ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Teachers, by creating a culture of health within their classrooms, are agents of change and have an important role during students’ formative years. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an educational intervention on the nutrition literacy of primary school teachers in Yasuj. Methods: In this quasiexperimental study, 110 primary school teachers in Yasuj, who were randomly selected from two areas of the city (intervention and comparison groups), were included in the study. Nutrition literacy was measured by using a validated tool for the Iranian society. After analysing the data, the educational content and structure were developed to improve nutrition literacy. The intervention consisted of two training sessions, provision of educational pamphlets and sending of two SMS messages. Data were analysed before and three months after the intervention by using SPSS16 software. Results: Before the intervention, the mean ± standard deviation of nutrition literacy in the comparison and intervention groups were 27.04±3.15 and 27.25±3.27, respectively. According to repeated measures ANOVA, nutrition literacy score improved significantly three months after the intervention (p time = 0.001). Besides, there was a significant difference between the two groups (p group = 0.03). The interaction between time and group was also significant (p time × group = 0.001). Conclusion: The educational intervention led to an improvement in the nutrition literacy of primary school teachers in Yasuj.
ABSTRACT
Background: Cancer is the third cause of death in Iran and its incidence is rising alarmingly. However, a study reported that Kohgilooyeh and Boyerahmad [a small province in Iran] seems to have substantially lower incidence rate of cancer compared to the other parts of the country. This study is conducted to investigate the epidemiological features of cancer regarding three key factors [sex, age and sites of cancer]
Methods: The data collection strategy for this study is similar to the Iranian National Cancer Registry programme
Results: For the study period [2007-2009], 660 eligible cases of cancer were reported to Kohgilooyeh and Boyerahmad's National Cancer Registry provincial office with average annual age standardized rate [ASR]=64.58 per 100000 [74.95 per 100000 and 45.85 per 100000 for men and women, respectively]. The five leading primary cancer sites for both genders in K and B are skin, stomach, blood, bladder and breast. Regarding the sex specific incidence rates of cancer, the skin, stomach, bladder, blood and prostate in men and the skin, breast, stomach, blood and ovary in women are suggested to be the five leading sites of cancer. The trends of age-site specific incidence rates of skin cancer obtained in the current study are essentially similar to what is expected
Conclusion: Compared to the national and international figures, significant differences were found in the age-site specific rates of cancer in the province
ABSTRACT
Date Palm Pollen [DPP] and Astragalus genus are used in some countries for the treatment of infertility. This study was designed to investigate effects of DPP and Astragalus ovinus [A. Ovinus] on fertility in healthy adult male rats. Thirty-six rats were divided into six groups [n=6] including control and five treatment groups. DPP [120, 240 and 360 mg/kg] and A.ovinus [100, 500 mg/ kg] were orally given to the treatment groups. After thirty-five days, blood samples were taken to determine serum levels of FSH, LH, testosterone and estradiol. Weight of testis and epididymis, sperm count, sperm motility, seminiferous tubules diameter [STD], germinal cell layer thickness [GCLT], sertoli, leydig and spermatogonia cells were also evaluated. DPP at the of 120 and 240 mg/kg doses significantly raised the ratio of testis or epididymis to body weight, sperm count, sperm motility, and estradiol level compared to the control group [p<0.05]. LH and testosterone levels only noticeably increased at 120 mg/kg of DPP [p<0.01 and p<0.001 respectively]. STD increased in the three applied doses [p=0.001]. A. ovinus extract at the indicated doses produced a significant reduction in the ratio of testis or epididymis to body weight and sperm motility [p<0.05]. Sperm count, spermatogonia, leydig cells and FSH level decreased at dose of 500 mg/kg. Furthermore, GCLT, spermatogonia cells, and serum estradiol level increased at 100 mg/kg dose of A. ovinus. Our findings indicate that DPP could improve fertility factors, while A. ovinus can exhibit deleterious effects on gonad and sperm parameters in rats