مجله طب پیشگیری
سال هشتم شماره 4 (پیاپی 24، زمستان 1400)

Azo dyes are considered a potential risk to the environment due to their widespread use in various industries as well as their toxicity. Therefore, effective removal of this pollutant from the environment seems to be necessary. The aim of this study was to investigate the process of heterogeneous Fenton with zero-valent iron particles in the removal of an azo dye.

The present experimental study was performed in 2019 in a laboratory scale in a batch reactor. In this study, the efficiency of heterogeneous Fenton-like process on azo dye removal was evaluated under different operating conditions (pH, contact time, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and dye concentration). The concentration of the studied dye was measured using a spectrophotometer.

The results of this study showed that the heterogeneous Fenton-like process in the presence of zero-valent iron particles can remove 97.3% of azo dye with the intital concentration of 50 mg/L at an initial pH of 6, hydrogen peroxide concentration of 6 mmol/L, and Fe particles dose of 0.5 g/L within 10 min of contact time.

In this study, it was found that azo dye can be effectively removed from the aqueous solution by heterogeneous Fenton method. Therefore, applictaion of zero-valent iron particles in the Fenton process is recommended for the effective removal of organic pollutants, especially dyes, from the aquatic environment.

Cervical cancer is a preventable cancer. Pap smear test is one of the screening methods for cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on Trans-theoretical model on participation in Pap Smear test.

This quasi-experimental study was performed in 2016 on 70 eligible women in Chatroud who were assigned to the intervention and control groups by simple random sampling. The data collection tool was a confirmed researcher-made questionnaire which was completed before and two weeks after the educational intervention. The training program was performed in 8 sessions in the form of lectures, questions and answers, group discussions, and Showing videoes for the intervention group. Data were analyzed using chi-square, paired t-test, and independent t-test in SPSS software version 16.

The results showed that the difference between intervention and control groups was not statistically significant in terms of demographic variables. Before the educational intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the stages of change (P-Value=0.094) and the score of perceived barriers (P-Value=0.23) between the intervention and control groups, but after the educational intervention this difference was significant (P-Value<0.001). Paired t-test also showed a significant difference between the scores of perceived barriers and benefits and self-efficacy before and after the educational intervention in the intervention group (P-Value<0.001). Howevere, in the control group this difference was not significant. Prior to the educational intervention, only 9 Pap Smears were performed in the intervention group, which increased to 25 after the intervention. There was a statistically significant difference between the behavior of performing Pap Smear test (P-Value=0.002) in the two groups.

The results of this study showed the significant effect of educational intervention on the stages of behavior change, decision balance, self-efficacy, and behavior based on Tran’s theoretical model constructs and promotion of performing Pap Smear test behavior.

Steel industries are considered as one of the most risky industries. Today, risk assessment is very   important in order to maintain the health of the workforce. This study assessed the risks related to various tasks in a steel industry using Job Safety Analysis (JSA) method.

This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 20 maintenance workers in a steel industry. MIL-STD standard was used to identify hazards and evaluate the risks related to the activities of maintenance workers. Job Safety Analysis (JSA) checklists were completed through direct observation and interview with operators. The data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical methods and control measures were suggested.

In total, 271 risks were identified. The results showed that identified risks were 5.1% at high, 32.4% at fairly high, 45% at moderate, and 17.7% at low level. More than one third of identified risks were considered to be unacceptable. The highest risk priority number was 3 with a frequency of 14 and related to the risk of exposure to noise above 100 decibels.

Based on the identification of hazardous activities of maintenance workers, priority should be given to control measures in the use of personal protective equipment, safety training, the use of occupational safety permits, and regular monitoring and inspection of equipment to prevent and reduce related risks.

Determining the survival rate of cancer patients is a prerequisite for development of prevention and treatment services and implementation of cancer screening programs. The aim of this study was to determine the survival rate of breast cancer and to investigate the related factors.

In the Cancer Registration Center of Hormozgan Health Department, 212 people with initial diagnosis of breast cancer had been registered. The Kaplan-Meyer method was used to determine the survival rate and determine the related risk factors using Cox proportional hazard regression model. For all tests, the error rate was considered 5%. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software (version 19).

The results showed that the five-year survival rate in patients with breast cancer is 80.2%. The risk of death is lower in people diagnosed in the early stages of cancer than in those diagnosed in the advanced stages (CI = 0.482-0.482: HR = 0.22). Risk of death in people with education of 8 classes and less was 0.267 (HR= 0.27, CI: 0.097-0.664) and in people with education of more than eight classes it was 0.254 (HR= 0.36, CI: 0.097-0.664).

