Health orientation, research centeredness and realism in Avicenna's canon of medicine

Avicenna is a genius and unique person that his introduction needs a thick book. This study was conducted to more familiarity with Avicenna's methods and findings to improve human health. This was a library study. In order to improve exactness of findings, we computerized the Arabic, English and Persian versions of Avicenna's Canon of Medicine and have made a fast and accurate data bank and uploaded on the internet site of Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, Deputy of Research as avail-able from: http:/www.elib.hbi.ir/persian/LIBRARY.htm and also theorizing Avicenna's Canon of Medicine as three roots [Root model] for current medicine, decayed, disabled and active roots and finally, after searching, gathering and encoding the findings, analyzed them as a qualitative research and thematic content. Health orientation, research centeredness and freeing from nihilism and also achieving to dynamic points and taking appropriate action in relation to treatment of some diseases such as rabies, leprosy, tuberculosis and similar cases at this valuable book can be regarded as a hypothesis to be approved or rejected using the new technology. So appropriate methods require testing many Avicenna hypotheses and if approved, utilize them as supportive methods and complementary of common treatment methods either or even as modern solutions. It is necessary that our students within course of Iranian and Islamic culture and civilization to be more familiar with activities of scientists like Avicenna to substitute the empty place of him

[Effectiveness of grouped spiritual psychotherapy on patients with opium using disorder]

Introduction: Some scientists believe that the definition of Bio-psychosocial is not a comprehensive definition for humankind. They are willing to add the spirituality as a part of human being

Methods: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a spiritual group therapy among patients with opium using disorders in Tehran. This study was a clinical trial in which 61 opium users were selected using simple sampling from patient referred to the Iranian national center for addiction studies and two other private centers. Patients were divided into two equal intervention and control groups. The intervention group was treated by spiritual group therapy presented at Yale University, modified according to the Iranian/Islamic culture of the participants within eight sessions in eight weeks. Urine morphine test was done for each participant every week. The Beck depression test, Beck anxiety test and quality of life test [the short form Health survey SF36] were completed before, during and after the intervention

Results: The mean scores of the depression test [p>0.002], anxiety test [p>0.001], and the short form health survey SF 36 test [p>0.001] were improved in the intervention group after the intervention. Although urine morphine test showed a negative trend, the decline was not statistically significant [p<0.75]

Conclusion: This package showed to be effective in many dimensions of psycho-somatic, social and spiritual health of opium users. Subsequent interventions with more modified packages may be more influential

Application of biofungicides in control of damping disease off in greenhouse crops as a possible substitute to synthetic fungicides

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial biofungicide such as Trichomix-HV in controlling damping-off disease in cucumber seedlings of greenhouses. In this regard, 504 fungal isolates were collected from greenhouses at 31 districts in city of Jiroft in Iran. Pythium aphanidermatum, P.ultimum, P. irregulare, Phytophthora drechsleri, and Ph. melonis accounted for 9.9%, 8.3%, 4.5%, 4.9%, and 21% of total isolates collected, respectively. Isolates of P. aphanidermatum obtained from commercial cucumber in greenhouses were tested in vitro and under greenhouse conditions for sensitivity to chemical and biological treatments. To this aim, Trichomix-HV a commercial formulation of Trichoderma harzianum strain T969 and the fungicides Metalaxyl and Metalaxyl MZ were amended into the culture medium as well as into sterilized or non-sterilized greenhouse soils inoculated by the pathogen and containing plants at the seedling stage. Trichomix-HV significantly [P < 0.001] reduced seedling infection at a rate of 82% when applied into soil medium at a concentration of 107 conidia ml/L and reduced vegetative growth of Pythium aphanidermatum in vitro. The result from this study shows that Trichomix-HV can be effectively used as a biocontrol agent for controlling damping-off cucumber seedlings and having the potential to replace chemical fungicides as a mean of disease control