فصلنامه ابن سینا
سال بیست و پنجم شماره 3 (پیاپی 84، پاییز 1402)

Awareness about the epidemiological status of the disease in nursing homes is required for achieving accurate information about the disease status, its control among the high-risk groups, and proper policies. Due to the lack of a similar study in Iran, the current study was aimed to determine the prevalence and trend of COVID-19 infection in nursing homes in Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

In the current cross-sectional study, the studied data included the total number of elderly and non-elderly residents, the number of staff, the number of new cases, the number of deaths, and the number of performed tests separately in staff and residents. Statistical methods such as simple proportions with 95% confidence interval (CI) and line plots were used to analyze the data.

The overall prevalence of COVID-19 from the beginning of the epidemic to the beginning of December 2020 was 26% (95%CI: 25 27). The prevalence among staff was 23.7% (95%CI: 21 25). Also, among the elderly and non-elderly residents was 50.16% (95%CI: 48 52) and 9.33% (95%CI: 7-11), respectively. The highest number of cases occurred in November.

It seems that the pattern of infection occurrence in nursing homes is affected by the prevalence of the disease in the general population, but due to the vulnerability of residents living in nursing homes, prevention the infection from entering and spreading within  these centers requires fundamental planning.

Recently, new solutions have been presented to increase the well-being of people in different jobs, the extent of their effectiveness is unknown; so the present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and paradoxical time table therapy (PTC) on the psychological well-being of nurses

This was a semi-experimental study with pre- and post- tests and control group. The statistical population of the present study was made up of all 125 nurses who met the criteria for entering the study working in different departments of Military medical centers in 2023. Totally, 45 nurses working in different wards of a military medical center in 2022 were selected as available sample and were randomly assigned to three groups of 15 people (two experimental groups and one control group). ACT group participated in eight individual- 60-minute sessions and PTC group participated in six individual 60-minute sessions; but there was no intervention for the control group. The short form of Ryff psychological well-being questionnaire was used. To analyze the data, multivariate covariance analysis and Tukey's post-hoc tests were used.

The findings showed that ACT and PCT have an effect on the psychological well-being of nurses (p≤0.01). But ACT is more effective than PTC on psychological well-being (p≤0.01).

This research provided practical findings for mental health professionals regarding the greater effect of ACT on psychological well-being.

Probiotics are living microorganisms that, if prescribed in sufficient quantity, have beneficial effects on the host's health. Consuming a large number of live bacteria increases the possibility of infection and inflammatory reactions, especially in people with a weak immune system. Therefore, in recent years, new terms such as postbiotics have been added to the literature of researchers. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial effect of the culture supernatant of three probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium as a postbiotic on the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria in laboratory conditions.

In order to conduct this experimental study, three probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium lactis as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were cultivated. Based on the standards, the lack of contamination of probiotic culture was checked and finally, after preparing the culture supernatant of probiotics, the effect of each probiotic strain on inhibiting the growth of Pseudomonas bacteria was compared to the negative and positive control.

  The greatest inhibition of growth was achieved by Bifidobacterium bifidum. (16/33±1.52mm). No significant difference was observed between groups Bifidobacterium bifidum and positive control. The synergistic effect between probiotics was not seen.

Probiotics and postbiotics can act as natural antibiotics against harmful pathogens. For appropriate and targeted exploitation, it seems necessary to identify a strain with a better effect on each pathogen.

Fatty liver is one of the increasing diseases. Since changes in the gut microbiome causes fatty liver, taking probiotics may help to maintain gut microbial balance. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of probiotics consumption along with high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the ratio of liver enzymes (AST/ALT) in rats with steatosis.

In this experimental study, 40 male rats with an average weight of 200 to 250 grams were randomly divided into 5 groups of 8 (including healthy control, steatosis, HIIT+steatosis, probiotic+steatosis, HIIT+ probiotic+steatosis). They received high-fat emulsion (10 mg/kg/day) to induce steatosis. The probiotic consumption groups received 109 colonies/ml of Lactobacillus rhamnosus bacteria by gavage daily for 5 weeks and 5 days a week. The ratio of AST/ALT in the groups was compared.

The ratio of AST/ALT in the steatosis group was higher than the healthy control group. However, this ratio in steatosis+exercise+probiotic group compared to the steatosis group had the highest decrease than the other intervention groups which shows the positive effect of probiotic consumption and HIIT on improving rats with steatosis (p=0.001).

Lactobacillus rhamnosus probiotics foods consumption along with HIIT led to reduce the ratio of liver enzymes in mice with steatosis.

Low back pain is one of the most common reports among people in society. The present study aimed to determine the effect of a course of “Barre au sol” exercise on pain, endurance, and movement patterns of men with non-specific chronic back pain.

Totally, 26 middle-aged men (30-45 years old) with non specificchronic back pain were purposefully selected and randomly divided into two experimental (n=13) and control (n=13) groups. The “Functional Movement Screen” (FMS) and “Nine Test Screening Battery” (9TSB), McGill Torso Endurance Tests, and visual pain scale (VAS) were used to check movement patterns, trunk endurance, and pain levels of participants, respectively. Both groups received common physiotherapy treatments (posture correction in different postures and physiotherapy modalities). In addition to these treatments, the experimental group participated in the  Barre au sol training program for eight weeks (three sessions per week and one hour per session). In the present study, the covariance test was used for between-group comparison and the correlated t-test was used for within-group comparison. 

The results of the study show the effect of exercise program on reducing pain (p≤0.01), improving trunk endurance (p≤0.01), FMS screening tests (p≤0.01) and 9TSB (p≤0.01).

Barre au sol exercises have been effective in reducing pain, improving trunk endurance, and functional screening tests in patients with non-specific chronic back pain. Based on this, it is recommended to use this exercise program to reduce pain and generally improve performance for these patients.

