Relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention in medical library and information science students: an Iranian perspective

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention of students in the field of medical library and information science. Methods: This study quantitatively examined seven hypotheses through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. Using the census method, 79 students of medical library and information science of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were studied. Data was collected using the Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy Questionnaire proposed by De Noble et al. (1999) and the Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire presented by the Linan and Chen (2011). Descriptive and inferential data analysis was performed using SPSS and SmartPLS2 software at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The results showed that the variable of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the components of initiating investor relationships and developing human resources affect the entrepreneurial intention of students, while the components of Understanding market opportunities, building an innovative environment, defining core purpose, and coping with challenges had no effect on entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial intention of medical library and information science students is positively affected by their entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Greater self- efficacy leads to entrepreneurship. Practical implications: Considering the positive effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on students\u27 entrepreneurial intention, offering training courses to strengthen entrepreneurial behavior in the academic period seems useful. Originality/value: Entrepreneurship helps communities achieve social and economic growth. Entrepreneurial intention is one of the important factors in the occurrence of entrepreneurial behavior in students. Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy is a key factor in shaping and strengthening entrepreneurial intention. Given the increasing number of library and medical information science graduates and the relatively limited job market in this field, it seems useful to examine their entrepreneurial intention and the impact of social factors affecting it. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy, Entrepreneurial Intention, Medical Library and Information scienc

Antioxidant, cytotoxic, and wound healing effects of Allium saralicum R.M. Fritsch aqueous extract ointment in male rats: a gross, histological, and biochemical experiment

In recent years, cutaneous wound healing by medicinal plants has been on the raise. In recent research, we appraised antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and cutaneous wound healing activities of Allium saralicum R.M. Fritsch aqueous extract ointment in rats. In this study, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was carried out to test the antioxidant property, which revealed high antioxidant potential similar to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) as a positive control. Synthesizing the aqueous extract dose-dependently demonstrated great cell viability and that this method was non-toxic for synthesizing A. saralicum. In vivo experiment, after creating the cutaneous wound, the animals were randomly divided into four groups: untreated control, treatment with Eucerin basal ointment, treatment with 3 tetracycline ointment, treatment with 10 A. saralicum ointment. These groups were treated for 30 days. For biochemical and histopathological analysis of the healing trend, a 3 × 3-cm section was prepared from all dermal thicknesses on days 10, 20, and 30. The use of A. saralicum ointment in the treatment groups led to substantial diminish (p < 0.05) in the levels of wound area, total cells, neutrophil, macrophage, and lymphocyte, and remarkable raise (p < 0.05) in the levels of wound contracture, hydroxyl proline, hexosamine, hexuronic acid, fibrocyte, and the rate of fibrocyte to fibroblast as compared with the control and basal ointment groups. Adapting to the findings, A. saralicum ointment can cure the cutaneous wound without any cytotoxicity. © 2019, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Investigating the relationship between gastric polyp and dyspepsia in Iranian patients

Abstract Background and aim: Chronic dyspepsia is one of the common medical problems in patients referred to internal and gastrointestinal clinics. According to the results of some studies, most patients with dyspepsia are simultaneously suffering from gastric polyps. We aimed to clarify the association of gastric polyp and dyspepsia in an Iranian population. Materials and methods: We enrolled 2772 dyspeptic and 1294 non-dyspeptic subjects in this cross-sectional study, who referred to the gastrointestinal clinic at Ayatollah Taleghani Hospital in Tehran from2016 to 2018.All subjects underwent upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy andpatients with GI malignancy, severe GI bleeding and history of GI surgery excluded from study. They were evaluated for age, sex, endoscopicfindings, gastric polyp (GP) count, size and localization, diagnosticmethods used for histology, and polyp features. The relationshipbetween gastric polyp and dyspepsia was alsoevaluated. Results: In 4066 consecutive upper GI endoscopy in patients with and without dyspepsia, 129 patients (3.2%) had gastric polyps (GPs).The prevalence of GPs was 3.04% and 3.32% in with and without dyspepsia subjects, respectively. There was no observed statistically significant relationship between GPs and dyspepsia (P=0.709). Hyperplastic polyps(HPs)were the most common pathologic form in patients with and without dyspepsia in 53.5% and 34.9% of patients, respectively. The most common location was the gastric antrum polyps (76.7%) and the common size of the polyps was between 5-10 mm in (80.6%) patients. Conclusion: In the present study, there was no statistically significant difference within the pathologic findings of gastric polyp in terms of dyspepsia.Hyperplastic polyps(HPs) are the most common type of pathologic stomach polyps and it is maybe high due to the highfrequency of Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection in our country

