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Introduction: Disturbance  between  production  of  free radicals  and  antioxidant  defense is  named  oxidative  stress. One  of  the  main  sources  of  free  radicals  is  smoking  that  induce  oxidative  stress.
Materials  and  Methods: This  is  a  cross  sectional  study  in  which  questionnaires  including  information  such  as  age, sex, education, history  and  number of  smoking  and  history  of  special  disease  were  filled. Case  group  were  smokers (n=43)  who  were  smoking  at  least  5  years  and  their  mean  age  was  37.7  year. The control  group  was  consisted  of  43  nonsmokers  which  were  matched  for  age  and  sex.  They  were  evaluated  for  oxidative  stress  markers  including  thiobarbituric  acid  reactive  substance  (TBARS)  indicator  of  lipid peroxidation (LPO), ferric  reducing  ability  of  plasma (FRAP) indicator  of  total  antioxidant  capacity, total  thiol (SH)  groups  and  gammaglutamyl  transferase (GGT) levels  in  blood.
Results: Results  showed  that  induction  of  oxidative  stress  in  smokers  as  revealed  by  decreased  FRAP (1.89±0.03 vs  2.24±0.04, p=0.01) and  plasma  Sh  groups  (0.22±0.08 vs  0.81±0.48, p=0.01)  in  comparison  to  those  of  controls. The  activity  of  GGT  and  level  of  LPO  increased  but  were  not  significant . Also  the  correlation  between  history  of  smoking  and  oxidative  stress  was  not  significant.
Conclusion: It  is  concluded  that  smoking  have  decreased  FRAP  and  SH  groups which  may  put  smokers  at  future  consequences  of  oxidative  stress.  It  seems  that  improving  antioxidant  system  in  smokers  is  effective.
 
 
 

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Introduction: Regarding the fact that dissanitation in swimming pools can cause a lot of diseases such as Dermatophytosis in swimmers, this study is done with the aim of determination of Dermatophytic infections in covered public swiming pools of Qom city during 2004. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study 480 samples were taken from six public swimming pools. Samples were carried to the laboratory where they were passed through milipore filters. Filters then were trasfered to mycosel agar medium and incubated for three weeks at 25 Co. Data was analyzed using fisher test. Results: Among 480 samples, eleven Dermatophytes (8/8 percent) were isolated and indentified as follow: Trichophyton Mentagrophytes (2/4%), Trichophyton Tonsuranse (1/6%), Trichophyton Equinum (1/6%), Trichophyton Verrucosum (0/8%) Trichophyton Rubrum (0/8%), Trichophyton Schoenlinii (0/8%) and Epidermophyton Floccosum(0/8%). There was a significant relationship between prevalence of Dermatophytes and disregarding of personal hygiene standards (p=0/0001) and no significant relationship between residual Chlorine of swimming pools and prevalence of Dermatophytes. Conclusion: Because the majority of isolated Dermatophytes were anthropophilic and had been transferred from swimmers to the swimming pools it is necessary to care personal hygiene standards and provide good sanitation conditions in water and environment of the swimming pools.

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Background: pentylenetetrazole Kindling is widely used as a model for epileptogenesis. The achievement of kindling criterion is known to require repeated drug injection during time to develop. In this article a series of experiments aimed to examin the hypothesis that after 4 primary injections only time is needed to induced kindling in wistar rats. Methods and Materials: In this experimental research, 32 male Wistar rats were divided in two groups. Control Group were kindled by repeated injections of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ 37.5 mg/kgi.p. 48 h interval), in case group were done 4 repeated injections of pentylenetetrazole and have 32 days time lapse, at the end of experiment two groups received same dose of PTZ simultaneously and seizure parameters were assessed. Data were analyzed using student’s t-test and one way ANOVA and Turkey’s test. Results: Results showed there isn’t significant differences in seizure parameters such as seizure stage (control 4.75±0.26, case 4.75±0.29), stage 2 latency (control 165±16.6, case 216±38.68), stage 5 latency (control 2.13±0.38, case 3.47±0.64) and stage 5 duration (control 21.15±2.42, case 23.42±1.20) between two groups. Conclusion: Resuits of this experiment introduces the new critical time window for PTZ kindling.

