Comparison of vaginal misoprostol, laminaria, and isosorbide dinitrate on cervical preparation and labor duration of term parturient: a randomized double-blind clinical trial

Background: Cervical ripening plays an important role in successful labor induction. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of misoprostol, laminaria tent, and isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) on cervical ripening. Methods: This double-blind three-armed clinical trial was conducted at Shahidan Mombini Teaching Hospital in Sabzevar, Iran, in 2016 on 96 singleton term pregnant women. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either two 20-mg ISDN tablets vaginally every 4 hours for a maximum of three doses or 25 mcg misoprostol vaginally every 6 hours for a maximum of two doses or laminaria tent for a maximum of 12 hours. The method of randomization was covariate adaptive randomization and the primary outcome measures were Bishop Score changes and labor duration. SPSS software version 18 was used for statistical analyses. Kruskal-Wallis, chi- square and ANOVA tests were applied for data analyses. Results: Bishop Score changes were higher in the misoprostol group than in the two other groups (p=0.014). Time from start of medication to active phase of labor and delivery were 6.22±3.11 and 11.78±5.3 minutes in the misoprostol group, 11.25±3.07 and 17.62±4.07 minutes in the laminaria group, and 10.12±3.48 and 17.37±4.79 minutes in the ISDN group respectively (p<0.001). Cesarean rate was higher in the misoprostol group than the two other groups (p=0.016). No significant differences were observed between the study groups in terms of Apgar score and meconium-stained amniotic fluid. Conclusions: Use of misoprostol results in more improvement of Bishop Score and reduced length of labor phases in comparison to laminaria tent and ISDN. Trial registration: The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.irct.ir) with the Irct ID: IRCT2016050527643N2 in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT2015040921670N1. Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article

Assessment of available and stable fluoride in four widely-used toothpastes in the Iranian market.

Presence of available and stable fluoride in a dentifrice formulation is a major requirement for an anti-caries effect. Although the available fluoride concentration in Iranian dentifrices has been reported in previous studies, there is little information on its stability; which is dependent upon dentifrice formulation. This study was done to assess the fluoride ion concentration and stability in four widely used dentifrices in Iran.In this analytical study, three samples of each brand of dentifrice (Nasim, Pooneh, Crest, and Signal) were purchased. Total fluoride (TF) and total soluble fluoride (TSF) concentrations were determined by ion specific electrodes. Data about TF were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for nonparametric data (TSF).All dentifrices had more than 1000 ppm of fluoride ions. TSF in Crest was significantly higher than in other dentifrices (

Iron and Vitamin C Co-Supplementation Increased Serum Vitamin C Without Adverse Effect on Zinc Level in Iron Deficient Female Youth

Background: Iron supplementation can decrease the absorption of zinc and influence other antioxidants levels such as vitamin C. This study aimed to investigate the effect of iron supplements alone and in combination with vitamin C on zinc and vitamin C status in iron deficient female students. Methods: In a double-blind randomized clinical trail, 60 iron deficient students were selected from 289 volunteers residing in dormitory. After matching, subjects were randomly assigned into two groups: Group I (50 mg elemental iron supplements) and Group II (50 mg elemental iron + 500 mg ascorbic acid). Serum ferritin, iron, serum zinc, and plasma vitamin C concentrations were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, spectrophotometer, atomic absorption spectrometer, and colorimeter, respectively after 6 and 12 weeks supplementation. Student′s t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance were applied to analyze the data using SPSS software. Results: Serum zinc levels had no significant differences between 2 groups at the baseline; however, its concentration decreased from 80.9 ± 4.2-68.9 ± 2.7 μg/dl to 81.2 ± 4.5-66.1 ± 2.9 μg/dl (P < 0.001) in Groups I and II, respectively after 6 weeks of supplementation. Continuous supplementation increased serum zinc concentration to baseline levels (79.0 ± 2.9 μg/dl; P < 0.01) in Group I and 70.5 ± 3.1 μg/dl in Group II following 12 weeks of supplementation. Plasma vitamin C increased from 3 ± 0/1-3.3 ± 0.2 mg/dl to 2.7 ± 0. 1-4.2 ± 0.2 mg/dl (P < 0.01) in Groups I and II, respectively. At the end of study, plasma vitamin C significantly increased from 3.3 ± 0.3-4.7 ± 0.3 (P < 0.01) to 4.2 ± 0.2-7.1 ± 0.2 (P < 0.001) in Groups I and II, respectively. Conclusions: Iron supplementation with and without vitamin C led to reduction in serum Zn in iron-deficient female students after 6 weeks. However, the decreasing trend stops after repletion of iron stores and Zn levels returned to the approximately baseline values after 12 weeks

