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

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.

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.

Background: Reproductive dysfunction is a complication of diabetes. Arctium lappa (burdock) root has hypoglycemic and antioxidative properties, which are traditionally used for treatment of impotence and sterility. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of its hydro alcoholic extract on gonadotropin, testosterone, and sperm parameters in nicotinamide/ streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Methods: In this experimental study, 56 adult male Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice (30–35 g) were randomly divided into seven groups: control, diabetes, diabetes + glibenclamide (0.25 mg/kg), diabetes + extract (200 or 300 mg/kg), and extract (200 or 300 mg/kg). Diabetes was induced with intraperitoneal injection of nicotinamide (NA) and streptozotocin (STZ). Twenty-four hours after the last extract and drug administration, serum samples, testes, and cauda epididymis were removed immediately for experimental assessment. Results: Body weight, serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone levels, and sperm count (P < 0.05) and viability (P < 0.01) decreased in diabetic mice. Administration of glibenclamide significantly improved these reductions in diabetic animals (P < 0.05). However, the hydro alcoholic extract (300 mg/kg) enhanced sperm viability only in diabetic mice (P < 0.01). In addition, this dose of extract increased sperm count, LH, FSH, and testosterone in nondiabetic animals compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results indicate that applied burdock root extract has anti-infertility effects in nondiabetic mice. Hence, this part of the A. lappa plant has an effect on the health of the reproductive system in order to improve diabetic conditions.

OBJECTIVES: Investigations into the epidemiology of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) are an essential strategic component of the Global Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO), and are part of the certification process for polio eradication worldwide. This is an epidemiological report of AFP incidence in children less than 15 years old in southwest Iran. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study, carried out based on WHO guidelines, in which we reviewed non-polio AFP cases recorded from January 2006 to December 2010 in different regions of Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. In this study, the records of all children under 15 years old with AFP were evaluated. RESULTS: During a 5-year period, 137 cases of AFP were reported (incidence rate, 2.21 per 100,00 children <15 years old). More than 50% (73 of 137) of the cases were boys, and 52.6% (72 of 137) were under 5 years of age, with a mean age of 5.39±3.98 years. The incidence of AFP was significantly higher in older children (p=0.001). The most common cause of paralysis was Guillain-Barré syndrome (117 of 137). None of the cases were diagnosed with acute poliomyelitis. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that the incidence rate of AFP in the region was almost in agreement with the expected incidence of AFP in children less than 15 years old; therefore, the AFP surveillance program in Khuzestan Province is satisfactory in terms of reliability and effectiveness. Nevertheless, routine vaccination against polio and ensuring that patients with AFP receive follow-up are essential for eradicating polio.
Certification ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Epidemiology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Guillain-Barre Syndrome ; Humans ; Incidence ; Iran* ; Paralysis* ; Poliomyelitis ; Retrospective Studies ; Vaccination ; World Health Organization

Objective: To investigate the scolicidal effect of the Satureja khuzistanica (S. khuzistanica) essential oil from aerial parts of this herbal plant. Methods: The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation method. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were employed to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil. Protoscolices were collected aseptically from sheep livers containing hydatid cyst. Protoscolices were exposed to various concentrations of the oil (3, 5 and 10 mg/mL) for 10, 20, 30, and 60 min. Viability of protoscolices was confirmed by 0.1% eosin staining. Results: A total of 19 compounds representing 97.6% of the total oil, were identified. Carvacrol (94.9%) was found to be the major essential oil constituent. Scolicidal activity of S. khuzistanica essential oil at concentration of 3 mg/mL was 28.58, 32.71, 37.20 and 42.02%, respectively. This essential oil at concentration of 5 mg/mL killed 51.33, 66.68, 81.12, and 100% of protoscolices after 10, 20, 30 and 60 min, respectively. One hundred scolicidal effect was observed with S. khuzistanica essential oil at the concentration of 10 mg/mL after 10 min (comparing with 7.19% for control group). Conclusions: The essential oil of S. khuzistanica is rich in carvacrol and may be used as a natural scolicidal agent.

