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Background and Purpose: This study investigates the dietary patterns of medical sciences students in Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 265 students living in dormitories of Semnan University of Medical Sciences in 2020. The participants were selected by the cluster sampling method. The data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire. The first part included demographic and anthropometric variables and the second part was the food frequency questionnaire. The data were entered into the SPSS software, version 26 and independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient and the chi-squared test were used for data analysis. Results: Among the participants, 64% were girls. The majority were single (93.6%) and 57.7% had a monthly family income of more than $100. Also, 32(18.7%) and 36(27.4%) of women and men were overweight or obese, respectively. There was a significant correlation between cereals food group and age (r=0.150, P=0.014), vegetable food group and the length of stay in the dormitory (r=0.137, P=0.026), fruit food group and arm circumference (r=0.165, P=0.007) and the miscellaneous food group with arm circumference (r=0.124, P=0.044) and body mass index (r=0.121, P=0.049). Also, the frequency of consumption of vegetables and salts and seasonings groups in women was significantly higher than in men (P

Background: COVID-19 originated from China and causes pneumonia and respiratory, digestive and many other symptoms. The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes may increase in pregnant women infected with this virus. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the pregnancy outcomes and health indicators of newborn born in two periods before (the first 6 months of 2019) and after (the first 6 months of 2020) the COVID-19. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2303 newborns were studied. Of these, 1195 were born in the first 6 months of 2019 and 1108 were born in the first 6 months of 2020. The data collection tool was a checklist that was extracted from the integrated health system (SIB) of the Iranian Ministry of Health. The SPSS26 was used for data analysis. Results: The newborns born in these two periods before and after COVID-19 pandemic had no statistically significant differences in terms of maternal age, gestational age, birth weight, height and head circumference at birth (P-Value>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in terms of gender, stillbirth and twins or multiples variables in the two time periods before and after COVID19 (P-Value>0.05). Cesarean section rate after the COVID19 pandemic in the first 6 months of 2020 (60.8 %) was higher than before pandemic in the first 6 months of 2019 (56.7 %) (P-Value

Abstract Background The increasing growth of microbial resistance threatens the health of human societies. Therefore, the discovery and design of new antibiotics seem necessary. Today, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are receiving attention due to their unique properties. In our previous studies, exclusive antifungal effects of AurH1, which is a truncated and modified form of Aurein1.2, were synthesized. In this study, AurH1 antifungal peptide was synthesized into acylated (Ac-AurH1) and amidated (AurH1-NH2) derivatives, and their antifungal activity, cytotoxicity, anticancer activity, hemolytic effects were investigated. Finally, the time- of killing, the action mechanism of amidated and acylated peptides, and the effects of salts and human serum on their antimicrobial potency were determined. All the results obtained about these peptides were compared with the AurH1 without chemical modifications. Results The results showed that amidation at the C-terminal of AurH1 compared to acylation at the N-terminal of it can improve the antifungal properties and cytotoxicity of AurH1. The results showed that AurH1 amidation can maintain the antifungal activity of this peptide in the culture medium containing specific dilutions of human serum compared to the intact AurH1. Also, the amidation of the C-terminal of AurH1 could not affect the mechanism of action and its time -of killing. Conclusion As a result, the amidation of the C-terminal of the AurH1 is a suitable strategy to improve its antifungal properties and cytotoxicity. This modification can enhance its properties for animal studies.

Introduction: Injuries caused by sharp tools are one of the most important biological risks for hospital employees, leading to dangerous physical and psychological consequences. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of needle sticks and investigate their related factors among the staff of Kowsar Hospital in Semnan. Material & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all hospital employees who suffered from needle sticks during 2014-2018 were examined. The data collection tool was a checklist, including demographic variables, occupation, type of accident, and measures taken after the needle stick, part of which was collected from the personnel file in the infection control office, and another part was collected through interviews. After collecting the relevant data, they were entered into SPSS software (version 26) and subjected to statistical analysis. Findings: A total of 194 cases of needle sticks occurred, with a prevalence of 23.7%. The mean age of the investigated subjects was 34.57±9.41 years, and 41.2% of cases were in the age group of above 35 years. Moreover, 68% of them were women, 60.3% of subjects worked the morning shift, and most cases of needle sticks occurred in employees with less than five years of work experience (47.9%). Most cases of needle stick (60.3%) were related to employees with bachelor's education and nursing jobs (38.7%). In addition, the highest rate of needle sticks was related to the operating room (28.9%), and insertion of the injection needle into the hand (76.8%) was the most common incident of needle stick, and washing with soap and water (95.4%) was the most common procedure performed after needle stick. Discussion & Conclusion: Considering the relatively high prevalence of needle sticks among the medical staff, hospital officials should take into consideration vaccination and reporting systems while teaching proper prevention methods by creating a safe environment and trying to improve it.

Abstract Background Diabetes type 2 is a chronic metabolic disease with major physical and health problems that is on the rise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors affecting sleep quality in patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 160 patients with type 2 diabetes referred to the diabetes clinic of Kosar Hospital of Semnan city (Iran) in 2018. The sampling was convenient. The data collection tools were four questionnaires including demographic-clinical variables, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Beck depression inventory II questionnaire. The data was analyzed by STATA 14 and the crude and adjusted coefficient regression (β) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported. Results The mean (± S.D) of age was 58.70 (± 12.16) years and 60% were female. The multivariate linear regression model showed depression (β = 0.11; 95% CI 0.07–0.16) and sex (β = 1.24; 95% CI 0.17–2.30) are the most important predictors of sleep quality in diabetic patients. However, only underlying disease (β = 1.73; 95% CI 0.33–3.12) was the most important predictors of daily sleep disorder in diabetic patients. Conclusions Depression and sex were the most important predictors of sleep quality in diabetic patients; therefore, it seems necessary to pay attention to these factors in the design of sleep disorder prevention and control programs.

Objective: Diabetes as a silent epidemic and one of the top four causes of death in the world. This study was designed to evaluate the quality of life and depression in family caregivers of patients with type 1 diabetes in Iran. Methods: The study was case–control study (cases, n = 50; controls, n = 50). The cases consisted of family caregivers of patients with type 1 diabetes who referred to the endocrinology clinic of Kosar Hospital in Semnan in 2020. The controls were a random sample from among family caregivers of non-diabetic patients who had referred to the same center in the same year. Demographic and family variables, the 36-Item Short Form Survey questionnaire, and Beck’s Depression Inventory were used to collect data. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models with receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve were used to data analysis in STATA 14. Results: The multivariable logistic regression model showed a significant association between existence of a patient with type 1 diabetes with number of caregivers’ children (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–2.94), quality of life (OR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.74–0.90), sex (OR = 10.04; 95% CI: 2.29–43.99), and income level of caregivers (OR = 6.49; 95% CI: 1.35–31.08); however, it did not show a significant relationship with depression (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.94–1.10). Conclusion: The quality of life in family caregivers of type 1 diabetics is low and gender, income level, and number of caregivers’ children were the most important factors predicting it. Therefore, psychological interventions to manage stress and improve the quality of life of family caregivers are recommended.