The perception and attitude of using herbal antianxiety and antidepressant drugs in medical students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences during 2021

Background: According to the more side effects of chemical drugs, it’s worthy to let’s spend our energy knowing more about medicinal herbs until perception and attitude checking towards the use of herbal antianxiety and antidepressant drugs in medical students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. People in the study were 40 medical students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences. The study population was randomly selected from boy and girl medical students. Questionnaires were adjusted based on the partial goals and research questions of design. The questions were designed in three categories of operation, belief, and knowledge about the use of antianxiety and antidepressant herbs.Results: The results of this study showed that 70% of medical students do not recommend herbs for the treatment of anxiety and depression. And 60% of them prefer to use antianxiety and antidepressant herbs to treat their anxiety and depression. Also, 70% of medical students believe that herbs for anxiety and depression should be prescribed under medical care and 80% of them believe that herbal medicines are effective for anxiety and depression. 65% of medical students have aware that herbs for anxiety and depression are harmless, and 85% of them are aware that medical herbs are effective in treating anxiety and depression. Hypericum perforatum L., Crocus sativus L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Matricaria chamomilla L., Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck, Valeriana officinalis L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Thymbera spicata L., Echium amoenum Fisch. & C.A.Mey., Elissa officinalis L., Viola odorata L., Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad and Aloysia aloysioides Loes. & Moldenke are used in both cases of depression and agitation too. Rosemary, Sanibal al-Tayyib, and savory plants are used in anxiety, and lemon, fennel, thyme, and violet performance are used in depression.Conclusion: In general performance, belief, and attitude of medical students besides the use of anti-anxiety and antidepressant herbs were relatively good, but it’s suggested that the relevant authorities pay more attention to this article including the group media and universities

Identification of Plant Flora Affecting Anti-Anxiety and Anti-Depression Disorders Based on Ethnobotanical Knowledge of the Arasbaran Region, Azerbaijan, Iran

Background: Ethnobotany, as a part of every district’s national capital, involves residents' experience and knowledge about plants and their features being the result of a long time of trial and error in nature. The purpose of this study was to obtain and document the culture of the traditional application of Arasbaran medicinal plants from Azerbaijan province in Iran.Methods: In this research, the information and knowledge of the people about the effective medicinal plants on common psychiatric syndromes including anxiety and depression were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Questions contain local names, organ usage, and traditional therapeutic characteristics of plants. Interviews then went on until the repeated answers confirmed the reliability and validity.Results: Labiatae plant family with 4 plants was the most effective herb family for the treatment of common psychiatric diseases. Also, the most plant organs utilized for treating nervous disorders included aerial parts (36%), fruits (22%), flowering branches (each with 21%) and flowers (14%), and seeds (7%). So, identification and documentation of their indigenous knowledge can pave the way for a better application of medicinal plants and their products.Conclusion: In this study, 12 medicinal plant species belonging to 9 families were studied. The largest proportion of plant species was related to the Labiatae family. The most commonly used organs were aerial parts, fruits, and flowering branches, respectively. Native medicinal plants of the Arasbaran region are traditionally used to treat common psychiatric syndromes and can be highly effective in the treatment of disorders such as depression and anxiety.          Keywords: Herbal plants; Ethno-botany; Remedy; Psychiatry    

Herbal therapy for hemorrhoids: An Overview of Medicinal Plants Affecting Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are one of the most common rectal diseases that affect millions of people in the world and cause many medical and socio-economic problems. The resulting pain is very severe and incurs exorbitant costs for the patient and the government. This study aimed to review the medicinal plants that affect hemorrhoids. Complete databases searched for in those articles were Google Scholar, SID, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and WOS search engines. The search was done for articles published that included the search term containing, medicinal plants and hemorrhoids in their title. This study focused on published articles and papers from 1991 to 2022.The results showed medicinal plants Aloe vera, Trigonella foenum-graecum L, Nigella sativa L, Curcuma longa L, Cocos nucifera L, Solanum nigrum L., Alhagi persarum Boiss & Buhse, Plantago lanceolata L, Achillea santolina, Malva neglecta Wallr,  Rubus fruticosus L  have effects like anti-bleeding, analgesic, anti-inflammatory,  and wound-healing, and with hemorrhoid-healing effect. Generally, the investigated traditional Iranian edible plants are rich in different types of chemical compounds and have special benefits in the prevention and treatment of diseases.Keywords: Medicinal plants; Hemorrhoids; Diseases; Remedy Drugs 

Evaluation of Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate Preservative Concentrations in Different Sauce Samples in Urmia, Iran

Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate are relatively common preservatives used in a wide range of foods including flavoring products like sauces. The potential health risks arising from these preservatives along with the high-consumption rate of these flavoring products worldwide highlight the importance of the quality and safety assurance of these products. So, this study aimed to evaluate the concentrations of these two common preservatives (i.e., sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate) in different sauce samples, including mayonnaise, salad dressings, Caesar sauce, Italian dressing, Ranch dressing, French dressing, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and to compare them with the acceptable level of Codex standard. For this purpose, 49 samples, including three to five samples of each type of different brands of sauce samples, were randomly collected from supermarkets in Urmia, Iran. Based on the results, the mean concentrations ± standard deviation of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate in the collected samples were found to be 249.9 ± 157 and 158.0 ± 131 ppm, respectively, which were lower than the general standard of the Codex Alimentarius and the European legislation. Due to the importance of hazardous side effects of these preservatives for consumers, regular and accurate evaluation of these preservatives in sauces as highly consumed food products is still recommended for consumer safety

