مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی ایلام
سال سی و یکم شماره 2 (پیاپی 139، خرداد 1402)

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a non-fermentative gram-negative coccobacillus that shows high resistance to antimicrobial compounds. Biofilm formation is one of the essential features of many Acinetobacter species that leads to high antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of biofilm formation and determine the antibiofilm activity of chitosan nanoparticles in clinical isolates of A. baumannii.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 and investigated 100 isolates collected from different hospitals. Microscopic, biochemical, and molecular tests were performed to identify the bacteria. The antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates was evaluated by the disk diffusion method against 10 antibiotics, and the ability to produce biofilm was evaluated by microtiter plate method. Subsequently, 16SrRNA and CsuA genes were identified by multiplex-PCR molecular methods. After the preparation of chitosan nanoparticles and determination of MIC concentration, antibiofilm activity was measured by plate microtiter, and Real-Time PCR was used to examine the expression of the CsuA gene involved in biofilm.

In this study, out of 100 isolates examined, 29 isolates were confirmed as A. baumannii. Among 29 isolates, ceftazidime had the highest drug resistance (75.86%). The CsuA gene was detected in 51.72% of the isolates. Moreover, using a microtiter plate and Real-Time PCR, the level of antibiotic activity of chitosan nanoparticles was determined at a significant level of P<0.01.

Considering the anti-biofilm effects found in the present study, it seems that chitosan nanoparticles can be used as a pharmaceutical candidate in the pharmaceutical industry.

Oxidative stress plays a key role in the onset and development of diabetes-related complications. Due to the antioxidant effect of exercise and Urtica dioica (UD), this study aimed to evaluate the effect of one period of endurance exercise and hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica on oxidative stress indices of heart tissue in STZ-Induced diabetic rats.

In this study, 50 Wistar rats (mean±SD weight: 232.12±7.42 g) were randomly divided into five groups: Healthy-sedentary, Diabetes-sedentary, Diabetes-Exercise, Diabetes-Urtica dioica, and Diabetes-Exercise-Urtica dioica. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg) and 48 hours after injection, blood glucose levels above 300 mg/dl were the criteria for the confirmation of diabetes. Endurance exercise with moderate intensity (5 days/week) and daily gavage of hydroalcoholic extract of UD was performed at 50 mg/kg for six weeks. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20) through Shapiro-Wilk, two-way ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc test.

Two weeks after STZ injection, body weight in the Diabetes-Urtica dioica (P=0.001), Diabetes-Exercise (P=0.034), and Diabetes-Exercise-Urtica dioica (P=0.025) groups decreased, compared to the Healthy-sedentary group, and this reduction continued until the end of the sixth week. In addition, six weeks of endurance exercise and UD extract significantly reduced blood glucose concentration in the Diabetes-Exercise (P=0.001), Diabetes-Urtica dioica (P=0.001), and Diabetes-Exercise-Urtica dioica (P=0.001) groups, compared to the Diabetes-sedentary group. Furthermore, endurance training and UD extract caused a significant increase in catalase (P=0.019) and glutathione peroxidase (P=0.028) values and a significant decrease in heart tissue malondialdehyde (P=0.001).

Six weeks of endurance training combined with UD extract can increase the antioxidant index and decrease lipid peroxidation in the heart tissue of diabetic rats with streptozotocin.

Today, cancer is one of the health concerns in modern societies. The use of nanoparticles in diagnosis, drug delivery, imaging, and cancer treatment has received much attention in medical sciences.   The most important problem when treating cancer with chemotherapy is the lack of access to the central parts of the mass due to its less blood supply. This study aimed to investigate the toxicity of iron oxide nanoparticles coated with biopolymer chitosan/alginate on melanoma cancer cells (Hep G2 cells).

In this research, magnetic iron nanoparticles were coated with two biopolymers, namely chitosan and alginate. The size and surface morphology of these nanoparticles were checked by size measuring device and scanning electron microscope. Moreover, the binding of functional groups of chitosan and alginate to iron magnetic nanoparticles was checked by an infrared spectrometer. In this study, magnetic iron nanoparticles and modified nanoparticles were treated for 24 hours and the IC50 concentration of the compounds was estimated. The toxic properties of these nanoparticles were evaluated by MTT test and acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining.

After examining the photos of the scanning electron microscope and the size measuring device, the size of 50 nanometers was shown for the modified iron nanoparticles, and the shape of these nanoparticles was observed to be completely round and spherical.

