Journal of Injury and Violence Research
Volume:7 Issue: 2, Jul 2015

Violence has recently been reported among a primarily young, minority population in Nashville, Tennessee. School-based programs have been proven as effective methods of reducing violent behavior, beliefs, and actions that lead to violence among adolescents. Investigators implemented a rigorous search for an appropriate school-based violence prevention program for Metropolitan Nashville middle school students utilizing a systematic review and discussion group with victims of violence. 27 programs nation-wide were reviewed and 2 discussion groups with African American males under the age of 25 admitted to a level 1 trauma center for assault-related injuries were conducted. Our findings led to a single, evidence-based conflict resolution program. In conjunction with educators, we evaluated the program’s effectiveness in a pilot study in a Nashville middle school with high rates of violence. 122 students completed the conflict resolution program and described their behavior and experiences with violence in a pre-test/post-test self-rate questionnaire. Results showed a significant decrease in violent behavior and an increase in students’ competencies to deal with violence (p less than 0.05). This study shows that a reduction in violent behavior and beliefs among middle school students can be achieved through the implementation of a targeted violence intervention program. A larger-scale intervention is needed to develop more conclusive evidence of effectiveness.

Sleep disturbance is a common self-reported complaint by PTSD patients. How-ever, there are controversies in documenting objective indices of disrupted sleep in these patients. The aim of the present study was to assess sleep disturbances in veterans with chronic PTSD, using both subjective and objective assessments. Thirty two PTSD patients with complaints of insomnia were evaluated using the Clini-cian Administrated PTSD Scale version 1 (CAPS) and completed the Pittsburg Sleep Quality In-dex (PSQI) for subjective evaluation of their sleep. For objective evaluation, participants un-derwent two consecutive overnight actigraphic assessments. Total Sleep Time (TST), Sleep Laten-cy (SL), Sleep Efficiency (SE) and Number of Awakening (NWAK) were measured in all partici-pants. Participants underestimated TST (p less than 0.0001), SE (p less than 0.0001) as well as NASO (0.03) in the questionnaire compared to the actigraphic assessment and overestimat-ed SL (p less than 0.0001). Objective sleep parameters do not adversely affect veterans with chronic PTSD. Self-reported sleep disturbance in these patients is not reliable and objective sleep as-sessments are necessary.

To investigate factors related to prevention of self-immolation in west of Iran. In a case-control study, 30 consecutive cases of deliberate self-inflicted burns admitted to the regional burn centre (Imam Khomeini hospital in Kermanshah province, Iran) were compared with controls selected from the community and matched by sex, age, district-county of residence, and rural vs urban living environment. The following characteristics relevant to preventing self immolation were collected from all cases and controls: main domestic fuel used in the household, awareness about complications of burn injuries, and use of counseling services. Descriptive analyses revealed that kerosene was the main domestic fuel in the household for 83% of cases. Not surprisingly, the main means of self-immolation in 93% of the patients was kerosene, with other fuels such as petrol and domestic gas used in remaining cases. The majority of cases and controls were aware of the potential complications of burn injuries. Use of counseling services was more common in controls. All three aspects of preventing self-immolation – having kerosene and other fuels in the home, being aware of the complications of burn injuries, and using counseling services were present in both the cases and controls. This suggests a large portion of residents in rural Iran are potential self-immolation victims. Increasing preventive strategies may reduce risk of suicide by self-immolation.

The initial diagnostic evaluation and management of trauma patients is mainly based on Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) guidelines worldwide. Based on ATLS principles, conventional diagnostics such as conventional radiography (CR) and focused abdominal sonography in trauma (FAST) should precede selective use of CT. Whole-body CT (WBCT) is highly accurate and allows detection of life threatening injuries with good sensitivity and specificity. WBCT is faster than conventional diagnostics and saves more time in management of trauma patients. This study aims to review studies investigating the effect of WBCT on mortality in trauma patients. Literatures were found by searching key-words in Medline, PubMed and Cochrane library. The relevant articles were selected by two independent reviewers based on title, abstract and introduction sections. Full-texts of selected articles were reviewed and those investigating effect of WBCT on mortality in trauma patients were included. Searching the keywords in Medline and PubMed resulted in 178 and 167 articles, respectively. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. These in-cluded 8 retrospective and 1 prospective cohort studies. Mortality was measured as mortality rate or standardised mortality ratio (SMR) in the included studies. Unlike pre-vious systematic reviews, this review indicates that use of WBCT in blunt trauma patients is asso-ciated with reduced overall mortality rate and that WBCT can potentially improve the proba-bility of survival in haemodynamically stable and unstable blunt trauma patients. High quality RCTs are required to describe a causal relationship between WBCT and mortality in trauma patients. © 2014 KUMS, All rights reserved

