Single nucleotide polymorphisms in BMPR-IB and STAT5B genes and their association with growth and reproductive traits in chicken

The aim of the current study was to investigate the association of G4533815A SNP in STAT5B and A287G SNP in BMPR-IB genes with growth and reproduction related traits in chicken. A sample of 205 individuals from breeding station of Mazandaran native chicken population was selected randomly. All of the individuals were genotyped for both SNPs using PCR-RFLP technique. Marker-trait association analyses were performed using estimated breeding value of the traits as dependent variable in GLM procedure of SAS 9.1. Results suggested that breeding value least square means for genotypes of G4533815A SNP is significantly differed from each other for traits of body weight at 8 and 12 weeks (P<0.01). In the case of BMPR-IB gene, no significant difference was found. In conclusion, STAT5B gene may be associated with body growth in chicken and may be considered in Marker Assisted Selection program to improve chicken growth performance

Student’s characteristics and fast food consumption

BACKGROUND: Fast food consumption is one of the risk factors for human health. The present study was conducted with the objective to investigate how students’ characteristics (attitude, control beliefs, and normative beliefs) motivate the consumption of fast food.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total number of 401 students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran, were randomly selected and studied in 2015. A questionnaire was administered to collect information about student’s demographic characteristics as well as their attitudes and beliefs towards using fast food. Correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) followed by univariate ANOVA were used to interpret the results.RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 21.20 ± 2.80 years and 254 (67.20%) of them were female. Furthermore, 60.54% of the students were found with tendency to use fast food. The MANOVA analysis showed that the effect of gender on students’ characteristics was significant (P = 0.005), however the effect of grade was marginally insignificant (P = 0.053). Post-hoc univariate ANOVA showed that the gender was highly associated with control beliefs (P = 0.030) and normative beliefs (P = 0.004). No significant association was found between gender and student’s attitude (P = 0.610).CONCLUSION: A training program for medical students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences is recommended to encourage students to reduce the consumption of fast food

The relationship between religiosity with stress, anxiety, and depression among the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2017

BACKGROUND: Religion affects all aspects of the life. One of the most important aspects of human health is its mental health, and how it gets affected by stress, anxiety, and depression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there was any relationship between religiosity with stress, anxiety, and depression among the students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The total number of 282 students were selected using a two-stage stratified sampling method to fulfill univariate religiosity questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 22.34 ± 3.05 years. 70.9% of participants were women, and 92.2% were single. Out of four dimensions of religiosity, only ritual dimension was found to have a significant correlation with stress (P = 0.030). The correlation between other dimensions of religiosity (belief, emotional, and consequential (and aspects of mental health found to be not statistically significant (P &gt; 0.050).CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, religious activities can reduce the stress of individuals. Designing non-syllabus interventions is recommended in order to increase religious activities in order to improve students’ mental health

Efficacy of nicorandil treatment for prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac catheterization: A prospective randomized controlled trial

Background: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) remains to be a potentially serious complication of radiographic procedures and is the third leading cause of the acute kidney injury (AKI) among hospitalized patients. This clinical trial was performed to assess the preventive effect of oral nicorandil on CIN in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Methods: In this prospective, randomized, controlled trial, 128 patients with at least two risk factors for CIN undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were randomly assigned to either the nicorandil group or the control group. Patients in the nicorandil group (n = 64) received 10 mg nicorandil, daily from 30 min before and up to 3 days after procedure and intravenous hydration for 2 h before and 6 h after the procedure, whereas patients in the control group (n = 64) just received intravenous hydration. Serum creatinine (SCr) was measured before contrast exposure and at 72 h. CIN was defined as an increase of 25% in SCr or &gt; 0.5 mg/dL 72 h after contrast administration. Results: Contrast-induced nephropathy occurred in 14 out of 64 (21.9%) patients in the control group and in 3 out of 64 (4.7%) patients in the nicorandil group. There was a significant difference in the incidence of CIN between the two groups at 72 h after administering the radiocontrast agent (p = 0.008). Moreover, there were significant differences between the two groups in SCr and estimated glomerular filtration rate 72 h after radiocontrast administration (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: The findings revealed that oral nicorandil had substantial efficacy over hydration protocol for the development of CIN in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

Effectiveness of Self-Help Mindfulness on Depression, Anxiety and Stress

Introduction: Growing evidence shows that mindfulness based on self-help interventions have advantages for physical and psychological health in different populations. The mindfulness based emotional balance is a new program and efficacy of which has not been investigated in self-help format.  Methods: This study was a randomized control trial (RCT) with wait-list control. After screening and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria eighty students of Kermanshah University of medical sciences were assigned randomly to the mindfulness-based emotional balance self-help or the wait list control group. Anxiety, depression, stress, and mindfulness were measured prior to the intervention after the intervention, and two-month after end of intervention as follow-up. DASS-21 and MAAS were used.  Results: Significant decrease in anxiety, depression, and stress in addition to a significant increase in mindfulness in the experimental group in the posttest. However, there were no significant changes in any of the aforesaid measures in the wait list control group. The resultant benefits were persistent in the two-month follow-up. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, this type of treatment can be used as an efficient and cost-effective method to improve psychological problems such as stress, depression and anxiety.  Declaration of Interest: Non

Reasons of cigarette smoking among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

BACKGROUND: Smoking has been a public health problem in the world. In fact, it has been mentioned as a preventable factor of death and diseases. So, the goal of doing this research was to determine the frequency of smoking tendency and its correlate factors among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using simple random sampling method. Data collection instruments were confirmed questionnaires. The statistical population included all the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. The data were analyzed using SPSS software.RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking cigarette among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences was 1.8%, as well as 2.2% for hookah consumption. Considering the relationship between smoking and residence situation, 22.1% of native students and 24.8% of alien students had experienced smoking.CONCLUSION: Results of this study showed a low prevalence of smoking (1.8%) among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences