Arak City Research Articles

P03-77 Comparison of coping strategies and emotional intelligence in Borderline Personality Disorder and normal subjects

Aim:The goal of the study was to compare coping strategies and emotional intelligence of patients suffering from borderline personality disorder (B.P.D.) and those of normal subjects in Arak city (2007 - 2008).Method:40 patients (20 male and 20 female) with B.P.D. and 40 normal subjects (20 male and 20 female) participated in the study. All 80 subjects were assessed using the Millon clinical multiaxial - III, coping strategies questionnaire, and emotional quotient. the method of the research was case-control; data were analyzed by t-student test and regression.Results and conclusion:The results showed that patients with B.P.D. mainly used ineffective coping strategies such as escape-avoidance strategy in comparison with the normal subjects. Additionally the patients with B.P.D. used positive reappraisal, planful problem solving, and seeking social support less than the normal subjects, and their emotional intelligence was low. There were no significant differences between the emotional intelligence and applying coping strategies of male and female patients. Furthermore the study showed that there is a positive correlation between the applying effective coping strategies and emotional intelligence.

P1450 Evaluation of real-time PCR based assays for the detection and quantitation of CMV DNA

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in blood donors is considered a potential threat for the safety of the blood supply, however conclusive studies on this issue are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the occult HBV infection in blood donors with isolated hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) living in the city of Arak, in the Central Province of Iran, as a low prevalence region for HBV.A total of 531 voluntary blood donors in Arak, Iran were included in this study. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs), anti-HBc, and hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) were tested in all subjects. The presence of HBV-DNA was determined quantitatively in plasma samples of cases with isolated anti-HBc (HBsAg-negative, anti-HBs-negative, and anti-HBc-positive) by real-time PCR using the artus HBV RG PCR kit on the Rotor-Gene 3000 real-time thermal cycler.Of 531 subjects enrolled in this study, 11 (2.1%, 95% confidence interval 0.8–3.2%) had isolated anti-HBc. HBV-DNA was not detected in any of the cases with isolated anti-HBc.Our study showed that all the blood donors with isolated anti-HBc were negative for HBV-DNA, and occult HBV infection did not occur in the blood donors of this low prevalence region for HBV infection.

A Comparative Study OF Elementary School Teachers Competency in Relation to Sex and Age in India and Iran

The present study investigated elementary school teachers' competency in relation to their sex and age in India and Iran. 484 teachers were selected through Simple Random Sampling from elementary schools of Mysore city (India) and Arak city (Iran). Subjects consisted of 187 men and 297 women. The tool of study was 'Teachers Competency Scale' developed by investigators. Results revealed that female teachers are more competent in some dimensions of competency. Also, it was found that age has no influence on teachers' competency.

Fluoride compounds and their biological effects in aluminum potroom

Respiratory system disorders occur in aluminum potroom workers despite pre-employment medical examinations. The aims of this study were to measure fluoride and its compounds in the potroom workplace atmosphere as well as workers’ breathing zone air, examine the blood eozinophile cells count in the workers exposed to the fluoride compounds, and evaluate the respiratory symptoms and dysfunctions caused during the occupational exposure in potroom workers. To achieve these objectives, a study was carried out in 10 workplaces (potrooms) of Aluminum Producing Plants in Arak city located at Central Iran. Through this study, the data obtained from 160 workers (100 cases and 60 controls) were statically processed. The selected controls were matched for age, year of starting employment, smoking habit, and body mass index (BMI). The total fluoride compounds concentration of potroom, mean concentration of workers’ breathing zone air at different job positions were measured showed high concentration compared to the Threshold Limit Value-Time Weighted Average (TLV-TWA). The incidence of respiratory symptoms, the number of blood eozinophile, and WBC counts were higher than normal range in case group. During this study, the susceptible aluminum potroom workers to occupational asthma were also identified. Through this study, it was concluded that, workers employing in the potroom in aluminum industries are at risk for respiratory disorders and a continuous workplace monitoring is needed to evaluate workers exposures.