Plasmodium falciparum: adhesion phenotype of infected erythrocytes using classical and mini-column cytoadherence techniques

Cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum- infected erythrocytes to host cells is an important trait for parasite survival and has a major role in pathology of malaria disease. Infections with P. falciparum usually consist of several subpopulations of parasites with different adhesive properties. This study aimed to compare relative sizes of various binding subpopulations of different P. falciparum isolates. It also investigated the adhesive phenotype of a laboratory P. falciparum line, A4, using different binding techniques. Seven different P. falciparum isolates [ITG, A4, 3D7 and four field isolates] were cultivated to late trophozoite and schizont and then Cytoadherence to cell differentiation 36 [CD36], intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 [ICAM-1], and vascular cell adhesion molecule [V-CAM] and E-selectin were examined. The relative binding sizes of parasite subpopulations to human receptors were measured by mini-column Cytoadherence method. The adhesion phenotype of P. falciparum-A4 line was evaluated by in vitro static, flow-based and mini-column binding assays. The relative binding size of ITG, A4 and 3D7 clones to a column made with CHO/ICAM-1 was 68%, 54% and 0%, respectively. The relative binding sizes of these lines to CHO/CD36 were 59.7%, 28.7% and 0%, respectively. Different field isolates had variable sizes of respective CD36 and ICAM1-binding subpopulations. A4 line had five different subpopulations each with different binding sizes. This study provided further evidence that P. falciparum isolates have different binding subpopulations sizes in an infection. Furthermore, measurement of ICAM-1 or CD36 binding subpopulations may practical to study the Cytoadherence phenotypes of P. falciparum field isolates at the molecular level

Identification and characterization of the antigens expressed on the surface of human erythrocytes infected with plasmodium falciparum

Molecules expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes [IE] with Plasmodium falci-parum play important roles in malaria pathogenesis and immune evasion. Some of these molecules are specific adhesive ligands mediating adhesion of IE to the vascular endothelium. In the current study, the antigens exposed on the surface of IE with different isolates and various binding subpopulations of P. falciparum were studied. A pooled hyper immune serum [HIS] from Malawian adults and eluted antibodies from the surface of the homologous and heterologous parasites were used. The parasite surface molecules were analyzed by Immuno-Gold-Silver enhancement [IGSE] and Western blotting. Mini-column cytoadherence method was used to select various parasite-binding subpopulations. Surface antigens of all the isolates were recognized by HIS and high recognition of antigens was observed in all isolates with homologous eluted antibodies. Western blot analysis showed that the eluted antibodies reacted with a small subset of antigens compared with HIS. Three bands, PfEMP-1, were detected in the Triton X- insoluble fraction of the ICAM-1 binding subpopulation. Another interesting band was tilde 52-55 kDa in various isolates of P. falciparum. This molecule as defined by its low molecular weight, Triton X-100 solubility, surface location and sensitivity to 1 mg/ml trypsin. The IE's surface antigens differed in parental population compared with the selected subpopulations. These molecules could induce isolate-specific immunity. Antibodies purified from the surface of IE can be used as specific reagents to investigate parasite-derived proteins expressed on the surface of IE.

[ prevalence of obesity and its relative factors among less than 5 years aged children, bandar turkmen district, Iran]

Child obesity is increasing in developing countries. This study assessed the prevalence of obesity and some related factors among less than 5-years children in Bandar Turkmen district, Iran. In this descriptive-analytical study, 616 children aged less than 5 years were selected with stratified random sampling. Obesity was defined as more than +2 standard deviation [SD] National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS] reference. Data were collected by interviewing mothers using a questionnaire and were analyzed with chi-square and Fisher's tests and multiple regression logistic models. 6 percent of children were obese. Prevalence of obesity did not differ significantly between boys and girls [6 and 6.1 percent respectively]. Less than 2500 g and more than 4000 g birth weight [P = 0.031], less than 18 months breast feeding duration [P = 0.017], more than 37 years mother's present age [P = 0.039], more than 30 years mother's delivery age [P = 0.043], and formula or cow's milk plus breast feeding up to 6 months of age [P = 0.018] had significant correlation with children's obesity. Exclusively breast feeding up to 6 months of age rather than formula or cow's milk plus breast feeding, reduced obesity risk about 2.45 times [P = 0.019]. This study suggests that exclusively breast feeding at first 6 months of age, longer breast feeding duration and pregnancy in lower than 30 years of age reduce risk of child obesity

