نشریه طب انتظامی
پیاپی 1 (تابستان 1391)

To measure five scales of fatigue: i) general, ii) physical, iii) reduced activity, iv) reduced motivation, and v) mental. As well as to examines the impact of age, education, cohabitation, work history and disease on fatigue.

We randomly selected 250 traffic policemen from 15 districts of Tehran as particiants in this study. To identify fatigue, we used the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) questionnaire, before and after the morning shift. Sociodemographic variables were also collected. Descriptive statistics, student's t-test, and ANOVA analysis were performed by SPSS.

Based on the data achieved before beginning shift work, general fatigue (13.5) and reduced activity (7.7) had the highest and lowest fatigue levels, respectively. We noted similar results at the end of the shift among subjects. Fatigue scores in all scales were significantly lower in the morning. There was a strong association between fatigue and cohabitation, work history, disease, tinnitus, sports and eye glasses (P ≤0.05).

The results of the present study show the prevalence rates of fatigue among traffic policemen and its interaction with some sociodemographic variables. Future studies should investigate the effects of additional factors to clarify the etiology of fatigue.

This study intends to research the leadership styles (relationship oriented, task oriented) and communication skills (wordiness, listening, feedback) of managers and their effects on employees mental health at NajaValiasr Hospital in Tehran. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted in 1389 that enrolled 285 cases of hospital managers and employees. Subjects were selected by a relative random classical sampling procedure. The instruments used in this study were: i) Metzecas Standard Leadership Style Questionnaire; ii) Barton G.E. Communicative Skills; and iii) GHQ-28, a mental health questionnaire. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient test, multipul regression test and the MANOVA test by SPSS16. There was no significant relationship between leadership style and communicative skills of managers with relation to employee's mental health. There was a positive association between relationship-oriented style and the social malfunction of mental health, which was significant (P<0.05). Leadership style and communication skills of managers were not significant predictors for employee mental health (P>0.05). According to the different dimensions of mental health, the dimension of depression differed significantly among males and females (P<0.05). Based on the research findings, conducting workshops to familiarize managers with leadership styles and their impacts as well as workshops for improving employee mental health are recommended.

This study aims to detect the ipaD plasmid in Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and evaluate the invasive ability of a live, attenuated Shigella dysenteriae type 1 generated from deletion of the ipaD plasmid. The attenuated strain was tested in guinea pigs. We performed biochemical and antibody tests in addition to PCR analysis, to identify the strain and serotype of an isolated Shigella strain. The plasmid version of the ipaD gene was recognized. We generated a live, attenuated Shigella serotype by deletion of the plasmid version of the ipaD gene, which was confirmed by the above mentioned tests. Absence of the ipaD gene was assessed in a PCR reaction and compared to the wild type strain. Various dilutions of cultured bacteria were prepared and colony numbers counted. We prepared specific dilution which was appropriate for conducting the keratoconjunctive test. We used 6 guinea pigs that were divided into two groups, control (n=3) and experimental (n=3). C Invasion capability of produced strain was evaluated by keratoconjunctive test in guinea pigs.The produced live attenuated Shigella dysenteriae type 1 was confirmed through serological tests and PCR. Absence of ipaD was confirmed. Results of keratoconjunctive test has shown that this strain lost its ability to invade host cells. The plasmid version of ipaD gene plays a critical role in Shigella invasiveness. Deletion of mentioned gene reduces the invasion ability of these bacteria. Therefore, Live attenuated ΔipaD shigella dysenteriae can be an appropriate candidate to produce vaccine against shigellosis.

The present model is designed to evaluate the management of organizational performance in NAJA hospitals. We undertook this applied descriptive survey in seven NAJA hospitals in Iran during 1390. We considered the most common evaluation models and distributed the questionnaire amongst experts. The initial model was designed in two parts, enabling and results. The enabling section consisted of learning and development, corporate and resources dimensions, whereas the results section contained dimesions of customer results, preparedness and response. To determine the content validity, experts evaluated the questionnaire which was then completed by 40 professors in the fields of medicine and management. In order to measure construct validity, we applied the converging-diverging and Spearman correlation tests; internal consistency was used for reliability assessment. To prioritize the components, we used the Friedman tests. Data analyses were performed by SPSS version 19. According to content validity assessment, we omitted some factors from the model and modified others. Results of correlation tests showed positive and significant relations between components and dimensions. Reliability analysis indicated acceptable results which made the designed model appropriate for future studies. The results of the Friedman test demonstrated the first priority of culture and learning, in addition to medical and ethical values in this model. This study suggested that the Balanced Scorecard and Organizational Excellence Models are an integrated approach to improve hospital performance evaluations. The obtained results may assist managers and customers in health and medical care, particularly the NAJA hospitals in making appropriate decisions and enabling them to use suitable strategies in the future.

The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between interpretation of traumatic brain CT scans between emergency medicine and radiology physicians.

This was an analytic cross-sectional study undertaken at Hafte-Tir Hospital in Tehran, Iran. A total of 72 brain CT scans were read by emergency medicine and radiology physicians during the first 6 months of 1389. The interpretations were compared. We used SPSS software for analysis and data from both groups were compared with the kappa coefficient.

The interpretation of emergency medicine and radiology residents from 49 brain CT scans were similar (68.1%). The kappa coefficient was calculated to be 0.596. (P=0.031)

Despite the fact that the emergency medicine residency is somewhat new in Iran, the emergency medicine specialists could increase their knowledge of relevant branches of medicine such as radiology. Because of the differences in interpretation, it is necessary to have additional education and radiology courses in an emergency medicine residency program. These courses can invite experienced emergency medicine or radiology department physicians.

The aim of this study is to produce a recombinant antigen from the envelope protein of dengue virus serotype 1, as a dengue vaccine candidate. Therefore, we intend to study expression efficiency of domain III in a bacterial host. We used the following software: Megalign (sequence alignment); Modeller (protein structure prediction), and Optimizer (coding gene sequence optimization). The optimum coding sequence was synthesized and cloned in a pET21 expression vector. Stable protein expression and optimization of antigen production was performed in an Origami strain of E. coli. A consensus sequence for the domain III of dengue virus serotype 1 was produced by multiple alignment of sequences and named EDIII1. Next, we predicted EDIII1 properties by using bioinformatic software. To achieve a high expression level in the bacterial host, the coding sequence of this protein was optimized for appropriate CAI and GC content. The optimized gene was synthesized and cloned at the NdeI and XhoI sites of the pET21 expression vector in an E. coli DH5α strain. In order to have efficient protein expression and the formation of disulfide bounds, we optimized expression of EDIII1 in the Origami strain. Protein purification, using Histag affinity chromatography columns was performed and the results identified by Western blot analysis. The results of this study showed the efficiency of a bacterial system to highly express domain III of the dengue virus envelope protein.