Journal of Pathobiology Reaearch
Volume:1 Issue: 1, 1998

It has been shown that electrical stimulation increases local blood flow, but the exact mechanism is not clearly undrestood. In this study we aimed to clarify underlying mechanism involving in this phenomenon. White adult rabbits of 4-6 month were used in this study. Animal were anaesthetised by sodium pentobarbital (40 mg/kg, iv) and blood flow in the skin of thoracic back was recorded by using a laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF). Square waves (20 Hz frequency of 0.5 ms duration with strength just enough to produce palpable contraction of the skin) was applied to animals through a pair of surface electrodes inserted on the skin of animals. Drugs were applied to skin close to the tip of laser optic probe. The results obtained in this study show that: Electrical stimulation and substance P both increase local blood flow as a dose dependent pattern, whereas SP-antagonist did not have any effect on local blood flow, but the effect of ES was attenuated in presence of SP antagonist. We could conclude that electrical stimulation increases local blood flow by releasing vasodilating compounds, e.g. SP or another neurotransmitters from sensory nerve ending.

This study investigated the effect of different educational methods of breast feeding on the 14-49 years old mothers.This study was a semi-experimental study carried out on 114 mother's (14-49 years).The target population were in number one Guchan M.e.H. (Health care mother), surveyed from April till end of May 1997. A pretest was conducted to asses the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of mothers using a questionnaire filled by face to face interview.After measuring the mothers KAP., different educational methods of breast feeding were applied to promote breast feeding among the mothers.The educational programe composed of "lectures" (for group 2), "lectures and film" (for group 3), "panel discussion" (for group 4), "panel discussion and film" (for group 5) and "film" (for group 6). Group 1 was considered as the control group with no educational program.One month after the implementation of the program, the mothers KAP. was measured.Results showed significant differences between the mothers scores before and after the implementalion of different educational programs used to promote the breast feeding.There was a significant increase in the mother's mean scores of knowledge (P=0.0001), attitude (P=0.0164) and practice (P=0.000) after the implementation of the educational program. The finding showed that the health educational program has significant effect on breast feeding among the mothers.The "panel discussion" and the "panel discussionwith film" educational methods showed a higher increase in the KAP. mean scores compared with other educational programs used in this study.There was a significant increase in the mean scores of practice due to the mothers age, a significantincrease in the attitude scores due to the mothers literacy level, and a significant increase in the husbands attitude due to their literacy level for breast feeding.

In this article, we have shown an antibacterial effect of garlic extract against toxin production and growth of enteropathogenic shigella spp. This study was carried out using thirty three true positive strains of shigella (ten cases sh.dysenteriae type 1, twelve cases of sh.flexneri, and eleven cases of sh.sonnei), isolated from fecal specimens of diarrhoeal patients at Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran.The results of the antimicrobial susceptibility test were as follows:80% of strains were resistant to ampicillin, amoxycillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, co-trimoxazole and 60% of them to cephalothin. Garllic extract was prepared by chowdhury method [13].To investigate the therapeutic effects of chloroform extract of garlic in treating experimental Shigellosis in rabbits, we used two experimental methods. The results were as follows:In the first method (150, l/kgloading dose followed by 20, l/kg at 8 hourly intervals for five days after the initial time) we showed that oral dose of the garlic extract recovered the illness.Then for evalluation of the garlic extract on the growth of enteropathogenic shigella, we used the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the extract by the serial dilution and plate diffusion methods. In serial dilution procedure, we observed that shigella spp. growth were inhibited at 1/320 dilution of extract after 72 hrs. in vitro.In the disc diffusion method, the inhibition zone of 1/20 dilution of extract was about 17-22mm in diameter. This was in agreement with commonly used antibiotics that shigella spp. are sensitive to.In the second method we used 1/320 of extract and 108 CPU/ml of bacteria in the ileal loops of rabbit. We observed that 1/320 dilution of extract inhibited the production of enterotoxin and fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loops. The growth of bacteria was also decreased after 18hrs. in the intestine of rabbit.

Poliomyelitis is one of the most serious viral diseases caused by any of the polioviruses. The causal agents multiply at mucosal surfaces and accumulate in the draining lymph nodes where some strains may replicate. From there virus seeds peripheral sites, including peripheral nerves, and the viruses generated at the distant sites are the source of the detectable viraemia. Antibodies appear early and are protective even when given as passive immunoglobulin.Immunization against polio saves the lives of children. Countrywide vaccination program is done to produce satisfactory level of immunity among susceptible people, and to stop transmission of the wild poliviruses among children.One of the best available methods for assessing the level of antibodies, induced in people against poliviruses, is serum neutralization test (SNT).This study was designed to evaluate the level of polivirus neutralizing antibodies in the cord blood of pregnant women. Four hundred and twelve sera were collected aseptically and a microneutralization test, using control antisera against polivirus types 1, 2 and 3 was done to measure the antibody titer of each serum against all three types of the virus. Control antisera were prepared in rabbit, and viruses were multiplied in Hela and Vero cells. The data revealed that 6 (1.46%), 16 (3.9%), and 38 (9.2%) sera did not have detectable antibodies against the virus types 1, 2 and 3 respectively. It was also shown that out of 412 sera, 339 (82.3%), 333 (80.8%), and 283 (68.9%) samples contained antibody titers of equal or more than against virus types 1, 2 and 3 respectively. These findings suggest that national immunization days should be continued to maintain the level of herd immunity at highest standard level, among susceptible and at risk hosts, against all three types of the virus.

Anemia is a well-defined complication of aluminum overload in chronic hemodialysis patients. This type of anemia which is morphologically defined as microcytic is associated with normal or increased levels of ferritin, this anemia appears before other manifestation of aluminum intoxication.In order to investigate the role of aluminum in causing microcytic anemia in hemodialysis individuals 78 patients undergoing regular hemodalsis were choosen. The patients had a lower hematocrit (24.9±0.61) as compared to that of control subjects (42.6±0.3). Conversly, the level of plasma and erythrocyte aluminum was singnificantly higher than that of controls (55.8±6.3 vs 1.4±0.12) for plasma aluminum and (61.6±6.9 vs 0.98±0.1) for RBC aluminum.21 patients had plasma and RBC aluminum levels greater than the toxic level (60 mg/L) and Mean Cell Volume (MCV) values were either below or within the normal range. Plasma and RBC aluminum correlated well with MCV in these patients. Plasma ferritin was within normal range or increased in all of 21 patients.In clinical examinations none of the patients had manifestations of aluminum intoxcation such as encephalopathy and osteomalacia.These results suggest that since the drinking water is aluminum free, the plasma and RBC aluminum of pateints has other sources such as aluminum gels.It seems that this could be the causative agents for a mild microcytic anemia, the appearance of which is not associated with aluminum - dependent intoxication.

The purpose of this study was to determine the survival and risk functions for the colorectal cancer. 235 patients with colorectal tumors, who had been under treatment in the Institute of Oncology of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, iran, within the years 1987 - 1991, were followed up to the end of 1992. The survival function was obtained by two non-parametric methods; Life Length Table and Kaplan Meier Table. The covariance of the survival functions for different levels of the variables was also evaluated using Log-Rank test.The covariance of the different levels of such variables as, living place, method of treatment, type of surgery, and stage of the disease was not confirmed. Finally, in order to investigate the combined effect of the confunding variables on the survival function, we developed the following model by adapting the Cox Regression Model:h (t | x) = h0 (t) exp [-0.257x (1-2) + 0.0059x (2) + 0.6602x (3-2) + 2.429x (3-3) +0.372x (4-2) - 0.9704x (5-3) - 0.6093x (5-5) + 1.01lx (5-8) +0.294x (6-6) +0.4429x (6-6) + 0.4429x (6-7)]In the above model, the ho (t) was the Basic Risk and other variables included sex, age, living place, occupation (employee, self employed, student), method of treatment (chemotherapy, radiation therapy), and stage of the disease. Risk level for each of the above variables was tested in relation to the Basic (reference level).

