The effect of alcoholic extracts of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. against Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis infection is one of the most prevalent type of vaginitis in women. Considering the side effects of metronidazole and therapeutic properties of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. in traditional medicine, this study aimed to examine the anti-Trichomonas effects of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis alcoholic extracts in vitro. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on T. vaginalis isolated from 1203 persons referred to five health centers in Kashan city. Five T. vaginalis isolates were cultured in a TYI-S-33 medium and were used to study the effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The effects of different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 µg/mL) of plant extracts on the growth of T. vaginalis trophozoeites were studied 12, 24, and 48 h after the culture. Also, the culture media and metronidazole (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 µg/mL) were considered as the negative and positive controls, respectively. The effects of the extracts and drug were examined by counting the number of live and dead parasites using the trypan blue staining method. Results: Results showed that the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis and Arctium lappa had an inhibitory effect on the growth of T. vaginalis. The IC50 values of the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis, Arctium lappa and metronidazole after 24 h were 190.8, 996.7 and 0.0326 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The present study shows the in vitro anti-Trichomonas effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The anti-Trichomonas effect of Satureja hortensis extract was higher than that of the Arctium lappa extract. Further studies are recommended to investigate the anti-Trichomonas effect of major components of these plants, especially the Satureja hortensis extract

Distribution of Maximal Luminosity of Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Extreme value statistics (EVS) is applied to the distribution of galaxy luminosities in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We analyze the DR8 Main Galaxy Sample (MGS), as well as the Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG). Maximal luminosities are sampled from batches consisting of elongated pencil beams in the radial direction of sight. For the MGS, results suggest a small and positive tail index $\xi$, effectively ruling out the possibility of having a finite maximum cutoff luminosity, and implying that the luminosity distribution function may decay as a power law at the high luminosity end. Assuming, however, $\xi=0$, a non-parametric comparison of the maximal luminosities with the Fisher-Tippett-Gumbel distribution (limit distribution for variables distributed by the Schechter fit) indicates a good agreement provided uncertainties arising both from the finite batch size and from the batch size distribution are accounted for. For a volume limited sample of LRGs, results show that they can be described as being the extremes of a luminosity distribution with an exponentially decaying tail, provided the uncertainties related to batch-size distribution are taken care of

Effects of Zataria Multi-Flora, Shirazi thyme, on the Severity of Premenstrual Syndrome

Background: Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a common problem in women. Zataria multiflora Boiss is a valuable plant. This herbal plant has been used in different conditions. Objectives: The study was performed to investigate the effects of Zataria multiflora Boiss to control PMS symptoms. Materials and Methods: This study was a double-blinded, prospective randomized trial. The study population was the college students living in the dormitories of Isfahan University. Eighty-eight eligible students were randomly divided to intervention and control groups. Students completed the prospective record of the impact and severity of menstrual symptoms (PRISM) calendar including 30 PMS symptoms for four menstrual cycles (two cycles before, and two after the intervention). The intervention group received pearls containing 20 mg of Zataria multi-flora essence (four pearls each day) for two menstrual cycles, seven days before menstruation. The mean difference of PMS severity score between groups was analyzed with Mann-Whitney U test. The difference in frequency score of symptoms was analyzed using repeated-measure analysis of variance. Results: Thirty-eight students in intervention and 37 students in placebo group completed the study. The groups had no significant difference regarding the severity of PMS. Both groups showed a significant improvement in PMS severity score after the intervention. The repeated-measure analysis of variance showed that the frequency of symptoms decreased significantly in the cycles, but it was not different in intervention and placebo groups. Conclusions: Our findings did not support the use of Zataria multiflora Boiss in premenstrual syndrome

Community-based physical activity interventions among women: A systematic review

Objective: Review and assess the effectiveness of community-based physical activity interventions among women aged 18-65 years. Design: Systematic review Methods: To find relevant articles, the researcher selected reports published in English between 1 January 2000 and 31 March 2013. Systematic search was to find controlled-trial studies that were conducted to uncover the effect of community-based interventions to promote physical activity among women 18-65 years of age, in which physical activity was reported as one of the measured outcomes. The methodological quality assessment was performed using a critical appraisal sheet. Also, the levels of evidence were assessed for the types of interventions. Results: The literature search identified nine articles. Four of the studies were randomised and the others studies had high methodological quality. There was no evidence, on the basis of effectiveness, for social cognitive theory-based interventions and inconclusive evidence of effectiveness for the rest of interventions. Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of community-based interventions for enhancing physical activity among women. There is a need for high-quality randomised clinical trials with adequate statistical power to determine whether multicomponent and community-based intervention programmes increase physical activity among women, as well as to determine what type of interventions have a more effective and sustainable impact on women's physical activity. © 2015, BMJ. All rights reserved

Ruminal and post-ruminal barley grain digestion and starch granule morphology under three heat methods

