Sexual intelligence training effect on marital sexual function

Background and aims: Sexual intelligence is one of the new theories in post-modern world that responds to many complicated questions in sexual relationships area. The aim of the present research was to determine sexual intelligence education effect on sexual function marital referred to medical-hygienic centers of Shahrekord in 2013. Methods: This study is of semi-experimental type having 2 groups of experimental and control. Research sample include couples referred to medical-hygienic centers of Shahrekord that 20 couples attracted voluntarily for education and after pre-test divided randomly into 2 groups. Measurement tools include 2 questionnaires of sexual function of women (FSFI), sexual function of men(IIEP). Finally, data were analyzed by variance analysis of replicated measurements statistically. Results: Results indicated positive effect of sexual intelligence education on marital sexual function (P<0.001), sexual function of women (P<0.001), and sexual function of men (P<0.001). Conclusion: According to the results, intelligence education effect on sexual function had positive effect and the claim of theorists of sexual intelligence based on its performance for all cultures is confirmed

Assessing the adherence to the current guidelines in the management of syncope patients

  Background: There exist gaps in the implementation of guideline-recommended treatments and interventions to manage syncope. The present study aimed to investigate the adherence to the current guideline for the diagnosis and management of syncope patients referred to a tertiary center.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with the study group consisting of 324 consecutive patients, who were diagnosed with unexplained syncope with one or more attacks and were referred for head-up tilt table test (HUTT) between September 2009 and September 2011 to Tehran Heart Center. All the patients underwent a thorough evaluation, including a careful medical history and physical examination as well as a thorough history of all procedures performed before referral. The data collected was compared between patients with positive and negative HUTT results and also based on the referring physician, in order to assess the deviation from syncope guideline in their management. We compared the selected groups using a chi-square test for categorical variables and student t-test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables where appropriate.   Results: A total of 324 patients with a Mean (SD) age of 41.04 (17.74) years were enrolled in the study (158 patients, i.e. 48.8%, were male). HUTT was positive in 181 (55.8%) patients. Brain computed tomography scan and coronary angiography were performed more in the initial assessment of the patients with a negative HUTT compared with patients with negative HUTT (P=0.001 and P=0.01, respectively). Significantly higher rates of brain MRI (P=0.01), brain imaging (P=0.03), and electroencephalography (P=0.002) were observed among the neurologists' referrals while echocardiography (P&lt;0.001), exercise tolerance test (P=0.001), electrocardiogram Holter monitoring (P&lt;0.001), and coronary angiography (P=0.02) were significantly more performed in patients referred by a cardiologist.   Conclusion: We observed a noticeable deviation from the current guideline for the management of syncope although the patients underwent expensive tests with little benefit