Malaria in Mazandaran, Northern Iran: passive case finding during 1997-2012

Malaria is one of the most important parasitic diseases in tropical and temperate regions. The aim of this study was to determine the trend of malaria in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran during 1997-2012. This retrospective study was conducted from 1997 to 2012. The population's study was individuals who registered at health centers of Mazandaran Province. Peripheral blood smear were prepared for each case, stained with Giemsa and examined by light microscope. In addition to demographic data, other parameters including Slide Positive Rate [SPR], Annual Parasite Incidence [API] and Annual Blood Examination Rate [ABER] were analyzed. In total, 844 cases of malaria were reported. Plasmodium vivax was predominant species with 821 cases [97.4%]. The number of malaria cases increased from 1997 to 2005 and then decreased to 3 cases in 2011. Some cities had not reported any cases during last three years. The highest infection rate, 163[20.07%], was seen in 2001-02. The SPR had the highest value [0.54%] in 2004-05. The maximum API and ABER were observed in 2001-02 and 1997-98. 641[75.9%] of cases were imported from hyperendemic areas such as Afghanistan and South-eastern Iran and 94 [11.1%] malaria patients were recorded as introduced cases. The highest infection rate of malaria [21.3%] was seen in Babolsar. Extensive malaria control should be continued to Mazandaran to become malaria-free region and in prevention of re-introduction stage

partial linearization method for multi-objective continuous network design problem with environmental considerations

Nowadays, the environmental impact of transportation project and, especially air pollution impacts, are major concerns in evaluating transportation projects. Based on this concern, beside definition of traditional objective functions like total travel time and total investment cost, different type of environmental related function is considered as objective function in urban network design. In this paper, the continuous network design problem [CNDP] is formulated as a multi-objective bi-level optimization problem. The objective function of the upper level problem is a weighted combination of total travel time, total investment cost and total vehicular emission in the network. The lower level problem is the traffic assignment problem which would predict the vehicular flow on each link in the network. A new solution algorithm is proposed for solving the bi-level optimization problem by the partial linearization of the lower level problem. The solution algorithm was applied to the city of Sioux Falls, a well known transportation network

[Folic acid and vitamin B12 status in healthy preschool children in Tehran, Iran, 2010]

