Chemical analyses of two plant essential oils and their effects on functional response of Habrobracon hebetor Say to Sitotroga cerealella Olivier larvae

Salvia officinalis L. and Glycyrrhiza glabra L. are two valuable medicinal plants from Kermanshah province in Iran. In this study, chemical analyses of their essential oils were performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and the effects investigated on functional response of Habrobracon hebetor Say on larval stage of Sitotroga cerealella Olivier. Accordingly, emerged females of H. hebetor were treated by LC30 of the isolated essential oils for 24 h. Then, six wasps were accidentally selected and introduced to densities of host larvae for 24 h. The results showed that naphthalene, decahydro-4a-methyl and alpha-thujone were dominant compounds in both essential oils, respectively. Holling model (1959) by using regression analyses confirmed functional response type III in the control wasps and type II in both essential oils treatments. The highest and lowest attack rates were observed in the control wasps (0.0443 ± 0.00278 h-1) and S. officinalis treatment (0.0349 ± 0.00257 h-1), respectively. Moreover, the treated wasps by G. glabra essential oil showed shorter handling time than S. officinalis treatment (0.4497 ± 0.0373 h versus 0.5196 ± 0.0589 h). Accordingly, G. glabra due to lower negative effects on the functional response of H. hebetor was more compatible than S. officinalis for their combination in integrated pest management schedules

Gastroenteritis Related Seizure with or without Fever: Comparison Clinical Features and Serum Sodium Level

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and serum sodium level in children with gastroenteritis related seizure with or without fever. Methods: 165 patients aged 6-60 months with gastroenteritis related seizure were studied. Demographic, seizure and gastroenteritis characteristics and laboratory findings were recorded.Results: Among the 165 children 47.3% were female and 52.7% were. Vomiting was 2.7±2.6 and 3.9±1.9 times in febrile and afebrile group. Duration of diarrhea was 1.8±1.8 day and 2.1±1.3 day in febrile and afebrile group (p=0.014). 36% in febrile group and 6.4% in afebrile group experienced seizure within the first 24 hours of gastroenteritis (p<0.001). Seizure in 99.1% in febrile and 93.6% in afebrile group was generalized (p>0.05). Seizure was more than 5 minutes in 51.4% in febrile and 57.4% in afebrile group (p>0.05). Drowsiness after seizure was seen in 72.9% and 60% in febrile and afebrile group (p>0.05). The serum level of sodium was 137.6±3.98 mEq/L and 138.5±3.78 mEq/L in febrile and afebrile group (p>0.05). 26.3% in febrile group and 8.5% in afebrile group had hyponatremia (p=0.012). There was no difference in seizure duration between hyponatremic patients and others (p>0.05). Conclusion: Type, duration of seizure and drowsiness after seizure had not any difference in febrile and afebrile cases. Vomiting and duration of diarrhea before admission was lower in febrile group. Seizure within the first 24 of gastroenteritis was higher in febrile group. Mild hyponatremia in febrile group was higher than afebrile group. No difference in duration of seizure was detected between hyponatremic patients and others

Renal biochemical and histopathological alterations of diabetic rats under treatment with hydro alcoholic Morus nigra extrac.

Introduction: Morus nigra fruit is known to have antioxidant effects and used to control the blood sugar level in traditional medicine. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the biochemical and histopathological changes in the serum and kidneys of diabetic rats treated with hydroalcoholic M. nigra extract. Materials and Methods: In this study, 60 male Wistar rats were divided into five groups of 12 each. After induction of diabetes with alloxan, the diabetic rats were treated with hydroalcoholic extract of M. nigra at different concentrations. Then, the animals were anesthetized and the serum levels of glucose, creatinine, and urea as well as kidney tissue catalase level measured. The kidney tissue was also histopathologically examined. Results: Milder glomerular damage was seen in the group treated with 800 mg/kg of the M. nigra extract compared with diabetic and positive controls, and no difference in the expansion of mesenchymal tissue into renal glomerular vessels observed between the group treated with 800 mg/kg of M. nigra extract and diabetic and positive controls. Furthermore, creatinine levels were significantly higher and urea levels significantly lower in the group treated with 800 mg/kg of M. nigra extract than healthy and positive control groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Administration of M. nigra extract at 800 mg/kg can prevent kidney tissue damage in diabetic rats and this fruit seems to be beneficial to patients with diabetes

