Prediction of HBF-0259 interactions with hepatitis B Virus receptors and surface antigen secretory factors

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an etiological agent of viral hepatitis, which may lead to cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current treatment strategies have not shown promising effect to date but various complications such as, drug toxicity-resistance have been reported. Study on newly discovered compounds, with minimal side effects, as specific HBV inhibitors is a fundamental subject introducing new biologic drugs. Here, we aimed to, by prediction, estimate interactions of HBF-0259 as a non-toxic anti-HBV compound on inhibiting the HBV through either interaction with the viral entry or HBsAg secreting factors using In Silico procedure. Molecular docking was performed by Hex 8.0.0 software to predict the interaction energy (Etot) between HBF-0259 and known cellular factors involved in HBV entry and HBsAg secreting factors. Hex 8.0.0 also employed to create protein–protein complexes. These interactions were then used to analyze the binding site of HBF-0259 within the assumed receptors by MGLTools software. Finally, the amino acid sequences involved in this interaction were aligned for any conservancy. Here, we showed that HBF-0259 Etot with CypA (–545.41 kcal/mol) and SCCA1 (499.68 kcal/mol), involved in HBsAg secretion and HBV integration, respectively, was higher than other interactions. Furthermore, HBF-0259 predicted interaction energy was even higher than those of CypA inhibitors. In addition, we claim that preS1 and/or preS2 regions within HBsAg are not suitable targets for HBF-0259. HBF-0259 has higher interaction energy with CypA and SCCA1, even more than other known receptors, co-receptors, viral ligands, and secretory factors. HBF-0259 could be introduced as potent anti-viral compound in which CypA and or SCCA1, as previously shown, are involved. © 2016 Indian Virological Societ

Yoga Effects on Physical Activity and Sexual Satisfaction among Iranian Women with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and disabling disease resulting in disabilities in young and middle-aged persons. In this study,researchers explored the effect of yoga techniques on physical activities and sexual function among some Iranian women with MS.Materials and Methods: In this study, 60 Iranian women with multiple sclerosis (MS) were placed in two equally divided control and case groupsthrough random selection to assess pre- and post- effects of yoga exercises on their physical activities and sexual satisfaction levels. Women in case group were offered a series of yoga training and exercises for 3 months, which consisted of 8 sessions per month for 60 to 90 minutes at each session. Yoga training program included the 3 principles of slow motions (Hatayoga), respiratory exercises (Pranayama) and centralization to control mind via meditation, expansion and stasis (Rajayoga). After 3 months both groups were surveyed using the initial questionnaire to evaluate and compare findings with the base-line data.Results: Researchers found significant statistical difference in physical activity and sexual satisfaction levels among the women in case group(P=0.001).Women in case group showed improvement in physical ability while women in control group manifested exacerbated symptoms.Conclusion: Yoga techniques may improve physical activities and sexual satisfaction function of women with MS.Key Words: Yoga; Multiple sclerosis; Quality of life; Sexual satisfactio

Occurrence of mandibulofacial injuries presenting to the Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery Department

Trauma is the fourth major cause of mortality in the Western countries, of which approximately one half involve maxillofacial injury. Statistics reported by emergency room officials show motor vehicles cause many of the injuries and deaths that occur in Iran. Having completed a retrospective descriptive study of 200 patients who experienced maxillofacial trauma, the authors report its occurrence with respect to age, sex, trauma type, and site of injury so as to evaluate the operational functionality of the Department of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery of Hazrat-e Rasoul Akram Hospital from 2000 to 2004. Mandibular fractures (36.2) occurred in the subsequently listed sites and at the specified frequencies: mandibular angle (9.7), mandible body (6.9), parasymphysis, ramus and subcondyle at 5.6 each, and symphysis at 2.8. No condylar fractures were reported. Frontal bone fracture was observed in 9.7 of the patients with eye globe injury occurring simultaneously in 8.3 of corresponding cases. Orbital fracture (63.9) also occurred in various cases as follows: orbital floor 39, lateral rim 24, inferior rim 22, medial wall 11, and the superior rim and orbital roof at 2 each. Motor vehicle accidents were the most common causes of trauma (42). The most common fracture was in the zygoma (43) with 8.3 of them being orbital injury. Fractures of mandibular bones (36.2) and the maxilla (33) were the most commonly seen in trauma occurring to the maxillomandibular region. ©2007Muntaz B. Habal, MD

