Jurisprudential and Legal Principles and Rules Corresponding to the Obtaining of Evidence in Iranian Criminal Law Emphasizing the Procedure of the International Criminal Court

The obtaining of evidence is one of the most important and fundamental subjects in Iranian criminal law and the International Criminal Court. According to it, without evidence, it is not possible to detect a crime and attribute the crime to the accused and to execute punishment and acquit the perpetrator. Among the most important principles governing the obtaining of evidence in Iranian criminal law and the International Criminal Court, we can name the principle of legitimacy of obtaining of evidence, the presumption of innocence, the principle of free evaluation of evidence, the principle of freedom of obtaining of evidence, and the principle of legality of evidence that non-observance of these principles and obtaining of evidence through illegitimate ways is not only against human rights and the dignity of humans and the administrators of justice but also causes a reversal of the verdict in the Court of Appeal. Although there are no clear provisions in Iranian criminal law in this regard, in the procedure of the International Criminal Court, non-observance of those principles is one of the reasons for the invalidity of the investigation process. This article tries to deal with different aspects of this subject and provide solutions to that

Evaluation of Student's Satisfaction with Team Teaching in Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2011-2012

Background & Objective: One method of evaluation with the intent to select and modify teaching methods in universities is the evaluation of student's opinions. Team teaching by faculty members is a routine method of education in universities. The present study evaluated student's satisfaction with team teaching in Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran, during the first and second semesters of 2011-2012. Methods: In the present descriptive, analytical study, 461 students of Babol University of Medical Sciences who had experienced team teaching were randomly selected. The participants completed a questionnaire the reliability and validity of which had been previously approved. The questionnaire contained 19 questions, based on the 5-point Likert scale ("very high", "high", "moderate", "low", and "very low"). The resulting data were analyzed using SPSS software and compared using t-test and ANOVA. Results: The results showed that 8.2% of students partly opposed and 0.4% of them absolutely approved the use of team teaching method. The highest frequency of answers (56.9%) were assigned in the "moderate" level. Nearly 34.5% of students approved the use of this method. Students of dentistry and laboratory sciences showed the highest and lowest tendency toward this method, respectively. Higher year students showed less tendency toward team teaching method. There were no significant differences between boys' and girls' answers in respect to this method. Conclusion: It seems that Babol University of Medical Sciences students did not significantly oppose the use of team teaching method. Nevertheless, in order to correct the existing small problems, it is essential to revise the implementation technique of this teaching method. Keywords Satisfaction Student Education Team teachin

Evaluation of oxidative stress and glycaemic control status in response to soy in older women with metabolic syndrome

Background: Little evidence exists about the effects of soy on glycemic control and oxidative stress in elderly women with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this study was to ascertain the effects of soy on fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, homeostasis model of assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) on these individuals. Methods: A 12-week randomized clinical trial was conducted on 75 women between 60-70 years of age with MetS in rural health clinics around Babol, Iran in 2009. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups of soy-nut, Textured Soy Protein (TSP) or control. Measurements were obtained before and after intervention. Results: The soy-nut improved FBG, insulin, HOMA-IR, MDA and TAC significantly after intervention (p<0.05); whereas, TSP established a significant decrease in serum insulin and MDA and increase in TAC compared to the control group (p<0.05). Comparing changes in means showed significant differences among all glucose control parameters, MDA and TAC in the treatment groups to the control group (p<0.001). The comparison of the treatments in the two groups showed that the mean changes in FBG, insulin and HOMA-IR levels in soy-nut group was significantly higher than TSP group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Both kinds of soy improved the oxidative stress and glycemic control status, but the soy-nut contributed more effectively than TSP. Therefore, it can be claimed that a moderate daily intake of soy may be a safe, cheap and practical way for the simultaneous improvement of oxidative stress and insulin resistance in elderly women with MetS

Arbutin attenuates nephrotoxicity induced by gentamicin

Objective: In this study, the impact of arbutin was examined in a gentamicin (GM)-induced nephrotoxicity model. Materials and Methods: Forty adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to five groups including control group; GM group, and three groups of GM+arbutin (25, 50 and 75 mg/kg). One day after the last injection of GM, creatinine, urea, carbonyl, thiobarbituric acid-reacting substance (TBARs), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 8-hydroxyguanosine levels were assessed in serum samples. Left and right kidneys were used for biochemical assays and histological evaluation, respectively. Results: Our data showed that the FRAP level (p<0.05), urea (p<0.001), creatinine (p<0.001), and 8-hydroxyguanosine (p<0.001) levels of serum samples, were increased in GM-treated rats compared to the controls. The serum levels of TBARS (p<0.001) and carbonyl increased in serum and renal tissue (p<0.001) of GM-treated animals. Conversely, arbutin attenuated serum creatinine, urea and 8-hydroxyguanosine, and TBARS (p<0.001). Administration of arbutin significantly decreased carbonyl levels in serum and renal tissue samples (p<0.001). Furthermore, the levels of FRAP increased in the serum (p<0.01) and renal tissue samples (p<0.001) of arbutin-treated animals. Histological staining showed that arbutin significantly inhibits kidney damages. Conclusion: Our data suggest that arbutin attenuates GM-induced nephrotoxicity through its free radicals-scavenging activity

Urtica dioica Effect on Malonyl-CoA Decarboxylase

Background The malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD, EC.4.1.1.9) enzyme regulates malonyl-CoA levels. The effect of aerial parts extracts of Urtica dioica (UD) on MCD is poorly understood. Objectives The present experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effect of UD aerial parts extracts on MCD level. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, two groups of rats were used: normal and hyperglycemic group. Then UD aerial parts extracts (5 mg /500 µL) administrated to the hyperglycemic group of rats and finally, the MCD and insulin levels were measured in both groups. Results Interestingly, we observed that the UD aerial parts extracts powder caused a significant (P < 0.05) increase in insulin level during the experiment, from the base level of 0.36 ± 0.07 μg/L to the peak value of 0.52 ± 0.15 μg/L. Also, it caused a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in MCD level, from the base level of 29.68 ±1.29 pg/mL to the bottom value of 22.12 ± 2.41 pg/mL. Conclusions The results of the present study indicate that UD aerial part extracts would decrease MCD level in hyperglycemic rats

Effect of 4 weeks of rock climbing with and without blood flow restriction, on Serum Levels of CRP, LDH and CK in elite rock climbers

purpose: Exercise training with blood flow restrictionare associated with immunological changes as well as changes in the indices of inflammation and muscle damage. Therefore, the aim of this study was conducted to identify the effect of 4 weeks rock climbing with and without blood flow restriction on response of the LDH, CK and CRP in elite rock climbers. Methods:12 elite male and 12 female rock climbers with at least 4 years rock climbing experience and age range of 23.54±2.32 to 27.18±3.18 years and a fat percentage of 8.22±1.12 to 14.19±1.18 percent were selected purposefully among elite climbers and randomly assigned to one of two groups The exercises were limited by blood flow and exercise without limitation of blood flow. The exercise protocol was performed for 4 weeks (three sessions per week and each session was 90 minutes, severity of each session was 60 to 80% of climbing grades). Blood samples were taken in two stages (pre and post test) in sitting and resting conditions to determine the amount of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, blood lactate and C-reactive protein. To analyze the data, an independent test was used to compare the meanings and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for homogeneity of the two groups at a significant level of α ≤0.05. Results: The results showed that the index of muscle damage of LDH, CK and inflammatory CRP index did not show a significant difference in response to climbing exercises with and without blood flow restriction between the two groups (P <0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, rock climbing training with or without blood flow restriction, do not increase inflammatory and muscular damage, and this method of training is likely to be safe for climbers due to the mechanical and metabolic pressure of exercise activity

Piperine Improves Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis Rats through its Neuroprotective, Anti-inflammatory and Anti-Oxidant Effects

Abstract Inflammation, demyelination, glial activation, and oxidative damage are the most pathological hallmarks of multiple sclerosis (MS). Piperine, a main bioactive alkaloid of black pepper, possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties whose therapeutic potential has been less studied in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) models. In this study, the efficiency of peprine on progression of EAE model and myelin repair mechanisms was investigated. EAE was induced in female Lewis rats and piperine and its vehicle were daily administrated intraperitoneally from day 8 to 29 post immunization. We found that peperine alleviated neurological deficits and EAE disease progression. Luxol fast blue and H&amp;E staining and immuno-staining of lumbar spinal cord cross sections confirmed that piperine significantly reduced the extent of demyelination, inflammation and immune cell infiltration and inhibited microglia and astrocyte activation. Gene expression analysis in lumbar spinal cord showed that piperine treatment decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β) and iNOS and enhanced IL-10, Nrf-2, HO-1and MBP expressions. Piperine supplementation also enhanced the total antioxidant capacity (FRAP) and reduced the level of oxidative stress marker (MDA) in the CNS of EAE rats. Finally, we found that piperine has anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective effect in EAE through reducing caspase-3 (apoptosis marker) and enhancing BDNF and NeuN expressing cells. This study strongly indicates that piperine has a beneficial effect on the EAE progression and could be considered as a potential therapeutic target for MS treatment. Upcoming clinical trials will provide the deep understanding of piperine’s role for the treatment of the MS.</jats:p

The Relationship between Information Technology and Empowerment of Employees

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between information technology and the empowerment of education and training administration staffs in ٍEast Mazandaran. The research method is descriptive survey and the statistical population consisted of 440 staffs. Using Kredjcie-Morgan table, 205 individuals were selected as statistical sample. For data collection, Spreitzer (1995) questionnaire which contains 13 questions and a self-made questionnaire consisting of 65 items were used. Validity of questionnaires was confirmed by experts in the related fields and the reliability of information technology and empowerment questionnaires were calculated 0.784 and 0.916, respectively. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The results showed that there exists a significant relationship between information technology and the staff empowerment (p = 0.012). Also, the relationship between information technology and the staffs empowerment were tested and it was found that there is a positive and significant relationship between information technology and 4 dimensions of sense of competence (p = 0.035), sense of effectiveness (p = 0.034), sense of meaningful (p = 0.019), and sense of autonomy (p = 0.020).