Piper nigrum L. is considered the king of spices throughout the world due to its pungent principle piperine. Peppercorn of Piper nigrum as a whole or its active components are used in most of the food items. Different parts of Piper nigrum including secondary metabolites are also used as drug, preservative, insecticidal and larvicidal control agents. Biologically Piper nigrum is very important specie. The biological role of this specie is explained in different experiments that peppercorn and secondary metabolites of Piper nigrum can be used as Antiapoptotic, Antibacterial, Anti-Colon toxin, Antidepressant, Antifungal, Antidiarrhoeal, Anti-inflammatory, Antimutagenic, Anti-metastatic activity, Antioxidative, Antiriyretic, Antispasmodic, Antispermatogenic, Antitumor, Antithyroid, Ciprofloxacin potentiator, Cold extremities, Gastric ailments, Hepatoprotective, Insecticidal activity, Intermittent fever and Larvisidal activity. Other roles of this specie includes protection against diabetes induced oxidative stress; Piperine protect oxidation of various chemicals, decreased mitochondrial lipid peroxidation, inhibition of aryl hydroxylation, increased bioavailability of vaccine and sparteine, increase the bioavailability of active compounds, delayed elimination of antiepileptic drug, increased orocecal transit time, piperine influenced and activate the biomembrane to absorb variety of active agents, increased serum concentration, reducing mutational events, tumour inhibitory activity, Piperine inhibite mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, growth stimulatory activity and chemopreventive effect. This review based on the biological role of Piper nigrum can provide that the peppercorn or other parts can be used as crude drug for various diseases while the secondary metabolites such as piperine can be used for specific diseases.

We evaluated the performance of MGIT 960 system in terms of recover rate, detection time of mycobacteria and contamination rate from various human clinical specimens and compared it with already in use BACTEC 460 TB system and conventional LJ medium. This is the first reported study on MGIT 960 and its comparison with BACTEC 460 system in Pakistan. A total of 260 different clinical specimens received for the culture of mycobacteria were dealt during the six months study period. All the specimens were digested and decontaminated according to the standard N-acetyl-Lcysteine NaOH method. All the processed specimens were inoculated on both the liquid systems and solid medium and incubated for six weeks and eight weeks consecutively. A total of 44 mycobacterial isolates (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, n=43; Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis, n=1) were recovered from 260 clinical specimens. The recovery rate of M. tuberculosis complex was 97.6% on BACTEC MGIT 960 system and 93.0% on BACTEC 460 system and 83.7% on LJ medium. The mean detection time of mycobacteria on BACTEC MGIT 960 system was 11.2 days in smear positive cases, 14.2 days in smear negative cases and 14.8 days in smear positive cases on BACTEC 460 system. Contamination rates were 9.6% and 5.6% and 3.4% for BACTEC MGIT 960, BACTEC 460 system and LJ medium respectively. The non-radiometric, fully automated BACTEC MGIT 960 system has better diagnostic ability as compared with radiometric, semi-automated BACTEC 460 system and LJ medium, so it can be used as a reliable alternative in over burden laboratories.

Cancer is a frightful disease and represents one of the biggest health-care issues for the human race and demands a proactive strategy for cure.Plants are reservoirs for novel chemical entities and provide a promising line for research on cancer.Hitherto,being effective,chemotherapy is accompanied by certain unbearable side effects.Nevertheless,plants and plant derived products is a revolutionizing field as these are Simple,safer,ecofriendly,low-cost,fast,and less toxic as compared with conventional treatment methods.Phytochemicals are selective in their functions and acts specifically on tumor cells without affecting normal cells.Carcinogenesis is complex phenomena that involves many signaling cascades.Phytochemicals are considered suitable candidates for anticancer drug development due to their pleiotropic actions on target events with multiple manners.The research is in progress for developing potential candidates (those can block or slow down the growth of cancer cells without any side effects) from these phytochemicals.Many phytochemicals and their derived analogs have been identified as potential candidates for anticancer therapy.Effort has been made through this comprehensive review to highlight the recent developments and milestones achieved in cancer therapies using phytomolecules with their mechanism of action on nuclear and cellular factors.Furthermore,drags for cancer treatment and their limitations have also been discussed.

Tamoxifen is an antagonist of the estrogen receptor and currently used for the treatment of breast cancer. The current treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with pentavalent antimony compounds is not satisfactory. Therefore, in this study, due to its antileishmanial activity, effects of tamoxifen on the growth of promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania major Iranian strain were evaluated in vitro. Promastigotes and amastigotes were treated with different concentrations (1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 µg/ml) and time periods (24, 48, and 72 hr) of tamoxifen. After tamoxifen treatment, MTT assay (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 biphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay) was used to determine the percentage of live parasites and Graph Pad Prism software to calculate IC50. Flow cytometry was applied to investigate the induction of tamoxifen-induced apoptosis in promastigotes. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of tamoxifen on promastigotes was 2.6 µg/ml after 24 hr treatment. Flow cytometry analysis showed that tamoxifen induced early and late apoptosis in Leishmania promastigotes. While after 48 hr in control group the apoptosis was 2.0%, the 50 µg/L concentration of tamoxifen increased it to 59.7%. Based on the in vitro antileishmanial effect, tamoxifen might be used for leishmaniasis treatment; however, further researches on in vivo effects of tamoxifen in animal models are needed.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Leishmania major/*drug effects ; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/drug therapy ; Macrophages/parasitology ; Mice ; Tamoxifen/*pharmacology/therapeutic use

