Journal of Basic Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:10 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

Osteoarthritis is a public health concern that leads to disability due to chronic pain, stiffness, sleep disturbance, and depression. D-limonene    is a racemic mixture of limonene, a natural cyclic monoterpene, and the major component of the oil extracted from the citrus rind with chemo-preventive and anti-inflammatory activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of D-limonene   compared with dexamethasone and ibuprofen in bovine fibroblast-like synoviocyte cells (BFLSc) as well as Human THP-1 monocyte/macrophage-like cells.

BFLSc was isolated from the synovial membrane of the metacarpal joint cartilage of an 8-month-old Holstein. THP-1 cells were prepared by the Pasteur Institute of Iran. Cells were cultivated and exposed to 20 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation without, or in the presence of, ibuprofen, dexamethasone, or D-limonene (7.5µg/ml). The gene expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were evaluated by real-time PCR. Concentrations of Nitric Oxide (NO), and Prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2) were measured by ELISA methods.

The inhibitory effects of D-limonene   included dose-dependent decreases in the expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins (P < 0.05). The treated cells secreted increased amounts of COX-2, IL-1β, iNOS, TNF-α, NO, and PGE2 in response to LPS stimulation in all conditions. D-limonene quenched the gene expression of COX-2, iL-1β, iNOS, and TNF-α, in BFLSc, and the production of PGE2 and NO in monocyte/macrophage cells alike dexamethasone, and ibuprofen.

The results obtained in this study show that D-limonene   probably exerts anti-inflammatory effects through the suppression of TNF-α, IL-1β, COX-2, and iNOS and NO, PGE2 production.

The present study aimed to explain the prediction of marital boredom based on emotional and social maturity among married people in Shiraz.

In this descriptive and correlational study, 362 married people (270 females and 92 males) who have married for ten years were selected by convenience sampling method. The instruments used in this research included Paynes's Marital Boredom Self-Report Scale, Yashvir and Bhargava's Emotional Maturity Scale (EMS), and Rao's Social Maturity Scale (RSMS). In addition to descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and correlation matrix), inferential statistics (structural equation model) were used to analyze the data of the aforementioned scales collected from the sample population by AMOS software.

Research findings demonstrated that emotional maturity predicts marital boredom significantly (P < 0.01, β = -0.69), but social maturity is not a significant predictor for marital boredom (P < 0.01, β = -0.09). The model was modified by considering the output modification indicators of Amos software. Overall, the results of this analysis showed that the final model was well fitted.

Results of this research showed that the emotional maturity could predict marital boredom significantly, but social maturity is not a significant predictor for marital boredom.

Asthenozoospermia (AZS), sperm immobility, is one of the major cause of men infertility. Evidence suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in spermatogenesis process. However, the association of miRNAs polymorphisms with idiopathic male infertility remains unknown. Therefore, we investigated correlation between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and idiopathic AZS among Iranian Azeri men.

In this study, 50 men with idiopathic AZS (case group) as well as 50 age and ethnically matched healthy men (control group) were enrolled from East Azerbaijan, Iran. The proteinase K method was used to extract the genomic DNA from sperm samples. Finally, genotyping was conducted using tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (Tetra-ARMS PCR) method.

The frequency of TT, TC, and CC genotypes were 12%, 54%, and 34%, respectively, in patients with AZS; whereas the figures were 8%, 40%, and 52% in healthy controls, respectively. We found a significant difference between case and control groups in term of CC genotype frequency (P = 0.016).

We found a significant correlation between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and AZS in Iranian Azeri men.

Cancer is a disorder with a high mortality rate that leads to many psychological and economic conflicts. Herbal compounds that induce apoptosis are one of the methods for the treatment of cancer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer effects of hydroxytyrosol on oral cancer cell line KB and the regulation of BAX and BCL2 genes expression.

Anti-proliferation effects of hydroxytyrosol against oral cancer cell line KB were investigated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Moreover, mRNA expression of BAX and BCL2 genes were investigated by quantitative Real-Time PCR method.

We observed a significant decrease in proliferation of the oral cancer cell line treated with hydroxytyrosol. In addition, expression of BAX and BCL2 genes was significantly increased (3.3 fold) and decreased (2.2 fold) in the oral cancer cell line treated with Hydroxytyrosol, respectively (P < 0.05).

The study indicated a high antiproliferation effect of hydroxytyrosol against oral cancer cell line KB through regulating the expression of some apoptotic genes.

