مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
سال نهم شماره 7 (پیاپی 42، مهر1394)

Some intestinal infections are caused by pathogens that enter the gastrointestinal tract of humans by consumption of contaminated food. A set of proteins are involved in colonization of E. coli O157:H7 in the large intestine, some of which initiate this phenomenon and their absence prevents it. The aim of this study was cloning and recombinant expression of C-terminal polypeptide of intimin, with a length of 300 amino acids, as a vaccine candidate against E. coli O157:H7. Specific primers for eae gene were designed using Oligo software version 7.0 and gene amplification was performed by PCR from template DNA. Enzymatic digestion and gene ligation were performed in pET28a(+) vector. Recombinant expression of intimin was done by IPTG inducer following the cloning confirmation. Western blotting analysis was performed to confirm the intimin protein. Cloning of eae gene in the pET28a (+) vector was performed appropriately among desired sites, and intimin protein had a proper and significant recombinant expression after the induction. Also, the antibody used in western blotting could identify intimin. In this study, a stable construct containing eae gene was synthetized, which showed an appropriate recombinant expression of intimin protein. Therefore, this construct can be used to produce intimin protein for immunization studies against E. coli O157:H7.

Hemodialysis is the most common method of treatment for end stage renal disease. The hemodialysis dialyzers are divided into low-flux and high-flux. This study aimed to compare the effects of these two dialyzers on patient’s comfort and hemodialysis complications in end-stage renal dialysis patients. In a clinical trial, convenience and complications (variations of blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, itching, headache, and fever and chills) of 30 eligible patients were assessed during hemodialysis in two groups with low- and high-flux dialyzers. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, paired t-test, and Chi-square were analyzed. The significance level was considered to be p<0.05. In this study, 70% of the patients were male and 30% were female, and the mean age of the samples was 47.4±10.7 years. The blood pressure significantly decreased in dialyzers (p<0.001), but there was no statistical difference between the dialyzers (p>0.05). The incidence and severity of hemodialysis complications did not show any statistically significant changes between the two dialyzers, (p>0.05). The patient’s comfort was higher with high-flux dialyzer, but it was not significant (p>0.05). According to the results of this study, in the case of no statistically significant differences in the incidence and severity of complications and also the importance of dialyzers in hemodialysis patients, it is recommended that high-flux filter be used in dialysis wards.

Nanotechnology is one of the sciences, which despite its wide range of applications has some disadvantages that have challenged its use. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of chronic consumption of silver nanoparticles on thyroid gland and pregnancy in rats. In this experimental study, 14 pregnant rats were divided into 2 groups of 5 and 9 (control and experimental). The experimental group received nanosilver by gavage at a constant concentration of 16 ppm for 30 days. Then, thyroid hormone levels were determined by ELISA technique, and thyroid gland was examined pathologically. Data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney Test. The significance level was considered as p<0.05. In this study, T4 levels significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. However, the levels of T3 and TSH showed no significant difference in comparison with the control group. Also, in the pathological assessment, there was no evidence of lesions caused by exposure to nanosilver, and all newborns were healthy. According to the results of this study, nanosilver accumulated in the thyroid tissue was probably lower than the level that could cause any histopathological changes. Also, nanosilver did not cause any adverse effects on the pregnancy. Therefore, increased T4 level in the experimental group compared to the control group, is probably due to impaired T4 deiodination.

Burnout is a physical-psychological syndrome, which causes physical exhaustion, depression, lack of efficacy, absenteeism, and reduced performance. Work stress is the main cause of burnout, so identifying important stressors causing burnout in workplace is important. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the role of workplace stressors on increased burnout in workers of an industrial environment. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted cross-sectionally on 149 employees of an industrial workplace in 2013. In this study, data collection tool was demographic, job stress, and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaires. Information was gathered as a semi-supervised self-report. Data analysis was performed using Pearson’s correlation test with a confidence level of 0.95. In this study, in the case of domains of job burnout, 17.4% of the participants had moderate and high depersonalization, 19.5% had moderate and high emotional exhaustion, and 15.8% had poor personal performance. Also, no Individuals were in the range of severe burnout. There was a significant relationship between individual variables (suffering from chronic disease, accident, education, and work experience) and burnout. Four dimensions of job stress, including communication, demand, role, and changes had the highest effect on increasing burnout. According to the findings of this study, lack of friendly communications at workplace, work characteristics and workload, lack of familiarity of employees with organization's goals and their duties, and also their position in the organization, way of organizing employees, and work changes are of the most important stressor factors, which have effect on creating and increasing burnout.