According to the results of this study, implementation of screening program and early diagnosis of breast cancer in women with low levels of education, especially in the first level of the health system, is highly needed. In addition, prompt and timely referral of suspects is necessary.

The patients with arthritis rheumatoid suffer from vulnerable quality of life and self-efficacy due to this chronic disease and being engaged in therapy processes. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on quality of life and self-efficacy of the patients with arthritis rheumatoid.

The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design. The statistical population included the patients with arthritis rheumatoid who referred to rheumatology centers in Isfahan in 2019. Through purposive sampling method, 30 patients were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received eight seventy-five-minutes sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy interventions. Data collection tools in the study were quality of life (Ware and Sherbourne, 1992) and self-efficacy (Schwarzer and Jerusalem, 1981) questionnaires. The data were analyzed by ANCOVA test using SPSS ver. 23 software.

The results showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy has significant effect on quality of life and self-efficacy of the patients with arthritis rheumatoid (P-Value<0.001) and succeeded in increasing their quality of life and self-efficacy.

According to the findings of the present study it can be concluded that mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy can be used as an efficient intervention to improve quality of life and self-efficacy of the patients with arthritis rheumatoid through employing mindful attitude techniques and mindful activities, addressing problem-making feelings and emotions, and using breathing practices to manage anger.

Nitrate, due to its high solubility in water, causes pollution of groundwater resources, poses a serious threat to human health and causes eutrophication of water resources. The aim of this study was to optimize the use of modified pumice in the removal of nitrate from water.

This experimental study was performed in 2020 on laboratory scale. The experiments were designed using the Box-Benken method. The studied variables included pH (2-4), initial nitrate concentration (50-100 mg/L), contact time (15-45 min) and pumice dose (0.5 - 1.5 gr/L) at three levels. Thus, a total of 29 experiments were designed and performed. Experimental design and statistical analysis were performed using Design Expert 7.0 software. All examinations were performed according to the instructions provided in the latest edition of the Standard Methods for the Examinations of Water and Wastewater.

The results showed that the quadratic polynomial equation fitted well with the experimental data. Also, the liner effects of all four variables (including pH, initial nitrate concentration, contact time and modified pumice dose), as well as interactions effects and quadratic effects of each variable on the nitrate removal efficiency from water were significant (P-Value <0.05). The results of numerical optimization showed that the optinal conditions included pH of 2.01, initial nitrate concentration of 70.45 mg/L, reaction time of 44.98 min, and modified pumice dose of 1.21 gr/L. Under these conditions, nitrate removal efficiency, model desirability, and predicted R2 were 89.66%, 100% and 0.82, respectively.

According to the results, magnesium-modified pumice can be applied to remove nitrate from water. However, it should be mentioned that the pH of the water, after purification, must be modified with a suitable alkaline substance.

Prostate cancer has a negative impact on quality of life and stress and risk can exacerbate this negative impact. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between quality of life and its relationship with stress, anxiety, and depression in patients with prostate cancer.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 100 patients with prostate cancer referred to Shahid Labbafinejad and Shahid Tajrish hospitals in Tehran were selected by convenience sampling method and completed the patients' quality of life questionnaire and hospital depression anxiety scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. 

The mean scores of quality of life, stress, anxiety, and depression were 50.70±8.59, 14.60±4.13, 12.87±4.12, and 12.52±3.18, respectively. There was a statistically significant inverse relationship between quality of life and stress (-0.53), anxiety (0.312), and depression (-0.329).

Anxiety and depression reduce the quality of life of patients with prostate cancer. In addition to medical treatments, it seems that, beside medical treatment, the implementation of appropriate psychological interventions is necessary to increase the quality of life of patients with prostate cancer.

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based therapy on quality of life and psychological well-being in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The present study was of applied and semi-experimental type with three-month follow-up which conducted in 2020. The statistical population of this study included patients with type 2 diabetes referring to kish island medical centers. The sample consisted of 40 patients with type 2 diabetes who were selected by available sampling method and were assigned into two groups of acceptance and commitment therapy (n=20) and control (n=20). Participants completed Reef's Quality of Life and Psychological Well-Being Questionnaire. Acceptance and commitment therapy was performed in 8 sessions of 90 minutes and once a week for two months. Mancova method and analysis of variance with repeated measurements were used to analyze the data. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.

The findings of this study showed that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in improving the quality of life (P-Value<0.01) and psychological well-being (P-Value<0.01). The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy remained lasting after three months of follow-up.

Acceptance and commitment based therapy can be used to increase the quality of life and psychological well-being of patients with type 2 diabetes.