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  Background: Although the roles of steroid hormones in the activation and maintenance of reproductive function are proved well, emerging evidence indicated that these steroids influence on performance of learning and memory. These effects are complex and vary with task, gender, and age, as well as the regimens of steroid exposure. This study was carried out in order to assess the role of progesterone administration in newborns rats on Morris water maze learning ability after adolescence.

  Methods and Materials : This experimental study was carried out on 36 newborns Wistar rats. Rats were divided randomly into 6 groups female progesterone, male progesterone, female sesamoide, male sesamoid rats and male and female control rats. Progesterone groups were treated with a single injection of progesterone (100 mg/kg) and sesamoid groups were received the same volume of sesamoid oil as the progesterone vehicle in day 1 or 2 after brith, 60 days later, spatial memory ability was determined in Morris water maze.

  Results : The results of this study show that water maze learning can enhance by administration of sesamoid oil in newborn female pups in compared to progesterone and control groups (p<0.05). In addition, adding progesterone to sesame oil reduce water maze learning to control level.

  Conclusion: The hypothesis that progesterone impaired spatial reference memory in female rats was supported by this experiment.

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Abstract Background: Misconceptions of mental models are phenomena that are variance with accepted scientific models. Purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of misconception about half life and concentration of insulin hormone in students of Arak university of medical sciences. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study 153 undergraduates in medicine and nursing – midwifery faculties of Arak university of medical sciences in 2009, were asked to answer to two questions about half life and concentration of insulin hormone. Results: The prevalence of misconception about half life of insulin hormone in medical, nursing and midwifery students were 75%, 80% and 85%, respectively, and prevalence of misconception about insulin concentration in blood were 31%, 26% and 20%, respectively. Conclusion: Misconceptions about insulin half life and concentration exist in high percent of students and it is necessary to correct the teaching pattern.

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) of unknown etiology. Vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) has strong immune modulating potential. Nitric Oxide (NO) has been identified as one of the most destructive products of the immune system and is an important factor in demyelination. The effect of short-term vitamin D3 supplementation on NO level was assessed in MS patients. Materials and Methods: The study included 60 MS patients (male and female). Patients were randomized independently, in a double blind design, into one of two treatment groups. Controls (n=30) received current treatment. Vitamin D treated (n=30) individuals received current treatment plus 300000 IU vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 injection was repeated monthly for 6 months. Nitric oxide (NO) production was estimated by Griess reaction. Results: NO levels decreased following vitamin D3 treatment but the differences did not reach significance (12.411.1 μmol/L to 9.88.9 μmol/L). Control group was also associated with an increase in NO levels but not statistically significant (18.417.07 μmol/L to 22.0716.8 μmol/L). Conclusion: Vitamin D3 has not significant effect on the level of nitric oxide. However, further studies should be done to evaluate the potential of vitamin D as an immune modulator in management of MS.

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Background: Nowadays, the use of inflammatory biomarkers in the diagnosis of appendicitis is on the rise. On the other hand, the role of oxygen free radicals in various inflammatory states has been verified. Noticing the high prevalence of negative appendectomy (9.3-22.2%), the aim of this study was to investigate the level of blood total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as a biomarker for early diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Materials and Methods: In this prospective analytical trial, over a one-year period, 407 patients, with preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis who had undergone operation, were studied. After measuring the TAC level, data were analyzed through the analytic ROC curve and parametric mean comparison tests. Results: Of all the patients, 298 were identified with appendicitis. TAC levels in adult female and male groups were respectively 663.9±164.75 and 752.58±167.37 µm/L which revealed a significant difference (p<0.0001). Also, in children, the mean of TAC level in perforated appendicitis sub-group was significantly greater than those in gangrenous and suppurative groups. Conclusion: TAC level can be used as a predictive factor for the diagnosis of perforated appendicitis in children however, it cannot be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of appendicitis. Because of the significant difference existing between the level of TAC in male and female patients, further studies are suggested to investigate the level of inflammatory biomarkers with respect to menstrual cycle in women.