One of the major energy systems for power performance in muscles is glycolysis that is regulated by the levels of Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1), which acts as a transcription factor in response to hypoxia. The purpose of this study was to compare the HIF1 gene polymorphism (rs11549465) between elite and amateur power karate-kas versus non-athletes.

In this survey, the C/T polymorphism allelic and genotypic distribution of the “HIF1 rs11549465” gene was detected in 550 healthy Iranian persons who were divided into three groups: elite karate-kas (86 males and 86 females) and amateur karate-kas (100 males and 72 females) versus 206 non-athletes (100 males and 106 females).  5 cc blood was taken for DNA extraction and the HIF1 gene T/C polymorphism was determined by PCR from the extracted DNA. Also, RFLP analyses was exerted by electrophoresis separation. Statistical analyses included Chi-Square and multinomial regression tests and data with P < 0.05 were considered to be a significant amount.

The distribution of HIF1 C/T genotype in the groups was significantly different in all of subjects (TC: 25.6%; TT: 11.4% and CC: 63%) (χ2 = 99.889, P = 0.0001), but it was not different between the groups significantly (P > 0.05). Furthermore, multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the genotype of HIF1 was not related to the karate-ka's athletic status.

In Iranian population, the HIF1 gene C/T polymorphism is not related to the karate-ka athletic status.

Blood coagulation is an important physiological process in maintaining homeostasis that causes blood to clot. The two main components of the hemostasis process are fibrinolysis and coagulation and influenced by many factors including physical activity and diet. This study aims to evaluate systematic review on the response of the coagulation system and Fibrolytic Factors to Exercise and Saffron.

Search for studies on the response of coagulation and fibrinolytic factors to exercise and saffron extract in the reputable databases Springer, Hindawi, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, SID and ISC using the keyword Exercise Training and Saffron, platelet count (plt), fibrinogen level, relative activated thromboplastin time (PTT) and prothrombin time (PT) and plasminogen inhibitor-activating antigen (PAI-1), activating antigen tissue plasminogen (tPA), tPA activity and D-dimer were performed.

In studies related to saffron extract, its beneficial effects were observed during long-term interventions. However, saffron consumption during the short-term had no effect on coagulation factors. Also, in short-term aerobic and resistance training studies, some studies reported a transient improvement in coagulation indices. Both long-term aerobic and resistance training help to maintain of coagulation homeostasis.

Exercise and saffron and its effective substances on the coagulation and fibrinolysis processes in healthy people and in some diseases (such as myocardial infarction and diabetes) have benefits.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, researchers started their studies on the various aspects of the infection by this newly-emerged virus. In addition to the pulmonary infection routes, some signs were discovered regarding psychological and physiological damages.

Our study aimed at collecting the results of the studies around the world on the possible psychological and physiological damages caused by COVID-19 in the neural system. Herein, we gathered 125 related articles up to June 2021 by searching the keywords COVID-19 brain infection, COVID-19 infection disease imaging findings COVID-19, mental health, and COVID-19 in the databases such as Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Google. The articles unrelated to the objective of our study were excluded, and finally, 43 articles were used.

In this study, reports indicate an increase in the volume of gray matter in the hippocampus and olfactory lobe and an increase in anisotropy in the white matter in people with the acute form of the disease compared to people without it. Therefore, psychologically, some forms of mental rumination and apathy were confirmed in affected people.

Considering the probable inability of the SARS-COV virus to cross the blood-brain barrier, the reason for the neuropathological lesions and brain encephalopathies has yet to be discerned, and this is a somewhat unknown mechanism

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of reality therapy on parent-child conflicts with father-son and happiness in male adolescents in Ilam province.

This applied research was conducted by experimental method (pre and post-test control group and random assignment). The statistical population of the study consisted of all the first high school teenagers of Shahriari high school in Ilam in the 2021-2022 academic year, of which 30 individuals who were in the moderate to poor range in this questionnaire and randomly were assigned into intervention and control groups. To measure the dependent variable -the parent-child conflict- Murray Strauss scale and for the happiness variable Snider scale were used.

The results of this research, which was conducted with multivariate covariance analysis, showed a decrease in the post-test scores of the experimental group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). On the other hand, the results of covariance analysis showed that after the test, happiness scores in the experimental group decreased significantly compared to the control group (P < 0.05).

Based on these results, it can be said that the reality therapy program reduces parent-child conflicts and increases happiness in teenagers.

Akbar Azizifar: Google Scholar, Pubmed