Received: December 2014, Accepted: April 2015 Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are considered a major factor in health problems, human injuries, and loss of work time. The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) and evaluate the prevalence of MSD among female hairdressers. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive analytical study, the risk of MSDs was evaluated in 172 female hairdressers using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method. Moreover, the prevalence of WRMSDs was investigated using a Nordic questionnaire. All obtained data was analyzed by means of SPSS software, and the logistic regression model. Results:The results showed that 58.7% of the hairdressers experienced pain in their lower back, 52.3% in their neck, 41.3% in their knees, and 20.3% in their ankle. The results of this study showed a significant correlation between BMI and MSDs in the elbow, hip, and thigh. The results of REBA indicate that about 46% of the 1032 postures were classified as high risk and about 14.9% as very high risk. In addition, the results of this study showed a significant correlation between REBA score and MSDs in the neck, wrist, hip, and thigh. Conclusions: With regard to the high prevalence of symptoms in the waist, neck, and wrist, it can be concluded that prolonged standing, uncomfortable working postures, strenuous movements, excessive shoulder flexion and shoulder abduction, trunk flexion and forceful exertion, and repetitive motion are considered important risk factors for MSDs.

Abstract-The present study investigated the type of discourse markers in academic and non-academic writing of Iranian EFL learners. It tried to find out the most frequent types and tokens of discourse markers and to determine a significant difference between discourse markers in academic and non-academic writing. The 60 participants of this study were selected from Safire Lian language institute. Thirty were chosen to write academic writing and 30 to write non-academic writing. Fraser's taxonomy was used as the main taxonomy but to fulfill the aims of the study, some other taxonomy was used such as Cowan (2008) and Schiffrine (1981). The Chi-Square statistical test was used to analyze data in order to find out the differences in the use of discourse markers between academic and non-academic writing. Different hierarchies of discourse markers were observed in the present study. Elaborative and inferential were the most frequent types in academic genre while in non-academic genre elaborative was only the most frequent type. Moreover, the quantitative analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the use of discourse markers in academic and nonacademic writing. Furthermore, as the result revealed discourse markers were required more in academic than non-academic writing.

Backgrounds: This study aimed to assess the molecular characteristics of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from community-acquired (CA) and hospital-acquired (HA) infections in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran. Materials & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 S. aureus strains isolated from 59 outpatients and 51 inpatients during 2018-2019. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using disc diffusion method. Epsilometer test was used to measure vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Cefoxitin disc (30 μg) was used to screen MRSA isolates. The presence of mecA gene was examined by PCR method. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types were detected in S. aureus isolates using multiplex-PCR. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze the results. Findings: Out of 110 isolates, 45 (40.9%) isolates carried the mecA gene: 20 (39.2%) isolates from inpatients and 25 (42.4%) isolates from outpatients. MRSA isolates showed the highest resistance to azithromycin (69.8%), tetracycline (60.4%), and clindamycin (32.1%), respectively. Vancomycin MIC against MRSA isolates ranged from 0.75 to 5 μg/mL. SCCmec type I, III, IV, and V were detected in 20 (44.4%), three (6.7%), 16 (35.5%), and six (13.3%) isolates, respectively. Conclusion:The predominant SCCmec types were type I and type IV, which were detected in CAand HA-MRSA isolates, respectively. No significant difference in the presence of SCCmec type III and antibiotic resistance was found between CA-and HA-MRSA isolates, indicating the possibility of cross-infection between these isolates. Developing appropriate treatment protocols to prevent the spread of MRSA infections in the community is currently an urgent need.

Backgrounds:In recent years, Enterococcus species have emerged as a leading cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the virulence biomarkers and antibiotic resistance profiles of Enterococcus spp. collected from a main tertiary teaching hospital in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Materials & Methods: A total of 71 Enterococcus were isolated from clinical specimens of patients in different wards of a hospital. Enterococcus spp. were verified by detecting ddl gene using PCR-based method. Virulence-encoding genes including gelE and cylA were detected using PCR. Antibiotic resistance was assessed using the disk diffusion assay, and vancomycin resistance was identified using the E-test method. Findings: Among Enterococcus isolates, 50 and 21 isolates were identified as E. faecalis and E. faecium, respectively. Most of the Enterococcus species were isolated from urine, followed by wound samples. The most prevalent virulence genes among E. faecalis isolates were cylA (60%) and gelE (30%); also, 19 and 14% of E. faecium isolates were positive for cylA and gelE genes, respectively. Many isolates of E. faecalis (84%) and E. faecium (76%) were resistant to one or more antibiotics and showed high resistance to gentamicin and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion:This study revealed a high prevalence of ciprofloxacin and gentamicin resistance and a high frequency of virulence genes among E. faecalis isolates. Due to the high prevalence of MDR Enterococcus strains, control measures are necessary to prevent the emergence and transmission of these strains in different hospital wards.

Background: Risk assessment is an important tool for reducing casualties and financial damage in the oil and gas industry. This research aimed to identify and evaluate process hazards in the petrochemical industry in 2016. Material and Methods:In this case study, a team was organized and briefed on the process. Besides, hazard identification was performed using the Hazard and Operability Study. Next, causes were analyzed using the Fault Tree Analysis and occurrence probability of top events. Finally, events and subevents were ranked. The minimum cut sets were determined using Boolean algebra. Results: A total of 77 events were identified. Accordingly, unacceptable, tolerable, and acceptable risk levels were 41, 31, and 5 events, respectively. Fire was the most unacceptable risk level, with the final events of "human errors in correct gasket installation on the flange surface" and "flange defects" having had the shares of 51.2 and 21.55%, respectively. Conclusion:The combination of the two HAZOP and FTA techniques is useful in process industries in which incomplete performance of the system and control systems is the most effective factor in the potential occurrence of fire. Human errors and flange defects are the two main factors in this event, so occupational safety and health must be improved in this system. Thus, due to complex interactions between humans, machines, materials, and the environment in systems, such as the petrochemical industry, which lead to uncertainties in safety results of the process, risk assessment is recommended to be performed periodically using different techniques.