[Antifungal activity of total extract and chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous fractions of aerial parts of Ephedra pachyclada against fungal strains]

Increased consumption of synthetic antifungal compounds has created serious side effects and wide spread anti fungal resistance. This persuades researchers to look for effective herbal plants as an alternative option. We report the results of anti fungal properties of different crude extract and relevant fraction of aerial parts of Ephedra pachyclada. In this experimental study, extracts and fractions of Ephedra pachyclada were obtained by maceration standard methods. The crude extract and fractions were diluted in defferent values from 31.25 to 500mg/ml. Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Fusarium oxysporium were used for anti fungal activity assessment using standard agar diffusion methods. Total extract and chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous fractions had antifungal effects against Candida albicans only. We concluded that this plant contains antifungal compounds on Candida albicans, so this experiments and evaluation are pre-requirement of any applicable recommendation

Helicobacter Pylori infection and metabolic parameters: is there an association in elderly population?

The association between Helicobacter pylori [HP], as one of the most prevalent infections, and serum glucose level was inconsistent with previous studies. Moreover, there are contradictory reports about the relationship between HP infection and lipid profile. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between HP infection with glycemic and lipid profiles in elderly people. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,300 subjects over 60 years in Amirkola Health and Ageing Project. After using a standard questionnaire, the venous sampling was done to determine FBS, triglyceride [TG], cholesterol, low density lipoprotein [LDL], high-density lipoprotein [HDL] and IgG anti-HP after a 12-h overnight fast. The information about the individuals was analyzed using SPSS-17. The P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The prevalence of HP infection in diabetic and nondiabetic subjects was 77.5% and 75.7%, respectively, which had no statistically significant difference. Also, there was no significant difference between the serum lipid level including TG, LDL and HDL cholesterol with levels of anti-HP antibodies. The rate of HP infection in patients with hypertension was 75% and 78.3% in healthy patients, in which the difference was not statistically significant. In terms of body mass index [BMI], the prevalence of infection in the group with normal BMI was 77.3% and for the overweight and obese elderly population, it was 74.7%, and 77.5%, respectively [P = 0.445]. The findings revealed that in a large population of elderly in the northern part of Iran, HP infection is not associated with BMI, serum glucose and lipid profile as well as blood pressure

[Evaluation of antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from patients hospitalized in imam khomeini and burn hospitals in Ahvaz City, Iran]

In recent years the emergence of antibiotic resistance has a high prevalence, so that it has become one of the complexities in modern medicine. This study was performed with the aim of evaluating the bacteria isolated from clinical samples of the patients with various infections and estimating the prevalence of various bacteria and also antibiotic resistance pattern. At first, culture was prepared from wounds of the patients with nosocomial infection in Imam Khomeini and Burn hospitals in 2008-2009. Then, after isolation of bacteria, antibiotic susceptibility was determined using antibiotic discs. Data were analyzed using statistical tests [ratio] at the significance level of p

Role of frenular web preservation on ejaculation latency time

Premature ejaculation [PE] is one of prevalent male sexual dysfunctions worldwide. Despite many psychiatric backgrounds, yet there are speculations about organic etiologies considering both anatomic and physiologic points of view. This survey assesses effect of frenular web preservation on premature ejaculation. One thousand and forty otherwise healthy men being visited for urolithiasis [asymptomatic patients] were asked for PE according to the International Society of Sexual Medicine definition criteria as intravaginal ejaculation latency time [IELT] less than a minute according to stop watch checked by patients' partner and were examined for presence of frenular web. Frenular web defined as a residual of frenulum after a circumcision. Overall prevalence of PE was 18.2% [n=102]. We found the presence of frenulum at physical examination in 255 out of 560 [45.5%]. Prevalence of PE was 20.7% [n=53] and 16% [n=49] in patients with frenular web preserved and without it, respectively. PE was higher among the men with frenulum preserved; but no statistically significant differences were seen [P=0.70]. We did not find any relationship between frenular web and PE, and concerns about this, during circumcision, may not be justified. PE is a not only a problem of local anatomical condition but many psychological and neurological factors could interact with it

comparison between two health education methods on diet: lecture versus videotape

Diet is one of the most important components of life style and its improvement is very related to appropriate educational methods. The main objective of this research was a comparison between two health education lecture and video tape presentation among volunteer health workers. This was a quasi experimental study on 160 volunteer health workers who were under coverage of south Tehran health center. They randomly assigned into 2 groups with the same size. One group recieved a short time lecture about good diet and other group received education by video tape presentation. Data were collected by questionnaire as pretest and post test and was analyzed using chi 2, Mcnemar, t-test [paired-independent] statistical tests. Knowledge and attitude was found to be significantly improved by both methods [P<0.0001], however the lecture method had a greater effect [P<0.0001] on improvement of knowledge and attitude of participants. Most participants also reported mass media as prior information source about good diet. This research showed that both educational methods namely lecture and video tape presentation can be effective ways to increase knowledge and improve attitudes about good diet but lecture was a more proper method

Detection of Brucella abortus by alkB and IS711 based primers

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, which involves both animals and human. Although the conventional methods have been widely used for its laboratory diagnosis, the PCR techniques have proved to be useful due to specificity, sensitivity and the rapidness. Various target sequences of brucella bacterium such as OMP2, 16s RNA and IS711 have been used for the primer designing. All primer sets have shown different sensitivities and specificities. In present investigation, PCR protocol and primer designated based on IS711 and a fragment of chromosomal DNA all were optimized with standard genome and clinical samples. Numerous tissue samples [liver, kidney, lymph node, and uterus] were prepared and were cultured by the bacteriological standard methods along with the serology positive human samples. PCR protocol was optimized and the primer's sensitivity and the specificity were checked using pure genome of B. abortus. All samples were tested by the standard bacteriological methods. The samples were then subject to PCR amplification and the PCR product was confirmed using the RFLP technique. The culture results indicated a poor sensitivity as it was previously reported. The PCR product 157 bp was observed on the agarose gel indicating that significant number of clinical samples [human brucellosis cases] were positive by PCR but not by the culture method. Although B. abortus DNA was detected in all the culture positive veterinary specimens, some cross-reactions with close related bacteria were observed that might influence the interpretation of the results. The sensitivity of the present PCR protocol was significantly higher when alk B and IS711 based primers were used in compare to each of the alkB and IS711 based primers alone. More research will be needed to improve the specificity and sensitivity of the PCR protocol before recommending for routine laboratory works