Multiple dietary supplement and protection against radiation-induced damage

Radiotherapy is a critical part of cancer treatment. With the recent medical advancements and increased survival rate of cancer patients, there is also an increased risk of radiationrelated tissue damage and toxicity which could lead to severe organ damage or even organ failure. Medications that could be used as prophylaxis or treatment provide a better quality of life for cancer patients. In the present study, we evaluated the radio-protective potential of multiple dietary supplement (MDS) in an animal model by looking at the gene expression levels of the renin-angiotensin system. In mice receiving 5 Gy radiation, MDS administration as prophylaxis or treatment was able to decrease the expression levels of angiotensinogen which suggested the lower activity of RAS in irradiated kidney tissue. This finding indicates MDS potential for tissue radioprotection. Study of expression levels of kidney antioxidant enzymes also suggested benefits of MDS in protecting kidney tissue from radiation-induced reactive oxygen species evidenced by the lack of upregulation in expression levels of genes such as GPX1, NOS3 and SOD2 in mice receiving MDS as prophylaxis. Also, systemic effects of MDS to protect the body from radiation-induced physiological stress was studied by evaluating genes involved in catecholamine biosynthesis pathway in adrenal. Data from expression levels of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) suggests MDS protected the animal from radiation-induced physiological stress. MDS was useful both for prophylaxis and treatment. Further examination was also conducted to determine MDS effects on radiation-induced antioxidant and DNA damage and repair response and also changes in expression levels of DNA methyltransferases. Collectively our results suggested MDS has the potential to protect the mice tissue from radiation induced tissue damage, oxidative stress and physiological stress.Master of Science (MSc) in Biolog

Preemptive Ibuprofen and Orally Administered Dexamethasone for Prevention of Pain and Swelling following Implant Surgery

Introduction: The post-operative pain and swelling are frequently observed after different surgical procedures. Orofacial pain management is a challenging topic for the dental-medical profession. The main objective of this study was to compare the effects of two designed medical regimens in the context of post-operative management of pain and swelling following simple dental implant surgery. Materials and Methods: In this randomized and double-blinded controlled clinical trial, a total of 39 implants were placed in 31 patients by one clinician. Patients were divided into the test and control groups. Before surgery, each patient in the control group received 1gr of amoxicillin and 400 mgr of ibuprofen, and each one in test group received 1gr of amoxicillin, 400 mgr of ibuprofen and 0.5 mgr of dexamethasone. Antibiotic regimen, together with analgesics and anti-inflammatory treatment was provided after surgery for both groups. Pain was measured using visual analogue scale in days 1, 3 and 6 after surgery. Swelling was evaluated by a verbal scale in day 6. Also, the impact of following factors gender, age, duration of surgery, type and number of implant on pain and swelling was measured by the general linear model analysis. Results: The majority of patients in both study groups reported the pain to be mild, with peak intensity occurring at 24 hours after operation. No significant difference was observed across the groups for any given time. Also, there was no significant difference between two groups regarding their swelling profile. Conclusion: The experiments provide evidence that both of these methods are effective in pain and swelling reduction

Occurrence of Bacillus cereus in beef burger marketed in Tehran, capital of Iran

Introduction: Beef burgers made in Iran contain various compounds such as meat, cereals flour, as well as some spices which can be contaminated with Bacillus cereus, causing gastroenteritis in the consumer. This study is focused on occurrence of B.cereus in beef burgers marketed in Tehran, capital of Iran. Methods and Results: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 80 samples of different types of beef burgers marketed in Tehran, Iran were randomly collected based on their percentage of meat content, including 30% (n=25), 60% (n=40) as well as 90% (n=15). The samples were analyzed microbiologically by routine culture assay and biochemical tests to find B.cereus. Data were analyzed statistically by Microsoft Office Excel 2010.  Twenty-five out of 80 (31.25%) beef burger samples were contaminated by B. cereus. Based on the percentage of meat content in the samples, the beef burger with 90% meat were significantly (p<0.05) more contaminated than the others. Also, the contamination rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in summer compared to winter. Conclusion: This survey showed that the beef burgers supplied in Iran markets is main source of B.cereus that can cause disease in Iranian consumers. More attempts must be focused on cold-chain maintenance in production, distribution, and storage of the meat products

