مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی رفسنجان
سال یازدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 42، فروردین و اردیبهشت 1391)

Continuous appraisal of the publication process of articles is warranted for developing future research activities. The aim of the present study was the determination of the publication process of articles published in the Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (JRUMS). In this descriptive study, all published papers in the JRUMS through the years 2006-2011 were examined. Data collecting tool was a pre-designed checklist for the first self-appraisal which was based on the new strategies of editorial boards. A number of items were added to this checklist including: funding, conflict of interest, and ethical approval. Data were then analyzed by Chi- Square and independent t-tests. Out of 948 submitted articles, 208 articles (%22) had been published. The most frequent types of study was related to the descriptive ones (30.2%). Twenty seven (22.5%) of authors had received the acceptance letters six months after the submission of their articles. Although the results indicated improvements in some areas, more cooperation among authors with referees and editorial staff is needed to reduce the acceptance time.

The brain damage caused by trauma is the most common cause of death. The neuroprotection effects of estrogen and progesterone have been reported in numerous studies. In the present study, the role of different doses of sex steroids has been investigated on the aquaporin 4 protein concentration changes in brain tissue of ovariectomized (OVX) rats after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this experimental interventional study, 140 female rats N-MRI were randomly divided into seven groups and each group group further subdivided into two subgroups as follows; sham group, ovariectomized sham group, vehicle, physiologic and pharmacologic estrogen at doses 33.3 µg/kg, and 1 mg/kg respectively, physiologic and pharmacologic progesterone at doses 1.7 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg group. TBI was induced for groups 3-7 by Marmarou method. Thirty minutes after TBI, the hormones were intraperitoneally injected. Parameters such as Evans blue content, and water content and aquaporin 4 concentration were determined 5h and 24h after TBI respectively. Compared to the vehicle group, physiologic and pharmacologic doses of estrogen could significantly diminish the aquaporin 4 expression and water content (p<0.01), and permeability of blood - brain barrier (p<0.001). While physiologic and pharmacologic doses of progesterone had a same effect as estrogen on brain water content (p<0.001), this effect was not observed on aquaporin 4 expression. The brain Evans blue content at physiologic dose of progesterone was significantly lower than vehicle group, but it was higher at pharmacologic dose (p<0.001). We concluded that only physiologic and pharmacologic doses of estrogen reduce d the aquaporin 4 expression in OVX rats after TBI. Based on our results, estrogen may have a therapeutic effect on brain injury.

Motivation is an important aspect of language acquisition. Researchers have classified motivation into two types of integrative and instrumental. Based on the importance of these two kinds of motivations, this study has been devised to determine the motivations of medical and dentistry students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences on language learning.

In this cross- descriptive study, 200 students of the dentistry and medical schools were chosen by random sampling in 2009. The data gathering method was the integrative and instrumental motivation scale of Gardner. The data were then analyzed using t test.

Out of the participants; 35.5% were dentistry and 64.5% were medical students: 44.8% were male, and 55.2% were female. The mean of the total points of the integrative motivation was 3.83, while the mean of the instrumental motivation was 4.21. Results indicated that the students had a high motivation and positive attitudes towards learning English. There was no statistical difference between the two types of motivations.

This study indicated that there is a high motivation among the medical and dentistry students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in learning English. Their motivation had also increased since the highschool period, therfore Students should be encouraged to become more motivated inorder to learn the English language fluently.

In this study, the effect of Anethum graveolens L. extract on pentylenetetrazol- (PTZ) induced seizures was investigated. Present Chemical drugs cannot completely be safe treatment for all kinds of epilepsy. In this experimental study, 110 male mice were included. Firstly, the maximum non-lethal doses for aqueous (500 mg/kg) and alcoholic extract (4000 mg/kg) of Anethum graveolens L. were determined. Three doses of aqueous (250, 400, and 500 mg/kg) and four doses of alcoholic extracts (250, 1000, 2500, and 3500 mg/kg) which were lower than the non-lethal dose were intraperitoneally injected 30 minutes before PTZ injection. Seizure stage 1 latency (S1L), seizure stage 5 latency (S5L) and dead time latency (DTL) were recorded after PTZ injection in both control and treatment groups. One-way ANOVA was used for comparing different doses of alcoholic and aqueous extracts and two-way ANOVA was used for comparing the the results of the two types of extracts. Aqueous extract of Anethum graveolens L. at 500 mg/kg increased S1L, S5L and DTL significantly (p<0.01, p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively). Also S1L and DTL parameters were significantly increased at 400 mg/kg (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively). But increment of these parameters were not significant at concentration of 250 mg/kg. Injection of the alcoholic extract at concentrations of 1000, 2500 and 3500 mg increased S1L, S5L and DTL significantly. However, concentration of 250 mg/kg increased S1L and DTL significantly (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively). There was no significant between aqueous and alcoholic extract except in DTL. The results indicated that the aqueous and alcoholic extractions of Anethum graveolens L. have protective effects on nervous system and also decrease seizure induced by PTZ.

