Iranian Journal of War and Public Health
Volume:15 Issue: 61, Autumn 2023

Bronchial asthma is a chronic bronchospastic disease of the lung airway and one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in childhood and adult age groups. This study aimed to investigate the role of antibiotics in managing acute asthmatic attacks in patients admitted to Al-Mawani General Hospital in Basrah, Iraq. 

This cross-sectional study was conducted on acute asthmatic patients admitted from January 2021 to January 2022 in Al-Mawani General Hospital in Basrah, Southern Iraq. Out of the patients, 70 subjects were selected by random sampling according to the Cochrane formula. The patient’s records were retrieved from AL-Mawani General Hospital. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test through SPSS 18 software.

There was just a significant difference in the frequency of hypertension in comparing the goodness of fit between the subjects (p=0.045). There was an inverse relationship between the duration of hospitalization and single and combined medicine therapy by antibiotic. There was no significant association between the duration of asthma and single/combined medicine.

 Amoxicillin and ceftriaxone as an additional treatment to standard therapy of acute severe asthma effectively reduces hospitalization of asthmatic patients.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and determine its correlation with the body posture of FARAJA employees.

This descriptive correlation study was conducted on 360 FARAJA employees in Yazd City in 2019, who were randomly selected from different ranks. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to collect the necessary information, and the Phi coefficient was used to determine the correlation level.

Among the 360 employees, 277 people had one or more musculoskeletal disorders (76.9%). Overweight had a weak correlation with the being in the Line or Staff (φ=0.20). Also, it correlated to the rank (φ=0.58). Neck disorder was correlated to the rank (φ=0.28). Neck, back and low back disorders had a weak correlation with overweight (φ=0.2). The bent position of the head and neck while working was correlated with musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, shoulder, back, and low back (φ=0.2). Observance of correct sitting was correlated to neck and back disorders (φ=0.20). There was a significant correlation between awareness of correct sitting and neck and knee disorders. Sitting percentage had a moderate correlation with the shoulder (φ=0.36) and knee (φ=0.41) disorders.

The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among FARAJA employees in Yazd city is 76.9%. The level of awareness of the correct body postures during work and their observance is correlated to the type of disorder, and there is a significant correlation between disorders with overweight and job rank.

Nowadays, infertility problems impose a heavy burden on many developing countries. Previous studies have shown that the testes are a target organ of cadmium poisoning, which may explain the decline in male fertility. On the other hand, many studies have shown protective and antioxidative properties of silymarin against adverse effects of chemotherapy medications and environmental toxins in sperms and oocytes. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the protective effect of silymarin against cadmium nanoparticle-induced toxicity in the reproductive system of rats.

In this experimental study, 60 male rats weighing 190±10g, aged 90 days, were divided into six groups of 10 each. Rats of each group received cadmium (10mg/kg body weight) and silymarin (200 mg/kg body weight), for 14 and 28 days, according to the experimental protocol. After killing the male rats, blood tissue samples were collected, and their serum was separated. Then luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone were evaluated by the ELISA method. Also, serum levels of antioxidants, including malondialdehyde, glutathione, and superoxide dismutase were investigated.

After nano-cadmium treatment, the levels of male sex hormones, including luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone, as well as the levels of antioxidants, including malondialdehyde, glutathione, and superoxide dismutase, decreased. However, after a longer period of time (14 and 28 days, respectively), the levels of hormones and antioxidants improved significantly due to the effect of silymarin (p<0.05).

Silymarin significantly reduces cadmium-induced reproductive damage in rats.

Amis: 

Wound infections are one of the most important problems in human life. Continued use of antimicrobial agents against wound infections leads to the appearance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains. Flaxseed has important pharmacological properties against various diseases. This study aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of flaxseed extracts against different bacteria isolated from wound infections.

This experimental study used phytochemical screening for flaxseed extracts. Also, the agar well diffusion method was used to examine the antibacterial activity of aqueous, ethanolic extract, and flaxseed oil (200, 100, 50, and 25mg/ml) against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Phytochemical screening for the crude aqueous and ethyl extracts of flaxseeds revealed alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, steroids, phenolic compounds proteins, and carbohydrates. Aqueous extract showed inhibition zones only for Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis at 50, 100, and 200mg/ml. All the concentrations of the ethanolic extract showed inhibitory effects against all tested bacteria. The maximum antibacterial effect of ethanol extract on aqueous extract was 200mg/ml. Also, 200mg/ml of flaxseed oil had the most powerful inhibitory effects on all tested bacteria

Flaxseed ethanolic extract and flaxseed oil have an inhibitory effect against different species of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria isolated from wound infections.

