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Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most important and most common fatal types of cancer in the world. Identifying new agents which individually or in combination with other agents induce apoptosis in tumor cells is surely of great significance in treatment of colon cancer. The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of applying lovastatin and α-tocopherol individually or in combination with each other in the induction of apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells. Materials and Methods: In this trial, HT29 cells were exposed to various concenterations of lovastatin (5, 10, and 20 μmol) and/or alpha tocopherol (10, 20, and 25, and 30 μmol). After cell count, these cells were examined through trypan blue method and DNA fragmentation technique. Results: The findings of DNA fragmentation technique showed that each of the two drugs could induce apoptosis at all of the given concentrations. In the combination of 10 μmol concentration of lovastatin and 5 and 10 μmol concentrations of α-tocopherol, induction of apoptosis was not observed. Conclusion: Based on the extensive effects of statins, the concentration of lovastatin is seen as determining in its apoptosis function, and its combination with tocopheroles in high concentrations, by inducing apoptosis, can provide novel effective strategies for prevention of human colorectal cancer.

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Background: Nursing caries is a developing and rampant form of caries in the primary dentition, which results from pooling of fermentable liquids on primary teeth. This study was carried out to determine the effect of feeding factors on the development of nursing caries in 2-4 year old children in kindergartens of Zahedan. Materials and Methods: In this analytical-cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2006, the social-economic status background (educational background of parents), past feeding practice (breast or bottle feeding and frequency of feeding in day or at night) of 230 2-4 year old in Zahedan, who had been selected in a multi-stage random manner, were examined. The children were examined by mirror and catheter. Diagnostic criterion for nursing caries was caries of at least two maxillary incisors. Results: Prevalence of nursing caries in the studied population was 13%. Factors such as breast feeding, frequency of bottle feeding at night, referring to dentist, and gender correlated with development of nursing caries (p<0.05). Bottle feeding during day or at night and the frequency of breast feeding did not have any significant effects on the development of nursing caries. Conclusion: The prevalence of nursing caries was less in children who had breast feeding, whereas it was higher in children who had frequent bottle feeding at night. Nursing caries was also more common in boys than girls.

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  Introduction: Researches indicates that physical training are a basic component of pulmonary rehabilitation in asthmatic patients , and can result in improvement of sign and symptoms of asthmatic patients.The purpose of present study is evaluation of the effects of physical exercises on pulmonary function and clinical manifestations and signs and symptoms of asthmatic patients.

  Materials and methods: The samples included 24 asthmatic patients that participated in a physical exercise program have refered to Ardebil Bou _Ali Hospital (1386) .The researcher followed test –re-test design in the present study.

  The data were collected using an asthma clinical manifestations questionnaire and pulmonary function test (Spirometery).

  Results: Physical exercises program was effective in improvement pulmonary function of asthmatic patients, and exercises decrease asthmatic signs such as: attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing.

  Conclusion: The results indicate that asthmatic patients would benefit from a physical training and such a physical exercise program can be adapted for use in clinical practice.

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Background: Hospital wastewater usually contains pathogenic micro-organisms, drugs, radio active materials, and toxic chemical elements that in case of being disposed without filtration, will result in pollution and spread of diseases. Therefore, evaluating the status of wastewater disposal in hospitals is necessary for proper planning. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study in 2008, data collection was done by means of interviews, observations, and questionnaires in all hospitals of Markazi Province. Noticing the 33 items in the questionnaire, the overall conditions of the hospitals and the methods of using the sewage system were studied, and at the same time, filtration installations and wastewater disposal systems were inspected. Results: Of all the 19 hospitals, 10 used a conventional method of direct disposal of sewage to subterranean shafts, and of the 4 hospitals with filtration installations, three were practically out of order or were not efficient. Five of the hospitals were directly linked to the city sewage system without any pre-filtration. None of the hospitals had a specialized operator of sewage filtration and disposal system. Conclusion: Wastewater disposal in hospitals of Markazi Province is not desirable therefore, such acts as conducting more specific surveys, creating a positive attitude in planners, and providing sufficient funds for filtering wastewater in some of the hospitals are suggested.