A deficiency of folate or vitamin B12, particularly in tissues with a high cell replication rate, could inhibit RNA and DNA synthesis, DNA methylation, as well as cell maturation. Therefore, a sufficient intake of these vitamins in childhood is of vital importance. Since there are no published reports on the status of folic acid and vitamin B12 in Iranian children, the present study was conducted to assess serum and red blood cells concentrations and some related factors in healthy 3-6 year old children in Tehran, Iran, 2010. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study, in which 228 children, 3-6 year old [105 girls and 123 boys], were selected by random systematic cluster sampling from 20 [out of 270] day-care centers in Tehran. A 2-ml non-fasting blood sample was drawn from each child and analyzed for serum and red blood cell folate and vitaminB12 by the RIA method. SPSS.16 was used for data analysis, the statistical tests being t-test, Chi-square and ANOVA. There were no significant differences between the 2 sexes with regard to age, weight, height, BMI, RBC folate, or serum folate and vitamin B12 levels. Based on the serum folate level, 9.6% and 37.8% of the children suffered from severe and mild deficiency, respectively; 52.6% had normal folate serum levels. The data also showed that 97.4% of the children had a normal serum vitamin B12 level, only 2.6% being mildly deficient. As judged by the RBC folate level, of 105 children [60 boys and 45 girls], 1% and 37% had severe and mild deficiency, respectively, an absolute majority [62%] having normal levels. The distributions of serum folate, serum vitaminB12, and RBC folate levels were not statistically different between boys and girls. Similarly, no associations were observed between the RBC folate level, serum folate level, or serum vitamin B12 level and age, weight, height, family size, birth order, or head of the family. There were positive significant correlations between serum folate on the one hand and RBC folate [r=0.4, p<0.001] and serum vitamin B12 [r=0.8, p<0.001] on the other hand. Furthermore, folate, RBC folate, and serum vitamin B12 were all positively related to father's education [p=0.01], mother's education [p=0.008] and father's job status [p<0.027]. In addition, the vitamin levels were higher in children of the working mothers, as compared to those of non-working mothers [p<0.036]. There were no differences between the 2 groups with regard to other variables. Folate deficiency is highly prevalent, while the deficiency of vitamin B12 is low, among Tehrani preschoolers. It is recommended to design and implement suitable intervention programs. Major components of such programs should be mothers' nutrition education and improving family food consumption patterns with particular emphasis on optimum utilization of folate sources, particularly vegetables

Mini-column for cytoadherence: a new method for measuring the relative size of binding subpopulations in Plasmodium falciparum isolates

Cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum- infected red blood cells to endothelial cells is an important mechanism for parasite survival and a major trigger for diseases pathology. Here, we describe a new adhesion assay in which different cell types [CHO, CHO/CD36 and CHO/ICAM-1] are attached to Cytodex beads in a mini-column format to measure the relative sizes of various binding subpopulations as a percentage of the total population. Relative size of CD36 and ICAM-1-binding subpopulations of erythrocytes infected with P. falciparum were measured by amount of parasitemia before and after passing the infected erythrocytes through a particular column. The mini-column adhesion assay was a suitable method as parasitemia always reduced after passing through a particular column in independent experiments. For example, in a typical experiment using P. falciparum ITG line, 75% of the parasites are retained on a CHO/ICAM-1 while 0% of clone 3D7 is retained. This work introduced and validated a method for measuring the relative size of parasite binding subpopulations and the selection of them. Also, the mini-column method is of value for assessments of cytoadherence and can be used as tool for different applications

Association of overweight and obesity in first-year primary school children in Shiraz with breastfeeding pattern, birth weight, and family socio-economic status in school year 2008-09

The overweight and obesity epidemic in Iran started in about 2001. Obesity in the early decades of life is a strong predictor of adult obesity. Some of the most important risk factors of overweight and obesity in childhood are related to infant feeding pattern, parents obesity, family socioeconomic status, birth weight, physical activity, and diet. Breastfeeding is a good strategy for reducing childhood overweight and obesity. In this study the association between overweight and obesity with birth weight and breastfeeding pattern in 7 year-old children in Shiraz was investigated. This case-control study included a total of 400 Shirazin first-year primary school children [200 obese children as case and 200 normal-weight ones as control] selected by multistage sampling. The schools were selected by stratified random sampling and then all of the overweight and obese children [case group] were selected by cluster sampling. Overweight and obesity were defined as 85 /= 95 percentile of CDC 2000, respectively. For each case subject a control child was chosen matched for age, sex, school and grade. Data were collected by a nutritionist on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, breastfeeding pattern, birth weight, physical activity, and food consumption [24-hour diet recall] by interviewing mothers, using appropriate questionnaires. Weights and heights of the mothers were also measured. The SPSS software was used for data analysis. The length of breastfeeding, mothers' BMI, and obesity in first-degree family members were statistically significantly different between the case and control groups [P = 0.005]. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups with regard to the family socio-economic status. Further analysis of the data showed no association between birth weight and overweight and obesity in the case group. The results of this study show that overweight and obesity in 7- year old children in Shiraz city are related to breastfeeding pattern, although the relationship may not be an independent one

