Animals ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Humans ; Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate ; metabolism ; physiology ; Retinal Ganglion Cells ; metabolism ; physiology ; Retinal Pigments ; metabolism

Objective:To explore the in vitro antimicrobial potential of Holigarna arnottiana (H. arnottiana) against human and shrimp pathogenic bacteria and use GC-MS analysis to elucidate its antimicrobial principles.
Methods: In the present study, organic extract of H. arnottiana was examined for in vitro antimicrobial potency against five clinical human pathogens, seven species of human type culture pathogens, six pathogenic Vibrio strains isolated from moribund tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and seven type cultures (Microbial Type Culture Collection, MTCC) of prominent shrimp pathogens. Results:The extraction of H. arnottiana with ethyl acetate yielded bioactive crude extract that efficiently repressed the growth of all tested pathogens. Among the pathogens tested, shrimp pathogens were the most susceptible organisms while clinical pathogens were found to be a little resistant. The chemical constituents of the H. arnottiana were analysed by GC-MS which revealed the presence of major compounds such as 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-o1 (42.1%), 1-lodo-2-methylundecane (34.5%) and squalene (11.1%) which might have a functional role in the chemical defence against microbial invasion.
Conclusions:Based on the finding it could be inferred that H. arnottiana would be a reliable source for developing shrimp and human bio-therapeutics in future.

Objective:To evaluate the presence and antibiogram pattern of Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in retail poultry meat products. Methods: Foodborne pathogens (Salmonella and S. aureus) were isolated from poultry meat and confirmed with the help of biochemical and immunological test. Antibiogram of the isolates were examined by following CLSI methods. Results: A total number of 209 poultry meat samples were collected and studied in this study. Out of which, 5.26%were found contaminated with Salmonella while 18.18%were found contaminated with S. aureus. All the Salmonella and S. aureus isolates were found resistant to at least one antibiotic. About 72.72%of the Salmonella isolates showed resistance to tetracycline, while S. aureus isolates were also found highly resistant to tetracycline equal to 44.73%. One of the Salmonella isolates showed multi-drug resistance to almost six antibiotics out of nine antibiotics used in the study. Multidrug resistant S. aureus isolates were also found in the study. Conclusions: The study confirmed the presence of Salmonella and S. aureus in retail poultry meat. It is a potential threat to consumer health. To reduce the risk of contamination, good hygiene practices are necessary from processing to storage.

BACKGROUND: Although early reviews of clinical findings were mostly negative, there is still a widespread belief for the efficacy of preemptive analgesia among clinicians. In this study, we evaluated whether the preemptive use of ketamine decreases post operative pain in patients undergoing appendectomy. METHODS: In double-blind, randomized clinical trials, 80 adult male patients undergoing an operation for acute appendicitis were studied. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups. In the operating room, patients in the ketamine group received 0.5 mg/kg of ketamine IV 10 minutes before the surgical incision. In the control group, 0.5 mg/kg of normal saline was injected. The pain intensity was assessed at time 0 (immediately after arousal) and 4, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively using the 10 points visual analogue scale (VAS). RESULTS: Eighty patients (40 for both groups) were enrolled in this study. For all of the evaluated times, the VAS score was significantly lower in the ketamine group compared to the control. The interval time for the first analgesic request was 23.1 +/- 6.7 minutes for the case group and 18.1 +/- 7.3 minutes for the control (P = 0.02). The total number of pethidine injections in the first 24 hours postoperatively was 0.6 +/- 0.6 for the case group and 2.0 +/- 0.8 for the controls (P = 0.032). There were no drug side effects for the case group. CONCLUSIONS: A low dose of intravenously administered ketamine had a preemptive effect in reducing pain after appendectomy.
Adult ; Analgesia ; Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Humans ; Ketamine ; Male ; Meperidine ; Operating Rooms

According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Iran is 4 in 100,000. One of MS manifestations is peripheral facial palsy. There has not been any study of the prevalence of facial palsy secondary to MS in Iran. Therefore we conducted a retrospective descriptive analytical cross sectional study in which we reviewed the medical records of all patients diagnosed with MS who visited the neurology clinic between years 1991 and 2007. One thousand and sixty nine patients were studied and among them 53 patients (5%) had isolated facial palsy. In 22 patients (2.1%), isolated facial palsy occurred as the first MS clinical manifestation. In these patients, the interval to the second neurological symptom was 52 months. We compared the occurrence of other neurologic manifestations in patients with and without facial palsy. Facial numbness, internuclear ophthalmoplegia, gustatory disturbance and pyramidal disorders were significantly more prevalent in patients with facial palsy. In conclusion, isolated facial palsy occurs in about 5% of MS patients in Iran. It may rarely be the presenting feature of MS.

Psychological and psychiatric disorders have a high frequency in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, their relationship with MS is complex and the extent to which they might be reactive to countless psychosocial factors, or symptoms resultant of the pathological process itself remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare psychological symptoms in a group of MS patients and compared to healthy controls. The study subjects were MS patients admitted to the Farshchian hospital in Hamadan, Iran. The diagnosis was based on McDonald (2011) criteria. There were 120 patient), aged 34.5 ± 10.8 (mean ± SD) years. It was a cross sectional study. The psychological symptoms were assessed using Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). It was found that the MS patients exhibited significantly more psychological symptoms than the healthy controls. The SCL-90 scores of MS patients were significantly higher for somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, depression and anxiety. The high rate of psychological symptoms in adult MS supports the need for routine psychological screening.

