The Effect of a Mixed Extract of Peppermint, Mentha, Evening Primrose, and Eucalyptus on Lowering Body Temperature in Rats

Background and Aim: Increased body temperature (fever) is a common clinical indicator of disease and can lead to altered metabolism and subsequently threaten life. studies have shown antimicrobial, analgesic/antipyretic effect for some Eucalyptus and Mentha species. Therefore, in the present study we assessed the effect of the combination of mint (Mentha), eucalyptus, evening primrose, and basil on lowering body temperature.Methods: This experimental study was performed on 30 rats in five groups. A hydroalcoholic extract was prepared from each plants using ethanol as solvent and concentrated with a rotary apparatus. Then the extracts were combined in equal proportions. To induce fever, the brewer's yeast fever induction method was used by intraperitoneal injection of a 20% aqueous suspension. The febrile rats were then divided into groups receiving different doses of the mixed extract (200, 500, 750 mg/kg); normal saline and paracetamol were used in control groups. Rectal temperature was measured with a digital thermometer before injection and 6, 8, 12, and 16 hours after extract injection. The analysis of variance with repeated measurements was used to evaluate the effect of hydroalcoholic plant extracts on fever changes.Results: The mean fever in the intervention groups with all effective doses decreased over the hours, and the mean fever with a dose of 750 mg decreased more than in the other groups (P-value < 0.05). We had the lowest fever at a dose of 750 mg and a time of 16 hours (P-value < 0.05).Conclusion: The results show that the combined extract can reduce body temperature in rats, and by increasing the effective dose, the recovery rate and temperature reduction are faster and more effective. *Corresponding Author: Roghayeh Gholizadeh Doran Mahalleh; Email:[email protected]; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4756-7122 Please cite this article as: Gholizadeh Doran Mahalleh R, Abdollahi Gonbaj A, Razavi M. The Effect of a mixed extract of Peppermint, Mentha, Evening Primrose, and Eucalyptus on Lowering Body Temperature in Rats. Arch Med Lab Sci. 2022;8:1-6 (e7). https://doi.org/10.22037/amls.v8.3654

An improved method for fabrication of Ag-GO nanocomposite with controlled anti-cancer and anti-bacterial behavior; a comparative study

In this study, two green procedures for Silver-Graphene Oxide (Ag-GO) nanocomposite synthesis were investigated. As a common method, AgNO3 was first loaded on the GO surface and then was reduced and stabilized by walnut green husk extract, producing Ag-GO-I. As an innovative approach, GO was first exposed to the extract and then the AgNO3 was added as the second step, producing Ag-GO-Pi. Physicochemical properties, antibacterial and cytotoxicity activity of both nanocomposites were subsequently studied comparing with free silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and pure GO. Based on the results, exposure of GO to the extract, as a reducing agent, at the first/last step of the synthesis process resulted in the fundamental differences in the final products. So that, high amounts of agglomerated silver nanoparticles were formed between the GO sheets, when using the common method, whereas in Ag-GO-Pi, small AgNPs were formed on the GO sheets without aggregation, entirely covering the sheets. Antibacterial and cytotoxic behavior of these nanomaterials could be compared as AgNPs > AgGO-Pi > Ag-GO-I. It is assumed that these differences are due to control of unwanted nucleation in the synthesis process that Ag nanoparticles are smaller with less agglomeration when the GO surfaces are pre-treated with reducing agent

Evaluating the Combined Effect of Licorice, Coriander, Gallnut, Sagebrush, Withania Coagulans, and Pistacia Atlantica Subsp Kurdica on the Healing and Repair of Wounds in Balb/C Mice

Background: The long and painful process of wound healing, which requires special attention and makes it difficult to carry out daily activities, necessitates a combination of medical interventions which speed up wound healing and prevent injury exacerbation. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of licorice, coriander, gallnut, sagebrush, Withania coagulans, and Pistacia atlantica subsp. kurdica on healing and repair of burn wounds. Methods: A total of 48 mature Balb/c mice were used in this experiment, which were divided into four groups of 12. Hydroalcoholic extracts were prepared from mentioned plants. An artificial metal tool with a rod and a flat circular head of 1 cm in diameter was used to create a wound 1 cm in diameter in the dorsal region of the mice. Then, the animals were randomly euthanized and fixed in 10% formalin solution on days 4, 7, 10, and 14. Data was analyzed using ImageJ and SPSS software. Results: Inflammation and infiltration of neutrophils and lymphocytes were decreased significantly more in the treated group with the plant extract 10% SP than the control groups on days 10, 4, 4 and 14 (p. value < 0.001). The number of fibroblasts followed by collagen production, regeneration of epithelium and new hair follicles at the wound edges significantly increased in the 10% extract and 5% SP treated group on days 10 and 14 (p. value < 0.001). These parameters had a significant increase on day 14 even compared to the group treated with 5% extract and silver sulfadiazine (p. value < 0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the used combined extract accelerated the wound healing process BALBmice

