Peppermint and pennyroyal essential oil effect on performance, rumen microbial population and some blood parameters of sheep

Background: the use of antibiotics as feed additive in animal feeds due to the appearance of residues in milk and meat and their effects on human health is restricted. Two essential oils with high potential for use in ruminant diet are Mentha piperita [peppermint] and Mentha pulegium [pennyroyal] essential oil

Objectives: this study was conducted to investigate the effects of essential oils of peppermint and pennyroyal on performance, ruminal microbial population and some blood parameters of sheep

Methods: for this purpose, 9 Dallagh sheep were used in a change-over design experiment in three 21-d periods [14 days as adaptation and 7 days for sample collection]. Experimental treatments were 1] basal diet without additive [control], 2] basal diet + 110 mg/d Mentha piperita essential oil and 3] basal diet +110 mg/d Mentha pulegium essential oil. Sheep were kept in individual cages and had free access to food and water. Rumen fluid was collected before, 4 h and 8 h after morning feeding and a blood sample was obtained 3 h after morning feeding at the last day of each period

Results: essential oils had no effect on performance, blood parameters, pH, ammonia, protozoa, and total viable bacterial count of rumen. Coliforms of rumen fluid significantly decreased at 4 h and increased 8 h after morning feeding following peppermint and pennyroyal supplementation, respectively [p<0.05]. Acid lacticbacteria count was significantly higher at before and 4 h after morning feeding in pennyroyal treatment compared with other treatments

Conclusions: although essential oils of Mentha piperita and Mentha pulegium had some effects on rumen microbial population they had no significant effects on performance and blood metabolites of Dallagh sheep

[Job burnout and some of its risk factors on the health workers (Behvarz) in Koohrang County, I.R.Iran, in 2010]

Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment are three dimensions of job burnout. Symptoms occur when employees' abilities and skills are not match with job demands. In a health care organization, staffs are exposed to physical, mental and emotional stresses and predisposed to job burnout. In this survey we studied Job burnout and some of its risk factors among Koohrang county Rural Health Workers [RHW or Behvarz] in 2010. This descriptive-analytical study designed to assess job burnout dimensions in RHW of Koohrang county in 2010. Total koohrang county RHW [n=81] entered to the study. Two types of questionnaires were used for data collection: 1] Demographic data questionnaire include of age, sex, marriage status, level of education, type of employment and working years. 2] Maslach Burnout Inventory [MBI] as a common valid questionnaire for assessment of job burnout. The reliability and internal validity of MBI questionnaire had been proved in previous studies. Data were analyzed by SPSS using ANOVA, spearman correlation and simple t tests. In different dimensions of job burnout, frequency of high lack of accomplishment, high emotional exhaustion and high depersonalization were 24.5%, 4.6% and 2.7% respectively but severity of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were 6.7% and 1.3%. None of them reported severe lack of personal accomplishment. The relation between demographic factors and job burnout was not statistically significant [P>0.05]. There were significant correlation between emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and between personal accomplishment and emotional exhaustion [P<0.001]. The study shows that frequency and severity of job burnout in different dimensions are low. It could be explained by their appropriate socioeconomic status, short distance to workplace as one of its advantages, job security, low level of life expectations accompanying with nice climate

10 year survey on childhood CNS tumors

Tumors of the central nervous system constitute the largest group of solid neoplasms in children and are second only to leukemia in their overall frequency during childhood. The main purpose of the present study is to determine the incidence, age, sex, location and histological diagnosis of CNS tumors in children, less than 15 years of age, in the Mofid Children's Hospital, in the past 10 years. In this descriptive retrospective study we reviewed the medical records of 143 children with diagnosis of CNS tumors admitted during the past 10 years in neurology and surgery departments of Mofid Children's Hospital between the years 1996 and 2006. During the 10 year study period, CNS tumor was diagnosed in 143 patients; of these tumors, 119 were intracranial and 58 were intraspinal; 51.3% of brain tumors were located in the supratentorial and 48.7% in the infratentorial regions. The most common intracranial neoplasms were astrocytic tumors [36.8%], embryonal tumors [31.1%] and ependymal tumors [13.4%]. Of the intraspinal neoplasms the most frequently noted were embryonal tumors [37.5%], mesenchymal meningothelial tumors [20.8%], followed by astrocytic tumors [16.7%]. The median age at diagnosis was 8.9 +/- 4.1 years with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1 [P<0.5]. The most common intracranial astrocytic and embryonal neoplasms were pilocytic astrocytoma and medulloblastoma/ PNET respectively. Brain tumors in children constitute a diverse group in terms of incidence, distribution and histopathological diagnosis

[Validity of the Iranian version of the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV [SCID-I] in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders]

To assess the validity of diagnoses obtained with the Iranian version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV [SCID-I]. This study was undertaken in two stages: [a] translation of SCID-I into Persian [Iranian language], [b] assessing the validity of the Persian version in a sample of Iranian patients. We recruited 299 psychiatric patients- including inpatients and ambulatory cases- from 3 teaching hospitals. A trained SCID interviewer administered the SCID and then two psychiatrists developed a consensus diagnosis, using data from multiple sources. The degree of agreement between SCID interviews and psychiatrists' diagnosis ranged from "moderate" for obsessive-compulsive and major depressive disorders to "good" for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. With the psychiatrists' diagnosis used as the gold standard, the SCID-based diagnosis showed high specificity and moderate to high sensitivity for most psychiatric diseases. The results of this study indicate that the Iranian version of the SCID is a valid instrument for diagnosis in clinical settings

epidemiological study of psychiatric disorders in Semnan province in year 2001

The burden of psychiatric disorders in the developed countries has been identified by the screening questionnaires and standard clinical interviews at a high level, but the epidemiological studies of psychiatric disorders in Iran are brief and their numbers are few. Planning for providing essential mental health services to the people who requires to be informed about the present status of psychiatric disorders in the society. The objective of this research was to carry out the epidemiological study of the psychiatric disorders in the individuals 18 years and above in urban and rural areas of Semnan province. Two hundred eighty individuals were selected through randomized systematic and clustered sampling methods among the existing families in Semnan province. The clinical psychologist completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia [SADS] questionnaires. The diagnosis of the disorders was based on DSM-IV classification criteria. The results of the study showed that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province was 18.58%, which was 22.14% in the women, and 14.49% in the men, respectively. The anxiety and mood disorders respectively with 8.22% and 5.00% had the higher prevalence in the province. The prevalence of psychotic disorders in this study was 1.78%, neuro-cognitive disorders 2.86 percent and dissociative disorders 0.72%. In the group of mood disorders, major depression with 3.57% and in the group of anxiety disorders, phobic disorder with 2.86% had the higher prevalence. This study showed that 10.71% of individuals suffered from minimum one of the psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province among the individuals in the age group of 41-55 years with 13.85%, individuals whose spouses had passed away 37.50%, residents of urban areas with 13.92%o, individuals with diploma 14.29% and unemployed individuals 28.57% that was more common more than other individuals. By considering of these findings, the responsibility of the health policy makers and programmers is more than before in relation to preparing application and executive plans to prevent and treatment of psychiatric disorders in Semnan province for mental health