Effect of hydroalcoholic Zingiber extract on creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of mice.

چکیده: زمینه و هدف: اکثر جمعیت جهان به خصوص در کشورهای در حال توسعه، برای احتیاجات اساسی بهداشتی خود از داروهای گیاهی استفاده می کنند. زنجبیل (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) یک چاشنی غذایی می باشد که از دو هزار سال پیش به عنوان دارو در طب چینی، پزشکی سنتی ایران و طب اسلامی استفاده شده است. از آنجایی که افزایش اوره سرم و سطوح کرآتینین در آزمایش های کلینیکی بیانگر نارسایی کلیوی می باشد، این مطالعه با هدف بررسی تأثیر عصاره هیدروالکلی زنجبیل بر نیتروژن اوره خون و کرآتینین به منظور ارزیابی عملکرد کلیه انجام شد. روش بررسی: در یک مطالعه تجربی عصاره هیدروالکلی زنجبیل به صورت یک روز در میان در یک دوره 20 روزه با دوزهای 10، 20 و 40 میلی گرم بر کیلوگرم در 48 ساعت به صورت داخل صفاقی به موشهای نر آزمایشگاهی تزریق شد. سپس خونگیری با استفاده از روش پانکسیون سینوس چشمی انجام و میزان نیتروژن اوره خون (BUN) و کراتینین اندازه گیری شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون های آنالیز واریانس یک طرفه و کروسکال والیس تجزیه و تحلیل شد. یافته ها: میانگین غلظت BUN در گروه کنترل 89/3±68/37 و در گروههای دریافت کننده 10، 20 و 40 میلی گرم بر کیلوگرم در 48 ساعت زنجبیل به ترتیب 38/11±54/21 (05/0

An Experimental study of the initial volumetric strain rate effect on the creep behaviour of reconstituted clays

Clayey soils tend to undergo continuous compression with time, even after excess pore pressures have substantially dissipated. The effect of time on deformation and mechanical response of these soft soils has been the subject of numerous studies. Based on these studies, the observed time-dependent behaviour of clays is mainly related to the evolution of soil volume and strength characteristics with time, which are classified as creep and/or relaxation properties of the soil. Apart from many empirical relationships that have been proposed in the literature to capture the rheological behaviour of clays, a number of viscid constitutive relationships have also been developed which have more attractive theoretical attributes. A particular feature of these viscid models is that their creep parameters often have clear physical meaning (e.g. coefficient of secondary compression, Cα). Sometimes with these models, a parameter referred to as initial/reference volumetric strain rate, has also been alluded as a model parameter. However, unlike Cα, the determination of and its variations with stress level is not properly documented in the literature. In an attempt to better understand , this paper presents an experimental investigation of the reference volumetric strain rate in reconstituted clay specimens. A long-term triaxial creep test, at different shear stress levels and different strain rates, was performed on clay specimen whereby the volumetric strain rate was measured. The obtained results indicated the stress-level dependency and non-linear variation of with time

Disclosure of Medical Errors: Attitudes of Iranian Internists and Surgeons

Background: Despite the widespread prevalence of medical errors and increased concerns of healthcare managers and the public about the disclosure of medical errors in recent decades, existing evidence shows that physicians still ignore the importance of disclosure of those errors. The present study aims to investigate the attitudes of Iranian internists and surgeons towards the disclosure of medical errors. Method: In this cross-sectional study, after a research purpose briefing, a checklist eliciting basic information and a questionnaire measuring attitudes towards the disclosure of medical errors was distributed to participant physicians at Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The questionnaires were returned filled out by 107 participants (54 internists and 53 surgeons). Results: Although 77%, 53% and 44% of the participants agreed to the disclosure of serious, minor and near miss medical errors, respectively, 83% believed that it's very difficult for them to disclose medical errors and 48% asserted that disclosure of medical errors would threaten patients' trust in physicians. In addition, 78% of the participants believed in notifying hospital or ward authorities of the occurrence of medical errors while only 53% agreed to notify colleagues in case of medical errors. Patients' litigations (51%), unfamiliarity with patients' temperament (46%) and patients' asperity (40%) were the most prevalence reasons for nondisclosure of medical errors. No significant difference was found among participants' attitudes in terms of sex and age groups (p>0.05). In terms of specialty, surgeons expressed significantly more agreement than internists about declaration of medical errors to hospital and ward authorities (87% Vs 70%, p=0.039) and to other colleagues (66% Vs 41%, p=0.009). In addition, the surgeons believed that the disclosure of medical errors would minimize the likelihood of patients' litigations (60% Vs 42%, p=0.049). Internists and surgeons' attitudes did not differ over other issues (p>0.05). Conclusion: Although the majority of specialists agreed to the disclosure of serious medical errors, more than 80% of them regarded it as an awkward act. In addition, half of the participants considered disclosure as a threat to patient trust and felt deterred by patients' litigations. Therefore, it seems that disclosure of medical errors is a serious issue in Iran which needs to be addressed by healthcare system policy makers

