Archives of Advances in Biosciences

     Family is considered as the most fundamental and basic shaping, and underlies drug abusing. This research aimed to investigate the relationships between parenting styles (authoritative, permissive and despotic) as one of the most effective family factors on child growth and addiction potentiality among the students. The statistical population of research consisted of all student of Medical Ilam University of Medical Sciences in the second semester 2012-2013 academic years. Therefore 220 students selected with multistage random sampling, and completed the Baumrind parenting styles questionnaire (1972) and addiction potentiality (Zargar, 1996). Data has been analyzed by Pearson correlation tests and regression using SPSS 16. The outcomes of pearson correlation analysis showed that there have been negative relationships between authoritative parenting style and addiction potentiality and between permissive, despotic parenting styles and addiction potentiality positive and meaningful relationships reported. The results of regression analysis showed that parenting styles (authoritative, permissive and despotic) described about 38 percentages of addiction potentiality variances, too. According to present research results, parenting styles is one of the most effective reasons on students’ tendency to the drug abusing. With this mind, the hygienic officials and activists should make suitable policies to increase parent’s information in parenting styles education field.

Citicoline is a natural substance with neuroprotective and repairing effects. It can also increase the phosphor metabolites in cerebral cortex. Regarding the various effects of citicoline on central nervous system, this research aims at studying the effects of citicoline on the Thiopental sodium anesthesia. Six dogs were anesthetized by intravenous injection of 20 mg ∕ kg of 2.5% Thiopental sodium. After the appearance of recovery signs, both experimental and control groups received either 250 mg citicoline or two milliliter normal saline intravenously, immediately before the second injection of Thiopental sodium. Length of anesthesia, duration of analgesia and response to corneal reflex were measured, and statistically analyzed. Results showed a significant increase in duration of analgesia and a significant decrease in the length of negative corneal reflex in experimental group. Comparison of duration of anesthesia between the two groups showed no significant difference. These findings showed that using citicoline prior to Thiopental sodium anesthesia can improve brain function by decreasing the duration of lack of response to corneal reflex and also regarding the increasing effect of Citicoline on analgesia duration, the use of citicoline as a pre-anesthetic for Thiopental Sodium can probably be considered in the future studies.

Dry eye is the major contributor to computer vision syndrome. The reductions in the blink rate and amplitude have been considered as the possible mechanisms leading to this condition. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the changes in the lower tear meniscus heights and areas in the computer reading task, in dry eye subjects, with and without soft contact lenses. In this quasi-experimental study, 39 subjects (with mean age of 21.2 ± 2.4 years), with dry eye, were enrolled.  The lower tear meniscus height and area (TMH, TMA) of the right eye was captured by Spectral Optical Coherence Tomography before and after 45 minutes of reading task behind desktop 17” Cathode Ray Tube monitors. The same procedure was performed after the insertion of the hydrogel soft contact lenses with 58% water content. The results of TMHs, TMAs were analyzed with a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with two within-subject factors.: The mean ± standard error of  TMH and TMA pre and post computer tasks were 283.6± 25.4 µm, 0.029±0.005 mm2, 297.6±20.7 µm , 0.036 ± 0.005 mm2 respectively. After contact lens insertion, the mean TMH and TMA pre and post computer task were 231.6 ± 10.6 µm, 0.020±0.0019 mm2, 213.0±9.0 µm, 0.018 ± 0.0011 mm2, respectively. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the changes in TMH (P=0.86) and TMA (P=0.37) after computer task, were not statistically significant, while the insertion of the soft contact lens had reduced the TMH and TMA significantly (P<0.001 for both). After 45 minutes of reading task behind desktop monitors, the tear volume has not changed, with and without high water SCLs. A reduction in tear volume might be expected with longer duration of computer task or at late hours of the day. The creation of a more stable tear film should be considered in the management strategies for shorter duration of work behind desktop monitors.

Cryptosporidium is a globally distributed protozoan parasite and one of the most common causes of infection and diarrhea in humans and cattle. The aim of the present study was to determine the species of Cryptosporidium among cattle with diarrhea by a nested PCR-RFLP technique at Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (COWP). Fecal samples from 158 calves aged 1-20 weeks were collected from 10 dairy farms in Qazvin province, Iran. Initial identification of Cryptosporidium was carried out by Zeihl-Neelsen acid-fast staining method of stool samples. DNA was extracted from 26 (16.45 %) positive microscopically samples and Cryptosporidium genotypes were determined. Cryptosporidium parvum were identified in 80.8% of the positive samples and, Cryptosporidium andersoni in 19.2%. In conclusion the use of COWP primers could be sensitive enough to conduct a routine detection study. The nested PCR method using the COWP gene sequence can be an alternative diagnostic method to identify infected with Cryptosporidium and its genetic diversity.