Determination of mebudipine in human plasma by liquid chromatography�tandem mass spectrometry

In previous studies, mebudipine, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, showed a considerable potential to be used in cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the current study was to develop a valid method using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to assay mebudipine in the human plasma. Separation was achieved on a Zorbax Eclipse® C18 analytical column using a mobile phase consisted of methanol/water (90:10, v/v). The flow rate was 0.6 mL/min and carbamazepine was used as an internal standard (IS). This method involved the use of M +Na+ ions of mebudipine and IS at m/z 411 and 259, respectively with the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. There were no interfering peaks from endogenous components in blank plasma chromatograms. Standard curves were linear (r2>0.99) between 5 to 100 ng/mL. The mean extraction efficiency was about 84% and the limit of quantification for mebudipine was 5 ng/mL in plasma. The coefficient of variation and error at all of the intra-day and inter-day assessments were less than 11%. The results indicated that this method is a fast, accurate, sensitive, selective and reliable method for the determination of mebudipine in the human plasma. The assay method has been successfully used to estimate plasma concentration of mebudipine after the oral administration of 2.5 mg tablet in healthy adults. © 2015 by School of Pharmacy Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services

Association of variable number of tandem repeats in endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene with coronary artery disease

Endo-derived nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized from L-arginine by endothelium nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Since reduced NO synthesis has been implicated in the development of coronary atherosclerosis; we hypothesized that polymorphisms of NOS gene might be associated with increased susceptibility to this disorder and coronary artery disease (CAD). We studied the 27 base pair tandem repeat polymorphism in intron4 of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene in 141 unrelated CAD patients with positive coronary angiograms in Shahid Rajaee Heart Hospital and 159 age matched control subjects without a history of symptomatic CAD. The study protocol was approved by the Iran University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee. The eNOS gene intron4a/b VNTR polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. The plasma lipids levels and other risk factors were also determined. The genotype frequencies for eNOS4b/b, eNOS4a/b and eNOS4a/a were 68.8, 29.1 and 2.1 in CAD subjects, and 81, 18.4 and 0.6 in control subjects, respectively. The genotype frequencies differed significantly between the two groups (�2= 6.38 P= 0.041). The frequency of the allele was 16.7 in CAD subjects and 9.8 in control subjects and was significantly higher in the patients (�2= 6.18 P= 0.013, odds ratio=1.84). Plasma lipids, except HDL-C were also remarkablely increased in CAD group

Associations of objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior with quality of life and psychological well-being in prostate cancer survivors

PURPOSE: Although evidence is building on the positive effects of physical activity for prostate cancer survivors, less is known about the possible independent effects of sedentary behavior on quality of life and psychological well-being in this population. We determined the extent to which objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior were independently associated with quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in prostate cancer survivors. METHODS: An exploratory cross-sectional analysis was undertaken on baseline data from a multicenter, cluster randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of a clinician referral and 12-week exercise program for men who had completed active treatment for prostate cancer. Multiple regression analyses were performed using data from 98 prostate cancer survivors who wore hip-mounted accelerometers (time spent sedentary defined as[CPM]; MVPA defined as \u3e1,951 CPM) and completed self-report instruments on their quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Results were compared with minimal clinically important differences for the quality of life scales. RESULTS: Independent of sedentary behavior, increases in MVPA of between 15 and 33 min/day were associated with clinically important (but not statistically significant) improvements in three quality of life scales (insomnia, diarrhea, and financial difficulties). Independent of MVPA, decreases in sedentary behavior of 119 and 107 min/day were associated with clinically important (but not statistically significant) improvements in physical functioning and role functioning, respectively. CONCLUSION: Within our exploratory study, modest increases in MVPA and more substantive decreases in sedentary behavior were independently associated with clinically important improvements in several quality of life scales. Further research, including prospective studies, is required to understand sedentary behavior across larger and more representative samples (in terms of their physical, psychological, and social functioning and their engagement in physical activity) of prostate cancer survivors

Postharvest melatonin treatment reduces chilling injury and enhances antioxidant capacity of tomato fruit during cold storage

 In this study, tomato fruit was treated with 50, 100 or 200 µM melatonin and then stored at 5°C for 28 days to investigate the effect of melatonin treatment on chilling injury, nutritional quality and changes in the antioxidant system. Tomato fruit developed chilling injury, manifested as surface pitting and irregular red color development during storage. These chilling injury symptoms, ion leakage and malondialdehyde content were significantly reduced, and proline and carotenoids contents were significantly increased by melatonin treatment. Meanwhile, melatonin substantially reduced O2- production rate and H2O2 content, which result from significantly higher activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase than control during the storage. These results suggest that melatonin treatment can effectively enhance chilling tolerance and reduce chilling injury. The reduction in chilling injury by melatonin may be associated with enhanced enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, in favor of membrane integrity and thus low cellular and tissue damage

Effectiveness of smart phone application use as continuing medical education method in pediatric oral health care: a randomized trial

Background Continuing education aims at assisting physicians to maintain competency and expose them to emerging issues in their field. Over the last decade, approaches to the delivery of educational content have changed dramatically as medical education at all levels is now benefitting from the use of web-based content and applications for mobile devices. The aim of the present study is to investigate through a randomized trial the effectiveness of a smart phone application to increase public health service physicians’ (PHS physicians) knowledge regarding pediatric oral health care. Method Five of all seven DHCs (District Health Center) in Tehran, which were under the supervision of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Iran University of Medical Sciences, were selected for our study. Physicians of one DHC had participated in a pilot study. All PHS physicians in the other four centers were invited to the current study on a voluntary basis (n = 107). They completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding their knowledge, attitudes, practice in pediatric dentistry, and background. PHS physicians were assigned randomly to intervention and control groups; those in the intervention group, received a newly designed evidence-based smartphone application, and those in the control group received a booklet, a CME seminar, and a pamphlet. A post-intervention survey was administered 4 months later and t-test and repeated measures ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) were performed to measure the difference in the PHS physicians’ knowledge, attitude and practice. Results In both groups, the mean knowledge scores were significantly higher (p-Value < 0.001) in post-intervention data compared to those at baseline. Similar results existed in attitude and practice scores. Although the scores in knowledge in the intervention group indicating potentially greater improvement when compared to those of the control group, the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant (dif: 0.84, 95% CI − 0.35 to 2.02). Conclusion In the light of the limitations of the present study, smart phone applications could improve knowledge, attitude and practice in physicians although this method was not superior to the conventional method of CME

A poisson regression approach for modelling spatial autocorrelation between geographically referenced observations

Abstract Background Analytic methods commonly used in epidemiology do not account for spatial correlation between observations. In regression analyses, omission of that autocorrelation can bias parameter estimates and yield incorrect standard error estimates. Methods We used age standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of esophageal cancer (EC) from the Babol cancer registry from 2001 to 2005, and extracted socioeconomic indices from the Statistical Centre of Iran. The following models for SIR were used: (1) Poisson regression with agglomeration-specific nonspatial random effects; (2) Poisson regression with agglomeration-specific spatial random effects. Distance-based and neighbourhood-based autocorrelation structures were used for defining the spatial random effects and a pseudolikelihood approach was applied to estimate model parameters. The Bayesian information criterion (BIC), Akaike's information criterion (AIC) and adjusted pseudo R2, were used for model comparison. Results A Gaussian semivariogram with an effective range of 225 km best fit spatial autocorrelation in agglomeration-level EC incidence. The Moran's I index was greater than its expected value indicating systematic geographical clustering of EC. The distance-based and neighbourhood-based Poisson regression estimates were generally similar. When residual spatial dependence was modelled, point and interval estimates of covariate effects were different to those obtained from the nonspatial Poisson model. Conclusions The spatial pattern evident in the EC SIR and the observation that point estimates and standard errors differed depending on the modelling approach indicate the importance of accounting for residual spatial correlation in analyses of EC incidence in the Caspian region of Iran. Our results also illustrate that spatial smoothing must be applied with care.</p