مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی اراک
سال بیست و سوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 144، خرداد و تیر 1399)

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents. Due to its specific problems, it can sometimes lead to substance abuse in adolescents through reduced health and increased depression and stress. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of substance abuse with depression and stress in diabetic adolescents mediated by conflict resolution and problem solving skills.

 This is a descriptive/correlational study. The study population consisted of all diabetic adolescent members of Urmia Diabetes Association and those referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital and diabetes specialists in Urmia city in Spring 2019. Of these, 206 were selected using a purposive sampling method. data collection tools were Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory - Adolescents Version (Miller & Lazowski, 2001), Beck’s Depression Inventory (Beck et al, 1988), The Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al, 1983), Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner & Petersen, 1982) and Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (Weeks, 1994). Collected data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation test and structural equation modeling in SPSS and LISREL applications.

 All ethical principles were considered in this study,.

 Depression and stress directly had a negative and significant effect on conflict resolution and problem solving skills, but had no significant effect on substance abuse. Conflict resolution and problem solving skills directly had a negative and significant effect on substance abuse. Moreover, depression and stress indirectly had a significant effect on substance abuse through medication by conflict resolution and problem solving skills (P<0.05).

 Depression and stress can lead to increased substance abuse in diabetic adolescents by decreasing conflict resolution and problem solving skills. Therefore, in order to reduce substance abuse in these patients, it is recommended to hold training workshops to reduce their depression and stress and improve conflict resolution and problem solving skills.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women which leaves a profound impact on their psychosocial health and pain experience. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of group psychotherapy based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on pain-related anxiety and cognitive emotion regulation of women with breast cancer. 

In this quasi-experimental study, subjects were 68 women with breast cancer refereed to Shahid Ghazi Hospitalin Tabriz, Iran who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Then, they were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention (n = 34) and control (n = 34). The intervention group underwent eight 90-min sessions of ACT-based group therapy, while the control group received no any intervention. They completed Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale Short Form and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire before and one week after treatment. Collected ata were analyzed by using t test, chi-square test, ANCOA and MANCOVA. 

This study has obtained its ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (code: IR.TBZMED.REC.1397.287) and has been registered by Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (code: IRCT2017100615590N5).

 The ACT-based intervention improved the dimensions of pain-related anxiety (8.44±1.5) and cognitive regulation of negative (8.40±3.5) and positive (8.39±7.5) affects (P<0.001).

 ACT-based intervention can help breast cancer patients to accept their negative thoughts and current conditions.

Postoperative shivering is a common complication after recovering from anesthesia, and due to its subsequent side effects, its prevention and treatment is of special importance for anesthetists. In this study, the efficacy and onset of action of meperidine (which is a potential cause of hemodynamic and respiratory complications) in treatment of post-anesthesia shivering are compared with those of ondansetron.

 In this clinical trial study, patients with post-anesthetic shivering during recovery were randomly divided into two groups of meperidine (n=27) and ondansetron (n=29). Their shivering scores were recorded every minute for up to 10 minutes. After this time, if patients did not improve, meperidine was used in both groups to treat shivering.

The study obtained its ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences and has been registered in Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT201109224969N3).

 The number of patients completely treated at 10 minutes was higher in the meperidine group (P= 0.05), and the decrease in mean shivering score occurred faster in meperidine group (P= 0.047)

 Although ondansetron has been shown to be effective in treatment of postoperative shivering, the effectiveness and onset of action of meperidine was clearly better.

In patients suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), the secretion of the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) increases while adiponectin secretion and dopamine release decreases. Dopamine and adiponectin exert inhibitory effecs on LH secretion. In the present study the effects of L-dopa and dopamine receptor antagonists were investigated on LH secretion and adiponectin gene expression of in PCOS model rats to determine whether dopaminergic pathway might be involved in the decreasing LH via affecting adiponectin.

 Following estradiol valerate- induced PCOS, fifteen PCOS rats were divided into 3 groups including saline receiving group, L-dopa(100 mg/kg) or simultaneous injections of sulpride(10 mg/kg), SCH23390 hydrochloride (1 mg/kg) and L-dopa(100 mg/kg), Five intact rats received saline as negative control group. Blood samples were collected via tail vein. Ovary and hypothalamus were dissected and frozen. Serum concentration of LH and relative gene expression of adiponectin in ovary and hypothalamus were determined by radioimmunoassay and real time-PCR method. 