25 mice naturally infected with Hymenolepis nana fraterna were divided into 5 groups, each consisting of five mice. Four groups were treated by Praziquantel at 10 and 30 mglkg B.W respectively and one group was selected as control group. The mice were killed 30 and 60 minutes after treatment in two equal groups and the helminths were recovered from their intestines and tegument 'of the parasites was studied by transmission electron microscope.Initial sign of destruction in a marginal manner and damage to microtriches and upper surface of the parasite tegument after 30 minutes of using 10 mg/kg B.W. were observed. Praziquantel at 30 mg/kg B.W. after 60 minutes caused many holes and vacuoles in the tegument. Furthermore, the truck of the tegument has inflammated and degenerated.In addition as damage has developed into internal area and subtegument structures. Sever muscle contractions in the form of deep wrinkles in outer surface of the parasite can also be observed which is the representative of full paralysis of the helminth.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer among women. It has been claimed that the incidence of breast cancer in women is higher in populations with goiter and in patients with clinical hypothyroidism than in those who are euthyroid or hyperthyroid. It has also been reported that there is an increased incidence of hypothyroidism in patients with breast cancer. However, some workers have not found such an association. Once breast concer is clinically diagnsed it has been claimed that patients with thyroid disease have a poor prognosis and the administration of thyroid hormones is beneficial in the treatment of breast cancer, but these results are not universally accepted.The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible correlation between serum thyroid hormones (T4, T3), FTI, T3-Uptake, and TSH and prognostic factors in breast cancer. Blood samples were taken from 45 patients with breast cancer as well as normal controls, Serum hormones were measured using RLA techniques. In addition malignant tissues were removed surgically and oestrogen and progesterone receptor content of cytosol were estimated by Dee method. The result of this study revealed that there is a significant decrease in the level of serum T3 of patients with benign disease in comparison with those of controls when serum T3 and FTI of cancer patients were compared to those of controls a decrease was observed in the serum values of breast cancer patients. The differnces were statistically significant.In addition, with regard to the grade, T3-Uptake was shown to be significantly higher in patients with grade II than those of grade III. There were no correlation between serum thyroid hormones (T4, T3), T3-Uptake, FTI and TSH and other prognostic factors such as lymph node involvement, age, histological typeds, menoposal status and tumor oestrogen and progesterone receptors.

Measles, a viral exanthem of childhood is the most contagious infection of humans. Despite the million's lives that have been saved by the global measles vaccination, some one million infants and children continue to die each year from measles. In order to reduce the above figure, more than 90% of children 9 months of age must be immunized against the disease.It is of great importance to do continuous serum survey to measure herd immunity to measles. There are several serologic tests to do the survey with their own advantages and disadvantages.In this study it was attempled to apply an indirect ELISA method to detect and measure measles antibodies. Atibodies againts human immunoglobulin were prepared in rabbits and were conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. Measles virus, Edmonston B strain, was propagted in Hela cells for preparation of virus stock and its antigens. The test was done in 96 polystyrene flat-bottomed microplats. Some 64 serum samples were tested with both ELISA and microneutralizan methods. Taking SNT as a standard method it was showen that the sensitivity and specificity of The ELISA, run in this project, were 90% and 91% respectively.

This paper takes a fundamental look at the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). The main purpose of this paper has been to provide a general overview on the Internet, it's academic applications, and to introduce the state-of-the-art of the information technology used on the Internet, being the WWW.The first part of this paper, published in this issue of the Journal of Medical Sciences of Modarres, includes: the principles, history, and communicational applications of the Internet. The set of technologies led to the development of the Internet has briefly been explained, with an eye to educating the academic users as to the basic knowledge required to use the Internt effectively. In this regard the Internet structure, protocols, attractions and benefits, and access levels have been described. Then the main applications of the Internet have been outlined and it's communicational application including: the electronic mail (e-mail). theInternetaddresses.mailing lists or list servers, and the newsgroups have been explained.The second part of this paper will be published in the next issue of this journal. In the second part, the applications of the Internet from the information point of view will be explained. In this regard, different server technologies prior to the development of the WWW will be explained. Then the Web server technology, access, and protocols will be explained in detail, as examples of distributed multi-database systems. These systems are the building blocks of evolving telematic architectures, which place the information close to where the users has the most need for data. Regarding this, the three key components of the WWW including the Uniform Resource Locator (URL), HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and HyperText Markup Language (HTML) will be introduced and some practical examples will be presented.This paper has been accomplished by referring to the references mentioned at the end of this paper [1-12], to which the reader is referred to for more information.