The Role of Bifidobacterium SPP. on Cholestrol Assimilation in the in Vitro and in Vivo Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cholesterol removal by some bifidobacterium spp. at in vitro and in vivo conditions with the emphasis of their bile salt deconjugation ability. Bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, which is the measurement of enzyme activity responsible for bile salt deconjugation, was quantified by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay. B. in/antis G001204 was the isolate with the highest deconjugation rate in TPY broth supplemented with 5mM GCDC. Generally all the isolates deconjugated glycoconjugated bile acid in higher amount (P<0.05) compared to tauroconjugates. Likewise in overall the percentage of deconjugation activity was higher in TPY medium supplemented with 5mM bile acids (P<0.05) compared to the TPY broth with 10mM bile acids. Cholesterol removal from media was strain-dependent. The percentage of cholesterol assimilated in TPY containing 0.52mM cholesterol plus bile acids ranged from 4.0% for B. infantis F41134 to 47.0% for B. infantis G001204. The presence of bile salt was prerequisite for cholesterol removal.Results of the in vivo experiment showed that total cholesterol concentration in rats fed on the high-cholesterol diet plus either B. in/antis 0001204 or B. animalis ATCC 27672 in a 2-week period were significantly (P<0.05) lower than the control group. Total fecal bile acid excretion increased in animal groups throughout the high-cholesterol diet feeding and probiotic-treated groups had higher excretion rate of fecal bile acids compared to the control significantly (P<0.05)

Selecting Reading Texts for University Iranian EFL Students

Selecting appropriate reading texts is very important and teachers shouldn’t do it randomly. This research examined the importance of criteria involved in selecting reading texts and the extent these criteria used in Iran universities. The sample consisted of 82 male and female university Iranian EFL students from some governmental and nongovernmental universities in Tehran. This procedure was adopted due to the accessibility of the participants. For the sake of the best answers from students, a questionnaire was constructed.  The analysis of the data revealed that the students’ interests, topic, appearance of the text, students’ needs, exploitability, and relevance are the most important criteria involved in selecting reading texts. However, teachers do not consider some of these criteria while selecting reading texts. The findings imply that for effective academic reading course, process of text selection needs some changes. If teachers consider all of these criteria and select an appropriate reading text fit for the readers, reading courses in Iran universities will improve significantly

Effects of Laser Irradiation on Caries Prevention

INTRODUCTION: Although dental caries is a preventable disease, it is still common and remains a public health problem. One of the potentially effective preventive measures is the use of lasers. The purpose of this study was to review the studies about use of laser irradiation on the inhibition of carious lesions and the effectiveness of different commercial laser type (Nd:YAG, CO2, and Argon).METHODS: A literature search included journal databases, existing systematic reviews, and studies identified by content experts. Studies meeting inclusion criteria were assessed for quality.RESULTS: Some studies have demonstrated the potential preventive effect of laser irradiation on sound enamel; the effect of irradiation on white spot lesions is still unclear. The effects of irradiating demineralized enamel surfaces coupled with the use of topical fluoride application is also still unclear and further research needs to be conducted in this area. Laser irradiation alone can significantly enhance acid resistance of sound enamel surfaces and prevent caries progression.CONCLUSION: Combined use of topical fluoride application and laser irradiation on sound enamel surfaces has provided the best protection against caries initiation and progression. Laser irradiation was of limited value in managing incipient carious lesions. Argon laser use may be easier clinically due to its large and visible beam diameter, which allows for irradiation of the whole surface of the tooth instead of the overlapping and time consuming pattern of the CO2 laser

STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISCRETIONARY ACCRUALS AND SOME OF THE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF COMPANIES LISTED IN TEHRAN STOCK EXCHANGE

The fact of importance of measuring performance is recognized for organizations and it plays an important role in many organizations. Today, as we are in the information age, accounting profit is part of the information used by investors in risk assessment and returns on an accrual basis. The corporate performance evaluation is one of the most important issues for investors in terms of investment decision. The purpose of this study was to study the relationship between the voluntary accruals level and the performance indicators of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. For this purpose, some performance indicators such as cash flow, return on assets, return on equity, price-to-profit ratio, and return on investment were measured. The research sample consisted of 102 Iranian stock exchanges during the years 2010-2014. The results of the research show that there is a significant relationship between discretionary accruals and operating cash flow and equity returns, and the market pricing of accruals is not affected by the external financing levels.  Article visualizations

