Genetic and Morphological Diversity of Wild Mint "Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. noeana (Briq.) Briq." in South and Southeastern Iran

The wild mint "Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. noeana (Briq.) Briq." is an important medicinal plant which contains several worthy components like: menthone, pulegone, pipertenon, menthol, thymol, and carvone in its essential oil. This plant grows extensively in center of Asia including Iran. Because of so worthy components and its big role in traditional and modern medicine, the wild mint diversity was considered based on morphological and phytochemical variables and DNA markers (RAPD and ISSR) in South and Southeastern Iran. A total of 64 genotypes of M. longifolia  subsp. noeana genotypes were col­lected from 8 distribution centers. In total, the 15 morphological and pigments variables were measured and calculated. The cluster analysis based on morphological and phytochemical variables divided populations in the 4 main groups. The fifteen RAPD primers with reproducible and score able amplifications characters were selected. Cluster analysis based on RAPD markers revealed seven main clusters in genetic distance 0.22. The nine ISSR primers with score able amplifications characters were selected. Cluster analysis based on ISSR markers revealed five main clusters in genetic distance 0.23. The results of this research showed enough genetic diversity among and inside of the studied wild mint populations which could be applied in following breeding and gene bank conservation programs

Demographic and circumstantial accounts of burn mortality in Cape Town, South Africa, 2001-2004: An observational register based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Burns are a persisting public health problem in low- and middle-income countries; however, epidemiologic data for these settings is scarce. South Africa is no exception although there is an emerging knowledge base, especially for paediatric burns. The current study describes the epidemiology of burn mortality across the lifespan in Cape Town (2.9 million inhabitants in 2001), one of the six South African metropolitan centres.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The distribution of burn mortality across socio-demographic groups and also their circumstances of occurrence were investigated using four year (2001 to 2004) surveillance data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (n = 1024 cases).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Burn mortality occurred at a rate of 7.9 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI: 7.3-8.3). Males sustained fatal rates 2.2 times more than that for females (p < 0.001), with rates significantly higher in the 25 to 38 and 39 to 50 age groups than at other ages (p < 0.001). The greatest difference between male and female deaths was observed in the 25 to 38 year age group, when almost three male deaths occurred for every female one. The vast majority of fatal burns were registered as accidental and occurred in the home, either over the cold and wet months or during recreational periods over weekends and across the year. Alcohol intoxication was reported for the majority of those adults whose alcohol blood levels were tested (i.e. 52.6% of cases aged 16+ years).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Besides paediatric burns, the high prevalence and circumstances of occurrence of burns among middle age men are a source of concern. There are reasons to believe that this over-representation is a reflection of detrimental living conditions, life-style and poor socio-economic status. It is recommended that there be greater prioritisation of prevention activities that involve the control or management of kerosene heat sources, the provision of alternatives to flammable housing materials, and the implementation of strategies to reduce harmful drinking practices.</p

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Dietary Patterns in Iran: A Review Study

Background: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOs) is one of the most common metabolic and endocrine abnormalities among women in reproductive age. In the case of not comprehensive treatment, PCOs can lead to hormonal, metabolic, and fertility disorders.  The exact cause of PCOs is still unclear. This disease seems to have a genetic background caused by the interference of several key genes with the environmental factors such as dietary habit and food intake, which play an important role in prevention and treatment of this syndrome. Methods: We searched Scopus, PubMed, SID, and Magiran data bases to find the studies conducted in Iran on dietary patterns, dietary intake, food intake, and PCOs published in English. Results: The findings showed that decrease of weight and fat intake from total calorie (especially saturated fat and cholesterol), increase of physical activity and intake of dietary fibers can improve this syndrome. Furthermore, DASH diet, increase of the protein/carbohydrate ratio in the diet, the low-calorie diets, or iso-caloric diets with a low glycemic index can also be useful in this regard. Discussion: In recent studies, the effects of some healthy diets were studied on PCOs women. A few of these studies were about finding appropriate dietary patterns for PCOs patients, but their number was limited. So, further studies are needed in this regard

The Effects of Resveratrol in Rats with Simultaneous Type 2 Diabetes and Renal Hypertension: a Study of Antihypertensive Mechanisms

Background: Resveratrol has beneficial effects on cardiovascular system. This study aimed at examining antidiabetic and antihypertensive effects of resveratrol in rats with simultaneous type 2 diabetes and renal hypertension. Methods: Eight groups (8-10 each) of male Spargue-Dawley rats, including a control, a diabetic (induced by streptozotocin and nicotinamide), a renal hypertensive (induced by placing plexiglas clips on the left renal arteries), a sham, a simultaneously hypertensive-diabetic receiving vehicle, and 3 simultaneous hypertensive-diabetic receiving resveratrol at 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg/day were used. Four weeks after the induction of diabetes, renal hypertension was induced and animals were given vehicle or resveratrol for the next four weeks. Afterwards, blood pressure and glucose, serum markers of oxidative stress were measured and animal’s aortic rings were used for isolated studies. Results: Serum malondialdehyde, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, fasting blood glucose, maximal response and effective concentration 50 of phenylephrine, and inhibitory concentration 50 of acetylcholine of hypertensive-diabetic group receiving vehicle were significantly higher than those of the control group, and treatment with resveratrol caused significant reduction of these variables. Moreover, serum superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and maximal response to acetylcholine of hypertensive-diabetic group receiving vehicle were significantly lower than those of the control group, and treatment with resveratrol caused significant increase of these variables. Conclusion: The findings indicate that resveratrol has antidiabetic and antihypertensive effects, which may be partly due to antioxidant mechanism. They also show that antihypertensive effect of resveratrol may be additionally mediated by improving the release of nitric oxide and sympathoplegic activities

The use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to improve structural impairment of rat testis induced by busulfan

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has a potential effect on tissue repair through proliferation and differentiation of tissue progenitor cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PRP on the testis structure and function in infertile rat model by stereological method. Thirty-two male rats were divided into four groups. Infertility was induced by the administration of busulfan (BUS) (10mg/kg, I.P., single dose). PRP (80μl, testis local injected, single dose) was administered for the subjects. After 48 days, semen analysis was performed and blood samples were taken from the heart to measure the testosterone. Then, the left testis was removed, fixed, embedded, sectioned, and stained by H&E; after that the testes were analyzed. The results showed that BUS can decrease the sperm count, motility, normal morphology, length of the spermatozoon tail, volume of the testis, seminiferous tubules, germinal epithelium height, and the number of spermatogenesis lineage cells in comparison with the control group (p < 0.01). PRP increased the number of spermatogenic stem cell, count, motility and tail length of the sperm and testosterone level in BUS-treated animal significantly, but it did not have any effect on the volume of the testis, germinal epithelium height, Sertoli and Leydig cells number, and seminiferous tubules length. It concluded that PRP can improve the structural and functional impairment of the testis in treatment by BUS

The effect of daily fast food consumption, family size, weight-caused stress, and sleep quality on eating disorder risk in teenagers

Purpose: Eating disorder (ED) is a common complication with disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviors that lead to physical and psychosocial disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between eating disorders and daily fast food consumption, family size, weight-caused stress, and sleep quality in teenagers in Zanjan, Iran. Methods: Adolescent girl students aged 12–15 years (n = 370), selected in a cross-sectional study, completed the Eating Attitude Test-26 and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaires. The cluster random sampling method was used. Statistical analysis was performed using R software version 3.6.3. Logistic regression modeling was used for investigating the relationship between factors and odds of EDs. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A significant relationship was found between family size (OR = 0.77, p = 0.049), fast food-daily consumption (OR = 5.42, p = 0.043), weight-caused stress (OR = 12.47, p < 0.001), and poor sleep quality (OR = 1.70, p = 0.024) and odds of eating disorder among teenage girls. Conclusion: A significant positive association was found between a low number of family members, daily fast food consumption, stress status, poor sleep quality and odds of EDs. However more longitudinal studies are required to confirm the results. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Author keywords Eating disorder; Family size; Fast food consumption; Sleep quality; Weight-caused stres