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  Background: Due to the lack of efficient anti-HIV vaccine, anti-HIV pharmaceuticals play an important role in controlling HIV infection. Also significant rise in drug resistance and drug toxicity has caused increased interest in finding new anti-HIV agents. In this study, a nano-sized version of lamivudine based on PEGylated chitosan was synthesized.

  Materials and Methods: In this research, nanoparticles of chitosan were efficiently PEGylated for increasing their stability in water and then the anti-HIV drug, lamivudine, was loaded on these PEGylated nanoparticles. After purification and lyophilization of new synthesized nanoparticle, the raw materials and final product were sampled and FTIR, HNMR and CHN analyses were done.

  Results: Results of HNMR spectroscopy showed that chitosan nanoparticle was successfully PEGylated. HNMR data confirmed FTIR results and indicated that lamivudine was conjugated on chitosan nanoparticle. In addition, CHN analysis data also confirmed both HNMR and FTIR data, and demonstrated that a high yield of chitosan nanoparticle PEGylation (approximately 97%) was done and illustrated a high capacity of lamivudine conjugation on nano-sized PEGylated chitosan (30% _W/W chitosan).

  Conclusion: In this study, lamivudine drug was successfully synthesized, based on PEGylated chitosan nanoparticle.

 

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Background: Schizophrenia is a widespread neurodegenerative disorder, which affects approximately 1% of the world population. It is a multifactorial and a highly heritable disease to which genetic factors contribute up to approximately 80%. Nowadays, multitude of genes have been discovered that relate to this disorder mostly by affecting the performance and levels of neurotransmitters in neural systems. Since PAI-1 is a considerable gene in the performance of neural systems, the present study dealt with the relationship between -675 4G/5G polymorphism in PAI-1 gene and schizophrenia among Iranian patients.

Materials and  Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 106 blood samples collected from individuals suffering from schizophrenia and 122 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from the samples and the frequency of the polymorphisms was analyzed using ARMS-PCR method. Finally, the products were detected on 2% agarose gel electrophoresis.

Results: The analysis of the data for -675 4G/5G polymorphism showed that 17.9% of the patients and 1.6% of the controls were mutant homozygous and 65.1% of the patients and 45.9% of controls were heterozygous. Also, 17% of the patients and 52.5% of the controls were normal homozygous.

Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism and the incidence of schizophrenia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in Iran that assesses the frequency of the polymorphism among Iranian patients. However, further studies with more samples are necessary.

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive  disease  of the central nervous system with signs and symptoms such as fatigue and balance that are disable. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of training which instructions focus of attention on postural sway of multiple sclerosis patients.

Materials and Methods: The present quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design. The subjects with the age of 27-42, expanded disability status scale 1-4 and were purposefully and voluntarily selected and randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. Training program for groups was carried out in 3 weeks, five sessions per week, and each session lasted about one hour. Berg Balance Scale was used to measure balance. The data was analyzed by using analysis of independent and dependent sample t-test at a significance level of p≤0.05.

Results: The results showed that significant improvements observed in balance (p≤0.05). Also significant differences observed between  post hoc scores in the experimental and control groups (p≥0.05).

Conclusion: According to research findings, the exercise walking program on textured surface resulted in considerable improvements in balance in multiple sclerosis. Also, the respective specialists can use these exercies as a complementary treatment along with the drug therapy for patiens with multiple sclerosis.

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Background: Birthweight less than 2500 grams is the major indicators of neonatal and infant health. The studies on animals show that copper and zinc deficiency in pregnancy is associated with fetal growth and congenital abnormalities. Therefore, our study was conducted to evaluate the role of these two elements on human embryos.

 Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, cord blood of all infants born in Nik-Nafs Maternity of Rafsanjan was Collected for 1 year. Then, serum was separated and saved. In total, 64 samples including 9 infants with congenital anomalies, 21 infants with a weight equal to or less than 2500 grams and 34 healthy infants were selected randomly as control group. The level of copper and zinc in cord boold was measured by the spectrophotometric method and data analysis was carried out by SPSS 17 software and statistical methods involving Chi-square, T-test and analysis of variance.

