Predicting anionic surfactant toxicity to Daphnia magna in aquatic environment: a green approach for evaluation of EC50 values.

The median effective concentration (EC50) is the concentration of a substance expected to produce a specific effect in 50% of the populations with a certain density under defined conditions. This parameter is expressed as an acute toxicity and is obtained via chemical toxicity testing. But, the laboratory work is time-consuming, expensive, and not eco-friendly. Therefore, to predict EC50 for new anionic surfactants, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) tool was studied for modeling the EC50 of anionic surfactants on Daphnia magna based on the molecular descriptors. The best model (R2 = 0.901 and F = 118.077, p<0.01) included 3 variables of the number of carbons, hydrogens, and the octanol-water partition coefficient logarithm. The main contribution to the toxicity was the octanol-water partition coefficient logarithm descriptor that had a negative effect on the toxicity of surfactants. The QSAR approach exhibited good results in predicting anionic surfactants EC50, which allows the building of a simple, valid, and interpretable model that can be utilized as potential tools for rapidly predicting the lnEC50 of new or untested anionic surfactants to Daphnia magna.

Investigation of the association between pesticide exposure and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Shahedieh population in Yazd.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of exposure to pesticides and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). In a cross-sectional study with a population of 9088, the data were collected through Persian Adult Cohort Questionnaire in Shahedieh area of Yazd, Iran. Based on the results, variables such as age, gender, body mass index, physical activity, and education level in the studied population had a significant association with the prevalence of diabetes. Although the obtained data in this study did not show a relationship between exposure to pesticides and the risk of developing T2D, further prospective studies are needed to determine the association between exposure to pesticides and the development of T2D.

Antiretroviral therapy adherence based on information, motivation, and behavioral skills model and its association with depression among HIV-positive patients: Health promotion strategy towards the 909090 target.

BACKGROUND: HIV-infected patients with poor antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence are prone to depression, and depression can exacerbate the disease condition. This study was conducted to determine ART Adherence based on Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model and its association with depression among HIV-positive patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-correlational study was carried out on people over the age of 18 years with HIV/AIDS, who referred to the Behavioral Diseases Counseling Center in Kerman City, Iran, in 2017. In this regard, 119 patients were selected using the table of random numbers. To collect the data, we used the Beck's depressioninventory-II and the IMB researcher made questionnaire to evaluate the ART adherence. RESULTS: The results of the study reveal that a significant association was observed between the total adherence and all constructs of the IMB model (P < 0.001). Risk perception and self-efficacy had the highest mean scores regarding the ART adherence. The prevalence of depression was 71.5% among patients. Information, personal motivation, and total adherence had a significant association with depression. CONCLUSIONS: IMB model was an appropriate and practical strategy with regard to the ART adherence among people living with HIV who are prone to depression and drug consumption is crucial for them to achieve the 90-90-90 target. This article created a questionnaire to assist policy-makers and health professionals designing interventions to improve adherence and health outcomes of ART.

Adherence to Medication and Physical Activity among People Living with HIV/AIDS.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the adherence to medication and Physical Activity (PA) among People Living with HIV (PLHIV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present cross-sectional study, 122 PLHIV were selected. The research tools included the Baecke questionnaire and the AIDS Clinical Trials Group questionnaire. Data were analyzed by independent t test and multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: The results of 7- and 30-day recalls showed that 76.21 and 82.23% of patients had proper medication adherence. The mean score of PA in patients was less than the recommended average score in the questionnaire. Furthermore, there was no significant difference observed between the medication adherence and PA. CONCLUSIONS: Although the adherence to medication was appropriate, nurses and health care providers should increase the level of PA for PLHIV by dealing with the related barriers to live an active life.

The effect of macroeconomic indicators on health-care expenditure in Iran.

INTRODUCTION: A sharp increase in expenditure is one of the challenges of the health system in Iran. Every macroeconomic variable affects health, and if it is disregarded, it will lead to higher macrobudgets. Physical and mental health as well as the use of health services change according to the macroeconomic conditions and business cycles (boom and recession). The present study aimed to determine the effect of macroeconomic indicators on health expenditure. METHODS: This study was descriptive analytical. The required data related to macroeconomic indicators and health expenditure in public and private sectors were collected during 1995-2014. The data were analyzed using the time series models in econometrics, Vector Auto Regression, and Granger causality technique. RESULTS: The results of this study indicated that health expenditure has a positive bilateral relationship with gross domestic production (GDP), gross national production, national income, and national consumption. On the contrary, expenditure has a negative bilateral relationship with liquidity rate and inflation rate. In addition, budget deficit has a negative unilateral relationship with health expenditure while population rate has a positive unilateral relationship with health expenditure. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated the increase of health expenditure in Iran that GDP is the most critical determining factor of health expenditure. In general, the total expenditure in the health sector in the world increases when the countries become richer. In line with the increase of resources, innovative financing methods and efficiency improvement are required for providing basic health services in low-income countries.

Calibration of water quality model for distribution networks using genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and hybrid methods.

