مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهرکرد
سال بیست و پنجم شماره 2 (پیاپی 119، Spring 2023)

 Significant biological changes occur during growth spurts, particularly at pre/post-maturity stages. It seems that such changes are associated with neuromuscular patterns, with considerable differences in functional movements performed by growing boys and girls through the process of maturation. The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between school-aged children’s maturity and their ability to move efficiently.

 A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 700 healthy school-aged children, aged 8–17 years, who were randomly selected and divided into ten groups of 35 girls and ten groups of 35 boys. We used maturity offset prediction equations and the Fusionetics tests to evaluate the maturity and movement efficiency, respectively. Furthermore, the relationship between maturity and Fusionetics scores was examined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (P≤0.05).

 The findings of the study demonstrated that there is a moderate association between maturity and Fusionetics scores (boys r=0.34, P=0.001 and girls r=0.44, P=0.001). The results also estimated that more mature children gain better Fusionetics scores (r=0.45; P=0.001).

 It seems that maturity is correlated with movement efficiency, and more mature children can obtain better Fusionetics scores. Future research is needed to track maturity-related variations in functional movement scores in adolescence.

 Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder of phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism. Mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene are the main reason for the incidence of PKU. To date, more than 1180 variants have been detected in the PAH gene. Given that the distribution pattern of mutations in the PAH gene is specific to each population, the present study was conducted to detect exon 4 mutations and adjacent flanking regions of the PAH gene in northern Iran.

 This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, in which 24 unrelated PKU patients in Taleghani Hospital in Gorgan were enrolled for a one-year period. After extraction of genomic DNA from leukocytes, identification of exon 4 mutations and adjacent flanking regions was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing techniques.

 In this study, IVS4+1G>A mutation was detected in one allele (2.08%) among 48 alleles. Moreover, IVS4+47C>T and IVS3-22C>T polymorphisms were observed in 12 alleles (25%) and eight alleles (16.7%), respectively.

 In the present study, IVS4+1G>A mutation was only found in 2% of chromosomes. Hence, different mutations are responsible for PKU disease in the north of Iran, and further studies are recommended to identify all mutations in the PAH gene in the region.

 Cognitive emotion regulation strategies enhance students’ ability to handle emotional and stressful situations and lead to resilient behavior and suitable behavioral performance. The present study aimed to investigate the association of addiction tendency with distress tolerance, self-differentiation, and emotion regulation difficulties mediated by resilience in university students.

 This was a descriptive-correlational study using structural equation modeling (SEM). Cluster sampling was used to enroll 314 individuals among all students at the Islamic Azad University of Tehran in the academic year 2020-2021. The research instruments included the Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire (SPQ), the Distress Tolerance Scale-Short Form (DTS-SF), the Self-Other Differentiation Scale (SODS), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Data were analyzed by the SEM method using SPSS-26 and SmartPLS.

 The results showed that distress tolerance (β=0.25, P<0.001) and emotion regulation difficulties (β=0.35, P<0.001) had a significant direct association with resilience. In addition, distress tolerance (β=0.14, P<0.001), self-differentiation (β=0.25, P<0.001), emotion regulation difficulties (β=0.27, P<0.001), and resilience (β=0.22, P<0.001) had a significant direct relationship with addictive tendencies. Moreover, resilience mediated the association of distress tolerance and emotion regulation difficulties with addictive tendencies in college students.

 The proposed model had the desired fitting based on the results. It is a great step toward understanding factors associated with addiction tendencies in university students. Furthermore, it is an appropriate model, according to which various programs can be developed and designed to prevent addiction tendencies among university students.

 The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effect of interval training and resveratrol consumption on the regulatory and executive factors of hepatocyte apoptosis in male rats with diabetes.

 Frothy-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into healthy control, diabetic, saline diabetic, resveratrol supplement, intermittent exercise, and resveratrol+intermittent exercise groups. The interval training program consisted of 8 weeks of training with an intensity of 50%-70% of the maximum oxygen consumption. Resveratrol was injected in two training groups with resveratrol supplement and resveratrol+supplement at a dose of 20 mg.

 The concentrations of caspase-3 and BAX in diabetic saline and diabetic groups were significantly higher than in control groups (P=0.001). On the other hand, Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) levels in diabetic saline and diabetic were significantly lower than in the control groups (P=0.001). The concentration of the BAX/Bcl-2 ratio in diabetic and diabetic saline was significantly higher compared to control groups (P=0.001) The effect of interval training, administration of resveratrol alone, or especially with interval training caused a significant decrease in the concentration of BAX and caspase-3 (P=0.001), a significant increase in the mean Bcl-2 concentration (P=0.001), and a significant decrease in the mean BAX/Bcl-2 ratio (P=0.001) in male rats with diabetes compared with the diabetic and diabetic groups.

