Anti-Acanthamoeba Activities of Chloroformic Fractions of Trigonella Foenum Graecum (Seed) and Their Cytotoxity on Mice Macrophage Cell

Background: Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is potentially a sight-threatening infection and its treatment is challenging. This is mainly due to presence of resistant cyst form. Indeed, cysts are highly resistant to current available drugs. Chemical drugs are toxic to human keratocytes. It should also be mentioned that most available anti-Acanthamoeba drugs are poorly cysticidal, In Iran and worldwide, AK cases continue to rise and therefore, novel effective drugs are urgently needed for the treatment of AK.Materials and Methods: In the present study, the in vitro activity of serial dilutions (10, 15, 20 and 25 mg/mL) of chloroformic fractions including primary chloroformic fraction (minimum amount of chloroform), middle chloroformic fraction and remaining chloroformic fraction (most amount of chloroform) of Trigonella foenum graecum seed were evaluated against Acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts. Cytotoxic assay of fractions at different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 mg/ml) of test material was identified on mice Macrophage cells using MTT method.Results: The obtained results revealed that the tested fractions presented anti-amoebic activities in a time and dose dependent cycle. Anti-Acanthamoeba activity of remaining chloroformic fraction was more than other fractions. Trophozoites/cysts were eliminated when incubated with 15 and 20 mg/ml concentrations of remaining chloroformic fraction after 24 hours. Viability of macrophage cells was noted 100 % with 25 and 50 mg/ml concentration of remaining chloroformic fraction. Our results indicate that the plant fractions are safe for mammalian cells.Conclusion: Further studies should be performed in order to detect the active chemical compounds which could be used for the development of novel therapeutic approaches against Acanthamoeba infections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the activity of chloroformic fractions of Trigonella foenum graecum (seed) against Acanthamoeba spp

Optimal Design of Pitched Roof Rigid Frames with Non-Prismatic Members Using Quantum Evolutionary Algorithm

The weight and shape of the gable and multi-span frames (mono and two-span pitched roof) with tapered members, as a familiar group of the pitched roof frames, are highly dependent on the properties of the member cross-section. In this work a quantum inspired evolutionary algorithms, so-called Quantum evolutionary algorithm (QEA) [1], are utilized for optimal design of one gable frame and a multi-span frame in five alternatives with tapered members. In order to optimize the frames, the design is performed using the AISC specifications for stress, displacement and stability constraints. The design constraints and weight of the gable and multi-span frames are computed from the cross-section of members. These optimum weights are obtained using aforementioned optimization algorithm considering the cross-section of members and design constraints as optimization variables and constraints, respectively. A comparative study of the QEA and some recently developed methods from literature is also performed to illustrate the performance of the utilized optimization algorithm and its featuring. Furthermore, optimal design of a multi-span frame is compared with the solution of other methods including the same conditions and constraints. This study indicates the power of QEA in exploring and exploitation due the search space with using Q-gate and binary code for individual representation and updating. Binary code helps the QEA to find optimal solution even with minimum number of Q-bit individuals. High speed of this method is because of such a feature

Optimal Design of the Monopole Structures Using the CBO and ECBO Algorithms

Tubular steel monopole structure is widely used for supporting antennas in telecommunication industries. This research presents two recently developed meta-heuristic algorithms, which are called Colliding Bodies Optimization (CBO) and Enhanced Colliding Bodies Optimization (ECBO), for size optimization of monopole steel structures. The design procedure aims to obtain minimum weight of monopole structures subjected to the TIA-EIA222F specification. Two monopole structure examples are examined to verify the suitability of the design procedure and to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the CBO and ECBO in creating optimal design for this problem. The outcomes of the enhanced colliding bodies optimization (ECBO) are also compared to those of the standard colliding bodies optimization (CBO) to illustrate the importance of the enhancement of the CBO algorithm

Set Theoretical Variants of Optimization Algorithms for System Reliability-based Design of Truss Structures

In this paper, recently developed set theoretical variants of the teaching-learning-based optimization (TLBO) algorithm and the shuffled shepherd optimization algorithm (SSOA) are employed for system reliability-based design optimization (SRBDO) of truss structures. The set theoretical variants are designed based on a simple framework in which the population of candidate solutions is divided into some number of smaller well-arranged sub-populations. In addition, the framework is applied to the Jaya algorithm, leading to a set-theoretical variant of the Jaya algorithm. So far, most of the reliability-based design optimization studies have focused on the reliability of single structural members. This is due to the fact that the optimization problems with system reliability-based constraints are computationally expensive to solve. This is especially the case of statically redundant structures, where the number of failure modes is so high that it is impractical to identify all of them. System-level reliability analysis of truss structures is carried out by the branch and bound method by which the stochastically dominant failure paths are identified within a reasonable time. At last, three numerical examples, including size optimization of truss structures, are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed SRBDO approach. The results indicate the efficiency and applicability of the set theoretical optimization algorithms to solve the SRBDO problems of truss structures

