Journal of Advanced Medical Sciences and Applied Technologies
Volume:3 Issue: 3, Sep 2017

Gestational Dabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a pregnancy-induced Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and insulin resistance occurs and diagnoses during pregnancy and gradually disappears after delivery. A mild to moderate physical activity is suggested as an adjuvant treatment for GDM; in addition, aerobic and resistance trainings might be effective in preventing or controlling GDM in the different manners. The current study aimed at comparing aerobic and resistance trainings plausible effects on insulin resistance and homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function in females with GDM.Materials & A total of 34 females with GDM at 24th week of pregnancy undergoing insulin treatment were enrolled and randomly assigned into 3 groups; 12 subjects participated in an aerobic training program (3 day/week, 30 to 45 minute/day, 50% to 70% maximum Heart Rate (HR), 11 patients participated in a resistance training (3 day/week, 2 to 3 minutes set of 15 repetitions, 50% to 70% maximum HR), and 11 participants comprised the control group and not participated in any exercise program. Fasting blood samples were obtained from the subjects to assess clinical parameters.   The results of covariance analysis indicated a significant difference on insulin plasma levels (P=0.031) and insulin resistance index (the homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (P=0.008) among the groups. The resistance training program significantly reduced the level of fasting blood sugar (P=0.031) and increased HOMA-β (P=0.031). The exercise can offer a different method to patients with GDM, which benefit from several molecular pathways, and also can be proposed as a framework to design effective GDM treatment regimens and prevention programs. However, further consecutive studies are required in order to achieve the deeper and conclusive findings and obtain the mechanisms underlying the changes on the GDM acquired by exercise.

The current study aimed at comparing the efficacy of Clomiphene Citrate (CC) for the expectant management of unexplained infertility in females over 3 successive cycles.Materials: The present randomized, controlled, clinical trial was carried out at Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital. Females with unexplained infertility for at least 12 months of unprotected regular marital life were enrolled. Eligible females were randomly assigned into one of the 2 following groups: group 1 received 100 mg CC once a day for 5 days, and group 2 was expectantly followed up without induction of ovulation. The primary outcome was the clinical pregnancy rate. A total of 113 females were enrolled in the current trial. The mean age of the subjects was 25.3±3.1 years; ranged 20 to 33. The clinical pregnancy rate was slightly, but significantly, higher in CC group compared with the controls; both per case (7/57 vs. 4/56, 12.3% vs. 7.1%, respectively; P=0.357; Relative Risk (RR)=1.72; 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=0.53, 5.55; Number Needed to Treat (NNT)=19) and per cycle (7/163 vs. 4/160, 4.3% vs. 2.5%, respectively; P=0.374; RR=1.72; 95% CI=0.51, 5.75; NNT=56). CC seems to be not effective in improving clinical pregnancy outcome compared with observation alone in females with unexplained infertility.

Embryo development and pregnancy rates for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in continuous single medium culture or sequential media culture of sibling embryos were evaluated. Patients who underwent retrieval of ≥8 oocytes from June 2013 to March 2014 were enrolled. All embryos were cultured for at least 5 days and the formation rate and quality of embryos were compared between the groups. No significant differences were observed between the 2 culture media systems regarding the formation rate and quality of early cleavage-stage embryos, although blastulation rate and quality were better with single medium. Clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate per blastocyst transfer did not differ between the groups. These results suggested that a single continuous medium was as good as or better than sequential media to achieve pregnancy in IVF and embryo transfer.

The current study aimed at evaluating testis parameters and spermatogenesis changes in male rats administrated by different busulfan doses and time to construct a subfertile animal model by stereological methods. In the present study, 150 male Wistar rats randomly divided into 5 groups. All experimental groups were treated by different concentrations of busulfan (0.0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg). Rats were sacrificed 1, 15, and 30 days after busulfan treatment. The tissue processing was done for stereological study and the results were analyzed by the one-way ANOVA followed by the Duncan test. The most stereological parameters such as testes weight and volume, tubules volume density, interstitial tissue (P<0.05), and germinal epithelium (P<0.01) were significantly reduced by busulfan treatment. Also, at different busulfan doses, the number of spermatogenic cells including spermatogonia (P<0.05), spermatocyte, round and elongated spermatid, and the Sertoli and Leydig cells (P<0.01) significantly decreased, compared with those of the control group. The decline was more obvious in higher busulfan doses and time (from the day 15 to 30) (P<0.05). Most of testicular stereological parameters reduced during 15 days onwards after busulfan treatment in a dose-dependent manner.

The emerging neuroscience literature has provided some evidence that meditation may have measurable effects on the electrophysiological parameters in the nervous system. We hypothesized that a novel geometric meditation approach comprising Geometric Somatic-Breathing Based (GSBB) and Geometric Introspective Based (GIB) meditation yield favorable electrophysiological changes at brain’s cortical level and autonomic nervous system upon deep meditative experience. Materials & A multi-sensor digital sampling setup, including Electroencephalography (EEG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was used to obtain data and compare meditation and baseline epochs from 3 long-term geometric meditators. The analysis revealed a notable change in autonomic nervous response, including Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD) in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) as well as GSR and Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG) correlates across 10 practiced techniques in training and post-training as compared to the baseline state. Such findings may serve as a pilot validation dataset to pursue further research on quantitative EEG-guided geometric meditation approach.

In spite of numerous studies on Fe(VI) capacity in treating wastewater, no equations are presented yet for the design of a Fe(VI) treatment facility. In most studies, Fe(VI) has been mentioned as the most effective substance for wastewater treatment; however, none is currently available about the operation costs in treatment facilities. This paper aims to introduce the necessary equations for the design and development of facilities that use Fe(VI) through the electrolysis methods and conduct the necessary calculations regarding its navigation costs. As the first step, a pilot plant test was conducted to find the basic information for municipal wastewater treatment by Fe(VI). Then, all the costs pertaining to electricity, acid and sodium hydroxide used in the treatment process were calculated to evaluate the total navigation costs. Our results indicates that treatment of every cubic meter of municipal wastewater would bear the following costs: US $1.17 for Fe(VI) production, US$ 2.52 for reducing the pH below 2 and US$ 146 for the production of 14 M sodium hydroxide solution. The overall costs for such facility would be equal to US$ 149.7. As it is demonstrated, the generation of 14 M sodium hydroxide solution is the most expensive element in the treatment process. It appears that the aforementioned cost is very high for the municipal treatment facilities; however, it might be appropriate for wastewaters that are resistant to biological methods. Nevertheless, more research is still needed to address this issue.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are complex neurodevelopmental conditions with the characteristics including impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted patterns of behaviors or interests. Lack of Theory of Mind (TOM), which is considered as the core concept of social interaction, was suggested as the underlying deficit of social, behavioral, and communicative impairments of ASD. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), as a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, indicated promising results for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The present methodology report aimed at proposing a design to study the possible effects of tDCS on TOM and cognitive empathy in ASD.