Microvesicles and exosomes: new players in metabolic and cardiovascular disease

The past decade has witnessed an exponential increase in the number of publications referring to extracellular vesicles (EVs). For many years considered to be extracellular debris, EVs are now seen as novel mediators of endocrine signalling via cell-to-cell communication. With the capability of transferring proteins and nucleic acids from one cell to another, they have become an attractive focus of research for different pathological settings and are now regarded as both mediators and biomarkers of disease including cardio-metabolic disease. They also offer therapeutic potential as signalling agents capable of targeting tissues or cells with specific peptides or miRNAs. In this review, we focus on the role that microvesicles (MVs) and exosomes, the two most studied classes of EV, have in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, endothelial dysfunction, coagulopathies, and polycystic ovary syndrome. We also provide an overview of current developments in MV/exosome isolation techniques from plasma and other fluids, comparing different available commercial and non-commercial methods. We describe different techniques for their optical/biochemical characterization and quantitation. We also review the signalling pathways that exosomes and MVs activate in target cells and provide some insight into their use as biomarkers or potential therapeutic agents. In summary, we give an updated focus on the role that these exciting novel nanoparticles offer for the endocrine community

Métastase orbitaire révélant un carcinome mammaire : A propos d’un cas

IntroductionLes métastases orbitaires des cancers solides sont peu fréquentes, elles surviennent généralement chez des patients qui ont un cancer connu et traité. Les métastases du cancer du sein touchent surtout l’os, le foie, le poumon, la peau et le cerveau plus rarement l’orbite.ObservationNous rapportons le cas d’une jeune patiente orientée à notre service pour la prise en charge d’un processus tumoral de l’orbite gauche, qui a révélé un cancer du sein

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus activates the hypoxia response to usurp HIF2α-dependent translation initiation for replication and oncogenesis

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is an angiogenesis-inducing oncovirus whose ability to usurp the oxygen-sensing machinery is central to its oncogenicity. By upregulating the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), KSHV reprograms infected cells to a hypoxia-like state, triggering angiogenesis. Here we identify a link between KSHV replicative biology and oncogenicity by showing that KSHV's ability to regulate HIF2α levels and localization to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in normoxia enables translation of viral lytic mRNAs through the HIF2α-regulated eIF4E2 translation-initiation complex. This mechanism of translation in infected cells is critical for lytic protein synthesis and contributes to KSHV-induced PDGFRA activation and VEGF secretion. Thus, KSHV regulation of the oxygen-sensing machinery allows virally infected cells to initiate translation via the mTOR-dependent eIF4E1 or the HIF2α-dependent, mTOR-independent, eIF4E2. This “translation initiation plasticity” (TRIP) is an oncoviral strategy used to optimize viral protein expression that links molecular strategies of viral replication to angiogenicity and oncogenesis.Fil: Méndez Solís, Omayra. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Bendjennat, Mourad. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Naipauer, Julian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentina. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Theodoridis, Phaedra R.. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Ho, J.J. David. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Verdun, Ramiro E.. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Hare, Joshua M.. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Cesarman, Ethel. Weill Cornell Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, Stephen. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Mesri, Enrique Alfredo. University of Miami; Estados Unido

A large-strain radial consolidation theory for soft clays improved by vertical drains

A system of vertical drains with combined vacuum and surcharge preloading is an effective solution for promoting radial flow, accelerating consolidation. However, when a mixture of soil and water is deposited at a low initial density, a significant amount of deformation or surface settlement occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce large-strain theory, which has been widely used to manage dredged disposal sites in one-dimensional theory, into radial consolidation theory. A governing equation based on Gibson's large-strain theory and Barron's free-strain theory incorporating the radial and vertical flows, the weight of the soil, variable hydraulic conductivity and compressibility during the consolidation process is therefore presented

Effects of Royal Jelly and Tocotrienol Rich Fraction in obesity treatment of calorie-restricted obese rats: A focus on white fat browning properties and thermogenic capacity

Background: Obesity has reached an alarming rate worldwide. Promoting thermogenesis via increasing the function of brown adipose tissue (BAT) or white adipose tissue (WAT) browning has been proposed as a new protective approach against obesity. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of Royal Jelly (RJ) and tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) on BAT activation and WAT browning during calorie restriction diet (CRD) in obesity model. Methods: In this experimental study, 50 obese Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups and then received one of the following treatments for a period of 8-week: High-fat diet (HFD), CRD, RJ + CRD, TRF + CRD, and RJ + TRF + CRD. Effects of RJ and TRF, individually and in combination on body weight and the expression of key thermoregulatory genes in WAT and BAT were examined by quantitative real-time (qRT-PCR). Also, morphological alterations were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: RJ (- 67.21 g ±4.84 g) and RJ + TRF (- 73.29 g ±4.51 g) significantly reduced weight gain relative to the CRD group (- 40.70 g ±6.50 g, P < 0.001). In comparison with the CRD group, RJ and RJ + TRF remarkably enhanced the uncoupling protein1 (UCP1) expression in WAT (5.81, 4.72 fold, P < 0.001) and BAT (4.99, 4.75 fold, P < 0.001). The expression of PR domain containing 16(PRDM 16), cAMP response element-binding protein1 (CREB1), P38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (P38MAPK), and Bone morphogenetic protein8B (BMP8B) have significantly increased following RJ and RJ + TRF treatments (P < 0.001). However, the expression levels of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (CEBPβ) and Bone morphogenetic protein7 (BMP7) did not remarkably change. Multilocular beige cells in WAT and compacted dense adipocytes were also observed in BAT of RJ and RJ + TRF received groups. TRF showed no substantial effects on the expression of the mentioned thermoregulatory genes and brown fat-like phenotype. Conclusion: Our results suggest that, Royal Jelly promotes thermogenesis and browning of WAT, contributing to an increase in energy expenditure. Thus, Royal Jelly may give rise to a novel dietary choice to attenuate obesity. © 2020 The Author(s)