Antioxidativeand hepatoprotective effects of Artemisia absinthium L. hydroalcholic extractin rat

Introduction: Artemisia absinthium L. (AA) is a large, diverse genus of the family Asteraceae. AAhas long been used as customary herbal medicine in world for the treatment of gastric pain, cardiacstimulation, improvement of memory and for the restoration of declined mental function. The aimof present study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of AA on some factors ref lecting thedevelopment of oxidative toxic stress in plasma.Methods: Twenty male rats were equally divided in to 4 groups (5 rats each). Group I actedas control (received normal salin). Treatment groups were II, III and IV which were givenArtemisia 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg/day respectively only by gavage for 24 hours. After treatment,blood specimens were collected. Liver enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) andalanine aminotransferase (ALT) with total antioxidant power (TAP) and total thiol groups (TTG)concentrations were measured.Results: Levels of ALT, AST and TTG were decreased in the group II compared to the control(group I). ALT and AST in 50 mg/kg group was observed compared with control group. Also, TTGincreased in Artemisia 50 mg/kg group compared to control group.Conclusion: Results suggests that alcoholic extract of Artemisia can ameliorate liver toxicity inrats through reducing the serum levels of ALT, AST, and oxidative damage

OCJENA REZIVOSTI STIJENA S LANČANOM SJEKAČICOM PRIMJENOM TEHNIKE PROMATHEE

One of the most significant factors in the estimation of dimension stone quarry cost is the production rate of rock cutting machines. Evaluating the production rate of chain-saw machines is a very significant and practical issue. In this research, it has been attempted to evaluate and select the suitable working-face for a quarry by examining the maximum production rate in the Dehbid and Shayan marble quarries. For this purpose, fi eld studies were carried out which included measuring operational characteristics of the chain-saw cutting machine, the production rate and sampling for laboratory tests from seven active case studies. Subsequently, the physical and mechanical properties of rocks including: Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS), Brazilian Tensile Strength (BTS), Los Angeles abrasion, quartz content, water absorption percentage, porosity, Schmidt hardness and grain size for all sample measurements were studied after transferring the samples to a rock-mechanics laboratory. Finally, the sawability of the quarried working-faces was evaluated using the PROMETHEE multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model according to the physical and mechanical properties. The results of the study indicated that the number 1 and 5 working-faces from the Dehbid and Shayan quarries are the most suitable working-faces in terms of production rate with the maximum recorded production values (4.95 and 3.1 m2 /h), and with net fl ow rates (2.67 and -0.36) respectively.Jedan od najvažnijih čimbenika u procjeni cijene vađenja građevinskoga kamena jest njegov iznos pridobivanja tijekom strojnoga rezanja. Procjena iznosa proizvodnje takvih strojeva ima vrlo veliku i praktičnu ulogu. Ovdje je načinjena procjena i odabir prikladnoga radilišta unutar kamenoloma radi postizanja najvećega iznosa proizvodnje. Za analizu su odabrani kamenolomi mramora Dehbid i Shayan. Načinjena su terenska ispitivanja, tj. mjerenje operativnih svojstava sjekačice, iznosa pridobivanja te uzorkovanje za laboratorij na sedam smjestišta. Zatim su u laboratoriju za mehaniku stijena izmjerena fizička i mehanička svojstva stijena poput jednoosne kompresijske čvrstoće, brazilske vlačne čvrstoće, abrazije metodom Los Angeles, udjela kvarca, postotka apsorpcije vlage, šupljikavosti, Schmidtove čvrstoće i veličine zrna. Na kraju je ocijenjena rezivost materijala na radilištu kamenoloma uporabom tehnike PROMETHEE, koja predstavlja alat za donošenje odluka na temelju više kriterija koji obuhvaćaju fizička i mehanička svojstva. Rezultati su pokazali kako radilišta označena brojevima 1 i 5, na kamenolomima Dehbid i Shayan, imaju najbolja svojstva postizanja većega brutoiznosa (4,95 i 3,2 m2 /sat) i netoiznosa (2,67 i -0,36 m2 /sat) proizvodnje

Statin efficacy in the treatment of hepatitis C genotype I

Background: Lipid metabolism is one of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle steps. Statins can reduce cholesterol level and finally can decrease HCV replication. Thus, we assessed the effect of Statins in combination with standard antiviral treatment on hyperlipidemic genotype I HCV infected patients. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective clinical trial. 40 patients were selected from those referred to educational and Therapeutic Centers of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from 2009 to 2010 with confirmed HCV viremia. All patients received Peg-interferon-a2a and ribavirin. 20 hyperlipidemic Patients received 20 mg atorvastatin nightly for 3 months and placebo was prescribed for 20 normolipidemic HCV infected patients as a control group. Liver enzymes and complete blood count were checked monthly and thyroid stimulating hormone was checked every 3 months. We also performed quantitative HCV-ribonucleic acid (RNA) test in 12th week of therapy, at the end of treatment and 6 months after therapy for all samples. Results: We didn't find any significant differences in the mean of HCV-RNA numbers between statin and placebo groups in 12th week of treatment, in the end of treatment and 6 months after treatment (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Atorvastatin has no effect on the mean of HCV viral load when we added it to standard treatment for hepatitis C infection. Further studies are necessary to examine the possible antiviral properties of statins and their potential role as adjuncts to standard HCV therapy

Role of vitamin C and rectal indomethacin in preventing and alleviating post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis: a clinical study