Iraq used chemical weapons in the war with Iran, in military and civilian areas. Due to the long-term effects of these weapons, Considering over 35 years after this eight-year war, the number of chemical warfare victims is increasing. This research aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of chemical warfare victims by province.
Instrument &

This descriptive-analytical research study was done using data obtained from the General Department of Statistics and Information Technology of the Martyr and Veteran Affairs Foundation. The data of chemical casualties includes the number; place of residence, gender, and type of injury in 2021 that were analyzed using SPSS 20 and ArcGIS software and Moran's test.

The total number of veterans in 2021 was 601330; 10.7% of them were chemical victims. Tehran (11%), Isfahan (9.67%), and Khorasan-Razavi (6.92%) provinces had the highest, and Hormozgan (0.39%), South-Khorasan (0.66%), and Sistan & Baluchistan (0.77% provinces) had the lowest. The spatial distribution of chemical warfare victims showed a cluster pattern.

The consequences of Iraq's use of chemical weapons can be seen in all of Iran’s provinces, and all provinces have chemical victims. Tehran, Isfahan, Khorasan Razavi, Kerman, West-Azerbaijan, and Khuzestan have more chemical victims than other provinces.

Assessment of cardio-protective potential of celastrol against sepsis-induced cardiac injury in mice.

A twenty- four Swiss albino mice aged between 6-8 wks., weighted between 20-30 g were included in this study. They were randomly divided into 4 groups, each of 6:Sham group: laparotomy without cecal ligation and puncture( CLP), Sepsis group: (laparotomy with CLP), Vehicle group: Treated with equivalent volume of DMSO i.p. 1 hr. before CLP, Celastrol treated group: treated with 2 mg/kg  i.p. 1 hr before CLP. Animals were sacrificed after 24 hrs. Blood samples then aspirated for assessment of cardiac troponin and CK-MB by spectrophotometric assay. Part of cardiac tissue was used for assessment of the levels of TNF, IL6, IL10, F2-Isoprostane, and TLR4 by ELISA method, another part was used  for assessment of the degree of cardiac tissue damage by histo-pathological analysis.

Significant cardiac damage was noticed in sepsis group (P≤ 0.05) as compared with sham group manifested by significant elevation in inflammatory markers( TNF, IL6, TLR4) and oxidative stress marker( F2-Isoprostane) as well as cardiac troponin and CK-MB, with significant reduction in IL10.
Pretreatment with celastrol was resulted in significant reduction in TNF,IL6, TLR4,  F2-Isoprostane, troponin,  and CK-MB with significant elevation in IL10 as compared to sepsis group.
In the same manner significant histological damage was encountered in sepsis group as compared to sham, while celastrol treated group exhibit minor histological damage as compared to sepsis group.

Celastrol have a cardio-protective effects against cardiac injury induced by endotoxemia.

Teamwork is an essential necessity for triage in war by healthcare science students and providers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects Online Micro Learning Interdisciplinary Education (OMIDE) about war victim triage on triage-related knowledge and practice of healthcare science students.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2021 with a single-group pretest-posttest design. Participants were eighty male medical, nursing, and medical emergency students. They were purposively selected from a medical sciences university in Tehran, Iran, and randomly allocated to ten interdisciplinary WhatsApp groups. The intervention of the study was online micro learning video-based education about war victim triage provided through the ten WhatsApp groups. Participants’ knowledge and practice respecting war victim triage were assessed before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention using a war victim triage knowledge questionnaire and six scenarios about war victim triage practice, respectively. The SPSS software (v. 22.0) was used to analyze the data through the repeated measures analysis of variance.

The mean of participants’ age was 23.07±1.51 years. The mean scores of knowledges and practice respecting war victim triage significantly improved across the three measurement time points (P < 0.001).

Web-based OMIDE is effective in significantly improving healthcare science students’ knowledge and practice respecting war victim triage.

The incidence of mental disorders continues to rise annually, a trend that is exacerbated by the inability to detect early mental health issues in the community and the inadequate reporting of such conditions. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of interventions that distribute culture-based cadre empowerment modules in order to improve cadres' early awareness of mental health issues.

In this experimental study, 102 mental health personnel were divided into an intervention group (n=51) and a control group (n=51). Culture-based cadre empowerment training via discussion forums and modules constituted the intervention. The participants were evaluated by independent assessors both prior to randomization (T0) and in a posttest following eight weeks of intervention (T1).

The posttest findings and follow-up assessments, which were analysed statistically, indicate a significant improvement in the cadres' capacity to identify, oversee, mobilise, and document mental health issues in the community. The p-value was found to be less than 0.05. In contrast to the control group, there is typically no observed increase.