OBJECTIVE To isolate and characterize bioactive compound from traditionally impor-tant medicinal plant Mikania cordata,and to investigate muti-faced pharmacological activities of the isolated compound.METHODS A triterpeenoid, 16-hydroxy betulinic acid(16 HBA)was isolated from Mikania cordata leaf and the structure of the compound was determined by NMR spectroscopic means.Antimi-crobial activity of 16 HBA was tested by disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against the tested microorganisms was determined. The analgesic property of 16 HBA was tested using acetic acid-induced writhes in mice and hot plate thermal stimulation in rats. The anti-inflammatory activity was studied using carrageenin-induced paw edema method. The antipyretic potential of 16 HBA was evaluated by using yeast-induced hyperthermia in rats. RESULTS The triterpenoid 16 HBA showed potent antibacterial activity with inhibition zone of diameter ranging from 12.0~17.5 mm and antifungal activity with mycelial growth inhibition ranges from 37.6%~54.5%.The MIC values for antibacterial and antifungal activities ranged from 31.5~125 and 250~1000 μg·mL-1respectively.The compound(50 and 100 mg·kg-1body weight)showed potent peripheral and central analgesic activity having 55.19% and 41% of writhing inhibition at 90 min after administration of the compound and the highest 55.98%, 79.18% elongation of reaction time,respectively.In anti-inflammatory activity screening,the compound (100 mg·kg-1)revealed the highest 77.08% edema inhibition at 4 h after administration of carrageenan. In antipyretic assay, 16 HBA exhibited a strong antipyretic effect in yeast-induced rats.CONCLUSION The present study confirmed that 16-hydroxy betulinic acid isolated from Mikania cordata has potent anti-microbial,analgesic,anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties.Our results can be seen as scientific support for the traditional and folklore usage of Mikania cordata in Bangladesh for the treatment of different ailments and provide opportunities to explore this plant as a source bioactive compounds for biochemical and pharmaceutical industries.

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*

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are twoinflammatory disorders of the central nervous system with different pathogenesis. The aim of thisstudy is to evaluate endocrinopathy in these patients. Methods: By convenient sampling method, 20MS, 20 NMOSD and 20 normal age and sex matched as control were enrolled in this study. Hormonalassay including TSH, free T3, free T4, , FSH, prolactin, cortisol, IGFI, thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH), free T3, free T4, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin,cortisol, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), urine specific gravity and anti-aquaporin immunoglobulinG (AQP4-IgG) level was measured. Also adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test wasdone for MS and NMOSD patients. Results: Hypothyroidism was prevalent and found in 30% of MS,40% of NMO patients, and only 9.5% of the controls. We detected greater rate of hypothyroidism inNMO patients compared to control (p=0.027). Mean level of anti-thyroglobulin antibody in MS andNMOSD patients was higher than control (p=0.037). One patient in MS group, 6 in NMOSD and 11control had IGFI level lower than lower limit of their age groups (p=0.001).Conclusions: Although the result of this study did not support significant hypothalamic-pituitary axisendocrinopathy in NMOSD compared to MS and controls, there is a higher prevalence of some hormonalabnormalities, especially thyroid dysfunction in NMOSD cases, that needs more clinicians’ attention.

Objective: The strong antioxidant activity of Commiphora mukul prompted us to conduct the present study to explore whether treatment with C. mukul extract (CME) would have any protective influence on sperm parameters, testosterone levels, and plasma glucose levels in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, control animals treated with CME, diabetic animals, and diabetic animals treated with CME. CME extract (300 mg/kg) was administered for 60 days by daily gavage. Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg STZ. The epididymal sperm count, weight, motility, morphology, viability, and serum testosterone and glucose levels were determined. Results: In the diabetic animals, CME decreased blood glucose levels (p<0.05), increased the total sperm count (p<0.05), and decreased the proportion of sperm with abnormal morphology (p<0.05). Diabetes reduced sperm motility (p<0.001), and CME supplementation partially reversed this effect of diabetes (p=0.003). Furthermore, in diabetic animals, CME decreased the proportion of immotile sperm (p<0.001). In rats, diabetes caused a significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum testosterone levels (F[3, 28]=3.283, p=0.035), but treatment of diabetic animals with CME increased serum testosterone levels. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that C. mukul possesses proandrogenic activity and exerts a beneficial effect on sperm parameters in diabetic rats.