Glabridin is a well-known active isoflavone found in the root of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) that possess a wide range of biological activity. Plant cells, hairy roots, and fungal endophytes cultures are the most important alternative methods for plant resources conservation and sustainable production of natural compounds, which has received much attention in recent decades. In the present study, an efficient culture condition was optimized for the biomass accumulation and glabridin production from fungal endophyte Aspergillus eucalypticola SBU-11AE isolated from licorice root. Type of culture medium, range of pH, and licorice root extract (as an elicitor) were tested. The results showed that the highest and lowest biomass production was observed on PCB medium (6.43 ± 0.32 g/l) and peptone malt 5.85 + 0.11 g/l), respectively. The medium culture PCB was produced the highest level of glabridin (7.26 ± 0.44 mg/l), while the lowest level (4.47 ± 0.02 mg/l) was obtained from the medium peptone malt. The highest biomass (8.51 ± 0.43 g/l) and glabridin (8.30 ± 0.51 mg/l) production were observed from the PCB medium adjusted with pH = 6, while the lowest value of both traits was obtained from the same medium with pH = 7. The highest production of total glabridin (10.85 ± 0.84 mg/l) was also obtained from the culture medium treated with 100 mg/l of the plant root extract. This information can be interestingly used for the commercialization of glabridin production for further industrial applications.

Objectives: The quality of life (QoL) of the elderly and elder abuse are growing public health concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of abuse and the association between QoL and abuse in older adults. Methods: Multistage random cluster sampling, along with valid QoL (LEIPAD: LEIden, the Netherlands; PADua, Italy; Helsinki, Finland) and abuse questionnaires, were used to assess QoL and elder abuse. Path analysis was performed using Mplus. SPSS and AMOS were used for the other analyses. Results: A total of 386 elderly individuals with a mean age of 68.00±6.10 years were interviewed, of whom 200 (51.8%), 289 (74.9%), and 376 (97.4%) were women, educated, and married, respectively. Moreover, 167 (43.2%) had low-to-moderate QoL, and 108 (27.9%) had experienced a moderate level of abuse. QoL and abuse were inversely associated (r=-0.253), with men (β=-0.24) more affected than women (β=-0.21). Musculoskeletal disorders were also strong determinants of QoL in the elderly. QoL was strongly associated with emotional abuse, while abuse was highly related to the social component of QoL. Furthermore, emotional abuse was the type of abuse most significantly associated with the self-care, depression/anxiety, cognitive, and social components of QoL. Sexual abuse, violation of personal rights, and neglect were the main determinants of the physical functioning, life satisfaction, and sexual domains of QoL, respectively. Conclusions Nearly half of the elderly individuals lacked a high QoL, and at least one-fourth had experienced some form of abuse. Elder abuse was correlated inversely with QoL. Therefore, preventive interventions are recommended to decrease elder abuse in the family, community, and other settings.

Introduction: Balance disorder is one of the huge risk factors for falling in elderly population. Falling leads to loss of independence of their functioning and activities of daily living. Preventing falls still exists as a challenge in public health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of balance exercise training on balance status, and quality of life in elderly women. Methods: In the study, 60 elderly women with dizziness and history of falling over the past 6-12 months were randomized allocated into experimental and control group. Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Romberg tests, Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Fall Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and Leiden-Padua (LEIPAD) questionnaires were performed before and after training period in experimental group and compared to control group. Experimental group attended Cawthorne-cooksey (CC) and strengthening the sensory-motor system training in two-hour sessions twice in a week for 8 weeks. The repeated measure (one way and two way) ANOVA, independent-samples t-test, Bayesian Model, and ROC curve were applied to analysis the data using SPSS v.25. Results: Compared with the control group, BBS test result in 97% percent of the experimental group obtained normal. Experimental group improved significantly in the mean scores (ps<0.001) of BBS, Romberg, DHI, FES-I and some dimensions of life quality in LEIPAD. Conclusion: Balance exercises training (CC & strengthening the sensory-motor system) may induce significant improvements in balance and can be used for prevention or treatment in elderly people; further research is required to assess the long-term consequences of such interventions in elderly