The findings from the investigations of binanoparticles definitely confirmed the effective coating of nanoparticles by chitosan and alginate biopolymers. Furthermore, the findings showed that magnetic iron nanoparticles had higher toxic effects depending on the concentration and their IC50 concentration was about 134 µM/ml, while the coated nanoparticles had significantly lower toxic effects and did not have significant toxicity on Hep G2 cells at concentrations below 25 μM/ml. The coating of iron oxy nanoparticles significantly reduces their toxicity concentration.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are group of neuropsychiatric disorders that occur in childhood and cause disruption in the growth and development of the brain or central nervous system in children. According to research results, children with neurodevelopmental disorders are weak in physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills. This study aimed to develop a multimedia educational program with a neuropsychological approach and evaluate its effectiveness in the social skills of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

In this study, initially, a multimedia educational program with neuropsychological approach was designed, and the content validity of the tool was confirmed by experts. The statistical population of this study included male students aged 7-11 years old with neurodevelopmental disorder in Tehran, Iran. Using the purposefully convenience sampling method, and after administering Stanford-Binet Test of Intelligence (Fifth Edition), 100 children with neurodevelopmental disorder and natural IQ level and above were selected and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was subjected to 90-min 24 multimedia educational sessions with neuropsychological approach. On the other hand, the control group received no intervention. They were then followed-up after one month and a half. The required data were collected using Social Skills Rating System (Gresham and Elliot, 1999) as pre-test, post-test, and the follow-up.

The results of repeated measurement MANCOVA showed the effectiveness of the multimedia educational program with neuropsychological approach in the improvement of social skills of children with neurodevelopmental disorder (P˂0.01; Effect Size 0.35). Furthermore, it was shown that the effect of this program with neuropsychological approach on the social skills of children with neurodevelopmental disorder was constant even after one month and a half.

A multimedia educational program with neuropsychological approach can be used to increase and strengthen the social skills of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Keeping pets can expose their owners to various infections, including zoonotic parasites. This study was conducted for the first time in Iran to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to parasitic diseases among pet owners in Hamadan and Kermanshah, Iran.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted with the participation of 200 pet owners in Hamadan and Kermanshah, western Iran. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire containing 62 questions, the reliability and validity of which were evaluated and confirmed. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 19) through descriptive statistics (mean±SD) and inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney test).

Most of the participants were female, had university degrees, and kept dogs. There was a statistically significant difference among the participants of both cities in terms of knowledge about parasitic diseases (it was more in Kermanshah, P<0.01); however, no statistical difference was observed in terms of attitude. Spearman's correlation coefficient showed that in Hamadan and Kermanshah, there is a direct and significant relationship between the knowledge score and performance (Hamadan: r=0.489 and P<0.001; Kermanshah: r=0.655 and P<0.001). In general, the level of knowledge and performance of pet owners is at an unfavorable level, and their attitude is at a favorable level.

This study, which was conducted for the first time in Iran, suggests that pet owners need necessary training to increase their level of knowledge about parasites and parasitic diseases of their animals, which will lead to improving their attitude and performance.

Glutamate oxidase (GluOx; EC 1.4.3.11), as an oxidoreductase enzyme, catalyzes the oxidation of glutamate to α-ketoglutarate, ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In this reaction, the amount of H2O2 is proportional to the concentration of glutamate and its concentration can be measured by using an electrochemical biosensor. The same as other enzyme-based biosensors, glutamate oxidase is one of the key elements in the construction of glutamate biosensors. Such biosensors are fully capable of identifying biological analytes, such as glutamine, ammonia, and creatinine. In addition, glutamate oxidase-based biosensors have many applications in quantitative and qualitative measurements in analytical chemistry, determining the quality of food products, as well as early detection of heart and liver disorders in clinical biochemistry. Considering the importance of the glutamate neurotransmitter in various brain functions, this study investigated its measurement in the brain of male Wistar rats by using a glutamate oxidase-based biosensor.

In order to measure glutamate, initially, a glutamate oxidase-based biosensor was made by simultaneously immobilizing the enzyme and chitosan on the platinum electrode surface. Then, the animals were sacrificed, and their brains were removed and placed in a phosphate buffer. Afterward, the contents of the brain were centrifuged to create a completely uniform mixture. Finally, the concentration of glutamate in the prepared brain samples was measured using the fabricated biosensor by the cyclic voltammetry technique.

The results of cyclic voltammetry experiments showed that the cathodic peak current of the fabricated biosensor was 0.812 µA. Moreover, the calibration curve indicated that the biosensor response was linear up to 1 mM and glutamate concentration in brain samples was also equal to 63.5 µM.