Fingerprint study of Thyrnus spp.aby TLC

Thymus is a widely used medicinal plant in food and pharmaceutical industries. Among different species of Thymus, T. vulgaris is used more than other species in therapeutic dosage forms. This study was conducted to differentiate various Thymus species by TLC fingerprint. In order to identify and differentiate various species of Thymus, TLC fingerprints of essential oil, dichloromethane, ethylacetate and n-butanol extracts of four available species named T. vulgaris, T. pubescens, T. citriodorus and T. daenensis were obtained and compared with each other. The results showed that the TLC chromatograms of essential oil and n-butanol extract cannot be used as differential identification for the above-mentioned species; while the ethylacetate and dichloromethane extracts are more reliable to be used for TLC fingerprints. TLC-chromatogram of ethylacetate extract is specific for identification of T. pubescens and T. vulgaris while T. citriodorus and T. daenensis can be best identified by their TLC fingerprints obtained from dichloromethane extract. For best differentiation of various Thymus species, different extracts of the plants should be used

[Association of anthropometric indices with some dietary factors of high school girls in Lahijan]

Adolescence is a critical period of growth and development, and inadequate nutrition during this period may increase the incidence of obesity, sexual maturation delay, high blood pressure and osteoporosis in adulthood. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity and some dietary factors associated with it in adolescent high school girls in Lahijan, north of Iran. In this descriptive-analytical study, 400 students were selected by random stratified sampling from 12 schools. Data collected were demographics status, 24-hour dietary recall, food habits and food frequency questionnaires were completed for all samples. Weight and height were measured and BMI was calculated. BMIs at or above the 85th and 95th percentiles for age and sex [based on WHO standard] were classified as overweight or obese, respectively. Data were analyzed by the SPSS program and ANOVA, chi-square and pearson correlation tests. The prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity were 4.7%, 14.8% and 5.3%, respectively. Mean energy, carbohydrate and fat intakes were significantly higher for overweight/obese girls than for under weight and normal weight ones [P<0. 0001]. A significant positive correlation was observed between consumption frequencies of fried and fast foods with BMI [respectively: r=0. 24, P<0. 0001 and r=0. 19, P<0. 0001]. High energy, fat and carbohydrate intakes as well as consumption of fast and fried foods were associated with BMI in adolescent girls. Hence, more attention must be given to improving the nutritional status and dietary patterns of adolescents through policy making, nutritional education and implementing changes in nutritional styles

Prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting and overweight among Iranian under-five-year-old children [2000-2002]

A key target of the Millennium Development Goals [MDG] toward eliminating poverty and hunger is to reduce malnutrition among children less than 5 years. Over the past 20 years developing countries have experienced accelerated urbanization and an increase in the incidence of overweight and obesity as a consequence. Monitoring progress of countries toward the MDG requires reliable data on the growth status of children at the national level. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, overweight and obesity among under-five-year-old children of the Iranian households included in the National Comprehensive Study on Household Food Consumption Patterns and Nutritional Status [2000-2002]. Data from 7158 households, with a total of 2562 under-five-year-old children, selected through random systematic sampling from 28 provinces, were included in the study. Trained nutritionists measured weight [with Seca digital balance, to the nearest 100gr] and height [using tape, to the nearest 0.1 cm] of all the household members during three consecutive days, using standard protocols. Age was documented in months, based on birth certificates. For children under two years, weight was based on the mean of two weighings, and recumbent length was measured. Undernutrition was defined as less than 2 standard deviations [2SD] of weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores, and overweight+obesity as higher than 2SD. The results were expressed based on weighted means of the total country, rural, and urban areas, and for both sexes. The total prevalence of stunting was 13.1% [CI 95%: 11/8%-14.4%] and of underweight 7.6% [CI 95%: 6.6%-8.6%]. Prevalences of stunting and underweight in rural areas were twice those in urban areas. There were statistically nonsignificant gender differences: the prevalences of stunting and underweight were, respectively, 14.2% and 7.3% among boys, and 11.8% and 8.0% among girls. Wasting and overweight were less prevalent the proportion of wasting was 4.5% and of overweight+obesity 5.2%; the prevalence of the latter was similar in rural and urban areas but it was higher among girls. Finally, the prevalence of wasting in urban areas was twice that in rural areas. According to the WHO classifications based on underweight, stunting and wasting rates, Iran is grouped with the countries having low prevalence rates. The high prevalence of overweight in children must be taken seriously, and it is absolutely esential to pay sufficient attention to both ends of the malnutrition spectrum. The findings of this study indicate that in order to achieve the millennium goals, improvements in living standards and the quality of diets is essential

