Review Articles
Mohammad-Rafi Bazrafshan; Ahmadreza Eidi; Zahra Keshtkaran; Nasrin Shokrpour; Parisa Zand; Hamed Delam
Abstract
Background: In December 2019, a series of pneumonia cases of unknown cause appeared in Wuhan, China, which was very similar to viral pneumonia. In late January 2020, the World Health Organization named this disease the sixth public health emergency of international concern due to an increase in ...
Read More
Background: In December 2019, a series of pneumonia cases of unknown cause appeared in Wuhan, China, which was very similar to viral pneumonia. In late January 2020, the World Health Organization named this disease the sixth public health emergency of international concern due to an increase in the number of COVD-19 cases. This study was designed to determine different epidemiological and clinical aspects of COVID-19 worldwide. Methods: This is a review study. We searched for articles related to COVID-19 from December 20, 2019 to June 05, 2020. Two researchers performed the search separately, and finally articles containing information on coronavirus, its mortality and epidemiology and clinical characteristics of the patients were selected for review and extraction. Results: The results of various studies show that the most common symptoms of the disease include fever, cough and fatigue, and the most common respiratory symptom is Rhinorrhoea. Transmission occurs primarily when an infected person sneezes or coughs through respiratory droplets, such as the spread of influenza and other respiratory pathogens. Some studies have reported that the COVID-19 incubation period is an average of 4.6 days, ranging from 1.2 to 11.1 days and can potentially be asymptomatic. Conclusion: The significant increases in the morbidity and mortality necessitate prevention and control activities by educating people on important health issues such as staying at home, using clean masks and gloves, as well as performing proper and timely medical interventions.
Review Articles
Hamed Delam; Safoura Izanloo; Mohammad-Rafi Bazrafshan; Ahmadreza Eidi
Abstract
Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common female genital cancers. It accounts for about half of the one million new cases and one-quarter of all cancer deaths in women. The present study was designed to comprehensively identify the risk factors of cervical cancer using the results of similar ...
Read More
Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common female genital cancers. It accounts for about half of the one million new cases and one-quarter of all cancer deaths in women. The present study was designed to comprehensively identify the risk factors of cervical cancer using the results of similar studies. Methods: The present study was an epidemiological review study. Searches related to the epidemiology and risk factors of cervical cancer between April 2020 and May 2020 were conducted by two researchers at four Latin scientific databases (Google Scholar, PubMed / Medline, Scopus, ISI Web of Science). The two researchers examined the extracted articles and included articles that referred to the epidemiology and risk factors of cervical cancer. Results: The most important risk factors for cervical cancer included human papillomavirus, viral, fungal and bacterial infections, sexual behavior, smoking, pregnancy and childbirth, and other factors (family history and menopause earlier than 45 years). Conclusion: It is recommended that health issues should be considered, especially during sexual intercourse, HPV screening in women, as well as periodic examinations for women.
Original Article
Masoud Yousefi; Fatemeh Mesbahi; Iraj Abbasi; Mahboobeh Kousha; Kourosh Rahmani
Abstract
Background: Nowadays, in the world’s optimal management of science and technology, the use of geographical information system (GIS) is a necessity. In this study, GIS was used to analyze and detect microbial contamination in the water supply system of Masiri city. Methods:A cross-sectional study ...
Read More
Background: Nowadays, in the world’s optimal management of science and technology, the use of geographical information system (GIS) is a necessity. In this study, GIS was used to analyze and detect microbial contamination in the water supply system of Masiri city. Methods:A cross-sectional study utilizing spatial analysis techniques was conducted to find out the water quality problems of water supply system. In this descriptive-analytical study, 400 water samples from all groundwater resources of Masiri city were conducted during two periods of dry and wet season. Residual chlorine, MPN and E.coli of the samples were determinate. Results: Results were compared with national standards and analyzed using SPSS and ArcView software. Concentration distribution map in GIS and the factors affecting Residual chlorine, MPN and E.coli changes were investigated. According to the results obtained in ArcView, it is necessary to improve the microbial quality of Masiri water distribution network in some places, which can be improved by proper management of chlorination and defects. Conclusion:It is concluded that a combination of water quality parameters and GIS methods is very useful asGIS provides efficient capacity to visualize the spatial data.