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Background:Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide and one of its most desirable treatments is tamoxifen. The reported side effect associated with tamoxifen is endometrial thickness and increased risk of endometrial cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of tamoxifen on the endometrial thickness in amenorrhea breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional study was conducted in Radiotherapy Departments of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences over a period of seven years.162 patients treated with tamoxifen whose bleeding cycle had been disrupted were selected and the relationship between tamoxifen usage and endometrial thickness was investigated in them. In addition, the relationship between abnormal vaginal bleeding and the ultra sonographic findings was assessed. Data analysis was done by using t-test and Chi-square test. Results: There was a significant relationship between tamoxifen usage and abnormal endometrial thickness while the greatest relationship was observed in the first year of treatment. The relationship between abnormal vaginal bleeding and abnormal endometrial sonographic findings was significant (P=0.001). The incidence of endometrial cancer in tamoxifen users was more than general population (0.61% vs. 0.1%). Conclusion: Considering the findings of this study, in the presence of abnormal sonographic and clinical observations indicating abnormal vaginal bleeding, pathological evaluation of the endometrial biopsy should be carried out for patients who use tamoxifen.

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Human Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by Brucella bacteria. An average of 150 cases of brucellosis among 330 million people is reported in the USA each year. This bacterium is small, gram-negative rods that grow in phagocytes. They primarily cause diseases among different animals and humans become infected when is in contact with animals or their products. Brucella can cause various symptoms in humans which is similar to human influenza. Brucellosis is diagnosed in a laboratory by finding Brucella organisms in samples of blood or bone marrow or to detect antibodies against the bacteria in two blood samples, collected 2 weeks apart. Depending on severity of illness, recovery may take as long as several months. There is no vaccine available for human except live vaccines and that should be consulted to a health care provider. DNA findings for Brucella species in the index patients focused our attention on revealed human cancers. Also, granalomatous inflammation of testes and medulloblastomas has been linked to chronic Brucellosis infection which could be similar to Helicobacter pylori that is associated with gastric tumor formation. More scientific investigation is needed to properly address the connection of Brucella with other human malignancies.

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Background: Gastric cancer is a common and lethal disease throughout the world. This study was designed and carried out to determine the five-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients who had undergone surgical treatment at Taleghani Hospital of Tehran, and to assess its associated factors. Materials and Methods: In this historical-cohort study, information obtained from a total of 213 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery at Taleghani Hospital of Tehran between 2003 and 2008 was included. In the analyses, Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, Cox proportional hazards model, and Lin-Ying additive hazards model were used. Results: The five-year survival rate and the median life expectancy in the studied patients were 14.6% and 29.6 months, respectively. Two covariates showed significant impacts on the gastric cancer patients’ data in both models: age at diagnosis and tumor size. We found that pathologic stage was significant under the Lin-Ying model (P=0.043) however, it was not significant under the Cox model (P=0.069). Other clinicopathological characteristics were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Since Cox and Lin-Ying models consider different aspects of the association between risk factors and the study outcome, it seems desirable to use both of them as complementary models but not as alternative models to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of data. This study showed that the early detection of patients in younger ages and in primary stages is important to decrease the risk of death in patients with gastric cancer and to increase the survival rate.

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Background: Leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children which its relapse decreases the patients’ survival rate. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors involved in leukemia relapse in patients in Shahid Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz, during 2004-2009 years. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 280 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia were included. Patient characteristics were analyzed with respect to their association with recurrence through Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and logistic regression model using SPSS software version 16 (P-value<0.05). Results: Logistic regression model revealed a statistically significance relationship between age and recurrence of the disease (odds ratio (OR) = 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.15-0.82), odds ratio of relapse in the 5-10 years old age group was 0.35 times more than the 0-5 years old age group (p=0.01). Conclusion: Noticing the greater likelihood of relapse in 0-5 years old age group compared with the 5-10 years old age group, more attention and better follow-up for decreasing the side effects of the disease and enhancing the survival rate of the 0-5 y/o age group are recommended.