Results: No significant relation was shown between the levels of copper and zinc withbirth weight and congenital abnormalities. Also, there was not any significant correlation between these two teo elements and some pregnancy risk factors such as type of delivery, premature rupture of membrane, placental decolman, placental previa, preeclampsia, gravidity, height, head circumference and Apgar scores.

 Conclusion: The findings indicate that the levels of copper and zinc in cord blood are not associated with incidence of low birth weight, congenital malformations and pregnancy risk factors.

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Background: Childbirth is a stressful event that requires a mental adjustment. Optimism is one of the important determinants of psychological adjustment which is a combination of interest and positive attitude. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of optimism training during pregnancy on attitude and intentions to choose the mode of delivery in nulliparous women.

Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial , 64 primipar pregnant women with normal pregnancies, 34-30 weeks, without indication for cesarean section referring to the health centers in Mashhad in 2014 were selected and were randomly divided into two groups , A (trained) and B (no training). Optimism training during 5 session of the 60-minute, with the group participation of participants and active exercises was conducted. Data were analyzed with using the software SPSS and statistical tests including variance analysis, Fischer exact test, willcoxon, Square-Chi and paired t-test.

Results: Average attitude score towards c/s delivery in the study group, before and after training has a significant difference (p<0.001). Average attitude score towards natural childbirth was significantly higher in intervention group compared to the control group (p<0.002). Frequency of intentions to choose the mode of delivery in the study group, before and after training has a significant difference (p<0.033).

Conclusion: Reults showed that optimism training in creating a positive attitude towards natural childbirth and thus reducing the rate of elective c/s delivery is effective.

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Background: Nuclear radiation emission by radionuclides causes the diseases, such as cancer or genetic anomalies. Therefore, the study of radioactivity in soil and food as well as calculating the risk of cancer seems essential for foods consumption.

Materials and Methods: In this research, nine different varieties of beans containing the grain of beans, areal part and their soil cultivated were collected. The specific activity of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs was determined for each sample employing gamma ray spectrometry method using high purity germanium detector with 30% relative efficiency.

Results: The absorbed dose rate in the air in one meter above the ground surface varied from 77.23 to 112.78 in nGy/h. The annual effective dose rate absorbed by adult person from the beans consumption in Iran is in the range of 122.14 to 905.86 in μSv/y. The cancer risk for the different varieties of beans varied from of 1.87 × 10^-5 to 1.59 ×10^-4 which is less than acceptable value as 10^-3.

Conclusion: The specific activities of radionuclides in soils samples are more than average of world wide range. The absorbed dose rate from bean consumption for the most of Varieties is more than of world average. Cancer risk resulted from bean consumption is less than acceptable value and consumption of bean has no risk for population health.

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Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes two basic categories ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) that the etiology of which remains unclear. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) promoter polymorphisms are a good candidate for susceptibility to IBD as there is a significant relationship between them. The main aim of this study was to assess TNFα gene polymorphisms with IBD susceptibility at positions -1031in Iranian patients.

Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, were studied 101 patients with IBD (86 ulcerative colitis, 15 Crohn's disease) and 100 healthy controls were studied. PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) was used for determining of genotyping. In following, allele frequency and genotype distribution of polymorphism T> C in TNFα gene between the case and control groups were typed.

Results: The frequency of genotype TT, TC and CC among patients was 64.4%, 28.7% and 6.9% and in control group was 63%, 29% and 8%, respectively. Also, allele frequency T-1031 of TNFα gene in IBD patients was high, while there is no statistical significant(p>0.05).

Conclusion: There was no significant correlation between TNFα gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to IBD at position -1031. Our results showed that TNFα gene polymorphisms cannot be considered as a potential prognostic marker cause of IBD in Iranian population.

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Background: Irisin is a new myokine that exerts its positive effects via increasing energy expenditure. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of submaximal aerobic training on serum irisin level and irisin-related insulin-resistance change in obese men.