In this study, the effect of several species of fermenting yeast and fermentation conditions (periodic aeration and temperature) on quality parameters of non-alcoholic beer is assessed. Yeast starters with different inoculation percent were added separately into wort with determined gravity. Wort was fermented for 48 h in different temperatures under aerobic condition or periodic aeration (every 12 h). Growth rate, wort gravity and ethanol content were analyzed for 48 hours (12-h interval). Also, 6 trained panelists were asked for sensory evaluation of final product. The highest growth rate and the highest ethanol content were found in treatments with 4×10⁷ cfu/ml inoculation fermented at 24˚C under periodic aeration and in those fermented under anaerobic conditions, respectively. The highest gravity was observed for treatments with 10⁷ cfu/ml inoculation, periodic aeration and fermentation at 4˚C. The lowest growth rate and ethanol content were observed in treatments with 10⁷ cfu/ml, fermented at 4˚C under anaerobic condition and those fermented under periodic aeration, respectively. In treatments with 4×10⁷ cfu/ml inoculation, anaerobic condition and fermentation at 4˚C, the lowest gravity was observed. In addition, among yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces rouxii showed the highest and the lowest growth rate, ethanol content and wort gravity, respectively. Additionally, treatments containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in non-alcoholic beer with more satisfactory flavor attributes.

Osteoporosis is one of the health problems that affect lives of many people. this study was designed to assess nutritional intake and dietary habit  in osteoporotic patients . The population of this analytical cross-sectional study was 120 osteoporotic patients with 45-89 years old referred to rheumatologic clinic of Tabriz .Nutritional intake and dietary habit was determined by 3 day food recall and food frequency questionnaire ،individual and clinical information by questionnaire and weight and height of subjects were measured by scale. Results of this study found that mean age of patients were 57.10 years old. The mean T-score of patients was -3.31±0.07SD.Analysis of FFQ questionnaire showed that dietary habit and food choice in osteoporotic patients was not suitable. Mean intake of zinc, calcium and vitamin D in patients was significantly lower than normal value (p<0.05)and intake of protein ,iron and phosphor was higher than normal range. With notice the vital role of nutrition and dietary intake on bone mass, nutritional education and training in osteoporotic patients beside supplementation is suggested.

The purification of biomolecules is a necessary step in many biochemical researches. In this regard, developments of convenient, specific and low cost methods of purification are of particular interest. Given the human hemoglobin (Hb) affinity toward some charged carbohydrates, interaction of this molecule with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is a glycoprotein hormone containing sialic acid, was examined. In the current study, we gathered evidence of free hCG and free Hb interaction using spectroscopic and radiometric techniques. Then, based on the affinity of hemoglobin (Hb) toward charged carbohydrates on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a known sialic acid containing glycoprotein hormone, Hb-sepharose as well as native and denatured globin columns for isolation of the hormone were prepared. Sepharose-6B was activated by cyanogens bromide. Native Hb, normal globin and denatured globin were bound to cyanogen bromide–activated sepharose. Then, uptake of hCG by these gels were compared. Among the columns only native hemoglobin-sepharose column was able to catch a limited number of serum proteins such as hCG. Using the above column hCG hormone was purified with fold purification of 34 and efficiency of 80%. The chromatographic behavior of growth hormone (GH) and hCG in binding to the DEAE-Cellulose column were identical but GH showed no binding to Hb-sepharose column, indicating that the retention mechanism of hCG to Hb-sepharose column is not a simple ion exchange mode. Since globin had no property to attach to hCG but native Hb-sepharose was able to catch hCG, the BPG cavity of Hb is suggested as the possible binding site for hCG to Hb.