Chlorine reacts with both organic and inorganic matters in water. That is why water quality modeling has received great attention in recent years. The serious issue in municipal water quality modeling is gathering the essential input parameters of the model, particularly bulk decay (kb) and wall decay (kw) coefficients as well as their calibrations. Therefore, this study first thoroughly formulates the problem in the form of a heuristic optimization and then utilizes Genetic Algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Hybrid GA-PSO as the model optimizers in order to best calibrate kw for minimizing the difference of residual chlorine concentrations that exist between the simulated and observed values. These three algorithms are linked to EPANET, the hydraulic and water quality simulator. The method is then applied to a real-world water distribution network. Here, k w is considered as a decision variable. The objective function is to minimize both the Sum of Square Error and Root Mean Square Error between the observed and simulated chlorine concentrations. According to the simulation results obtained, the optimal value of wall decay coefficient is 1.233 m/day during the calibration process while the minimum and maximum differences between the measured and simulated chlorine rates were 0 and 0.18, respectively. •The method presented in this article can be useful for managers of water and wastewater companies, water resources facilities and operators and operation manager of water distribution system to manage chlorine dosing rate.•Due to adverse health effect of disinfection by product and poor microbial water quality as results of inefficient chlorination, control chlorine concentration in water distribution networks and its consequence on human health effect is necessary.•Hybrid PSO and GA methods are used to cope with their falling in local optimum and requiring highly computational effort.

Antiretroviral therapy adherence and its determinant factors among people living with HIV/AIDS: a case study in Iran.

OBJECTIVES: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 122 Iranian people living with HIV (PWHIV), who referred to a behavioral diseases counseling center in 2018. The AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) questionnaire was used to collect the required data. The study aimed to determine the level of medication adherence and its determinants in PWHIV. RESULTS: About 75.4% (confidence interval 67.2%-82.8%) of the samples had a good combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) adherence and 74.6% (n = 91) of them were sure about the positive effects of medications on their health. Patients reported that most important reasons for medication non-adherence included forgetfulness, high drug dosage, lack of knowledge about ART value, and transportation problems.

Effect of the Living Environment on falls among the Elderly in Urmia.

BACKGROUND: The living environment has an impact on the health of the elderly, and the safety of the house is one of the concerns of the elderly. Disregarding the safety concerns increases the falling. AIM: This research was conducted with the aim of influencing the living environment on falls among elderly people in Urmia city. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional (descriptive-analytic) study which 200 elderly people were selected by random cluster sampling. Data were collected by using a two-part questionnaire including demographic information, and home safety assessment checklist. Data were analysed by using chi-square test and logistic regression in SPSS v. 21 software. RESULTS: The incidence of falling in the elderly was 30%. There was a significant statistical association with age, sex, marital status and history of chronic disease. Results of logistic regression showed non-safe stairs (OR = 1.1, p = 0.002), unsafe toilet/bath (OR = 1.3, p = 0.001), unsafe bedrooms (OR = 1.7, p = 0.05) unsafe living room (OR = 1.4, p = 0.02) increase the falls in the elderly, as well as male gender (OR = 1.14, p < 0.001) and living with other people (OR = 0.19, p = 0.002) reduce the falls in the elderly. CONCLUSION: By identifying the risk factors of the physical space of the home, we can plan for implementing necessary interventions according to the risk factor or risk factors to prevent and reduce the falls in the elderly community.

Behavioral and familial predictors of diabetes mellitus in adults aged 20-69 in Yazd, Iran during 2014-2015.

INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to assess the behavioral and familial predictors of diabetes mellitus as well as their interaction in the risk of diabetes mellitus type2. METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted using the Yazd health study (YaHS) data which was collected in 2013-14. Statistical population of this study consisted of all 9340 individuals aged between 20 and 69 in Yazd City. Logistic regression was used to determine behavioral factors and family history of diabetes and their interaction in the risk of diabetes. RESULTS: In the present study, age, family history of type 2 diabetes, waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, educational level, physical activity and smoking were considered as the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.There was a significant interaction(negative interaction) between family history of diabetes and other risk factors only for BMI, so that the risk of developing type-2 diabetes was lower in the presence of two risk factors- family history of diabetes and BMI- than the risk of diabetes in the presence of each of these factors. CONCLUSION: Results of the present study suggested that despite the consideration of family history as an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes, if it was used as a tool to raise the awareness and sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes, it would reduce the risk of developing this type of diabetes in people who had other risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Cox Regression and Parametric Models: Comparison of How They Determine Factors Influencing Survival of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Background and objectives: The present study of survival rate of patients with non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) compared the efficiency of Cox semi-parametric vs. parametric models in determination of influencing factors. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, data were gathered from 190 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of NSCLC referred to Shahid Sadoughi and Shohadaye Kargar Hospitals in Yazd, Iran during 2005 to 2014. To identify and compare factors influencing the survival rate, a Cox semi-parametric model was fitted to the data. Data analysis was performed using the R software version R3.3.1, and the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The average age was 64.5 years. About 40% of patients had stage 4 disease. The median survival was 8 months. After comparing the models, the more efficient was the log-normal distribution (AIC=889.3829), with which disease stage, type of therapy, and age were significant factors. Among the different types of therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy yielded higher survival rates, and increased age was associated with lower survival. Conclusion: The most efficient model was a log-normal model. Implementation of optimal therapies at early stages can improve the survival of patients.

