[ survey on co-authorship network of Iranian researchers in the field of pharmacy and pharmacology in web of science during 2000-2012]

Introduction: Co-authorship network is a kind of social network that presents significant information about collaboration among authors, which is one of the most important factors of the qualitative and quantitative growth of the scientific publication. Regarding the fact that during 2000-2012, Pharmacy and Pharmacology has had the most number of publications in WoS among institutions belonging to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education [MHME], in this research, the co-authorship network of this field is investigated and analyzed. The results of this study can clarify the dimensions of collaboration in the field and help research policy as well

Method: The present study was conducted through scientometric method and social network analysis. The data were drawn from the WoS, downloaded in June 2013, and analyzed by PAJEK software. The research population included 3514 Pharmacy and Pharmacology documents published by universities affiliated to the MHME during 2012-2000

Result: The results of the study showed that the majority of collaborations of the Iranian researchers have been from England, USA and Canada, respectively. Co-authorship network of researchers consisted of 90 nodes [authors] and density degree of the network is 0.084. There is a strong linear correlation between the number of publications and degree centrality of authors at the 1 % level

Conclusion: The degree density of the network under study [.084] shows that this network has a low density. In fact, authors [nodes] in the network have had few relations with each other. This research also revealed that researchers with more publications are likely to have more collaborative works

Comparison of antioxidant activity and total phenols of some date varieties

Date palms [Phoenix dactylifera L., Arecaceae] are one of the oldest cultivated plants which are used in folk medicine for treatment of various diseases. Due to the presence of antioxidant compounds in this plant and the role of oxidative stress in pathogenesis of chronic diseases, the aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity and total phenolic contents of date palm fruits extracts with water, methanol 50%, DMSO, and mixture of water-methanol-acetone-formic acid [20:40:40:0.1]. Antioxidant activity of extracts were measured by two tests: inhibition of 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl [DPPH] radical and FRAP [Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power]. Among 10 different varieties which were examined, the DMSO extract of Khenizi showed the highest antioxidant activity with the FRAP value of 3279.48 micro mol/100 g of the dry plant and DPPH inhibitory percentage of 56.61%. DPPH scavenging radical and FRAP values of some varieties including Khenrizi, Sayer, Shahabi and Maktub showed a significant increase and were comparable to alpha -tocopherol [10 mg/L] when extracted by DMSO. Formic acid extract of Shahabi variety with 276.85 mg GAE/100 g of the dry plant showed the highest total phenolic content compared to other varieties. There was no correlation between accumulation of total phenol and antioxidant activity of extracts, explaining existence of other antioxiadant components in date

Comparison of HBs-antibody serum levels between patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and controls following vaccination against hepatitis B

Diabetic patients are at risk to viral hepatitis. It is reported that vaccination with routine doses is not sufficient for diabetic patients especially those with type I, but there is some controversies. The aim of this study was to the assessment and compare of HBs-Ab titer in type II diabetics and controls after vaccination against hepatitis B. In a semi-experimental study, 91 patients with type II diabetes mellitus and 55 non diabetic healthy individuals matched in age, sex, body mass index and smoking were selected by simple non-random sampling. The positive cases for HBs-Ag, HBs-Ab and HBc-Ab were excluded. Vaccination against hepatitis B was carried in 3 times [0, 1, 6 month] with a dose of 20 microg. Then, 3 and 6 months after the last dose, Hb-A1C and HBs-Ab were tested. HBs-Ab titers were compared between two groups using Mann-Whitney U test and the correlation between HBs-Ab and Hb-A1C in two groups. Three months after vaccination, both in diabetics and controls, the mean HBs-Ab level was 335.8 +/- 275.7 and 420.1 +/- 348.4 mIU/ml, and 6 months after vaccination it was 530.7 +/- 387.9 and 552.5 +/- 410.7 mIU/ml respectively [p > 0.05]. There was an inverse but non-significant correlation between HB A1C and HBs-Ab in diabetics. The findings of the current study confirm that the routine vaccination is sufficient for patients with type II diabetes