     Nosocomial infections of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDRPA) are a growing concern in hospitalized patients in burn centers. The aim of this study was to investigate the flagellin profiling and antibiotic susceptibility of P. aeruginosa isolated from burn wound infections. During 8 month study, 73 clinically P. aeruginosa isolates collected from patients hospitalized in burn ward. P. aeruginosa isolates were identified using standard laboratory procedures. In vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa to 6 antimicrobial agents were investigated by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI 2012) Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay. The frequency of different type of flagellin was investigated by using specific primers and by PCR method. The resistance rates of our isolates to 6 tested antimicrobial agents were relatively high. Imipenem has good activity while tobramycin and ciprofloxacin do not have any effect on P. aeruginosa isolates. Of 73 isolates 59 (80.8%) were multidrug resistant. Twenty eight of 73 isolates were resistant to all antibiotics. Agarose gel electrophoresis of chromosomal DNA exhibited that 59 isolates (80.8%) of P. aeruginosa had type A flagellin while only 14 isolates (19.2%) had type b flagellin. Given the antibiotic failure treatment, it appears that alternative ways such as immunity to prevent of these infections could be informative. Our survey of flagellin profiling of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates exhibited high frequency of type a flagellin as a major virulence factor has important role of immunity against infections caused by MDRPA. Functional surveillance of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa in order to prevention of resistance dissemination is necessary.

Protein structural flexibility is important for catalysis, binding, protein design, and allostery. Some simple methods have recently been introduced to compute protein flexibility directly from the protein structure without any mechanical models. For example the atomic mean square displacement (or B-factor) is related to the number of neighboring atoms. The protein structure can be modeled as a graph where nodes represent atoms and edges can be defined by Delaunay tessellation procedure with weight equal to d² where d is the Euclidean distance between pair of atoms. In this study, we show that the average of shortest path for each atom in this graph is related to the B-factor.

Microcantilevers (MCLs) are cost-effective and highly sensitive devices for biodetection. Adsorption of specific analytes on the microcantilever surface causes the bending of MCL through changing of the surface characteristics. These new bioprobes designed in a way that one side of the microcantilever surface is coated with a selective receptor that absorbs particular molecules. After surface absorption of target, the microcantilever deflects under nano – Newton forces and results in microcantilever bending. In the following work, we have proposed a modifed microcantilever through immobilization of monoamine oxidase (MAO) as a Flavin–Adenosine-Dinucleotide (FAD)-containing enzyme. This enzyme catalyzes the oxidative deamination of amine groups, so interaction between compounds with amine functional group and enzyme is based on biodetection with monoamine oxidase modified microcantilever. In the present study, MAO was immobilized on the microcantilever surface through a cross linker to a monolayer on the gold surface. Following, the Kynuramine solution was used as substrate. The comparative results showed that the enzyme is activated in immobilized state in order to oxidize amine groups and is inhibited in the presence of Methamphethamine as an enzyme inhibitor. Since all processes are performing at room temperature, therefore the design of bioprobe based on modified microcantilever would be highly significant for biodetection.

        Naturally occurring radionuclides have different amount of activity concentration for ²²⁶ Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in building materials. In this study, natural radioactivity has been measured for bricks used in Tehran. For this work, 9 samples of three types of bricks, clay brick (CB), making the facade brick (MFB) and firebrick (FB) has been selected from different regions and factories in Tehran. Gamma rays analyzed by high purity germanium (HPGe) detector and spectroscopy system. As the results show, the maximum value of the mean ²²⁶ Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for clay brick has been 17, 9 and 422Bq/kg respectively. Maximum of radium equivalent activities (Ra_eq) were calculated 62.81Bq/kg that less than the level has been determined 370Bq/kg for building materials. Other type of bricks had low amounts compared to clay bricks. The calculation results show that the bricks are safe for inhabitants because hazard indexes for gamma were below the standard was been introduced. The results of this research compared with other studies in different countries

The increase in substance abuse among youths and its complications form one of the most pressing health problems among students as an important and vulnerable group in society. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences  regarding substance abuse in 2013. This is a descriptive-analytic cross sectional study carried out on dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences   regarding substance abuse in 2013. 604 male and female students living in the dormitories were selected via random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher based on the questionnaire used by Dehghan, and on a review of relevant literature and expert opinion obtained from professors of the field. Data were analyzed by SPSS16 using descriptive and analytical tests (Pearson correlation, T-test and chi-square). The mean score of knowledge of dormitory students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was 9.86±2.13. Most students (65.6%) had moderate knowledge about drugs. The subjects' mean score on attitude was 61.99±10.10. Most students (58.3%) had moderate positive attitudes towards drugs. Students are considered as major assets of a country. Therefore, planning and developing intervention strategies to prevent and reduce substance abuse among university students is essential and plays a major role in improving their health.

