Comparison effects of olive leaf extract and oleuropein compounds on male reproductive function in cyclophosphamide exposed mice

Spermatogenesis is a complicated process in which sperm is susceptible to various chemotherapy drugs such as cyclophosphamide (CP). As olive leaf extract (OLE) and its active ingredient, oleuropein, have variousantioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of OLE and oleuropein on male reproductive function focusing antioxidative effects and histological modifications in the testes of CP-exposed mice. In order to do this, 80 NMRI male mice were divided into eight groups including control group, group received CP, group received OLE, group received oleuropein, group received OLE following CP exposure, group received oleuropein following CP exposure, group received OLE plus oleuropein and group received OLE plus oleuropein following CP exposure. In all groups CP (single dose of 100 mg/kg (, OLE (100 mg/kg for consequence 28 days) and oleuropein (100 mg/kg for consequence 28 days) were injected intraperitoneally. Moreover, testis histology, sperm parameters and serum levels of LH, FSH, MDA and antioxidant capacity were investigated. Results showed that CP caused oxidative state and abnormal changes in sperms and testes. Besides, treatments with oleuropein and OLE led to mitigate the harmful effects of CP on the male reproductive system. In conclusion, our findings showed that olive's compounds can diminish the hazardous effects of CP on spermatogenesis in mice. Keywords: Spermatogenesis, Olive leaf extract, CyclophosphamideMice, Oleuropein, Cell biology, Plant biology, Pharmaceutical science, Pathophysiology, Laboratory medicin

Interdisciplinary education of social accountability in short-term workshops of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Background: Accountability refers to a set of concepts and social actions by which individuals or organizations have a sense of commitment to explain and to justify their behavior towards the others. Since it is one of the overall objectives of each university, the present study conducted to evaluate the effect of interdisciplinary education of social accountability in short-term workshops on medical student’s knowledge.  Methods: The present study followed a qualitative-quantitative method with the qualitative stage conducted as group interview. In the first phase, eight faculty members were selected in order to determine the scope and the main topics of social accountability. The second phase was training workshops of social accountability using intervention method. Before and after the course, the knowledge of concepts was assessed using a valid and reliable questionnaire.  Results: The main scope and criteria of the social accountability were extracted based on the results of the experts’ group discussion in eight items. The results of investigating the quality of the workshops revealed the student’s satisfaction of the quality of presentations (88%), the appropriate time management (86%), and the new information (85%). Also, the results of the second phase demonstrated the educational effectiveness of social responsibility in the student’s comments (pretest Mean±SD=13.86 and posttest Mean±SD=14.80, P=0.002). The results of the workshop showed a significant effect of social accountability education on the participants.  Conclusion: The students comprehended the purposes of the application. So, the probability of changing the behavior in medical students is possible with the clinical perspective. However, the stability of this achievement needs sufficient enforcement. 

Development of a Global Index Measuring National Policy Commitments to HIV Prevention and Treatment among People Who Inject Drugs

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) around the world are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. National policy responses to the epidemic heavily influence risk factors for HIV acquisition among this key group. Prior efforts to monitor national policy responses to HIV/AIDS among PWID were limited both in scope and coverage. In this paper we develop and validate the HIV-PWID Policy Index (HPPI) to benchmark and monitor national commitments to HIV prevention and treatment among PWID. Methods: Composite indicator was constructed employing fuzzy multilayer data envelopment analysis (FMLDEA). Model inputs based on data from 105 countries included 27 variables measured across six conceptual domains, including needle and syringe programs, opioid substitution treatment, testing and counseling, information and education, monitoring and evaluation, and legal and policy climate. Results: According to the HPPI, the top performing countries in commitment to HIV prevention and treatment among PWID were Spain (0.988), Switzerland (0.982), Luxembourg (0.970), Moldova (0.970), and Kyrgyzstan (0.945), whereas the poorest performing included Nicaragua (0.094), Japan, (0.094), Cape Verde (0.097), Syria (0.174), and Benin (0.185). Regionally, commitment to HIV services targeting PWID was highest among European countries (0.81) and lowest among African countries (0.50), with Oceania (0.76), Asia (0.66), and the Americas (0.56) in the mid-range. Subregional differences were even more prominent, with West and Central European nations (0.84) and Central American nations (0.22) earning the highest and lowest HPPI scores, respectively. Conclusions: The HPPI documented substantial national and regional variation in policy responses to the HIV epidemic among PWID. Our analysis also revealed that many countries have limited HIV/AIDS data collection and monitoring capabilities. Continued enhancement and standardization of global HIV/AIDS monitoring efforts are therefore vital to articulated national and international benchmarking and performance assessment goals