La editorial tiene los derechos de autor y le solicito a hacer visibles la fecha técnica del artículo.This study was designed to investigate the effect of three heating methods on the ruminal and post-ruminal nutrient degradability and starch granule morphology of barley grain (BG - Hordeum vulgare). Treatments were Control (CG): without processing; Roasted (RG): roasted BG for 300 s at 130°C; Microwaved (MG): irradiated BG for 120 s at 1200 W; and Steam flaked (SG): BG misted for 30 min under steam flow of boiling water and flaked. Gas production and in situ techniques were used to evaluate the ruminal degradability of treatments, and a modified three-step method was utilised to estimate the total-tract digestibility. Morphological changes of starch granules were determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Ruminal gas production and dry matter disappearance were increased (p < .05) in SG vs. CG. Heat processing had different effects on starch and crude protein degradability; however, starch degradability increased (p < .05) from CG to SG. Post-ruminal disappearance of dry matter in CG was greater (p < .05) than other treatments. These results validated by FESEM images that explained high barley grain degradability in relation to the number of holes on the surface of starch granules. Heat processing can enhance ruminal and post-ruminal utilisation efficiency of barley grain, resulting in improvement of total-tract digestibility

Parents� concerns regarding the growth characteristics of their adolescents: a qualitative inquiry in Iran

In recent times, parents have become increasingly concerned, both subjectively and objectively, about their adolescents' body height/weight growth. Parent-adolescent interactions about this issue and the potential socio-psychological consequences of such interactions should be considered as an important influencing factor on the future of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health. To achieve a greater understanding of such concerns, it is necessary to further elucidate parents' experiences on this topic, so as to expand the existing literature. This study aimed to explain the perceptions of parents' concerns regarding their adolescents' growth characteristics in the socio-cultural context of Iran as a transitional society. This paper is part of a larger qualitative study designed using the Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology (CGTM). We conducted open-ended intensive interviews with eleven parents individually and recruited them through purposeful and theoretical sampling from a teaching hospital, community, and a primary school in Tehran with theoretical sampling variation in terms of teenagers' age, sex, and birth order, place of residence, parents' occupation and education, and the self-reported socio-economic status. Using the analytical procedures of the CGTM, we performed analyses. In the findings, the concept of 'living with constant sense of uncertainty' emerged from the subcategories including 'feeling existing and potential concern about expected minimum and maximum bio-positions of growth,' 'feeling potential concern about biological health consequences,' 'feeling potential concern about the emergence of early/late maturity signs,' 'feeling potential concern about adolescent's emotional threat,' 'feeling concerned about future employment, education, marriage, and fertility,' and 'feeling potential concern about the society's view'. These findings suggest that parents are living with a constant sense of uncertainty about their teens' growth characteristics throughout the transition from adolescence. All stakeholders including parents, health-care practitioners and policymakers, and anthropologists/sociologists should be focus on such concerns, in order to manage them and their possible socio-psychological burdens. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Postural control learning dynamics in Parkinson's disease: Early improvement with plateau in stability, and continuous progression in flexibility and mobility

Background: Balance training improves postural control in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, a systematic approach for the development of individualized, optimal training programs is still lacking, as the learning dynamics of the postural control in PD, over a training program, are poorly understood. Objectives: We investigated the learning dynamics of the postural control in PD, during a balance-training program, in terms of the clinical, posturographic, and novel model-based measures. Methods: Twenty patients with PD participated in a balance-training program, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks. Clinical tests assessed functional balance and mobility pre-training, mid-training, and post-training. Center-of-pressure (COP) was recorded at four time-points during the training (pre-, week 2, week 4, and post-training). COP was used to calculate the sway measures and to identify the parameters of a patient-specific postural control model, at each time-point. The posturographic and model-based measures constituted the two sets of stability- A nd flexibility-related measures. Results: Mobility- A nd flexibility-related measures showed a continuous improvement during the balance-training program. In particular, mobility improved at mid-training and continued to improve to the end of the training, whereas flexibility-related measures reached significance only at the end. The progression in the balance- A nd stability-related measures was characterized by early improvements over the first 3 to 4 weeks of training, and reached a plateau for the rest of the training. Conclusions: The progression in balance and postural stability is achieved earlier and susceptible to plateau out, while mobility and flexibility continue to improve during the balance training. © 2020 The Author(s)

A meta-analysis of randomized control trials: The impact of vitamin c supplementation on serum crp and serum hs-crp concentrations

Objective: The present meta-analysis was designed to assess the effects of vitamin C supplementation on serum C-reactive Protein (CRP) levels. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive systematic search of the literature in Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar until May 2018. The pooled Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) and its 95 Confidence Interval (CI) in baseline and at the end of the trial were calculated to assess the net change in serum CRP by using random-effects model. The heterogeneity was assessed by I2 test. Combined and stratified analyses were used in the meta-analysis. Results: From 306 articles found and screened in our initial search, 12 studies were included with 446 participants in supplementation groups and 447 in control groups. The pooled effect size analysis showed a significant reducing effect of vitamin C supplementation on circulating CRP level (�0.23 mg/L, 95 CI, �0.44,-0.03, p=0.02), with a significant heterogeneity effect across the studies involved. Subgroup analyses showed that vitamin C supplementation significantly lowered CRP among trials. The most significant effect was found 1) on hs-CRP as the representative inflammatory marker (-0.43 mg/L, 95 CI-0.76,-0.1) 2) in subjects with a baseline CRP�3 (-1.48 mg/L, 95 CI-2.84,-0.11) 3) in subjects under <60 years old of age (-0.23 mg/L, 95 CI-0.44,-0.01) 4) or using intravenous administration of vitamin C (-0.89 mg/L, 95 CI-1.49,-0.3). Conclusion: The present meta-analysis shows that vitamin C supplementation reduces serum CRP level, particularly in younger subjects, with higher CRP baseline level, at a lower dosage and intravenous administration. © 2018, Bentham Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved