Yazd Province Of Iran Research Articles

Prognostic Factors for Recurrence And Survival of Patients with Breast Cancer Using A Multi-state Model

Background: In many medical studies, patients may experience various events. The analysis in such studies is often administrated using multi-state models. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of risk factors and transition probability on recurrence and death in patients with breast cancer. Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort study on 814 women with breast cancer admitted to Shahid Ramezanzadeh Radiotherapy Center in Yazd province in Iran between the years 2004 -2012 and were followed until 2016. A multi-state model is applied for data analysis in the R 3.4.1 programming language. Results: Of the 814 patients, 40(5%) experienced recovery after initial treatment and 177(20.7%) experienced the death after initial treatment. For the first year, the transition probabilities from the initial treatment to recovery were estimated at 1.4%, to death was 17% and for recovery to death, it was 29%. The mean sojourn times were estimated as 2.93 and 9.8 years for the treatment and recovery, respectively. Conclusion: Multi-state models predict the transition probabilities in different states of disease, in addition, transition probabilities, mean sojourn time, and hazard ratio in each state can help physicians find suitable care for patients with breast cancer.

Anthropometrics and Mental Health Among People with and Without Type 2 Diabetes

Objectives: To investigate the relationships between anthropometric variables and the mental health of older people with type 2 diabetes compared to those without diabetes. Design: A case-control study. Setting(s): The study was conducted in Yazd, the capital city of the Yazd province in Iran. Participants: This study comprised 501 diabetic and 555 non-diabetic individuals recruited from the Yazd Health Study (YaHS). Outcome measures: The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) questionnaire was used to assess mental health. The scale measured anthropometric indicators, including blood pressure, waist circumference, hip circumference, neck circumference, body fat, body muscle percentage, visceral fat, and body mass index (BMI). Results: The non-diabetic group exhibited better mental health (P≤0.01) compared to the diabetic group. Linear regression analysis indicated that, among demographic variables, gender in diabetic elderly was associated with mental health (P≤0.01), while gender, level of education, and marital status (P≤0.01) in non-diabetics were associated with mental health. Furthermore, among anthropometric factors, BMI and visceral fat (P≤0.01) in diabetics and visceral fat (P≤0.01) in non-diabetics were associated with mental health. The model obtained from liner regression based on demographic and anthropometric variables explained 6 to 13.3% and 8.8 to 15.4% of variance in mental health among diabetic (R2=0.086, P≤0.01) and non-diabetic (R2=0.162, P≤0.01) individuals, respectively. Conclusions: Gender, higher BMI, and visceral fat were associated with poor mental health among diabetic patients. The results of the present study can be used for designing appropriate interventions through different programs such as physical fitness programs.

Improving the Accuracy of Landsat 8 Land Surface Temperature in Arid Regions by MODIS Water Vapor Imagery

Land surface temperature (LST) is a significant environmental factor in many studies. LST estimation methods require various parameters, such as emissivity, temperature, atmospheric transmittance and water vapor. Uncertainty in these parameters can cause error in LST estimation. The present study shows how the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) water vapor imagery can improve the accuracy of Landsat 8 LST in different land covers of arid regions of Yazd province in Iran. For this purpose, water vapor variation is analyzed for different land covers within different seasons. Validation is performed using T-based and cross-validation methods. The image of atmospheric water vapor is estimated using the MODIS sensor, and its changes are investigated in different land covers. The bare lands and sparse vegetation show the highest and lowest accuracy levels for T-based validation, respectively. The root mean square error (RMSE) is also calculated as 0.57 °C and 1.41 °C for the improved and general split-window (SW) algorithms, respectively. The cross-validation results show that the use of the MODIS water vapor imagery in the SW algorithm leads to a reduction of about 2.2% in the area where the RMSE group is above 5 °C.