In-vitro Pro Apoptotic Effect of Crude Saponin from Ophiocoma erinaceus against Cervical Cancer

Abstract Ophiocoma erinaceus Muller &Troschel (Ophiocomidae) is part of the extensive group of echinoderm that contains bioactive metabolites. As the anti cancer potential of brittle star saponin has not been reported against cervical cancer, the present study was conducted to evaluate the anticancer effect of extracted crude saponin. Saponin extraction was conducted using conventional method such as froth test, TLC, FTIR and erythrolysis assay. The Hela-S3 cervical carcinoma and HNCF-PI52 normal cells were treated with different concentrations of saponin fraction for 24 and 48 h. The cytotoxicity was examined by MTT, DAPI, AO/PI, Annexin V-FITC and flow cytometry. In addition, the apoptotic induced pathway was studied using caspase assay, evaluation of ROS generation and Bcl-2 mRNA level. Crude saponin showed cytotoxic properties in Hela-S3 cells (IC 50 of 23.4 µg/mL) without significant impact against normal cells. In addition, the crude saponin increased sub-G1 peak in flow cytometry histogram of treated cells, ROS generation and caspase-3 and -9 activity (IC 50 of 11.10, 11.27 µg/mL). The dose dependent down regulation of Bcl-2 in treated cells demonstrated that saponin fraction can trigger intrinsic apoptotic pathway in cancer cells. This study provides valuable information about the apoptotic inducing effect of saponin fraction, which can offer new insights into the anticancer potential of saponin as a promising candidate against human cervical carcinoma

Modelling of Queue Length in Freeway Work Zones – Case Study Karaj-Tehran Freeway

In this study, the traffic parameters were collected from three work zones in Iran in order to evaluate the queue length in the work zones. The work zones were observed at peak and non-peak hours. The results showed that abrupt changes in Freeway Free Speed (FFS) and arrival flow rate caused shockwaves and created a bottleneck in that section of the freeway. In addition, acceleration reduction, abrupt change in the shockwave speed, abrupt change in the arrival flow rate and increase in the percentage of heavy vehicles have led to extreme queue lengths and delay. It has been found that using daily traffic data for scheduling the maintenance and rehabilitation projects could diminish the queue length and delay. Also, by determining the bypass for heavy vehicles, the delay can be significantly reduced; by more than three times. Finally, three models have been presented for estimating the queue length in freeway work zones. Moreover, the procedure shown for creating a queue length model can be used for similar freeways

Post-revascularization Ejection Fraction Prediction for Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Based on Myocardial Perfusion SPECT Imaging Radiomics:a Preliminary Machine Learning Study

In this study, the ability of radiomics features extracted from myocardial perfusion imaging with SPECT (MPI-SPECT) was investigated for the prediction of ejection fraction (EF) post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treatment. A total of 52 patients who had undergone pre-PCI MPI-SPECT were enrolled in this study. After normalization of the images, features were extracted from the left ventricle, initially automatically segmented by k-means and active contour methods, and finally edited and approved by an expert radiologist. More than 1700 2D and 3D radiomics features were extracted from each patient’s scan. A cross-combination of three feature selections and seven classifier methods was implemented. Three classes of no or dis-improvement (class 1), improved EF from 0 to 5% (class 2), and improved EF over 5% (class 3) were predicted by using tenfold cross-validation. Lastly, the models were evaluated based on accuracy, AUC, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F-score. Neighborhood component analysis (NCA) selected the most predictive feature signatures, including Gabor, first-order, and NGTDM features. Among the classifiers, the best performance was achieved by the fine KNN classifier, which yielded mean accuracy, AUC, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F-score of 0.84, 0.83, 0.75, 0.87, 0.78, and 0.76, respectively, in 100 iterations of classification, within the 52 patients with 10-fold cross-validation. The MPI-SPECT-based radiomic features are well suited for predicting post-revascularization EF and therefore provide a helpful approach for deciding on the most appropriate treatment.</p