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Background: Obtaining cells from the patient, expanding cell population on a scaffold, and, eventually, grafting the tissue to the patient is one of the tissue engineering techniques to create replacement tissue structures. Blastema tissue is one of the cellular sources in this regard. This study investigated the use of human gum tissue to prepare a scaffold and the interaction between the three-dimensional tissue scaffold and blastema tissue. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, human gingiva was prepared and through snap freezing method and the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Triton X-100, went through cell bleaching. Then the provided scaffoldings were placed in 2-day-old blastema rings and stored in culture media for 25 days. Sampling of the blastema and scaffolding tissues was done once every five days. Results: The results confirmed the removal of the cells from the prepared scaffolds. Also, histological studies in the fifth and tenth days indicated cell penetration into the blastema scaffolds. In the fifteenth day, in addition to penetration, blastema cells division and differentiation as well as epidermis genesis were observed. In the twentieth and twenty-fifth days, infiltration, cell division, and differentiation processes continued. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated the possibility of creating a natural scaffold of human gingiva through this method. This scaffold can have an inductive effect on cell behaviors such as such as migration, adhesion, division, and probable differentiation. However, further studies for demonstrating the identity of the cells and other properties of such a scaffold as well as the possibility of using it in gingiva tissue engineering are recommended.

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Background: There are various factors effective in the appearance of metastasis that have been surveyed and recognized in different studies. However, the appearance of metastasis by determination of these factors cannot be predicted. One of the models used for the analysis of recurrent data and consideration of heterogeneity between patients is frailty model. Materials and Methods: In this survival study, 133 women with breast cancer were treated in Fayazbakhsh Hospital, Tehran, during 2005-2007. All patients were followed until April 2011. Frailty model was employed for the analysis of data and gamma frailty distribution was assumed with the average one and Ө variance. All statistical methods were run in R software. Results: Disease-free survival rates for 3 and 5 years were 0.78 and 0.72, respectively. During the follow-up period, the risk of metastasis was estimated to be 43%. Two factors were identified as the prognostic factors in the appearance of metastasis: tumor malignancy grade and the number of positive lymph nodes. Frailty variance was 4.27 (P=0.001). Conclusion: The significant variance of frailty component in the model indicates that patients who have identical explanatory variables face different levels of risk experiencing metastasis. Also, specific characteristics of the patients are important in the incidence of metastasis.

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Background: Epidemiological studies have shown the relationship between incidence of asthma symptoms and environmental factors, such as sedentary lifestyle and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of exercise rehabilitation protocols on lung function in obese adult patients with chronic asthma is a controversial issue. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of aerobic exercise on lung function in obese middle-aged men with chronic asthma. Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted on 39 obese middle-aged males with mild and moderate asthma. The experimental group (n=19) with regard to the safe range 15≥ RPE>9 followed the sub-maximal rehabilitation exercise program (50 to 80% HRmax intensity) for 3 months. Then, they underwent one month of detraining. The control group (n=20) did not have any form of aerobic exercise. Spirometric parameters in base, three months of training, and one month of detraining were measured by standard methods. Results: Indicators of lung function, including FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF, FEF%75, and MVV significantly decreased. The pattern of changes in FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and MVV remained stable even after a month of detraining (p<0.05). However, no significant changes occurred in the dependent variables of the control group (p>0.05). Conclusion: It seems that the incidence of physiological adaptations of aerobic exercise, as a non-pharmacologic clinical factor, after the one-month detraining period affected the spirometric parameters in obese asthmatic patients

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Background: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of mortality due to cancer worldwide and it is the most common type of cancer in Iran. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of prognostic factors on the survival of patients with gastric cancer using the penalized spline in Cox model and compare it with Cox proportional hazards model. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, information obtained from a total of 216 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery at Taleghani Hospital of Tehran between 2003 and 2008 years was included. Cox proportional hazards model and penalized spline in Cox model were used. R software was used for data analysis. The efficacy of these models was compared according to Akaike information criterion. Results: The five-year survival rate was 30% and the mean follow-up time was 16.60±15.28 months. Survival mean and median were 46 and 30 months, respectively. The analysis of Cox proportional hazards and penalized spline models resulted in age at diagnosis and tumor size as prognostic factors for survival time (P<0.05). Also, Akaike information criterion and survival curve for patients with a tumor size over 35 mm and age at diagnosis over 45 years were equal in both models. Conclusion: Cox proportional hazards and penalized spline models generated similar results thus, it is more appropriate to use Cox proportional hazards model because of its ease of interpretation and capability of modeling both continuous and discrete covariates. This study also showed if gastric cancer is diagnosed early, the relative risk of death will reduce.

