Seroprevalence of anti-Hp and anti-cagA antibodies among healthy persons in Golestan province, northeast of Iran (2010)

Background: The major cause of peptic ulcer disease is helicobacter pylori (Hp), and it is also implicated in the pathogenesis of adenocarcinoma of the distal stomach and gastric lymphoma. The incidence of peptic ulcer disease, atrophic gastritis, and gastric adenocarcinoma are more common in people infected of cagA positive strains of Hp. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the anti-Hp and anti-cagA antibodies among healthy persons in Golestan province-North of Iran. Methods: The blood samples of 1028 healthy people were collected all over Golestan province by cluster sampling. A demographic questionnaire was completed and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for each case. Hp-IgG (Pishtaz teb Co. Iran) and anti- cagA (DIA.PRO Italy) titer were evaluated by Elisa method. Data were collected and analyzed. Results: Six hundred-eighty three individuals (66.4%) were positive for Hp and 395 (57.8%) of them were cagA positive. Hp positive cases were (66.3%) and (66.6%) in male and female, respectively. Prevalence of cagA was 56.3% and 58.9%, respectively. The most seropositivity of Helicobacter Pylori (75.4%) was in 55-64 years old (p<0.001). Prevalence of cagA (63.4%) was more in age between 15-24 years. Conclusion: Prevalence of anti-Hp antibody and strains of cagA seropositive in healthy persons of this province of Iran were relatively high. Preventive protocol for reducing of the infection is recommended

Effect of ethanolic extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris in comparison with Gentamicine on 3 pathogenic bacteria in vitro

Objectives: Adiantum capillus-veneris is one of herbs that has been used in traditional medicine of Iran and has mucolytic and antipyretic effects. Antibiotic resistancy is developing against severe bacteria,due to irrational prescription. Therefore, we assessed Adiantum capillus-veneris effects as a medicinal herb on three common bacteria. Methods: Ethanolic extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris was prepared by a pharmacology company with perculation method and was diluted in distilled water to 1/2,1/4 and 1/8 concentration.blank discs were placed in extracts for one day.Then ,the bacteria were cultured in muller hinton agar plate and the discs were placed on them.We used Gentamicine disc as control.After incubation in 37° for 24 hour, the diameter of no growth hallo around the discs were read. Results: The ethanolic extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris herb has no antimicrobial effects on the bacteria. Conclusion: Results of this study suggested that ethanolic extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris has no antimicrobial effects on this three bacteria mentioned above.Because this herb has been used in traditional medicine, we suggest more studies about it

Prevalence of Panton-valentine gene in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from clinical samples and healthy carriers in Gorgan city, north of Iran

Aim. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a nosocomial and community acquired pathogen. S. aureus is a pathogen that causes several types of disease from skin infections to systemic diseases that is because of having several virulence factors such as enzymes, toxins, superantigens and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (pvl). pvl is a bi-component leukotoxin that destroy PMNs and monocytes and causes furunculosis, abscesses and necrotizing soft tissue infections in patients without any risk factors for such infections. The goal of this study was determine the prevalence of pvl gene in S. aureus isolated from patients and healthy carriers in Gorgan city, north of Iran. Methods. One hundred seventy isolates of S. aureus, 95 from patients and 75 healthy carriers, were collected during one year. After identification and purification, DNA extraction was done by phenol-chloroform method. Amplification of pvl gene was done by specific primer and polymerase chain reaction method. Results. Among the 170 isolates of S. aureus, 20 contained pvl gene. The frequency of isolates contained pvl gene in MRSA and MSSA isolates were 21.6, 19.3, which was not statistically significant. The frequency of these genes was not related to age, sex and source of isolation from patients. Conclusion. The frequency of pvl gene in this region were much higher than expected. © Copyright 2016 Edizioni Minerva Medica

Nosologomania: DSM & Karl Jaspers' Critique of Kraepelin

Emil Kraepelin's nosology has been reinvented, for better or worse. In the United States, the rise of the neo-Kraepelinian nosology of DSM-III resuscitated Kraepelin's work but also differed from many of his ideas, especially his overtly biological ontology. This neo-Kraepelinian system has led to concerns regarding overdiagnosis of psychiatric syndromes ("nosologomania") and perhaps scientifically ill-founded psychopharmacological treatment for presumed neo-Kraepelinian syndromes. In the early 20th century, Karl Jaspers provided unique insights into Kraepelin's work, and Jaspers even proposed an alternate nosology which, though influenced by Kraepelin, also introduced the concept of ideal types. Jaspers' critique of Kraepelin may help us reformulate our current neo-Kraepelinian nosology for the better

Perspectives on the Mind

PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHIATRY, AND NEUROSCIENCE: THREE APPROACHES TO THE MIND Edward M. Hundert Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1989 $19.95 313 page

Competing Adiabatic Thouless Pumps in Enlarged Parameter Spaces

The transfer of conserved charges through insulating matter via smooth deformations of the Hamiltonian is known as quantum adiabatic, or Thouless, pumping. Central to this phenomenon are Hamiltonians whose insulating gap is controlled by a multi-dimensional (usually two-dimensional) parameter space in which paths can be defined for adiabatic changes in the Hamiltonian, i.e., without closing the gap. Here, we extend the concept of Thouless pumps of band insulators by considering a larger, three-dimensional parameter space. We show that the connectivity of this parameter space is crucial for defining quantum pumps, demonstrating that, as opposed to the conventional two-dimensional case, pumped quantities depend not only on the initial and final points of Hamiltonian evolution but also on the class of the chosen path and preserved symmetries. As such, we distinguish the scenarios of closed/open paths of Hamiltonian evolution, finding that different closed cycles can lead to the pumping of different quantum numbers, and that different open paths may point to distinct scenarios for surface physics. As explicit examples, we consider models similar to simple models used to describe topological insulators, but with doubled degrees of freedom compared to a minimal topological insulator model. The extra fermionic flavors from doubling allow for extra gapping terms/adiabatic parameters - besides the usual topological mass which preserves the topology-protecting discrete symmetries - generating an enlarged adiabatic parameter-space. We consider cases in one and three \emph{spatial} dimensions, and our results in three dimensions may be realized in the context of crystalline topological insulators, as we briefly discuss.Comment: 21 pages, 7 Figure

In Search of the Roots of Psychiatry

APPROACHES TO THE MIND: MOVEMENT OF THE PSYCHIATRIC SCHOOLS FROM SECT TOWARD SCIENCE Leston Havens, M.D. Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts 1987, 399 pages, $12, paperback