Medication errors among nurses in teaching hospitals in the west of Iran:

Afshin Fathi,Mohammad Hajizadeh,Khalil Moradi,Hamed Zandian,Maryam Dezhkameh,Shima Kazemzadeh,Satar Rezaei 한국역학회 2017 Epidemiology and Health Vol.39 No.-

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the prevalence and types of medication errors (MEs), as well as barriers to reporting MEs, among nurses working in 7 teaching hospitals affiliated with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2016. METHODS: A convenience sampling method was used to select the study participants (n=500 nurses). A self-constructed questionnaire was employed to collect information on participants’ socio-demographic characteristics (10 items), their perceptions about the main causes of MEs (31 items), and barriers to reporting MEs to nurse managers (11 items). Data were collected from September 1 to November 30, 2016. Negative binomial regression was used to identify the main predictors of the frequency of MEs among nurses. RESULTS: The prevalence of MEs was 17.0% (95% confidence interval, 13.7 to 20.3%). The most common types of MEs were administering medications at the wrong time (24.0%), dosage errors (16.8%), and administering medications to the wrong patient (13.8%). A heavy workload and the type of shift work were considered to be the main causes of MEs by nursing staff. Our findings showed that 45.0% of nurses did not report MEs. A heavy workload due to a high number of patients was the most important reason for not reporting MEs (mean score, 3.57±1.03) among nurses. Being male, having a second unrelated job, and fixed shift work significantly increased MEs among nurses (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study documented a high prevalence of MEs among nurses in the west of Iran. A heavy workload was considered to be the most important barrier to reporting MEs among nurses. Thus, appropriate strategies (e.g., reducing the nursing staff workload) should be developed to address MEs and improve patient safety in hospital settings in Iran.

Global sensitivity analysis improvement of rotor-bearing system based on the Genetic Based Latine Hypercube Sampling (GBLHS) method

Mohammad Reza Fatehi,Afshin Ghanbarzadeh,Shapour Moradi,Ali Hajnayeb 국제구조공학회 2018 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.68 No.5

Sobol method is applied as a powerful variance decomposition technique in the field of global sensitivity analysis (GSA). The paper is devoted to increase convergence speed of the extracted Sobol indices using a new proposed sampling technique called genetic based Latine hypercube sampling (GBLHS). This technique is indeed an improved version of restricted Latine hypercube sampling (LHS) and the optimization algorithm is inspired from genetic algorithm in a new approach. The new approach is based on the optimization of minimax value of LHS arrays using manipulation of array indices as chromosomes in genetic algorithm. The improved Sobol method is implemented to perform factor prioritization and fixing of an uncertain comprehensive high speed rotor-bearing system. The finite element method is employed for rotor-bearing modeling by considering Eshleman-Eubanks assumption and interaction of axial force on the rotor whirling behavior. The performance of the GBLHS technique are compared with the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), LHS and Optimized LHS (Minimax. criteria). Comparison of the GBLHS with other techniques demonstrates its capability for increasing convergence speed of the sensitivity indices and improving computational time of the GSA.

Mechanical, rheological, and durability analysis of self-consolidating concretes containing recycled aggregates

Hiwa Mollaei,Taleb Moradi Shaghaghi,Hasan Afshin,Reza Saleh Ahari,Seyed Saeed Mirrezaei 국제구조공학회 2023 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.88 No.2

In the present paper, the effect of recycled aggregates on the rheological and mechanical properties of selfconsolidating concrete is investigated experimentally and numerically. Hence, the specimen with two types of recycled aggregates, i.e., known and unknown resistance origins, are utilized for the studied specimens. The experiments in this study are designed using the Box-Behnken method, which is one of the response surface methods. Input variables in mixtures include silica fume in the range of 5-15% as a percentage substitute for cement weight and recycled coarse and fine aggregates in the range of 0-50% for both series of recycled materials as a substitute for natural materials. The studied responses are slump flow, V funnel, compressive strength, tensile strength, and durability. The results indicate that the increase in the amount of recycled aggregates reduces the rheological and mechanical properties of the mixtures, while silica fume effectively improves the mechanical properties. In addition, the results demonstrate that the fine recycled aggregates affect the total response of the concrete significantly. The results of tensile and compressive strengths indicate that the mixtures including 50% recycled materials with known resistance origin demonstrate better responses up to 8 and 10% compared to the materials with unknown resistance origins, respectively. Recycled materials with a specific resistance origin also show better results than recycled materials with an unknown resistance origin. Durability test results represent those concretes containing recycled coarse aggregates have lower strength compared to recycled fine aggregates. Also, a series of mathematical relationships for all the responses are presented using variance analysis to predict mixtures’ rheological and mechanical properties.

Methylation of O⁶-Methyl Guanine Methyltransferase Gene Promoter in Meningiomas - Comparison between Tumor Grades I, II, and III

Larijani, Leila,Madjd, Zahra,Samadikuchaksaraei, Ali,Younespour, Shima,Zham, Hanieh,Rakhshan, Azadeh,Mohammadi, Foruzan,Rahbari, Ali,Moradi, Afshin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.1

Background: Meningiomas are the second most common primary intracranial tumors after gliomas. Epigenetic biomarkers such as DNA methylation, which is found in many tumors and is thus important in tumorigenesis can help diagnose meningiomas and predict response to adjuvant chemotherapy. We investigated aberrant O6-methyl guanine methyltransferase (MGMT) methylation in meningiomas. Materials and Methods: Sixty-one patients were classified according to the WHO grading, and MGMT promoter methylation status was examined via the methylation-Specific PCR(MSP) method. Results: MGMT promoter methylation was found in 22.2% of grade I, 35% of grade I with atypical features, 36% of grade II, and 42.9% of grade III tumors. Conclusions: There was an increase, albeit not statistically significant, in MGMT methylation with a rise in the tumor grade. Higher methylation levels were also observed in the male gender.

Evaluation of sHLA-G levels in serum of patients with prostate cancer identify as a potential of tumor marker

Mohammad Hassan Heidari,Abolfazl Movafagh,Mohammad Amin Abdollahifar,Shabnam Abdi,Mohamadreza Mashhoudi Barez,Hadi Azimi,Afshin Moradi,Amin Bagheri,Matineh Heidari,Jafar Hessam Mohseni,Maryam Tadayon 대한해부학회 2017 Anatomy & Cell Biology Vol.50 No.1

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer type in men and is the second cause of death, due to cancer, in patients over 50, after lung cancer. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a widely used tumor marker for prostate cancer. Recently, PSA is discovered in non-prostatic cancer tissues in men and women raising doubts about its specificity for prostatic tissues. PSA exists in low serum level in healthy men and in higher levels in many prostate disorders, including prostatitis and prostate cancer. Thus, a supplementary tumor marker is needed to accurately diagnose the cancer and to observe the patient after treatment. Recently, soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) has been introduced as a new tumor marker for different cancer types, including colorectal, breast, lung, and ovary. The present descriptive-experimental study was carried out including patients with malignant prostate tumor, patients with benign prostate tumor, and a group of health men as the control group, as judged by an oncologist as well as a pathologist. After sterile blood sampling, sHLA-G was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in each group. The data was then analyzed using one-way ANOVA. P≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The results showed that the mean of sHLA-G level was high in patients. Also, it was found that there was a significant difference in sHLA serum level between the three groups. The data revealed that sHLA-G can be a novel upplementary tumor marker in addition to PSA to diagnose prostate cancer.