Interleukin-6 and insulin resistance response to exercise training and detraining in middle-aged and obese men: a randomized clinical trial

Background and aims: The aim of present study was to compare the effects of 12 weeks of nonlinear resistance training (NRT) and aerobic interval training (AIT), and also effects of 4 weeks of detraining after these training on interleukin-6 (IL-6) and insulin resistance in young obese men. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, at first 38 obese men were matched by aerobic fitness, age and percentage of body fat. Then, they were randomly assigned to NRT (n=14), AIT (n=12) and control (Con, n=12) groups. The training groups performed 3 weekly sessions for 12 weeks followed by a 4 weeks detraining period. NRT consisted of 40-65 minutes of weight training at different intensities with flexible periodization. AIT consisted of running on a treadmill (4 sets of 4 minutes at 80-90% of maximal heart rate, with 3-minute recovery intervals). Serum levels of IL-6 and insulin resistance were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the glucose oxidase method for serum glucose concentration. Results: Compared to Con, it was not observed in serum IL-6 levels any change significantly after the NRT (P=0.593) and AIT (P=0.623), but this cytokine worsened significantly after detraining with the NRT (P=0.011) and AIT (P=0.017). Both NRT (P=0.006) and AIT (P=0.046) groups was equally effective at reducing insulin resistance, but these values returned to the pre-training levels after detraining. Conclusion: The young obese men can use the two exercise programs to reduce insulin resistance. Also, IL-6 increased significantly in both training groups after detraining. Thus, it is recommended that the training programs should not be discontinued to prevent worsening of inflammatory conditions

Comparison of serum apelin levels and maximal oxygen consumption in active and inactive obese men

Backgrounds: Apelin is an adipokine that may play a significant role in regulating energy metabolism. Obesity and physical activity are factors that affect the concentration of apelin, but it is not known which one is more prominent. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of apelin-13 and the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) in men who are inactive normal-weight, active and inactive obese. Materials and Methods: Forty-five healthy men (age range, 34-46 years) were assigned to one of the following groups. 1) active-obese: body mass index (BMI)=28-33.9 kg/m2, 3-5 score in the physical activity rate questionnaire (PAR-Q) and n=16; 2) inactive-obese: BMI = 28-33.9 kg/m2, 1 in PAR-Q and n=18; 3) inactive normal-weight: BMI=18.5-24.9 kg/m2, 1 in PAR-Q and n=11. Blood samples were collected from the subjects in a fasting state; then, the serum level of apelin-13 was measured by the ELISA method. The VO2max was estimated by the non-exercise method and based on the PAR-Q. Results: One-way ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference in the serum levels of apelin-13 between the groups (P=0.73). It was found that VO2max was significantly lower in the inactive-obese group compared to the other groups (P≤0.001); however, no significant difference was noted between the active-obese and inactive normal-weight groups (P=0.14). Conclusion: Findings of this study show that the moderate physical activity and type 1 obesity could not be effective in apelin-13 concentration. In addition, it can be suggested that the obesity and physical activity indices have the same reciprocal effects in maximal oxygen consumption

Old Remedies for Epilepsy: Avicenna\u27s Medicine.

BACKGROUND: The history of epilepsy and its treatments dates back to at least 4 millennia. Avicenna, c. 980 AD in Bukhara, Khorasan-1037 in Hamedan was a Persian-speaking Iranian physician, who has many recommendations and suggested various therapies for epilepsy in his book, The Canon of Medicine. METHODS: We first reviewed the most important ancient treatments for epilepsy mentioned by Avicenna and considered those as the key words for our next step. Then, we made a literature search (medline and scopus) with those key words to find out new scientific findings in modern medicine about the Avicenna\u27s suggestions. RESULTS: Among the Avicenna\u27s recommended therapies for epilepsy, only Rue has been tested for anticonvulsant activities in modern medicine. Interestingly, it had a dose dependent anticonvulsant effect. CONCLUSION: It is worthwhile to consider the Avicenna\u27s recommended therapies for epilepsy and to design future scientific studies based on his suggestions

Gossip-based computation of a Gaussian mixture model for distributed multimedia indexing

International audienceThe present paper deals with pattern recognition in a distributed computing context of the peer-to-peer type, that should be more and more interesting for multimedia data indexing and retrieval. Our goal is estimating of classconditional probability densities, that take the form of Gaussian mixture models (GMM). Originally, we propagate GMMs in a decentralized fashion (gossip) in a network, and aggregate GMMs from various sources, through a technique that only involves little computation and that makes parcimonious usage of the network resource, as model parameters rather than data are transmitted. The aggregation is based on iterative optimization of an approximation of a KL divergence allowing closed-form computation between mixture models. Experimental results demonstrate the scheme to the case of speaker recognition

Using curcumin to prevent structural impairments of testicles in rats induced by sodium metabisulfite

Sodium metabisulfite (Na-MBS) is a disinfectant and preservative agent. Some organ including testicle would be in danger in the case of Na-MBS consumption. Curcumin (CUR) is the constituent of turmeric with protective properties. The effect of CUR on testicles in rats exposed to Na-MBS evaluated using stereological methods. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into eight groups. The rats in groups I to VIII received the following respec- tively: distilled water, CUR (100 mg/kg/day), low (0.7 mg/kg/day: acceptable daily intake), intermediate (7 mg/ kg/day), and high (70 mg/kg/day) doses of Na-MBS, and low, intermediate, and high doses of Na-MBS plus CUR. After 7 weeks, the testicles were analyzed. The volume of seminiferous tubule, tubular epithelium and tubule length reduced (25-40 %) on average in the rats that received intermediate and high doses of Na-MBS, while the connective tissue volume increased (15-20 %) in both groups (P<0.01). Besides, 19-36 % and 41-57 % of the cells (spermatogonia types A and B, spermatids, Sertoli and Leydig) were lost in the rats that received intermediate and high doses of Na-MBS respectively in comparison to the control groups. Nonetheless, all the above-mentioned alterations ameliorated drastically in the rats that received Na-MBS plus CUR compared to those exposed to Na- MBS without CUR therapy (P<0.01). The acceptable daily intake of Na-MBS for 7 weeks did not affect on testic- ular parameters. CUR (100 mg/kg/day) could prevent structural impairments of testicles in the rats induced by Na-MBS (7 and 70 mg/kg/day)

Impact of Consumer Awareness on Purchase Intentions: An Ethical View

An increasing number of people make their consumption decisions on the basis of ethical values, such as environmentally friendly products and production methods, labour standards (wage rates and working conditions), and human rights. Ethical consumerism is a growing phenomenon that underpins ethical trade activities. The purpose of this study is to examine consumers’ awareness of both environmental and Fair Trade issues and to examine their associated purchase behaviors.  In addition, the study compares the relationship between ethical awareness and ethical purchase behavior across these two ethical issues in a sample of Iranians consumers.  The sample was composed of undergraduate students at Islamic Azad University. One-hundred five respondents completed a self-administered survey which assessed their awareness and purchase behaviors.  A comparison between environmental and Fair Trade issues on both awareness and purchase behavior was conducted.  T-tests revealed a significant difference between awareness of Fair Trade and environmental issues (means = 2.63 and 3.01 respectively, t = -4.52, p &lt;.0001).  However, there were no significant differences between green purchase behavior and Fair Trade purchase behavior (means = 2.73 and 2.79 respectively, t = -.442, p = .44). Keywords: consumer Awareness, purchase intentions, environmental issues, Trade issue