Effects of black seed (Nigella Sativa) on type 2 cytokines gene expression and mucus production in the airways of asthmatic mice

Background: Black Seed (BS) is used in traditional medicine as a therapy for a variety of diseases including allergic asthma.Materials and Methods: In the present study, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of BS on cytokine gene expression, lung airway eosinophilia and goblet cell hyperplasia were examined in a mouse mice model of allergic asthma. Groups of 6-week-old female BALB/c mice were sensitized by intraperitoneal injections of OVA plus alum on days 1 and 14. On days 24, 26, 28 and 30, the mice were exposed to OVA in saline for 30 min with nebulizer. Similar experiments were conducted with mice receiving saline as a negative control.Results: The mouse allergic asthma model received BS by food on days 23, 25, 27 and 29. Then, the percentage of inflammatory cells as well as mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13 and mucin (MUC5a) genes were survived in Broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Furthermore, we attempted to examine histopathological examination of the lung. Mice receiving BS showed a significant decrease in the number of eosinophils, and a potential inhibitory effect on mRNA expression levels of Th2-driven immune response cytokines and mucin, resulting in decreased production of interleukin and mucin in allergic asthma.Conclusion: Our findings suggested that BS has an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effect during the allergic response in the lung, and can be a promising treatment for allergic asthma in humans

A Narrative Review of Mate Choice: Evolutionary, Cognitive Orientation and Combined Perspectives

Evolutionary psychology had revolutionized the mate choice in past years and the framework of a cognitive orientation based on intelligence and social status had attracted a lot of attention. Therefore, this study follows the intersection between evolutionary principles, cognitive models, and theoretical insights that can link these researches on mate choice that is called emerging evolutionary epistemology in recent years. The research was a narrative review study and the literature was searched through Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Magiran, Science Direct and SID with the words "sexual attraction, spouse selection, attractiveness in evolutionary psychology, attractiveness in cognitive psychology", and the relevant citations were included in this study. Search engines have been used for the last 5 years (From 2016 onwards) and more than three hundred documents were reviewed and extracted according to the criteria. The results indicated that as much as in evolutionary psychology, physical attractiveness plays a role in choosing a spouse, personality, intelligence, decision making, cultural and social status of the spouse as cognitive factors also play important role in creating attractiveness. Accordingly, new models have been developed by combination of these two models at three levels (1) perceptual adaptation that records sexual signs with respect to sensory input, (2) judgmental adaptations that assess multiple signs in evaluation and (3) the search strategies that people pursue in trying to form a pair. Overall, more collaboration between personality psychologists, psychoanalysts, behavioral geneticists, and evolutionary psychology is needed to well understood the mate choice mechanisms

The Relationship between the Attachment Styles of Children, Parenting Styles, and the Socio-Economic Status of parents

Background: Family's socio-economic status may significantly influence parenting style. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles of 7 to 12-year-old children, parenting styles, and the socio-economic status of parents. Methods: This was a cross-sectional and correlational study. The study population included 7 to 12 children who studied in elementary schools of Tehran in 2021. A sample of 95 individuals were selected by random sampling method and evaluated by questionares regarding Socio-Economic status (SE) (Ghodratnama, 2013), Parenting Style (PS) (Baumrind, 1973), Kinship Center Attachment (KCA) (Halpern and Kappenberg, 2006). The information obtained from the samples was analysed by Pearson correlation coefficient through SPSS 22 software. The level of significance was considered 5%. Results: There was a a significant correlation between the attachment styles of the children and parenting styles and the socio-economic status of parents (r= -.284, p<0.01). In parenting styles there was a significant relationship between authoritive parenting style and positive adjustment (r= -.258, p<0.05), emotional reactivity (r= .218, p<0.05), negative behaviour (r= .394, p<0.01) and distancing from caregiver support (r= .407, p<0.01). There was also a significant relationship between authoritarian and positive adjustment (r= .315, p<0.01), negative behaviour (r= -.311, p<0.01), distancing from caregiver support (r= -.379, p<0.01). A significant relationship was observed between permissive and negative behavior (r= .232, p<0.05). Conclusion: Both authoritative and permissive parenting styles seem to be dysfunctional. They cause different behavioural and emotional issues in children due to their attachment styles