This study was conducted to identify the dietary patterns among workers of Oil Terminals Company and to assess their association with socio-demographic and lifestyle factors.The sample size (392) was estimated by considering minimum correlation (r=0.2) between variables. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of workers selected by a stratified random-sampling method (alloffices of the company). The head of company provided a list of workers, and the proportionof each center was specified via ni=ki/N × n [ni=number of participants from each center, ki=number of each center workers, N=number company workers, n= sample size (392)].Dietary pattern was identified by valid food frequency questionnaire containing 168 food items with specific serving size consumed by Iranians. Major dietary patterns analyzed by factor analysis. General characteristics across tertiles were compared by ANOVA and chi-square tests were used where appropriate. In addition, we used multivariate logestic regression tests to assess the relationship between demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle variables and the adherence to the dietary patterns. Two major dietary patternswere extracted: "Healthy pattern" characterized by high consumption of fruits, fish, yellow vegetables, potato, garlic, whole cereals, yogurt drink, and salt. The second one named "unhealthy pattern" characterized by high consumption of soft drinks, sugar, mayonnaise, sweets, eggs, butter, and processed meat, high- fat dairy products, organ meat, French fries, refined cereals, snacks and artificial juice. Work hours were positively correlated (b=0.14; p<0.01) and being single (b=-0.4, p<0.05) and full time work in comparison with part-time work (b=-0.5, p<0.01) was negatively correlated with healthy dietary pattern, whereas age (b=-0.3, p<0.05), dieting (b=-0.4, p<0.01)  and history of hyperlipidemia had negative correlation (b=-0.41, p<0.01) with unhealthy dietary pattern.Our findings show the association between socio-demographic, lifestyle factors and dietary patterns of the workers

     This study was a part of national project to establish and optimize local and national diagnostic guidance levels. This work intends to evaluate image quality and entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) for patients' radiographic examinations in two north western provinces of country. Two hospitals got involved in the present study. The rate of the rejected images and image quality grades were determined. The ESAK were calculated by X-ray tube output measurements and X-ray exposure parameters (kVp, mAS, FFD, as well as patients thicknesses) for common radiographic examinations including: chest, skull, thoracic, lumbar in two projections and also abdomen and pelvis in one projection. The rate of images categorized as poor was 40%. Patients' dose in radiographic examination varied by a factor of up to 6.9, 13.84, 9.76, 11.33, 6.15, 8.69, 2.85, 3.05, 12.41, and 5.51 in chest (PA), chest (LAT), lumbar (AP), lumbar (LAT), thoracic (AP), thoracic (LAT), skull (PA), skull (LAT), abdomen and pelvis, respectively. The mean ESAK values for above mentioned techniques were 0.3, 0.7, 2.85, 6.87, 2.3, 4.9, 1.32, 1.05, 2.9 and 2.2 mGy, respectively. Poor image quality plays a major role in unnecessary radiation dose to the patients but in compare with other studies stated that patient dose levels in radiographic examinations in our study aren't higher than those in developed countries.

      Seizures are the most common disorder of the central nervous system in childhood and constitute a significant number of admissions to the pediatric emergency departments. The aim of this study is evaluate the etiology of hypocalcemic seizures in pediatrics. A single-center, hospital based descriptive study was done in the academic referral center for hypocalcemic seizure of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Data was evaluated based on the medical records of each patient. Case files of these children’s were analyzed for age at presentation, sex, weight, clinical features, biochemical parameters (serum calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase) ,type of seizure, history of previous seizure and history of drug intake.  A total 38 children with hypocalcemic seizure, consisting of 19 boys and 19 girls, with ages ranging from one month to 14 years, were enrolled in this study. The most common patterns of seizures were generalized seizures (83.8%). the mean levels of serum alkaline phosphatase was significantly greater in patients under the age of 2 years (1234 ± 541.03) rather above than 7 years of age (922.75 ± 147.45) (p = .021). Rickets was the commonest cause of seizures rickets were diagnosis in  80.8% subjects  under 2 years of age, whereas none of those over 7 years old had not rickets , these  results were statistically significant (p = .015). Current observational study indicates that rickets could be a major cause of hypocalcemic convulsion in infants and children. Screening children presenting with hypocalcemic convulsions for rickets and/or other cause of hypocalcemia can help in early diagnosis and institution of specific therapy.

    Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are formed by non-enzymatic reaction between reducing sugar and protein. AGEs play important roles in pathogenesis of diabetic, aging complications, endothelial dysfunction and neurological diseases such as the Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore compounds that prevent the glycation reaction are purported to have therapeutic effect on patients with diabetes and age-related complication. In this study, the Human serum albumin at concentration of 10 mg/ml was incubated in PBS with 40 mM Glucose, and in different concentrations of Naloxone (25,100,250µM) for 42 days at 37˚C. HSA with no additives and with Glucose 40mM were incubated as control and as glycated sample, respectively. Following the incubation, the samples were prepared for Circular Dichroism, Fluorescence and absorbance techniques. It was shown different Naloxone concentration can prevent Human serum albumin glycation.

Glaucoma, a group of multifactor ocular diseases, is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. Primary open angle (POA) is the most common type of glaucoma, characterized by progressive optic nerve degeneration. Numerous genes and proteins have been revealed to be associated with POAG, but the pathologic mechanisms of the disease are still poorly understood. Proteomics, the collective study of proteins in an organism at a given condition, has extensively been used for the high-throughput identification of proteins related to POAG. A significant obstacle in proteomics studies is the data variability which makes it hard to interpret the results. Pathway analysis and network topological information can help address the challenge and provide a greater appreciation of the disease mechanism and progression. The purpose of this paper is to determine POAG biological and network information to further understand the mechanisms associated with POAG. PANTHER classification system was used, including classification with gene ontology, protein class and pathway. 474 gene/protein IDs were extracted from previous proteomic studies. Among pathways found by PANTHER classification, apoptosis signaling pathway was the most significant pathway (with the p-value of 5.54E-12). Other PANTHER categories results demonstrated that developmental processes, receptor binding, extracellular region and extracellular matrix proteins were the most significant biological process, molecular function, cellular component and protein class respectively. Pathway analysis aids to find probable mechanisms involved in POAG. A network analysis on proteins was also performed using STRING database and cytoscape software. From network analysis, candidate biomarkers for the disease were introduced.

    Esophageal cancer is the eighth most ordinary cancer and the sixth most common cancer between the males and ninth for females in the world; its major and effective treatment is external radiotherapy. This type of cancer can be found in different areas of esophagus including cervical, upper, middle and lower esophagus. In this treatment, healthy tissues such as the trachea, spine and sternum and even thyroid receive dose and it is important that the absorbed doses by these organs be in their tolerance dose levels. We measured the surface and depth doses in an anthropomorphic phantom using thermoluminescent dosimeters. To do so, a target volume was considered in the phantom as a primary esophageal tumor with margins of 5 cm in the distal and proximal, and 3 cm in lateral. Phantom was CT planned and treatment was performed according to patient treatment. The considered measurement locations were Eye, right and left Parotid, left and right Submandibular, left and right Thyroid, Trachea, Manubrium of Sternum and Spine. Our results show that in places located further to primary beam such as Thyroid (phase one), Trachea, Spine and Sternum, the difference between dose from TPS and TLD measurements is observed. In organs which have placed within scattered radiation, the difference is insignificant (P-value≥0.05), although some differences might cause by TLD limitations. In conclusion, the TPS calculated and TL measured doses distinguish significantly at the spine (depth), trachea (depth) and manubrium of sternum especially in phase 1 which might be due to the calculation algorithm used by the planning system which is reliable in homogeneous medium, but TL measurements were performed in the heterogeneous anthropomorphic phantom.

     The major limitation in the application of bioactive molecule is their low permeation across plasma membrane. In 1988 it was discovered, that a natural polycationic protein, the trans-acting activator of transcription (TAT) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), passed very efficiently through cell membrane of cultured mammalian cells. TAT became known as the first cell penetrating peptide (CPP). CPPs have demonstrated themselves to be capable of delivering biologically active cargo to the cell interior and the vehicular capabilities of CPPs have already been harnessed for use as laboratory tools. Attached to a CPP, therapeutic cargo could be delivered to an intracellular target, thus overcoming the entry restrictions set by the plasma membrane. Since the discovery of TAT, the number of known peptides with cell-penetrating capabilities has grown and in 2003, the first CPP-based drug reached phase ɪɪ clinical trials. In this review we introduce and discuss the current knowledge of CPPs.