Investigations into factors affecting personal exposure to particles in urban microenvironments using low-cost sensors

Epidemiological studies have linked outdoor PM2.5 concentrations to a range of health effects, although people spend most of the time indoors. To better understand how individuals' exposure vary as they move between different indoor and outdoor microenvironments, our study investigated personal PM2.5 exposure and exposure intensity of 14 adult volunteers over one week (five weekdays and one weekend), using low-cost personal monitors, recording PM2.5 concentrations in 5 min intervals. Further, the study evaluated community perception of air pollution exposure during the recruitment and engagement with the volunteers. We found that people with tertiary education across all ages had greater interest in participating, with younger people being interested regardless of the level of education. The derived exposures and exposure intensities differed between weekdays and the weekend due to larger variations in individuals' daily routines. In general, time spent at home and engaged in indoor activities was associated with the highest personal PM2.5 exposure and exposure intensity on both, week and weekend days, implying the significance of both duration of the exposure and the indoor PM2.5 concentrations. The results showed no relationship between personal exposures and indoor characteristics of home (ventilation, building age and cooktop), which are expected to be due to the study's small sample size. The observed PM2.5 > 10 μg m−3 were significantly higher for distances <50 m to the roads for both major and minor roads, and were observed in areas with <16% open space, which were also close to a major road

Assessment of cheese frauds, and relevant detection methods: A systematic review

Dairy products are widely consumed in the world due to their nutritional and functional characteristics. This group of food products are consumed by all age groups due to their health-giving properties. One of these products is cheese which has a high price compared to other dairy products. Because of this, it can be prone to fraud all over the world. Fraud in food products threatens the world's food safety and can cause serious damage to human health. There are many concerns among food authorities in the world about the fraud of food products. FDA, WHO, and the European Commission provide different legislations and definitions for fraud. The purpose of this review is to identify the most susceptible cheese type for fraud and effective methods for evaluating fraud in all types of cheeses. For this, we examined the Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases. Mozzarella cheese had the largest share among all cheeses in terms of adulteration due to its many uses. Also, the methods used to evaluate different types of cheese frauds were PCR, Spectrometry, stable isotope, image analysis, electrophoretic, ELISA, sensors, sensory analysis, near-infrared and NMR. The methods that were most used in detecting fraud were PCR and spectrometry methods. Also, the least used method was sensory evaluation

A Satellite-based Model for Estimating PM2.5 Concentration - Report to Victoria EPA

An atmospheric aerosol modelling, mapping and spatial analysis of fine mode particulate for the Environment Protection Agency of the Victorian State Government

Effects of exposure to ambient ultrafine particles on respiratory health and systemic inflammation in children

It is known that ultrafine particles (UFP, particles smaller than 0.1 μm) can penetrate deep into the lungs and potentially have adverse health effects. However, epidemiological data on the health effects of UFP is limited. Therefore, our objective was to test the hypothesis that exposure to UFPs is associated with respiratory health status and systemic inflammation among children aged 8 to 11 years.We conducted a cross-sectional study among 655 children (43.3% male) attending 25 primary (elementary) schools in the Brisbane Metropolitan Area, Australia. Ultrafine particle number concentration (PNC) was measured at each school and modelled at homes using Land Use Regression to derive exposure estimates. Health outcomes were respiratory symptoms and diagnoses, measured by parent-completed questionnaire, spirometric lung function, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), and serum C reactive protein (CRP). Exposure-response models, adjusted for potential personal and environmental confounders measured at the individual, home and school level, were fitted using Bayesian methods. PNC was not independently associated with respiratory symptoms, asthma diagnosis or spirometric lung function. However, PNC was positively associated with an increase in CRP (1.188-fold change per 1000 UFP cm-3 day/day (95% credible interval 1.077 to 1.299)) and an increase in FeNO among atopic participants (1.054 fold change per 1000 UFP cm-3 day/day (95% CrI 1.005 to 1.106)).UFPs do not affect respiratory health outcomes in children but do have systemic effects, detected here in the form of a positive association with a biomarker for systemic inflammation. This is consistent with the known propensity of UFPs to penetrate deep into the lung and circulatory system

Epidermal growth factor receptor gene expression evaluation in colorectal cancer patients

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common causes of death in the world and third and fourth most common cancer among men and women in Iran respectively. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a tyrosine kinase receptor that shows over expression in epithelial tumors and regulates important processes in tumorigenesis. Incidence and characteristics of colorectal cancer are based on the geographic region and race. Aim: In this research work, the over expression of EGFR in formalin fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) colorectal cancer tumor tissue of patients was studied. Materials and Methods: Fifteen FFPE colorectal cancer tumor tissues (10 women and 5 men; 25-65 years old and stage IV) and 15 non-patients (nine women and six men; 25-65 years old) that were collected during 2006-2012. EGFR gene expression level was analyzed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All PCR reactions were performed in triplicate for both target gene and internal control (18s ribosomal ribonucleic acid) with the 2-��CT method. Gene expression differences in patients and controls were evaluated with t-test. Results: The results were showed EGFR gene over expression in 12 (80) of 15 patients. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of EGFR expression between patients and control (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated EGFR gene over expression in colorectal cancer tumor tissue compared with controls

A Satellite-based Model for Estimating PM2.5 Concentration - Report to Victoria EPA

An atmospheric aerosol modelling, mapping and spatial analysis of fine mode particulate for the Environment Protection Agency of the Victorian State Government