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a condition that leads to a rapid deterioration of renal function associated with impairment to maintain electrolyte and acid balance, and, if left untreated, ultimately irreversible kidney damage and renal necrosis. There are a number of causes that can trigger AKI, ranging from underlying conditions as well as trauma and surgery. Specifically, the global rise in surgical procedures led to a substantial increase of AKI incidence rates, which in turn impacts on mortality rates, quality of life and economic costs to the healthcare system. However, no effective therapy for AKI exists. Current approaches, such as pharmacological intervention, help in alleviating symptoms in slowing down the progression, but do not prevent or reverse AKI-induced organ damage. An in-depth understanding of the molecular machinery involved in and modulated by AKI induction and progression is necessary to specifically pharmacologically target key molecules. A major hurdle to devise a successful strategy is the multifactorial and complex nature of the disorder itself, whereby the activation of a number of seemingly independent molecular pathways in the kidney leads to apoptotic and necrotic events. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS) axis appears to be a common element, leading to downstream events such as triggers of immune responses via the NFkB pathway. Other pathways intricately linked with AKI-induction and progression are the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) and transforming growth factor beta (TGFb) signaling cascades, as well as a number of other modulators. Surprisingly, it has been shown that the involvement of the glutamatergic axis, believed to be mainly a component of the neurological system, is also a major contributor. Here we address the current understanding of the molecular pathways evoked in AKI, their interplay, and the potential to pharmacologically intervene in the effective prevention and/or progression of AKI.

FOXP3 gene is an X-linked gene that encodes FOXP3 protein, an essential transcription factor in CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells. We aimed, in the present study, to investigate the association of two FOXP3 polymorphisms, -2383 C/T (rs3761549) and IVS9+459 T/C (rs2280883), with lung cancer. In a case-control study we analyzed genotypes and alleles frequencies at -2383 C/T and IVS9+459 T/C positions in 156 patients with lung cancer and 156 age and sex matched healthy controls in Southern Iranian population, using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. The data were verified by direct automated DNA sequencing. The frequency of -2383 T allele was significantly higher in the patients than in the control group (11.8% versus 5.9%, P-value=0.04, OR=2.13, 95%CI=1.04-4.54). T allele frequency at IVS9+459 T/C position was higher, compared to the controls, in the patients who presented the disease over 55 years old (69.9% versus 59.1%, P-value=0.04, OR=1.61, 95%CI=1.01-2.55) and also in SCLC patients (77.8% versus 59.1%, P-value=0.03, OR=2.42, 95%CI=1.05-5.59). No significant differences were found in the genotypes and haplotypes distributions between the cases and controls. A high degree of linkage disequilibrium was observed between two polymorphisms. As the first study dealing with -2383 C/T and IVS9+459 T/C in lung cancer, our data conclusively suggest the association of -2383 T allele with susceptibility to lung cancer in Iranian population. The association of IVS9+459 T allele with susceptibility to lung cancer in old patients suggests the age-dependent effects of FOXP3 gene on cancer occurrence.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells is a major obstacle to successful chemotherapy. Overexpression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is one of the major causes of MDR. In addition, it has been shown that PI3K/Akt signaling pathway involves in drug resistance. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of novel approaches including siRNA directed against BCRP and targeted therapy against PI3K/Akt signaling pathway using LY294002 (LY) to re-sensitize breast cancer MCF7 cell line to mitoxantrone (MTX) chemotherapy. Anticancer effects of MTX, siRNA, and LY alone and in combination were evaluated in MCF7 cells using MTT cytotoxicity assay and flow cytometry analysis of cell cycle distribution and apoptosis induction. MTT and apoptosis assays showed that both MTX and LY inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in MCF7 cells. Results indicated that inhibition of BCRP by siRNA or PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by LY significantly increased sensitivity of MCF7 cells to antiproliferation and apoptosis induction of MTX. Furthermore, MTX showed G2/M arrest, whereas LY induced G0/G1 arrest in cell cycle distribution of MCF7 cells. Combination of siRNA or LY with MTX chemotherapy significantly increased accumulation of MCF7 cells in the G2/M phase of cell cycle. Combination of MTX chemotherapy with BCRP siRNA and PI3K/Akt inhibition can overcome MDR in breast cancer cells. This study furthermore suggests that novel therapeutic approaches are needed to enhance anticancer effects of available drugs in breast cancer