Materials and Methods: In this study, 26 obese men were selected as statistical sample and they were divided into experimental groups. Former group (13 men) consisted of subjects who carried out exercise training with 50-60 percent of maximum max heart rate for 10 continuous weeks (3 sessions per week for 30 to 45 minutes in each session). Later group was consisted of subjects who do not carried out exercise training. After  the interventions of study, irisin serum levels, insulin resistance indices, body composition and maximum oxygen consumption were determined.  Finally, data were analyzed by Stata software.

Results: Statistical data analysis illustrated that the amounts of irisin serum were significantly increased in exercise training group than control group (14.75±6.22; p=0.022) after the intervention. Also, only body fat percentage (1.242±0.57) and max oxygen consumption (1.509±0.328) of subjects were significantly increased (p=0.034 and p=0.0001, respectively). However, there were not statistically significant changes in irisin- related insulin-resistance indices (p>0.05).    

Conclusion: Current study presented that serum irisin was increased after 30 submaximal exercise training sessions regardless of insulin resistance changes in obese men.

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Abstract

Background: Prevalence extension of antibiotic resistant bacteria has raised concerns about control of infections especially nosocomial infections. Many attempts have been done to replace antibiotics or limit their use. The use of antimicrobial agents produced by bacteria as antibiotic replacement has been promising in recent years. The goal of this study was to isolate Bacillus strains and evaluate their antimicrobial activity against some standard pathogens and clinical antibiotic resistant strains.

Materials and Methods: In the present study, Bacillus strains were isolated from various resources and identified by 16S rDNA PCR method. Then, the phylogenetic tree of the isolates was constructed and antimicrobial activity of the isolates was investigated against some standard pathogens and clinical antibiotic resistant strains using spotting and well diffusion methods.

Results: Eight Bacillus strains were isolated from 15 different samples. Based on the molecular identification, the isolates were identified as B.pumilus, B.coagulans, B.licheniformis, B.endophitycus and B.amiloliquefaciens. The results showed that isolates have antimicrobial activity against meticilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin resistant enterococci, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, Streptococcus and Escherichia coli.

Conclusion: In this study, isolated Bacillus strains produced antimicrobial agents against pathogens and antibiotic resistant strains and inhibited their growth.

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Abstract

Background: Vitamin D was recognized with protective effects on nerve cells of Parkinson’s patients. The relationship between several VDR gene polymorphisms and age and risk of the disease was determined. Also, the relationship between VDR gene FOKI genotypes and PD was specified. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between polymorphic loci of FokI, TaqI, BsmI, ApaI and serum factor related to vitamin D metabolism in Isfahan population.

Materials and Methods: Case- control study of 125 Parkinson’s patients with their matched control individuals has been investigated based on Parkinson's disease brain bank criteria of Great Britain. After receiving consent, serum levels were measured. The genetic material was isolated by Miller protocol and polymorphisms has been analyzed and confirmed by repeated PCR-RFLP.

Results: Comparing the five serum factors between healthy subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease, we have  shown a significant reduction in the levels of calcium, ALP and PTH (p<0.01). However, none of the levels of vitamin D and phosphate show any kind of significant relationship between patients and control subjects. Concentration of blood serumic factors including calcium and PTH showed p-values less than 0.01 between Parkinson's patients and control subjects according to different genotypes containing FokI-F allele,ApaI-A allele and BsmI-b allele .

Conclusion: The result of this study showed that each of FokI and ApaI recessive alleles can influence serum calcium and parathyroid hormone between healthy individuals and Parkinson's patients significantly.

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Background and Aim: The aim of study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) and high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the GLUT4 gene expression in skeletal muscle of obese male rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight male Wistar rats with 150 ± 25 grams body weight were divided into base control (n = 6), obese control (n = 6), MICT (n = 8), and (n = 8) HIIT groups as study sample. At the beginning of the study, base control group rats were sacrificed. In other groups, rats underwent high fat regime diet for 8 weeks. After one week of familiarization, rats in training groups run on treadmill for 8 weeks and 5 days per week. Forty-eight hours after the last session, the rats were scarified and gastrocnemius muscle tissue sample were removed. GLUT4 gene expression was measured by Real-Time PCR methods. Findings: Results indicated that high fat diet for 8 weeks significantly increased rats body weight (p= 0.001), whereas both of MICT and HIIT training significantly decreased body weight (p= 0.001). Moreover, the MICT and HIIT had significant increase in GLUT4 gene expression in gastrocnemius muscle of obese rats (p = 0.001). Although, there were no differences between two experimental groups (p = 0.99). Conclusion: According to the results, the MICT and HIIT increase gene expression of GLUT4 in mixed muscle fibers in obese rats.

