The effect of adding pyridoxine to soybean lecithin-based extender on goat semen quality parameters after the freeze-thawing process.

BACKGROUND: Supplementing the semen extender with various antioxidants can increase the quality of semen. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to investigate the addition of pyridoxine (vitamin B6), a phenolic compound with antioxidant properties, to soybean lecithin extender on motility and quality indices of goat sperm after freezing-thawing process. METHODS: Semen was collected at weekly intervals from four Mahabadi goats, mixed, and was divided into 7 subsamples. They were then diluted with the basal extender supplemented with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 mM pyridoxine. Following freeze-thawing process, quality parameters such as sperm motility characteristics, viability, plasma membrane integrity, and malondialdehyde content were determined. RESULTS: The results showed that pyridoxine at the level of 6 mM caused the highest total motility rate (P<0.05). Progressive sperm motility was highest at the 4, 6, and 8 mM pyridoxine (P<0.05). Although the control group showed the least progressive motility, it was not statistically significantly different from the 12 mM level. Among the pyridoxine levels, the 6 mM level recorded the best performance in term of plasma membrane integrity, sperm viability, and decreasing malondialdehyde concentration compared to the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that soybean lecithin extender supplemented with 6 mM pyridoxine can improve motility and quality parameters such as viability, plasma membrane integrity, and reduce oxidative stress of goat sperm after thawing.

Social capital and related factors in Western Iran students.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Social capital involves a set of norms available in social systems which improves the interaction between people and reduces the costs of interactions and communications. The purpose of this research was to study the social capital of the students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences and its related factors, 2017. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The method of this study was the descriptive survey. The statistical sample of this study included all students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences among whom 378 students were selected randomly as the study sample. Delaviz questionnaire of social capital was employed for data collection and data analysis was performed using SPSS software, through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and Inferential statistics (U-Mann Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis). RESULTS: The mean of social capital was 70.56 ± 10/88. The minimum and maximum mean was measured for "participation in local community" and "group participation", respectively. In this study, there were significant associations between social capital and gender, field of study as well as marital status (p < 0/01). CONCLUSIONS: Social capital is known as the most important factor for people dealing with stressful situations, and can facilitate toleration of problems for them. It can also support the health and life satisfaction of students.

Toxoplasmosis in Nomadic Communities: A Seroepidemiological Study in Southwestern Iran.

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii is the agent of a zoonotic protozoan infection with worldwide distribution. The rates of infection in different areas are depending on climatic conditions and also social and cultural habits of the people. This cross-sectional study aimed to find out the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in nomadic people in Boyer-Ahmad County, in the southwest of Iran. METHODS: Blood samples (5 mL) were collected from 1005 individuals of nomadic tribes of Boyer-Ahmad County in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in 2016. A predesigned questionnaire, containing basic epidemiological information was filled out for each subject during the sampling. Sera were evaluated for anti-T. gondii antibodies (both IgG and IgM), using a commercial ELISA kit. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS, using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. RESULTS: Out of the 1005 studied subjects, 227 (22.6%) were male and 778 (77.4%) were female. The mean age of participants was 41 years (SD: ±17). The most represented (24.4%) age class was 21-30 years and the least (1.9%) 1-10 years. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were detected in 174 (17.3%) of the cases. No statistically significant associations were found between seropositivity to T. gondii and area of residence, age, gender and educational levels of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study show that the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among the nomads of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province is alike to other communities in our country. Further study is required to elucidate the genotype of T. gondii in this community.

What are Hidden Facts behind Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Ilam City?

BACKGROUND: Intestinal parasitic infections are the one of the most common health problems in developing countries. OBJECTIVE: A number of patients die annually due to complications caused by these parasites.Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the rate and type of parasitic infections, determine the factors affecting them in Ilam city and also provide strategies to prevent them.In this descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in one of the Ilam labs in 2016, 417 stool specimens were randomly collected. All specimens were examined using direct and ethanol formaldehyde.Suspect specimens were examined using Trichrom staining. Demographic information was also recorded in a questionnaire, and finally the results were analyzed using statistical software SPSS 20.The data were then compared with Chi-square test. RESULTS: Out of the 417 patients examined, 59 (14.1%) were infected with intestinal parasites. The type of parasitic infection in 9.4% was Blastocystis hominis, 3.6% Entamoeba coli, 0.5% Entamoeba histolytica, 0.5% Giardia and 0.2% Trichomonas hominis. CONCLUSION: Despite the improvement of public health, parasitic infections are still considered as one of the health problems in the city of Ilam. Therefore, proper planning, public health education, raising the level of health in the area and the provision of safe drinking water are some of the ways to reduce parasitic infections in the region.

