Archives of Advances in Biosciences

Based on a number of studies, magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) given after a diffuse axonal injury has gained attention as a useful neuroprotective agent .The present study was conducted to examine if magnesium sulfate has a therapeutic efficacy and safety in patients with a severe diffuse axonal injury. Adult patients admitted within 1 hour of a closed Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with a severe diffuse axonal injury that met eligibility criteria were randomized into two groups. Our treatment guidelines consisted of an initial loading dose of 50 mg/kg magnesium sulfate and then 50 mg/kg QID up to 24 hours after the trauma. The outcome measures were mortality, GCS, and motor function scores which were assessed up to 2 months after the trauma. Magnesium showed a significant positive effect on GCS 2 months (P=0.03).  Among those in MgSO4 group, motor functioning score improved more than control group but this was not statistically significant (P = 0.51). At the end, we have demonstrated that administration of magnesium sulfate can have neuroprotective role following severe DAI.

Opiates such as morphine are one of the most effective classes of medication prescribed to treat both acute and chronic pain.They act to suppress pain through mu-receptor activation on primary afferent nerve fibers, dorsal horn neurons and supraspinal pain center neorons. When morphine is administered epidurally, it diffuses to the cord substance, producing analgesia [1],The aim of this study was to check the efficacy of this method for controling postoperative lumbar pain after microdiscectomy. In a randomized clinical trial, numbers of 100 patients were included into two equal groups due to low back radicular pain and underwent microdiscectomy. In study group, an absorbable gelatin sponge (Gelfoam) is contoured to the epidural space, placed in methylprednisolone acetate (40-80 mg), and then injected with 2 mg/ml morphine and control group received an absorbable gelatin, placed in methylprednisolone acetate (40-80 mg) and were injected with normal saline (5mL) as a placebo. The main outcome to be compared between trial and placebo groups were: Patient comfort rate in recovery room and ward, amount of analgesics used, postoperative ambulation time, post operative hospitalization days. The restlessness and agitation during recovery in study group was lower than control group. Mean systolic blood pressure increment was lower in morphine group. Only 6% of patients in study group compared to 98% in placebo group had either moderate or severe pain six hours after operation. Mean morphine dose used for study group was 10.75 mg compared to 21.4 mg among control group patients (P < 0.0001). Mean ambulation time was 2 days among study group patients compared to 2.6 days in control group. Mean hospitalization length was 4.7 and 7 days in study and control group respectively. By means of the technique assigned to the patient (an epidural morphine sponge) during Lumbar microdiscectomy the results were: Better controlled postoperative pain, early ambulation of patients and decreased hospitalization length.

      Clinical laboratory results play an important role in helping physicians in diagnosis and treatment. In view of the direct effect of the working methods on the quality of data in the laboratory, quality control of data and results in the Biochemistry Ward of Laboratory includes taking into account all the factors and variables relating to all the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical steps at this ward. The objective of this study was to examine the quality control of data and results in the biochemistry departments of hospital laboratories in universities of medical sciences in Tehran.Current study was a descriptive research, and 40 biochemistry laboratories in universities of medical sciences in Tehran constituted the settings of the study. Data were collected by a checklist and a questionnaire using observation and interview. Using the checklist, 33 effective factors in the pre-analytical step; 18 effective factors in the analytical step and 8 effective factors in post-analytical step were examined. The questionnaire included questions relating to biochemical factors in the laboratories, while the factors affecting the quality of the results were examined by using checklist. Data from questions and observations were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and by determining the absolute and relative frequencies.Results showed that in all settings of the study, 58%, 68% and 87% of the factors affecting the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical data and results were taken into consideration respectively. However, the biochemistry directors remarked that they considered 77% and 89% of the first two groups of factors respectively, and the third groups of factors were considered only by observation.according to the findings by the checklists, sufficient attention  was paid to 58% of the factors effective on pre-analytical data quality (Identifying the patient; Labeling the sample while collecting the sample; etc.), 68% of the factors effective on analytical data quality (Analyzing the samples during the 1 to 4 hours following the collection of the samples; Using control samples for evaluating the operation of instruments once in every 8 hours; etc.) and 87% of the factors effective on the post-analytical data quality (Legibility of the hand-written reports; Similarity of the hand-written reports to the typewritten report, in terms of patient ID data record; etc.) while there is no enough attention paid to other factors in pre-analytical step (Preparing the patient; Paying attention to the physiological changes of the patient’s body; etc.), analytical step (availability of written guidelines for performing certain work where the samples are analyzed; Calibrating the instruments according to the standard program; etc.) and post-analytical step (precision in recording distinguishing features in real values). Also, by comparing the findings obtained using the two tools, it can be found out that the findings do not match each other in certain factors and that the amount of findings obtained from the questionnaire is more than the findings obtained from the checklists.

