The Effect of Stevia Rebaudiana on Serum Omentin and Visfatin Level in STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats

Recently the role of adipocytokines in relationship to incidence of diabetes has been demonstrated. One of the medicinal plants that are used in the treatment of diabetes is stevia. This study investigates the effect of stevia on serum omentin and visfatin levels as novel adipocytokines in diabetic induced rats to find potential mechanisms for the anti hyperglycemic effect of stevia. Forty male wistar rats weighing 180–250 g were induced with diabetes by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The animals were divided into 5 groups of 8. Rats in group 1 (non-diabetic control) and group 2 (diabetic control) were treated with distilled water, and the rats in the treated groups, group 3 (T250), group 4 (T500), and group 5 (T750) were treated with stevia, gavaged every day at 9 a.m. in doses of 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg, respectively. At the end of the study significant reductions in fasting blood sugar (FBS), the homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride (TG), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and Omentin level were found in groups 3 and 4 in comparison with group 2. Pancreatic histopathology slides demonstrated that stevia extract did not induce any increase in the number of β-cells. The conclusion is that prescription of stevia in the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg/d decreases the omentin level indirectly via activating insulin sensitivity and lowering blood glucose in STZ-induced diabetic rats. KEYWORDS. Diabetes, omentin, stevia, visfati

Application of radar and optical satelite imagery data in landslide potential mapping of Shesheer Sub-Catchment in Iran

One of the serious dangers which threatens human communities especially those who are living in mountainous areas is the occurrence of landslides. Therefore, determination of the areas with potential for landslide events is very important for avoiding establishment of residential areas or industrial facilities. The aim of this study is to provide a landslide potential map in Sheshpeer sub-catchment, Iran, using an integration of remote sensing (RS) techniques and geographical information systems (GIS). Compared with the traditional approaches, these techniques are very fast, inexpensive and trustworthy in landslide mapping. For this purpose, we collected and produced seven data layers using GIS and RS, and then Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was applied for data analysis. Our results showed that among the twelve pervious landslide events in this area, nine of them are located in the regions with very high potentiality and the others are in highly potential regions for landslides occurrence

Investigation of spectral characteristics of carbonate rocks – A case study on Posht Moleh Mount in Iran

Recent developments in the image processing approaches and the availability of multi and/or hyper spectral remote sensing data with high spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions have made remote sensing technique of great interest in investigations of geological sciences. One of the biggest advantage of the application of remote sensing in geology is recognizing the type of unknown rocks and minerals. In this study, an investigation on spectral features of carbonate rocks (i.e. calcite, dolomite, and dolomitized calcite) were done in terms of main absorptions, the reasons of those absorptions and comparison of these absorption with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) spectral library and laboratory spectra of Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) instrument. For this purpose, we used the VNIR and SWIR bands of ASTER and OLI datasets. Finally, we applied the Spectral Analyst Algorithm in order to comparison between the obtained spectra from ASTER dataset and carbonate spectra of JHU spectral library

Calcium to magnesium intake ratio and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease development: a case-control study

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. Adoption of sedentary life style and westernized diet are shown to be associated with development of NAFLD. Since previous studies suggested that calcium (Ca) to magnesium (Mg) ratio intake is associated with some chronic diseases including dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, we designed this study to find any possible association between this ratio and NAFLD development. Methods: The NAFLD was diagnosed using Fibroscan according to a CAP cut-off value of 263 dB/m. Dietary intakes of one hundred and ninety-six patients with incident NAFLD diagnosis, and eight hundred and three controls without NAFLD were assessed using a valid food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary nutrients were calculated using Nutritionist IV software. Results: Age of the study population (57 % female) was 43.2 ± 14.1 years. In addition, energy-adjusted daily calcium to magnesium intake ratio was 2.34 ± 0.57 and 2.73 ± 0.69 for control and case groups, respectively. In the multivariable-adjusted model, after adjustment for potential confounding variables; including, age, gender, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, physical activity, energy, dietary fiber, carbohydrate, fat, and protein intakes, participants in the third (Q3) and fourth (Q4) quartile of Ca/Mg ratio intake had a greater development of incidental NAFLD compared to the lowest quartile (Q1) [(OR = 2.86; 95 % CI: 1.20–6.81), (P-value = 0.017) and (OR = 5.97; 95 % CI: 2.54–14.01), (P-value < 0.001) for Q3 and Q4 compared to the Q1, respectively]. Moreover, energy-adjusted Ca to Mg intake ratio was positively correlated with plasma level of ALT (r = 0.18; P = 0.01); contrarily, it had no correlation with plasma levels of AST. Conclusions: The current study revealed that higher dietary Ca to Mg intake ratio is associated with a greater development of NAFLD. Further interventional studies are needed to confirm the causal relationship of the Ca/Mg ratio intake and development of NAFLD

Calcium to magnesium intake ratio and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease development: a case-control study