High frequency of subclinical Leishmania infection among HIV-infected patients living in the endemic areas of visceral leishmaniasis in Fars province, southern Iran.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a major health concern in patients with HIV infection in endemic areas of VL. In these areas, a substantial number of infected individuals are asymptomatic and the risk of acute VL infection in HIV/VL co-infected cases is high. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic VL infection among HIV-infected patients in Fars province, southern Iran. Subjects of the study were 251 HIV-confirmed patients who all were clinically asymptomatic for leishmaniasis. Blood samples were obtained from each participant. Anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected in the sera using ELISA. DNA was extracted from the buffy coat of each subject and PCR amplified, targeting an ITS-2 gene of Leishmania. PCR products were purified from the gel and were sequenced. Overall, 19 out of 251 (7.6%) HIV-infected patients were found to be infected with Leishmania, using serological or molecular methods. Anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected in 13 (5.2%) patients and leishmanial DNA in 8 (3.2%) of the patients. The sequence analysis of DNA-positive cases revealed the species of the parasite as L. infantum. The high prevalence of VL among the patients with HIV is a serious challenge which demands further attention to improve the prophylaxis and treatment measurements of VL/HIV co-infection and thereby promoting the life expectancy and quality of life of these patients.

A comparative study on relieving post-episiotomy pain with diclofenac and indomethacin suppositories or placebo.

In this study, we compare the prophylactic efficacy of a diclofenac suppository and an indomethacin suppository on decreasing post-episiotomy pain. A total of 90 women with 2nd-degree episiotomy were assigned to receive a single dose of diclofenac suppository (30), indomethacin suppository (30) or placebo (30), according to randomised blocks. The pain was assessed at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 12 hours after receiving analgesia, using the two methods of pain score and visual analogue. This study showed that in the group given diclofenac or indomethacin, at all the assessed hours, the pain measured was considerably less than in the suppository-free group (p < 0.05). Comparing the diclofenac and indomethacin groups, there were only significant differences in the 4 and 12 hour measurements: the diclofenac was more effective than the indomethacin (4th hour), but due to a shorter half-life, the diclofenac group in the 12th hour had more pain (p < 0.05). Diclofenac suppository is recommended at 4-hour intervals for all patients, without internal disorders, to decrease episiotomy pain.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of benzimidazole, benzotriazole and aminothiazole derivatives.

In recent years, the use of antifungal drugs in human medicine has increased, especially with the advent of AIDS epidemic. Efforts have focused on the development of new, less toxic and more efficacious antifungal drugs with novel mechanism of action. The purpose of this study was to synthesize of some new benzimidazole, benzotriazole and aminothiazole derivatives and to evaluate their activity against some species of Candida, Aspergillus and dermatophytes. The desired compounds were synthesized by the reaction of benzimidazole and benzotriazole with bromoalkanes and also by the reaction of an amide derivative of aminothiazole with 2-piperazino-1-ethanol in an efficient solvent in the presence of tetraethyl ammounim bromide or triethylamine) as catalyst. Chemical structures of all the new compounds were confirmed by spectrophotometric methods. Antifungal activities of the new compounds were evaluated by broth micro dilution method as recommended by CLSI. Among the tested compounds, 1-nonyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole and 1-decyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole exhibited the best antifungal activities. Of the examined synthetic compounds in different categories, benzimidazole derivatives established better antifungal activities than benzotriazole derivatives, and the piperazine analogue had no significant antifungal effect.

In vitro enantioselective displacement of propranolol from protein binding sites by acetyl salicylic acid and salicylic acid.

The influences of acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) and salicylic acid (SA) on the enantioselective binding of propranolol (PL) and its enantiomers to plasma proteins and human serum albumin (HSA) were investigated. The equilibrium dialysis was employed for protein binding studies. We observed statistically significant displacement of racemic-PL, (+)-(R)-PL, and (-)-(S)-PL (0.1-10 microM) from their protein binding sites by ASA (200 microg/ml) and SA (100 microg/ml). ASA and SA displaced PL stereoselectivly from its binding sites. We concluded that ASA and its metabolite SA could change R/S ratio of PL unbound fractions and they might affect pharmacokinetic properties of PL.

Synthesis of N-alkylated derivatives of imidazole as antibacterial agents.

N-Alkylation of imidazole, 2-methylimidazole and 2-methyl-4-nitroimidazole have been carried out to achieve effective antibacterial agents. The products were then investigated for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coil, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibacterial effects of 1-alkylimidazole derivatives increase as the number of carbons in alkyl chain increases up to nine carbons. Also substitution of 2-methyl and 2-methyl-4-nitro groups on imidazole ring increases the antibacterial activity.