[Effect of Gestalt therapy on assertiveness of nursing students]

Introduction: Assertiveness, is one of the life skills that effects on increasing self-esteem, logical expression of thoughts and feelings, reducing anxiety, improving social communication skills and supporting human rights and finally increasing life satisfaction and happiness

Objective: This study aimed to determine effects of Gestalt therapy on assertiveness of nursing students

Methods: The pilot of study is situated on clinical trial research experiment, from side to side pre and post control group. Among 80 nursing students enrolled in Nursing and Midwifery school of Islamic Azad University Najaf Abad in 2013-2014 who trained in the field, all those who could not expressed themselves were 36 subjects which measured with ASA scale and 24 subjects who want to enter to the research were separated randomly into experimental and control group. Experimental group consisting of Gestalt therapy, two-hours per session for 8 sessions, were trained. The control group did not receive the interventions. Therefore data analysis performed compairing the mean scores, paired t- test and Independent T Test

Results: In experimental group, the mean scores of assertiveness after intervention increased significantly [P<0/001]. The mean scores of assertiveness of the control group showed no increase significantly [p=0/4]. Comparison between mean score of assertiveness after and before of intervention in experimental group with control group was significant [p<0/005]

Conclusion: Gestalt therapy is effective on increasing of assertiveness. Thus, according to the results of this research, the methods of psychotherapy could be useful and might select, to reduce beliefs and ineffective components

[Effect of chrysin on AGS human gastric cancer cell line]

Chrysin is a natural and active biological component which is extracted from plants, honey and propolis. Chrysin has anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidant propertis. This study was done to evaluate the effect of chrysin on AGS human gastric cancer cell line. In this descriptive - analytic study, chrysin was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO] and the cytotoxic effects of concentrations of 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 ,50, 60, 70, 80, and 100 µM/ml of chrysin on AGS cells was evaluated. Viability of the cells was determined with MTT assay after 24, 48 and 72 hours and compared to controls. Chrysin inhibited the growth and proliferation of human gastric cancer AGS cell line. The antiproliferative effect of chrysin was dose and time dependent. The IC50 values were determined for 60, 30 and 20 µM, in incubation time of 24, 48 and 72 hour, respectively [P<0.05]. Chrysin proved to have antiproliferative activity on human gastric cancer cells in culture medium

Challenges of implementing Iranian national laboratory standards

After four years of publishing the Iranian National Laboratory Standard and following a strategic plan to implement its requirements, it was decided to review the taken actions, evaluating the achievements and the failures, as well as analyzing the gaps and planning the interventional activities to resolve the problems. A thorough evaluation revealed that the progress of implementation process varies considerably in different provinces, as well as in laboratories in different public and private sectors. Diversity and heterogeneousity of laboratories throughout the country is one of unresolvable problems. Although we encounter shortage of resources in the country, improper allocation or distribution of resources and budgets make the problems more complicated. Inadequacy of academic training in laboratory sciences has resulted in necessity of holding comprehensive post-graduate training courses. Revising academic curriculum of laboratory sciences could be mostly helpful, moreover there should be organized, training courses with pre-determined practical topics. providing specific technical guidelines, to clarify the required technical details could temporarily fill the training gaps of laboratory staff. Inadequate number of competent auditors was one of the difficulties in universities. Another important challenge returns to laboratory equipment, developing the national controlling system to manage the laboratory equipment in terms of quality and accessibility has been planned in RHL. At last cultural problems and resistance to change are main obstacles that have reduced the pace of standardization, it needs to rationalize the necessity of establishing laboratory standards for all stakeholders

[Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Kazeroon, Iran: identification, distribution and traditional usage]

Kazeroon, with about 4060 km[2], is situated in the west of Shiraz [Fars province]. This region is an important area which shows a great plant biodiversity. Also this ancient region is one of the most important human migration roads in Iran and so traditional usage of medicinal plant is a familiar therapeutic way for native people. The traditional usages of the medicinal plants of region were focused and therefore some beneficial information was gathered using native people questioning. Medicinal plant flora of region was studied during 2007-2009. All ancient villages were discovered using various geographical maps and then the vernacular information of plants and their usages were collected from well experienced people and finally the collected plants were identified scientifically. 91 species [87 genera and 39 families] were reported from the rangelands around the Kazeroon. Lamiaceae, with 11 species, and Asteraceae with 9 species were the largest families respectively, and Plantago [Plantaginaceae] with 3 species was the largest genus in the medicinal flora of area. Medicinal plant species are used mainly in remediation of Digestive, Blood Transfer and Urinary system diseases respectively. Studied region shows high degree of species richness and its people are familiar with medicinal plants use. Therefore these traditional and local medicinal usage information of plants are more important and useful for future farmacological investigations

[Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty: review]

Lamellar keratoplasty [LK] has been a well established technique of corneal transplantation. Recent improvements in surgical instruments have revolutionized the procedure introducing a new technique employing deeper corneal dissection. This review article describes the indications, techniques, outcomes and complications of deep anterior LK

Solidification/stabilization of heavy metals from air heater washing wastewater treatment in thermal power plants

In the present investigation, for the first time in Iran, dewatered sludge waste from air heater washing wastewater treatment of a thermal power plant was subjected to investigation of the cement base stabilization and solidification experiments in order to reduce the mobility of heavy and other hazardous metals as well as increasing the compressive strength of the solidified product for possible reuse of the waste. The solidification was done with two cement based mix designs with different waste/cement ratio is different samples. The results of leaching test on the solidified samples revealed that regarding the sand-cement mixture even with 25% waste/cement ratio, the leaching of heavy metals has completely been controlled up to 95%. In cement stabilization process the leaching of V, Ni, Zn and Cr could be decreased from 314.1, 209.1, 24.8 and 5.5 mg/L respectively in the raw waste to 6, 32.1, 3.6 and 3.6 mg/L in a mixture with 20% waste/cement ratio. During stabilization with cement-sand, the TCLP leachate contents of mentioned metals have been decreased to 4.2, 16.2, 2.5 and 2.2 mg/L with waste/cement ratio of 20%. X-ray diffraction studies showed that portlandite, calcite, lime, larnite and quartz have been shaped during the stabilization process. The compressive strength test results revealed that in both mixture samples, decreasing the compressive strength with increasing the amount of waste content in the mixture occurs. In sand-cement solidified samples with waste/cement ratio 25% and in cement solidified samples with waste/cement ratio 20%, a 40% decrease occurs in the compressive strength in comparison with the waste free mixtures

[ effect of implementing "BARS" method on student nurses' managerial skills in nursing management practicum]

Clinical education is fundamental to nursing science. One of the most important domains in clinical education is clinical evaluation. Today, new methods in evaluation such as "BARS" can measure expected behaviors in specific job better than old methods, because of their structure that focus on specific behaviors of job. So, they may be effective for quality improvement in clinical teaching. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of implementing "BARS" method on student nurses' managerial skills in nursing management practicum. This was a quasi-experimental study. All students [n=60] was randomly assigned to either experimental or control group. At first, the students in control group were trained and evaluated by their instructors. The next semester, the same instructors applied "BARS" method for experimental group. This method works based on critical events or special behaviors in nursing management practicum. At the end of practicum, students' managerial skills in two groups were measured by checklist. The data were analyzed by SPSS. The findings showed that managerial skills was significantly different between experimental [=113.41] and control [=83.83] group [P=0.005]. Therefore, implementing "BARS" evaluation method is effective on improving managerial skills of nursing students. "BARS" as an evaluation method could evaluate specific and expected behaviors of student nurses in management practicum better than the old ones. Also, it could improve the quality of clinical teaching

[ effect of obesity on spinal anesthesia for cesarean section]

Obesity is a global health problem with an increasing prevalence which affects different medical and health care domains including anesthesia. The present study was carried out to answer the question of which anesthesia technique is proper in obese parturients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of obesity on blood pressure reduction, amount and dose of ephedrine, and sensory level duration of spinal technique for cesarean section. In this cohort study the treatment group consisted of 40 expectant women with body mass index [BMI] of over 30, and the control group comprised of 40 expectant women with BMI of under 30, who were all candidate for elective cesarean section: In both groups 70 mg of Lidocaine was injected into spinal cord from L4-L5 space. Then the mean blood pressure, the amount and dose of ephedrine, sensory level of block and duration of spinal technique were measured. The collected data was compared by statistical tests. There was no statistical different in mean blood pressure reduction and sensory level of block between the two groups. Duration of spinal tap, amount and number of ephedrine injection were higher in obese cases. Relative risk of receiving two or more times of ephedrine was 1.63 times higher in obese expectant women than in normal women. Spinal anesthesia is an appropriate method for cesarean section in obese expectant women and blood pressure reduction can easily be controlled by ephedrine

[Effects of massage therapy on blood pressure of patients with CVA]

Cerebrovascular accidents [CVA or strokes] are the third leading cause of death after myocardial infarction and cancer in western countries, most of which result from emboli or thrombosis. In addition to mortality, they lead to lifelong inability manifested by various ambulatory, physical, verbal, visual, memory, and disorders. Along with routine supportive interventions at hospitals to reduce these problems, complementary therapies such as massage as one of the most important interventions are also applicable. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of massage therapy on systolic and diastolic blood pressures in patients with CVA in 2005. In this quasi-experimental study with 2 groups, a prospective design at 2 stages was used. Subjects included 50 patients with CVA at neurology unit of Shariati Hospital in Isfahan, selected by convenience sampling method and randomly divided into 2 equal experimental and control groups. Inclusion criteria were confirmed diagnosis of CVA, ability to speak complete consciousness, hospital stay at least for 1 week and desire to take part in the study. In the experimental group, massage technique was instructed to their attendants and after confirmation of its correctness, they performed it 7 times a day. Blood pressure of the subjects was measured before and after each massage. No specific intervention was performed in the control group except routine procedures. Data were collected by standard stethoscope and sphygmomanometer and compared in the two groups at the end. Paired t-test showed a significant decrease in the blood pressure of the massage group while the pressure significantly increased in the control group [P<0.05]. The results showed a decreasing effect of massage on blood pressure of CVA patients. Therefore, this therapy can be recommended as a complementary method along with routine treatments for better recovery and welfare of these patients

effect of increasing blood flow rate on dialysis adequacy in hemodialysis patients

One of the morbidity and mortality determinants of the dialysis patients is inadequacy of dialysis. Increasing the dialysis efficacy improves patient's prognosis. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of increasing blood flow on the adequacy of dialysis in dialysis department of Ekbatan hospital of Hamadan. This before-after design study was performed on 42 patients First, data was collected about the following parameters: patient's weigh; before and after hemodialysis. ultrafiltration, urea before and after hemodialysis, the time of dialysis, percentage of filter clearance and speed of dialysate. Then the patient was attached to the dialysis machine and a sample of blood was taken. The pumpage of dialysis machine in the first session was put on 200 ml/min and in the second session on 250 ml/min. During the hemodialysis, the hemodynamic status and vital signs of patient's were controlled. When hemodialysis finished a blood sample was taken from the artery set, in a section before dialyzer [4 blood sample for each patients], weight was controlled again and the sample was sent to a laboratory for urea control. Then the efficiency of dialysis was determined. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for analysis of the data. Results showed the mean KT/V [K=Clearance dialyzer T= Time V=Volume of distribation of urea] of patients whose pumping cycle were 200 ml/min, had 0.943 +/- 0.335 and URR [Urea Reduction Ratio] 53.3 +/- 13.5 wereas mean KT/V patients with 250 pumping cycle had 1.195 +/- 0.45 and URR 60.17 +/- 10.47. Paired t-test with%95 confidence interval showed that there was a significant difference in dialysis efficiency between the two groups [p<0.05]. Our data suggests that increasing blood flow rate by 25% of previous flow rate is effective in achieving higher dialysis adequacy in hemodialysis patients