Background/Aims This study aimed to determine whether vitamin C in addition to indomethacin decreases the occurrence and severity of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP) occurrence and severity. Methods This randomized clinical trial included patients undergoing ERCP. The participants were administered either rectal indomethacin (100 mg) plus an injection of vitamin C (500 mg) or rectal indomethacin (100 mg) alone just before ERCP. The primary outcomes were PEP occurrence and severity. The secondary amylase and lipase levels were determined after 24 hours. Results A total of 344 patients completed the study. Based on intention-to-treat analysis, the PEP rates were 9.9% for indomethacin plus vitamin C plus indomethacin and 15.7% for indomethacin alone. Regarding the per-protocol analysis, the PEP rates were 9.7% and 15.7% in the combination and indomethacin arms, respectively. There was a remarkable difference between the two arms in PEP occurrence and severity on intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses (p=0.034 and p=0.031, respectively). The post-ERCP lipase and amylase concentrations were lower in the combination arm than in the indomethacin alone arm (p=0.034 and p=0.029, respectively). Conclusions Vitamin C injection in addition to rectal indomethacin reduced PEP occurrence and severity

Comparison of statistical, machine learning, and mathematical modelling methods to investigate the effect of ageing on dog's cardiovascular system

The aim of this work is to provide a preliminary comparison of different classes of methods to automatically detect the effect of ageing from in vivo data. The application which motivated this work is related to safety pharmacology, whose major goal is to determine, in a pre-clinical phase, whether a drug is potentially dangerous for the health [1]. In particular, we are going to compare statistical, machine learning and mathematical modelling methods.L'objectif de ce travail est de fournir une comparaison préliminaire entre différents classes de méthodes pour la détection automatique de l'effet du viellissement sur le système cardiovasculaire, en exploitant des données in vivo. L'application qui a motivé ce travail est liée à la pharmacologie de sécurité, qui vise à établir, dans une phase pre-clinique, si un médicament est potentiellement dangereux pour la santé [1]. En particulier, nous allons comparer des approches statistiques, d'apprentissage statistique et de modélisation mathématique

Comparison of statistical, machine learning, and mathematical modelling methods to investigate the effect of ageing on dog’s cardiovascular system

The aim of this work is to provide a preliminary comparison of different classes of methods to automatically detect the effect of ageing from in vivo data. The application which motivated this work is related to safety pharmacology, whose major goal is to determine, in a pre-clinical phase, whether a drug is potentially dangerous for the health. In particular, we are going to compare statistical, machine learning and mathematical modelling methods

The association between metformin administration and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort and case-control studies

Introduction: Metformin, a blood sugar-lowering agent, has the potential to be an anti-cancer agent. However, its role in lymphoma remains uncertain. Objectives: This study sought to examine the correlation between the utilization of metformin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma through the application of a systematic review and meta-analysis methodology. Materials and Methods: This investigation was carried out in the form of a methodical examination and meta-analysis in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and the Google Scholar search engine were thoroughly explored without any temporal limitations until September 20, 2023. The data was analyzed utilizing the STATA 14 software, and the level of significance for the tests was established at P<0.05. Results: The results, obtained by combining six observational studies (five cohort studies and one case-control study) with a total sample size of 2 330 787 individuals, showed that the odds ratio (OR) for the association between metformin use and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in all studies was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.07). In cohort studies, the OR was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.74, 1.11), and in the case-control study, it was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.10). None of these relationships were statistically significant. The odds ratio between metformin uses and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic leukemia was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.71, 1.21), and the odds ratio between metformin use and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was 1.06 (95% CI: 0.61, 1.83), both of which were not statistically significant. Conclusion: This investigation’s findings indicated no statistically noteworthy correlation exists between the utilization of metformin and the probability of contracting non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic leukemia, and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Registration: This study was conducted following the PRISMA checklist. Its protocol was registered on the PROSPERO (CRD42023469100) and Research Registry (UIN: reviewregistry1721) websites

Vitamin D Intoxication with Hypercalcemia Due to Overuse of Supplement

We describe a patient with hypercalcemia associated with the injection of high doses vitamin D as supplement for a period of six months. A 76-year-old woman had been taking an intramuscular injection of vitamin D 300,000 IU every ten days for six months. She was hospitalized with symptoms of hypercalcemia: chronic constipation, unstable gait, a chronic generalized musculoskeletal pain and increased fatigue. On admission her 25 (OH) vitamin D and Calcium levels were 559 nmol/L and 13.85 mg/dL respectively, and Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) level was 7.1 pg/mL. Immediately she received diuresis therapy with saline and furosemide in conjunction with calcitonin and pamidronate. At discharge her serum calcium level was 11.5 mg/dL. To lower endogenous overproduction of calcitriol, prednisolone 20 mg/day for 10 days was administered at discharge time

Case Report Leiomyosarcoma of the Broad Ligament: A Case Report and Literature Review

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Coping with identity threat and health literacy on the quality of life and mental health in students: Structural equation modeling

Abstract Aim Adolescents face many challenges when entering university. The aim of this study was determined predictor role of coping with identity threat and health literacy on the quality of life and mental health of students. Methods This is a descriptive‐analytical study of the structural equation study. Random sampling was performed on 300 students of Alborz University of medical science who were eligible to enter the study. The link of the questionnaires was provided to the students through social networks. The questionnaires were used to study identity threat, mental health, health literacy, and quality of life. Results The results of structural equations showed that health literacy has a negative and significant effect (β = −0.22) and identity threat strategy has a negative and significant effect on students' mental health disorder (β = −0.53). Mental health disorders have a negative and significant effect on the quality of life in students (β = −0.49), and health literacy has a positive and significant effect on the quality of life (β = 0.35). Based on Sobel criterion, mental health disorder was a partial mediator for the indirect effect of coping threat strategy on quality of life. Conclusions Considering the effect of mental health and health literacy on the quality of life and the effectiveness of coping strategies, it is recommended to evaluate the mental health and health literacy of students in universities and provide educational programs for identity coping in the early years after entering the university