DANESHVAR MEDICINE
Year:2012 | Volume:19 | Issue:100|Papers Count:10

Background and Objective: Daucus carota has antioxidant effect and a high content of beta carotene. It has been reported that Daucus carota has estrogenic and hormonal effects on female reproductive system. Since there was no experimental research about the effect of this plant on uterus contraction, we therefore decided to study the effect of aqueous extract of Daucus carota on uterus contractions.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 32 virgin Wistar rats (200-300 g) were divided into 4 groups. After inducing contraction with KCL, oxytocin and incubation with propranolol and naloxane, the effect of various doses of the extract was assessed. After laparatomy, a piece of uterus (1.5 cm) was excised and mounted in an organ bath (10 ml) containing De Jalon (29oC). Then, pieces of uterus were contracted with KCL and oxytocin and aqueous extract of Daucus carota at doses of 0.1-0.8 mg/ml was added to organ bath in the presence of KCL and oxytocin. In this study, the uterus was separately incubated with propranolol (1 µM), naloxone (1 µM) and the role of b-adrenoceptors and opioid receptors were also evaluated.Results: Cumulative concentrations of the extract dose-dependently decreased uterine contractions induced by KCl (p<0.05) and oxytocin (p<0.001). Also, incubation of tissues with propranolol and naloxone did not have any role in the effect of this extract.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that antispasmodic effect of aqueous extract of Daucus carota probably accomplished via voltage dependent calcium channels blockade and b-adrenoceptors and opioid receptors did not have any role in this effect.

Background and Objective: Non-powered hand tools are frequently used in many trades and industries. The importance of paying attention to ergonomic design, evaluation and selection of hand tools, justify the necessity of creating an appropriate evaluating tool. The aim of the present study was to desing such a questionnaire as well as to validate it.Materials and Methods: Based on the literature, previous studies and diverse usability models, a primary questionnaire was written with 34 items to which the validation process was applied. In order to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, four commonly used non-owered dental hand tools was evaluated by 30 dental students.Results: After confirming face and content validity, the instrument yields good internal reliability by Cronbach's alpha coefficient equal to 0.85, 0.92, 0.94 and 0.94 for aspiration syringe, usual syringe, usual forceps and notched forceps, respectively. Finally, the "ergonomic evaluation of non-powered hand tools questionnaire" consists 20 items in a 3-factor structure including usability, safety and physical interaction.Conclusion: The proposed questionnaire is quite brief and written in a clear and common language. Our results confirmed its applicability for dental non-powered hand tools. However, it is preferable to conduct furthere researches in order to evaluate its validity in other occupations and other non-powered hand tools.

Background and Objective: Although endurance training or omega-3 fatty acids consumption have beneficial effects on cardiovascular system, but it seems that their simultaneous use have more benefits. This study investigated the effect of 4-week omega-3 fatty acids supplementation and endurance training on blood lipids and endurance performance of young men.Materials and Methods: Forty untrained overweight young men with high cholesterol and triglyceride were randomly divided into "omega-3", "endurance training", "omega-3 and endurance training" and "control" groups and participated in a 4-week test. Supplement groups consumed an omega-3 capsules per day. Training groups trained 3 sessions per week and with 65% maximal heart rate for 20 minutes in the first week. Exercise intensity and duration were increased 5 percent and 4 minutes respectively every week. Blood samples were collected before and after the test period and triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL and LDL concentrations were measured. Endurance performance of Subjects was assessed by the Bruce test.Results: In the "endurance training" and "omega-3 and endurance training" groups, triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations significantly decreased and maximal oxygen consumption increased. HDL concentrations of "omega-3", "endurance training" and "omega-3 and endurance training" groups significantly increased and LDL concentration of "omega-3 and endurance training" group had a significant decrease.Conclusion: Endurance training or omega-3 fatty acids consumption improve blood lipids and endurance performance and combined effects of omega-3 consumption and endurance training has apparently the most favorable effect on these variables.

Background and Objective: Thymus vulgar, Cassia angustifolia and Glycyrrhiza glabra are widely used in the East Azerbaijan folk medicine. Effective compounds present in these plants could be candidates for some of their biological activities and therefore for their therapeutic uses. In this study, methanolic extract of these plants was used to detect their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.Materials and Methods: Methanolic extract of the dried powder was obtained by maceration method. Then, the solvent was removed by rotary evaporator. As antioxidant activity test, superoxide anion radical scavenging level was measured by a pyrogallol auto-oxidation system. The antibacterial activity of methanolic extract of these plants was tested by disc diffusion method against 3 enteric microorganisms. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of methanolic extracts were also determined.Results: The antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of Thymus was dose-dependent; The Cassia also showed antioxidant properties in small quantities, but no specific antioxidant activity of Glycyrrhiza extract was observed. The three microorganisms were sensitive to the methanolic extract of these plants and showed 4 to 15 mm zone of inhibition.Conclusion: Thyme has both stronger antioxidant and antibacterial activities than the other two plants. Generally, different results obtained for each plant depend on several factors such as amount of active ingredients contained in each plant and it also depends on genus and the family of plants, type of solvent and extraction method.

