The Effect of Developmental Supportive Positioning on Pain from Venipuncture in Preterm Neonates Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

@#Introduction: One non-pharmacological method of pain relief is the application of developmental supportive positioning which is a useful method for achieving this goal. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of developmental supportive positioning on the pain from venipuncture in preterm neonates admitted to the NICU. Methods: In this clinical trial, 54 preterm neonates admitted to the NICU were divided into control and intervention groups using the randomized block method. The neonates in the intervention group were put into developmental supportive positioning for 20 minutes, and then venipuncture was performed in both groups. Changes in the neonates’ facial expressions as well as neonatal physiological parameters including heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen saturation were collected at three time points: immediately after needle insertion, two minutes and five minutes after needle removal. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 21 software. Results: The results showed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of facial expression changes, heart rate and neonatal blood oxygen saturation at two and five minutes after needle removal in the intervention and control groups (P <0.05). The comparison of the mean respiratory rate of the neonates at two and five minutes after needle removal showed no significant difference between the intervention and control groups (P >0.05). Conclusion: It seems that developmental supportive positioning of preterm neonates has a positive effect on the relief of the pain caused by venipuncture. Considering the importance of pain control in preterm neonates, it is recommended to use this method when doing venipuncture.

Chemokine Receptors Expression in MSCs: Comparative Analysis in Different Sources and Passages

MSC-based therapy is providing a cure for degenerative diseases with unmet medical need and usually iliac crest bone marrow (ICBM) are being applied in clinics. Alternative sources, including adipose tissue and reamer/irrigator/ aspirator hold great potential for isolating MCSs. Here, we compared original MSCs features of adipose tissue (Ad-MSCs) and bone marrow of long-bone (RIA-MSCs) or iliac crest, and the expression of chemokine receptors (including CXCR4, CX3CR1, CXCR6, CXCR2, CCR1 and CCR7) in these three sources, which are important in the context of homing. We further investigated the role of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis as a key player in motility of different population of MSCs using Transwell migration assay. All cells exhibited typical MSCs characteristics. However, different MSCs sources expressed different levels of chemokine receptors. Generally, the expression of these chemokine receptors was decreased with increasing passage (P) number from 2 to 3. Interestingly, it was observed that the CXCR4 expression and migration capacity in Ad-MSCs is significantly higher than ICBM and RIA-MSCs in P2. Although our data showed that CXCR4 had highest expression in P2 Ad-MSCs, but it dramatically declined following sub-culturing in the P3. Hence, to improve homing of MSCs by means of chemokine/their receptors axis, the source of isolation and passage number should be considered for clinical applications.

[Comparison between the "Theory of Arkan" [Four Elements] in traditional Persian medicine and the "theory of five elements" in traditional Chinese medicine]

Traditional medicines, according to the World Health Organization, are defined as "the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the beliefs, theories, and experiences indigenous to different cultures that are based and developed historically. Due to the increasing uses of traditional medicines worldwide, it seems that cognition of their principles and foundations are necessary." The two important schools of Traditional Persian Medicine [TPM] and Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM] have many similar concepts; one of the most fundamental is the theory of Arkan in TPM and theory of five elements in TCM. This is a review study, which extracted, classified and compared related concepts in TPM and TCM, conducted on original sources. To use the experience of other researchers and to find published articles in this regard, the Web databases SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, Google scholar, Pubmed and Embase were searched. The results are categorized under 12 categories. Generally, although there are considerable similarities between theory and functions of Arkan in TPM and theory of five elements in TCM, there are differences between the basic principles and the outcomes of these two theories. The comparison between these two theories shows that although they derive from similar theoretical and philosophical origins, that TPM arises from a monotheistic [not necessarily Islamic] viewpoint while TCM comes mostly from a metaphysical point of view. Furthermore, there are four principles in TPM but five in TCM. In addition, principles in TCM and TPM differ as follows: while in the former, the principles [having interactions in a dynamic process] are assumed to be directly related to phenomena, in the latter, they are explained with the mediated concept of "Mizaj"

Psoriasis and indigo naturalis as a treatment

Psoriasis is an inflammatory and proliferative disease. Psoriasis clinical features vary from plaque-type psoriasis to pustular form. Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease, which affects epidermal keratinocytes. Regard to serious side effects of chemical therapy in psoriasis patients, various projects were performed all around the world to find new therapeutic approaches for psoriasis. Various studies confirmed that Indigo naturalis treatment induced long-term remission in patients with psoriasis in all ages