This study was approved by the Research Committee of University of Mohaghegh Ardabili (Code: 95.125.1). 

 Induction of PCOS caused a significant increase in mean serum concentration of LH and a significant decrease in mean relative gene expression of ovarian and hypothalamic adiponectin compared to control group. L-dopa caused a significant decrease in serum concentration of LH, a significant decrease in hypothalamic gene expression of adiponectin compared to PCOS rats. But it did not significantly increase ovarian adiponectin gene expression in comparison to PCOS rats. Dopamine receptor antagonists inhibit the effects of L-dopa on LH and hypothalamic gene expression of adiponectin.

 Dopaminergic signaling pathway may be involved in decreasing LH secretion via increasing hypothalamic adiponectin gene expression level in PCOS rats.

Although there are methods such as the use of mouthwashes to prevent periodontal diseases, these diseases are still the most common oral diseases. Given the side effects of chemical methods, the present study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory and antibacterial effects of peppermint essential oil on periodontal pathogens.

Antibacterial effect of the peppermint essential oil by the disk diffusion and Microplate dilution techniques was performed on 4 standard bacteria purchased from the microbial bank of Iran, including Enterococcus Faecalis, Streptococcus Sanguinis, Eikenella corrodens, and Actinomyces Viscosus. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of the essential oil were also evaluated. The amount of biofilm formation was obtained by calculating the average biofilm formation in the three wells and comparing it with the optical density of negative control by the Elisa Reader device.

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences with code: IR.ARAKMU.REC.1397.15.

 Results of diffusion test showed the inhibitory effect of 0.1 g/mL essential oil on Enterococcus Faecalis and Streptococcus Sanguinis. Pure essential oil of peppermint showed the strongest inhibitory effect on streptococcus sanguinis followed by enterococcus faecalis, actinomyces viscosus and eikenella corrodens. 

 The peppermint plant has antibacterial and inhibitory effects on the bacteria of enterococcus faecalis, streptococcus sanguinis, eikenella corrodens, and actinomyces viscosus. Therefore, peppermint as a natural and effective antibacterial agent, has a potential application in the prevention of periodontal disease.

This study aimed to investigate the association between Endoplasmic Reticulum autophagy (ER-phagy) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) by analyzing the expression patterns of related genes in animal models.

Microarray data of AD patients’ brain tissues were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. These data were first analyzed in GEO2R online tool. Then, the expression of ER-phagy related genes were isolated and the protein interaction networks were plotted by STRING database for the genes with increased expression. Finally, the relationship between the genes that had significant increased expression were designed, and the expression of new identified genes in each study was examined. 

 All ethical principles were considered in this article. 

 Genes involved in ER-phagy showed a sporadic expression in different AD models. An increase in the expression of ER-phagy regulatory 1 (FAM134B) gene was observed in studies with the mutation in both Microtubule-associated Protein Tau (MAPT) and Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) genes. Increase in the expression of NPC intracellular cholesterol transporter 1 (NPC1) gene was observed in two studies that had mutations in APP, Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) and MAPT genes. Moreover, SEC62 homolog and Cell Cycle Progression 1 (CCPG1) genes both showed decreased expression in one study. Finally, the expression of Reticulon 3 (RTN3) was not significant in any of the studies.

 The genes involved in ER-phagy have a sporadic expression in AD models, where only two genes FAM134B and NPC1 are involved in AD. The FAM134B gene seems to interact with the Wnk1 gene, which plays a role in cell survival and proliferation, in the hippocampus and forebrain. It also interacts with the Map1lc3b gene, which has a role in phagosome deletion and protein ubiquitination, in the forebrain. It also interacts with the Map1lc3b gene, which has a role in phagosome deletion and protein ubiquitination, in the forebrain. NPC1 had interaction with the Abcg1 gene, which activates lipid homeostasis, in the subventricular zone.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of death, and its prevalence is increasing annually because of the change in lifestyle. Increased blood glucose level and dyslipidemia are the major symptoms of this metabolic disease. Currently, the main and effective treatment for diabetes is the use of medication such as insulin. Its control by using herbal products has received a lot of attention in the world. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of bioflora (a probiotic supplement) and aqueous extract of cinnamon in improvement of blood glucose level, dyslipidemia, and reduction of cardiovascular diseases in diabetic rats. 

