Current Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Autumn-Winter 2022

Light and brightness are the first environmental factor for any type of activity. The other physical factor that has been considered in recent years is sound. Noise/sound and light can affect the quality of human performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the intensity of light and sound in the Faculties of Babol University of Medical Sciences.

Among 4 selected faculties, 25 classrooms and 25 offices were randomly chosen. The intensity of light was measured (both natural and artificial). The light level was measured using the S724997 device, whose metering sensor was mounted at a height of 24 in. (60 cm) from the floor. Sound was measured in classrooms during two periods of the presence and absence of students and university staff members. The sound level was measured using a sound level meter (SLM). Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.

The mean sound intensity of the classrooms at the time of the presence and absence of individuals was 59.10 dB, 59.09 dB, and 48.53 dB, respectively, which was higher than the standard. The mean light intensity was 445.44 and 535.93 lux in the classrooms and office, respectively, which was standard.

The results of this study indicated that the sound level was higher than the standard at all places. The light level was near-minimum standard in most places that should be improved. Therefore, because of the importance of these two issues, the necessary measures should be taken to remove the defects.

The immediate spread of life-threatening diseases such as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) can put a great deal of strain on healthcare professionals. Considering the important role of healthcare workers during the epidemic and the impact of life-threatening diseases on them, this study aimed to assess the general health of healthcare workers during the first peak of COVID-19 epidemic in Iran, and to investigate the factors affecting health status of the study population.

In this prospective pre-post observational study, the healthcare workers of South Khorasan province, Iran formed the target population. Data collection was initiated on May 9th, 2020, which is between the two peaks of the epidemic in Iran (March 31th, and June 4th). In this study, 173 individuals were entered the study. The data collection tools included a 28-item version of the Goldberg Standard General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a demographic checklist. Data were entered into SPSS v.22 for analysis at the significance level of P ≤0.05.

This study was conducted on 173 healthcare workers with an age range of 20-66 years and a mean and standard deviation (SD) of 35.2 ± 8.9 years. The mean total score of the GHQ-28 was 16.1 ± 7.9 one month before the COVID-19 epidemic, while it increased by 5.0 points and reached 21.1 ± 11.2 during the epidemic (P <0.001, effect size = 31.0%). Adjusted R-squared values for the somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, severe depression, and social dysfunction subscales and the GHQ-28 were 32.8%, 55.5%, 72.3%, 11.6%, and 38.4%, respectively.

The scores of the GHQ-28 and its four subscales raised significantly during the COVID-19 epidemic compared to the previous month, showing that the health status of healthcare workers was deteriorated. Also, rotational work shifts along with experiencing nonspecific symptoms of COVID-19 could adversely affect the health status of healthcare workers.

Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound derived from Curcumin longa L. There is growing body of data showing the antitumor effect of curcumin in different cancers; however, its efficacy is limited by its low absorption rate. Here, we investigated the antitumor activity of turmeric oleoresin alone or in combination with paclitaxel in MCF-7 cells in monolayer cell cultures and spheroids models.

The antiproliferative activities of 3 different form, curcumin, phospholipidated curcumin, and turmeric oleoresin were assessed by MTT assay. The migratory behaviors of the cells were determined by migration assay before and after treatment with curcumin. The expression levels of CyclinD1, P65, Nf-kB, and E-cadherin were studied.

Curcumin suppressed cell growth in MCF-7 cells via modulation of CyclinD1 and NF-KB, which was more pronounced with turmeric oleoresin. Curcumin was able to reduce the invasiveness of MCF-7, compared to control cells through perturbation of E-cadherin.

We demonstrated the antitumor activity of curcumin and curcumin oleoresin in breast cancer cells, supporting further investigations on the therapeutic potential of this novel anticancer agent in in vivo models.

Diabetes is a common metabolic disease that increases the risk of mortality of COVID-19. This study was done to compare the clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters of COVID-19 in diabetic patients using different glucose-lowering drugs to find out the proper predictors of disease severity.

157 diabetic patients with confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in three groups according to the antidiabetic medications used before admission (metformin, insulin and sulfonylurea).