Prediction of psychological, spiritual, and social health with cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents

Objectives: Children are the most important asset in any country. Since cardiovascular diseases are built up little by little from childhood, this study attempted to detect the relationship between psychological, spiritual, and social health conditions and cardiovascular risk factors in children.
 Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study performed on 1035 children aged 6-18 years by multi-stage random cluster sampling in 2016 in Yazd province of Iran. The lifestyle questionnaire (LSQ) was used to collect data. In addition, demographic information (i.e., age and sex) and cardiac risk factors were measured. Logistic regression and t-test were used to analyze the data.
 Results: In this study, by increasing the mean score of psychological and spiritual health, fasting blood sugar (FBS) decreased significantly (OR = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.02-0.80, P trend = 0.003 and OR = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01, -0.28, P trend = 0.013). Also, with increasing the mean score of spiritual health, body mass index (BMI) reduced significantly too. (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.18-0.66, P trend = 0.014). However, social health failed to be significantly associated with cardiac risk factors.
 Conclusions: FBS in children aged 6-18 years is affected by psychological and spiritual health. BMI and the level of spiritual health also turned out to be inversely related. As a result, psychological and spiritual health dimensions should be improved to lower the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in children aged 6-18 years.

Aflatoxin B1 in imported cinnamon consumed in the Yazd province of Iran

ABSTRACT Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced mainly by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, which are fungal contaminants found in several foodstuffs, including spices. In this study 40 cinnamon samples were collected in November and December 2020 in the Iranian province of Yazd and analysed for the presence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by high performance liquid chromatography. Seven out of 40 (17.5%) samples were contaminated with AFB1 at levels ranging from 0.59 to 5.8 μg/kg. In addition, 2.5% of cinnamon samples contained AFB1 concentrations above the maximum level of 5 μg/kg, as established by the Iranian national standard. Due to the harmful effects of aflatoxins, even at low amounts, these can cause serious chronic health problems. Therefore, continuous control to avoid AFB1 contamination in foodstuffs is required.

Investigation of Magneto-/Radio-Metric Behavior in Order to Identify an Estimator Model Using K-Means Clustering and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) (Iron Ore Deposit, Yazd, IRAN)

The study area is located near Toot village in the Yazd province of Iran, which is considered in terms of its iron mineralization potential. In this area, due to radioactivity, radiometric surveys were performed in a part of the area where magnetometric studies have also been performed. According to geological studies, the presence of magnetic anomalies can have a complex relationship with the intensity of radioactivity of radioactive elements. Using the K-means clustering method, the centers of the clusters were calculated with and without considering the coordinates of radiometric points. Finally, the behavior of the two variables of magnetic field strength and radioactivity of radioactive elements relative to each other was studied, and a mathematical relationship was presented to analyze the behavior of these two variables relative to each other. On the other hand, the increasing and then decreasing behavior of the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field relative to the intensity of radioactivity of radioactive elements shows that it is possible to generalize the results of magnetometric surveys to radiometry without radiometric re-sampling in this region and neighboring areas. For this purpose, using the general regression neural network and backpropagation neural network (BPNN) methods, radiometric data were estimated with very good accuracy. The general regression neural network (GRNN) method, with more precision in estimation, was used as a model for estimating the radiation intensity of radioactive elements in other neighboring areas.

The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among applicants for receiving the health card

Intestinal parasitic infection (IPI) is a public health problem in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IPIs among applicants for receiving health card in Zarch –a city in Iran-. The current study is a crosssectional descriptive study. This study was conducted with the participation of all food-related people who had referred to Zarch–in Yazd province of Iran- health center to receive a health card in 2020. Finally, the study data were analyzed by SPSS version 22. The results of this study showed that out of 600 participants related to food industry, only 1.3% had intestinal parasites. Also, the frequency distribution of the age of the clients showed that the highest number of participants is related to the age group of 26-35. The education level of the participants showed that more individuals (41.5%) had a diploma. Occupationally, 24% of the participants were related to food industry factories, followed by bakeries. In order to further reduce in the level of contamination with IPI, it is necessary to provide the necessary training to those involved in related- jobs specially the food industry

Years of Life Lost Due to Main Causes of Deaths in Yazd Province, Iran.