Culturally based cadre empowerment is an effective intervention to increase mental health cadres' ability to detect mental health in the community. Culture-based cadre empowerment is a short, easy-to-use, group-based intervention and is easy to implement in various environments.

Aims The purpose of this study was to evaluate GPS daily dependability to establish the consistency of V02max, HRmax, total distance, decelerations and accelerations done, metabolic power, relative velocity, high-speed running, and high-intensity metabolic power distance in recreational soccer.
Materials & Methods Thirty patients were included (age, 37.4 ± 2.3 years, weight, 75.8 ± 4.3 kg, height, 168 ± 5.2 cm, BMI, 28.2 ± 2, VO2max, 37.5 ± 2.5 ml.kg.min−1). The soccer matches (four on four games) were played on an artificial grass outdoor field (pitch size 40 343 m). Participants finished the match in 60 minutes and repeated the identical match a week later. Several criteria were included in the analysis: V02max, HRmax, total distance, decelerations, and accelerations, metabolic power, relative velocity, high-speed running, and high-intensity metabolic power.
Findings We discovered a high level of dependability in various metrics, including total distance (ICC = 0.56), accelerations (ICC = 0.53), mean HR (ICC = 0.71), high-speed running (ICC = 0.65), and metabolic power (ICC = 0.54).
Conclusion This study's findings demonstrated high absolute dependability and modest and inconsequential impact sizes

Garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.), a member of the Cruciferae family, is widely planted across the world, especially in India, Europe, and the United States. It has been respected as a key medicinal plant from the time of the Vedic culture. Lepidium sativum Linn. seeds were tested for their efficacy as an antibacterial agent against pathogens found in food. The active components were extracted from the powdered dry seeds using chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol, and dichloromethane. The antibacterial activity of various doses of the extracts was evaluated using agar well diffusion. We also estimated the MIC and MBC for the most effective extract using the tube dilution technique and the subculturing method, respectively. One of the most common mosquito species that carries Plasmodium falciparum is the Anopheles gambiae sensu lato, which may be combated by sprinkling fields with Lepidium sativum seeds. Scientists have begun to extract essential oils from Lepidium sativum and evaluate their bio-potential against juvenile and adult Anopheles gambiae as part of an attempt to identify ecologically viable vector control tactics. Based on the findings, it is clear that L. sativum essential oil effectively kills An. gambiae. Although field application on a wide scale is necessary for An. gambiae population control, more work has to be done in formulation and assessment.

The present work seeks to ascertain certain immunological and biochemical characteristics in thalassemic individuals who have contracted giardiasis. A total of 50 patients (21 males and 29 females) and 20 healthy controls were investigated. Of patients group, twenty-five were thalassemic and had giardiasis. Other 14 patients were thalassemic and free of giardia infection, and the rest 11 patients were non-thalassemic but had giardia infection. Five ml of venous blood from each participant was withdrawn to determine WBCs, neutrophil activity, levels of IL-6, iron, ferritin, and transferrin. The findings revealed that there is considerable increases in the level of interleukin-6 in the three groups of patients (28.20, 23.29, and 30.94 pg/ml), respectively, which were significantly higher than that in healthy controls (16.09 pg/ml). In patient groups, there was a notable rise in WBCs but a notable fall in neutrophil activity. Additionally, a substantial increase in iron and ferritin was found in the data, although transferrin was shown to be lower in the sick group than in the control group.

The aim of study is to evaluate military medical services, identify problems and develop suggestions, evaluating medical services in Russia-Ukraine War as a hybrid warfare.
Materials & As a descriptive study, the research was revealed by examining on scientific articles published between September 2021 and October 2023, obtained by searching the sentences "Military Health Services in the Russia-Ukraine War", "War Casualties in the Russia-Ukraine War". Additionally, military medical literature and military medical news from China, Iran, United Kingdom, Belarus and United States were examined and interpreted.
Russia-Ukraine war differs from conventional wars and counterterrorism operations in terms of military healthcare. Diversity of front depth, frequency of mass and politraumas, difficulties in medevac, the loss of medical personnel were found to be noteworthy as the main problems for both Russia and Ukraine in this expanding hybrid war. Attacks on health facilities and medical personnel were one of the basic attack strategies in this war also, as in all wars.
Medical examination and vaccination for attending to army, medevac distances, safety of medevac routes, loss of medical facilities and medical personnel, lack of communication between medical units, load of medical facilities which deployed in route migration mandatorily, non-standardized first aid applying and absence of medical intelligence are main problem areas about medical services in Russia -Ukraine War. It has been stated that the military medical system is an important power protector and "Force Multiplier".