Three-dimensional scaffold from decellularized human gingiva for cell cultures: glycoconjugates and cell behavior

We studied both the presence of some carbohydrate compounds in a three-dimensional [3D] matrix harvested from human gingiva and the cell behavior in this matrix. In this experimental research, in order to prepare 3D scaffolds, human palatal gingival biopsies were harvested and physically decellularized by freeze-thawing and sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]. The scaffolds were placed within the rings of blastema tissues obtained from a pinna rabbit, in vitro. We evaluated the presence of glycoconjugates and cellular behavior according to histological, histochemical and spectrophotometry techniques at one, two and three weeks after culture. One-way analysis of variance [ANOVA] compared the groups. Extracellular matrix [ECM] remained after decellularization of tissue with 1% SDS. Glycoconjugate contents decreased meaningfully at a higher SDS concentration [p<0.0001]. After culture of the ECM scaffold with blastema, we observed increased staining of alcian blue, periodic acid-Schiff [PAS] and toluidine blue in the scaffold and a number of other migrant cells which was caused by cell penetration into the scaffold. Spectrophotometry results showed an increase in glycosaminoglycans [GAGs] of the decellularized scaffolds at three weeks after culture. The present study has shown that a scaffold generated from palatal gingival tissue ECM is a suitable substrate for blastema cell migration and activity. This scaffold may potentially be useful as a biological scaffold in tissue engineering applications

Prevalence and assessment of the appropriate laboratory indices for screening of hemoglobinopathyies in southern Iranian newborns

Newborn screening is a systematic application of tests for early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of certain genetic or metabolic disorders that may lead to mortality and morbidity if untreated. As stated by WHO, each year over 330,000 babies are born worldwide with a severe form of hemoglobinopathy. Newborn screening for hemoglobinopathies could become one of the most important methods of decreasing mortality and morbidity and mitigating rising healthcare costs. The diversity and heterogeneous distribution of hemoglobin disorders make it necessary to develop strategies at the country level. Overall, 499 healthy full term Iranian neonates were screened for hemoglobinopathies who were originated from Fars province in southern part of Iran. The screening was performed on cord blood samples collected on EDTA. Following sample collection, complete blood cell count cell indices, osmotic fragility test and hemoglobin electrophoresis were performed. Total prevalence of significant hematologic abnormal findings was 12.4% in this study, the most prevalent one was Alpha thalassemia [6.4%] followed by hereditary spherocytosis [4.8%], and sickle cell anemia [1.2%]. The total analysis for detection of Alpha thalassemia by mean corpuscular volume [MCV]

[Effects of pioglitazone injection into hippocampal CA1 area on spatial learning and memory deficits in rats]

Pioglitazone from thiazolidinediones generation, represent a new antidiabetic drugs that have been introduced in the world recently. Thiazolidinediones can improve insulin resistance by activating the nuclear peroxoxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma [PPAR-gamma] and increasing insulin sensitivity in their receptors. Insulin and its receptors are found in specific areas of CNS with a variety of region-specific functions. The effects of insulin in CNS are different from its direct glucose regulation in the periphery. Hippocampus and cerebral cortex distributed insulin/insulin receptor have been shown to be involved in brain cognitive functions. In the present study, the effect of pioglitazone microinjection into CA1 region of rat hippocampus using Morris water maze performance has been investigated. In this experimental study, male N-MRI rats were randomly divided into control, DMF [dimethyl formamide] and pioglitazone groups [0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 microg/rat]. Drugs were injected [1 microl/rat] into CA1 region bilaterly during 1 min. Thirty minutes after the intrahippocampal injection of drugs, water maze training was started. Pioglitazone had a dose dependent effect. The spatial learning and memory didn't change with lower dose of pioglitazone, but improved with intermediate doses, while they impaired with higher dose. These results suggest that intrahippocampal injection of pioglitazone may have a dose-dependent effect on spatial learning and memory in rats in range of 0.001 to 1 microg/rat

Effect of curcumin on doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells

Doxorubicin [DOX], a widely used chemotherapeutic agent can give rise to serve cardiotoxicity by inducing apoptosis. Curcumin, the active compound of the rhizome of Curcuma longa L. has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities. Curcumin has been identified to increase cytotoxicity in several cancer cell lines in combination with DOX, but there is no study about its effect and DOX on normal cardiac cells. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated the effect of curcumin on apoptosis induced by DOX in H9c2 rat heart-derived cells. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Also, activation of caspase-3 was evaluated by spectrophotometry. Quantitative real time RT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression of c-IAP1. Detection of intracellular DOX accumulation was performed by flow cytometry. No toxicity observed when the cells exposed for 1 hr to different concentrations of curcumin, but pretreatment of cells with curcumin increased cytotoxicity of DOX in a dose dependent manner. Analysis of caspase-3 activation showed that curcumin pretreatment increased caspase-3 activation. RT-PCR analysis clearly showed that curcumin significantly decreased mRNA gene expression of c-IAP1 compared to cells treated with DOX alone. Pretreatment of H9c2 cells with DOX and curcumin had no effect on the intracellular accumulation of DOX. Our observations indicated that subtoxic concentrations of curcumin sensitize H9c2 cells to DOX-induce apoptosis. These results suggest that the use of curcumin in combination with DOX in malignancy must be reevaluated

[Effect of daily injection of morphine on leishmaniose infection in mice]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of chronic injection of morphine on infection with Leishmania major [L. major] in sensitive BALB/c and resistant C57BL/6 mice. Morphine injections [2 times /day with 12 hrs intervals, S.c] were begun one week before parasite inoculation. The first group of mice strains was infused with 1.5mg/kg morphine, the second group with 15 mg/kg, and the control received normal saline. After appearance of local reaction on the site of parasite inoculation, the thickness of inoculated paw and countercurrent paw were measured. At the end, all mice were killed and their spleens and popliteal lymph nodes cells were cultured in the presence of Concanavalin-A, and the level of IL-4 was measured. In C57BL/6, mice local reaction size increased until 5th week and then began to decrease to reach a normal situation. In contrast, in BALB/c mice local reaction continued to increase up to the end of the test, and in some cases led to necrosis. There were no significant differences in local reaction size between tests and controls animals in both strains. In addition, there was not a significant difference at the level of IL-4 in the supernatant between tests and control groups in both two strains. Chronic injection of morphine didn't have a significant effect on resistance of C57BL/6 and sensitivity of BALB/c mice to infection with L. major, that may result from immune system tolerance to affect of morphine

Wet cupping of Iranian Traditional Medicine / 国际中医中药杂志

Wet cupping or full cupping is an ancient method of traditional medicine. According to historical documents the different schools of Traditional Medicine have used it. Iranian Traditional Medicine is a branch of Greece one which had an incredible role in developing that.Following, we review some of them in Iranian Traditional Medicine.To throw out a minnow to catch a whale, promote communication of both Chinese and Iranian ones.

Overexpression of BMI1, a polycomb group repressor protein, in bladder tumors: a preliminary report

A polycomb group repressor protein named BMI1 represses the genes that induce cellular senescence and cell death, and it can contribute to cancer when improperly expressed. We aimed to evaluate expression of BMI1 gene in bladder tumors. Tissue specimens containing bladder tumor were evaluated and compared with intact tissues from tumor margins and normal bladder. These were 40 tumor specimens of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, 20 tumor-free tissues taken from the margin of the tumors, and 8 specimens from patients without tumor. Specific primers for BMI1 and B2M [as an internal control] were used for reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction technique. The production and distribution of BMI1 protein was also examined by western blotting and immunohistochemistry techniques. Polymerase chain reaction generated a 683-bp product, corresponding to the expect size of BMI1 amplified region. The identity of the amplified fragment was then confirmed by direct DNA sequencing. The mean of expression of BMI1 detected in tumor tissues was significantly higher than that in intact tissues, and there was also a significant association between the mean of gene expression and the stage of malignancy [P<0.001]. The expression of BMI1 at protein level was further confirmed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. BMI1 is a potent repressor of retinoblastoma and p53 pathways, and hence, elucidating its role in tumorigenesis is very important. We reported for the first time the expression of BMI1 and its correlation with incidence and progress of bladder tumors