Qualitative study on nutritional knowledge of primary-school children and mothers in Tehran

The nutritional education demands of primary-school children in Tehran were evaluated in a qualitative study, through 20 focus group discussions, 16 for children and 4 for mothers, among 128 children aged 6-11 years and 32 mothers in 8 primary schools in Tehran. Children knew about the advantages of different food groups, including helping digestion, growth and increasing intelligence. They obtained their knowledge mainly from their parents and television, as well as books, teachers and friends. Mothers thought the sources that had most effect on children's nutritional knowledge were television advertisements, parents and classmates. Most of the children claimed that they preferred to learn about nutrition from their parents and television, e.g. children's programmes and advertisements

Investigation of a and beta - thujone content in common wormwood from Iran

Artemisia absinthium L. [common wormwood] has been widely used in traditional medicine. The plant contains toxic components: a and beta-thujone, therefore, it should be used with caution. Since common wormwood is considered to be a toxic plant, we decided to evaluate toxic compounds quantities in those used in Iranian folk market. Five samples were purchased from Tehran markets. Essential oil of the flowers was obtained by water distillation. Essential oils were injected to gas chromatograph and their thujone content were determined according to the calibration curve. The results showed that alpha-thujone is absent in all samples and p-thujone content in the essential oils is much less than its amount reported from other countries. Since the quantity of toxic compounds are low in the plant growing in Iran, it is proposed that Artemisia absinthium L. can be studied for its some medical uses

Evaluation of toxicity of heavy metals for Escherichia coli growth

Iron is essential to virtually all organisms but it can be toxic in excess. High concentration of iron and other trace elements could restricted bacterial growth and modify their metabolic pattern as well. However, this study aimed to find out the influence of iron, chromium, cadmium and synergism or antagonism between these elements on growth of a gram negative bacterium. In the series of experiments, E. coli has been cultured in a nutrient broth which supplemented with Fe[+2], Fe[+3], Cr[+3], Cd[+2] alone or in combination with together, at 37°C for 5 h. Bacterial growth was measured every half an hour using spectrophotometer. Findings obtained from this study indicated that bacterial growth reduced at presence of 1 mM/L concentration of Fe[+3] and 0.5 mM/L Fe[+2] in comparison with control. Growth of the bacteria was completely inhibited by 1 mM/L concentration of iron [II]. Chromium has also inhibitory effects on growth of the bacteria and cadmium is very toxic. Cr[+3] and Cd[+] have antagonism effect with iron on the growth of bacteria. This work suggested that trace elements could interact in their metabolism in bacteria. It has also concluded that toxic effects of trace element could be another view against pathogenic bacteria particularly in complex with antibacterial activity of various antibiotics

[Effects of iron supplementation with or without vitamin C on Zn and vitamin C status in iron-deficient university female students]

Iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia are one the most important health problems in the world. Iron supplementation can reduce both Zn absorption and plasma vitamin C concentration. In this study, effects of iron supplementation with and without ascorbic acid on Zn and vitamin C status in iron-deficient university female students have been studied. This study was a double-blind randomized clinical trial. Sixty non-anemic iron-deficient [NAID] girls were selected from 289 female students at Fatemeh Zahra [PBUH] dormitory, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran. They were divided randomly into 2 groups, receiving either 50 mg/d elemental iron supplement [group I, intervention] or the supplement plus 500 mg/d ascorbic acid [group II, control] for 12 weeks. Blood analysis was made at the beginning and the end of the 6thand 12th weeks in the two groups. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations were measured using cell-counter and ELISA, respectively. Serum zinc and iron concentrations were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and plasma vitamin C was analyzed by the 2, 4-DNPH method. The Student's t and repeated-measures tests were employed to analyze the data using the SPSS software. The serum zinc level was not initially significantly different between the two groups. It decreased from 80.9 +/- 4.2 to 68.9 +/- 2.7 and from 81.2 +/- 4.5 to 66.1 +/- 2.9 mg/dl by the 6th week in groups I and II, respectively [p<0.001], but by the 12th week it increased significantly to the preintervention value of 79 +/- 2.9 mg/dl [p < 0.01] in group I and, non-significantly, to 70.5 +/- 3.1 in group n. On the other hand, plasma vita D1 in C increased from 3.0 +/- 0.1 to 3.3 +/- 0.2 mg/l [NS] in group 1 and from 2.7 +/- 0.1 to 4.2 +/- 0.2 mg/l [p < 0.01] in group II by the 6th week. The incremental trend in group n continued between the 6thand 12th weeks [3.3 +/- 0.2 to 4.7 +/- 0.3 mg/l in group I, and 4.2 +/- 0.2 to 7.1 +/- 0.2 mg/l in group II; in both cases p < 0.001]. Serum ferritin and iron levels increased significantly in both groups [p < 0.01]. Iron supplementation with and without vitamin C in iron-deficient female students causes serum Zn reduction after 6 weeks. However, the decreasing trend stops after repletion of iron stores, the Zn level returning to the baseline value. Twelve weeks of iron supplementation does not seem to cause reductions in the serum zinc and plasma vitamin C levels in this age group

Clinical features and treatment response of immune thrombocytopenic purpura in infants

Pediatric immune thrombocytopenic purpura [ITP] typically manifests as isolated thrombocytopenia and mucocutaneous bleeding. We performed this study to determine the clinical features and treatment outcomes of infant with ITP. Retrospective analysis of 96 infant ITP patients treated from 1995 to 2005. The data abstracted comprised age, gender, clinical features, and treatment outcomes. The 56 male and 40 female infants had a median age of 3 months. Eighty presented with purpura, sixteen with active mucosal bleeding. The median platelet count was 13000 /ul. Seventy-seven infants received intravenous immunoglobulin [IVIG], eighteen steroids and one patient was observed. Ninty-sex [96%] responds to a single course of treatment. Infant with ITP respond favorably to treatment

Comparative and differential study of Passiflora incarnata L. and Passiflora caerulea L. in raw plants and pharmaceutical dosage forms

Passiflora has several species that two of them named P. incarnata and P. caerulea are cultivated in Iran. Many investigations have been carried out on therapeutic effects of the genus but only P. incarnata is approved for use in pharmaceutical dosage forms for anxiety and insomnia. The purpose of this study is differential determination of P. incarnata and P. caerulea in medicinal plants and related herbal drugs. In this investigation, microscopic properties, total ash, acid-insoluble ash and total flavonoids calculated as hyperoside of P. incarnata and P. caerulea were determined. In addition, TLC chromatogram regarding flavonoids and HPLC chromatograms of P. incarnata and P. caerulea ethanol extract, Passipay tablet and drop [Iran Darouk Co.], Passiflora drop and dry extract [Vogel Co.] and Passiflora drop [Curarina Co.] were also compared. No significant difference between total ash, acid-insoluble ash and total flavonoids in two species were found. But they were very different in microscopic properties. TLC and HPLC chromatograms are very different as well. The aerial parts of the two plant species can be well distinguished by microscopic method. The plant extract either itself or in pharmaceutical dosage forms, can be determined by HPLC or TLC methods. Since sample preparation is very simple and doesn't require complex procedures, the above-mentioned methods seem to be efficient

