Barriers to pharmaceutical care in Iran

<p><strong>Editorial</strong></p

Optimizirano određivanje lorazepama u humanom serumu visokotlačnom tekućinskom kromatografijom

The present research was designated to evaluate a rapid and sensitive method for determining low concentrations of the highly active drug lorazepam in serum. Isolation of the drug from biological fluid after addition of nordazepam as the internal standard was achieved using a simple liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane and the extracted compounds were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Chromatographic separation on a reversed phase column containing a stationary phase with low silanol activity resulted in a perfectly symmetrical peak with a tailing factor of 1.0. The limit of quantitation in serum is 2.5 ng mL-1 for both lorazepam and internal standard. The procedure is rapid and sensitive enough for determination of lorazepam in serum.U radu se vrednuje brza i osjetljiva metoda za određivanje niskih koncentracija lorazepama u serumu. Lorazepam je izoliran iz seruma ekstrakcijom diklormetanom, zajedno s nordazepamom, koji je upotrebljen kao interni standard i zatim određivan visokotlačnom tekućinskom kromatografijom. Kromatografskim razdjeljivanjem na reverzno-faznoj koloni sa stacionarnom fazom s niskom aktivnošću silanola dobiveni su potpuno simetrični signali faktorom završnog povlačenja 1,0. Granica određivanja u serumu je 2,5 ng mL-1 za lorazepam i interni standard. Metoda je brza i dovoljno osjetljiva za određivanje lorazepama u serumu

Study of Mir-29a expression in human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells treated by platelet-rich plasma

Introduction: &nbsp;Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have differentiation capacity to multi lineage cells, such as osteoblasts. As has been reported recently, osteogenic differentiation can be regulated by microRNAs. Although platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is used in the osteogenic differentiation process, the molecular mechanism of the effect of PRP on the induction of osteogenic differentiation by microRNAs is not well understood. We evaluated the effect of PRP on the expression of mir-29a as a key microRNA on the osteogenic differentiation process of hMSCs. Methods and Results: Mesenchymal cells were isolated from human adipose tissue and differentiated into osteoblasts. The effects of 10% PRP on bone differentiation evaluate by alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium deposition. We also evaluated gene expression of Runx2 and OPN along with the expression of mir-29a by Real-time PCR. Adipose-derived cells with differentiation potential to adipocyte and osteoblast cell lines, show significant increase in osteoblast differentiation rate, enzyme activity, mineralization upregulation of the mir-29a and gene markers when treated by 10% PRP. Conclusion: The present study showed that micro-RNAs such as mir-29a seem to play an active role in the process of bone differentiation during PRP treatment, which in turn affects the signaling pathways of mesenchymal stem cells. Determining the signaling pathways of PRP effect on osteogenic differentiation can optimize the use of this substance in the cell therapy for bone injury and fracture

Developing a trust model using graph and ranking trust of social messaging system

Trust is an important issue in social interactions, especially in using cyberspace services. In this paper, a trust and evaluation model are proposed based on which the government can provide reliable services to users. The model is a distributed and hierarchical model. First, the number 12 trust criteria and the weight of these criteria were extracted using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and analytic network process (ANP) techniques. Second, to obtain the trust in the service examined, for each criterion, a graph of trusted entities is proposed. Then, a weighted graph with the number of trusted entities called trust pathways measure will be obtained. To test the model, the effect of the 12 criteria on three important evaluation factors over seven widely used social services was rated by three experts. The trust of each service was obtained, which was satisfactory as compared to a valid organizational evaluation. Finally, the correlation coefficient of this comparison was 70.37%, indicating that the results from this model were appropriate

Sublethal effect of nanosilver on the structure of gill of Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) fingerlings

Widespread use of nanosilver can be led the contamination of aquatic environment and impact on living organisms such as fishes. We investigated histopathological changes in the gills tissue of Caspian roach fingerlings after two weeks exposure to sublethal concentrations of nanosilver. Following one and two weeks exposure, necrosis, shortening of secondary lamellae, edema, destruction of epithelial lamella, shortening of secondary lamellae, epithelial lifting and curling of secondary lamellae were observed in gill tissues. This observation showed that exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of nanosilver is caused damages in the gill tissues of Caspian roach. The results demonstrated direct correlation of gill tissue damage and toxin exposure i.e. increasing nanosilver concentration is caused more tissue damage. Hence, histopathological changes of gill can considered as a proper indicator for nanosilver contamination of aquatic environments

Drug-drug interactions and potentially inappropriate medications among elderly outpatients

The high prevalence of concomitant chronic illnesses and the resulting higher number of medications in the elderly population increase the risk of adverse drug reactions due to drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with DDIs and PIMs in outpatient geriatrics. In this cross-sectional study, 1512 prescriptions belonging to patients aged ≥65 years from five public pharmacies in Tehran were evaluated. Clinically relevant (C, D, and X) and significant DDIs (D and X) were documented according to the Lexicomp®. Additionally, Zhan criteria were used to detect PIMs. At least one clinically relevant DDI was detected in 61.7% of the prescriptions containing ≥2 medications. The largest percentage of prescriptions with DDIs was prescribed by cardiologists (74.3%). The number of medications in prescriptions and the specialty of the prescriber significantly affected both clinically relevant and significant DDIs in a logistic regression model. At least one PIM was identified in 16.3% of the prescriptions. General practitioners (GPs) were the largest prescribers of PIMs. The mean number of medications was significantly higher in prescriptions with PIMs. In conclusion, clinically relevant DDIs are frequent in the elderly. In terms of PIMs, more attention should be paid to the education of GPs

Effects of Zingiber officinale hydro-alcoholic extract on HMG-COA reductase level in the testis of streptozotocininduced diabetic rats

Introduction: Zingiber officinale Roscoe, commonly known as ginger, is used as a cooking spice and therapeutically for its antioxidant and androgenic activities. We investigated the effects of Z. officinale hydro-alcoholic extract on HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A) reductase level in the testis of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Methods: The current experimental study was performed on four groups of male Wistar rats one of them was kept as a healthy control, while the others were rendered diabetic via a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (60 mg kg-1). One group was considered as diabetic control; while the others were given orally hydro-alcoholic extract (200 and 400 mg kg-1) for 56 consecutive days. Body weight, blood glucose and insulin concentrations were evaluated using standard methods. The HMG-COA reductase level was determined by western blot analysis. Results: Treatment with the extract resulted in a significant reduction of serum glucose concentration and HMG-COA reductase level in the rat’s testis compared to diabetic controls (P<0.01). A significant increase in body weight was observed in treated diabetic rats. Also, serum insulin was significantly increased in diabetic rats treated with 400 mg/kg of the extract compared to diabetic controls (P<0.05). Conclusion: Ginger has a potential influence on the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis by modulating of HMG-COA reductase level. The results provide scientific evidence to confirm the traditional use of Z. officinale in the treatment of diabetes mellitus