[Frequency of skin disorders among university students in Shaheed Beheshti university of medical sciences]

Skin disorders especially infectious and contagious diseases are quite common in crowded environment. Few epidemiological studies have been conducted among university students, thus the present study was carried out to determine the frequency of skin disorders among university students in Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences' dormitories. Totally, 1279 students were selected for this cross sectional study. They were examined by two dermatologists during a 3-month period. T-test and chi square were used for data analysis. Of 1279 students, 1173 [91.7%] had skin disorder, of whom 658 [56%] were male and 515 [44%] were female. Acne [56%], hair loss among females [14%], seborouic dermatitis [9%], freckle [10%], hand eczema [10%], pityriasis versicolor [8%], xirosis [6%] and eczema [5%] were the most common skin disorders. There was an inverse strong relationship between acne and age. Skin disorders are quite common among university students

HLA-Class I and II frequencies in ethnic Hamedani people, and the comparison of serological and molecular [PCR] methods for HLA-Class II

In this study our aim was to determine HLA-Class I and II antigens freguencies of Hamedani ethnic group. In addition to demographic studies and disease association, it has wide application in bone marrow donor registeries. In order to establish DNA-based HLA typing in central Laboratory of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, a comparison of serological and molecular [sequence specific primers "SSP"] methods for HLA-DRB has been performed. The study was descriptive and the population under study were selected out of the native people of Hamedan; 100 healthy volunteer blood donors were chosen by questionnaire. 10ml heparinized and 3ml EDTA blood were collected from each selected donor. EDTA [PCR] samples were then frozen.N.I.H standard microlymphocytotoxicity and Nylon wool T and B cells separation was used for serological I and II typing. HLA-Class I plates were prepared from Iranian Blood Fractionation and Research Company and for Class II we used Biotest DR/DQ Typing Trays. PCR was done using "Roche high pure DNA extraction" Kit and HLA-DRBSSP [Biotest]. The most and least frequent HLA-B antigens were B5 group [B51/B52] and B16 [38,39] respectively. Because of low resolution of HLA-DRB Kit, no significant difference was observed between serological and PCR methods. Although some blanks have been determined by PCR.The HLA-DRB determination by PCR is mandatory for donor/recipient pairs [even sibling] for bone marrow transplantation; for donors it should be done by high resolution kits

[Determination of P53 gene mutations in gastric cancer by PCR-SSCP]

Background and Objective: gastric cancer is the 2nd cause of cancer mortality after lung cancer. Approximately 12% of all cancer death are due to gastric cancer. Tumorgenesis is thought to be a multistep process involving a series of genetic changes in oncogenes and suppressor genes. The most common cancer-related genetic change known in human tumors is P53 mutation, particularly in gastric cancer. This study was done to determine P53 gene mutations in gastric cancer

Materials and Methods: this study was performed on 44 biopsy from patients with gastric cancer during 2002 in 3 hospitals in Tehran. For determination of P53 gene mutations was performed PCR-SSCP methods

Results: the patients group comprised 31 males and 13 females [Average age, 60.8 years Ranging from 34 to 84 years]. 36 cases [81.8%] intestinal type, 5 cases [11.4%] were diffuse type and 3 cases no defined. 44 gastric cancers of gastric tissues were screened for the mutations of P53 gene mutations in exons 5-8 using the PCR-SSCP analysis. After polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 9 patients [20.5%] showed an apparent electrophoretic mobility shift between the cancer and other normal samples. One mutation in exon 5 [11.1%], 2 were detected in exon 6 [22.2%], 3 were found in exon 7 [33.3%] and 3 were detected in exon 8 [33.3%]. The mutation rate was 7 of 36 [21.2%] in intestinal type and 2 of [40%] in diffuse type. No significant correlation between P53 gene mutations and age and genus was found

Conclusion: this investigation showed the rate P53 gene mutation [20.5%] in gastric cancer in our society