In vitro effect of folic acid and cobalamin [vitamin B12] on adhesion and growth of Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia is one of the most common intestinal protozoan parasites infecting human in the world. The goal of this study was searching for in-vitro effect of folic acid and cobalamin on adhesion and growth of G. lamblia as two important mechanisms in the pathogenesis in TYI-S-33 medium. G. lamblia trophozoites were obtained by in- vitro excystation procedure. Three groups of Giardia trophozoites were analyzed: control group, G.lamblia was cultured in TYI-S-33 without any vitamin, 2nd group with 0.1 micro g/ml vitamin B12 or folic acid, and 3rd group with 0.5 micro g/ml of vitamin B12 or folic acid. All culture media tubes incubated at 37 °C. After 2 h of incubation, the adherence into borosilicate culture tubes, and after 24 h the growth of trophozoites were measured .The results showed that in vitamin B12 groups, the growth was increased significantly [P? 0.05] but the adherence decreased significantly [P

serum lead level of childern in emergency ward

Lead is neurotoxic metal and particularly harmful to the developing nervous system of young children. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services established a National goal to eliminate blood lead level more than 100 Microgram/lit in children age<7 years by 2010. Our perpous was to evaluate the serum lead blood level of 1-7 years old children in khorasan province. This cross sectional - descriptive study performed on 206 children aged one to seven years who were referred to pediatric out patients clinic and pediatric emergency service of Emam Reza medical center.Mashhad Iran from Jan. 200 1 - 2002 children age and blood lead levels were collected in special form. From all children before entrance to study 3 cc blood had been taken for blood lead level. Blood lead levels in all samples were measured by the same lab and same technician. Collected data were processed by descriptive statistics and frequency tables. In this study we measure blood lead levels in 206 children aged one to six years in Emam Reza Medical center pediatrics emergency service and out patients clinic. The mean age of children was 40/04 +/- 1 8/66 months and the mean blood lead level was 121/95 +/- 33/54 Mcg/lit and in 74/8% of children the lead levels were more than 100 Mc/lit. study showed the lead levels are more than other countries studies. Further epidemiologic studies should be performed for this very important heath problem of Mashhad children

[Short-term Vs long-term systemic corticosteroid in ocular toxoplasmosis]

To compare the effects of short-tem and long-term systemic corticosteroids in the treatment of confirmed ocular toxoplasmosis. This randomized comparative clinical trial was performed on 69 patients with confirmed active ocular toxoplasmosis with typical clinical manifestations. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 10 days [group A, 33 cases] or 4-6 weeks [group B, 36 cases] of systemic corticosteroids in addition to classic antibiotic. All patients were visited and followed weekly until complete improvement of vision. Mean visual acuity, inflammatory cell count in the vitreous, lesion size and severity of the condition were compared between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the two group, regarding mean values of visual acuity in LogMAR [before; group A: 0.24 +/- 0.6, group B: 0.28 +/- 0.07, P=0.43 and after; group A: 0.11 +/- 0.08, group B: 0.60 +/- 0.07, P=0.09], vitreal inflammatory cell count [before; group A: 1.8 +/- 0.56, group B: 1.9 +/- 0.06, P=0.45 and after; group A: 1.5 +/- 0.65, group B: 1.5 +/- 0.5, P=0.94], and size of the lesion in disc diameter [before; group A: 0.94 +/- 0.37, group B: 1.03 +/- 0.37, P= 0.49 and after; group A: 0.94 +/- 0.44, group B: 1.12 +/- 0.38, P=0.4]. The study revealed that there is no significant difference between the effects of short-term and long- term systemic corticosteroid therapy in the treatment of ocular toxoplasmosis. It is reasonable to perform an equivalence trial study on this issue

Survey of hepatitis B risk factors in blood donors at Isfahan province

Viral hepatitis B is a dangerous disease with high mortality and morbidity rate in the world. It has been prevalence in different areas depends on risk behaviors and people's awareness level. This paper was prepared to detect the risk factors of hepatitis B in blood donors in Isfahan province. In cross-sectional study, 39 seropsitive blood donors and 261 seronegeative ones in 2004 were studied. HBsAg was examined via ELISA. Standard hepatitis B risk factor questionnaires were completed for all of the samples and the prevalence of each risk factor in case and control subjects was compared through X[2] test, using SPSS-10 software with p<0.05. This study indicated that history of surgeries, use of shared razors, jaundice of mother, presence of HBsAg+ patients and drug addicts in families were statistically significant in the two groups. There was not any heamodialysis history, accident of needle sticks and needle sharing by drug addicts. Since the relative frequency of surgery history in the two groups was significant different, attending to hospital and operation room hygine seems to be important. Moreover, since hepatitis B can be prevented with education and vaccination, the families of HBsAg+ patients and drug addicts should be encouraged to use education and vaccination. Using the results of this study, it is necessary to pay attention to hospitals and raise people awareness about hepatitis B transmission routes vaccination of high risk individuals