22±2, V̇O2max 39±2 ml/kg-1/min-1) were randomly assigned to two groups of grape seed extract and placebo (PLA) (GSE: 200 mg/day for two weeks). After subsequent 14-days of supplementation, subjects did a single session of aerobic exercise (running) on the treadmill at 75% VO2max for 30 minutes. Blood samples were taken 3 times: prior to supplementation (baseline), 14-days after supplementation, and immediately after exercise (post-exercise). Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lactate were measured. TAC was determined by ABTs method. The collected data were then analyzed by running analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measure and Bonferroni post-hoc tests as appropriate using SPSS17 at p<0.05.

Malondialdehyde, CK, LDH, Lactate were significantly increased after aerobic exercise (p<0.05). Short-term GSE supplementation significantly prevented MDA and CK cascade after exercise compared to PLA (p<0.05) but, it had no significant effect on basal parameters (p>0.05). The exercise had also no significant effect on total antioxidant capacity in any of the groups (p>0.05).

Aerobic exercise could increase blood oxidative stress biomarkers and GSE supplementation, due to the influential antioxidant effect; yet, it could attenuate exercise-induced oxidative stress in men.