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Background: Aflatoxins, especially aflatoxin B1, have lethal effects on human and animal health. This study is intended to present a specific, sensitive, and relatively fast method for measurement, detection, and isolation of aflatoxin-albumin (Af-Alb) adducts in serum. Materials and Methods: In this experimental-trial, three groups of rats were selected and used as positive control (treated with aflatoxin B1), negative control (without treatment) and standard (treated with radioactive aflatoxin B1). After drawing blood samples from the rats, blood serum and then, serum albumin were isolated. Albumin was hydrolyzed by pronase and eventually, was injected into HPLC system. The sample was then identified and measured by fluorescence detector. Results: Electrophoresis on PAGE revealed albumin isolated from serum to be perfectly pure. In HPLC method, detection limit for the measurement of Af-Alb adduct was determined to be 60 pg/ml. The mean of aflatoxin positive control rats serum was 19.2 ng/mg albumin. In inter- and intra-group experiments, a remarkable level of reproducibility was seen for this method. Conclusion: The amount of Af-Alb adduct is proportionate to the amount of aflatoxin received. This project was conducted with rat serum sample, but since albumin is hydrolyzed and can be isolated from aflatoxin, this method is applicable to the measurement of Af-Alb adducts in human serum samples.

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Background: Cardiac accidents due to Coronary Artery Disease are the most common cause of mortality in the world. On the other hand, vitamin D deficiency is known as an emerging risk factor of this disease. Considering the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Iran we investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in angioplasty patients, effect of gender and its relationship with Coronary Artery Disease severity.

Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study serum level of 25(OH) D3 in was measured in 149 patients undergoing PCI between May and September 2013 in Baqiatallah hospital. Patients with renal failure (Cr>2mg/dl), liver disease, and those treated with glucocorticoids or anti-epileptic drugs were excluded. Data were analyzed with SPSS 21 software. Chi-square and T-Test were used and P value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients was 77.2% (men 86% and women 62.5%) (p=0.0005). Vitamin D deficiency severity was related to the number of involved vessels in men (p=0.046). Vitamin D deficiency was related with stent length in patients with right coronary angioplasty (p=0.041).

Conclusion: The effect of vitamin D deficiency on coronary artery disease seems to be different in men and women. Complementary studies are needed to elucidate this issue further.

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Introduction: Harmine is an alkaloid from the carboline family, belonging to the harmal plant, which has extensive applications in traditional medicine, with numerous studies highlighting its anti-cancer effects. Since biological processes are influenced by electromagnetic fields, the current study examined the anti-cancer effects of harmine and low-frequency electromagnetic fields on the expression of COX2, VEGF, and MMP-2 genes in the A2780 cell line.
Methods: In this experimental-laboratory study, ovarian cancer cell lines were randomly divided into four groups: control, harmine at concentrations of 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, and 192 micromolar, low-frequency electromagnetic field with an intensity of 50 Gauss, and harmine at a concentration of 48 micromolar with a low-frequency electromagnetic field of 50 Gauss intensity. Their toxicity was assessed using the MTT assay, nuclear morphological changes by DAPI staining, apoptotic effects of these compounds by measuring nitric oxide (NO), and gene expression changes by Real-Time PCR. Quantitative data were analyzed the ANOVA statistical test at a P < 0.05 level.
Results: Quantitative data comparison of this research indicated that harmine and a low-frequency electromagnetic field with an intensity of 50 Gauss caused a concentration-dependent reduction in the viability of ovarian cancer cells. Additionally, in the nitric oxide test, a significant decrease was found in the control group compared to the groups treated with a concentration of 48 micromolar and synergized with a 50 Gauss electromagnetic field (p<0.05). The expression of the aforementioned genes in treated cells showed a significant decrease. Treating ovarian cancer cells with harmine and its combined application led to significant nuclear morphological changes, including chromatin condensation, formation of apoptotic bodies, and wrinkling of the cell membrane.
Conclusions: The combined application of harmine and a low-frequency electromagnetic field induced apoptosis in A2780 cancer cells and resulted in the downregulation of COX2, VEGF-A, and MMP-2 gene expression. Consequently, the combined use of harmine with a low-frequency electromagnetic field, due to its effective cytotoxicity in inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis, could be a suitable candidate for clinical studies.

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Introduction: The present study was conducted to analyze the focal relationship of the contribution of mental adaptation to cancer, health literacy, and perceived threat in predicting the early diagnosis of breast cancer.
Methods: This study was a descriptive correlational research. The statistical population of the present study included all women with breast cancer under treatment at Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital Cancer Treatment Center in 2023, and 310 people were determined to participate in the research using G*Power software and the available sampling method. They responded to Williams, Templin, and Hines's breast cancer literacy questionnaires, Champion's perceived threat questionnaire, Watson's mental adaptation to cancer and early diagnosis questionnaire. The data were also analyzed using a focal correlation test and multiple regression.
Results: The results showed that there is a significant relationship between the contribution variables of mental adaptation, perceived threat, and health literacy with the components of early cancer diagnosis (knowledge, attitude, and actions) (P ≤ 0.01). Also, the results showed that health literacy was 4.8%, mental compatibility was 3.4 percent and perceived threat 18.7% alone predicted the variance of early diagnosis of breast cancer. The perceived threat share is 38.9%, higher than all other variables.
Conclusions: Based on the statistical results, it can be said that increasing mental adaptability, perceived threat, and health literacy play a role in early disease diagnosis, and the importance of perceived threat is more significant than mental adaptability and health literacy, which should be considered.