The role of magnesium sulfate in the intensive care unit

Magnesium (Mg) has been developed as a drug with various clinical uses. Mg is a key cation in physiological processes, and the homeostasis of this cation is crucial for the normal function of body organs. Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is a mineral pharmaceutical preparation of magnesium that is used as a neuroprotective agent. One rationale for the frequent use of MgSO4 in critical care is the high incidence of hypomagnesaemia in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Correction of hypomagnesaemia along with the neuroprotective properties of MgSO4 has generated a wide application for MgSO4 in ICU

Petroleum Wastewater Treatment

Petroleum hydrocarbons in refinery wastewater are considered the main cause of pollution. Wastewater from oil refineries contains large amounts of oil and fat in the form of suspended particles, light and heavy hydrocarbons, phenol, and other dissolved organic substances, which cause environmental pollution if they are discharged into the environment without treatment. Usually, conventional methods of treating petroleum wastes have a lot of costs; due to the existence of sufficient area for the construction of solar distillation ponds and suitable sunlight, as well as a large number of sunny days near the equator, the solar distillation method can be used. Membrane bioreactors based on biological decomposition and biological transformation of oils and waste oil materials have provided new solutions for the biological treatment of these wastewater. In addition to these methods, Fenton’s advanced oxidation methods, electrochemical coagulation method, and membrane filtration method are mentioned in this chapter

BLOOM: A 176B-Parameter Open-Access Multilingual Language Model

Large language models (LLMs) have been shown to be able to perform new tasks based on a few demonstrations or natural language instructions. While these capabilities have led to widespread adoption, most LLMs are developed by resource-rich organizations and are frequently kept from the public. As a step towards democratizing this powerful technology, we present BLOOM, a 176B-parameter open-access language model designed and built thanks to a collaboration of hundreds of researchers. BLOOM is a decoder-only Transformer language model that was trained on the ROOTS corpus, a dataset comprising hundreds of sources in 46 natural and 13 programming languages (59 in total). We find that BLOOM achieves competitive performance on a wide variety of benchmarks, with stronger results after undergoing multitask prompted finetuning. To facilitate future research and applications using LLMs, we publicly release our models and code under the Responsible AI License

Isolation, Purification and Identification of Indigenous Bacteria from PAHs Polluted Soil

PAHs are toxic compounds with carcinogenic effects on humans that are released into the environment by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Three methods are commonly employed for PAHs pollutant removal: physical, chemical, and biological. From among these, the biological method which typically contains microbial processes and transforms pollutants to nontoxic or less toxic substances is the most innocuous and effective solution. In this study, attempts were initially made to enrich, isolate, and purify indigenous bacteria from PAHs polluted soil. In the second stage, the PCR method was exploited to identify the bacteria that had the capability of growth and reproduction in polluted conditions. It was found that the degrading bacteria are component species of gram negative bacilli determined as Shewanella, Pseudomonas, and Achromobacter. The results of the present study indicate that the bacteria have the best performance in PAHs removal from polluted environments

The incidences of oxidative –stress occurrence following two metabolic support measures in critically ill patients

<p><strong>Background:</strong> A high percentage of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) have systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria. Free radicals play an important role in initiation and development of SIRS. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the molecular changes of cellular antioxidant power in patients with SIRS who received enteral nutrition (EN) or EN combined with parenteral nutrition (PN).</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Two groups of 10 patients were enrolled in this randomized, controlled clinical trial. Those in the treatment group received EN+PN and the control group received only EN. Venous blood samples were taken just prior to initiation of nutritional support and then 24, 48 and 72 hours following entry into the study for examination of antioxidant parameters including total thiol, total antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The two supportive regimens had different affects on total antioxidant capacity (P=0.005). In the EN group the amount of total antioxidant capacity was not significantly different in different days (P>0.05), but in the EN+PN group it was significantly different on third and forth days as compared to the first day. The two other parameters had no significant differences between the two groups.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These results are suggesting that an increase in oxidative stress bio-markers are not necessarily related to the route of pharmaconutrition and may occur independently during metabolic support measures.</p> <strong>Keywords:</strong> Parenteral Nutrition, Enteral Nitrition, Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, Oxidative stres

Role of Iron in Hyperoxia-Induced Lung Injury: One Step Forward in

Background: An increased oxidative stress in patients under treatment with high concentrations of oxygen (hyperoxia) is considered to be one of the major mechanisms of lung injury. Between different mediators, transition metal ions especially iron, by generation of very reactive free radicals play an important role in oxidative stress process. Disruption of normal iron hemostasis has been reported in hyperoxic conditions. So we hypothesized that chelation of iron can reduce hyperoxia- induced lung injury. Methods: Mechanically ventilated patients, who received oxygen with FiO > 0.5 for at least 3 days, underwent bronchoscopy at baseline and 72 hours thereafter. Data from external control cases were collected prospectively to provide a comparative reference group.Iron and Iron-related proteins were measured in lavage fluid and plasma. Results: In 24 patients and in comparison with the results of previous study, Iron concentration decreased significantly in lavage fluid (P<0.001). Reduction of ferritin was not significant in lavage fluid (P: 0.7).Transferrin decreased significantly in plasma (P: 0.01). Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II (P: 0.006) score decreased significantly after 7 days of follow-up. Conclusion: Deferasirox did not change Iron and Iron-related protein in hyperoxic condition and it just only could be considered along with other supportive measures for better toleration of oxygen therapy

