Calycopterin, an immunoinhibitory compound from the extract of Dracocephalum kotschyi

Medicinal plants have been widely investigated for their various effects. Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss (Labiatae) is used in Iranian traditional medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid diseases. The inhibitory effect of D. kotschyi on the lectin-induced cellular immune response has been demonstrated previously. In this study, mitogen-treated lymphocytes were exposed to the extract of D. kotschyi and analysed for the induction of apoptosis using flow cytometry and gel electrophoresis. The data obtained indicated a dose-dependent increase of cells in the sub-G1 phase of cell cycle. Study of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation showed a typical DNA laddering in agarose gels. A bioactivity-guided fractionation assay to find the active components responsible for the inhibitory effect of D. kotschyi on mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation led to the isolation of calycopterin from the ethyl acetate extract of D. kotschyi. Its structure was identified by spectroscopic methods including( 1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR, MS and UV spectra. Calycopterin inhibited lymphocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent manner with an IC(50) value of 1.7 microg/mL. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that D. kotschyi extract has the capacity to induce apoptosis in the lymphocytes and that isolated calycopterin is responsible for the inhibitory effect of D. kotschyi on lymphocyte proliferation.     

Tuberculosis Disease Diagnosis Using Artificial Immune Recognition System

Background: There is a high risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease diagnosis among conventional methods.Objectives:This study is aimed at diagnosing TB using hybrid machine learning approaches.Materials and Methods: Patient epicrisis reports obtained from the Pasteur Laboratory in the north of Iran were used. All 175 samples have twenty features. The features are classified based on incorporating a fuzzy logic controller and artificial immune recognition system. The features are normalized through a fuzzy rule based on a labeling system. The labeled features are categorized into normal and tuberculosis classes using the Artificial Immune Recognition Algorithm.Results:Overall, the highest classification accuracy reached was for the 0.8 learning rate (α) values. The artificial immune recognition system (AIRS) classification approaches using fuzzy logic also yielded better diagnosis results in terms of detection accuracy compared to other empirical methods. Classification accuracy was 99.14%, sensitivity 87.00%, and specificity 86.12%.     

Haplotype-Based Association and In Silico Studies of OPRM1 Gene Variants with Susceptibility to Opioid Dependence Among Addicted Iranians Undergoing Methadone Treatment

The associations of OPRM1 gene variants with opioid dependence have been demonstrated. This study investigated the association of rs495491, rs1799971 (A118G), rs589046, and rs10457090 variants of OPRM1 gene with opium dependence and their haplotypes among addicted individuals undergoing methadone treatment. Moreover, we investigated whether any of these variants were associated with libido dysfunction or insomnia among addicted people. A total of 404 individuals were genotyped by amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR. In silico studies were designed through homology modeling of A118G structures (N40 and D40) and docked with 41 FDA-approved drugs of OPRM1 protein by SWISS-MODEL, COACH, MolProbity, ProSA, Errat, Glide XP, and Autodock 4. Results revealed that rs495491, A118G, rs589046, and rs10457090 were significantly associated with opium dependence under recessive (P = 6.66E-10), dominant (P = 0.017), co-dominant (P = 0.001), and recessive (P = 9.28E-6) models of inheritance, respectively. Further analyses indicated three significant haplotypes including A-A-A-C (P-permutation < 1E-9), G-G-A-C (P-permutation = 0.04), and G-A-G-C (P-permutation = 8.69E-4). Genotype-phenotype associations of OPRM1 variants with insomnia and libido dysfunction showed no significant association. Docking showed the higher binding affinity of N40 rather than D40 model; however, methadone and morphine were bonded with D40 structure more powerful. Consequently, rs495491, A118G, rs589046, and rs10457090 were associated with opioid dependence among Iranians; also, A118G might be the most remarkable marker of OPRM1 owing to its vital structural roles.     

The effectiveness of webcast compared to live lectures as a teaching tool in medical school

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether webcast lectures are comparable to live lectures as a teaching tool in medical school.

Methods: Three Otolaryngology-Head&Neck Surgery (OTO-HNS) lectures were given to third year medical students through their regular academic curriculum with one group receiving lectures in a live lecture format and the other group in a webcast format. All lectures (live or webcast) were given by the same lecturer and contained identical material. Three outcome measures were used: a student satisfaction survey, performance on the OTO-HNS component of their written examination, and performance on an OTO-HNS OSCE station in the general end of year OSCE examination session.

Results: Students performance on the written examination was equal between the two groups. The webcast group outperformed the live lecture group in the OSCE station. The majority of students in the webcast group felt it was an effective learning tool for them. Most viewed the lectures more than once, and felt that this was beneficial to their learning.

Conclusion: Webcasts appear equally effective to live lectures as a teaching tool.     

Intranasal Midazolam Compared with Intravenous Diazepam in Patients Suffering from Acute Seizure: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective

Acute seizure attack is a stressful experience both for health care personnel and parents. These attacks might cause morbidity and mortality among patients, so reliable methods to control the seizure preferably at home should be developed. This study was performed to measure the time needed to control seizure attacks using intranasal midazolam compared to the common treatment (intravenous diazepam) and to evaluate its probable side effects.

Methods

This study was conducted as a not blind randomized clinical trial among 60 patients coming to Imam Ali Hospital, Zahedan, Iran. The patients were 2 months to 15 years old children coming to our emergency department suffering from an acute seizure episode. Intranasal midazolam was administered 0.2 mg/kg equally dropped in both nostrils for case group and intravenous diazepam was administered 0.3mg/kg via IV line for control group. After both treatments the time needed to control the seizure was registered by the practitioner. Pulse rate and O2 saturation were recorded at patients’ entrance and in minutes 5 and 10 after drug administration.

Findings

The time needed to control seizure using intranasal midazolam (3.16±1.24) was statistically shorter than intravenous diazepam (6.42±2.59) if the time needed to establish IV line in patients treated by intravenous diazepam is taken into account (P<0.001). The readings for O2 saturation or heart rate did not indicate a statistically significant difference between two groups of patients either at entrance or 5 and 10 minutes after drug administration.

Conclusion

Considering the shorter time needed to control acute seizure episodes compared to intravenous diazepam and its safety record, intranasal midazolam seems to be a good candidate to replace diazepam, as the drug of choice, in controlling this condition.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of levofloxacin derivatives with certain bulky residues on piperazine ring

A number of levofloxacin analogues carrying a 2-aryl-2-oxoethyl or a 2-aryl-2-oxyiminoethyl moiety attached to the piperazine ring at C-10 position have been prepared and evaluated as antibacterial agents against a series of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Some of them exhibited significant inhibitory activity against Gram-positive bacteria.