The Influence of Religiosity on the Emotional-Behavioral Health of Adolescents.

Religion is a multidimensional structure. Former studies examined only one or a few dimensions of the religion and the study that has looked comprehensively to the topic was not found. Considering this feature, the impact of religion on the emotional-behavioral health of adolescents should be investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of religiosity on the emotional-behavioral health of adolescents. Data were collected using religiosity, trauma resilience scale, emotional abuse, and Achenbach's Youth Self Report questionnaires in a 511-person sample of adolescents (318 girls and 193 boys). The results showed that various dimensions of religiosity are positively correlated with emotional-behavioral health of adolescents. A positive correlation was found between individual and familial factors with emotional-behavioral health of adolescents. Religiosity directly affects the emotional-behavioral health of adolescents. It also indirectly affects the emotional-behavioral health of adolescents through familial and individual factors. These findings show the important role of individual and familial factors in the impact of religiosity on the emotional-behavioral health of adolescents.

Catalytic evaluation of promoted CeO2-ZrO2 by transition, alkali, and alkaline-earth metal oxides for diesel soot oxidation.

Series of mixed metal oxides were synthesized by gel-combustion method and their catalytic activities for soot oxidation were investigated. The catalysts were M-Ce-Zr (M = Mn, Cu, Fe, K, Ba, Sr), and xK-20Mn-Ce-Zr (x = 0, 5, 10, 20), they were characterized by XRD, SEM, TPR and BET surface area techniques. The results of soot temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) in an O2 oxidizing atmosphere indicate that K-Ce-Zr has the highest catalytic activity for soot oxidation under loose contact condition, due to enhancement of the soot and catalyst contacts. On the other hand, under a tight contact condition, Mn-Ce-Zr and Cu-Ce-Zr nano-composites have high activities for soot oxidation and lower the soot TPO peak temperatures by about 280 and 270 degrees C, respectively, as compared to non-catalytic soot oxidation. Furthermore, the addition of up to 10 wt.% potassium oxides into Mn-Ce-Zr increases its catalytic activity and further reduces the soot TPO peak temperature by about 40 degrees C under loose contact condition.

Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Clinical Presentation, and Outcome of Patients Admitted with a Hypertensive Crisis at the Buea Regional Hospital, Cameroon.

Background: Several recent studies have shown differences in the risk profile and outcome of cardiovascular diseases between men and women, with a dearth of data from African populations. This study aimed to examine gender differences in a group of patients from Cameroon hospitalized with a hypertensive crisis. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from June 2018 until June 2019. The criteria to define a hypertensive crisis (HC) were systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure should be ≥180/110 mmHg. We compared the clinical presentation and outcome of males versus females. Results: Out of the 1536 patients admitted, 95 (6.2%) had an HC. There were 49 (51.6%) men. There was no significant age difference between men and women (52.7 years vs. 49.3 years, p = 0.28). Alcohol consumption (p < 0.0001), previous stroke (p = 0.04), and smoking (p = 0.03) were significantly higher in men compared to women. Men had a higher proportion of psychomotor agitation (p = 0.05). There was an equal proportion of men and women with hypertensive emergencies. Although acute left ventricular failure was most frequent in women (46.4% vs 42.9%), cerebral infarction (14.3% vs 17.9%), and acute coronary syndrome (0% vs 7.1%) were higher in men, the differences were not statistically significant (all p > 0.05). Case fatality was also higher in men compared to women but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Men admitted for an HC had a significantly higher cardiovascular risk burden and higher psychomotor agitation. However, there were no significant differences in the types of hypertensive emergencies and outcomes between men and women.

Common antigens between hydatid cyst and cancers.

BACKGROUND: Different research groups reported a negative correlation between cancers and parasitical infections. As an example, the prevalence of a hydatid cyst among patients with cancer was significantly lower than its prevalence among normal population. Tn antigens exist both in cancer and hydatid cyst. This common antigen may be involved in the effect of parasite on cancer growth. So in this work, common antigens between hydatid cyst and cancers have been investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different hydatid cyst antigens including hydatid fluid, laminated and germinal layer antigens, and excretory secretory antigens of protoscolices were run in SDS PAGE and transferred to NCP paper. In western immunoblotting, those antigens were probed with sera of patients with different cancer and also sera of non-cancer patients. Also, cross reaction among excretory secretory products of cancer cells and antisera raised against different hydatid cyst antigen was investigated. RESULTS: In western immunoblotting, antisera raised against laminated and germinal layers of hydatid cyst reacted with excretory secretory products of cancer cells. Also, a reaction was detected between hydatid cyst antigens and sera of patients with some cancers. CONCLUSION: Results of this work emphasize existence of common antigens between hydatid cyst and cancers. More investigation about these common antigens is recommended.