Phellinu s Quel is a large and widely distributed genus of the family Hymenochaetaceae under the class of Basidiomycetes with more than 359 species. The Phellinu s species have anticancer, antioxidant and antibacterial effects. Hitherto, 12 Phellinus species have been reported from the north of Iran. Due to their great medicinal effects and lack of investigation on Iranian species, this study was performed to investigate the host dispersal behaviour, macro- and micro-morphological properties of the species, and antioxidant activities. using the total methanol extract and it’s fractional extracts (chloroform, butanol and water extracts). In this experimental study, the macro- and micro-morphological properties of the species were determined using the total methanol extract and it’s fractional extracts (chloroform, butanol and water extracts). The antioxidant assays were then performed. The radical scavenging capacity of fractional extracts of this fungus were evaluated by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and Ferric reducing-antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Also, the total phenol content (TPC) of each extract was measured using Folin-Ciocalteau method. The results indicated that the total methanol extract showed a significant antioxidant activity. Further fractionation indicated that the butanol fraction had a stronger activity than the total methanolic extract in both antioxidant assays. The effective concentrations of the different extracts (total methanol, chloroform, butanol and water), for scavenging of 50% of generated radicals (IC50), was 30.87±2.07, 87.22±2.56, 11.98±0.32 and 229.67±0.94 µg/ml, respectively. The results showed that different extracts, especially butanol extract have high antioxidant activities which indicate the presence of active components in this fraction. Considering these great antioxidant effects and its low expense, it is recommended to use this fungus in more clinical trial researches and drug manufacturing industry.

High blood pressure is among the main causes of death. Controlled studies show that 5 mmHg decrease in diastolic blood pressure lowers the risk of stroke up to 40% and cardiovascular disease. (CVD) up to 15%. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of red grape consumption, a major source of flavonoieds, on blood pressure in normotensive persons. This prospective study was a clinical trial with a control group. Among the students of Isfahan university, we chose 40 individuals who were randomly divided into two equal groups case and control. The case group received 500g red grape per day for one month. Blood pressure was measured at baseline and at the end of trial. Mean blood pressures changes before and after study among two groups were compared using paired and independent t-tests. The mean variation of Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) for case and control groups was 12.71±3 (p<0.05) and 7.07±1.66 (p>005) respectively. These values for diastolic Blood Pressure were significant (p=0.04). Red grape consumption decreases DBP. Short-term stusdy and/or working on healthy young people with more effective haemostatic mechanisms may account for the lack of effect of red grape on SBP. Since daily diets can impose their effects during life and for improving the metabolic profile a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle are needed.

Healthcare workers are at risk for occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) via blood or bodily fluids. Accordingly, the standard precautions should be implemented in health-threatening circumstances. The purpose of this study was to improving compliance with the standard precautions among nursing care workers in the hospitals of Rafsanjan city. In this quasi-experimental study, all 91 hospital nurses working at the hospitals of Rafsanjan city were included. Pre-designed questionnaires were distributed to the participants before, shortly after and 6 months after the training courses presented as group discussion, problem-based learning, pamphlets and booklets. Data was analyzed by Friedman and repeated measure ANOVA. Results showed that the mean age of the participants was 35.93±7.91. The mean scores of knowledge related to the standard precautions before, shortly after and 6 month after the training intervention were 22.60±3.16, 26.05±1.28 and 26.17±1.15 respectively. Mean scores of attitude for these three time series were 44.28±4.41, 50.84±3.98 and 50.93±3.79 and finally these values for the compliance behavior were 30.77±4.84, 33.26±2.17 and 33.41±2.25 respectively.. The results showed that training intervention had a positive effect on knowledge, attitude and compliance behavior of the nurses regarding the s tandard precautions. These findings may be applicable for development of similar training programs.