[Relationship of conicity index, waist circumference, body mass index and physical activity with lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus]

Cardiovascular diseases are the main causes of death in diabetic patients and lipid disorders are among the main risk factors for these diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of Conicity index [CI], body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC] and physical activity [PA] with lipid levels and to determine the best anthropometric measurement predictor of lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes. A cross sectional study was conducted on 700 patients with type 2 diabetes. Measurements including weight, height, WC, BMI, CI and PA were obtained for each subject and fasting serum triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], HDL-cholesterol [HDL-C] and LDL-cholesterol [LDL-C] were documented. Overall, 97% of men and 95% women had abnormal CI. About 84.5% of participants had BMI over 25 [kg/m2]. In addition, 55.3% of men and 88.5% of women had abdominal obesity based on WC. There was significant increases in TG, TC and LDL-C and reduction of HDL-C with increasing CI quartiles. BMI showed significant and positive correlation to LDL-C. The correlation between WC and TG and LDL/HDL were also significant. PA showed a positive and significant correlation to HDL-C and negative correlation to BMI, WC, CI, and LDL / HDL in all subjects. CI, BMI, WC and PA have significant correlations to blood lipid disorders in type 2 diabetic patients and can be used in screening and predicting the risk of lipid disorders in type 2 diabetic patients. None of the measurements however showed a stronger relationship to these disorders in patients with type 2 diabetes

[Human factors affecting the application of information technology by TUMS middle managers in 2010]

One of the most important reasons why organizations are distinguished from one another is the degree of application and implementation of information technology in their organizational activities. In this regard, individual factors contribute considerably to the application of information technology [IT]. Such factors include employees' perceptions and attitudes towards information technology and their demographic characteristics which affect the level of information technology acceptance and implementation. In this cross-sectional study, 110 middle managers from teaching hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences [TUMS] were chosen. A structured questionnaire was used as the data collection device and its validity and reliability were confirmed by a pilot study. Of the participants, 62.9% were males and 37.1% were females. The findings show that there is a statistically significant relationship between perception and making decisions based on the implementation of information technology. However, there was no significant relationship between work experience, education and training on the one hand and IT implementation on the other. The results show that human factors [perception and decision] have a considerable impact on the implementation of information technology. Top managers and experts should consider the important aspects of human factors and also the factors affecting them

[Comparison of ordinary and multilevel logistic regression in determining goiter related factors in children]

The aim of this research was comparison of multilevel and ordinary logistic regression in determining goiter related factors in children, based on hierarchical structure of the data. Data of 35747 schoolchildren, aged 8-10 years, was collected in 2007 by the Research Institute of Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Stratified and cluster random sampling methods were employed in 30 provinces across the country. Goiter status, sex, area of residence, altitude from sea level and status of Iodized salt storage in households were documented. Multilevel logistic regression model was applied and the results compared to those obtained using ordinary logistic regression. The study showed that 5.74% of the pupils suffered from goiter. The variance of the 2nd level [districts] was estimated as 0.941 [SE=0.092] in the two-level model[p<0.001], in which no significant relation was seen between goiter and altitude from sea level [OR=1.27; 95%CI: 0.78, 1.62]. in the three-level model, the variance in the third level [provinces] was 1.031 [SE=0.287] [P<0.001]. In the final three-level model, only sex and area of residence were found to be significant. results showed that, compared to two and three level logistic regression models, the variances of parameter estimates are underestimated in the ordinary logistic regression

[Internal evaluation in Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences]

Evaluation is a systematic process for collecting, analyzing and interpretation of the obtained information for the purpose of investigating how many the objectives in mind can be achieved. Education in an academic educational system means bringing about proper and increasing changes that affect the outcome of this system, that is affecting the students, and the aim of such evaluation was promotion of the quality of an education process. In this study faculty of nursing and midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, benefiting from opinion poll of university lectures, student and graduates have evaluated their system of educational in the year 2004 and their aim was to remodel and adjust educational system with the society's needs and promotion of the quality of such educations. The employed method was cross sectional and descriptive and analytical on the basis of 10 procedural steps and within 8 sections dealing with evaluated factors. Such as faculty board members, management and organizational capability, students, manpower and logistic affairs, educational environments research work centers, health and therapeutic sections, educational equipment, research equipment, laboratory and diagnosis centers, educational courses and programs, teaching and learning process as well as satisfaction expressed by students. the results of the research showed that general average of 8 investigating sections, based on SWOTs model were respectively 80.4% [nursing department], 81.5% [Midwifery department] and 82.1% [Ph.D nursing] that may well be interpreted as a desirable research work. Educational evaluation is the best indicator showing how much we should go to achieve certain aims, analyzes quality of the activity if such a system and by which we achieve logical and routine results