A comparative study of treatment outcomes between begg and edgewise orthodontic systems in class I cases.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the occlusal peer assessment rating (PAR) index in Class I patients treated by means of Begg and Edgewise methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pre- and post-treatment study models of Class I patients, referred to two private clinics, treated with Begg method (n = 30) and standard Edgewise method (n = 30), were reviewed retrospectively using PAR index including dental displacements, buccal occlusion (anteroposterior, vertical and transverse), overjet, overbite and midline parameters. The changes in PAR indices were analyzed using paired t-test. A P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in sex and age distribution between the two groups. The improvement of buccal occlusion in patients treated by Begg method (1.51 ± 0.39) was significantly higher than that of patients treated by Edgewise method (0.28 ± 0.39). The duration of treatment in Begg method (17.8 ± 1.3 months) was significantly shorter than that of Edgewise method (23.7 ± 1.3 months). However, there were no significant differences between the two methods in terms of total PAR index, dental displacements, overjet, overbite and midline. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, findings of the present study indicated that Begg method might be associated with better improvement of buccal occlusion and shorter duration of treatment.

Overexpression of Arabidopsis Dehydration-Responsive Element-Binding protein 2A confers tolerance to salinity stress to transgenic canola.

Stress responsive transcriptional regulation is an adaptive strategy of plants that alleviates the adverse effects of environmental stresses. The ectopic overexpression of Dehydration-Responsive Element Binding transcription factors (DREBs) either in homologous or in heterologous plants are the classical transcriptional regulators involved in plant responses to drought, salt and cold stresses. To elucidate the transcriptional mechanism associated with the DREB2A gene after removing PEST sequence, which acts as a signal peptide for protein degradation, 34 transgenic T0 canola plants overexpressing DREB2A were developed. The quantitative Real time PCR of transgenic plants showed higher expression of downstream stress-responsive genes including COR14, HSF3, HSP70, PEROX and RD20. The transgenic plants exhibited enhanced tolerance to salt stress. At the high concentration of NaCl the growth of non-transformed plants had been clearly diminished, whereas transgenic line was survived. These results indicated that transformed DREB2A gene might improve the plant response to salinity in transgenic canola plants.

Possible role for growth hormone in suppressing acylated ghrelin and hunger ratings during and after intermittent exercise of different intensities in obese individuals.

Body weight is influenced by both food intake and energy expenditure. Acylated ghrelin enhances appetite, and its circulating level is suppressed by growth hormone. Data on the acylated ghrelin responses to exercise of different intensities in obese individuals are currently not available. This study examined the effects of an intermittent exercise protocol on acylated ghrelin levels and hunger ratings in obese people. Nine inactive male ran on the treadmill at 0900 with progressive intensities of 50, 60, 70, and 80% of VO2max for 10, 10, 5, and 2 min respectively. Blood samples were collected before the exercise at 0845 (-15 min as the resting values), after each workload (10, 23, 31, and 36 min during exercise), and at 30, 60, and 120 min thereafter. The control trial was conducted under identical conditions with the exception of exercise. Compared to the baseline, both acylated ghrelin levels and hunger ratings were suppressed at 70% of VO2max during exercise (17.74 vs. 9.80 pmol/L and 4.84 vs. 2.96 unit respectively) and remained significantly lower than the control trial 2 h after the cessation of exercise (13.95 vs. 20.32 pmol/L and 3.33 vs. 6.04 unit, respectively). Growth Hormone increased during the exercise period and peaked at 80% of VO2max. These findings indicate that acylated ghrelin concentrations and hunger ratings are suppressed during exercise and two hours thereafter in obese individuals, and it is possible that Growth Hormone caused the suppression of acylated ghrelin.

The effects of suburban villages' health volunteer plan on women's health knowledge and attitude.

BACKGROUND: To achieve stable social development, the cooperation of all members of a -community is basically required. Providing and improving the health standard is one of the most fundamental dimensions of human social evolution. This is more essential than the other aspects of development (public cooperation demands) and health volunteers are the forerunners of this cooperation, who have voluntarily set about having the public participate in providing and elevating the level of community health. The present study aimed to determine the effect of implementing "the health communication plan" by health volunteers in suburban villages regarding the health knowledge and attitude of rural women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study, knowledge and attitude of 121 females (age 15-49 years), who were under the supervision of health centers in four suburban villages (the case group), before and after performing the health volunteer plan, were compared to those of 94 females (age 15-49 years) in another group of four suburban villages (the control group) lacking health volunteers under the care service of two rural health centers. Data gathering instrument was questionnaires and interviews. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS (ver. 11.5) using statistical paired t-test and Sign test. P≤0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The study showed that the mean of rural women's health knowledge and attitude had increased and there was a significant difference between before intervention and after intervention values in the two groups (P<0.001). Comparing the averages of the two groups also revealed a significant difference (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: According to the findings and the positive effects of performing suburban health volunteer plan on the health knowledge and attitude of rural women, it would therefore be important to suggest that suburban health volunteers are very helpful and effective in improving the knowledge and attitude level of rural women. In brief; as a direct result of their health performance, performing the plan all over rural health centers is recommended.

