The effect of Dorema aucheri-Hydroalcoholic extracts on thyroids hormones in adult male rats.

زمینه و هدف: فلاونوئیدها گروهی از ترکیبات پلی فنولیک با خاصیت آنتی اکسیدانی می باشند که دارای خاصیت ضد سرطانی، ضد توموری و ضد تیروئیدی هستند. گیاه بیلهر گیاهی است حاوی فلاونوئید که در این تحقیق اثر آن بر هورمون های تیروئیدی مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی 50 سر موش صحرایی نر بالغ به 5 گروه ده تایی تقسیم شدند. گروه ها شامل گروه کنترل بدون دریافت ماده ای و گروه شاهد با دریافت آب مقطر و سه گروه دریافت کننده عصاره بیلهر به میزان 100، 200 و 400 mg/kg به مدت سه هفته به صورت خوراکی بودند. در پایان این مدت از موش ها خونگیری به عمل آمد و هورمون های تیروئیدی T3، T4 و TSH اندازه گیری و اطلاعات با کمک آزمون های آماری کروسکال والیس و دان مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفت. یافته ها: نتایج نشان داد که غلظت پلاسمایی هورمون TSH در گروه دوز mg/kg 100 افزایش معنی دار (05/0

Impairment of sperm efficiency in mice following short-term nano-titanium dioxide exposure: An experimental study

Background: Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) are widely used in many compounds. Recent evidence has displayed some cytotoxic effects of TiO2NPs on male reproduction. Objective: The effects of TiO2NP administration on sperm parameters and chromatin and seminiferous histopathology of male mice were investigated. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 32 NMRI male mice (35 ± 3 gr, 8-12-week-old) were divided into four groups (n = 8/each): treated groups were fed orally with 2.5 (group I), 5 (group II) and 10 (group III) mg/kg/day TiO2NPs for 40 days and the control group received phosphate buffered saline. Sperm parameters, DNA integrity and chromatin quality were assessed using chromomycin A3, aniline blue, toluidine blue staining and TUNEL. Hematoxylin eosin staining was performed to measure spermatogenic cells and the total diameter of seminiferous tubules. Also, sex hormone and malondyaldehyde levels were measured. Results: Abnormal sperm tails rose in group III (28.87 ± 4.91) in comparison with the control group (12.75 ± 3.95). However, chromomycin A3 staining and TUNEL showed higher levels in group III in comparison with the control group, whereas aniline blue and toluidine blue staining showed no differences. A significantly lower spermatogenesis index and lumen parameters were observed in group III. Leydig cell numbers, cellular diameters and the area of the seminiferous tubules were lower in the treated groups. The testosterone level was also lower in these groups and the percentage of malondyaldehyde in the seminal fluid was higher. Conclusion: Exact mechanisms of TiO2NPs are not clear; however, cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of TiO2NPs may relate to oxidative stress. Given their widespread use, TiO2NPs should be a public health focus of attention. Key words: Titanium dioxide, Spermatogenesis, Histology, Mouse, Chromatin, TUNEL

Effects of sexual education mobile applications on men’s sexual awareness and satisfaction: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Sexual education programs can improve sexual awareness and satisfaction. Yet, sex education is ignored in developing countries. Under such circumstances, we have used IT tools to improve sexual education. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we used a mobile application (mHealth) to impart sex education. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was held, in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: The control group, with 25 participants, which received only counseling from sex therapists, and the intervention group, with 25 participants, which received the mobile application system in addition to counseling from sex therapists. Participants were persons referred to sex therapists at a clinic. In each group, sexual satisfaction and awareness were evaluated. We measured sexual satisfaction with the help of the Larson questionnaire and sexual awareness by the Ann Hooper questionnaire. Results: Our data demonstrated that sexual satisfaction was not statistically significant (P=0.44), but awareness showed statistically significant differences (P=0.007) in the intervention vs. the control group. Also, the mean in both groups had statistically significant differences before and after the intervention (P=0.001). Conclusion: Our results showed that mobile applications can improve sexual awareness but cannot affect sexual satisfaction in the short term. Trial Registration: The clinical trial was registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) under registration ID:  IRCT2016110130640N

Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) nanoparticles deposition on transparent conductive substrates via thermal evaporation

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanoparticles were deposited on glass substrates coated by indium tin oxide (ITO) and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) as transparent conducting films at 200 °C under pressure of 2×10-5 mbar. The thickness of the prepared films prepared was about 200 nm. The structure, optical, electrical, and morphological properties of the layers were analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, current-voltage (IV) characterization, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. XRD patterns show the cubic structure of the deposited CdTe thin film on both ITO and FTO substrates. The preferred orientation of deposited films also changed from (111) for ITO substrate to (220) for FTO substrate. The crystallite size of films on ITO and FTO in these orientations were about 23.41 and 34.84 nm, respectively. The thin-film transmittance spectra were determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy in the wavelength range of 200-1200 nm. The optical energy bandgap of thin films on ITO and FTO substrates was calculated to be 1.60 and 1.63 eV, respectively. The I-V curve shows more electrical conductivity of the CdTe thin film on the FTO compared to the ITO. The surface morphology images show homogeneity and uniformity of the surface

Critical success factors of lean management: An investigation of factors affecting lean management in public hospitals in Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad and Bushehr provinces

Aim: Lean is a set of operating philosophies and methods that help create maximum value for patients by reducing waste and waits. It emphasizes the consideration of the customer's needs, employee involvement, and continuous improvement. The aim of this study was of factors affecting lean management in public hospitals in Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad and Bushehr provinces. Materials and Methods: This research was descriptive correlation study. The questionnaire was used to collect the data. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted to understand the relationship between these factors and lean implementation success. With using 60 questions questionnaire, the content validity of the method developed by the researchers and expert judgment and Cronbach's alpha and test–retest reliability of the method was investigated, and the opinions of 500 primary health-care practitioners were collected. Then, a two-stage exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with the use of statistical software SPSS for Window 17.0 software (SPSS Inc., lllinois, USA) (Leland Stanford Junior University) and AMOS 20 carried out to review and modify the conceptual model. Results: Exploratory factor analysis identified five factors of human, technology, management, processes, and relational that explains 58.5% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis also showed that among identified factors, technology factor with 0.953 coefficient has greatest impact and management factor with 0.615 coefficient has the lowest impact on the pattern of lean management in public hospitals to improve the quality of services. Conclusions: The factors affecting the deployment of lean management in public hospitals and appropriate strategy for using the lean management to improve the delivery of primary health care and reduce waste. The results represent guidelines for using effective implementation of lean management to increase efficiency and ability to compete in the global market offers

Quality of testicular spermatozoa improves with changes in composition of culture medium

Abstract Background Spermatozoa retrieved from the testis and epididymis are deprived of the beneficial effects of seminal fluid. Thus applying an artificial medium with normal seminal fluid characteristics, known as artificial seminal fluid (ASF), may provide an appropriate condition for improving some sperm parameters in azoospermia. The objective was to investigate the impact of in vitro exposure of testicular and epididymal spermatozoa to ASF on sperm quality. The study was conducted on testicular (n = 20) and epididymal (n = 20) sperm specimens obtained from azoospermic men. Each sample was divided into two equal parts: Part I) for processing and incubation with Ham’s F10 medium; Part II) for processing and incubation with ASF. Results After 2 h incubation, testicular sperm motility was significantly higher in ASF than in Ham’s F10 medium. In comparison to 0 h, mitochondrial membrane potential levels of testicular spermatozoa were significantly higher after 2 h and 24 h in ASF and after 24 h in Ham’s F10 medium. Furthermore, the data indicated significantly lower rates of epididymal spermatozoa with high MMP in both media after 24 h. There were no significant differences in the DNA fragmentation index of testicular and epididymal spermatozoa between ASF and Ham’s F10 medium at different time points. Conclusion The results demonstrated that in vitro incubation of testicular spermatozoa improved their motility more effectively than Ham’s F10 medium in the short term (2 h), but had no effect on epididymal spermatozoa. Since the physiology of testicular spermatozoa is different from that of ejaculated spermatozoa, it seems that a special environment should be designed and used for each of them