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Background: The hypothesis that non-secretor status of individuals makes them more susceptible to certain bacterial infections and they might be at a greater risk of metabolic syndromes and autoimmune diseases motivated us to evaluate the relationship between secretor status and risk factors for duodenal ulcer in the present study.

Materials and Methods: This case-control study was done on 120 patients with duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer, and gastric cancer undergoing endoscopy, and a control group including 120 healthy individuals. Secretor status was determined by saliva and the association of some risk factors with the prevalence of disease was determined by a questionnaire. The results were analyzed by SPSS software version 16.

Results: Overall, 27.5% of the patients were non-secretor and 72.5% were secretor, whereas 20.8 % of the controls were non-secretor and 79.2% were secretor. There was not a significant relationship between secretor status and the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases. However, some risk factors, such as gender, smoking, and physical activity, were significantly associated with gastric disease.

Conclusion: The statistical analysis showed that there was not a significant association between secretor status and prevalence of gastric disease. According to the results, gastrointestinal diseases are more common in men than women and in smokers more than nonsmokers. Furthermore, physical activities reduce the incidence of this disease.

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Background: Osteopenia is a common and sometimes disabling consequence of the treatment of common neoplastic diseases, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoma in children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the preventing effects of alendronate on steroid-induced osteopenia in children with ALL and non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, 30 children with ALL and NHL were purposefully selected. All patients received the same induction chemotherapy protocol. Then they were randomly divided into two matched groups. All of them received equivalent supplement of 400 IU/d vitamin D and 30-40mg/kg/d calcium. The patients of the case group received 35mg/week alendronate for 6 months as well. Lumbar spine and whole body bone densitometry were performd before and after intervention and Z score was calculated for all patients.  

Results: The mean age of the studied population was 6.11(±3.36) years and 15 of the children (50%) were male. There was no statistically significant difference in lumbar spine and whole body bone densitometry and Z score before and after intervention between the two groups (p>0.05). The improvement of bone densitometry and Z score were seen in both groups after intervention which was more in the case group but it was not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Administration of 35 mg/week alendronate for 6 months does not cause significant improvements in bone densitometry variables in children with ALL and NHL.  

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Background: The aim of this study was to determine the prognosis of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in keratoconus patients according to the correlation between aberrations changes before and after RGP lenses.

Materials and Methods: A total of 40 eyes of twenty patients 20 to 40 years with mild, moderate keratoconus were participated in this study. Ocular examinations were included VA with standard Snellen chart, CS with CSV 1000 chart and HOAs with technolas aberrometer objective (Bush & Luamb). All these tests were performed before and after RGP lenses. Refraction and corneal radius of curvature were measured using Autokeratometr. Data were then analyzed with Spss softwair version 11.5.

Results: Mean contrast sensitivity at each spatial frequency with RGP lenses was higher than the best correction in both male and female. Compairing with best correction mean high order aberration of the 5 and 6 mm pupil was reduced with RGP lenses but the effect was not statistically significant different. Mean high order aberration with pupil 6 mm was more than pupil 5 mm. Using Pearson correlation test, there was no significant correlation between visual change and Contrast sensitivity changes with high order aberrations.

Conclusion: Visual performances and visual acuity were improved with RGP lens than best correction by reduction of high-order aberrations. However, there was no correlation or relationship between high order aberrations and visual performance. This indicates that Aberrometery condition was unrelated with Prediction of visual acuity changes in this patients.

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Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the probable changes of HSP70 , liver enzymes & Cpk in professional athletes after a training season and participating in skating open world championship.