The effect of Descurainia sophia oil on methamphetamine-induced cell cytotoxicity and cell death in PC12

Methamphetamine causes cytotoxicity and apoptosis in different cell lines. It seems that Descurainia sophia oil, as an East Asian folk herbal drug, can suppress the methamphetamine-induced cell death. In this study, protective effects of Descurainia sophia oil were followed up in methamphetamine-induced cell cytotoxicity in a neuron-like PC12 cell line. The viability, proliferation, and cytotoxicity of the cells were assessed by Trypan blue, MTT test, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, respectively. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) test was performed to detect DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. Nitric oxide (NO) level was detected by Griese method. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, interferon gamma (INF-γ), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured by Rat Kit V-Plex, and finally, caspase-3 activity was determined by spectrophotometry. Results showed that Descurainia sophia oil has cell death–suppressing effects on PC12 cells. It enhanced the cell viability and proliferation and also increased the cell cytotoxicity and cell death index in methamphetamine-treated PC12 cells. Also, it suppressed NO production, inflammatory cytokine production by flow cytometry, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, and caspase-3 activity in a dose-dependent manner. We concluded that Descurainia sophia oil suppresses the methamphetamine-induced cell death in PC12 cell due to reduction of NO production, inflammation, and inhibition of apoptosis cascade. © 2019, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

The effect of clofibrate on decreasing serum Bilirubin in healthy term neonates under home phototherapy

Objective: this study was designed to determine the effect of clofibrate on neonatal uncomplicated jaundice treated with home phototherapy. Methods: This clinical trial study was performed on 60 newborns with jaundice that received home phototherapy. Inclusion criteria were body weight between 2500 to 4000 gr, breastfed, total serum bilirubin (TSB) between 14 to 20 mg/dl, aged over 72 hours. The neonates were randomly divided into two groups. All received home phototherapy. Group I received a single dose of 50 mg/kg clofibrate and the other group served as control group. Total serum bilirubin level was measured every 24 hours. Findings: Two groups were matched regarding weight, sex, age and first TSB. At 24 and 48 hours of treatment, the mean values of TSB in the clofibrate group were 13.72 (1.56), 9.5 (0.56) and in the control group 15.30 (1.44), 12.6 (1.44). The results show that TSB was significantly decreased after 24 and 48 hours in clofibrate group (P<0.001). The mean duration of phototherapy in group I was 72(0.0) hours and in the control group 76.80 (±9.76) hours. The duration of phototherapy was significantly shorter in clofibrate group (P<0.001). Conclusion: clofibrate is effective for outpatients with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia who are under home phototherapy. Of course, further studies are needed for approved routine use of this drug in the treatment of neonatal jaundice

Effects of Radiotherapy in Combination With Irinotecan and 17-AAG on Bcl-2 and Caspase 3 Gene Expression in Colorectal Cancer Cells: Radiotherapy with irinotecan and 17-AAG