Evaluation of CXCR4, VLA4, and VLA5 expression in peripheral mobilized hematopoietic stem cells in presence of Sotalol

     Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), are considered as an important source for HSCT transplantation. There are several regulators for stem cells migration and homing, among which the nervous system is an important one. This study is going to investigate the   role of nervous system in homing of hematopoietic stem cells.In an experimental study, mononuclear cells were isolated from peripheral blood and treated by a beta adrenergic receptors blocker (Sotalol). After treating the cells with different concentrations 0.5- 500 (mM/ml) for 1- 24 hours, RNA was extracted and the expression of VLA4, VLA5 and CXCR4 genes were determinated through RT-PCR method.The results of this study demonstrated high expression in genes associated with homing of the cells after being treated with drug for 1 hour: CXCR4 gene expression increases in 10 and 50 mM/ml, VLA4 gene expression in 50mM/ml and VLA5 gene expression in 10 mM/ml concentration of Sotalol.Using beta adrenergic receptors blockers in appropriate time and dose of drug can affect the expression of genes which involved in HSCs homing and will lead to high success rate of transplantation of these cells

The effect of oral royal jelly on clinical disease activity index (CDAI) and morning stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease which can cause articular destruction and disability in patients. Current therapies are relatively effective and sometimes harmful. Royal Jelly with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties may be used as an adjunct therapy. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Royal Jelly on Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and morning stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: According to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1987 classification criteria, 80 patients with RA, who had active disease (CDAI > 2.8), were randomly assigned to receive Royal Jelly or placebo beside background treatment for 3 months. Morning stiffness, tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), evaluator global assessment (EGA) and patient's global assessment (PGA) based on visual analogue scale (VAS) were determined before and after 3 months of intervention. The changes in aforementioned indexes were analyzed by SPSS software. Findings: 65 patients completed the study (35 in Royal Jelly and 30 in placebo group). The sex, age, residence, disease duration and drug consumption had no significant changes (P > 0.050). In the first group, CDAI (P = 0.012), SJC (P = 0.024), TJC (P = 0.027), and morning stiffness (P = 0.004) had significant statistical changes; but only changes in morning stiffness were statistically different between the two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Royal Jelly has good effect on morning stiffness but not on CDAI and may be a suitable adjunct therapy. Further studies may demonstrate more significant results

Comparison of Cleaning Efficacy and Instrumentation Time in Primary Molars: Mtwo Rotary Instruments vs. Hand K-Files

Introduction: Pulpectomy is the preferred treatment for restorable primary teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis or periradicular lesion. Considering the rather new application of rotary files for pulpectomy of primary teeth, the aim of this study was to compare the cleaning efficacy and instrumentation time of hand K-files and Mtwo rotary system for preparation of human primary molars. Methods and Materials: This experimental study was conducted on 100 extracted primary maxillary and mandibular intact molars with no resorption. Access cavities were prepared and India ink was injected into the root canal on a vibrator using an insulin syringe. Canals were then divided into 5 groups (n=20): in group I, canals were instrumented using K-files up to #25 for mesial and buccal canals and #30 for palatal and distal canals. In group II, canals were prepared using Mtwo rotary files (15/0.05, 20/0.06 and 25/0.06 for mesial and buccal canals and 15/0.05, 20/0.06, 25/0.06 and finally 30/0.05 for distal and palatal canals). In group III, root canals were only irrigated with saline. Groups IV and V were the positive and negative control groups, respectively. The time required for cleaning and preparation of the canals for each of the specimens in groups I, II and III was recorded. Results: The mean score of cleanliness of Mtwo was not significantly different from K-file group (P&gt;0.05). However the mean instrumentation time in Mtwo group was significantly shorter (P&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Although there were no differences regarding the cleaning efficacy of either system, Mtwo rotary files were far more time efficient.Keywords: Deciduous Tooth; Hand K-files; Mtwo; Primary Molars; Pulpectomy; Root Canal Preparation; Root Canal Therap