Thirty-five male Wistar rats were prepared and randomly divided into five groups of negative control, positive control, probiotic (treated with bioflora 3.2×108 CFUs/day for 30 days), cinnamon (treated with 200 mg/kg of cinnamon aqueous extract for 30 days), and probiotic + cinnamon. Diabetes was induced by intra-peritoneally injection of streptozotocin. The rats’ weight, blood glucose level, lipid profile, high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) and Atherogenic Index (AI) were measured at the end of experiment to predict the risk of cardiovascular diseases.  

 This study ethically approved in Research Centre of Islamic Azad University of Arak (Code: IR.IAU.ARAKREC1397.005). All interventions performed in accordance with the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals prepared by the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources.

 Induction of diabetes caused severe weight lost in rats, but the weight loss was lower in groups treated with probiotic. The blood glucose level in probiotic + cinnamon group was significantly reduced. Bioflora reduced triglyceride, cholesterol, and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, while cinnamon extract significantly reduced triglyceride and LDL-C levels compared to the positive control group. AI and hs-CRP values were reduced in the probiotic group compared to control groups. There was no synergistic effect by combined use of bioflora and cinnamon extract. 

 Bioflora effectively prevented dyslipidemia by improving intestinal microbiota, lowering blood glucose level, and improving lipid profile and, therefore, reduced the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Parental acceptance is an important parameter in selecting the proper behavior management technique during pediatric dental treatment. The present study aimed to compare the effects of different informing methods on acceptance of parents about behavior management techniques used in pediatric dentistry.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on one 162 parents of 3-7-year-old uncooperative children who were candidates for dental treatment. They were randomly divided into three groups. Their acceptance about six behavior management techniques including general anesthesia, voice control, hand-over-mouth, parental separation, active and passive physical restraint were assessed by a questionnaire. After determining the level of acceptance, the information about the techniques was presented through three ways include writing, verbal and visual methods. Finally, their acceptance of each technique and the reasons for non-acceptance were re-evaluated. Data were analyzed in SPSS v.23 software using ANOVA and t-test.

 This study obtained its ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences under code: IR.ARAKMU.REC.1398.102.

 The informing methods significantly increased the parents’ acceptance about behavior management techniques. According to the ANOVA results, the effect of visual presentation method in general anesthesia technique was significantly lower than that of other methods (P<0.05), while its effect in active physical restraint technique was significantly greater than that of other methods (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the effects of informing methods in other behavior management techniques.

 Informing parents about pediatric behavior management techniques increase their acceptance. Informing by visual presentation is the most effective method for increasing their acceptance of physical restraint technique, while in their acceptance of general anesthesia technique other informing methods are more effective

 The long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is an important type of RNAs that can regulate gene expression and, therefore, are involved in the development of various cancers. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) is used to identify phenotype-related loci within non-coding regions. However, the biological functions and exact relationships between phenotype-related loci and lncRNAs have not fully been identified. No study was found on the relationship between rs8506C>T polymorphisms in the lincRNA-NR_024015 exon and breast cancer susceptibility and clinical factors. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of polymorphism rs8506C>T on the breast cancer risk.

In this case-control study, participants were 120 patients with breast cancer, 120 healthy controls. The genetic variant was genotyped by using the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) method. Interactions between the polymorphism and clinical factors were further evaluated, and Odds Ratio (OR) was measured for risk assessment.

This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences (code:????) .

 There was a correlation between rs8506 C>T polymorphism and breast cancer risk in the dominant model (CC and CT+TT genotypes; P=0.027; OR=1.84; 95% CI: 1.067‐3.201). In the co-dominant model, CT genotype had a statistically significant association with breast cancer risk (P=0.038). Subjects with T allele in the rs8506 polymorphism had an increased risk of breast cancer (OR=1.69; 95% CI: 1.047-2.736; P=0.031). No relationship between rs8506 polymorphism and clinical factors including metastasis, tumor grade, and Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) status was observed.

 Genetic variant rs8506 C>T polymorphism in the lincRNA-NR_024015 exon may contribute to the breast cancer risk. Allele T in this variant confers an increased risk of breast cancer. Further functional analyses are required to detect the detailed mechanism underlying the observed association.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of aerobic exercise and the consumption of kefir dough on anthropometric indices, plasma lipid profile and blood pressure in overweight non-athletic women.

