The Effect of Chronic Administration of Buspirone on 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Catalepsy in Rats

Purpose: Several evidences show that serotonergic neurons play a role in the regulation of movements executed by the basal ganglia. Recently we have reported that single dose of buspirone improved 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and haloperidol-induced catalepsy. This study is aimed to investigate effect of chronic intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of buspirone on 6-OHDA-induced catalepsy in male Wistar rats. Methods: Catalepsy was induced by unilateral infusion of 6-OHDA (8 μg/2 μl/rat) into the central region of the SNc and was assayed by the bar-test method 5, 60, 120 and 180 min after drugs administration in 10th day. The effect of buspirone (0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg, i.p. for 10 days) was assessed in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Results: The results showed that chronic injection of buspirone (0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg, i.p. for 10 days) decreased catalepsy when compared with the control group. The best anticataleptic effect was observed at the dose of 1 mg/kg. The catalepsy-improving effect of buspirone was reversed by 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)- 4-[4-(2-phthalimido) butyl]piperazine hydrobromide (NAN-190), 0.5 mg/kg, i.p.,as a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. Conclusion: Our study indicates that chronic administration of buspirone improves catalepsy in a 6-OHDA-induced animal model of parkinson's disease (PD). We also suggest that buspirone may be used as an adjuvant therapy to increase effectiveness of antiparkinsonian drugs. In order to prove this hypothesis, further clinical studies should be done

Effect of Educational Program on Quality of Life of Patients with Heart Failure: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Heart failure is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases which decrease the quality of life. Most of the factors influencing the quality of life can be modified with educational interventions. Therefore, this study examined the impact of a continuous training program on quality of life of patients with heart failure. Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted during May to August 2011. Forty four participants with heart failure referred to Shahid Madani's polyclinics of Tabriz were selected through convenient sampling method and were randomly allocated to two groups. The intervention group (n = 22) received ongoing training including one-to-one teaching, counseling sessions and phone calls over 3 months. The control group (n = 22) received routine care program. Data on quality of life was collected using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire at baseline as well as three months later. Results: The statistical tests showed significant differences in the physical, emotional dimensions and total quality of life in intervention group. But in control group, no significant differences were obtained. There was not any significant association in demographic characteristics and quality of life. Conclusion: Ongoing training programs can be effective in improving quality of life of patients with heart failure. Hence applying ongoing educational program as a non-pharmacological intervention can help to improve the quality of life of these patients

The Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone in the Neo-Tethyan suture, western Iran: Zircon U-Pb evidence of late Palaeozoic rifting of northern Gondwana and mid-Jurassic orogenesis

The Zagros Orogen, marking the closure of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean, formed by continental collision beginning in the late Eocene to early Miocene. Collision was preceded by a complicated tectonic history involving Pan-African orogenesis, Late Palaeozoic rifting forming Neo-Tethys, followed by Mesozoic convergence on the ocean\u27s northern margin and ophiolite obduction on its southern margin. The Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone is a metamorphic belt in the Zagros Orogen of Gondwanan provenance. Zircon ages have established Pan-African basement igneous and metamorphic complexes in addition to uncommon late Palaeozoic plutons and abundant Jurassic plutonic rocks. We have determined zircon ages from units in the northwestern Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone (Golpaygan region). A sample of quartzite from the June Complex has detrital zircons with U-Pb ages mainly in 800-1050 Ma with a maximum depositional age of 547 ± 32 Ma (latest Neoproterozoic¿earliest Cambrian). A SHRIMP U-Pb zircon age of 336 ± 9 Ma from gabbro in the June Complex indicates a Carboniferous plutonic event that is also recorded in the far northwestern Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone. Together with the Permian Hasanrobat Granite near Golpaygan, they all are considered related to rifting marking formation of Neo-Tethys. Scarce detrital zircons from an extensive package of metasedimentary rocks (Hamadan Phyllite) have ages consistent with the Triassic to Early Jurassic age previously determined from fossils. These ages confirm that an orogenic episode affected the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone in the Early to Middle Jurassic (Cimmerian Orogeny). Although the Cimmerian Orogeny in northern Iran reflects late Triassic to Jurassic collision of the Turan platform (southern Eurasia) and the Cimmerian microcontinent, we consider that in the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone a tectonothermal event coeval with the Cimmerian Orogeny resulted from initiation of subduction and closure of rift basins along the northern margin of Neo-Tethys