Original Article
Hamed Delam; Kosar Zarebi; Esmaeil Kavi; Nasrin Shokrpour; Mohammad-Rafi Bazrafshan
Abstract
Background: Suicide is a multi-factorial phenomenon whose patterns can vary even from one place to another in one country; the purpose of this study was to determine the causes of suicide attempt in a 6-year period in Larestan County in the period between 2012 and 2017. Methods: The present study was ...
Read More
Background: Suicide is a multi-factorial phenomenon whose patterns can vary even from one place to another in one country; the purpose of this study was to determine the causes of suicide attempt in a 6-year period in Larestan County in the period between 2012 and 2017. Methods: The present study was a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study. In order to investigate the epidemiological condition of suicide attempters in Larestan, all files of suicide cases registered in the period between 2012 and 2017 in this city were investigated, and finally 723 cases were included in the study. For statistical analysis, independent t-test, chi-square and logistic regression models were used. A significance level of 5% was considered. Results: Of the total 723 suicide attempts recorded in the health network of Larestan, the mean age at suicide attempt was 26.08 ± 7.88 years and 3.73% of them had died as a result of suicide attempt. Drug abuse and poisoning were the most common methods of suicidal attempt. Based on the regression model, Increase in age, male sex, and physical problems were the most important factors in predicting suicide death (P<0.05). Conclusion: Various factors including age, male gender and physical problems contribute to suicide and deaths associated with it; therefore, the implementation of educational and counseling programs for these individuals, especially in adolescence and youth, and people with physical and psychological problems is essential.
Original Article
Mohammad Ansarizadeh; Tayebeh Tahamtan; Mostafa Leili; Masoud Yousefi; Ehsan Gharehchahi; Mohsen Kalantari
Abstract
Background: Among chemical dyes, Azo dyes, as environmental synthetic pollutants, are most commonly used in a bunch of different colors in different industries, especially in textile industry to a large extent. Methods: Due to some limitation and difficulties to remove these pollutants from the environment, ...
Read More
Background: Among chemical dyes, Azo dyes, as environmental synthetic pollutants, are most commonly used in a bunch of different colors in different industries, especially in textile industry to a large extent. Methods: Due to some limitation and difficulties to remove these pollutants from the environment, the biological filtering method, as the economically and optimal methods, are preferred. Using the Taguchi method and evaluation of such factors in the environment as temperature pH, color density and concentration of salt, we studied the optimal condition of Halomunas PTCC1132 bacteria decolorization in order to compare it with the Aryapress dye removal from aquatic environment. Therefore, 16 experiments were designed according to Array Table in 4 factors and 4 levels. The results were then analyzed using a computer the program named Qualitek-4. Results: The results showed that this salt, loving bacterium Halomonas strain PTCC1714, has the ability of bleaching in a wide range of salts till 20%, pH (5-9) and dye tolerance up to 5 gr/lit (500 ppm), and has the highest rate of decolorization in 100 ppm. Conclusions: According to the results with an optimal growth condition- the temperature of 40c, pH of 7.5, and the salt concentration of 10% up to 93% - the strain was capable of removing the Azo dye Aryapress color with the concentration of 100 ppm which is a considerable amount and can be used in biological treatment of industrial textile sewage.
Original Article
Serajeddin Mahmoudiani
Abstract
Background: Identifying the effect of the social environment in which couples live and the demographic decisions are made, along with individual characteristics, are important in explaining human fertility. In the present study, an attempt was made to explain women’s fertility in the six provinces ...