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Background: Diagnosis of acute appendicitis is one of the challenges that surgeons face in the emergency ward. Although Alvarado score has been recommended in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, this criterion has some limitations in terms of age, sex, and race. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Alvarado score in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis based on the age and gender. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 407 patients who underwent operation with the preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis from June 2008 to August 2009 were included in the study. The patients’ data were recorded by the investigators. The data were compared by parametric tests. The sensitivity and specificity were determined by the optimal cut-off point on ROC curve using MedCalc software version 10.2.0.0. Results: The optimal cut-off point for women was lower than men (6 and 7, respectively). The rate of negative appendectomy in the group with Alvarado scores 9 and 10 was 11.8%, while the negative appendectomy rate in the other two groups with Alvarado scores 7 and 8 and 5 and 6 were 29.9% and 52.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The diagnostic value of Alvarado score of 8 and less in physical examination is lower than the abdominal tenderness exam alone. Also, the cut-off point for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in women should be considered lower than that in men. On the other hand, the cut-off point in adolescents and children is higher than adults.

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Background: Acute pancreatitis is a common cause of abdominal pain, without any characteristic signs, symptoms, or a gold standard diagnostic modality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of urine trypsinogen-2 strip test in acute pancreatitis. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 76 patients with abdominal pain suspected to acute pancreatitis who were admitted to the Emergency ward of Valiasr Hospital, Arak, were evaluated. In 46 patients, acute pancreatitis was confirmed (pancreatitis group), whereas in 28 patients, acute pancreatitis was ruled out (control group). In both groups serum levels of amylase, lipase, CRP, and urine trypsinogen-2 were measured by quantitative and qualitative methods. Sensitivity and specificity of the tests were determined and data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Urine trypsinogen-2 dipstick was positive in 36 of the 45 patients in the pancreatitis group (sensitivity: 80%) and in 2 of the 28 patients in the control group (specificity: 92.8%). Urine trypsinogen-2 ELISA test was positive in 41 of the 45 patients in the pancreatitis group (sensitivity: 91.1%) and in 4 of the 28 patients in the control group (specificity: 89%). Amylase sensitivity and specificity were equal to 82.6% and 75%, respectively. Lipase sensitivity and specificity were 76% and 85.7%, respectively. Conclusion: Urine trypsinogen-2 dipstick can be used to differentiate acute pancreatitis from other causes of abdominal pain. This rapid, easy-to-use, and accurate test can be used in emergency wards and primary health care units with limited diagnostic facilities.

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Background: Several studies have demonstrated that the levels of inflammatory markers in healthy women are under the influence of menstrual cycle changes. The aim of this study was to compare blood levels of inflammatory markers in women with appendicitis in different phases of menstrual cycle. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 70 female and 12 male patients with appendicitis, and 61 healthy women were enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inflammatory markers, such as leukocyte count, CRP, ESR, and TNF-α were measured and compared using student t-test and one-way ANOVA based on different phases of menstrual cycle. Results: There were no significant changes in the ESR, CRP, and TNF-α concentrations and the number of peripheral blood leukocytes in different phases of the menstrual cycle in women with appendicitis. The mean number of leukocytes and CRP concentrations were significantly higher in patients with appendicitis compared with the control group. Conclusion: The findings show that there are not significant differences in the inflammatory markers in women with appendicitis during the different phases of menstrual cycles. It seems that day to day variation of sexual hormones in the menstrual cycle have led to very different conclusions about the change of inflammatory markers in different phases of menstrual cycle. Therefore, studies investigating inflammatory markers in women with acute appendicitis based on day of menstrual cycle, time of sampling in the day, and severity of appendicitis are suggested.