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 32 non-athletic women with overweight in Arak, Iran (mean age= 33.94±8.58 years, mean height= 1.59±0.05 cm, mean weight= 70.15±6.88 kg, and body mass index= 27.35±1.50 kg/m2) who were voluntarily selected and randomly divided into four groups of 8 (control, exercise, exercise + supplement, and supplement). The control group had a normal diet without exercise; the supplement group received 100 ml kefir dough three meals a day for 8 weeks; the exercise group performed aerobic exercise for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, each for 50 minutes. The exercise + supplement group received both aerobic exercise and kefir dough. Blood and anthropometric variables were measured at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Paired t-test was used to examine the within-group variations and one-way ANOVA to examine the between-group variations. All statistical tests were performed at the significant level of P<0.05.

This study has obtained its ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Qom University (Code: IR.QOM.REC.1398.01).

 The combination of kefir dough supplementation and aerobic exercise significantly reduced the mean blood pressure (P=0.003) and BMI (P=0.03) but had no significant effect on total cholesterol (P=0.27), triglycerides (P=0.61), high-density lipoprotein (P=0.16), low-density lipoprotein (P=0.30) and waist-to-hip ratio (P=0.24).

 Overweight women can benefit from the aerobic exercise combined with kefir dough supplementation to reduce their blood pressure and BMI. Further studies are recommended to determine the effect of aerobic exercise and kefir supplementation on serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, low- and high-density lipoproteins, and waist-to-hip ratio.

Breast cancer is the abnormal cell growth in the breast. In both benign and malignant masses, there is rapid and high cell growth. Nowadays, due to the development of technologies, the diagnosis of diseases has become non-invasive and physicians attempts to diagnose the disease without surgery and based on internal organ images.

In this study, by using images prepared from the Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM), a new method is proposed for detecting cancerous masses in the mammographic images using geometric features extraction and optimization of Support Vector Machine (SVM) parameters to classify breast cancer masses automatically. First, images were pre-processed and then boundaries were determined using threshold method. Next, morphological operators were used to improve these boundaries and the segmentation of images was carried out to classify cancerous masses. Finally, by using the SVM parameter optimization method, Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA), and 4-fold crossvalidation method, data were classified into two groups of benign and malignant (cancer) masses.

 Images from DDSM database were used in this research, all images are open access in this database.

 The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity values for applying the Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel in SVM classifier (before optimization process) were obtained 97%, 100% and 96, respectively. After optimization of SVM parameters by the GOA, it was reported 100% for all accuracy, sensitivity and specificity indices for applying linear kernel function, indicating the high accuracy of the proposed method. The average values of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity indices for applying all three SVM kernel functions after optimization were 95.83, 100 and 94.81%, respectively.

 The extracted geometrical features from breast cancer masses are highly efficient for model training and the diagnosis of breast cancer. The GOA could improve the overall accuracy of the proposed method by optimizing the SVM parameters. The results showed the higher performance of the proposed method compared to other methods.

Chronic periodontitis is the most prevalent form of periodontitis and it generally considered as a progressive inflammatory disease. Environmental and systemic factors can alter the immune response to biofilm and lead to progressive degenerative disease. Chronic periodontitis is defined as an infectious disease that causes inflammation in the tooth-supporting tissues, periodontal attachment loss, and bone loss. Identification of risk factors for this disease is important. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the risk factors for chronic periodontitis.

 This case-control study was conducted on 120 periodontitis patients and 120 healthy controls in Arak, Iran. A questionnaire was used to estimate their Socio-Economic Status (SES) and survey demographic and risk factors. For the diagnosis of chronic periodontitis, the identification of plaque accumulation site and clinical examination were performed. To investigate the association of chronic periodontitis with study variables, multilevel logistic regression analysis was used in STATA V. 11 software. 

This study obtained its ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences under code: 1397.145.

 The Odds Ratio (OR) of chronic periodontitis in adults aged above 30 years was 2.91 (95% CI: 1.01-8.73). Compared to subjects with low SES, the OR of chronic periodontitis was 2.28 (95% CI: 1.22- 4.27) in those with moderate SES and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.79-0.98) in those with high SES. Compared to patients who did not brush their teeth, the OR of chronic periodontitis was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.39-0.89) in patients reported toothbrushing. Compared to those who reported changing toothbrush sooner than 3 months, the OR was 4.96 (95% CI: 2.27-11.3) in those their changed their toothbrush for more than 6 months interval. The OR of chronic periodontitis in current smokers was 3.09 (95% CI: 1.52-4.76).

 Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, tooth brushing, and SES are the risk factors associated with chronic periodontitis.