Interleukin-1 and Keratinocyte Growth Factor/Fibroblast Growth Factor-7 Gene Expression in Skin Experimental Irritant Contact Dermatitis Mouse Model Treated with Aqueous Extract of Trachyspermum copticum (L.) Link Seeds

Background: In our previous study, the extract of Trachyspermum copticum (L.) Link seeds on gene expression of IFN-γ and TGF-β1 in mouse model with irritant contact dermatitis (ICD), in comparison with cutaneous corticosteroids were evaluated. In that study, in addition to significantly increase of IFN-γ and TGF-β1 genes expression levels in skin samples of "mice with ICD" groups treated with extract in comparison to other groups, histopathologic findings showed substantial improvement of skin color, texture and thickness, and also significant increase in hair follicle number. Therefore, we have decided to study the levels of Interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene expression, which plays a major role in inflammation responses, and Keratinocyte Growth Factor/Fibroblast Growth Factor-7 (KGF/FGF-7), which has growth effect on cells and is an important endogenous mediator of hair follicle growth and development.  Materials and Methods: We used autopsy samples of skin lesions obtained from "mice model with irritant contact dermatitis (ICD)" from the previous study. In that study, "mice with ICD" divided in 9 groups and were treated with three concentrations of Trachyspermum Copticum (L.) Link dried seeds, cutaneous hydrocortisone, and fluocinolone acetonide. Then from the first day until the 10th day of treatment, clinical signs and histopathologic investigations were investigated. In the present study, using Real-Time PCR, the levels of IL-1 and KGF/FGF-7 genes expression in skin samples of inflammation site in above mice groups were studied. Statistical analysis, using one -way ANOVA, were performed. Level of significance was set at 0.05.Results: The IL-1 gene expression showed a significant difference between groups: IL-1 gene expression levels in mice with ICD treated with extract and corticosteroids were higher than the other groups (p=0.0001). While in untreated "mice with ICD", no significant differences were observed. Also, during the treatment, there was a considerable increase in levels of IL-1 gene expression in groups treated with the extract at a rate of at least 2 to 3-fold in comparison with the "healthy untreated mice" group. The levels of KGF/FGF-7 gene expression in "mice with ICD" groups treated with the extract showed significance difference (p=0.014); also there was a meaningful difference in "mice with ICD" groups treated with cutaneous corticosteroids (p=0.004). While, in "untreated mice with ICD" group there were a significant decrease in the levels of KGF/FGF-7 gene expression in comparison with "healthy untreated mice" group (p=0.0001). Also, changes in the levels IL-1 and KGF/FGF-7 gene expressions in each group in different days were seen. Conclusion: In this study, significant changes in the IL-1 and KGF/FGF-7 genes expression levels in the skin samples with inflammation, were associated with an increase in the rate and speed of improvement of contact dermatitis, more favorable conditions of the healed skin (in terms of color, consistency, and thickness), and a remarkable increase in the number of hair grown on the site of dermatitis (compared with control groups, and even groups with corticosteroid therapy).

The Effect of Elaeagnus angustifolia L. Cream on Radiation-Induced Skin Reactions in Women with Breast Cancer; A Preliminary Clinical Trial: Running title?????

Radiotherapy, a highly effective way to destroy breast cancer, causes skin adverse effects. A considerable amount of studies have been conducted to find a way to alleviate or relieve dermal adverse effects of radiation. The aim of this study was to observe the clinical effect of Elaeagnus angustifolia L. cream to treat radiotherapy-induced skin destruction in breast cancer patients.Thirty two patients suffering from different stages of radiotherapy-induced skin reactions were evaluated in a double-blind randomized study; 16 patients in the treatment group received Elaeagnus angustifolia cream, while the other 16 patients, served as control group.Two weeks after the treatment, patients in Elaeagnus angustifolia group showed significantly lower skin reaction grade compared with placebo group. The attitude of the patients of Elaeagnus angustifolia group about dryness, itching, pain, burning, blisters and sores was significantly improved after two weeks of treatment.Elaeagnus angustifolia cream may effectively reduce the radiotherapy-induced dermal injury

Antihyperglycemic activity of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) fruit extract and its fractions in the rat model of diabetes