Recent advances on happiness

Happiness plays essential role on building prosperity and success in any society. Happiness is one of the essential factors to reach prosperity and success in people’s life and jobs but happiness is not always the same as capability, but they may be correlated while capability is a necessary for having a happy life and happiness feeds back on capability in different ways. People who feel happy could better contribute to society and help other people build better future. This study performs a review on recently completed studies on factors, which influence happiness, new definitions of happiness. The study concentrates more on empirical investigations on the concept of happiness

Knowledge, attitude and practice of urban and ruarl households towards principles of nutrition in Iran: results of NUTRIKAP Survey.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of urban and rural households toward principles of nutrition in Iran. Methods: The study population was Iranian households who live in rural and urban areas in all provinces of the country. The sampling method at households’ level in each province was single stage cluster sampling with equal size clusters. The incumbent data was collected by a structured questionnaire and through the interview with the eligible subject in each household. Results: A total of 14,136 Iranian households were selected as total sample size, 9,149 urban households, and 4,987 rural households. Around 57.2% of urban and 49.5% of rural households was aware of food groups. Respectively in urban and rural households, about 35.1% and 39.7% had correct knowledge toward roles of food groups. Approximately 41.5% and 39.9% of households had accurate knowledge about reason of food eating in urban and rural areas, respectively. The results showed that 79.6% of them had favorable attitudes. The most of the households consumed red meat and poultry weekly whereas fish was eaten rarely. Fruits, vegetables and dairy were consumed daily in the most of households. Sugar intake was daily in the most of households and cream and butter intake was weekly. Conclusion: The most of households had moderate knowledge and good attitudes. Practice of families about food consumption was good. The results of this study can be used for proper intervention for improving of health society

Propolis: A New Alternative for Root Canal Disinfection

Introduction: This study evaluated and compared colony forming units (CFUs) and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of calcium hydroxide and propolis as intracanal medicaments.Materials and Methods: Eighty human single-root and caries-free teeth were selected and divided into five groups. Crowns were removed. Root canals were then prepared in a step-back manner. The samples were then inoculated by Enterococcus (E.) faecalis and incubated for 21 days. Intracanal medications were applied including, calcium hydroxide (n=20), propolis (n=20), and ethanol (n=20). Two groups of 10 teeth were also used as the positive and negative controls. Microbiological sampling was performed utilizing a piezo-reamer drill after one week of incubation. The samples were plated and CFUs were counted after 48 hours. MICs of calcium hydroxide and propolis were measured by serial dilution and agar dilution methods, respectively. The statistical tests of ANOVA and Duncan post-hoc were used to compare different medications.Results: MICs and CFUs of propolis were dramatically less than calcium hydroxide. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (P&lt;0.001).Conclusion: Our results reveal that propolis is an effective antimicrobial intracanal agent

Frequency of craniofacial pain in patients with ischemic heart disease

Referred craniofacial pain of cardiac origin might be the only symptom of ischemic heart accidents. This study aimed to determine the frequency of craniofacial pain in patients with ischemic heart disease. This cross-sectional study was accomplished on 296 patients who met the criteria of having ischemic heart disease. Data regarding demographics, medical history and referred craniofacial pain were recorded in data forms. In addition, patients underwent oral examination to preclude any source of dental origin. Chi-square test, Student’s t-test and backward regression model were used to analyze the data by means of SPSS software version 21. P<0.05 was considered significant. A total of 296 patients were studied comprising of 211 men (71%) and 85 women (29%) with the mean age of 55.8. Craniofacial pain was experienced by 53 patients out of 296, 35 (66%) of whom were male and 18 (34%) were female. None of the patients experienced craniofacial pain solely. The most common sites of craniofacial pain were occipital and posterior neck (52.8%), head (43.3%), throat and anterior neck (41.5%) respectively. We found no relationship between craniofacial pain of cardiac origin with age, diabetes, hypertension, and family history. On the other hand, there was a significant relationship between hyperlipidemia and smoking with craniofacial pain of cardiac origin. Radiating pain to face and head can be expected quite commonly during a cardiac ischemic event. Dental practitioners should be thoroughly aware of this symptomatology to prevent misdirected dental treatment and delay of medical care