One approach to measure the demographic impacts of death is to examine the number of lost years of life. The present paper aims to estimate the "Years of Lost Life" (YLL) due to the main causes of death in Yazd province of Iran. The present study is an epidemiological examination for which the statistical population included all the death incidents in Yazd province (excluding stillbirth cases) over two time periods of 2011 and 2016 with a 5-year distance. The required data were obtained based on the Comprehensive System of Mortality Registration maintained by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education; while the standard life expectancy data were based on the World Health Organization standards using standard life table, level 26 of the West model (Coale and Demeny) for Japanese men and women. The standard YLL was calculated according to the WHO standard using a 0.03 relaxation rate for the future time and weighting coefficient for various ages and life years through the formula using the Microsoft Excel software. The findings of the present study suggest that two main causes of YLL in Yazd province during the year of 2011 were cardiovascular difficulties with the rates of 31.6 per 1000 persons for women and 27.1 per 1000 persons for men, and cancers with the rates of 14.9 per 1000 persons for women and 16.2 per 1000 persons for men. While the above numbers in 2016 were, respectively 22.5 per 1000 persons for women and 25.5 per 1000 persons for men due to cardiovascular difficulties; and 18 per 1000 persons for women and 15.5/1000 for men due to various types of cancers. Our findings suggest that cardiovascular diseases and cancers are the main factors leading to Years of Lost Lifetime for the residents of Yazd province in Iran.

Geochemical and Behavioral Modeling of Phosphorus and Sulfur as Deleterious Elements of Iron Ore to Be Used in Geometallurgical Studies, Sheytoor Iron Ore, Iran

Sheytoor Iron Ore deposit is located in Yazd province of Iran (Bafq). The most abundant ore is magnetite, which can be seen in the form of mass and granular tissue in various forms of self-shaped, semi-self-shaped and amorphous. The main purpose of this study is to identify the geochemical relationship of phosphorus and sulfur elements and also three-dimensional modeling of mineralization of these elements in iron ore. In order to achieve the research goal, methods such as k-mean clustering technique, concentration-volume fractal as well as block modeling with kriging estimator and Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolator were used. The model of geochemical behavior of phosphorus and sulfur elements compared to iron is of great importance because these two elements are known as deleterious elements in mineral processing and steelmaking processes, which are the post-mining stages. Existence of geochemical model and identification of elements’ behavior towards each other play a key role in optimizing mining operations in order to achieve geometallurgical goals. The results of this study are the three-dimensional model of mineralization of iron, phosphorus and sulfur elements, separation of phosphorus and sulfur mineralization communities and also presenting the model of enrichment community of these two elements. All the results are in line with geometallurgical studies and can optimize the next steps by optimizing the mining process.

Isolation and enumeration of bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections from houseflies and determining their susceptibility to poison bait

Abstract. Haeidari A, Keshavarzi D, Owlia P, Vatandoost H, Rafinejad A, Rafinejad J. 2020. Isolation and enumeration of bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections from houseflies and determining their susceptibility to poison bait. Nusantara Bioscience 13: 24-28. Nosocomial infections represent a serious public health concern in developing countries. Houseflies are one of the most common household pests carrying different pathogenic organisms. The purpose of this study was to isolate and enumerate bacteria species from house flies and to determine their susceptibility to Agita® fly bait. Flies were collected from two hospital environments between July to December 2014, in Yazd Province of Iran. Bacterial species were isolated from the outer surfaces of flies, and Agita® efficacy was evaluated based on lethal time (LT50) after 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 minutes. Three species of bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus) responsible for nosocomial infections have been isolated and enumerated from flies. Among the 30 flies collected, 17, 24, and 3 flies were contaminated with E. coli, S. aureus, and Ps. aeruginosa, respectively. The minimum number of isolated bacteria was 3 × 102 CFU/mL, whereas the highest number was 2.4 × 105 CFU/mL. The susceptibility results showed that, despite the existence of a significant effect for heterogeneity in both field and laboratory strains (p-value ˂ 0/05) and an increase in the mortality of houseflies during the time, there was no significant difference between two strains regarding the efficacy of Agita® against houseflies. The findings of the present study revealed and confirmed that houseflies have an important role in the spread of nosocomial infections in hospital environments, and they are susceptible to Agita® fly bait.

