Measurement of net electric charge and dipole moment of dust aggregates in a complex plasma

Understanding the agglomeration of dust particles in complex plasmas requires a knowledge of the basic properties such as the net electrostatic charge and dipole moment of the dust. In this study, dust aggregates are formed from gold coated mono-disperse spherical melamine-formaldehyde monomers in a radio-frequency (rf) argon discharge plasma. The behavior of observed dust aggregates is analyzed both by studying the particle trajectories and by employing computer models examining 3D structures of aggregates and their interactions and rotations as induced by torques arising from their dipole moments. These allow the basic characteristics of the dust aggregates, such as the electrostatic charge and dipole moment, to be determined. It is shown that the experimental results support the predicted values from computer models for aggregates in these environments.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

In-vitro effect of menthe piperita and salvia officinalis extracts on trichomonas vaginalis

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate parasite causing vaginosis, a common sexual transmitted disease. Metronidazole is the drug of choice for this disease but due to its side effects, it is necessary to search for an alternative drug. In this study, the effect of Menthe piperita and Salvia officinalis on Trichomonas vaginalis was investigated. Methods: Hydro-alcoholic extracts of the two herbs were prepared. The extracts were dried using vacuum rotary evaporator. Different concentrations of the extracts in comparison with methronidazole were added in test tubes containing culture medium and the parasite. All test tubes were kept in 37°C for 24 hours. The tubes were then expected for the parasite growth. Findings: In concentrations of 2, 2.5, 4, 5, 8, and 10 mg/ml of Salvia officinalis and in concentrations of 4, 5, 8, and 10 mg/ml of Menthe piperita the parasite did not grow. The effect of the extracts on Trichomonas vaginalis was similar to the effect of metronidazole on the parasite. Conclusion: Salvia officinalis and Menthe piperita had efficient effect against Trichomonas vaginalis growth in culture medium and s,o these two herbs can be considered as alternatives drugs. However, more investigation is recommended

Lifestyle and hypertension in rural population of Tangestan town, Iran

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important health problem in developed countries and the risk factors of this complication are related to the individuals’ lifestyle, with most of them being modifiable. The present study was conducted with the aim to investigate the relationship between lifestyle and primary hypertension among the people referring to health centers of Tangestan Town, Iran, in 2017.METHODS: This study was a case-control study carried out on 100 patients with hypertension and 100 subjects as the control group living in the villages of Tangestan who had a health record in health centers. Data were collected through the international health promoting behaviors (HPLP-II) questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS software.RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the body mass index (BMI) scores were 26.27 ± 4.09 and 26.20 ± 4.30 in the case and control groups, respectively, and there was no significance difference between the two groups (P > 0.050). The mean total score of overall health promotion behavior in the case and control groups was respectively 133.27 ± 29.72 and 135.84 ± 29.39 out of 208. In the case and control groups, the highest and lowest scores in the subgroups were associated with the nutritional status and physical activity, respectively. However, there was no significant difference between the lifestyle dimensions of the two groups (P > 0.050).CONCLUSION: Regarding overweight and lack of activity among the studied participants, it is necessary to perform the intervention based on psychological principles for the people prone to hypertension, especially those having positive history among their family members

The effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of dried Ficus carica on spatial learning and memory in mice

زمینه و هدف: انجیر (Ficus carica) دارای اثرات گوناگون درمانی است. در مطالعات قبلی مشخص شده است که این میوه ملین بوده و در درمان بیماری های متعددی از جمله بواسیر، نقرس و صرع نافع می باشد. به علت وجود مقادیر زیاد فسفر در انجیر، به نظر می رسد که این میوه در پرورش هوش و حافظه موثر باشد. لذا این مطالعه به منظور بررسی اثرات احتمالی عصاره هیدروالکلی انجیر بر یادگیـــری و حافظه فضایی در موش های سوری انجام شد. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی- آزمایشگاهی، 32 سر موش سوری به صورت تصادفی به چهار گروه تقسیم شدند. گروه های کنترل، نرمال سالین و سه گروه آزمایشگاهی دیگر به ترتیب دوزهای 100، 200 و 400 میلی گرم در کیلوگرم عصاره هیدروالکلی انجیر را بصورت داخل صفاقی (ip) دریافت کردند. عصاره از طریق خیساندن پودر انجیر خشک شده در الکل 80 تهیه شد. تزریق سالین یا عصاره برای مدت هفت روز (یک بار در هر روز) انجام می شد و بلافاصله پس از آن، دوره یادگیری با استفاده از ماز آبی موریس شروع می شد که 5 روز طول می کشید. در صورت ایجاد یادگیری، آزمایش پروب (Probe trial) برای تست حافظه فضایی کوتاه مدت و بلند مدت در روزهای بعدی انجام می شد. در پایان داده ها با استفاده از آزمون ANOVA و آزمون های تعقیبی (LSD) Fisher least significantو توکی مورد تجزیه و تحلیل آماری قرار گرفت. یافته ها: آزمایشات نشان داد که عصاره انجیر تاثیر معنی داری در روند یادگیری فضایی در مدل ماز آبی موریس ندارد. ارزیابی حافظه کوتاه مدت در روزهای 6 و 8 تفاوت معنی داری بین گروه های دریافت کننده سالین و عصاره انجیر نشان نداد، ولی در روز 10 کاهش معنی داری در حافظه کوتاه مدت در گروه های دریافت کننده عصاره انجیر در مقایسه با گروه سالین مشاهده شد (05/0

Validity of the Iranian Version of Health Utility Index Mark 3 Quality of Life Questionnaire

Background: The aim of this study was to standardize and develop the health utility index III (HUI3); quality of life questionnaire. This study was conducted for the first time in Iran. Method: Forward-backward translation method was applied in order to translate the Canadian version into Persian. The final version was developed after modifications. Double stage cluster sampling and simple random sampling were respectively used for population and patients. A total of 511 healthy people in 15 regions of Esfahan/Iran and 51 patients suffering from cardiovascular disease completed the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha and interclass correlation coefficient were used for testing the reliability of the questionnaire. Results: The mean age of population was 32.8 ± 11.3 years and the mean age of patients was 48.8 ± 6.2 years. The assessment of Interclass Correlation Coefficient of the tool in patients after two weeks in all eight questions ranged from 0.76 to 1 (ICC=0/91) that shows its high reliability. In addition, the average score in Alfa Cronbach was 0.68. Content validity of the questionnaire was 0.82. Differentiability of the test shows that a higher quality of life can be affected by male gender, higher education, low age, and employment In addition, the utility result of quality of life indicates a significant difference in the quality of life of patients compared with the general population (p = 0.004) Conclusion: The results showed a translated version is valid, reliable and applicable in medical sciences studies and can be used to Persian language