IRANIAN SOUTH MEDICAL JOURNAL (ISMJ)
Year:2016 | Volume:19 | Issue:1|Papers Count:18

Background: Nanotechnology is a field of applied science and technology covering a broad range of topics. Use of nanotechnology and especially silver nanoparticles in control of bacterial diseases and infections has been studied in the recent years. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro antibacterial effect of filter media coated with silver nanoparticles against Bacillus spp.Materials and methods: In this research, first, the antibacterial effects of silver nanoparticles against mentioned bacteria were evaluated by micro dilution method in Broth medium. After confidence of inhibitory effect of colloidal silver nanoparticles, antibacterial effect of filter media coated with silver nanoparticles was evaluated via in vitro microbiology tests (zone of inhibition test and test tube test).Results: Present study showed that colloidal silver nanoparticles have good antimicrobial effects against tested bacteria, so that MIC and MBC of silver nanoparticles for Bacillus spp. were calculated 3.9 and 31.25 mg/L, respectively. Also significant decrease was observed in bacterial growth after exposure to filter media coated with silver nanoparticles in test tube test and zone of inhibition test (P£5%).Conclusion: The results of this research indicate that filter media coated with silver nanoparticles have considerable antimicrobial effects, therefore they could possibly be used as excellent antibacterial water filters and would have several applications in other sectors.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the commonest bacterial infectious disease in worldwide (especially in developing countries) with a high rate of morbidity and financial cost. The management of UTI infections has been jeopardized by increase in immergence of antimicrobial drug resistance. Knowledge of the local bacterial etiology and susceptibility patterns is required to trace any change that might have occurred in time so that updated recommendation for optimal empirical therapy of UTI can be made. The aim of this investigation was distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of gram negative bacteria causing urinary tract infection (UTI) and detection NDM-1 (new-delhi-metallo-beta-lactamase-1) producing isolates in Ahwaz.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done during a period of one year from April 2013 to March 2014. Clean catch midstream urine samples were collected from suspected patients to UTI. The isolates were identified based on morphological and biochemical testes. Culture was performed on routine microbiological media. Susceptibility testing was performed according CLSI (2013) guidelines. Detection of carbapenemase producing isolates was performed by modified hodge test (MHT). Metallo-beta-lactamase isolates were detected by imipenem-EDTA combined disc test (CDT).Results: In this study 708 gram negative organisms were isolated from urine samples. E.coli was the most common isolated bacteria (67%) followed by Klebsiella spp. (26.5%) and Enterobacter spp. (2.5%). In antibiotic susceptibility testing more than 90% of isolates were sensitive to tetracycline, ceftazidime, meropenem, amikacin, cefotaxime, imipenem, and cefepime. Isolates were more resistant to cephalothin (32%), co-trimoxazol (30.5%), and nalidixic acid (25%).Conclusion: In our results isolated organisms from outpatients showed very high sensitivity to common antibiotics. Continuous and regular monitoring of susceptibility pattern of community isolated strains is necessary. Antimicrobial susceptibility is important to guide effective antibiotic therapy.

Background: Sea anemone is ocean dwelling and typically organisms sessile. These tentacles produce a variety of peptides and proteins that act as, neurotoxins and cytolysins toxins. Cytolysins due to their effect on specific tissue and lysing properties are known as antiparasitic or antitumor compounds.Materials and Methods: Sea anemone Stichodactyla haddoni were collected from the coast of Hormuz Island in November 2012 and tentacles extraction was performed by using of saline PBS solvents. Peptides above 10kDa and peptides below 10kDa were separated by amicon® Ultra-15 10K device. The hemolytic activity was assessed by the micro hemolytic method for human, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and common carp Cyprinus carpio erythrocytes.Results: Uniform red color suspension in the wells considered as positive hemolysis. The crude extracts, peptides above 10kDa and peptides below 10kDa at various concentrations were showed hemolytic effect on human, common carp Cyprinus carpioand rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss erythrocytes.Conclusion: The crude extract, peptides above 10kDa and peptides below 10kDa have a hemolytic effect on human erythrocytes and two species of fish. The venoms showed the most hemolytic activities on human blood among others.