Nurses\u2019 educational needs in the oral health of inpatients at Yazd Province in Iran: a Delphi study

BackgroundOral hygiene is an integral part of general health of a person. Nurses qualified about oral care can play an important role in improving the quality of oral health in hospitalized patients. This study investigated the educational needs of nurses in the field of oral health of hospitalized patients.MethodsThe study used the modified Delphi method in three rounds. Fifty faculty members of the School of Dentistry and Nursing were selected via purposive sampling. The data collection tool was a demographic form and an open-ended questionnaire in the first round and a structured questionnaire in the next rounds. The analysis was performed using both content and descriptive analysis techniques.ResultsThe top ten oral health education priorities for nurses were greater than 75% with a consensus level: oral anatomy and physiology, learning the signs and symptoms of common oral diseases, learning of oral medications and administration, learning the drugs that cause damage to the mouth and teeth, training in managing dental emergencies, patient education for tooth brushing and taking care of the mouth, especially in the elderly patient, providing oral and dental care, training for unconscious and fasting patients, undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and hospitalization in intensive care unit.ConclusionThe findings of the study emphasized the need for interdisciplinary cooperation between nursing and dental professionals for the development of an oral health curriculum for nurses to promote and improve oral health and prevent dental diseases in hospitalized patients and the community.

A bi-objective optimization framework for designing an efficient fuel supply chain network in post-earthquakes

Earthquakes are the most sudden and unpredictable natural disaster which can cause serious damages in terms of deaths, injuries, and property loss. When an earthquake occurs, it is very important to respond immediately to peoples’ emergency needs through proper distribution of critical resources such as medical care, water, food, shelters, etc. Fuel is also one of the most critical needs which must be provided without delay to the population affected by the earthquake, especially the vulnerable children and elderly people. This paper develops a nonlinear bi-objective optimization framework for operating an efficient and effective fuel supply chain network in earthquake-hit areas. The objective functions include minimizing the penalties due to unsatisfied and/or lost fuel demands and minimizing the difference between the satisfied demands in different damaged areas. Some assumptions and constraints, such as the existence of multiple central depots, limited vehicle capacities, time available to respond to the incident, are also considered in the modeling. Two multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs), including a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and a multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), are proposed to solve the optimization problem. Since the performance of these algorithms is significantly dependent on their parameters, a Taguchi method is used to tune the algorithms’ parameters. In addition, four performance metrics are defined to evaluate and compare the performance of the algorithms. A hypothetical earthquake with actual dimensions and realistic data in Yazd province of Iran is presented as a case study, and finally, helpful managerial insights are provided through conducting a sensitivity analysis.

Identification and salt tolerance evaluation of endophyte fungi isolates from halophyte plants

The harsh environments of desert areas lead to natural selection of resistant creatures with obvious characteristics. This experiment looked for salt-tolerant fungi from native halophyte plants. Forty fungi isolated from three halophyte plant families that were collected from desert areas of Yazd Province in Iran, and the most tolerant isolates were selected at concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 3.5 and 4 molar sodium chloride. Five selected superior isolates were assigned to the phylum Ascomycota based on internal transcribed spacers sequences and β-tubulin gene, as well as morphological characteristics of the genus and species. Aspergillus terreus showed superiority in terms of enzymes and antibacterial properties than other isolates. Other isolates were Acremonium, Paecilomyces, Microascus and Monosorascus. Aspergillus terreus also showed antifungal effects against Aspergillus fumigatus, a human pathogen.

Assessment of Climate change parameters impact on long-term sediment transport trend Case study; Azam River basin

At the turn of the new decade, climate change is one of the key issues that has affected all social, economic and other human's activities. In this study, the effects of changes in precipitation and temperature parameters on sediment changes in the Azam River located in Yazd province of Iran were investigated. The Mann-Kendall test was used to identify the changes in sediment parameters. Subsequently, in order to predict the sediment changes the artificial neural network (ANN) was considered. In order to use the ANN model for predicting the sediment amount, firstly, the model was trained by temperature and precipitation data as input parameters, in the next step the ANN model sensitivity analysis was done by changing the layers and the neuron numbers, finally the most suitable model with 25 layers and 30 neurons was chosen. The final trained ANN model was used forecasting the sediment amount over 2015-2044.

Assessment of climate change parameters impact on long-term sediment transport trend case study: Azam River basin

At the turn of the new decade, climate change is one of the key issues that has affected all social, economic and other human's activities. In this study, the effects of changes in precipitation and temperature parameters on sediment changes in the Azam River located in Yazd province of Iran were investigated. The Mann-Kendall test was used to identify the changes in sediment parameters. Subsequently, in order to predict the sediment changes the artificial neural network (ANN) was considered. In order to use the ANN model for predicting the sediment amount, firstly, the model was trained by temperature and precipitation data as input parameters, in the next step the ANN model sensitivity analysis was done by changing the layers and the neuron numbers, finally the most suitable model with 25 layers and 30 neurons was chosen. The final trained ANN model was used forecasting the sediment amount over 2015-2044.