Medicinal plants are rich in nutrients and phytochemicals which prevent and treat a wide range of ailments. Accumulating experimental studies exhibit that some bioactive ingredients extracted from medicinal plants have suitable therapeutic effects on hepatic and renal injuries. This review focuses on the hepato- and reno-protective effects of thymoquinone, crocin, and carvacrol. The relevant literature was retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases from the beginning of 2015 until the end of November 2021. According to the scientific evidence, the considered phytochemicals in this review have been applied with useful therapeutic effects on hepatic and renal damage. These therapeutic effects were mainly mediated through the amelioration of oxidative stress, suppression of inflammatory responses, and inhibition of apoptosis. Intracellular signaling pathways linked to nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, c-jun N-terminal kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and Toll-like receptors are the most important pathways targeted by these phytochemicals. Up-regulation of transcription factor Nrf2 and down-regulation of transforming growth factor-beta 1 by these natural compounds also contribute to the alleviation of hepatic and renal injuries.

BACKGROUND: A permit to work (PTW) is a formal written system to control certain types of work which are identified as potentially hazardous. However, human error in PTW processes can lead to an accident. METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted to estimate the probability of human errors in PTW processes in a chemical plant in Iran. In the first stage, through interviewing the personnel and studying the procedure in the plant, the PTW process was analyzed using the hierarchical task analysis technique. In doing so, PTW was considered as a goal and detailed tasks to achieve the goal were analyzed. In the next step, the standardized plant analysis risk-human (SPAR-H) reliability analysis method was applied for estimation of human error probability. RESULTS: The mean probability of human error in the PTW system was estimated to be 0.11. The highest probability of human error in the PTW process was related to flammable gas testing (50.7%). CONCLUSION: The SPAR-H method applied in this study could analyze and quantify the potential human errors and extract the required measures for reducing the error probabilities in PTW system. Some suggestions to reduce the likelihood of errors, especially in the field of modifying the performance shaping factors and dependencies among tasks are provided.
Humans* ; Iran ; Plants*

PURPOSE: Heat of composite polymerization (HP) indicates setting efficacy and temperature increase of composite in clinical procedures. The purpose of this in vitro experimental study was to evaluate the effects of 5 temperatures on HP of two new composites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From each material (Core Max II [CM] and King Dental [KD]), 5 groups of 5 specimens each were prepared and their total HPs (J/gr) were measured and recorded, at one of the constant temperatures 0degrees C, 15degrees C, 23degrees C, 37degrees C and 60degrees C (2 x 5 x 5 specimens) using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyzer. The data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, a Tukey's test, an independent-samples t-test, and a linear regression analysis (alpha=0.05). RESULTS: No polymerization reactions occurred at 0degrees C; then this temperature was excluded from statistical analyses. The mean HP of the remaining 20 KD specimens was 20.5 +/- 14.9 J/gr, while it was 40.7 +/- 12.9 J/gr for CM. The independent-samples t-test showed that there were significant differences between the HP of the two materials at the temperatures 15degrees C (P=.0001), 23degrees C (P=.0163), 37degrees C (P=.0039), and 60degrees C (P=.0106). Linear regression analysis showed statistically significant correlations between environment temperatures and HP of CM (R2=0.777). CONCLUSION: Using CM is advantageous over conventional composite because of its better polymerization capacity. However due to its high HP, further studies should assess its temperature increase in vivo. Preheating KD is recommended. Refrigerating composites can negatively affect their polymerization potential.
Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Composite Resins ; Dental Materials ; Differential Thermal Analysis ; Hot Temperature ; Linear Models ; Polymerization ; Polymers ; Refrigeration

The prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. was investigated by gross and histopathological examinations in 250 camels (Camelus dromedarius) slaughtered from 2002 to 2005 in the Mashhad Slaughterhouse, eastern Iran. Samples were taken from the diaphragm, heart, tongue, esophagus and masseter muscles for histopathological studies. No macroscopic sarcocysts were found in the samples at gross inspection. Sarcocysts were detected in 209 of 250 (83.6%) examined camels at histopathological level. The infection rate of the esophagus, heart, masseter muscles, diaphragm, and tongue was 58.8%, 48.0%, 46.8%, 41.6%, and 28.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the rate of infection between male (85.8%) and female (81.0%) camels. The tissue response to vital cysts was minimal; however, reaction to the degenerating cysts was severe and caused tissue damages resulting in hyperemia, hemorrhages, mononuclear cell infiltration, necrotic changes, and fibrosis. The wild and domestic carnivores especially dogs may be the final hosts of Sarcocystis spp. in this area.
Animals ; *Camels ; Esophagus/parasitology ; Female ; Heart/parasitology ; Iran/epidemiology ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal/parasitology ; Prevalence ; Sarcocystis ; Sarcocystosis/complications/epidemiology/*veterinary