Poremećaji neurokognitivne funkcije, mentalnoga zdravlja i razine glukoze u zemljoradnika izloženih organofosfornim pesticidima

About 25 million agricultural workers in the developing world suffer from at least one episode of poisoningeach year, mainly by anticholinesterase-like organophosphates (OPs). The objective of this cross-sectional study was to establish the OP toxicity in 187 occupationally exposed farmers in terms of neurocognitive impairment, mental health status, clinical symptoms, diabetes, and haematological factors. The exposed group was compared to 187 healthy age-, sex-, and education-matching controls. Neurocognitive impairment was measured using the Subjective Neurocognition Inventory (SNI) and mental health status using the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). The subjects were also tested for fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cholesterol (CL), triglycerides (TG), creatinine, oral glucose tolerance test (GTT), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The exposed farmers showed higher FBG (p<0.001), BUN (p=0.007), CL (p<0.001), oral GTT (p<0.001), and lower AST (p<0.001), ALP (p<0.001), and creatinine (p=0.004) than controls. The rates of anxiety/insomnia and severe depression were also significantly higher in the farmers than in controls (p=0.015 and p<0.001, respectively). Meanwhile, the rate of social dysfunction was signifi cantly lower than in controls (p<0.001). Disorders affecting psychomotor speed, selective attention, divided attention, verbal memory, nonverbal memory, prospective memory, spatial functioning, and initiative/energy were all lower in the farmers (p<0.001). Farmers showed clinical symptoms eczema, saliva secretion, fatigue, headache, sweating, abdominal pain, nausea, superior distal muscle weakness, inferior distal muscle weakness, inferior proximal muscle weakness, breath muscle weakness, hand tingling, foot tingling, epiphoria, polyuria, miosis, dyspnoea, bradycardia, and rhinorrhoea, which all signifi cantly correlated with the number of working years. These fi ndings indicate that farmers who work with OPs are prone to neuropsychological disorders and diabetes.Oko 25 milijuna zemljoradnika iz zemalja u razvoju imalo je barem jednu epizodu trovanja na godinu, uglavnom antikolinesteraznim organofosfatima. Cilj ovoga križnog ispitivanja bio je utvrditi u 187 profesionalno izloženih zemljoradnika toksično djelovanje organofosfata na neurokognitivnu funkciju, mentalno zdravlje, kliničke simptome, dijabetes i hematološke parametre. Izložena je skupina uspoređena s odgovarajućom kontrolnom skupinom od 187 ispitanika odgovarajuće dobi, spola i obrazovanja. Neurokognitivni poremećaj mjeren je s pomoću Inventara za subjektivnu procjenu neurokognitivne funkcije (izv. Subjective Neurocognition Inventory, krat. SNI), a mentalno zdravlje ocijenjeno s pomoću Upitnika o općem zdravstvenom stanju s 28 stavki (izv. General Health Questionnaire-28, krat. GHQ-28). Ispitanicima su također napravljene pretrage glukoze u krvi natašte (FBG), ureje u krvi (BUN), kolesterola (CL), triglicerida (TG), kreatinina, zatim test podnošljivosti oralne glukoze (GTT), lipoproteina visoke gustoće (HDL), aspartat aminotransferaze (AST), alanin aminotransferaze (ALT) i alkalne fosfataze (ALP). Izloženi zemljoradnici imali su značajno više nalaze FBG-a (p<0,001), BUN-a (p=0,007), CL-a (p<0,001) i GTT-a (p<0,001) te značajno niže nalaze AST-a (p<0,001), ALP-a (p<0,001) i kreatinina (p=0,004) od kontrolnih ispitanika. Također su u odnosu na kontrolu značajno češće imali tjeskobe/nesanice, odnosno snažnu depresiju (p=0,015, odnosno p<0,001). S druge strane, učestalost poremećaja socijalne funkcije bila je značajno manja nego u kontrolnih ispitanika (p<0,001). Svi poremećaji koji utječu na brzinu psihomotornog odgovora, selektivnu pažnju, podijeljenu pažnju, verbalno pamćenje, neverbalno pamćenje, prospektivno pamćenje, prostornu funkciju te inicijativu/energiju bili su slabije izraženi u zemljoradnika (p<0,001). Zemljoradnici su iskazali kliničke simptome poput ekcema, slinjenja, umora, glavobolje, znojenja, boli u trbuhu, mučnine, slabosti gornjih i donjih, distalnih i proksimalnih mišića te respiratornih mišića, trnaca u šakama i stopalima, epiforije, poliurije, mioze, dispneje, bradikardije i curenja iz nosa, a svi su simptomi bili značajno povezani s godinama staža. Ovi rezultati ispitivanja upućuju na to da su zemljoradnici koji rade s organofosfatima skloniji neuropsihološkim poremećajima i dijabetesu