Materials and Methods: 10 elite female skaters were chosen. Eccentric exercise test were performed in three sections (24 hours before the beginning of the training, after six months of training (before participating in Skating World Championship) and 24 hours after the end of world championship). The training program consisted of 26 weeks of training, performed 5 times a week encompassing specialized skate trainings. Blood samples were taken before and after each eccentric exercise test.

Results: there was no significant change, in HSP70 concentration in response to eccentric exercise test, in pre exercise period (p>0.898). But, it illustrated a significant increase in after eccentric exercise test, in post exercise period (p<0.031). Moreover, in measuring down, it showed a significant increased in the amount of liver enzymes and Cpk after eccentric exercise test in second and third step compared to first step (p<0.05).

Conclusion: the results of the study illustrated that improving an athlete's physical fitness level during training season and matches leads to a significant increase in the protective level of the body (via the production of HSP70), depending also on the ability of the body of the individual in producing that protein. It can also be stated probably individual body fitness level, is an important factor in determining ALT, AST, ALP levels after performing eccentric exercise.

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Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. An important goal for cancer patients is to improve the quality of life (QOL) by maximizing functions affected by the disease and its therapy. This study examined the effects of massage therapy on quality of life in women with breast cancer after surgery.

Materials and Methods: The study was quasi-experimental. Among the 53 women with breast cancer surgery and oncology clinic of Arak, 30 were randomly allocated in two groups of massage therapy (n=15) and 5 weeks (30 min, 2 sessions per week) and control (15 cases). Cortisol levels and quality of life questionnaire (SF36) was redirected and mental health groups. Data analysis software SPSS version 16 using paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance and a confidence level of 95% (p<0.05) was performed.

Results: The results showed a significant increase in the experimental group improved after the massage, physical (p=0.001) and psycho-social (p=0.002) were compared with control subjects. Massage also improves quality of life and mental health in breast cancer patients after surgery was (p<0.05). However, serum cortisol levels between the experimental and control groups were not significant (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The overall results of this study showed that massage therapy can be an effective intervention to improve quality of life and mental health in patients with breast cancer during radiotherapy is used.

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Background: Solid waste is one of the environmental pollution. Therefore the aim of this study was to survey of knowledge, attitude and practice of student and teachers about weast management for developing methods of educational in Arak city.

Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional and analytical study that was carried out on 1739 student and 149 teacher in school of Arak city in 2012. sampling with cluster and data collection with questionnaire including knowledge, attitude, practice and appropriate resource of education for waste management. Finally data analyzed with statistical tests.

Results: The mean knowledge and attitude student was 4.1±1.9 (out of 8) and was 20.63±5.9 (out of 35) respectively. Based on most educational methods for weast management viewpoint of student book 441 student (29% ) but impact of internet very low interest 487 (32%) of student. Moreover the most educational methods based on level of education significant difference was observed (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Due to a level of knowledge and attitude of student and accsses to educational resourse and huge of weaste in school educational program planned via book, teacher and peer education for student recommended.

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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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Background: Multidrug resistance is the main reason for unsuccessful chemotherapy. The important reason of drug resistance is ATP dependent pumps shus as MDR1 that extrude drugs from the cell. MDR1 is high polymorphic. It seems that polymorphisms influent on gene expression and response to treatment. The aim of this study was investigation of C1236T polymorphism MDR1 gene and it’s association with response of treatment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, C1236T polymorphism of MDR1 was investigated in 44 acute lymphoblastic leukemia childhood and 40 healthy individual by ARMS-PCR technique. Association of this polymorphism with response to treatment was also investigated. Data were analyzed using Chi-squre test and SPSS software. P values <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.

Results: There was no significant difference in frequencies of C1236T polymorphism between patients and healthy group (p=0.876). Frequency of C1236T polymorphism of MDR1 between responder and non responder was not significant (p=0.304).

Conclusion: It seems that there is no correlation between C1236T polymorphism of MDR1 gene and response to treatment. So the role of C1236T polymorphism in gene expression MDR1 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and response to treatment is still controversial.