Assessment of staff performance in cssd unit by 360 degree evaluation method

BACKGROUND: 360-degree evaluation is a method that an employee is evaluated by the others and given feedback to him/her. Considering the proper implementation of the sterilization process is important in the prevention of nosocomial infections and has a direct impact on the quality of performance of the surgical team in the operating room. This study was conducted to the Evaluation of CSSD Unit Personnel Performance in Sterilization Process using the 360 Degree technique. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the educational hospitals of Gillan Province in IRAN, between 2018 and 2019. Assessment of staff performance in CSSD Unit was done by 360 Degree evaluation method in five different stages. The evaluators included the infection control nurses, Supervisors of the sterilization unit, the researcher and the staff of these units as self-assessors. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: The evaluation mean scores were as following: The researcher, 75.97 ± 18.9; infection control nurse, 87.62 ± 7.2; unit supervisor, 87.61 ± 7.8 and staff self-assessment, 88.01 ± 8.1; at different stages of the sterilization process. From all assessors view, the highest and lowest scores were related to the cleaning and Health dimensions. CONCLUSION: According to assessor's agreement in scoring of different stages of the sterilization process, the 360-degree evaluation method is a valuable tool in assessment of the staff performance in important tasks. By applying this method, it can be ethically prevented evaluators' individual judgments. © 2020 Australasian College of Health Service Management. All rights reserved

Lamium album or Urtica dioica? Which is more effective in decreasing serum glucose, lipid and hepatic enzymes in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats: A comparative study

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus, the most common endocrine disorder, is defined by hyperglycaemia.  Urtica dioica or stinging nettle is known to have antidiabetic effects. Lamium album or non stinging nettle is shown to have some beneficial effects such as antioxidant, and cytoprotective properties. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of hydroalchoholic extract of L. album and U. dioica on serum  glucose, lipids and hepatic enzymes level in sterptozotocin induced diabetic rats.Methods: Thirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups; normal control,  diabetic control, diabetic treated with U. dioica (100 mg/kg/daily), diabetic treated with L. album (100 mg/kg/daily) for 28 days. Serum glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), alanin trasaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and aspartate transaminase (AST) were measured.Results: U. dioica and L. album extracts caused significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum glucose level in diabetic rats. Compared to diabetic control, both extracts significantly decreased serum cholesterol, ALT, AST and ALP (p<0.05). The level of serum TG in diabetic rats treated with U. dioica was significantly lower than that of animals treated with L. album (p<0.05).Conclusion: it seems that administration of U. dioica and L. album extracts in diabetic rats may have similar lowering effects on the level of serum glucose, cholesterol and hepatic enzymes, albeit U. dioica might be more effective in improving serum TG as compared with L. album.Key words: Diabetes, Glucose, Lamium album, Lipids, Rats, Urtica dioic

Effect of C-peptide on Cognitive Dysfunction and Neuronal Apoptosis Caused by beta amyloid 1-42 in Diabetic Rats

Background & Aim: Alzheimer disease is characterized by a progressive loss of memory. Its prevalence in diabetic patients is nearly twice in comparison of others. Recent findings suggest that C-peptide replacement in type 1 diabetes exerts beneficial effects on diabetic rats. We examined the effects of C-peptide on cognitive dysfunction and neuronal apoptosis caused by Aβ 1-42 on working memory in Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Methods: In the present experimental study which was carried out in 2009 at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 50 male Sprague Dawley rats (230-300 gr) were divided into five groups: control, type 1 diabetic, diabetic groups receiving C-peptide, diabetic group receiving beta amyloid, diabetic group receiving beta amyloid and c-peptide. The Neuronal apoptosis were assessed with tunnel staining. Diabetes was induced with IV injection of Streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). Twenty six days after the onset of diabetes, behavioral tests were conducted for three days. For data analysis, the Tukey and One way ANOVA tests were used. Results: In comparison to control group, in all diabetic groups working memory impairments was observed (P<0.05), but Aβ 1-42 caused severe deficits in the working memory (P<0.001) and C-peptide could significantly decrease the impairment (P<0.05). Only the diabetic beta amyloid group showed significant amount of tunnel positive neuron (P<0.05) and c-peptide replacement significantly decreased the amount of these cells (P<0.05). Conclusion: C-peptide could significantly decrease memory impairment and neuronal apoptosis among diabetic rats

Comparison of Acupressure Effect on Sanyinjiao Point with that of Vitamin E on Primary Dysmenorrhea

Introduction & Objective: Dysmenorrhea is a common gynecologic disorder which at least fifty percent of women experience through their reproductive period. The most important cause of primary dysmenorrhea is the enhancement of prostaglandins production and its role in the appearance of the pain. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of acupressure and vitamin E in reduction of the severity of pain in primary dysmenorrhea. Materials & Methods: This was a randomized clinical trial study to compare the effect of the pressure point Sanyinjiao medication and vitamin E on dysmenorrhea. In this study, 100 female students between 18 t0 22 years of age were recruited. The students were randomly allocated into two groups: pressure medication group, and vitamin E group. In the first cycle, no treatment was used. But during the next two cycles, with the start of pain in the pressure medication group, the Sanyinjiao point was pressured for 20 minutes and in the Vitamin E group, each subject used one pill of Vitamin E (200 units), daily. The necessary data was collected by questionnaire and Andrish- Millsom scale of dysmenorrhea. Mann-Whitney, Fridman, Wilcoxon, chi-square and t-test were used for data analysis. Results: The present study revealed that there was significant differences in the rate of pain during the cycles in both groups. There was a significant difference in pain intensity for each group before and after the treatment (P<0.05). Significant difference was found between two groups in the duration of pain in second months (P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed that acupressure at Sanyinjiao point can be used as an effective, available, cost effective intervention for reducing pain in dysmenorrheal

The Effect of the Alcoholic Extract of Walnut on the Testis Tissue of Adult Male Rats

Background & aim: Given the widespread use of walnut in the cooking and medical applications, in the present study, the possible effects of the alcoholic extract of walnut on the testis and reproductive activity of adult male rats were studied. Methods: In the present experimental study, forty adult male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 grams were divided into five groups. The control group did not receive any treatment. Normal saline was intraperitoneally injected to the control group. Experimental groups received three different doses of alcoholic extract of walnut: 10, 20 and 50 mg/ kg intraperitoneally/daily, respectively. The testes were removed from the abdomen and the tissue sections were studied. The gathered data were analyzed using One-way Analysis of variance and Tukey's range test. Results: Results indicated that walnut extract affect the development and maintenance of spermatogenesis to its final stages, and increased the number of sperms and interstitial cells in the testis. Alcoholic extract of walnut during the test instrument did not have much impact on the structure of the sperm tube tissue. Conclusion: The alcoholic extract of walnut led to the increased activity of the testis and interstitial cells, followed by an increase in sperm cells and reproductive activity of male rats