Growth pattern in 7-12 years old Arak children (central Iran) in comparison with other ethnic subgroups of Iran

Background: growth is a remarkable index of health and can be influenced by genetic and environment conditions. The pattern of growth is unique for every nation and worldwide studies have demonstrated separate national standards. In the case of Iran, there is not enough information in this field. Methods: This study was undertaken on 7-12 years old children from Arak. The data for each individual such as age, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Differences in the data between two sexes were tested by means of the paired sample t- test and the mean BMI was compared with sex- and age-specific reference values from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 2000 growth chart using independent sample t-tests. Levels of P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.001 were recorded as significant. Results: In this study, males were significantly taller and heavier than females at the same age (P ≤ 0.01) except for length at age 10 and weight at age 12. The BMI curves were between 50th and 25th percentiles of CDC. Conclusions: The present study shows the effect of socioeconomic background that had been also considered in other studies in Iran. There is a need for ethnic specific growth charts and BMI cut-off points for underweight, overweight and obesity in children of each ethnic subgroup of Iranian population

The enhancing effects of alcoholic extract of Nigella sativa seed on fertility potential, plasma gonadotropins and testosterone in male rats

Background: The task force on plants for fertility regulation in men continued with its program to identify novel prototypes in plants alleged to have fertility regulating properties. Nigella Sativa seeds are frequently used in folk medicine in the Middle East and some Asian countries for the promotion of good health and treatment of many ailments.Objective: To evaluated the role of alcoholic extract of Nigella sativa on fertility potential, Pituitary-testicular axis hormones and Testosterone in male rats.Materials and Methods: 24 male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups; control, group A and group B, each group comprising of 8 rats. Animals in control group received 1 ml of normal saline and treatment groups (A and B) received (gavage) graded doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight of alcoholic extract of Nigella sativa seeds on a daily basis for 60 days. At the end of treatment period, fertility parameters such as body and reproductive organs weight, sperm motility, viability and count, epididymal sperm reserve (ESR), daily sperm production (DSP), blood testosterone concentration, Gonadotropins levels and fertility index were measured.Results: There was a significant difference in testes and epididymidis weight, sperm count, ESR, DSP, blood testosterone concentration, LH and fertility index in both the lower dose group and the higher group as compared to the control group.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that alcoholic extract of Nigella sativa seed especially in higher doses could increase fertility potential, LH and testosterone concentration in male rats

The effect of time and temperature on viability and performance of Langerhans islets separated from Balb/c mouse after death

Background: Tissue transplantation plays a pivotal role in the treatment of diseases. Pancreatic beta cell transplantation is the best way to obtain normal blood glucose in patients with diabetes type 1. However, it is not clear how long endocrine pancreas cells can be used for transplantation after the donor′s death. The present study was conducted to analyze the performance and viability of pancreatic islet cells after death. Materials and Methods: Pancreas was separated from Balb/c mice at different times (0, 1, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h after death) at temperatures of 4°C and 23°C, and was cultured in Roswell_Park_Memorial_Institute (RPMI) 1640. Insulin shock, MTT assay, aldehyde fuchsin staining, dithizone staining, and florescence microscopy methods were applied to analyze the performance of beta cells, cell viability, islets′ diagnosis, islet cells′ diagnosis, and viable and necrotic cells diagnosis, respectively. Results: Islets of Langerhans and beta cells were diagnosed. By increasing the temperature and time, the viability and performance of beta cells decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The best condition for keeping the islets of Langerhans in terms of viability and performance is 4 h after death at temperature of 4°C

Effect of exposure to extremely low electro-magnetic field during prenatal period on mice spleen

634-638Total body weight of newborns, the volume of spleen, and the number of megakaryocytes decreased following the exposure to ELF-MF (6x10-3 T and 50 Hz) at 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, and 16-20 days of pregnancy of mice. The complete period of gestation was sensitive to ELF-MF exposure; the initial days were more prone to exposure. The results suggest that the use of ELF-MF producing instruments should be limited during gestation

The Apoptotic Effects of the P300 Activator on Breast Cancer and Lung Fibroblast Cell Lines

Background: P300 is an enzyme that acetylates histones during stress. It alsoacetylates several non-histone proteins, including P53 which is the most important tumorsuppressor gene. P53 plays an important role in the apoptosis of tumor cells. Hereby,this study describes the potency of cholera toxin B subunit as a P300 activator to induceapoptosis in a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and a lung fibroblast cell line (MRC-5)as a non-tumorigenic control sample. Methods: MCF-7 and MRC-5 were cultured in RPMI-1640 and treated with orwithout cholera toxin B subunit at the concentration of 85.43 μmol/L, based on the half-maximal inhibitory concentration index at different times (24, 48 and 72 h). Thepercentage of apoptotic cells was measured by flow cytometry. Real-time quantitativeRT-PCR was performed to estimate the mRNA expression of P300 in MCF-7 and MRC-5 with cholera toxin B subunit at different times. We used the ELISA and Bradford proteintechniques to detect levels of total and acetylated P53 protein generated in MCF-7 andMRC-5. Results: Our findings indicated that the cholera toxin B subunit effectively andsignificantly induced more apoptosis in MCF-7 compared to MRC-5. We showed thatexpression of P300 up-regulated by increasing the time of the cholera toxin B subunittreatment in MCF-7 but not in MRC-5. In addition, the acetylated and total P53protein levels increased more in MCF-7 cells than in MRC-5 cells.Conclusion: Cholera toxin B subunit induced significant cell death in MCF-7, butit could be well tolerated in MRC-5. Therefore, cholera toxin B subunit can besuggested as an anti-cancer agent