Read More
Background: Identifying the effect of the social environment in which couples live and the demographic decisions are made, along with individual characteristics, are important in explaining human fertility. In the present study, an attempt was made to explain women’s fertility in the six provinces using the multi-level analysis. Methods: The present study is a quantitative research with emphasis on the secondary analysis of the existing data.The statistical population consists of married women aged 15-49 living in the selected provinces. The sample included 95421 individuals. The selected provinces were Gilan, Mazandaran, Tehran, Sistan & Baluchistan, South Khorasan and Hormozgan. The census micro-data of population and housing in 2016 as well as some socio-economic indexes of selected provinces were analyzed using HLM software. Place of residence, educational level and employment status were individual variables, while income per capita as well as unemployment and literacy rates were the contextual variables. Also, the number of children ever born was considered as the fertility index or dependent variable. Results: The impact of individual variables on women’s fertility is stronger than community effects. There were statistically significant inter-provincial differences in women’s fertility. All the women’s individual characteristics had a statistically significant impact on their fertility. Unemployment and literacy rates, as contextual effects, had a statistically significant impact on inter-provincial fertility. Conclusion: The inter-provincial differences in the fertility originate from their socio-economic circumstances. If the provinces’ socio-economic circumstances become similar, the convergence in fertility behavior across provinces may increase.
Original Article
Leila Izadpanah; Hamzeh Alipoor; Marzieh Shahriari-Namadi; Kourosh Azizi; Mohsen Kalantari; Abouzar Soltani; Masoumeh Bagheri
Abstract
Background: Sandflies are the vectors of at least eight different diseases, the most important of which is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL is a major public health problem in Iran, with annual cases increasing to more than 20,000 in 2019. Fars Province has the second-highest number of cases with more ...
Read More
Background: Sandflies are the vectors of at least eight different diseases, the most important of which is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL is a major public health problem in Iran, with annual cases increasing to more than 20,000 in 2019. Fars Province has the second-highest number of cases with more than 3000 cases in 2019 in Iran. This study aimed to survey the fauna and different species of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in Fars Province, southwest Iran. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Sandflies were collected in urban and rural regions using the sticky-traps method, and then they were cleared and fixed in puris medium and identified using the pictorial key. Results: A total of 1071 of sandflies were collected. The dominant species consisted of 5 species of Phlebotomus (Ph. papatasi 55.4%, Ph. alexandri 17.4%, Ph.sergenti 5.6%, Ph. caucasicus 1.4%, Ph. ansari 0.46% and 6 species of Sergentomyia (Ser. sintoni 10.8%, Ser. antennata 5.4%, Ser. tiberiadis 1.4%, Ser. tobbi 1%, Ser. baghdadis 0.5%, and Ser. halepensis 0.09%. Conclusion: This investigation showed that Ph. papatasi was the most prevalent species playing a crucial role in the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Fars Province. Species of Ph. papatasi and Ph. sergenti are the main vectors of CL in Iran. The healthcare system must take steps to control cutaneous leishmaniasis, raise awareness of the disease, and apply effective ways to prevent it.
Letter to Editor
Mohammad-Rafi Bazrafshan; Maasumeh Elahi
Abstract
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), a cluster of acute respiratory illness with unknown causes, occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China since December 2019(1). COVID-19, a contagious disease, has spread all around the globe. It has affected almost every country on the planet (2). COVID-19 was declared ...
