Morphometric measurements of the thalamus and interthalamic adhesion by MRI in the South-East of the Caspian Sea border

Objectives: To assess the gender differences and the age-related morphometrical changes of the thalamus, interthalamic adhesion, and the right-left differences of the thalamus of the native Fars ethnic group in the South-East of the Caspian Sea border Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 97 patients (44 males and 53 females) without neuropathologic changes and symptoms admitted to the Kowsar MRI center in the South-East of the Caspian Sea border (Gorgan City, Northern Iran) in 2006. Thalamic dimensions were measured by MR images. The vertical lengths of the thalami and interthalamic adhesion were measured in the coronal sections, while the anteroposterior and transverse length measurements of the thalami and interthalamic adhesion were obtained in the axial plane. The data were assessed by SPSS 11.5 statistics program. Results: Thalamic dimensions were longer in males. There was no significant correlation between size of thalamus and interthalamic adhesion regarding age; however, we found that thalamic dimensions increase a little with age until the 31-40 years group, and decreased after that. There was no correlation between age and gender groups and dimensions of the interthalamic adhesion. Conclusion: This study showed that there are no significant differences between right and left sides of the thalamus, however, the left-side thalamic dimensions were a little longer than the right

The effect of Melatonin on histological changes of ovary in induced polycystic ovary syndrome model in mice

Antioxidants can be used as adjuvant treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Melatonin (MT) is one of the antioxidant that is used nowadays. Objective: In this study, the effect of MT on the histological changes of ovary in the experimental model of polycystic ovary syndrome is investigated. Methods: In this study 30 immature female NMRI mice were divided into 5 groups including: (1) control group received distilled water, (2) received a dose of 10. mg/kg MT for 5. days, (3) received Dehydroepiandrostenedione (DHEA) at a dose of 6. mg/kg for 20. days to induce PCOS, (4) after induction of PCOS received MT at a dose of 10. mg/kg for 5. days, and (5) received 6. mg/kg DHEA and 10. mg/kg MT for 20. days simultaneously. Results: The evaluation of ovarian tissue characteristics such as the granulosa layer, theca, number and diameter of cysts and follicles was performed. PCOS caused a significant reduction in the number of antral follicles and corpus luteum and an increase in the number of primordial, primary, pre-antral and cystic follicles in comparison with the control group (P. <. 0.05). Moreover, MT resulted in a significant increase in the granulosa layer thickness in group 4 (P. <. 0.001), and group 5 (P = 0.001) and a significant reduction in the thickness of theca layer between groups 4 and 5 compared with group 3 (P. <. 0.001). Conclusion: These findings indicate that MT have a protective effects on polycystic ovary damages induced by DHEA, although the mechanism is unclear. It is likely that this is happening by reducing oxidative damage. © 2017

Evaluation of post operative analgesic efficacy of intramuscular pethidine, compared to indometacin and diclofenac Na suppositories in unilateral inguinal hernioplasty patients

We compared analgesic effects of intramuscular pethidine to diclofenac sodium and indometacin suppositories. This study is a semiexperimental clinical trial study over 55 patients of 17 to 60 years old who had undergone unilateral inguinal hernioplasty. These patients divided into 3 groups incidentally the first group including 17 patients who received 100 mg indometacin suppository every 8 h to relief postoperative pain. The second group of 18 patients who received 100 mg Diclofenac Na suppository every 8 h and the third group including 20 patients who received 0.5 mg kg-1 body weight pethidine intramuscularly every 8 h and the first dose of each drug started 2 h after termination of operation. The severity of pain was checked by Visual Analogue Scale (VSA) method every 2 h for 24 h. Mean pain severity checked and compared in 6 h intervals. Mean pain severity and standard deviation in the first 24 h were 23±12 for indometacin and 27±12 for pethidine and 31±9 for diclofenac Na groups respectively. There is no meaningful difference in pain relief during the first post op day. We concluded that Indometacin and diclofenac Na suppositories are good substitutes of intramuscular pethidine to relief post op pain during the first post op day

The effect of an educational intervention based on the Integrated Behavior Model (IBM)on the waste separation: A community based study

Introduction: In the management of recycling waste, separation of the wastes from source is crucially important. A successful source separation plan requires good participation of the community. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention based on the Integrated Behavior Model (IBM) on the behavior change of housewives in Sanandaj City, west of Iran, towards the waste separation at source. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental and community trail study. The population study was the households living in Sanandaj. The total number of 144 households were selected and divided into two groups (72 each). For each selected household, only the housewife was interviewed. To evaluate the behavior change towards the dry and wet waste separation, a training program based on the IBM was conducted for one group (training or intervention group) and the second group served as the control and received no training. The length of the intervention was two months with eight sessions. After a month, participants were asked to fill in a validated questionnaire based on the IBM, before and at the end of study. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon and McNemar tests. Results: In the intervention group at the baseline, the mean ± standard deviation of the attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and self-efficacy score were 34.03 ± 5.12, 15.91 ± 4.58, 18.93 ± 4.01 and 31.54 ± 6.79 respectively. At the end of study, the score of components increased to 36 ± 4.28, 18.9 ± 4.56, 21.76 ± 2.65 and 34.72 ± 4.66 respectively. The increase in the components was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The intervention based on IBM could be an effective method to improve the behavior of separation the dry and wet waste. © 2019 INDIACLE

Influence of a classical homogeneous gravitational field on dissipative dynamics of the Jaynes-Cummings model with phase damping