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. Adoption of sedentary life style and westernized diet are shown to be associated with development of NAFLD. Since previous studies suggested that calcium (Ca) to magnesium (Mg) ratio intake is associated with some chronic diseases including dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, we designed this study to find any possible association between this ratio and NAFLD development. Methods: The NAFLD was diagnosed using Fibroscan according to a CAP cut-off value of 263 dB/m. Dietary intakes of one hundred and ninety-six patients with incident NAFLD diagnosis, and eight hundred and three controls without NAFLD were assessed using a valid food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary nutrients were calculated using Nutritionist IV software. Results: Age of the study population (57 female) was 43.2 ± 14.1 years. In addition, energy-adjusted daily calcium to magnesium intake ratio was 2.34 ± 0.57 and 2.73 ± 0.69 for control and case groups, respectively. In the multivariable-adjusted model, after adjustment for potential confounding variables; including, age, gender, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, physical activity, energy, dietary fiber, carbohydrate, fat, and protein intakes, participants in the third (Q3) and fourth (Q4) quartile of Ca/Mg ratio intake had a greater development of incidental NAFLD compared to the lowest quartile (Q1) (OR = 2.86; 95 % CI: 1.20�6.81), (P-value = 0.017) and (OR = 5.97; 95 % CI: 2.54�14.01), (P-value < 0.001) for Q3 and Q4 compared to the Q1, respectively. Moreover, energy-adjusted Ca to Mg intake ratio was positively correlated with plasma level of ALT (r = 0.18; P = 0.01); contrarily, it had no correlation with plasma levels of AST. Conclusions: The current study revealed that higher dietary Ca to Mg intake ratio is associated with a greater development of NAFLD. Further interventional studies are needed to confirm the causal relationship of the Ca/Mg ratio intake and development of NAFLD. © 2021, The Author(s)

Effect of barberry (Berberis vulgaris) consumption on blood pressure, plasma lipids, and inflammation in patients with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Hypertension is an important and prevalent cardiovascular risk factor. The present study will be conducted to investigate the effect of barberry as a cardio-protective fruit on the blood pressure in patients with hypertension and other CVD risk factors. Furthermore, plasma concentrations of lipids and inflammatory biomarkers will be evaluated. Methods/design: This is an 8-week, prospective, single-blinded, parallel assigned, randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) in which eligible men and women with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors will be randomized to either placebo powder (PP; containing 9 g maltodextrin, 1 g citric acid, 1 g milled sucrose and edible red color (n = 37)) or barberry powder (BP; containing 10 g milled dried barberry and 1 g of milled sucrose (n = 37)) groups. At baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention, plasma lipids and inflammatory markers, 24-h urinary nitrite/nitrate and sodium excretion, and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) will be measured. Anthropometric measures and dietary assessment will be performed as well. Data analysis will be done using SPSS version-21 software. Discussion: The interest in natural and functional food products has increased globally. This RCT will add to the growing literature for the potential antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, and anti-inflammatory effects of barberry in humans. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT number) NCT04084847. Registered on 10 December 2019

Efficiency of shrimp trawl nets polyamide and polyethylene with standard mesh in the coastal waters of Bushehr Province

This study was carried out in August – september 2009 in Bushehr province waters. Two different shrimp bottom trawls were used in which were woven by Poly Amid and Poly Ethylene with mesh sizes (stretched) of 50 mm and sack with 35 mm. Also 2 different vessels of two dhows and one steel ship each with 26 and 30 hauls were used and taken in to comparison from point of obtained results. Total catch of PA and PE trawels were 4592 and 5535 kg of which the ratio of shrimp catch and by catch for PA trawl was 32.4 and 67.6 % respectively; and for PE trawl was 34.2 and 65.8%. Total catch of PA and PE trawls of steel trawler ( ship ) were estimated 3158.0 and 4784.7 kg, respectively, of which the shrimp/ bycatch ratio was 6.6 : 93.4%. There was a higher amount of bycatch for PE comparing to PA trawl (p<0.05). on the other hand the decrease of shrimp and bycatch for PA comparing to PE dhow trawlers were 21.3 and 15.0% and for ship were 34.6 and 34.0% respectively. The weight ratio is 1:15 i.e . in PE ship trawl, in proportion to on kg shrimp, 15 kg bycatch was harvested. it is proposed to standardize the mesh size and also to do obligtory the instal of squared mesh size panel

Diet quality and colorectal tumor risk in persons with Lynch syndrome

Contains fulltext : 229397.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Persons with Lynch syndrome (LS) have an increased risk of developing colorectal tumors (CRTs). Adherence to diet quality indices associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in the general population has not been studied before in LS. METHODS: Dietary habits of 490 participants with LS from a prospective cohort study was collected using a food frequency questionnaire. The Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15-index) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) were used to score food-based diet quality. Diet quality scores were divided into tertiles where a higher tertile reflects a higher diet quality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the association between the DHD15-index, DASH score and CRT risk. RESULTS: During a median follow-up time of 53.4 months, 210 participants (42.9%) developed CRTs. The DHD-index and DASH score were not associated with CRT risk; hazard ratios for highest vs. lowest tertile were 1.00 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.67-1.48) and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.74-1.69), respectively. No linear trends across the DHD-index and DASH score tertiles were observed (P-trend = 0.97 and 0.83 respectively). CONCLUSION: In contrast to observations in the general population, no evidence for an association between the food-based DHD15-index or DASH score and CRT risk was observed in persons with LS. Further studies are needed investigating the association between diet quality and mechanisms leading to the development of LS-associated tumors

Setting Site Specific Critical Loads: An Approach using Endorsement Theory and Dempster–Shafer

There is an increasing demand from conservation agencies for site-specific critical loads (CL); unfortunately, there is often very little specific information on a site to determine the important parameters needed to calculate the CL or on the spatial location of the “designated feature” in a site. Determining the most appropriate CL therefore involves using expert judegement to make decisions with incomplete and uncertain information. Endorsement Theory (Cohen, 1985) and Dempster–Shafer statistics (Dempster, 1967; Shafer, 1976) are, respectively, a decision-theoretic and a statistical technique for reasoning under those conditions (uncertainty and incompletness). A key reason for applying these techniques is that they make expert opinion explicit and available for scrutiny. Both techniques have been applied to the problem of setting an appropriate site specific CL, using heathland sites as a case study. Inital findings are encouraging; the uncertainty in expert judgement is made explict, the end results are intuitively reasonable and the methodology apparently acceptable to decision makers