Influence of processing on the allergenic properties of pistachio nut assessed in vitro

Pistachio (Pistacia vera) is a tree nut that has been reported to cause IgE-mediated allergic reactions. This study was undertaken to investigate the distinctions between different cultivars of pistachio nut and the influence of different processing on the IgE-binding capacity of whole pistachio protein extracts. The influence of different processes on allergenicity was investigated using competitive inhibition ELISA and Western blotting assays. The Western blotting results of extracts from pistachio cultivars showed no marked difference among them. The IgE-binding capacity was significantly lower for the protein extract prepared from steam-roasted than from raw and dry-roasted pistachio nuts. The results of sensory evaluation analysis and hedonic rating proved no significant differences in color, taste, flavor, and overall quality of raw, roasted, and steam-roasted pistachio nut treatments. The most significant finding of the present study was the successful reduction of IgE-binding by pistachio extracts using steam-roast processing without any significant changes in sensory quality of product. © 2010 American Chemical Society

NUCB2 mRNA Expression in the Stomach (A), Small Intestine (Duodenum; B), Large Intestine (C) and Liver (D) of Mice gavaged with water, high protein, high carbohydrate, high fat and the No Gavage Group (n = 7 mice/group).

<p>No significant differences were found in NUCB2 mRNA in the stomach of mice gavaged with various liquid diets and no gavage group. Same letters (a) indicate no significant differences found between the various groups, using One Way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test.</p

Profiles of pro-opiomelanocortin and encoded peptides, and their processing enzymes in equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction - Fig 2

<p><b>A, A RT-PCR gel electrophoresis image showing the expression of equine POMC (178bp), PC1 (300bp) and PC2 (168bp) in the normal pituitary gland.</b> NC denotes no template control. <b>B,</b> Cycle threshold (Ct) values for the mRNA expression of 18S rRNA and YWHAZ (<b>C)</b> in the pituitary gland of normal (n = 10) and PPID (n = 6) horses. Bars denote mean values (+/- SEM).</p

MGN3-1 Cells are Immunopositive for NUCB2/Nesfatin-1, Ghrelin, PC 1/3 and PC 2.

<p>Immunocytochemical staining of MGN3-1 cells for ghrelin immunoreactivity (A; FITC-Green), nesfatin-1 immunoreactivity (B; Texas-Red) and the nuclear stain DAPI. A merged image showing co-localization of nesfatin-1 and ghrelin immunoreactivity is shown in (C; Yellow). Immunocytochemical staining of MGN3-1 cells for PC 1/3 immunoreactivity (D; Texas-red), PC 2 immunoreactivity (E; Texas-red) and the nuclear stain DAPI. No primary antibody controls are shown in (F) for nesfatin-1 and ghrelin, respectively. Images taken at 40X magnification. Scale bar = 20 µm.</p

NUCB2 mRNA Expression (A, C, E) and NUCB2/nesfatin-1 Secretion (B, D, F) from MGN3-1 Cells Incubated for 4 Hours with Different Concentrations of Linolenic Acid, Octanoic Acid and Oleic Acid (0 µM, 1 µM, 10 µM, 100 µM).

<p>No change in NUCB2 mRNA expression (A, C) and nesfatin-1 secretion (B, D) when MGN3-1 cells were incubated with different concentrations of linolenic acid and octanoic acid. MGN3-1 cells incubated at 1, 10, 100 µM oleic acid had a significant decrease in NUCB2 mRNA expression (E; p<0.05), but no significant difference was found in nesfatin-1 secretion at 4 hours post-incubation (F; p<0.05). n = 9 wells/concentration pooled from 3 different studies. Different letters (a and b) shows significant differences found between control and various treatment groups, using One Way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test. There are no significant differences between groups marked by same letters.</p

Sensitive areas for sampling.

<p>A) eyelid B) around the eye C) ear D) on the lips.</p