Knowledge and Performance about Nursing Ethic Codes from Nurses' and Patients' Perspective in Tabriz Teaching Hospitals, Iran

Introduction: Nursing profession requires knowledge of ethics to guide performance. The nature of this profession necessitates ethical care more than routine care. Today, worldwide definition of professional ethic code has been done based on human and ethical issues in the communication between nurse and patient. To improve all dimensions of nursing, we need to respect ethic codes. The aim of this study is to assess knowledge and performance about nursing ethic codes from nurses' and patients' perspective.Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study Conducted upon 345 nurses and 500 inpatients in six teaching hospitals of Tabriz, 2012. To investigate nurses' knowledge and performance, data were collected by using structured questionnaires. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive and analytic statistics, independent t-test and ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient, in SPSS13.Results: Most of the nurses were female, married, educated at BS degree and 86.4% of them were aware of Ethic codes also 91.9% of nurses and 41.8% of patients represented nurses respect ethic codes. Nurses' and patients' perspective about ethic codes differed significantly. Significant relationship was found between nurses' knowledge of ethic codes and job satisfaction and complaint of ethical performance. Conclusion: According to the results, consideration to teaching ethic codes in nursing curriculum for student and continuous education for staff is proposed, on the other hand recognizing failures of the health system, optimizing nursing care, attempt to inform patients about Nursing ethic codes, promote patient rights and achieve patient satisfaction can minimize the differences between the two perspectives

Employed nurse's awareness about nursing sighted tasks

Setting the nurse's sighted tasks and clarifying communicative lines and their purposes help effectively to establish appropriate working conditions. Approved nurse's sighted tasks are sensible and necessary for all nursing rankings and levels. Regarding this, a research for determining the nurses' awareness about nursing sighted tasks was conducted in internal and surgical wards in Tabriz selected hospitals. This survey was a descriptive study. 298 nurses were studied through a questionnaire that contained 40 questions in the form of self - reporting check list. 21 questions of 40 questions of the questionnaire were nursing sighted tasks; 19 ones were not. Reliability of the test was analyzed by SPSS14 statistical software during the study on 20 nurses. Inner correlation coefficient of questioner was 0.88. Most of the nurses were female (90.3%) and 69.5% married. 98.7% bachelor in nursing, and 90.9% of the nurses had BSc in nursing, 60.7% were under the professional responsibility insurance, and worked as nurses, respectively. The averages of nurses' ages and working background in nursing profession were 5.9 +/- 33.6 years and 73.13 +/- 108.3 months, respectively. Most of the nurses had average awareness about nursing sighted tasks, and Just 7.4% and 11.4% had low and good awareness. 67.4% and 29.9% of the subjects had known the presence of nursing duties composition very necessary and necessary. Overall, 97.3% of them have known the presence of duties composition very necessary and essential, and so these ones tended to be aware of their duties composition. Just 24.2% of the nurses had stated that there exists nursing duties composition. These cases can indicate the low level in-service education periods and also low nurses academic educations in this field. There are often ambiguous points in nursing activities which are arisen from working interferences with the other medicine professions in hospitals. Nurses are expected to do some procedure which is not their sighted tasks or they have not been trained enough about. Nurses ` activities in the affairs out of their sighted tasks and have done by system pressure have frequently led to complain of the nurses, and so this issue faces the nurses with so many difficulties. Esmaeili Vardanjani SA, Mohajjel Aghdam AR, Sohrabi M, Malekpoor P, Dadkhah D, Alinejad H. Employed nurse's awareness about sighted tasks. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):5501-5505] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 81

Effect of water-deficit stress on secondary metabolites of Melissa officinalis L.: role of exogenous salicylic acid

Melissa officinalis is a perennial herbaceous plant from Lamiaceae family, widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries to add aroma. Drought stress in plants may happen due to the increase in water loss, insufficient water absorption or both. Salicylic acid (SA) is an important secondary metabolite in plants with hormone-like action in some biochemical pathways. Adding it during water-deficit stress, may alter a number of physiological processes, increasing the resistance of plant against possible damage by water loss. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of drought stress (DRU) on secondary metabolites of Melissa officinalis and also the efficacy of salicylic acid treatment to minimize the damages. According to the results, treatment of plant with 0.7 mM salicylic acid had considerable alteration in the quantity of important secondary metabolites. Protein concentration increased in all stages; Chlorophyll a reached to the highest amount; the amount of the MDA increased at the first and second stages in 1/3 fc drought treatment as well as at the third stage in 2/3 fc. Besides, total phenol content increased at stage I in 1/3 fc drought and the flavonoid content increased in 1/3 fc drought at all stages. Finally, content of anthocyanin was increased at first and third stages 1/3 fc drought, as well as at second stage in 1/3 fc drought. In conclusion, application of salicylic acid (0.7 mM) was useful for improving quality of lemon balm subjected to stress due to water deficit

Molecular epidemiology and nitrofurantoin resistance determinants of nitrofurantoin-non-susceptible Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infections

Objectives: The worldwide emergence of multidrug-resistant uropathogens has resulted in the revival of old antibiotics such as nitrofurantoin (NIT) for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). This study aimed to identify determinants of NIT resistance and to investigate the genetic diversity of NIT-resistant (NIT-R) Escherichia coli isolates. Methods: Six NIT-R and three NIT-susceptible clinical E. coli isolates from patients with UTI were studied. The susceptibility of the isolates to various classes of antibiotics was evaluated by disk diffusion. The presence of plasmid-encoded efflux pump genes (oqxA and oqxB) was investigated by PCR. Nucleotide sequences of the nfsA, nfsB and ribE genes were determined. The genetic relatedness of the NIT-R isolates was evaluated by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Results: All six NIT-R isolates were characterised with high-level NIT resistance (MIC � 512 mg/L) and they belonged to five distinct STs including ST131 (n = 2), ST73, ST405, ST10 and ST354 (n = 1 each). Amikacin, carbapenems, minocycline, tigecycline and fosfomycin were the most active agents against the studied uropathogens. The oqxA and oqxB genes were not detected in any isolate. All NIT-R isolates harboured inactivating genetic alterations in nfsA and nfsB NfsA H11Y, S33N, S38Y, W212R substitutions, �g638 (frameshift), �a64-g73 (frameshift) and NfsB F84S, P45S, W94Stop, E197Stop substitutions, �nfsB locus. The ribE gene of most isolates was unaffected, except for one isolate co-harbouring a deleterious RibE G85C substitution and NfsA/B alterations. Conclusion: NIT resistance in the studied E. coli isolates was mainly mediated by nfsA and nfsB alterations. © 201

The Novel Pharmacological Approaches to Coumestrol: Focusing on the Psychiatric and Neurological Benefits and the Newly Identified Receptor Interactions

For years, the health benefits of coumestrol (CMT) have been investigated by researchers around the world. Anti-oxidative properties of the phytoestrogen which can be extracted from several plant tissues, have already been reported as well as the cancer chemopreventive capabilities. Recently, psychiatric and neurological effects of this natural compound have become of interest to researchers so that strong evidence would support the idea that CMT can exert significant effects on the central nervous system. Pharmacologically, this phytoestrogen would act as a selective estrogen receptor modulator with several-fold more affinity to β sub-types of the receptors (ERβ); although other mechanisms of action may be involved. The aim of this review was to gather the recent reports regarding the most important pharmacological benefits of CMT focusing on the psychiatric and neurological ones. Furthermore, the mechanisms of action underlying the pharmacological effects were tried to be clarified more. For this purpose, some keywords such as "Coumestrol", "Pharmacological Effects", "Neurological", "Psychiatric" and "Neuropsychiatric" were searched in popular scientific databases such as Google scholar, Scopus and Pubmed. Then the delegated documentations were brought together, categorized and discussed on this basis. Reviewing the gathered information showed that, apart from the effects on reproduction and the related organs which are mainly conducted through estrogen receptors, CMT has reported to improve various disorders all over the body. Particularly, regarding the neurological and psychiatric systems, the advantages in cerebral hypoxia-ischemia, the Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, depression and cognitive impairments would be the most important ones. Here, other receptors that have shown interactions with CMT (beside estrogen receptors which are the main target), were also reviewed among which insulin receptors, farnesoid X receptors, pregnane X receptors, and constitutive androstane receptors can be mentioned while only the last two seem to be involved in forming the neurological and psychiatric effects