[How could FAIR test modify the H reflex in gastrocnemius muscle in patients with piriformis syndrome?]

Priformis syndrome [PS] is defined by a loose cluster of symptoms arising from entrapment of one or both divisions of the sciatic nerve as they pass the sciatic notch. This paper presents a method of using the H-reflex as an aid in the diagnosis of PS. Forcible pressure from the priformis muscle on the sciatic nerve can be induced by internal rotation of an affected limb in an adducted and flexed position [FAIR]. This pressure is reflected in a delay of the H-reflex. The length of delay seen in 15 legs of 14 patients who met the criteria for PS is compared with that seen in 7 unaffected contralateral limbs. Mean delay of H-reflex was 2.346 msec for affected legs and 0.368 msec for the combined control groups [p<0.01]. There were no significant differences in delay latency between control group and amplitude between all groups [p>0.05]

[Social responsibility in hospitals of Isfahan city]

Hospital's traditional charter that mostly emphasized productivity has been replaced by a charter that stresses social and environmental issues. On this basis, to achieve success, managers should regard both the inner and the outer environments of hospitals. This study aims at measuring hospitals' social responsibility. The present descriptive-analytic study was carried out through a cross-sectional method in 2010. The study population consisted of hospital managers of the city of Isfahan [n=21]. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. The instrument's content validity was determined by the experts' views and its reliability calculated through Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.95. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software [version 16] and the hypotheses were tested by t-test, ANOVA and Eta coefficients. The maximum mean score was 100. The mean score of hospitals' social responsibility was computed to be 68.6. The mean scores of leadership and inner processes, market place, community policies, environmental policies, and workplace policies were found to be 72.2, 70, 67.8, 67.4 and 66.2, respectively. There was no significant relationship between hospital's social responsibility and type of hospital's possession and activity [p value > 0.05]. The social responsibility of hospitals was assessed as moderate. To improve hospital's social responsibility, it is suggested that more attention be paid to workplace and environmental policies

Comparison of MRI and electrodiagnostic study in evaluation of patients with clinical radiculopathy in 501 army hospital, 1387-88

There are different procedures for radiculopathy diagnosis. Considering morbidity of this disease, its diagnosis and treatment is of important.MRI and Electrodiagnostic study [EDX] are of most important ways but they each have advantages and shortcomings. The goal of this study is to determine which way or ways is the best. In an cross-sectional analytic study, we studied patients with suspected radiculopathy and MRI who where referred for Electrodiagnostic study to 501 Army hospital at 1387-88. Analysis was performed with statistical software of SPSS. we studied 114 patients.31 had cervical and 83 had lumbosacral radiculopathy.There were significant agreement between clinic and MRI [72%] and between EDX and MRI [61%] but no between clinic and EDX [52%].The agreement is higher in deffinte group than milder ones. This decline in agreement was significant in EDX but no in MRI. There are no preferred procedure for radiculopathy diagnosis so that MRI and EDX are complementary, yet. Considering higher specifity for EDX Electrodiagnostic study is suggested before inappropriate and risky interventions

Prioritizing factors effecting on human resources productivity: Viewing of middle class managers in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences-2009

Since, multidisciplinary and Combination of different factors that affecting on productivity of human resources are different in organizations due to variation in indoor and outdoor features, so the aim of this study was to prioritize the factors effecting on human resources productivity by viewing of middle level managers to make the basis of human resources management decisions to manpower planning and maintenance for reducing costs due to staff quitting. This cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out in 2009 .Middle class managers in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences examined as a statistical population. Data collected used by researcher constructed questionnaire that validation was confirmed through interviews with faculty members and experts. Cronbach alpha was calculated for reliability [0/935]. Data analyzed by SPSS statistical software; the maximum means score was 5 and the minimum was 1. Management style with a mean score of 4.41 was the most important factors in human resource's productivity. Factors related to individuals with a mean score of 4.3, culture with a mean score of 4.1, organizational structure with a mean score of 4.06, compensation systems with a mean score of 4, courses of training with a mean score of 3.85 and environmental factors that related to physical space with a mean of 3.769 compared to other options had less consequence. Reforming employment systems and organizational structures, job enrichment, needs of educational planning, devolution to the middle levels managers and decision supervised measuring in the volume and balance with each other and further fields. Health incentive programs with job skills and staff development can be affected to increase productivity of human resources and promoting health system

[Effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on perception of stressors in recurrent headache patients]

A specific event is not stressor for all persons. It is perception that determines an event is stressor or not. Headache causes that peoples have problems to evaluate events. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of group therapy on perception of stressors in recurrent headache patients. In this semi-experimental study on female students of Shiraz University, 20 students diagnosed as having headache were selected as case group. Control group was consisted of 32 normal students with same sex and age as case group. Both groups [case and control] were asked to fill a Daily Minor Hassles Questionnaire. They were compared for two variables, perception of the unpleasant stressors and the frequency of unpleasant stressors. In second part of the research, patients in the case group were asked to participate in a 90 minute session per week for 9 weeks. They were compared in three conditions of pre-test, mid-test and post-test. Data were analyzed using independent t-student and paired t-test. Our results showed a significant difference between headache [case] group and normal [control] group in perception of the unpleasant stressors and the frequency of unpleasant stressors [P<0.05]. We also found that cognitive-behavioral group therapy throughout the therapeutic sessions decreased perception of the unpleasant stressors and the frequency of unpleasant stressors in headache patients. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy decreases perception of the unpleasant stressors and the frequency of unpleasant stressors in patients with recurrent headache