Because of its widespread needs in different scientific fields, Statistics and Probability theory have gained great importance and medical students as well as students of other medically related disciplines including nursing need to use them especially in their research projects in undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate schools. This article deals with the question of finding the most effective way of teaching the necessary statistical skills to these students so that they can acquire more statistical knowledge and develop better problem solving and decision making strategies. This semi-experimental study has been carried out to compare the effect of teacher-centered and student-centered methods on nursing students’ learning of Biostatistics. The sample includes all the undergraduates of nursing School at SBMU (2006-2007). The sampling method used is convenience and includes 118 subjects. The teaching method is the dependent variable and the amount of material absorbed by the students, their age, marital status, type of housing, average of high school diploma, the grade average of the previous semester, number of family members and their prior experience are the independent variables. The grades of the students in the final exam, was taken as measure of amount of material absorbed by the students. The analysis was carried out using SPSS16 and the statistical tests used were t-test, ANOVA, and correlation test. The data revealed that the average of the students receiving student-based instruction was higher than the other students. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the control and the experimental group in terms of the amount of teaching material learnt. The data also indicate that marital status, employment status, type of housing and prior experience all have statistically significant effect on the final grade, but none of them along with the teaching method exhibits a significant interaction with the final grade. Also the amount of material learnt by each student is almost directly correlated with his/her average of the previous semester (r_p=0.402, p<0.001) and inversely weakly correlated with his/her age (r_s=-0.220, p=0.017). Thus one can conclude that student-centered instruction is as effective as the teacher-centered instruction and other factors besides the method of instruction have a significant impact on the student’s learning.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent, self-renewing cells. These cells can be used in applications such as cell therapy, drug discovery, disease modelling, and the study of cellular differentiation. In this experimental study embryonic stem cells cultured in the laboratory and were amplified. Total RNA was extracted from cells and converted to cDNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Then c-Myc gene was amplified by (PCR) and inserted into the pTZ57R/T vector. Ligated product was transformed into susceptible bacteria and transformed bacteria were screened on a selective medium. Plasmids extracted from bacteria and enzyme digestion to confirm the sequencing was performed. The cloned c-Myc gene can be used to prepare a gene cassette to produce stem cells from somatic cell.

A large number of simple or complex translocation involving the CML and AML chromosomal abnormalities has been described. This study was aimed to investigate the complex chromosome aberrations in the series of myeloid malignancies including CML and AML. The present report deals analyzed 187 consecutive with CML and AML patients, using Methotrexate  cell synchronization and  un-stimulated cultures of   cells to determine the incidence of chromosomal aberrations and association of complex variant chromosome anomalies according to  French American British morphological subtypes. The results revealed an abnormal karyotype with a novel complex translocation involving chromosomes 1,2,4,9,11,22.  Complex variant translocations   were found in two cases of AML and two cases of CML. The present reports provides sufficient grounds for assuming that a chromosomes involving of complex abnormalities  plays an important  role in the development of malignancy. 

 Thyrotoxicosis is a condition in which tissues are stimulated by increased secretion of thyroid hormone. The most common cause is diffuse toxic goiter and toxic multi-nodular goiter. For more reviews on this disease, the effects of hyperthyroidism on liver enzyme levels were studied. A total of 30 adult male Wistar rats weighing about 190 g were purchased from the Pasteur Institute of Iran. In this study, rats were divided into control group, the group receiving vitamin E, the group receiving levothyroxine, the group receiving levothyroxine treated with vitamin E; blood was taken from all groups over a period of 10 days after injection, and measurement of thyroid hormones and liver tests was made. The findings obtained in this study show that Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) hormone levels in rats treated with levothyroxine, Treatment with vitamin E may reduce serum levels of ISH , Hormone levels of T4 in the rats treated with levothyroxine were increased compared to normal rates. Treatment with vitamin E reduces serum levels of T4 compared to the first hyper group. T4 hormone levels in rats treated with levothyroxine were reduced compared to normal rates. Treatment with vitamin E may reduce serum levels of T4 compared with the first hyper group. Asparagine Transferase (AST) enzyme levels in rats treated with levothyroxine were increased compared, Treatment with vitamin E may reduce serum levels of AST , Alanine transferase (ALT) enzyme levels in rats treated with levothyroxine were increased , Treatment with vitamin E may increase serum levels of ALT , alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzyme levels in rats treated with levothyroxine has been increased compared with normal rates. Treatment with vitamin E resulted in serum levels of ALT not to be increased compared with the first group. According to the results of hyperthyroidism and levels of liver enzymes, it can be concluded that hyperthyroidism induced by levothyroxine can increase the levels of hormones T3, T4 and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), and then increase the levels of liver enzymes. Treatment of empirical samples with vitamin E is likely to reduce liver damages and prevent the increased levels of liver enzymes compared to empirical samples of hyperthyroidism which have been treated with vitamin E.

In genomics, the ability to amplify rare transcripts has enabled rapid advances in the understanding of gene expression patterns in human disease. The inability to increase the copy number and to detect the signal of rare proteins as unique species in biological samples has hindered the ability of proteomics to dissect human disease with the same complexity as genomic analyses. Advances in nanotechnology have begun to allow researchers to identify low-abundance proteins in samples through techniques that rely upon both nanoparticles and nanoscale devices. This review describes some of the physical and chemical principles underlying nanomaterials and devices and outlines how they can be used in proteomics; developments which are establishing nanoproteomics as a new field. Nanoproteomics will provide the platform for the discovery of next generation biomarkers. The most promising candidates for nanoproteomics, namely carbon nanotubes and nanowires, quantum dots and nanoscopic gold particles, offer several advantages such as high sensitivity, real-time measurements and improved reproducibility.