A new species of the genus Adenissus Linnavuori, 1973 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Caliscelidae) from Central Iran, with a key to species of the genus

Adenissus timokhovi sp. n. is described after a male and female collected in Yazd Province of Iran. Key to species of the genus Adenissus Linnavuori is given and relationships of the species are discussed.

Open innovation: from technology exploitation to creation of superior performance

Purpose Nowadays, to develop innovative activities in research and development units, it is desirable to rely on the concept of open innovation to take actions towards the identification of external capabilities of an organization and external knowledge acquisition. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of external technology acquisition (ETA), external technology exploitation (ETE) and culture of innovation (IC) on open innovation (OI) using SEM approach and then examine the amount of the impact of open innovation on organizational performance (OP) and value creation (VC). Design/methodology/approach This study was an applied survey in terms of research purpose and data collection method. The statistical population included all companies in Yazd Science and Technology Park (STP). To collect the data, 109 questionnaires were distributed. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts’ comments, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated equal to 0.873 for reliability. Findings The results indicated, ETA, ETE and IC had significant and positive effects on OI, and OI by itself had a significant and positive impact on OP and VC. However, the hypothesis of the significant and positive effect of VC on OP was rejected. Originality/value Considering the importance of innovative activities of companies in STPs and the role of OI in achieving the goals of idea-driven companies, the present study evaluated the effects of factors affecting the fulfillment of OI in companies based in STPs in the Yazd province of Iran.

Identification and pathogenicity of Fusarium spp., the causal agent of wheat crown and root rot in Iran

Crown and root rot are among the most important wheat diseases caused by Fusarium species. The aim of this study was the identification of Fusarium spp. isolates obtained from wheat with crown and root rot symptoms in Yazd province of Iran, based on morphological and molecular characteristics. The ef1/ef2 and ITS4/ITS5 primers were used for molecular identification of the isolates. The results of morphological and molecular investigations revealed that among 40 isolates, 11 isolates were identified as F. equiseti, six isolates as F. pseudograminearum, five isolates as F. culmorum, five isolates as F. flocciferum, four isolates as F. acuminatum, four isolates as F. oxysporum, three isolates as F. solani and two isolates as F. proliferatum. Pathogenicity of the isolates was evaluated on wheat cultivar Falat. Comparing pathogenicity of different Fusarium spp. isolates on wheat seedlings revealed that the highest level of disease index was observed for F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum, F. flocciferum and F. solani and the lowest disease severity was observed for F. equiseti. This is the first report on the identification of Fusarium spp., causing wheat crown and root rot in Yazd province of Iran, and on pathogenicity of F. flocciferum on wheat.

Evaluation of Emergency Nurses’ Knowledge and Performance about Hospital Triage

Background and Objectives: By knowing the level of knowledge of triage nurses, we will be capable of making the right decision about allocating suitable resources for enriching the quality of the emergency department. So, the objective of our study is to evaluate triage knowledge and performance of emergency nurses in Yazd province of Iran.
 Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The sampling was performed from all nurses responsible for triage in emergency departments of 8 educational hospitals of Yazd University of Medical Sciences were included for our sampling in the study. Data collection was done using a questionnaire whose validity and reliability have already been approved. After evaluating all the questionnaires, 84 of them were completed, and others were excluded from the study. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using the SPSS version 22 software.
 Results: According to statistical analysis results, there was no significant relationship between the knowledge score, performance and total score with demographic characteristics. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between educational courses, work experience and work shift with knowledge, performance and total score. Although female nurses’ scores in knowledge and performance areas was higher than male scores, the differences were not statistically significant.
 Conclusion: The level of knowledge of the nurses employed in the emergency departments of Shahid Sadoughi University of medical sciences in Yazd is moderate in terms of triage. However, the performance of nurses working in the emergency departments of the aforementioned centers is higher than average. It is concluded that there is an immediate need to reconsider nurses triage education and improve the triage knowledge and performance among nurses.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Food-Borne Disease Outbreaks in Yazd Province of Iran during 2012-2016

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Food-Borne Disease Outbreaks in Yazd Province of Iran during 2012-2016