The Effect of Mir-451 Upregulation on Erythroid Lineage Differentiation of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding regulatory RNAs that control mRNAs post-transcriptionally. Several mouse stem cells miRNAs are cloned differentially regulated in different hematopoietic lineages, suggesting their possible role in hematopoietic lineage differentiation. Recent studies have shown that specific miRNAs such as Mir-451 have key roles in erythropoiesis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were infected with lentiviruses containing pCDH-Mir-451. Erythroid differentiation was assessed based on the expression level of transcriptional factors (Gata-1, Klf-1, Epor) and hemoglobin chains (α, β, γ , ε and ζ) genes using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and presence of erythroid surface antigens (TER-119 and CD235a) using flow cytometery. Colony-forming unit (CFU) assay was also on days 14th and 21th after transduction. Results: Mature Mir-451 expression level increased by 3.434-fold relative to the untreated mESCs on day 4 after transduction (P<0.001). Mir-451 up-regulation correlated with the induction of transcriptional factor (Gata-1, Klf-1, Epor) and hemoglobin chain (α, β, γ, ε and ζ) genes in mESCs (P<0.001) and also showed a strong correlation with presence of CD235a and Ter- 119 markers in these cells (13.084- and 13.327-fold increse, respectively) (P<0.05). Moreover, mESCs treated with pCDH-Mir-451 showed a significant raise in CFU-erythroid (CFU-E) colonies (5.2-fold) compared with untreated control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our results showed that Mir-451 up-regulation strongly induces erythroid differentiation and maturation of mESCs. Overexpression of Mir-451 may have the potential to produce artificial red blood cells (RBCs) without the presence of any stimulatory cytokine

Toll-like receptor 4 activation in skeletal muscle of diet-induced obese rats

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is found in the membrane of skeletal muscle cells. A variety of factors can activate TLR4. It has been shown that TLR4 expression reduce after aerobic training, but more studies considering the influences of different types of training on TLR4 expression are necessary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of 8 weeks of aerobic training on muscle TLR4 Expression in rats. Twenty Male Wistar rats (200±20 g) divided into four groups: control, training, high fat diet (HFD) and HFD+exerise. High fat diet was made by adding 10% animal oil, 2% cholesterol and 0.5% colic acid to standard rodent chow. Training group performed a swimming training protocol (1 h/day, and 5 days/week for 8 weeks). Forty eight hours after the final session of training, the rats were sacrificed and their gastrocnemius muscle was removed for determination of TLR4 expression. Training significantly decreased TLR4 messenger RNA and protein expression (p<0.05). Levels of TLR4 expression in the HFD group was significantly (p<0.05) higher tahn control ones. Our result displayed that training in rats induceed a critical suppression in the TLR4 signaling in muscle. These data give noticeable progress in our knowledge of the events that link physical training to an improvement in inflammation

Effects of family-centered empowerment model on perceived satisfaction and self concept of multiple sclerosis patients care givers

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic central nervous system disease that affected all the aspects of life of patient, family and community. The importance of empowering programs has been increased with changed care approach from hospital to community. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of family- center empowerment model on the perceived satisfaction and self concept of the caregivers of multiple sclerosis patients. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, 70 multiple sclerosis patients’ caregivers were grouped using random allocation to experimental and control groups. Based on training needs in the experimental group, 8 sessions for empowerment model were implemented in three months. Three months after the program implementation and collecting of self report checklists, the perceived satisfaction and self-esteem were evaluated in both experimental and control groups again. Results: Independent t tests showed significant differences in two groups after the intervention (P=0.001). In the experimental group, paired T- test also showed significant increase in the perceived satisfaction and self-esteem of family caregivers of patients (P=0.001). However in the control group, there were no significant differences in the perceived satisfaction and self-esteem of family caregivers of patients after three months. Conclusion: Family caregivers of chronic patients as hidden patients, have many problems. The interventions such as empowerment model implementation based on educational and therapeutic needs because of their low cost, safety and effectiveness for caregivers can enhance their perceived satisfaction and self-estee