Hypoxia induces cellular oxidative stress that is associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Here, the protective effects of ferulic acid (FA) on hypoxia-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells were evaluated. We investigated the effect of FA on PC12 cells subjected to hypoxia stress, in vitro. FA increased cell viability, prevented membrane damage (LDH release), scavenged free radicals, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and attenuated the elevation of intracellular free Ca2+, lipid peroxidation, apoptosis (evaluated by TUNEL staining) and PGE2 production in hypoxia-stressed PC12 cells. MAPKs were activated during hypoxia. FA reduced p-p38 MAPK, caspase-3, and COX-2 activation which correlated well with diminished LDH release in PC12 cells under hypoxia. Furthermore, FA reduced lipid peroxidation in PC12 cells subjected to hypoxia. Taken together, these results indicate that FA antioxidant effects could partly be involved in inhibition of p38 MAPK pathway and apoptosis through scavenging ROS in hypoxia-stressed PC12 cells.

Lipocalin2 (Lcn2) gene is highly expressed in response to various types of cellular stresses. The precise role of Lcn2 has not been fully understood yet. However, it plays a key role in controlling vital cellular processes such as proliferation, apoptosis and metabolism. Recently it was shown that Lcn2 decreases senescence and increases proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) with finite life span under either normal or oxidative stress conditions. However, Lcn2 effects on immortal cell line with infinite proliferation are not defined completely. Materials and HEK-293 cells were transfected with recombinant pcDNA3.1 containing Lcn2 fragment (pcDNA3.1-Lcn2). Expression of lipocalin2 in transfected cells was evaluated by RT-PCR, real time RT-PCR, and ELISA. Different cell groups were treated with H2O2 and WST-1 assay was performed to determine their proliferation rate. Senescence was studied by β-galactosidase and gimsa staining methods as well as evaluation of the expression of senescence-related genes by real time RT-PCR. Lcn2 increased cell proliferation under normal culture condition, while the proliferation slightly decreased under oxidative stress. This decrease was further found to be attributed to senescence. Our findings indicated that under harmful conditions, Lcn2 gene is responsible for the regulation of cell survival through senescence.

Alzheimer''s disease (AD) is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. One of the hallmarks of AD is an abnormal accumulation of fibril forms of tau protein which is known as a microtubule associated protein. In this regard, inhibition of tau aggregation has been documented to be a potent therapeutic approach in AD and tauopathies. Unfortunately, the available synthetic drugs have modest beneficial efficacy with several side effects. Therefore, pipeline drugs from natural sources with anti-aggregation properties can be useful in the prevention and treatment of AD. Among medicinal plants, saffron (Crocus sativus, L.), as a traditional herbal medicine has different pharmacological properties and can be used as treatment for several nervous system impairment including depression and dementia. Crocin as a major constituent of saffron is the glycosylated form of crocetin. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of crocin on aggregation of recombinant human tau protein 1N/4R isoform using biochemical methods and cell culture. Results revealed that tau protein under the fibrillation condition and in the presence of crocin had enough stability with low tendency for aggregation. Crocin inhibited tau aggregation with IC50 of 100 µg/ml. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy images confirmed that crocin could suppress the formation of tau protein filaments. Inhibitory effect of crocin could be related to its interference with nucleation phase that led to increases in monomer species of tau protein. Based on our results, crocin is recommended as a proper candidate to be used in AD treatment.