Introduction: In this study, the cytotoxic and anti-cancer effects of Irinotecan as a conventional chemotherapeutic agent compared to 17-(allyl amino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) as possible radiosensitizers in the HCT-116 cell line were investigated.Methods: HCT-116 cells were treated with various concentrations of irinotecan and 17-AAG and also irradiated with a 2-Gy of X-ray radiation. Then, the cell viability was examined by a watersoluble tetrazolium-1 assay after 24 hours. For single therapies and double and triple combination cases, IC50, 0.5×IC50 and 0.25×IC50 concentrations of each drug were selected respectively for a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay and other tests. In treated and untreated cells, the caspase 3 and Bcl-2 gene expression ratios were evaluated by the real-time PCR method. Likewise, caspase 3 activity was detected with a colorimetric assay.Results: In all combined treatments, including 17-AAG- radiation, irinotecan - radiation, irinotecan -17-AAG, and irinotecan-17-AAG-radiation, decreased cell viability, and increased TUNEL positive cells were presented versus the control group (P&lt;0.05). There were increased TUNEL positive cells in the triple combination, in concentrations of 0.25×IC50 of each drug, in comparison with single and double agent treatments. Moreover, in the triple combination, the caspase 3 mRNA level and caspase 3 activity increased versus related single treatments. Likewise, in the irinotecan17-AAG-radiation combined treatment and the 17-AAG-radiation double treatment, the Bcl-2 gene expression level decreased in comparison with single therapies.Conclusion: It can be indicated that the combination of chemo-radiotherapy versus single treatments has significant anti-cancer effects. DOI:10.34172/jlms.2022.09

The aqueous extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra effectively prevents induced gastroduodenal ulcers: experimental study on Wistar rats

The recent studies have indicated the properties of ethnomedicinal plants in the prevention, control, and treatment of gastroduodenal ulcers. Glycyrrhiza glabra has been used in Iranian traditional medicine as a therapeutic supplement. The aim of our research was to survey the preventive property of aqueous extract of G. glabra leaf on ibuprofen-induced gastroduodenal ulcers by investigating the biochemical, hematological, immunological, and microscopic approaches in rats. In this study, 60 rats were used. The animals were randomly divided into six subgroups, including negative healthy control, untreated negative control, the positive control receiving omeprazole 60 mg/kg, and three groups receiving the G. glabra aqueous extract at 20 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg, and 180 mg/kg concentrations. After 14 days, gastroduodenal ulcers were caused by ibuprofen 400 mg/kg. Four hours after oral administration of ibuprofen, the rats were sacrificed and blood, stomach, and duodenum samples of them collected for analysis of biochemical, hematological, immunological, and microscopic parameters. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software. All doses of G. glabra could significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduce the raised levels of ALP, AST, ALT, GGT, cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride, total and conjugated bilirubin, urea, creatinine, IL-1, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, IFN-γ, and TNF-α and increase HDL, total protein, albumin, WBC, platelet, RBC, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IFN-α as compared to the untreated group. Also, aqueous extract of G. glabra prevented significantly (p ≤ 0.05) gastroduodenal ulcers as compared to the untreated group. In conclusion, the obtained results indicated the hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, hematoprotective, immunoprotective, and gastroduodenal protective properties of G. glabra aqueous extract. © 2018, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Chemical characterization and antioxidant, cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties of ethanolic extract of Allium Saralicum RM Fritsch leaves rich in linolenic acid, methyl ester

The purpose of the recent research was to assess the chemical characterization and antioxidant, cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal effects of Allium Saralicum R.M. Fritsch leaves. After identification of the plant, its ethanolic extract was obtained using Soxhlet extractor without leaving any chemicals in it. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was performed to detect the percentage, retention index, and time of A. Saralicum compounds. Agar diffusion tests were applied to determine the antibacterial and antifungal characteristics. In agar disk diffusion test, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was used as negative control, while antibacterial (Difloxacin, Chloramphenicol, Streptomycin, Gentamicin, Oxytetracycline, Ampicillin, and Amikacin) and antifungal (Fluconazole, Itraconazole, Miconazole, Amphotericin B, and Nystatin) antibiotics were used as positive controls. Macro broth tube test was run to determine Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). The findings indicated that linolenic acid, methyl ester was the most frequent constituent found in A. Saralicum. Indeed, A. Saralicum showed higher antibacterial and antifungal properties than all standard antibiotics (p <= 01). Also, A. Saralicum prevented the growth of all bacteria and fungi at 15-125 mg/mL concentrations and destroyed them at 15-250 mg/mL concentrations (p <= 01). DPPH free radical scavenging test was carried out to examine the antioxidant effect, which indicated similar antioxidant activity with butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) as a positive control. The synthesized ethanolic extract had great cell viability dose-dependently and demonstrated this method was nontoxic for synthesizing A. Saralicum. In conclusion, the findings showed the useful antioxidant, non-cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal effects of A. Saralicum ethanolic extract