Computational characterization of IRE-regulated genes in Glossina morsitans

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDBlood feeding is a habit exhibited by many insects. Considering the devastating impact of these insects on human health, it is important to focus research on understanding the biology behind blood-feeding, disease transmission and host-pathogen interactions. Such knowledge would pave the way for developing efficient preventative measures. Iron an important element for species survival, is at the center of events controlling tsetse’s fitness and reproductive success. Hence, targeting genes involved in iron trafficking and sequestration would present possible means of preventing disease transmission. Considering the dynamic and multi-factorial nature of iron metabolism, a well-coordinated regulatory system is expected to be at work. Despite extensive literature on the mechanism of iron regulation and key factors responsible in maintaining its homeostasis in human, less attention has been given to understand such system in insects, especially the blood-feeding insects. The availability of the genome sequences for several insect disease vectors allows for a more detailed analysis on the identification and characterization of events controlling and preventing iron-induced toxicity following a blood-meal. The International Glossina Genome Initiative (IGGI) has coordinated the sequencing and annotation of the Glossina morsitans genome that has led to the identification of 12220 genes. This knowledge-base along with current understanding of the IRE system in regulating iron metabolism, allowed for investigating the UTRs of Glossina genes for the presence of these elements. Using a combination of motif enrichment and IRE-stem loop structure prediction, an IRE-mediated regulation was inferred for 150 genes, among which, 72 were identified with 5’-IREs and 78 with 3’-IREs. Of the identified IRE-regulated genes, the ferritin heavy chain and MRCK-alpha are the only known genes to have IREs, while the rest are novel genes for which putative roles in regulating iron levels in tsetse fly have been assigned in this study. Moreover, the functional inference of the identified genes further points to the enrichment of transcription and translation. Furthermore, several hypothetical proteins with no defined functions were identified to be IRE-regulated. These include TMP007137, TMP009128, TMP002546, TMP002921, TMP003628, TMP004581, TMP008259, TMP012389, TMP005219, TMP005827, TMP007908, TMP009332, TMP01- 3384, TMP009102, TMP010544, TMP010707, TMP004292, TMP006517, TMP014030, TMP009821 and TMP003060 for which an iron-regulatory mechanism of action may be inferred. We further report 26 IRE-regulated secreted proteins in Glossina, that present good candidates for further investigation pertaining to the development of novel vector control strategies. Using the predicted data on the identified IRE-regulated genes and their functional classification, we derived at 29 genes with putative roles in iron trafficking, where several unknown and hypothetical proteins are included. Thus a novel role is inferred for these genes in cellular binding and transport in the context of iron metabolism. It is therefore possible that these genes may have evolved in Glossina, such that they compensate for the absence of an IRE- regulated mechanism for transferrin. Additionally, we propose 14 IRE-regulated genes involved in immune and stress response, which may indeed play crucial roles at the host pathogen interface through their possible mechanisms of iron sequestration. Using the subcellular localization analysis, we further categorized the putative IRE regulated genes into several subcellular localizations, where the majority of genes were found within the nucleus and the cytosol. The detection of the conserved motifs in a set of genes, is an interesting yet sophisticated area of research, that allows for identifying either co-regulated or orthologous genes, while further providing support for the putative function of a set of genes that would otherwise remain uncharacterized. This is based on the notion that co-regulated genes are often coexpressed to carry out a specific function. As such, 14 regulatory elements were identified in the 5’- and 3’-UTRs of IRE-regulated genes, involved in embryonic development and reproduction, inflammation and immune response, signaling pathways and neurogenesis as well as DNA repair. This study further proposes several IRE-regulated genes as targets for micro-RNA regulation through identifying micro-RNA binding sites in their 3’UTRs. Using a motif clustering approach we clustered IRE-regulated genes based on the number of motifs they share. Significantly co-regulated genes sharing two or more motifs were determined as critical targets for future investigation. The expression map of IRE-regulated genes was analyzed to better understand the events taking place from 3 hours to 15 days following a blood meal. Re-analysis of Anopheles microarray chip showed the significant expression of three cell envelope and transport genes as early response and six as late response to a blood meal, which could indeed be assigned a putative role in iron trafficking. Genes identified in this study with implications in iron metabolism, whose timely expression allows for maintaining iron homeostasis, represent good targets for future work. Considering the important role of evolution in species adaptation to habits such as Hematophagy, it is of importance to identify evolutionary signatures associated with these changes. To distinguish between evolutionary forces that are specific to iron-metabolism in blood-feeding insects and those that are found in other insects, the IRE-regulated genes were clustered into orthologous groups using several blood feeding and non-blood feeding insect species. Assessment of different evolutionary scenarios using the Maximum Likelihood (ML) approach, points to variations in the evolution of IRE-regulated genes between the two insect groups, whereby several genes indicate an increased mutation rate in the BF-insect group relative to their non-blood feeding insect counterparts. These include TMP003602 (phosphoinositide3-kinase), TMP009157 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme9), TMP010317 (general transcription factor IIH subunit1), TMP011104 (serine-pyruvate mitochondrial), TMP013137 (pentatricopeptide Transcription and translation), TMP013886 (tRNA(uridine-2-o-)-methyl-transferase-trm7) and TMP014187 (mediator 100kD). Additionally, we have indicated the presence of positively selected sites within seven blood-feeding IRE-regulated genes namely TMP002520 (nucleoporin), TMP008942 (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3), TMP009871(bruno-3 transcript) , TMP010317 (general transcription factor IIH subunit1), TMP010673 (ferritin heavy-chain protein), TMP011104 (serine-pyruvate mitochondrial) and TMP011448 (brain chitinase and chia). Thus the results of this study provides an in depth understanding of iron metabolism in Glossina morsitans and confers important targets for future validations based on which innovative control strategies may be designed

Successful Ultra-Conservative Management of a Mandibular Premolar with Dens Invaginatus

Dens invaginatus is one of the most common anomalies of tooth structure. It is caused by the invagination of the crown surface during odontogenesis that enters the pulp chamber of the affected tooth. Depending on the complexity of invagination, the tooth might present with pulp necrosis, open apex and a complicated root canal system. This case report presents an Oehlers’ type 2 dens-invaginatus in a mandibular premolar with chronic apical abscess. In most cases, dens invaginatus is removed during treatment. However, in this case report, based on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) evaluation, non-surgical treatment and maintenance of the invaginated segment was chosen in order to prevent compromising the tooth structure and its susceptibility to future root fracture. This is a new treatment approach and has not been performed in previous reports. Calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement was used as an apical plug followed by gutta-percha in warm vertical compaction for root canal obturation. The case was followed up for 36 months after treatment. This report highlights the importance of selecting the appropriate treatment approach based on CBCT evaluation.Keywords: Apical Plug; Calcium-enriched Mixture Cement; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Dens Invaginatus; Non-surgical Endodontic Treatmen