Effect of zinc and selenium supplementation on serum testosterone and plasma lactate in cyclist after an exhaustive exercise bout.

Zinc and selenium are essential minerals and have roles for more than 300 metabolic reactions in the body. The purpose of this study was to investigate how exhaustive exercise affects testosterone levels and plasma lactate in cyclists who were supplemented with oral zinc and selenium for 4 weeks. For this reason, 32 male road cyclists were selected equally to four groups: PL group, placebo; Zn group, zinc supplement (30 mg/day); Se group, selenium supplement (200 µg/day); and Zn-Se group, zinc-selenium supplement. After treatment, free, total testosterone, and lactate levels of subjects were determined before and after exhaustive exercise. Resting total, free testosterone, and lactate levels did not differ significantly between groups, and were increased by exercise (P > 0.05). Serum total testosterone levels in Zn group were higher than in Se group after exercise (P < 0.05). Serum-free testosterone levels in the Zn group were higher than the other groups (P < 0.05).There was an insignificant difference between levels of lactate in the four groups after exercise (P > 0.05). The results showed that 4-week simultaneous and separately zinc and selenium supplementation had no significant effect on resting testosterone and lactate levels of subjects who consume a zinc and selenium sufficient diet. It might be possible that the effect of zinc supplementation on free testosterone depends on exercise.

Root canal morphology of the mandibular first premolars in an Iranian population using cross-sections and radiography.

INTRODUCTION: Successful endodontic treatment is dependent on a perfect knowledge of normal root canal anatomy and variations from the norm. This study was aimed to investigate the root canal anatomy of mandibular first premolars by both radiography and cross-sectional methods in an Iranian population. METHODS: Two hundred seventeen extracted human mandibular first premolars were used. Radiographs were taken in both mesiodistal and buccolingual directions for each premolar. Then, all the teeth were decoronated at the cementoenamel junction and resected perpendicular to their long axes into three equal sections and stained with fuscin. Digital photographs of the cross-sectional root surfaces were taken and surveyed at 40x magnification. The root canal configuration types were determined separately by radiographs and cross-sectional images for each premolar. RESULTS: Out of 217 teeth examined, 192 (88.47%) had a single root canal. The remaining 25 teeth (11.53%) showed two canals in at least one cross-section of their roots with five root canal configurations. In the mesiodistal (MD) radiographs, only 5.99% of premolars showed two canals with three root canal configurations. CONCLUSIONS: One-hundred ninety two out of 217 premolars showed one canal in both cross-section and MD radiography. Only 7 premolars were diagnosed as having more than one canal with the same canal configuration in both cross-sections and MD radiography methods.

P63 and Ki-67 expression in trophoblastic disease and spontaneous abortion.

BACKGROUND: Despite well-described histopathologic criteria, the distinction of spontaneous abortion from hydatidiform mole and complete hydatidiform mole from partial hydatidiform mole remains a problem because of interobserver and intraobserver variability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of two immunohistochemical markers in the differential diagnosis of subgroups of lesions of villous trophoblasts and spontaneous abortions. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry with the P63 and Ki-67 antibody was performed in formalin-fixed paraffinembedded samples of non hydropic abortion (n = 14), partial hydatidiform mole (n = 12), complete hydatidiform mole (n = 12) and choriocarcinoma (n = 12). The Ki-67 and P63 labeling index (number of positive nuclei/total number of nuclei) for villous stromal cells, cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts were evaluated separately by counting 100 cells of each population. Statistical analysis was carried out by χ(2) analysis, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05 on the basis of 2-tailed tests. RESULTS: None of nonhydropic spontaneous abortions analyzed exhibited positive cytotrotrophoblastic and syncytiotrophoblastic cells for P63. The syncytiotrophoblastic cells were negative for p63 in all of choriocarcinomas. All of choriocarcinomas analyzed exhibited severe expression of Ki-67 in cytotrotrophoblastic cells. None of abortions and partial moles was diffusely labeled with Ki-67. CONCLUSIONS: Ki-67 labeling index in cytotrophoblastic cells is the best index to differentiate between abortion and subgroups of lesions of villous trophoblasts as well as between different subgroups of lesions of villous trophoblasts. Ki-67 is a better marker than P63 to attain this goal.