Background: Scientific studies demonstrated that decreased blood Adiponectin level is associated with insulin resistance in obesity. Also it is well documented that exercise training exerts beneficial effects on obesity but there is few study regarding beneficial effects of sprint Interval training (SIT) on childhood obesity. This study was intended to investigate the effect of SIT on serum levels of Adiponectin and insulin in overweight children.Material and Methods: In this study thirty-two obese boy (BMI=27) were randomly assigned to sprint Interval Training (SIT) (N=16) and control group(C) (N=16). Training protocol consisted of 30s and 90s all-out running that performed 3 sessions per week for 8 weeks. Blood samples were measured by ELISA analysis. Data were analyzed using Independent sample t-test.Results: 8 weeks SIT increase serum levels of Adiponectin (P=0.028) and decrease insulin level (P=0.00). This change was directly related to decrease in values of BMI (P=0.01), total cholesterol (P=0.00) and body weight (P=0.02), but significant change in serum levels of HDL (P=0.50), LDL (P=0.17) and TG (P=0.60) wasn’t observed.Conclusion: These findings suggest that SIT may ameliorate the metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity in children probably through elevation of serum Adiponectin level.

Background: Investigating factors affecting the adoption of preventive behaviors in women with osteoporosis using patterns that identify the effective factors which influence and reinforce on behavior is necessary. This study aims to evaluate the preventive behaviors of osteoporosis in women in Fasa using the health belief model and social cognitive theory.Materials and Methods: In this Descriptive- Analytical, cross-sectional study, 401 women 30 to 50 years covered by health centers in Fasa were chosen. Scale factors for health belief model structures (perceived susceptibility, severity, threat, benefits, barriers and self-efficacy, practice guidelines) and the structure of self-regulation, social protection of social cognitive theory, and questionnaire of functional feeding and walking were determined to prevent osteoporosis in women. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software.Results: The average age of women was 40.9±6.2 years. The variables of perceived susceptibility, motivation, social support and self-regulation for walking behavior and variables of perceived sensitivity and self-regulation for feeding behavior were predicted. There was a significant association between walking performance and perceived susceptibility (B=0.252, p=0/007), motivation (B=0.235, p=0.009), social support (B=0.078, p=0.030) and Self-regulation (B=0.105, p=0.007). In this study, there was a significant association between nutritional performance and perceived susceptibility (B=0.10, p=0.02), self-regulation (r=0.069, p=0.050). The variables under study expressed 29.1% of the variance in walking behavior and 20.2% of the variance in feeding behavior in osteoporosis prevention.Conclusion: The study indicated that perceived susceptibility, motivation, self-regulation and social support, otherwise more people might have osteoporosis preventive behaviors better .Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive Theory can be used as a framework for designing and implementing educational interventions for the prevention of osteoporosis in women and can help to improve and maintain their health.

Background: The main purpose of this research is to survey relation between mental health, sensation seeking and coping style with cigarette smoking.Material and Methods: Sample of this study were 312 boy students, who selected by simple randomly among total boys of Mohaghegh Ardabili university in 2013-14. This study is a correlation study. Data were collected with using the demographic characteristics Questionnaire, mental health of Goldberg, sensation-seeking of Arnet and Lazarus's & Folkman coping style Questionnaires.Results: The result showed that %37.8 (n=118) of samples were cigarette smoker and %62.2 (n=194) were non cigarette smokers. The results of discriminant analysis showed that among variables, seeking social support, avoid, the high sensation seeking, coping confrontation, somatization symptoms, responsibility and depression can predict to join the group of male students smokers and nonsmokers. Seeking social support was the best predictor to be in group of cigarette smoker and non-smoker boy student.Conclusion: This study showed the sensation seeking, coping styles and mental health are effective in approach to cigarette smoking.