The morphometric parameters of femur proximal part and its relationship with body mass index

Background: The femur is the longest bone in the body. Injury or fracture in this bone strongly affects the quality of life of people.Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the morphometric parameters of femur proximal part and its relationship with body mass index (BMI).Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 200 patients over 50 years of age referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan and Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Isfahan during 2018-2019. The participants had radiographs in the supine position of femur proximal part. BMI and bone mineral density of patients were determined by the DXA method. Using radiographic images of the femur, the morphological features were evaluated. Also, the relationship of these characteristics with age, gender, BMI and bone mineral density was investigated.Results: The values of six morphological parameters of the femur in the patients under study were Q-angle=121.93±3.78, TW=86.06±7.65, HW=52.4±4.69, FW=37.74±4.29, HAL=118.43±10.47 and FAL=105.34±7.59 mm, which were higher in men. There was a direct and significant correlation of 23% between age and TW, which was significant according to the Pearson Correlation Test (P=0.039). Inverse correlation of 14% was observed between HAL width and BMI, which was statistically significant (P=0.042). FAL variable had a decreasing trend with decreasing BMD (P=0.031).Conclusion: Proximal femur characteristics were significantly related to factors such as gender and BMI. The morphological specifications of femur proximal were higher in men than in women. Compared to evaluations in other regions, the included characteristics are distinct from other countries, which these differences can be caused by genetic characteristics, environment, nutritional status, and lifestyle

Skin Disorders among Elder Patients in a Referral Center in Northern Iran (2011)

Background. Geriatric health care has become a worldwide concern, but a few statistical studies were carried out about skin diseases in this age group. In this study, we set out to determine the frequency as well as the age and gender distribution of dermatological diseases in geriatric patients. Materials and Methods. In a cross-sectional study, all patients over 60 years who were accepted to department of dermatology in north of Iran participated in this study. Baseline information and clinical examination were done by a group of dermatologists. Biopsy, Pathological and laboratory methods were used in order to confirm the diagnosis. Results. 440 patients were accepted to the department that 232 patients were male (52.7%). Benign neoplasm was as the common skin disease among patients (65%), followed by erythemo-squamous (35.3%) and precancerous lesions (26.1%). The most common precancerous lesion was actinic keratosis (24.3%). BCC by 8.8% was the most prevalent skin carcinoma. Pruritus was the common problem in other dermatological disease (22%). Conclusion. Skin disorders especially precancerous lesion are among those important health problems in elderly patients in this geographic area. Increasing general awareness about risk factors of these diseases and doing more researches in other regions are highly recommended

Educational Needs Assessment and Educational Program Planning with the Developing a Curriculum Model in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background & Objective: One of the most practical and most recognized methods of needs assessment and educational planning is the Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) model. Today, this model is employed, as a creative and effective method, in occupation or profession analysis. Methods: In the present study, during 3 workshops in 2 days and by using DACUM method educational needs assessment and occupation analysis was performed on the educational administrators (assistant dean for educational affairs in schools, heads of departments, and vice-chancellors for educational affairs in educational hospitals) of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Results of this process served as foundational elements to planning training programs for the educational administrators. Results: The workshop resulted in the identification of 6 duties and 51 tasks for vice-chancellors for educational affairs in educational hospitals, 9 duties and 81 tasks for assistant dean for educational affairs in schools, 16 duties and 98 tasks for heads of departments. Moreover, a list of associated knowledge, skills, tools, equipment, supplies, materials used, and desirable worker traits for this occupational category was provided. Then, using results of panels, a questionnaire was designed in order to identify the importance, learning difficulty, and frequency of performance of duties and tasks. In addition, lists of general knowledge, worker behaviors, tools, equipment and supplies, and future trends and concerns were verified by respondents and the DACUM committee. Conclusion: Finally, based on the verified results and review of the literature, a training program, based on goals, context, and method of performance and evaluation, was prepared in order to be used by educational administrators of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Keywords Educational needs assessment Occupation analysis Educational program Educational administrator