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Background and Aim: The protein encoded by the SGO1 gene is a member of the shugoshin family of proteins and protects the centromere during mitosis. lncRNAs are non-coding RNA with 200 nucleotides lengths, i.e., involved in regulating gene expression. The current study aimed to evaluate the expression of SGO1 and SGO1-AS1 in different stages of disease progression; we also compared their expression pattern in tumor tissues with healthy tissues in colorectal cancer patients.
Methods & Materials: In total, 40 tissue samples of patients with colorectal cancer were reported according to the examination and criteria with the approval of a pathologist. Besides, 40 normal tissues were sampled from a completely healthy part of the intestine of the same patients. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the Real-time RT-PCR technique was used to evaluate the expression of the desired genes in the study groups. ROC curve analysis was also used to determine the ability of each selected gene to diagnose the disease. 
Ethical Considerations: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shahrekord Azad University (Code: IR.IAU.SHKREC.1398.020).
Results The obtained data suggested that SGO1 significantly decreased in the colorectal cancer tumor samples (P<0.001) and SGO1-AS1 LncRNA significantly increased expression, compared to adjacent healthy tissues. Additionally, in the age group of below 60 years, compared to the age group of over 60 years, SGO1 expression increased and SGO1-AS1 expression decreased. Based on the AUC obtained from the ROC diagram, it was found that the SGO1 gene with AUC=0.8041 and SGO1-AS1 with AUC=0.6364 could significantly distinguish a healthy population from patients with colorectal cancer.
Conclusion: According to the collected results, SGO1 -AS1 and SGO1 were significantly reduced and increased in tumor tissue, respectively; however, only the SGO1 gene was introduced as a good marker for diagnosing colorectal cancer.

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Background and Aim The occupational environment, the type of work overload or underload, physical risks, how individuals adapt to the workplace, and face the family - work constitute the sources of stress or occupational distress. Job stress emerges as the duties and tasks assigned to people are more than their abilities. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress management training and work ethics of employees.
Methods & Materials This research was an applied study in terms of purpose, a mixed exploratory (qualitative and quantitative) study in terms of data, a content analysis (qualitative stage) and  cross-sectional survey (quantitative stage) in term of conduct. The study population in the qualitative section comprised experts (Experts in Psychology, Educational Management, and Social Medicine) according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the qualitative section, the study population included experts and managers who had received stress management training. Sample size and sampling method in qualitative part was based on the principle of theoretical saturation, resulting in 12 people using purposive sampling method. In the quantitative part, the sampling was based on the Cochran’s formula, resulting in 220 people who were selected using cluster sampling method. 
Ethical Considerations This barcode research was presented to the Ethics Committee and registered in the system (IR.IAU.TNB.REC.1400.121). 
Results The results showed that to deal with stressful situations, three basic strategies of event-focused coping, anxiety-focused coping, and avoidance-focused coping strategies can be used for stress management training models. Overall, the components presented for coping with stressful conditions have the necessary and appropriate validities. All three main coping strategies (event-focused, anxiety-focused, and refusal-focused) are suitable for explaining and fitting. So, they all are reliable and confirmed in the current research questionnaire of coping with stress.
 Conclusion Strategies for coping with stressful situations have a different effect on people’s professional work ethics so that the event-focused coping strategy has a significant positive relationship with professional ethics. On the other hand, the anxiety-focused and avoidance-focused coping strategies have negative and decreasing relationship with professional ethics. The more emphasis on the event-focused coping strategy, the more would be the professional ethics of individuals and the more emphasis on the anxiety-focused and avoidance-focused coping strategies, the less would be the professional ethics of individuals..