Background: One of the most common disorders in pregnancy is Folic Acid deficiency and its complications. The aim of this study was to examine the predictors of regular use of folic acid supplements based on HBM in pregnant women referred to Borazjan’s health centers.Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 228 pregnant women or women with planning of pregnancy referred to health centers of Borazjan with random sampling method evaluated. Data was collected with questionnaire in 4 parts included demographic characteristics, knowledge, health belief model constructs and questions about folic acid supplement use. Data was analyzed by SPSS software with using appropriate statistical tests.Results: The mean age of samples was 27.4±5.41. 144 patients (63.2%) consumed Folic Acid pills regularly, and 84 patients (36.8%) had irregular use. The awareness of folic acid in 22.8% of women was good, 59.6% and 17.5% of samples had intermediate and poor awareness, respectively. The perceived barriers (P<0.001), perceived benefits (P=0.002) and self-efficacy (P<0.001) had relation with consumption of folic acid and among demographic variables, only education level (P=0.04) had relation with the consumption of pills. In logistic regression perceived barriers was only predictor. Age and educational level had indirect effect in regular consume pill.Conclusion: Perceived barriers was strongest predictors of folic acid use, therefore intervention based on health belief model, with emphasis on reducing barriers is necessary for improving the use of this medicine during pregnancy.

Background: In the field of the treatment of brain toumors by Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, the dose amounts of the neutron components and gamma, and also treatment conditions for a brain tumor out of the head phantom center were simulated. The objectives of this study were to calculate the effective dose and the received dose in a head phantom and determine the duration of treatment, according to the extent permitted by the ICRP commission.Materials and Methods: In this research, a human head phantom in front of a neutron system (including 252Cf source, moderator, refelector and neutron and photon filters) was simulated. A spherical-shaped tumor was considered outside of the phantom center. The head phantom consists of three parts of the skin, skull and brain. The simulation was done by the MCNPX 2.6.0 computational code. In this simulation, the tumor with a radius of 1.5 cm at a depth of 2 cm inside the brain was considered.Results: Tumor treatment was investigated with different boron concentrations in the head phantom. The maximum dose is approximately 0.055 Sv/hr, and is related to the conditions that Boron is not absorbed in healthy tissue. The absorbed dose amount of the epithermal neutrons, under the conditions that Boron is not absorbed in healthy tissue, at the entrance of the skull and in brain tissue extremily drops, and gradually decreases.Conclusion: The calculations showed when a patient receives radiation about 5 minutes, the received dose equals approximately 4.6 mSv. Under these treatment conditions, the whole body equivalent dose does not exceed 5 mSv per year.

Background: Hospital acquired infections are associated with prolonged hospitalization and visibly increased mortality & cost. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections VAP complicates the course of 9-70% % of mechanically ventilated patients and mortality varies greatly from 20-25% depending on the defining criteria and specific population being studied. As little is known about the epidemiology, risk factors, and microbiology of VAP in pediatrics we conducted this study to find most common micro-organisms and related risk factors.Materials and methods: We select 1-15 months intubated pediatric patients in Ali- Asghar children hospital in Tehran from 1388 up to end of 1389. 63 cases (36 male & 27 female) were included in this study with mean age 22.32±37.84 months. We identified 26 cases with VAP by positive protected bronchial brush. There was no differences between two groups of patients with & without VAP by considering variables such as nasogastric tube, head position, antacid administration, immunosuppressant drugs & chest physiotherapy.Results: The most common organisms, were Pseudomonas aeuroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus & Enterobacter. However, there was no differences between two groups related to the etiologic agents. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that most of the complications defined as VAP are patient-related, not modifiable risk factors and it seems that the new prevention strategies are needed to decrease the mortality in intensive care unit patients.

Background: According to World Health Organization, aggression is one of the most serious problems in nations’ general health. The current study was aimed to investigate the predictive factors of aggressive behaviors in guidance and high school male students, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior.Material and Methods: A total of 457 guidance and high school male students from Sanandaj city were randomly selected. They were asked to complete a questionnaire included questions about attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, and aggressive behavior. The questionnaire was validated by the researcher, beforehand. Pearson correlation coefficient and Linear and Ordinal Multivariate Regression was used to investigate the predictability of the constructs of the theory for intention and behavior.Results: The participants’ age range was from 12 to 17 year (mean, 14.70). %35.5 of the participants reported no physical aggression and %26.9 of them reported no verbal aggression during the last month. Linear regression showed that the theory components, all together, could predict %50.2 of the intended physical aggressive behavior, and %73.3 of the intended verbal aggressive behavior. Moreover, the perceived behavior control was the most predictive construct for intended aggression. The results, also, revealed that the theory components, all together, could predict %36.3 of the verbal aggressive behavior, and %21.1 of the physical aggressive behavior. The results, also showed that, intended behavior was the most predictive construct for the verbal aggressive behavior, and that perceived behavior control was the most predictive construct for physical aggression.Conclusion: As, during physical aggression, people feel less control on their behavior, and their verbal aggression is affected by their attitudes, paying attention to these constructs could result into decreasing adolescents’ aggression. In other words, taking part in workshops aimed to increasing behavior control and attitude improvement could help adolescents to control their behavior and to avoid aggressive behaviors.