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that has affected approximately 10% of population worldwide. Cydonia oblonga Mill. (C. oblonga), commonly called quince, contains diverse phytochemical constituents with a broad range of pharmacological activities. The current study is aimed to investigate the antihyperglycemic effect of aqueous extract of Cydonia oblonga Mill. fruit (ACO) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and to identify the active fraction. Methods and Results: Diabetes was induced in rats by a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 60 mg/kg streptozotocin. The antihyperglycemic activity of different concentrations of ACO (80, 160 and 240 mg/kg body weight daily for a period of 28 days) was evaluated in the diabetic rats by measuring their fasting blood glucose (FBG). Furthermore, the antihyperglycemic effects of two major fractions of ACO were evaluated for the identification of active fraction. Finally, the chemical composition of the active fraction, methanolic fraction (MF), was examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) assay. The oral administration of ACO on diabetic rats resulted in a significant collapse in FBG in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the MF was the active fraction and exhibited antihyperglycemic activity in diabetic rats during the experiment. The main component of MF was identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural or 5-HMF (a well-known natural compound) that may be responsible, at least partly, for the antidiabetic and antihyperglycemic effects of quince. Conclusion: Our results have demonstrated for the first time that quince possesses antihyperglycemic effect in diabetic rats and the MF of the aqueous extract is active fraction

CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION IN PERSIAN MEDICINE

Introduction: erectile dysfunction (ED) is a growing problem worldwide. It is age related and the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by older patients to improve their sexual function has become common. Since Persian Medicine (PM) is one of three popular medical schools with its special view point of etiology, classification of disease, diagnostic methods and therapeutic approaches; current study is designed to clarify clinical characteristics of ED in PM. Methods: information on erectile dysfunction, sexual dysfunction and their related signs, symptoms and clinical tests was obtained from original documents and manuscripts; Moreover, we investigated the utilization of these findings in conventional medicine through searching PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. Results: there is a rich human heritage still unstudied in PM dating back to ancient times. In PM documents, 35 clinical finding of ED were identified, about half of theme is objective, and while we still use most of Subjective ones in current patient report outcomes. Conclusions: diagnosis of ED in PM is logically like conventional medicine; however, its classification of ED is different because PM believes in etiology, therefore due to lack of research on clinical assessment methods, more investigations are required to evaluate PM diagnostic procedures and treatment tactics. Keywords: Persian Medicine; Arabic Medicine; Unani Medicine; Erectile Dysfunction; Impotence; Signs and Symptom

Investigating the Efficacy of Sumac Topical Solution Against Permethrin-resistant Human Head Lice

Background: The present study aimed at determining the efficacy of applying Rhus coriaria (Sumac) solution for the treatment of Permethrin-resistant head louse in patients, who used permethrin for at least 2 consecutive periods, but have not been cured.Methods: This study is a before-after clinical trial performed on 100 patients with pediculosis aged between 2 and 50 years old and both sexes. All patients had used Permethrin at least twice consecutively (with at least 14 days interval) according to correct instructions (on the first and 7th day), but they have not been cured. Each patient received 60ml of Rhus coriaria solution for 3 consecutive days, and the treatment was repeated again for another 3 days; then, the patients were followed-up on the 4th, 10th, and14th days after the treatment.Results: The results showed a significant difference in the severity of head lice infection and itching before the treatment and 14 days after the treatment (P<0.001).Conclusion: Rhus coriaria solution was more effective in eliminating head-louse infestations on 4, 10, and 14 days after the treatment and itching disappeared in most of the patients, while negligible complications were observed

Chemopreventive effect of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) fruit extract on hepatocellular carcinoma induced by diethylnitrosamine in rats

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadliest cancers, which has been increasing greatly worldwide. Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) is a well-known environmental toxin and potent hepatocarcinogenic dialkylnitrosoamine present in air, water, and in a number of foodstuffs. In the present study, we evaluated preventive effect of aqueous extract of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) fruit (ACO) against DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats. Methods and Results: The model of hepatocellular carcinoma was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of DEN (200 mg/kg) as an initiator that after two weeks followed by daily oral administration of 2-acetylaminofluorene (30 mg/kg) as a promoter for two weeks. Quince-treated rats were pretreated with ACO intragastrically at three different doses two weeks prior to DEN injection. The marked reduction of serum biomarkers of liver damage and cancer, including alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) were observed in ACO supplemented animals as compared with HCC rats at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the quince extract exhibited in vivo antioxidant activity by elevating glutathione (GSH) contents as well as preventing lipid peroxidation in the liver tissues of DEN-treated rats. The relative weight of liver was also reduced in quince-treaded rats as a prognostic marker in HCC. Conclusions: Our results clearly demonstrated that quince has a chemopreventive effect against HCC in rats and can be proposed as a promising candidate for the prevention of DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. &nbsp