Previous researchs has shown that exercise and antioxidants consumption have positive effect on oxidative stress. Therefore, this study was carried out aiming at investigating the effects of 12 weeks of exercise on a running wheel, with and without consumption of the extratct of Eriobotrya japonica flowers, on MANF level in the cerebellum of rats subjected to 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Rats were divided into 6 groups: Base, control-treatment, training-healthy, training-treatment, extract-treatment, and training-extract-treatment. Training groups were housed individually in cages with attached running wheels, and the extracts group received 200 mg/kg bw of the extract, 3 times per week during the research period. The 6-hydroxydopamine solution (250 mg/kg bw) was stereotaxically injected into intracerebroventricular (ICV) region of the brain. MANF levels in the cerebellum were measured by ELISA. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc LSD test. In this investigation, the voluntary training on running wheel along with consumption of the extract significantly prevents the decrease in MANF levels in pre-treatment groups, (p=0.031) and (p=0.022). The difference between the control-training group and supplementation group as well as other four groups was statistically significant (all p<0.05). The results of the present study showed that pre-treatment with voluntary training or extract of Eriobotrya japonica flower increases neuroprotection against the stress induced by ICV injection of 6-OHDA.

To achieve excellence, organizations are inevitable to establish evaluation and management systems. One of the evaluation models is Excellence Diamond Model. The present study was carried out to evaluate the performance of Deputy of Training, Research, and Technology of Qom University of Medical Sciences based on this model, and to identify the priority areas to pay attention and take action. This study was performed as a descriptive cross-sectional study in 2013. Data collection tool was the standard questionnaire of excellence diamond, which was completed by academic members and head quarters staff of the Deputy and affiliated schools. The validity of the questionnaire was determined based on the expert's viewpoints, and its stability was confirmed by experts and specialists. Data were analyzed using t-test, standard tables of Excellence Diamond Model, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and Friedman’s analytical test. In this study, all variable of the model were desirable, but they did not have the same rank, and the priority of criteria was respectively as follows: Staff criterion with the mean rank of 5.5; services quality, 5.1; service strategy, 4.6; information management, 4.3; leadership, 4.2; flexible organization structure, 4.2; creative organization culture, 3.8; and customer-orientation, 3.8. The findings of this study indicate that all variables of Excellence Diamond Model are desirable in the Deputy, but they did not have the same rank, and this deputy requires improvement in some criteria, including staff, leadership, information management, and service quality. Twenty-one prioritized areas were identified for taking action. Also, according to the results, the weakness and strength points as well as the areas to be improved could be determined as a guideline for management policy-making.

Over the last two decades, the prevalence of type2 diabetes (T2DM) has more than doubled worldwide. Researches have shown that with changes in lifestyle, especially diet, the incidence of complications of diabetes could be reduced. Understanding the beliefs of diabetic patients can result in more effective interventions to change their lifestyle. This study was performed to evaluate the health action process approach (HAPA) for explaining healthy dietary behavior in diabetics.

The current study was conducted as a descriptive study according to the HAPA. Data were collected by psychometric scales administered to 141 diabetics living in Isfahan city. The studied constructs were intention, outcome expectancies, risk perception, action self-efficacy, action and coping planning, maintenance self-efficacy, and dietary style. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The results of structural equation modeling revealed that the health action process approach adequately fits with the dietary behaviors in diabetic patients. Action self-efficacy construct was the best predictor of intention. Action planning mediated the effect of intention on action behavior. The results indicated that action planning (β=0.019, p<0.009) and maintenance self-efficacy (β=0.044, p<0.01) were the constructs that significantly predicted behavior.

According to the results, the health action process approach can be used as a framework for interventions promoting dietary behaviors among type 2 diabetics.

Addiction to SMS, as a disorder and psychological trauma caused by contemporary technology, has attracted the attention of psychologists, sociologists, and the scholars of education. This study has been conducted with the purpose of determining the correlation between addiction to SMS and depression in the students of Qom University of Medical Sciences.

The present research was performed as a descriptive cross-sectional study on 300 students of Qom University of Medical Sciences through simple random sampling method using Igarashi Standard questionnaire for addiction to SMS and Beck Questionnaire of Depression. Data were analyzed using inferential statistical tests of independent t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient at a significant level of p<0.05.

In this study, 89.9% of the research samples were in the age group of 18-22 years, 71.3% were girls, 86.2% single, and 63.4% indigenous; 28.1% of the students were addicted to SMS, and no significant correlation was found between addiction to SMS and depression in the students (p<0.05) (r=0.024).

Considering the results of this study, it is worth to pay more attention to the phenomenon of addiction to SMS in students, and authorities should plan for appropriate culture-making and the accurate teaching of proper use of mobile phone at university.