 The combined effect of eight-week resveratrol supplementation and interval training decreased apoptosis markers, while it increased the concentration of Bcl-2 in male rats with type 2 diabetes.

 One of the most common causes of liver disease is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and its prevalence along with serious clinical problem is a growing. No studies have been conducted on the effect of calorie restriction (CR) and aerobic exercise (AE) on nuclear factor erythroid-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in rats with NAFLD. The present study aimed to assess the effects of 12 weeks of CR and AE on Nrf2 protein expression in rats with NAFLD.

 A total of 40 rats participated in this study, and 32 of them developed NAFLD by feeding fatty food (34% fat, 19% protein, and 47% carbohydrates) for eight weeks. Rats were classified into five groups: sham, control, CR, AE, and calorie restriction-aerobic exercise (CA). First, 60% of the daily diet was given to the CR and CA groups. AE was done for 12 weeks, five sessions per week on a treadmill for rats. Oil red, hematoxylin-eosin (H & E) staining, and protein expression levels in the groups were evaluated. To analyze the data, one-way ANOVA was used at a significance level of P<0.05.

 The results showed a significant difference between the liver fat of the control group and other groups (RC: P=0.001, AE: P=0.001, RA: P=0.001). In healing liver damage, the control group was significantly different from the CA group (P=0.002). Regarding the Nrf2 protein expression, the CA group had significantly higher expression than the CR group (P=0.028), however there was no significant difference between the CA and AE groups (P=0.44).

 The findings revealed that AE through CR can cause recovery for NAFLD.

 Atherosclerosis is one of the main reasons why people die from cardiovascular disease. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis may have been aided by the deregulation of cellular and molecular events in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This study aimed to investigate the alteration of the expression of matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) in PBMCs of subjects who underwent angiography.

 Following a thorough clinical examination and anthropometric assessments, 90 individuals were divided into two groups: 56 coronary artery disease (CAD) participants (subjects with coronary artery stenosis≥50%) and 34 non-CAD participants (subjects with coronary artery stenosis≤30%). Then, this study evaluated fasting serum glucose (FSG), total cholesterol (Chol), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG). Next, the severity of coronary artery stenosis was recorded. Additionally, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to assess the gene expression of MMP-9. MMP-9 protein level was also assessed using western blot techniques. The overexpression of MMP-9 and elevated level of FSG were positively associated with coronary artery stenosis.

 Our results revealed that MMP-9 was upregulated both at the level of transcription and translation. Moreover, the upregulation of MMP-9 had a significant positive correlation with the severity of coronary artery stenosis.

 Significant correlation between the overexpression of MMP-9 and coronary artery stenosis confirms our hypothesis that the upregulation of MMP-9 in PBMCs has an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis before monocyte recruitment and its subsequent processes.

 Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a prevalent and long-term condition that causes inflammation, irritation, and ulcers in the colon. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of seafood oil omega-3 supplementation on UC remission.

 PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were extensively searched on 25.5.2022 according to the PRISMA checklist. The studies were imported into EndNote X9. Data were extracted in Excel form, including the first author’s name, study setting, year of publication, sample size, sea oil type, intervention, and outcomes.

 Seafood oil omega-3 supplementation reduced the levels of leukotriene B4, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-8, IL-1β, thromboxane A2, prostaglandin E2, scavenges-free radicals, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). In addition, supplementation with this oil could decrease free radicals at the cellular level and subsequently increase antioxidant activity, which also mediates the inflammatory process itself.

 Most studies showed that omega-3 extracted from seafood can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) in intestinal cells. It also could improve clinical symptoms and scores of histological, sigmoidoscopic, and simple clinical colitis activity index (SCCAI). However, some studies reported no positive effects in this regard and confirmed that these compounds have no effect on improving UC symptoms.

Hepatic subcapsular hematoma is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication that is caused by preeclampsia and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet (HELLP) syndrome, which may be manifest with nonspecific signs and symptoms. The present case was a 36-year-old woman with a secondary subcapsular liver hematoma as a rare complication of HELLP syndrome. The patient complained of nausea, vomiting, pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, epigastric pain, and severe pain in the right shoulder. On the fourth day after delivery, a computed tomography (CT) scan was performed on the patient, showing a large subcapsular hematoma around the liver. Six weeks after delivery, the follow-up ultrasound exhibited no residual hematoma or free peritoneal fluid, and the patient’s blood pressure was controlled without taking medication.