[ associations of total energy, macronutrients intake and meals-derived energy with body mass index]

In some works, a correlation between the percentage of meals-derived energy intake and the prevalence rate of obesity has been found. To explore any possible correlation between body mass index [BMI] and dietary energy, macronutrients intakes and also contribution of meals to energy intake. This was a cross-sectional study in which 348 male high school students aged 14-16 from Zarrin-shahr district, Isfahan, were investigated. The selection procedure was based on stratified random sampling from all high schools in the region followed by calculation of BMI [Weight/height[2]] for each individual. Data on food and nutrient intakes were gathered using a 24-hr dietary recall method. Obesity, overweight and thinness was defined on the basis of CDC 2000. The data showed that 9% of adolescents were thin, 6% overweight and 5% obese. While there was a positive correlation between total energy intake and BMI [r=0.31 p<0.03], no relationship was found between BMI and protein, fat or carbohydrate intakes. In all age groups, overweight/obese students had lower energy intake from breakfast. The adolescents aged 14 and 15 had higher energy intake from lunch [23.9+/-5.1% vs. 18.9+/-4.2% and 27.2+/-4.0% vs. 19.2+/-3.9%], respectively [p<0.01]. There was a significant correlation between total energy intakes and BMI, and also between the latter and the energy share of different meals which may have important implications in designing nutrition education programs to prevent overweight or obesity in school adolescents

Inhibit effect of allium hirtifolium boiss. [Persian shallot] hydroalcoholic extract on the growth of Leishmania infantum in vitro

Antiprotozoal effects of genus Allium plants including garlic and onion have been proven in Aryana L and s since hundreds years ago. In this study, inhibitory effect of persian shallot hydroalcoholic extract on growth of Leishmania infantum was evaluated in vitro. Different concentrations of the extract including 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/cc in schneider medium were prepared, the parasites were added and counted every day during 7 days after culture. Concentrations between 0.01 - 0.1 mg/cc inhibited the growth of parasites on the third day, but the highest concentration [0.2 mg/cc] inhibited the growth of parasites on the first day. This study proves inhibitory effect of persian shallot hydroalcoholic extract [containing allicin, ajoene and other agents] on Leishmania infantum. For exact evaluation of persian shallot antileishmanian properties, it is necessary to evaluate inhibitory effect of the plant hydroalcoholic extract in vivo

Food consumption pattern in pregnant women attending prenatal care centers in Maku

There is little information regarding the food consumption pattern and nutrient intake in pregnant women, especially those residing in deprived cities to determine the food consumption pattern and nutrient intake in pregnant women with further comparison of data in rural and urban areas of Maku-the west north of Iran. In this cross-sectional study 284 pregnant women [142 from urban areas and 142 from rural areas] were chosen randomly and privately interviewed using a face-to-face technique. Socio-demographic information such as age, educational level, family size, husband's occupation and pregnancy medical history were obtained by questionnaire. The data on dietary intake was collected using two 24-hour recalls and a food frequency questionnaire for 3 months. Mean consumption of grains and dairies was higher in rural women compared to those in urban areas. Fruit consumption by pregnant women in urban and rural areas was 140 g and 248 g, respectively. There was no significant difference regarding consumption of vegetables, pulses, fats and oils between two groups. All women consumed adequate amount of energy, protein, thiamin and niacin [>75% RDA]. Nutrients intakes including folate, B6, A, D vitamins, iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and zinc were found to be insufficient in both groups [<75%RDA]. Our data indicated that the rural women had a better nutritional status than urban women. Further studies are needed to determine factors associated with food consumption pattern in these women