Background and Objective: Vaspin (visceral adipose tissue-derived serpin) was identified as a potential insulin sensitizing adipokine. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of resistance training intensity and volume on serum vaspin concentration and insulin resistance index.Materials and Methods: Thirty two male Wister rats (287±24 g) were randomly divided into four groups: (1) control, (2) trained with low intensity, (3) trained with moderate intensity, and (4) trained with high volume in moderate intensity. The resistance training consisted of climbing a ladder carrying a load suspended from the tail. After 4 weeks resistance training, serum glucose, insulin, and vaspin concentrations were measured, and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was calculated.Results: Serum vaspin concentrations were lower in trained groups compared with control group. Trained groups had lower serum insulin concentrations and insulin resistance index than control group. The lowest serum insulin concentration and insulin resistance index were found in high volume in moderate intensity group.Conclusion: This study indicated that resistance training could decrease serum vaspin and insulin concentrations as well as insulin resistance index. The volume of resistance training is an effective factor to improve insulin sensitivity.

Objective: Aim of this investigation was to study the effect of one-session karate training on muscle and renal damage markers in karate athletes.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study with pre- and post-test design, 10 elite volunteer male athletes were selected and participated in one-session training (2 hours). Urine and blood samples were collected before training and one hour after training and urine samples was collected 6 hours after training, too. Urinary and plasma creatinine, LDH and CK values were measured through laboratory methods. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, repeated measures, paired sample t test and Wilcoxon with 95% of confidence level.Results: There were significant differences between urinary values of creatinine, LDH and CK in the three sampling phases (p<0.05 There were also significant differences between the mean urinary and blood values of creatinine, LDH and CK within pre-exercise and 1 hour post-exercise values and urinary values of creatinine, LDH and CK within 1 hour post-exercise value and 6 hours post-exercise, too (p<0.05).Conclusion: It seems that a session of intensive karate training can increase muscular damage and renal function markers but these values decreased to initial measures 6 hours after training.

Background and Objective: The aim of the present study was to express recombinant human interferon-gamma in Leishmania tarentolae. The Leishmania expression system represents the combination of easy handling known from bacterial expression systems with the potential of a eukaryotic protein expression, folding and modification system. The trypanosomatid protozoan host Leishmania tarentolae was isolated from lizard and is not pathogenic to mammals.Materials and Methods: In this study, two constructs were developed for expression of recombinant human interferon-gamma (hrIFNg) in L. tarentolae. Each one of constructs carries an antibiotic resistant gene such as Hygromycin and Nourseothericin. For high level expression of the human interferon-gamma, developed DNA cassette that contains interferon-gamma (IFNg) cDNA was designed to integrate into a genomic small subunit rRNA locus of L. tarentolae by homologous recombination.Results: The integration of the expression cassette into the ssu locus was confirmed by diagnostic PCR of the genomic DNA of transgenic strain.Conclusion: Although it has been shown that E. coli might be considered as a suitable host with a relatively high level of expression and lack of posttranslational modifications and the need for refolding stages are still big challenges. In contrast, L. tarentolae is eukaryotic gene expression machinery, which includes full glycosylation and disulfide bond formation, and thus represents a potential advantage over other expression systems. These facts confirm that the gene expression system using Leishmania parasites combines many of the advantages of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems.

Background and Objective: Nowadays, the importance of physical activity as a health promoting behavior has been well documented. The purpose of this study was prediction of transtheorical model (TTM)’s constructs on regular physical activity among medical students.Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytic research that carried out on 307 medical students at Shahed University using census method in 2011. The instruments of data collection were demographic and standard scale of seven-day physical activity recall (PAR), and benefits scale & barriers scale. The TTM guided instrument development. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.Results: The findings of descriptive statistics showed that mean age of students was 22.28 years (SD = 2.6) and 69.4% of participants were women. Mean of weekly physical activity in all of the students was 175.17 minutes, SD: 172.04, but in men a little more than women. The finding of analytic statistics showed that regression analysis predict that if 1 score increase to total scores of benefits caused 7 scores in addition to total scores of physical activity and 1 score increase to total scores of barriers caused 12 scores decrease to total scores of physical activity.Conclusion: Those findings and using TTM constructs will help practitioners for intervention and to improve the physical activity among university students.

Background and Objective: Thyroid disorders, particularly hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, are among the common clinical disorders occurring in most communities. The main aim of this study was to determine the individual characteristics, common clinical signs and diet history in patients with hypo- or hyperthyroidism in different areas in HamedanMaterials and Methods: This study was a cross sectional retrospective study, which was conducted to investigate individual characteristics, common clinical signs and diet history in patients with hypo- or hyperthyroidism during 2003-2007 in Hamedan province. Statistical population in our study comprised patients with hypo- or hyperthyroidism referring to hospitals or care centers in different areas in Hamedan province during 2003-2007, and was documentary profiled. Individual questionnaire, clinical signs questionnaire, food frequency questionnaire and face to face interview were used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using t- or Chi-square tests to determine the association between variables and hypo- or hyperthyroidism in patients and to compare study subgroups.Results: The results showed that out of 1080 patients whom we studied, 63% were hypothyroid and 37% were hyperthyroid. The distribution of ABO blood group phenotype in hypo- or hyperthyroid patients was comparable to its normal distribution in the area. The frequency of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism was higher in females than males (p<0.001). History of familial marriage was observed in 38.5% or 18.39% of parents of hyperthyroid or hypothyroid patients, respectively. History of psychological problems was common in 41.25% of hyperthyroid and in 60.3% of hypothyroid patients and a history of negative life events was observed in 45.5% of hyperthyroid and in 64.4% of hypothyroid patients. There was lower consumption of meat and cereal food groups in patients than standard recommended orders (p<0.01).Conclusion: Occurrence of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism was more common in females than males. Genetic background, familial history, and psychological problems were among the important causes associated with hypo- or hyperthyroidism in patients in Hamedan.