The effects of acute consumption of pomegranate juice (Punica granatum L.) on decrease of blood pressure, inflammation, and improvement of vascular function in patients with hypertension: a clinical trial

زمینه و هدف: بیماری های قلبی- عروقی یکی از علل مرگ و میر به شمار می رود. در طب سنتی مصرف انار (Punica granatum L.)، در درمان بیماری های قلبی- عروقی مورد استفاده بوده است. هدف از این مطالعه بررسی اثرات آب انار بر فشار خون، فاکتورهای التهابی و عملکرد عروق است. روش بررسی: این مطالعه کارآزمایی بالینی یک سو کور به صورت قبل و بعد، بر روی 13 نفر از بیماران (67-30 سال) با فشار خون بالای mmHg90/140، مراجعه کننده به کلینیک فشار خون مرکز تحقیقات قلب و عروق اصفهان، انجام شد. تمامی بیماران ml150 آب انار را به صورت ناشتا، مصرف نمودند. قبل و پس از گذشت 6-4 ساعت، سطح فاکتورهای التهابی شامل E- سلکتین، (hs-(CRP، مولکول های چسبندگی سلولی (VCAM-1،ICAM-1 ) و اینترلوکین-6، فشار خون و عملکرد آندوتلیوم (FMD) در آنان مورد سنجش قرار گرفت. یافته ها: تمامی 13 نفر بیمار مطالعه را به پایان رساندند. مصرف کوتاه مدت آب انار موجب کاهش معنی دار فشار خون سیستولیک از 80/11±38/125 به 94/7±15/116 و فشار خون دیاستولیک از 25/5±69/82 به 25/3±08/78 شد (05/0>P). برای فاکتورهای التهابی(IL-6،CRP ،ICAM ، VCAM و –E سلکتین) و FMD تغییرات معنی داری نشان داده نشد. نتیجه گیری: نتایج پژوهش حاضر نشان می دهد که مصرف کوتاه مدت آب انار تازه دارای اثرات کاهندگی فشار خون در بیماران مبتلا به فشار خون بالا است؛ لذا به نظر می رسد مصرف آب انار تازه می تواند در پیشگیری و درمان بیماری های قلب- عروق و بهبود عملکرد آندوتلیوم موثر باشد

Realizing the Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities: An Overview of Inclusive Education in Cameroon

All children deserve access to education, including those in low income countries. Educators and teachers share a desire to promote inclusive education, and can came together, such as the current group of authors did, to educate themselves about current developments. This paper examines published research relevant to inclusive education in Cameroon to contribute to understandings of inclusive education in Africa. An extensive review of published and grey scholarly literature since 2002 yielded 22 documents. Analysis, framed around a human rights perspective, focused on three areas: the legal context for inclusive education; the situation of children with disabilities in inclusive education settings; and the organizations providing inclusive education. Findings indicate that there is emerging attention to inclusive education for children with disabilities in Cameroon yet many children are still not able to realize their educational and social rights. It appears that most children with disabilities are not included in schools, and points to a need to address teacher attitudes and pedagogy. This paper initiates a discourse into the strategies to increase awareness and promote change among teachers, principals, school administrators, parents, and other stakeholders in Cameroon, and concludes with cautious optimism that inclusion in schools in Cameroon is beginning to take place

Global perspective on migration and human displacement: theory, research and practices for enacting an occupation-based approach: pre-conference workshop

How societies respond to the challenges of human migration is one of the most morally defining and socioeconomically consequential policy decisions of our time. As anti-immigrant parties across the Global North seek to capitalize on public concerns about immigrant inclusion and border control, immigration has turned into a deepening social and political cleavage. Meanwhile, the greatest immigration challenges are faced in the Global South. The vast majority of refugees who are forcibly displaced by war, political violence, poverty and environmental disasters seek refuge in neighbouring regions where many states lack the capacity to adequately support them. Given these challenges it is imperative for occupational therapists and scientists to work collaboratively to support equitable occupational possibilities for immigrants, refugees and internally displaced persons

Evaluating polyethyleneimine/DNA nanoparticles-mediated damage to cellular organelles using endoplasmic reticulum stress profile

Gene therapy has emerged as an influential tool for treating the genetic and specific acquired disorders. Among all kinds of gene delivery systems, the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI) is considered as a promising non-viral gene delivery vector, although there are still concerns about its magnitude of cytotoxicity. While any cell insult leads to unfolded/misfolded protein accumulation and its consequent unfold protein response, evaluating the expression profile of ER-stress genes would be a sensitive indicator of cell stress. Beside cytotoxicity assays, real-time RT-PCR was used to investigate the effects of PEI nanoparticles on the endoplasmic reticulum. Treating Neuro2A cells revealed that PEI can induce cell toxicity in a concentration-dependent manner. Also, It increased the transcript levels of Grp78 (Bip), Atf4 and Chop, and splicing of Xbp1. To further optimize the transfection properties in Neuro2A cells, PEI was used to deliver a plasmid DNA containing GFP reporter. While different PEI/plasmid ratios revealed similar transfection efficiency, increasing the PEI/plasmid ratio led to induction of ER-stress markers. These results underscored that beside the effectiveness of PEI, using the lowest possible ratio of PEI/plasmid would minimize the detrimental effects of PEI on cells and confer it a beneficial therapeutic importance in nucleic acid delivery