The cyclic voltammetry experiments showed that the concentration of H2O2, which is produced during the catalytic activity of glutamate oxidase, is completely proportional to the concentration of glutamate oxidase. Furthermore, this study showed that, despite the very low concentration of glutamate neurotransmitters, the glutamate oxidase-based electrochemical biosensor can precisely identify it qualitatively and quantitatively in biological samples, such as brain samples.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused job burnout in nurses, followed by a decrease in the quality of life and the quality of care services provided to the patients. Regarding the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the researcher's experience, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between job burnout and the quality of life of nurses in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 140 nurses working in the intensive care units (including ICU and CCU) of public hospitals in Ilam province from February 10 to March 10, 2021 (the sixth peak of COVID-19). The participants were selected using the total population sampling method. The required data were collected through demographic characteristics form, Maslach Burnout Inventory (1985), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (2004). The collected data were then analyzed in SPSS software (version 26) through Pearson's correlation coefficient and regression at the significance level of P<0.05.

In this study, the mean±SD values of job burnout and quality of life were obtained at 76.1±11.4 and 72.9±5.9, respectively. There was a significant inverse correlation between job burnout and quality of life (r=-0.296, P<0.001). Furthermore, the linear regression test of the components of personality distortion and individual performance did not show a significant effect on the quality of life of nurses. The component of emotional exhaustion (P=0.001) had a significant negative effect on the quality of life of nurses working at intensive care units.

Managers must adopt support, encouragement, and educational programs to prevent adverse effects on nurses during the outbreak of health crises.

Some cytokines, including asprosin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), are metabotropic factors, which play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to determine the effect of aerobic interval training on the circulating levels of BDNF and asprosin in men with type 2 diabetes.

In this semi-experimental study, 20 men with type 2 diabetes were selected by random sampling and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. Exercise training was performed for 12 weeks (three 60-90-min sessions of interval aerobic training). The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 26) through t-test and ANCOVA (P≤0.05).

The results showed that after the training intervention, a significant decrease was observed in serum asprosin level (F=7.670; P=0.013), followed by a significant increase in serum levels of BDNF (F=7.585; P=0.014) in the training group, compared to the baseline values and the control group.

According to the results of the present study, it can be said that interval aerobic training has an effective role in controlling blood glycemic levels and the treatment of type 2 diabetes by reducing asprosin and increasing BDNF as two metabotropic cytokines.

The personality inventory for ICD-11 (PiCD-11) was developed in line with the introduction of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). This study aimed to investigate adaptation, validity, reliability, and factor structure of the PiCD-11 in an Iranian sample.

Participants in this study were (67.6% female, 32.8% clinical sample) 417 students from state universities in Tehran. They were requested to complete the paper-based forms of the Personality Inventory for ICD-11 (PiCD-11), the Short form of Personality inventory fo DSM-5 (PID- 5-BF), as well as the Big Five Inventory (very brief for, BFI-10).

Cronbach's alpha coefficient for five factors of the PiCD ranged from 0.73 (dissocial) to 0.82 (negative affectivity). The inventory domains also had a significant correlation (P=0.001) with PID-5-BF and BFI-10 scales. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed the five-factor structure and optimal fit of the model related to the PiCD.

The 60-item inventory based on the International Classification of Diseases (PiCD-11) has good reliability and validity, and can be used for various clinical and research purposes in Iran for the Persian speaking population.

The current cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between physical activity and the severity of the COVID-19 disease in hospitalized patients.

The statistical sample of the study consisted of 295 people with COVID-19 who voluntarily participated in this study. The subjects included 104 critically ill patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 191 patients without severe complications not hospitalized in the ICU. Physical activity was assessed using the short form of the Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Evaluation of food intake was done using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) of 147 items.

The results of this study showed an inverse and significant relationship between physical activity and weight items (P < 0.001) and body mass index (P < 0.001) of patients. Also, patients with more physical activity had significantly higher levels of venous oxygen (P = 0.001) and bicarbonate (P = 0.028). The results of this study after adjusting for possible confounding factors showed that in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the amount of physical activity is not related to the severity of the disease (P=0.098). Although subgroup analysis based on gender showed an inverse relationship between physical activity and disease severity in women with COVID-19 (P=0.010, CI: 0.040-0.479, OR: 0.045).

It seems that proper physical activity has been able to play a decisive role in the prevention and management of women suffering from the severe form of the disease of COVID-19. More studies are needed in order to draw more precise conclusions in this field.