مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 717 (هفته اول تیر 1402)

James Rest, a famous moral theorist, considers the ability of moral decision making and moral behavior dependent on having four characteristics; moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation and moral character. Today, professional ethics training in most educational centers of the country is based on lectures by professors. This type of training is helpful to some extent in moral judgments due to the introduction of the principles of professional ethics. But it will not lead to the improvement of moral sensitivity, moral motivation and moral character by itself. Nowadays, modern methods are used to teach professional ethics, which enhance the moral attitude and clinical behavior of learners. Holding focused group discussion meetings, holding ethical grand rounds, teaching with a problem-oriented approach, using comics or graphic stories, creating research opportunities, simulation and role playing are examples of these methods. Using these methods medical ethics instructors in the universities of our country will take serious steps in improving moral sensitivity, moral judgment and finally institutionalizing professional behavior among medical students.

Tooth decay is one of the most common diseases, and Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis have been found to play an effective role in causing advanced tooth decay. Due to the increase in antibiotic resistance of bacteria, the use of probiotics has been investigated to reduce pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of probiotics isolated from traditional kefir dough on the two main causes of tooth decay.

Two common species Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus were confirmed by using microbiological techniques (phenotypic and molecular). The antimicrobial effects of these probiotic on Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 35668) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (ATCC 32277) was investigated by welling method and then the compounds present in their culture supernatant were identified by gas chromatography Mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

The experiments showed that Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus had a significant antimicrobial effect on Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis and it can may be used as a suitable candidate to control the disease. Lactobacillus plantarum decreased gtfB gene expression by 0.001 fold change and brpA gene expression by 0.007 fold change, also Lactobacillus rhamnosus decreased gtfB gene expression by 0.01 fold change and brpA gene expression by 0.04 fold change. Also, GC-MS showed the presence of Pyrrolidione, Furanone, Benzoic acid, Icosane, Nonadecane derivatives in the supernatant of the tested probiotics.

Considering the antimicrobial properties of bacteria isolated from traditional kefir buttermilk, they can be used as traditional probiotic strains with antimicrobial effect in fermented foods.

Nutritional intake has an important effect on hormonal regulation and health outcomes related to menopause.

In this cross-sectional study, 2049 women were placed in three groups: pre-menopausal (736), menopausal (396) and post-menopausal (917). The healthy food index was evaluated and calculated using the food frequency questionnaire.

The prevalence of obesity and the level of physical activity were significantly higher in premenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal groups, respectively (P < 0.001). The intake of calories, macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in the pre-menopause group was significantly higher than the menopause and post-menopause groups. After adjusting for confounding factors, comparing the quartiles of the healthy eating index between the groups did not show a significant difference (P = 0.145). Nevertheless, the highest frequency of the fourth quartile (high score of the healthy food index) was observed in the premenopausal group and the highest frequency of the first quartile (low score of the healthy food index) was observed in the postmenopausal group. More adherence to the healthy eating index was observed in women with a higher level of education (P < 0.001).

Physical activity and the quality of food intake based on following the healthy food index are inappropriate in menopausal and postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is suggested to pay attention to healthy lifestyle education, including guidelines for food intake and increasing physical activity in postmenopausal women.