Serum Level of Vitamin D and Febrile Seizure? A Clinical Study

Objective:To evaluate the serum level of vitamin D in children aged six to 60 months with febrile seizure and febrile children without the seizureMaterials &amp; MethodsFebrile children aged six to 60 months with or without seizure were studied. Demographic characteristics, serum level of vitamin D, and other laboratory findings were recorded.ResultsAmong the 104 children, 51 patients had fever without a seizure and 53 patients had a febrile seizure. The mean subjects’ age was significantly more in the febrile seizure group compared to the without seizure group (16.26 ± 11.87 versus 26.36 ± 14.11 months, p = 0.001). The mean serum level of vitamin D in the with and withouts eizure groups was 41.92 ± 22.42 and 48.41 ± 15.25 microgram perd eciliter, respectively (p = 0.08). There was no significant correlation between serum level of vitamin D and seizure occurrence (p = 0.07).The mean serum sodium and potassium levels, and platelet count were significantly lower in the febrile seizure group compared to the without seizure group (p &lt; 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding hemoglobin, blood sugar, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, calcium, alkaline phosphatase levels, and white blood cell count (p &gt; 0.05).ConclusionThe serum level of vitamin D in febrile children with or without seizure was normal. The serum level of vitamin D was lower inp atients with the seizure but not statistically significant. More clinical studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between febrile seizurea nd the serum level of vitamin D

Cytotoxicity effect of pineapple extract on breast cancer cells (4T1)

Aqueous extract of pineapple (Bromelain) is used in medicine. Bromelain has anticancer effect on leukemia, lymphoma, sarcoma and melanoma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anticancer effect of bromelain on mouse breast cancer (4T1) cells under in-vitro conditions. Methods: Mouse breast cancer (4T1) cells were incubated with different concentrations of the bromelain for 2, 24, 48 and 72 hours. The growth-inhibitory was investigated via 3 (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium-bromide (MTT) assay. Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s tests were used to evaluate the statistical significance of the difference between the experimental and control groups. Findings: Bromelain significantly inhibited proliferation of 4T1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In all concentrations, cell viability decreased with respect to the control incubated cells in the absence of extract (P < 0.05). Bromelain exerted highest antiproliferative effects on 4T1 cells for concentrations of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 600 µg/ml (P < 0.05) for 24, 48 and 72 hours, while cell viability increased for times shorter than 2 hours. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 142.6 g/ml was obtained from treating 4T1 cells. Conclusion: Results showed that bromelain has cytotoxic effects on the growth and proliferation of 4T1 cells for 24, 48 and 72 hours of incubation. This study is ongoing to assess the extract mechanism of action

A new empirical correlation for estimating bubble point pressure using the genetic algorithm

In this paper, a new and more accurate correlation to predict bubble point pressure (Pb) for Middle East crudes by using the genetic algorithm (GA) is attempted. For this purpose, a total of 286 data sets of different crude oils from Middle East reservoirs were used as training data for constructing the correlation. The general form of the correlation was found by several regressive examinations. To improve the correlation, the genetic algorithm was applied. To validate the correlation, 143 data sets of different crudes from Middle East reservoirs which were different from the training data were used as test data for calculating mean absolute relative error (MARE) and correlation coefficient (R2) between the predicted values from the proposed correlation and the experimental values. In addition, the MARE and R2 were calculated for previous correlation in the test data. The results show that the proposed correlation is more accurate than all of the previous correlations exclusively for Middle East crudes

Effect of phenobarbital on nitric oxide level in term newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia

Perinatal asphyxia (PA) is very significant in perinatal medicine due to the involvement of the central nervous system. This study was conducted to investigate the biochemical, clinical, and paraclinical changes associated with phenobarbital administration in neonates with PA. Methods: In this prospective, case-control study, 30 neonates with PA in two groups of 15 each (case and control) were investigated. The case group received 20 mg/kg intravenous phenobarbital within six hours of birth, and the control group did not receive phenobarbital. Serum concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) were measured at enrollment and one week after birth in the two groups. Clinical, electroencephalography, and magnetic resonance imaging findings of the two groups were compared. Results: At enrollment, the two groups did not differ in clinical severity, seizure incidence, or NO concentration. After one week, NO concentration was significantly lower in the case group (p < 0.050), but there was no significant difference in other variables between the two groups. Conclusions: Early administration of phenobarbital in term neonates with PA could protect them against encephalopathy

Recurrent Seizure during Hospitalization in Children with the First Febrile Seizure: Incidence and Risk Factors

Background: The present study aimed at evaluating the demographic and laboratory factors associated with the recurrent seizure during hospitalization in the children with the first febrile seizure.Methods: This cohort study was performed in Ghaem hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, from 2018 to 2019. Totally 483 admitted children aged 6-60 months with the first febrile seizure were included. The repetition of seizure during hospitalization was considered as incidence of recurrent seizure.Results: Among 483 children with the first febrile seizure, recurrent seizure occurred in 57 patients (11.8%). The serum level of potassium, magnesium and calcium in children with recurrent seizure significantly was lower in comparison to the patients without repeated seizure. Complex seizure was the major risk factor for recurrent seizure (relative risk: 377.74, p=0.001). The risk of recurrent seizure decreased with the increase of serum level of potassium, calcium and magnesium. The risk of recurrent seizure increased with the increase of body temperature but not significantly.Conclusion: The incidence rate of recurrent seizure in children with the first febrile seizure was 118 cases per 1000 population. Complex seizure was the main risk factor for the seizure recurrence. Higher serum levels of potassium, calcium and magnesium may decrease the risk of recurrent seizure

Hepatitis C prevalence in Thalassemic children in Shahrekord

This study was carried out in 113 Thalassemic children to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis C. Anti-HCV (Anti-hepatitis C virus) and ALT (Alanine aminotransferase) tests were carried out on the whole sample. Those who were positive for anti-HCV test were also confirmed by RIBA (Recombinant immunoblot assay). The results showed that the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus was 23%, from which 57.6% were male. There was a significant link between the factors of age, number of received blood units and the level of ALT on one hand, and Hepatitis C virus infection on the other hand (P<0.01). Therefore, we are confronted to quite a high HCV infected cases, which highlights the urgent need for diagnosis, treatment and prevention

Effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Chevil (Ferulago angulata) on glucose and lipid in diabetic male rats

Introduction: Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterised by chronic hyperglycemia. Considering the properties antioxidant of the Chevil plant compounds, this study performed to determine the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Chevil on serum glucose and lipid in diabetic male rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, 54 male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were divided into 6 groups (n=9 each) and studied for 4 weeks. The groups were as follows: Control, diabetic, diabetic groups treated 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight of the Chevil extract, respectively and the diabetic rats treated with 150 mg/kg body weight of metformin. At the end of study, FBS, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels were measured. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Results: Findings showed a significant reduction (P<0.05) of FBS in all groups with three doses of the extract, 26%, 59.3%, 69.4% respectively), Triglycerides (at 200 and 400 mg/kg of the extract respectively 16.1% and 34.1%), Cholesterol (800 mg/kg of the extract, 20.9%), LDL-C in all three doses of the extract, 25.9%, 49.1% and 53% respectively and a significant increase (P<0.05) in HDL-C in all three doses of the extract, 32.6%, 36.4% and 37.1% respectively compared to the control group was observed in diabetic rats treated with Chevil. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Chevil extract reduces blood sugar and improves blood lipid profiles in diabetic rats