Performance self assessment by the excellence model in different hospitals of Isfahan university of medical sciences and healthcare services; 2006

In the turbulent healthcare marketplace, performance is often of the highest importance; as a result, performance evaluations are critical to the long-term success of the organization. Among different performance appraisal systems, one current method is appraisal by The Excellence Model [EFQM]. The underlying philosophy of the EFQM Model is that of continuous quality improvement based on an integrated framework that attempts to describe the relationships between processes, people and results, all of which are relevant to the provision and delivery of healthcare. This study aimed to assess the Performance in different hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Healthcare Services by using The Excellence Model. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2007. The research population included managers in hospitals belong to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Healthcare Services. Data were collected by a questionnaire that had been used in past studies. This questionnaire of 50 items was completed by managers. The mean scores for self-assessment in different fields were as follows: The mean score in leadership performance: 56/100; policy and strategy: 40/80; workforce 51/90; partnerships and resources: 50/90; processes: 71/140; customer results: 103/200; workforce results: 42/90; society results: 28/60; function key results: 74/150. Total mean scores of performance self-assessment was 516/1000. Culture of self-assessment is important to evaluate performance accurately. Findings of this study underscore the need for improvement in the areas pertaining to workforce and customer satisfaction

Epidemiological study of oral and perioral cancers in Isfahan

Despite the fact that oral and perioral cancers are not included in common cancers, they are of special importance for their impact on human morbidity and life quality. Awareness of the epidemiological characteristics of oral cancers allows for enhanced planning of timely and effective treatment in order to improve patients' life quality. The objective of the present study was to investigate the distributional patterns of oral and perioral malignancies in terms of age, gender, type, and location. 4553 oral biopsy specimens taken over 17 years [1988-2004] at the Department of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, were studied. Among these, 283 cases included oral malignant lesions. The age, gender, location, and type of malignancy data for these cases were recorded. The results of this survey showed that commoner malignant oral lesions were epithelial lesions with 175 cases [62%], salivary lesions with 48 cases [17%], and hematogenic malignancies with 23 cases [9%]. Squamous cell carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, lymphoma, and os-teosarcoma were the commoner malignant lesions in this area of the body. The mean age of patients was 52.2 years of old and the male to female ratio was found to be 1.3. The present study showed that compared to the less common malignant lesions, the more common ones, i.e. epithelial and salivary lesions, show far more differences from those reported in previous studies. For example, compared to previous studies, the mean age for epithelial lesions was found to be less by one decade while the mean age for salivary gland lesions was found to be higher by one decade. Squamous cell carcinoma [SCC] was found to be the most common malignancy but its relative frequency was lower than that reported in previous studies. Moreover, differences were also observed in its anatomical distribution. Lip, salivary gland, and maxillary malignant lesions were less common than expected, which is probably due to their extra oral clinical characteristics. The results of the present study also showed that lesions with relatively lower frequencies are more similar to those reported in previous studies

[Utilization of particulate and immuno-modulating adjuvants for enhancement of immune response against tumors antigenic markers]

Regards to the weak immunigenicity of tumor cells as well as recombinant antigenic markers [like BLP25], adjuvants are needed for enhancement of immune response and it's skewing toward cellular immunity. In this research poly [lactide-co-glycolide] [PLGA] microspheres were used as delivery system for a recombinant mucin named mucin 1 [MUCl, BLP25] as a recombinant antigenic cancer marker, and CpG-ODN was used for enhancement of immune response and its biasing toward cellular immunity. PLGA microspheres encapsulated with BLP25 and CpG-ODN were prepared using a w/o/w emulsion method. Encapsulation of BLP25 was determined by a HPLC method and spectrophotometry at 260 nm was used for quantification of encapsulated CpG-ODN. In vivo immunization studies were performed by SC injections of 20 micro g BLP25 and 4 micro g CpG-ODN in mice [4 animal per group]. Group I] Mice immunized with microspheres co-encapsulated with BLP25 and CpG; Group II] Mice immunized with microspheres encapsulated with BLP25 mixed with CpG solution; Group III] Mice immunized with microspheres encapsulated with BLP25. For evaluation of specify of immune response, T lymphocytes separated from different groups of mice were incubated with different antigens [T Cell Proliferation Assay]. IFN-gamma and IL-4 cytokines were assayed by a sandwich ELISA method. T lymphocytes separated from group I, showed high proliferation [stimulation index = 25] and high levels of IFN-y interferon [11200+/-172 pg/ml] which were significantly higher than other two groups [P<0.0001]. Co-encapsulation and co-delivery of MUCl and CpG-ODN produced high cellular [Thl] immunity responses [high levels of IFN-gamma and no IL-4], indicating the high adjuvanticity potential of CpG-ODN for immunization against cancer markers. Importance of co-encapsulation of antigen and adjuvant in the same delivery system for better adjuvant effect was also approved