From the day they are born: a qualitative study exploring violence against children with disabilities in West Africa

Abstract Background Despite the building evidence on violence against children globally, almost nothing is known about the violence children with disabilities in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience. The prevalence of violence against children with disabilities can be expected to be higher in LMICs where there are greater stigmas associated with having a child with a disability, less resources for families who have children with disabilities, and wider acceptance of the use of corporal punishment to discipline children. This study explores violence experienced by children with disabilities based on data collected from four countries in West Africa- Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Methods A qualitative study design guided data generation with a total of 419 children, community members, and disability stakeholders. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Stakeholders shared their observations of or experiences of violence against children with disabilities in their community in interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis guided data analysis and identified patterns of meaning among participants’ experiences. Results Results illuminate that children with disabilities experience violence more than non-disabled children, episodes of violence start at birth, and that how children with disabilities participate in their communities contributes to their different experiences of violence. Conclusions The study recommends policy-oriented actions and prevention programs that include children and their families in strategizing ways to address violence

Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles with Allium paradoxum Extract and Evaluation of their Antibacterial Activities

Background and purpose: Microbial resistance against antibiotics is increasingly growing, therefore, it is necessary to develop new remedies. Silver nanoparticles have significant antibacterial properties and synthesis of silver nanoparticles mediated by plant extracts could be considered as an alternative in treatment in various infections. Materials and methods: In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Allium paradoxum extract. Optimum temperature, concentration, and also optimum pH for production of silver nanoparticles were established. Formation of the particles was investigated by UV-vis spectra, EDS, XRD, and SEM techniques. The MIC and MBC values of the particles against several gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria strains were determined. Results: Optimum condition for synthesis of silver nanoparticles was at 85°C, pH 12, 5 mM concentration, and 30 minutes after adding the extract solution to silver nitrate solution. The particles remained stable until two months after synthesis. The approximate size of silver nanoparticles was 30 to 40 nanometer. Nanoparticles shows strong antibacterial effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and moderate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Conclusion: In this study, A. paradoxum was found as a good reducing and coating agent in green synthesis of silver nanoparticles. These particles showed strong antibacterial activities Therefore, they can have high potential for use in biological fields

Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Using Feijoa Sellowiana Leaf Extract, Evaluation of Their Antibacterial, Anticancer and Antioxidant Activities

Biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) has great attention of scientists, as it provides clean, biocompatible, non-toxic and inexpensive fabrication. In this study, F. sellowiana leaf extract was used for synthesizing SNPs which reduces silver nitrate into silver zero-valent. SNPs were characterized by UV, FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDS, and TEM analysis. They were also examined for their biological activities. The presence of biosynthesized SNPs was characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy and also crystal nature of SNPs was identified with XRD analysis. FT-IR spectrum was used to confirm the presence of different functional groups in the biomolecules which act as a capping agent for the nanoparticles. The morphology of SNPs was explored using SEM and the presence of silver was confirmed by elemental analysis. The size of the nanoparticles was in the range of 20–50 nm determined by TEM. The green synthesized SNPs showed good antibacterial activities against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and also in resistant clinically isolated pathogens. Furthermore, the green synthesized SNPs showed reliable anticancer activity on the gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) and breast (MCF-7) cancer cell lines with little effect on normal (HFF) cells. The in-vitro antioxidant activity of SNPs showed a significant effect on the scavenging of free radicals and iron chelating activity

From the day they are born: a qualitative study exploring violence against children with disabilities in West Africa

Abstract Background Despite the building evidence on violence against children globally, almost nothing is known about the violence children with disabilities in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience. The prevalence of violence against children with disabilities can be expected to be higher in LMICs where there are greater stigmas associated with having a child with a disability, less resources for families who have children with disabilities, and wider acceptance of the use of corporal punishment to discipline children. This study explores violence experienced by children with disabilities based on data collected from four countries in West Africa- Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Methods A qualitative study design guided data generation with a total of 419 children, community members, and disability stakeholders. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Stakeholders shared their observations of or experiences of violence against children with disabilities in their community in interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis guided data analysis and identified patterns of meaning among participants’ experiences. Results Results illuminate that children with disabilities experience violence more than non-disabled children, episodes of violence start at birth, and that how children with disabilities participate in their communities contributes to their different experiences of violence. Conclusions The study recommends policy-oriented actions and prevention programs that include children and their families in strategizing ways to address violence