Read More
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), a cluster of acute respiratory illness with unknown causes, occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China since December 2019(1). COVID-19, a contagious disease, has spread all around the globe. It has affected almost every country on the planet (2). COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic on January 30, 2020 by WHO(3). This rapid growth in the number of infected people has enforced every country to take appropriate actions to control this disease(3). The most effective way to stop COVID-19 that human being had used to battle epidemics for hundreds of years is quarantine or isolation(4). Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. This definition differs from isolation, which is the separation of sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. The two terms are often used interchangeably, especially in communication with the public(5). In recent outbreak of COVID-19, many countries have taken various kinds of quarantine measures to slow down the explosive spread of COVID-19. Effective and reasonable quarantine appears to be able to slow the spread of the virus until research finds an effective medical treatment(4).The quarantine is proven to be effective against the disease, but there are some side effects which includes the effect on human psychology and world economic crisis(6). Findings of the study conducted by Nelson et al. indicated that mental health symptoms were currently elevated compared to historical norms, and that variation in these symptoms were associated with COVID-19 concern when compared to epidemiological data signifying objective risk. Loss of employment is associated with greater depressive symptoms and COVID-19 concern, and both anxiety symptoms and psychological concern about COVID-19 were the strongest predictors of self-quarantine behavior(7). Under such circumstances, vulnerable people may turn to ineffective defense mechanisms such as smoking, alcohol, and drugs to relieve their psychological pain(8). Therefore, although the pandemic threatens everyone, it is a particularly high risk to people with alcohol and drug use disorders. In fact, studies show that even the fear of job loss can increase the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs. Those who are unemployed are much likely to use drugs or alcohol and develop substance use disorders. Those in recovery are also more likely to return to substance use, and job loss is a substantial trigger for relapse(9, 10). Also, due to COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine, the psychiatric sessions and counseling of these people may be interrupted. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address the mental health issues of substance users during the Novel Coronavirus Disease pandemic and it is necessary to consider measures to prevent the occurrence and return of addictive behaviors. Conflicts of interest: Nothing to declare.
Letter to Editor
Ahmadreza Eidi; Hamed Delam
Abstract
In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, a group of acute respiratory illnesses was diagnosed with unknown etiology, which today is known as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) [1]. Coronavirus is a single-stranded RNA virus that affects both humans and animals. The disease spread rapidly throughout China ...
Read More
In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, a group of acute respiratory illnesses was diagnosed with unknown etiology, which today is known as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) [1]. Coronavirus is a single-stranded RNA virus that affects both humans and animals. The disease spread rapidly throughout China and other countries [2, 3]. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the outbreak of the new coronavirus as the sixth public health emergency of international concern [4]. In general, the first step in preventing the spread of infectious diseases is quarantine and isolation; in public health, quarantine means separating and keeping people at risk of contracting an infectious disease, including travel bans, daily commutes, and public gatherings. Isolation also means isolating the infected people [5]. For the first time, China's National Health Commission has implemented quarantine and isolation of people at risk and patients with COVID 19, and other countries have taken action following the outbreak [6]. Usually, people who experience quarantine have unpleasant feeling about it. Cases such as separation from loved ones, loss of freedom, insecurity about illness, and boredom can have many negative psychological burdens, for example disorders such as anxiety, depression, dysfunction, or unwillingness to work [7]. In addition to the fear and anxiety caused by the virus, other factors can negatively affect a person's mental health. One of these factors is Internet addiction [8]. The Internet is an essential and integral part of the new lifestyle. The term Internet addiction refers to the psychological dependence on the use of the Internet, which is a problematic behavior in human interaction with technology that can have significant effects on increasing stress, depression and social communication disorders [9]. In general, it can be said that three personal, social and internet factors play a role in Internet addiction. Personal factors are related to individual characteristics such as introversion, inability to communicate sufficiently, and low self-efficacy. Internet factors also include more time to use the Internet, easier access to the Internet, and superior Internet skills. Social factors also include low family support and sociological problems of the individuals. The important point is that the combination of social and personal factors can have a significant impact on Internet addiction [10]. Due to the prevalence of COVID 19 and home quarantine and lifestyle changes, Internet addiction is one of the disorders that can increase dramatically. On the other hand, Internet addiction can increase the chances of developing other mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Internet addiction can also endanger a person's physical health and reduce social, occupational, and recreational activities. Applying educational and counseling programs (virtually via the Internet and the media) to help reduce the psychological problems of Internet addiction and provide solutions in this course can be helpful.
