The Effect of Non-thermal Processing of Hyssopus officinalis on its Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities

Hyssopus of­ficinalis L. is one of the most important medicinal plants. Medicinal herbs are contaminated by microorganisms. Conventional methods for reducing of microbial loads such as ethylene oxide, propylene oxide and also use of steam are hazardous and instead, non-thermal process such as microwave and gamma radiation are being used widely in order to eliminate the microbial contaminations with no or a little side effect. In the present study the effect of gamma and microwave irradiation on antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Hyssopus of­ficinalis L. was investigated. Hyssopus samples were exposed to gamma  irradiation at doses 10, 15, 20 and 25 kGy and microwave irradiationat power of 300, 450 and 600 W for 5 min. In order to undergo the sequence experiments, the hydroalcoholic (EtOH 50%) extracts of plant were prepared. The antioxidant activities of irradiated and control samples were evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging (RS), ferric reducing power (FRP), β-carotene bleaching (BCB) and total phenolic content (TPC) of sampels. In order to study the antimicrobial activity, for determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) on E. coli and S. aureus,broth diluting method was used. Results showed that gamma irradiation had no significant effect on antioxidant parameters, phenolic content and antimicrobial activities of sampels. Microwave treatment of Hyssopus at 300, 450 and 600 W for 5 min increased its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Results indicated that gamma and microwave irradiation do not have any negative effect on antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Hyssopus

Self-efficacy and Resilience as Mediators in the Relationship between Test Anxiety and Spiritual Intelligence among High School Students in Qom

For downloading the full-text of this article please click here.Background and Objective: Spiritual intelligence is effective in reducing test anxiety which hinders academic performance. Discovering mediating variables in the relationship between spiritual intelligence and test anxiety paves the way for developing suitable training packages in order to reduce test anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of self-efficacy and resilience in the relationship between spiritual intelligence and test anxiety.Method: This descriptive study was of correlational type and its research population was all high school students in Qom in 1395 and 1396. Random cluster sampling was used. To do so, three female and three male schools were randomly selected and 380 questionnaires were distributed in some classes and then collected. 269 questionnaires (127 boys and 142 girls) were acceptable. The participants completed test anxiety questionnaire (Sarason, 1997), SQ (Abdollahzadeh, 2009) and Efficacy (Sherer, 1982) and Resiliency (Connor & Davidson, 2003). As for data analysis, Pearson correlation and path analysis based on Baron and Kenny model were used. In this study, the ethical issues were all considered and the authors declared no conflict of interest.Results: Pearson correlation analysis showed that test anxiety and spiritual intelligence (0/267), efficacy (-0/475) and resilience (-0/330) have a significant relationship (P<0/01). Moreover, the results of path analysis indicated that efficacy (0/17) and resilience (0/09) completely mediate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and test anxiety.Conclusion: Based on the findings, spiritual intelligence reduces test anxiety through self-efficacy and resilience. Thus, it is proposed that spiritual intelligence training packages with an emphasis on raising students' self-efficacy and resilience be developed to reduce test anxiety.For downloading the full-text of this article please click here

A model for brand equity determination using structural equations modeling

A variety of methods for different purposes have been used to express the concept of brand equity. It is a noticeable value of brand, which makes the customer pay higher for the product with a brand comparing with identical product without that brand. Financially speaking, brand equity is an asset for the organization as it generates cash flow and profit in the future. The factors in brand equity must, therefore, be identified within financial and non-financial framework. By indicating the variables and the indices and consulting with the academic experts in marketing, brand, and accounting the results of structural equations modeling (SEM) revealed that significance level between brand equity and financial variables was 4.82 (>1.96). That is, the relationship between brand equity and financial variable were significant at %99. Regarding the relationship between brand equity and marketing variables, the significant level was 4.25 (>1.96) and thus the relationship was significant at %99. The results can be used as practical guideline for the stakeholders and owners of brands and also helpful for successful management of brand value

Indications for Corneal Transplantation at a Tertiary Referral Center in Tehran

Purpose: To report the indications and techniques of corneal transplantation at a tertiary referral center in Tehran over a 3-year period. Methods: Records of patients who had undergone any kind of corneal transplantation at Labbafinejad Medical Center, Tehran, Iran from March 2004 to March 2007 were reviewed to determine the indications and types of corneal transplantation. Results: During this period, 776 eyes of 756 patients (including 504 male subjects) with mean age of 41.3±21.3 years underwent corneal transplantation. The most common indication was keratoconus (n=317, 40.8%) followed by bullous keratopathy (n=90, 11.6%), non-herpetic corneal scars (n=62, 8.0%), infectious corneal ulcers (n=61, 7.9%), previously failed grafts (n=61, 7.9%), endothelial and stromal corneal dystrophies (n=28, 3.6%), and trachoma keratopathy (n=26, 3.3%). Other indications including Terrien′s marginal degeneration, post-LASIK keratectasia, trauma, chemical burns, and peripheral ulcerative keratitis constituted the rest of cases. Techniques of corneal transplantation included penetrating keratoplasty (n=607, 78.2%), deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (n=108, 13.9%), conventional lamellar keratoplasty (n=44, 5.7%), automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty (n=8, 1.0%), and Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (n=6, 0.8%) in descending order. The remaining cases were endothelial keratoplasty and sclerokeratoplasty. Conclusion: In this study, keratoconus was the most common indication for penetrating keratoplasty which was the most prevalent technique of corneal transplantation. However, deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty is emerging as a growing alternative for corneal pathologies not involving the endothelium