Effect of chlorhexidine on the durability of a new universal adhesive system

The effect of chlorhexidine on bond durability of universal adhesives is not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of chlorhexidine on 6-month water storage bond strength of adhesive systems. 72 freshly sound human extracted molars were selected. In each tooth both buccal and lingual sides were prepared by bur to reach superficial dentin and randomly divided into 6 groups and 12 sub-groups and bonded with Scotchbond Universal (SBU) or Scotchbond Multi-purpose (SBMP) with/without chlorhexidine (CHX) usage. Group 1: SBU, group2: SBU+CHX, group3: Etch+SBU, group4: Etch+CHX+SBU, group5: Etch+SBMP, group6: Etch+CHX+SBMP. After composite curing, water storage and thermocycling was done. Each group was divided into two subgroups. One was tested immediately, and the other was thermocycled for 5000 cycles (5-55 °C) (it was equivalent to 6 months of storage in distilled water). Shear bond strength test was done and failure modes were determined by Stereomicroscope. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, Tukey post-hoc test and Paired Two test with P<0.050 as the level of significance. Shear bond strength in late SBU (Self etch) was significantly lower than late SBU [Etch and rinse (ER)], P value= 0.0001, also shear bond strength in late SBU [self-etch (SE)] was significantly lower than immediate SBU (SE), P value= 0.01. There were no significant differences between other sub-groups and conditions. The most failure mode was adhesive in all the groups. Long term bonding durability of SBU(ER) was better than SBU (SE). CHX usage had prevented bond strength decrease in SBU and SBMP in long term. CHX usage did not have any effect on immediate shear bond strength of SBU and SBMP. Immediate and late shear bond strength of SBMP with/without CHX usage was similar to SBU(SE, ER)

Sleep Duration, Hypnotic Drug Use, and Risk Factors: Cross- Sectional Study

Both short sleep duration (SSD) and long sleep duration (LSD) are associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Here, we aimed to assess the prevalence of sleep duration disturbances among adults in association with demographic, medication use, personal habits, and chronic diseases, while also considering the impact of hypnotic drug use. We performed a cross-sectional study of 9991 adult participants of the Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS), as part of the Prospective epidemiological research studies in Iran (PERSIAN). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between short (\u3c 6 h) and long (\u3e 9 h) sleep duration with demographic and lifestyle parameters and common non-communicable diseases. Additionally, we performed stratified analysis to investigate the association of sleep duration with the abovementioned factors and diseases, in groups with and without hypnotic drug use. We found higher odds of SSD significantly associated with age (P \u3c 0.001), BMI (P \u3c 0.001), physical activity (P \u3c 0.001), and depression (P = 0.023). LSD displayed a positive association with the female sex (P \u3c 0.001), opium consumption (P \u3c 0.001), and history of MI (P = 0.045), and a reverse connection with education (P = 0.007), physical activity (P \u3c 0.001) and alcohol consumption (P = 0.027). Stratifying for the hypnotic drug use, our sensitivity analyses indicated that in hypnotic drug users, education (P = 0.034) and physical activity (P \u3c 0.001) were associated with LSD, in this group, significantly increased odds ratio of LSD were associated with opium consumption (P = 0.046) and thyroid dysfunction (P = 0.037). Our findings demonstrated the demographic and lifestyle factors and diseases associated with long and short sleep duration in the population of the RCS. Additionally, after stratifying for hypnotic drug use, our results indicated that some diseases are only associated with abnormal sleep duration upon using hypnotic drugs

Homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation of odonthubuthus doriae (Od1) scorpion toxin in comparison to the BmK M1

All of the α-subgroups share similarity in their sequence and structure but different in the toxicity to various voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). We modeled the first 3D structural model of the Od1 based on BmK M1 using homology modeling. The reliability of model for more investigation and compare to BmK M1 has been examined and confirmed. Then the model structure is further refined by energy minimization and molecular dynamics methods. The purpose of this modeling and simulation is comparison toxicity of two mentioned toxins by investigation structural feature of functional regions including core domain, 5-turn and C-terminal which make NC domain. In the one hand, it is intriguing that Od1 in comparison to BmK M1 shows same solvent accessible surface area (SASA) in 5-turn region but a little more exposed and feasibility (more SASA) in C-terminal region and key functional residues of C-terminal such as positive residues Arg58, lys62 and Arg (His)64. These data suggested that Od1 has similarity with BmK M1 but has more toxicity to sodium channel. In the other hand 5-turn proximity of C-terminal to 5-turn in BmK M1with cis peptide bond is less than Od1 without cis peptide bond which is a confirmation with experimental data about BmK M1.A better understanding of the 3-D structure of Od1and comparison to BmK M1 will be helpful for more investigation of functional characters action of natural toxins with a specialized role for VGSCs