In this paper, we study the dissipative dynamics of the Jaynes-Cummings model with phase damping in the presence of a classical homogeneous gravitational field. The model consists of a moving two-level atom simultaneously exposed to the gravitational field and a single-mode traveling radiation field in the presence of the phase damping. We present a quantum treatment of the internal and external dynamics of the atom based on an alternative su(2) dynamical algebraic structure. By making use of the super-operator technique, we obtain the solution of the master equation for the density operator of the quantum system, under the Markovian approximation. Assuming that initially the radiation field is prepared in a Glauber coherent state and the two-level atom is in the excited state, we investigate the influence of gravity on the temporal evolution of collapses and revivals of the atomic population inversion, atomic dipole squeezing, atomic momentum diffusion, photon counting statistics and quadrature squeezing of the radiation field in the presence of phase damping.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figure

Metabolic host response and therapeutic approaches to influenza infection

Based on available metabolomic studies, influenza infection affects a variety of cellular metabolic pathways to ensure an optimal environment for its replication and production of viral particles. Following infection, glucose uptake and aerobic glycolysis increase in infected cells continually, which results in higher glucose consumption. The pentose phosphate shunt, as another glucose-consuming pathway, is enhanced by influenza infection to help produce more nucleotides, especially ATP. Regarding lipid species, following infection, levels of triglycerides, phospholipids, and several lipid derivatives undergo perturbations, some of which are associated with inflammatory responses. Also, mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation decreases significantly simultaneously with an increase in biosynthesis of fatty acids and membrane lipids. Moreover, essential amino acids are demonstrated to decline in infected tissues due to the production of large amounts of viral and cellular proteins. Immune responses against influenza infection, on the other hand, could significantly affect metabolic pathways. Mainly, interferon (IFN) production following viral infection affects cell function via alteration in amino acid synthesis, membrane composition, and lipid metabolism. Understanding metabolic alterations required for influenza virus replication has revealed novel therapeutic methods based on targeted inhibition of these cellular metabolic pathways

Antifungal susceptibility testing of <i>Candida </i>species isolated from the immunocompromised patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran

Abstract Background Antifungal susceptibility testing is a subject of interest in the field of medical mycology. The aim of the present study were the distributions and antifungal susceptibility patterns of various Candida species isolated from colonized and infected immunocompromised patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran. Methods In totally, 846 Candida species were isolated from more than 4000 clinical samples and identified by the API 20 C AUX system. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution method according to CLSI. Results The most frequent Candida species isolated from all patients was Candida albicans (510/846). The epidemiological cutoff value and percentage of wild-type species for amphotericin B and fluconazole in Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei were 0.5 μg/ml (95%) and 4 μg/ml (96%); 1 μg/ml (95%) and 8 μg/ml (95%); 0.5 μg/ml (99%) and 19 μg/ml (98%); and 4 μg/ml (95%) and 64 μg/ml (95%), respectively. The MIC90 and epidemiological cutoff values to posaconazole in Candida krusei were 0.5 μg/ml. There were significant differences between infecting and colonizing isolates of Candida tropicalis in MIC 90 values of amphotericin B, and isolates of Candida glabrata in values of amphotericin B, caspofungin, and voriconazole (P < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the susceptibility patterns of Candida species (colonizing and infecting isolates) in immunocompromised patients are not the same and acquired resistance was seen in some species

The frequency of stable fly larvae in the process of producing compost from municipal waste

Various arthropods are active in composting process. One undesirable factor of this process is the growing population of flies among which the stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) are biting and blood sucking insects. The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency of producing this type of fly in the process of composting in laboratory. This research was a descriptive one in which waste was taken to laboratory. Then, the compostable components were integrated after separation and from the mentioned pile 9 basins were filled in 3 places with each basin containing 20 kilograms of waste. The fly larvae were sampled during the process of composting and samples underwent diagnosis after being taken to the laboratory. Thereafter, the results were compared through charts and tables. From among Diptera order, Muscidae family were the most frequent sample abundant larvae. As a whole, 2657 samples of stable fly larvae were detected and as the time of the process expanded, the number of samples gathered from basin was increased. The highest number of larvae was collected from underground basins. This study demonstrated that in composting process, a lot of arthropods are produced among which stable flies or Stomoxys calcitrans are considered as the most important species for being biting creatures that feed on human and animal blood. Therefore, the sites of producing compost must be established far away from human habitats. © 2018 Parlar Scientific Publications. All Rights Reserved

Determination of association between the polymorphism in exon 3 of dopamine receptor gene type 4 with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder

Introduction: Evidences suggest that attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a hereditary disorder and at least 20 potential genes associated with ADHD have been identified. Dopamine receptor gene type 4 (DRD4) has been more considered due to a stronger relationship with ADHD. However, no study has yet been conducted on the Iranian population to assess the association. Objective: In this study, the association between polymorphism of DRD4 gene with ADHD has been studied among capital of Iran population. Materials and methods: This study is a case-control study conducted on children aged 6�12 years with ADHD referred to child and adolescent psychiatric clinic Imam Hussein (AS) and normal subjects in 2011. Diagnosis was done based on the DSM-IV-TR criteria and interviewing by two child and adolescent psychiatrists. If parental were consent, then saliva samples of subjects were prepared and DRD4 gene and related allele were evaluated using PCR method. The K-SADS questionnaire was also used to assess comorbid disorders. Results: In this study, 114 patients in ADHD group and 109 patients in the control group were studied. The most frequency was obtained for allele 4 allele that has been observed in about 90 of both case and control groups. However, frequency of allele 6 in the case group was 8.8 where the frequency was 5 in the control group (p = 0.02). The presence of repeat of allele 6 increased chance of suffering from ADHD to 1.809 (95 equal to 3.871�0.845). Conclusion: For the first time this study showed that in Iranian population repeat of DRD4 gene allele 6 unlike the other geographic areas is relatively common and it will increase the chances of suffering from ADHD. However, additional studies are required. © 201