Improper management of hospital waste has become a major concern in many developing countries. The present study was conducted with the aim of ranking the health-environmental and management criteria of hospital waste using the multi-criteria decision-making approach of ANP-TOPSIS.

This research is a qualitative study. After identifying and determining the health-environmental and management criteria of hospital waste, the validation of criteria was done using the Delphi method and using a questionnaire. SPSS software was used for data analysis. In order to weight the criteria and sub-criteria, the Analytical Network Process (ANP) technique and Super Decision 2.2 software were used. Then, TOPSIS method was  used to evaluate and prioritize the identified sub-criteria.

Totally, 11 criteria and 44 sub-criteria were validated by Delphi method. Results indicated that “the participation of nursing assistants in separating infectious and non-infectious waste” (by weight of 0.705), “the participation of nurses in waste disposal” (by weight of 0.659), and “decontamination using hydroclave method” (by weight of 0.633) were found to be the first three main controlling health-environmental sub-criteria in waste disposal, respectively. Also, the sub-criteria of “participation of nurses in educational programs”,  and “participation of nursing assistants in educational programs”, and “changing the purchasing chain in reducing waste production” were identified as the most effective management criteria in reducing waste production, with scores of 0.778, 0.748 and 0.718, respectively.

Based on the obtained results, encouraging employees to participate in waste separation and management training, modifying the purchasing process with an emphasis on reducing hospital waste production, as well as regular and continuous monitoring can improve the effective implementation of waste management practices in hospitals.

In challenging maneuvers with fighter aircrafts, the sensory stimuli are variable in terms of size, direction, and frequency; so there is always the possibility of some kind of sensory mismatch between these elements or between them with the central pattern of balance, which can lead to an illusion in understanding the situation. This condition is called spatial disorientation or airsickness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of balance rehabilitation program on vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) of military pilot students suffering from spatial disorientation.

Totally, 10 pilot students who suffered from airsickness were subjected to otological and neurological examinations. Pre-tests were conducted to check the health of the vestibular system including audiometry, tympanometry, and videonystagmography. Then rehabilitation exercises were performed in three stages, including exercises to improve oculomotor skills, improve VOR, and desensitization using a rotary chair at frequencies of 0.11, 0.25, and 0.50 Hz. Two weeks after the intervention, the students were evaluated by MISC questionnaire and Coriolis stress test.

VOR gain increased significantly after rehabilitation interventions (p=0.005). Also, the results of the MISC questionnaire showed a significant improvement in the scores (p=0.005). This means that the VOR gain had increased significantly after two weeks of treatment.

The use of a rotary chair for the purpose of evaluating, predicting, and treating airsickness is very helpful and it is suggested to be used routinely in the air force.

Stragol herbal composition and aerobic exercise may have additional positive effect on inflammation process after myocardial infarction (MI). So, this study aimed to analyze the effect of aerobic exercise and stragol consumption on plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10 following a MI in male Wistar rats.

Male wistar rats were subjected to coronary artery occlusion surgery and then MI was confirmed by electrocardiography. Totally, 32 male rats (aged 8-10 weeks) were randomly devided into four groups. The aerobic exercises has lasted for six weeks (three training sessions in every week). Stragol consumption group as well as combined group have received 9.58 mL/day of stragol drop. The data has been analyzed according to one-way ANCOVA test and Bonferroni test.

None of the interventions had a significant difference on IL-10 and TNF-α. But there was a significant impact between the adjusted mean IL-6 in all studied groups (p=0.003). The aerobic exercises and stragol had no significant impact on IL-6 separately whereas the combined intervention decreased IL-6 following a MI in rats (p=0.003).

It seems that aerobic exercises and administration of stragol drops is a combination that can improve the inflammatory state after MI.

Shooting plays an important role among the acquired skills of soldiers and is considered one of the main criteria for measuring their capabilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of training interventions on shooting performance in both military and sports fields.

National and international databases from the beginning to April 2022 were searched. In addition, a manual search and a complete review of the sources of the articles were also performed.

After reviewing the entire text of the articles, 22 full-text articles were selected that investigated the effect of training interventions on shooting performance in both military and sports fields. The meta-analysis results showed that training interventions have a significant effect on shooting performance both in the military field (p=0.001) and in the sports field (p=0.001).

In the current review study, it was found that training interventions have a significant effect on improving the performance of shooters in both military and sports fields. In addition, the results of this review study showed that all interventions can have a positive effect on improving the performance of shooters. Also, the results showed that both physical and mental training interventions are effective in improving shooting performance; Therefore, it is recommended to use them  together to improve shooting performance in both military and sports fields.

Undesirable consequences due to war are imposed on the entire system of the society, and one of them is the environmental consequences. Considering the importance of this subject, the present study was performed to address the impact of war on environmental health, focusing on the bio-environmental consequences of Iran-Iraq war.

In this review study, the search was conducted using the keywords “environmental pollution, consequences of air pollution on the environment, Iran-Iraq war” and their Persian equivalents in the national and international scientific databases until the end of 2021. Articles that were not in line with the purpose of the research or were published in the form of “letter to the editor” were excluded from the study. Out of 35 searched articles, 11 related were selected.

The results of the reviewed studies showed that the war between Iraq and Iran has caused damage to the water ecosystem, the drying up of large wetlands, marine environmental pollution, air pollution, and the dissemination of toxic dust, soil pollution and reduction of pastures, and turning them into salt lands.

Considering the importance of environmental health in war zones, removing environmental pollution near these zones should be prioritized. Therefore, the authorities should identify and analyze the problems with a close cooperation with eachother to provide appropriate solutions for prevention and effectively controling of the environmental pollution.