The effect of educational intervention on weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity: Application of the theory of planned behavior.

BACKGROUND: The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular diseases. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) efficiently explains the ability of perceived behavioral control and possibly attitude to enhance the motivations of the obese people to lose weight. Our aim was to investigate the effect of TPB-based education on weight loss in obese and overweight adolescents. METHODS: In an interventional study, simple random sampling was used to select 86 overweight and obese adolescents aged 13-18 years in the pediatric clinic at the Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute. Anthropometric measures and TPB constructs were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaires were filled out before and six weeks after the intervention. Participants received 5 sessions of training based on the constructs of the TPB. RESULTS: A significant increase was observed in the mean score for knowledge and TPB constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, and behavior) six weeks after the educational intervention (P < 0.001). Moreover, significant decrease in body mass index (P < 0.001), weight (P = 0.001), and waist circumference (P < 0.001) of adolescents were found after the educational intervention. CONCLUSION: The TPB-based interventions seem to be effective in losing weight in obese and overweight adolescents. This theory serves as a helpful theoretical framework for health-related behaviors and can be an appropriate pattern to plan for educational interventions.

Effects of bee propolis supplementation on glycemic control, lipid profile and insulin resistance indices in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Propolis, a natural resinous substance made by bees from material extracted from plants, flowers and bee's wax, has shown great therapeutic effects and been widely used in food and drug industries. Recently, some researchers have studied the effect of this substance in the treatment of diabetes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this trial was to determine the effect of bee propolis on glycemic control, serum lipid profile and insulin resistance indices in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: This randomized clinical trial involved 66 patients with T2D, which were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (IG) and placebo (PG). IG received 300 mg three times a day for a total of 900 mg/d of propolis pills, while PG received similar pills, lacking propolis, on the same schedule for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), serum insulin and insulin resistance indices were the main outcome measures. RESULTS: The mean change in FBG between the IG ((17.76 ± 27.72) mg/dL decrease) and the PG ((6.48 ± 42.77) mg/dL increase) was significantly different (P = 0.01). Change in mean HbA1c had a similar pattern to FBG. The mean change in TC between the IG ((5.16 ± 43.80) mg/dL increase) and the PG ((28.9 ± 27.4) mg/dL increase) was also significantly different (P = 0.01), showing the protective role of propolis against the increase in TC. The change in mean LDL was similar to mean TC. There was no significant difference in other lipids or insulin resistance indices between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, the daily intake of 900 mg of bee propolis supplement for 12 weeks results in improvement of glycemic and some serum lipid levels in patients with T2D. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered on the website of Iranian Ministry of Health (www.irct.ir) with proprietary code of IRCT2014080218659N1.

Self Management Behaviors in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients and Associated Factors in Tehran 2013.

INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a systemic, autoimmune and inflammatory disease with an unknown etiology that is associated with progressive joint degeneration, limitation of physical activity and disability. The aim of the study was to evaluate self-management behaviors and their associated factors in RA patients. MATERIAL & METHOD: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2013 on185 patients in Iran. Data were selected through convenient sampling. The collected data included demographic variables, disease related variables, Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale 2 (AIMS-2SF), and Self-Management Behaviors (SMB). Data were analyzed by SPSS17 using Spearman correlation and logistic regression test. RESULT: In this study drug management, regular follow-up, and food supplement were used as the most frequently applied SMB and aquatic exercise, diet, massage therapy, and relaxation were the least common SMBs. Age, education, health status, occupation, marital status, sex, DAS28 (Disease Activity Score 28 joints), and PGA (Physician Global Assessment) were significantly related with SMB. CONCLUSION: The result of the study highlight the influence of demographic variables, health status, and disease related data on SMB. Thus, more studies are required to find factors influencing SMB in order to improve SMB.

Comparison between Ag (I) and Ni (II) removal from synthetic nuclear power plant coolant water by iron oxide nanoparticles.

The impact of effective parameters such as iron oxide nanoparticles dosage, contact time and solution pH was optimized for removal of Ag(I) and Ni(II) in the nuclear cooling system and the best conditions were compared. Nearly complete removal (97%) of Ni(II) and Ag(I) were obtained at adsorbent dosage of 40 and 20 g/L, respectively. Experiments showed that 4 hours was a good choice as optimum contact time for two ions removal. The effective parameter was pH, so that maximum removal efficiency was obtained for Ag(I) in acidic pH=3 and for Ni(II) in basic pH=10. It seems that removal of Ag(I) was controlled by adsorption-reduction mechanism, but Ni(II) could place only adsorption. Langmuir and Freundlich model was more suitable for nickel and silver removal by this adsorbent, respectively. Ag(I) and Ni(II) removal efficiency trend by this adsorbent is similar at periods but different in the concentrations, pHs and equilibrium model. The obtained results were very promising, as both Ag(I) and Ni(II) were effectively removed from synthetic wastewater and there was a possibility to remove Ag(I) very fast. Hence, the idea of using nanoparticles for application of metal ions removal from wastewaters seems to be very efficient and quite promising.