Background Following initial studies reporting the presence of beta adrenergic receptors on bone cells, several studies have investigated the role of the Beta adrenergic system in the formation and resorption of bone. The goal of this report was to review the data supporting the role of the beta adrenergic system and osteo-neuromediators in the regulation of bone homeostasis.Materials and Methods: In this review, more than 100 published articles were reviewed for the evidence of the adrenergic effect on bone remodeling and focused on the latest advances in this area.Results: Based on a variety of pharmacologic, genetic and clinical studies focused on b-adrenergic receptor (bAR) signaling in bone cells, The adrenergic activity of the sympathetic nervous system has been shown to be a negative regulator of bone mass, adrenergic signaling inhibits osteoblast proliferation and promotes osteoclast genesis.Conclusion: Altogether, these observations and linked findings are of great significance since they improve our understanding of bone physiology., and uncovered new potential therapeutic strategies for the design of bone anabolic drugs. Certainly, knowledge about downstream factors of beta-adrenergic system can be helpful in making decisions about appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Hematopoietic stem cells are rare cells that have two unique specificity, self-renewal and differentiation to all blood lineages. Hematopoietic stem cells are used in treatments of many diseases such as leukemia, congenital abnormalities related to blood and immune system, aplastic anemia. Bone marrow stem cells and mobilized stem cells are most common sources for transplantation; however using them because of the low availability to Human leukocyte antigen-compatible donors is limited. An alternative method for solving this problem is use of umbilical cord blood that can tolerate low incompatible donors. However the number of cells present in each unit of umbilical cord blood is not enough for transplantation for an adult. Now, many methods are utilized for Hematopoietic stem cells expansion in ex vivo like using cytokine cocktails, copper chelators, stromal support and gene transfer methods. Among them, the gene transfer approach was the most effective method. The genes used to increase the hematopoietic stem cells expansion by lentiviral vectors and recombinant proteins include HOXB4, WNT, Notch, BMP4, BMI-1 and SALL4 and recently has been shown that the microRNAs such as miR-125a/b, miR-17 and miR-29a are able to increase the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells.

In recent years, the active compounds from the plants and fruits, which have been used in the human foods regimen, have received increased attention in medical research. Therefore, the side effects of chemical drugs and their complications have persuaded the scientists to look into the active compounds of fruits and plants, to find their useful effects in prevention and treatment of different diseases. One of such compounds is resveratrol, a natural poly phenol found prefavorably in grapes and berries. Its useful effects on metabolic syndrome, including cardiovascular diseases, fatness and T2DM, have been extensively studied in animal models and human clinical trials. In fact the results from numerous studies have shown that resveratrol may be useful in the prevention and even treatment of type 2 Diabetes. Over the past two decades, the results of investigations conducted on animal models and clinical trials on human and, meta-analysis applied, regarding the effectiveness of resveratrol in reducing fasting blood sugar and insulin resistance have been promising. Therefore, in this review I will discuss the useful effects of resveratrol and its mechanism of action on type 2 Diabetes and related parameters, in different models including animals and human clinical trials.

Precision medicine is an approach in medicine that takes into account individual differences in people's genes, environments, and lifestyle. This field of medicine redefines our understanding of disease onset and progression, treatment response, and health outcomes through the more precise measurement of molecular, environmental, and behavioral factors that contribute to health and disease. Undoubtedly, the advances in omics technologies including genomics, data collection and storage, computational analysis, and mobile health applications over the last decade produced significant progress for precision medicine. In fact, precision medicine is a platform for the growth of personalized medicine, wearable biosensors, mobile health, computational sciences, genomic singularity, and other omics technologies. In the pathway of precision medicine, mathematics and computational sciences will be revolutionized to overcome the challenges in Big Data. By the birth of precision medicine, novel therapeutic strategies for chronic complex diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancers would be designed in Systems Medicine.