In 157 diabetic patients, the hospitalization length in the metformin group was lower than the no metformin group while duration of hospitalization and critical form of the disease in the insulin group were higher than the no insulin group. Furthermore, the levels of blood sugar, BUN, ALT and WBC were lower in the metformin group while ALP, ALT, BUN and creatinine levels were significantly higher in insulin group. In sulfonylurea group the levels of BUN and ALT were lower compared to the no sulfonylurea group. We also found that BUN and total bilirubin were the proper parameters to predict COVID-19 severity and mortality in metformin and insulin group respectively.

It seems that the outcomes of renal function test, bilirubin and O2 saturation are important parameters to predict COVID-19 severity in diabetic patients using different antidiabetic medications.

In humans, viruses cause respiratory infections that are usually mild, including the common cold, or sometimes it can be fatal. The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, China was more expansive than initially estimated, with cases now confirmed in several countries. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 in different age groups.

This cross-sectional study evaluated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 219 throat and nasal swab samples using Real-time PCR. All samples were collected from people with respiratory symptoms who went to the grand bazaar.

Of 219 patients examined, 19 (8.6%) positive cases out of 219 for SARS-CoV-2 were found by using Real-time PCR. Among these 19 positive cases of SARS-CoV-2, 6 (2.7%) were under 5, 3 (1.3%) were between 5-18, 4 (1.8%) were between 18-50 and 6 (2.7%) were over 50 years old respectively. Most common symptoms in positive group was cough (89%) and despite other age groups, in patients over 50 years old, myalgia and diarrhea was common.

It seems that SARS-CoV-2 symptoms can vary in different age groups but unlike other age groups, in elderly, uncommon symptoms like eyes redness, myalgia and diarrhea seems is seen following COVID-19 infection

Determination of best preventive approach for gastrointestinal bleeding in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patients with high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding is crucial. This study aimed to determine the effect of pantoprazole on prevention of gastrointestinal bleeding in ACS patients with high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

This randomized clinical trial was performed in emergency department of Imam Hussein Hospital in Tehran, Iran between 2018 and 2019 among 1276 consecutive ACS patients with high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.The participants were randomly received either pantoprazole 40 mg or famotidine 40 mg daily. The melena, hematemesis, hematochezia, and hemoglobin level were compared across the groups after one month.

The results in this study demonstrated that melena was seen in 1.1% and 3.8% in pantoprazole and famotidine groups, respectively with significant difference (P=0.002). Hematemesis was seen in 0.6% and 1.9% in pantoprazole and famotidine groups, respectively with significant difference (P=0.044). Also, hematochezia was seen in 0.3% and 0.8% in pantoprazole and famotidine groups, respectively without significant difference (P=0.452). The mean hemoglobin was 11.98 and 11.82 in pantoprazole and famotidine groups, respectively with significant difference (P=0.021).

This study showed that pantoprazole (versus famotidine) is effective for prevention of gastrointestinal bleeding in Acute Coronary Syndrome patients with high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Since it has been proven that physical activity (PA) during pregnancy plays an important role in pregnancy health and outcomes, identifying and understanding the physical activity level among pregnant women and associated factors such as socio-demographics, Obstetric characteristics are the first step in designing optimal interventions. The present study aimed to describe the prevalence of physical activity, also to identify the association of physical activity with demographic and obstetric characteristics as well as the quality of sleep.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 220 pregnant women who were referred to health centers in Babol, Iran. Physical activity, socio-demographics, obstetric characteristics, and quality of sleep were measured by questionnaires.  BMI was calculated by anthropometric measures.

Only one-sixth (16.9%) of the women in this study had physical activity as World Health Organization (WHO) recommended for pregnant women. There was no significant association between demographic characteristics and physical activity level during pregnancy. There also was no association between physical activity levels and sleep quality. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between maternal obstetrics characteristics such as gestational trimester, gravidity, and the number of children with physical activity levels (P<0.05).

Pregnant women have inactive lifestyles and most of the physical activities were done during the performance of household activities. Healthcare professionals and midwives should take action to encourage pregnant women to increase their physical activity levels during pregnancy.