Annals of Military and Health Sciences Research
Year:2019 | Volume:17 | Issue:3|Papers Count:6

Background: One of the most significant symptoms in many acute and chronic diseases is pain. While many researches reveal side effects of many synthetic analgesic drugs, which are commonly used, new surveys are searching for new alternative analgesic drugs (especially by use of medicinal plants) with few side effects. Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the analogous function of Ficus carica L. (one of the important medicinal plants in Persian medicine) as an anti-nociceptive in allopathic medicine. Methods: Subcutaneous injection of formalin in rat paw was performed to establish the pain. Formalin test was applied to assess the severity of pain every 15 seconds for one hour. In two parts of this study, two different types of Ficus extract were used in intraperitoneal injections; the aqueous boiled Ficus extract (500, 1000, 2000 mg/kg) in comparison with distilled water (DW) and the petroleum ether extract (500, 1000 mg/kg) in comparison with DMSO. Results: The aqueous boiled Ficus extract showed no significant difference between control (DW) group and groups that had received extracts (P > 0. 05). While a significant difference between the petroleum ether extract (1000 mg/kg) and the DMSO group in the last five minutes of the study (P < 0. 05) was recorded. Anti-inflammatory examination of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Ficus fruit showed no anti-inflammatory effect; however, the petroleum ether extract displayed a dose-dependent (1000 mg/kg) anti-inflammatory effect even in comparison with sodium salicylate. Conclusions: According to the achieved results, it was concluded that there are no anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Ficus carica fruit aqueous extract on the formalin test in the male rat paw in doses mentioned above. However, there is a delayed anti-nociceptive effect dose-dependently and a dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effect of petroleum ether extract.

Background: Highly selective and sensitive analysis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has attracted considerable interest in the fields of clinical diagnostics, food industry, and environmental analysis. Objectives: In the present study, an efficient electrochemical sensor, based on V2O5/VO2 nanostructures, was introduced for measuring hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in human serum samples. Methods: The characterization of the prepared V2O5/VO2 nanostructures was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). A carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with V2O5/VO2 was applied for the electrochemical detection of H2O2. Results: The prepared sensor depicted agoodlinear rangefrom8 to 215 Mandalowdetection limit of 5 M. Moreover, themodified electrode showed notable anti-interference property and high sensitivity toward H2O2 detection. The suggested method was also successfully applied for the determination of H2O2 in human serum samples. Conclusions: The V2O5/VO2 embedded CPE offers good simplicity, sensitivity, and selectivity toward H2O2 determination. In addition, the suggested assay revealed good reproducibility and anti-interference property in the measuring of H2O2.

Background: FIFA 11+ training is a warm-up program for the prevention of athletic injuries, including slow running, active stretching, and player-controlled collisions designed to focus on central muscle stability, neuromuscular control, eccentric hamstring strength, and agility, and can improve sports performance. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of FIFA 11+ training on the agility and explosive power of male volleyball players. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 24 male volleyball players from the Islamic Azad University of Marvdasht were selected as the statistical sample and divided into two groups of 11+ training and control. The 11+ training group performed FIFA 11+ training for eight weeks, three sessions per week and 20 minutes each session. The control group only had their usual activities in this period. Agility and explosive power were measured before the start of training and 24 hours after the last session of training through Illinois test, horizontal jump test, and vertical Sargent test. The Shapiro-Wilk test and independent/dependent samples t-tests were used to analyze the data (P 0. 05). Results: Eight weeks of 11+ training had a significant effect on agility (P = 0. 008), horizontal jump (P = 0. 001), and vertical jump (P = 0. 001). Conclusions: It seems that 11+ training can be used to improve the agility and explosive power of male college volleyball players.

Background: There is growing awareness that healthy sleep is an integral part of the quality of life. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of an exercise training protocol and partial sleep restriction (SR) in male Wistar rats. We also assessed the changes in thyroxine (T4) and norepinephrine (NE) hormones. Methods: Rats were randomly housed in four groups including without exercise without SR (Non-Ex-Non-SR), without exercise with SR (Non-Ex-SR), with exercise without SR (Ex-Non-SR), and with exercise with SR (Ex-SR). The rats in the exercise groups ran on a treadmill for four weeks. Also, the columns-in-water model was applied to induce SR for 16 hours per day for a week. Then, the depressive-like behavior was assessed with the forced swimming test (FST) and blood samples were collected to measure the serum levels of T4 and NE hormones. Results: Body weight gain was significantly (P < 0. 05) lower in exercise groups. During the SR period, weight losses of 24. 83 and 15. 50 g occurred in the Non-Ex-SR and Ex-SR groups, respectively. The lowest climbing and swimming durations were observed in the Non-Ex-SR group. For sleep-restricted rats, the plasma concentration of T4 was significantly (P < 0. 05) lower and the NE level was higher although statistically insignificant. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings indicated that exercise can reduce the negative effects of sleep restriction. For knowing the negative effects of sleep restriction, we need more basic studies in this area.

Background: X-ray irradiation has an important role in the diagnosis of different types of diseases in dentistry. However, it has proven harmful biological effects. Therefore, the professional responsibility of dentists necessitates them to have sufficient awareness and proficiency in the correct prescription of radiographs. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dentists’ awareness of the correct prescription of radiographic exams in Khorramabad city, Iran. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 55 dentists. A 20-item questionnaire was distributed to the dentists. The level of awareness was evaluated according to gender, educational status, and work experience. Finally, the awareness of different groups was compared by independent t test. Results: There was no considerable difference between the awareness level of males and females (P value = 0. 502). The comparison of the knowledge level based on educational status showed that specialist dentists had better awareness than general dentists. As an interesting finding, dentists with work experience of fewer than five years indicated better awareness than more experienced ones. The lowest score was observed in dentists with more than 25 years of experience. Conclusions: It is necessary to increase the knowledge and awareness of all dentist groups in Khorramabad city, especially more experienced ones, by continuing education programs due to their little attention to the correct prescription of radiography.

Background: According to statistical data, prostate cancer is the most prevalent tumor inmenworldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States. This cancer changes many factors in the blood of patients. Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) levels in the serum of patients with prostate cancer. Methods: After collecting blood samples from 20 healthy individuals and 20 patients with prostate cancer, serum was separated from each sample. Then, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was applied to measure the serum LPA. The obtained data were statistical analyzed by SPSS V. 24 software. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean BMI of the prostate cancer group was significantly lower than the control group (respectively 22. 56 0. 53 and 24. 49 0. 62) (P = 0. 023); in addition, the LPA level (nmol/mL) in the serum of the patients was significantly higher than healthy subjects (respectively 2. 714 0. 054 and 2. 467 0. 097) (P = 0. 037). Conclusions: The results showed that the serum LPA levels increased in prostate cancer, suggesting that lysophosphatidic acid may be considered as a biomarker in this cancer and will take part in the adjustment of the prostate cancer cells functions as a paracrine/autocrine mediator. This will be involved in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of prostate cancer.