Given the systemic immunogenic effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy in patients with bladder cancer and its non-specific immunogenic effects in viral respiratory diseases, we aimed to study severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in bladder cancer patients with a history of BCG therapy. In the present study, all bladder cancer survivors with a history of BCG therapy were identified and included in the study according to the data recovered from the UORC (Uro-Oncology Research Center) registry database. These patients were followed up in terms of acquiring coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Among the studied patients, 102 eligible bladder cancer patients with a history of BCG therapy entered the study. The males constituted the majority of the patients (86.3%), and more than half of the study population (55.9%) were above 65 years old. Among the understudy patients, 12.7% were confirmed for COVID-19. The study results did not show a statistically significant association between the time and number of BCG therapy courses and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although no statistically significant association was observed between receiving BCG therapy and developing COVID-19, the infection rate in patients who had recently received BCG therapy was lower than those who had received therapy more than a year ago.

OBJECTIVEThe extremity injury pattern after a major earthquake is not well understood because data on this type of injury and management are limited. The aim of this study was to analyze the data of trauma patients with extremity injury in the earthquake of Bam Iran, registering 6.6 on the Richter scale.

METHODSWe reviewed medical records of 486 patients admitted to hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Among them, 274 patients sustained extremity injuries. This group was composed of 138 females (50.4%) and 136 males (49.6%) and 213 cases (77.7%) were under 40 years of age.

RESULTSFracture was the major type of injury (58.4% of extremity injuries). The most common sites of injury were lower extremities (185 patients, 67.5% of all victims). Pelvic and rib fractures and abdominal injuries were the most frequently associated injuries. The mean ISS was 6.2+/-4.0, and 61% of the patients had ISS less than 7. Amputation and death occurred in 2.9% and 2.5% of cases, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSSpecial attention should be given to dealing with orthopedic injuries in similar disasters in the future.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Extremities ; injuries ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has infected many people around the world. Children are considered an important target group for SARS-CoV-2, as well as other viral infections such as respiratory syncytial virus infection. Both SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus can affect the respiratory tract. Coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus can pose significant challenges in terms of diagnosis and treatment in children. This review compares the symptoms, diagnostic methods, and treatment of COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus infection in children.

Background: Caregivers of hemodialysis patients spend a large amount of time providing care to these patients while tolerating fatigue and stress. This study evaluated a family-centered empowerment program on the care burden and self-efficacy of hemodialysis patient caregivers based on social cognitive theory. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 70 family caregivers of hemodialysis patients in Isfahan, Iran, were selected and randomly allocated to intervention and control groups, in 2015–2016. Two questionnaires were used to collect the family caregivers’ characteristics, care burden, and self-efficacy, and patients’ negative and positive outcomes expectancies. Data were analyzed using SPSS before, immediately after, and 2 months after the intervention. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean scores of care burden, positive outcomes expectancies, negative outcomes expectancies, and self-efficacy between the two groups before the intervention. However, there were significant differences in the post-test and follow-up data analyses (P<0.05). Conclusion Given the degenerative nature of chronic kidney disease, it can be considered as a source of long-term and chronic stress for caregivers. Therefore, by implementing an empowerment program, caregiving behaviors can be improved, positive outcomes expectancies can be increased, and negative outcomes expectancies can be reduced.

Objective: The present study assessed the biological characteristics of human spermatozoa at different time intervals (0, 1, 1.5, and 2 hours) after incubation at 37°C. Methods: Twenty-five normozoospermic semen samples were incubated at 37°C. Incubation was performed at four time intervals of 0 (after liquefaction), 1, 1.5, and 2 hours. The samples were evaluated for sperm parameters at each time interval. Results: The rate of sperm progressive motility decreased at 1.5 hours compared to 0 hours as well as 2 hours compared to 1 hour and 0 hours. The rate of non-motile spermatozoa also decreased after 2 hours compared to after 0 hours. No significant changes were observed in sperm viability (p=0.98) and non- progressive motility (p=0.48) at any time intervals. Abnormal sperm morphology increased at 1.5 hours of incubation time (p<0.001). No significant changes were observed in DNA fragmentation at 1 hour compared to 0 hours (median [interquartile range]: 19.5 [4] vs. 19 [4]), as well as at 1.5 hours compared to 1 hour (20 [5]). However, a significant increase in DNA fragmentation was observed at 1.5 hours compared to 0 hours. The mitochondrial membrane potential decreased remarkably after 1 hour of incubation time. No significant differences were observed in the acrosome reaction or malonaldehyde levels at any time point (p=0.34 and p=0.98, respectively). Conclusion The incubation of normozoospermic samples before use in assisted reproductive technology should be less than 1.5 hours to minimize the destructive effects of prolonged incubation time on general and specific sperm parameters.