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Background: Some scientific data have been reported the positive effects of caffeine compounds on modulating the signs of delayed onset muscle soreness. The present study was conducted to identify the effect of different doses of caffeine on some serum markers of muscular damage in male volleyball players after a single session of exhaustive exercise. Materials and Methods: In a randomized double-blind study, 30 male volleyball players (mean age 21.47±1.45 years, fat percent 10.47±3.11% and BMI 23.15±1.26 kg.m2 ) were allocated into three equal groups: the supplement (6 and 9 mg.kg-1 caffeine) and placebo (6 mg.kg-1 dextrose) groups. After the supplementation, all subjects were participated in a single session of resistant weight-training (80% until exhaustion). Changes in the muscular damage indices including total serum creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were determined in three phases (baseline, immediately and 24 hours after the training). Results: The results showed that the different doses of caffeine had no significant effect on the increased levels of serum enzymes of muscular damage immediately after exercise compared to the placebo group (P≥0.05). Moreover, different doses of caffeine had no effect on the increased levels of muscle damage markers 24 hours after the exercise (P≥0.05). Conclusion: Although the different doses of caffeine cannot significantly prevent further muscular damage, it cannot lead to the further deterioration of indirect indices of muscle damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B infection is a major public health problem worldwide. An important way to prevent hepatitis infection, especially among the high-risk populations including healthcare workers is vaccination. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the post- vaccination immunologic response of health staff in Kashan University of Medical Sciences during 2012-2013. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 227 staff randomly selected from the ones received the last dose of vaccine three months ago. Their blood samples were tested for Anti-HBs and Anti-HBc using the ELISA and RAPID tests, respectively. Results: Among 227 subjects, 167(75.6%) cases were female and 56 (24.4%) male (mean age, 31.35±7.85 years). Ninety-five percent of the women responded to the vaccine (10.8% hypo-response; 14.4% intermediate-response and 70.1% hyper-response). On the other hand, 95.3% of the men responded to the vaccine (20.4% hypo-response, 20.4% intermediate-response and 55.6% hyper-response). Conclusion: The results of this study reveal the appropriate immune responses to vaccine one year after the vaccination. Although among the subjects the immunologic response to vaccine after one period of vaccination has not been 100%, the current protocol for hepatitis B vaccine yields the remarkable response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe disorder that has a significant impact on the psychological and social functioning of children and adolescents. Considering the current limitations in the treatment of this disorder; the present study aimed to examine the effect of fluoxetine and fluvoxamine on the treatment of child and adolescent depression. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial study, 40 children and adolescents with MDD referred to child psychiatric clinic of Kashan University of Medical Sciences (during 2013-2014) were randomly divided into the fluvoxamine and fluoxetine groups. Data were collected using the children's depression inventory, children's global assessment scale, and drug side effect questionnaire. The participants were evaluated at the beginning and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the beginning of the treatment. Results: The mean age of children and adolescents was 12.40±2.63 years. The mean scores of CDI in the flouxetine and fluvoxamine groups were significantly decreased from 25.65±10.49 to 11.55±3.23 and from 28.45±7.61 to 8.05±4.87, respectively. Moreover, the mean scores of CDI in the flovaxamine group demonstrated a significant decrease at weeks 4 and 8 compared to the fluoxetine group (P=0.03 and P=0.005, respectively). In the 8th week, the response rates to treatment were %85 and 55% in the fluvoxamine and fluoxetine groups, respectively. No serious side effect was observed in the participants and no suicidal attempts were reported during the study. Conclusion: Considering that there is a significant reduction in the depression score in the fluvoxamine group compared to the fluoxetine one, fluvoxamine can be used as an effective and safe drug in the treatment of MDD in children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the self- efficacy, self -esteem, social anxiety, shyness and aggression among the high school students with different levels of assertiveness. Materials and Methods: In this study, 311 first and second grade high-school students were selected from the five regions of Tehran (North, South, Central, East, and West) through cluster sampling. The low, high and moderate-assertive participants were recognized based on the mean and standard deviation of assertiveness. Multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was used to compare the research variables in the three groups. Results: The results showed a significance value of F for Wilks lambda (F=4.12, P=0.001) indicating the overall differences in different levels of assertiveness. There was a significant difference in self-efficacy (P<0.001, F: 13.77) and self-esteem (P<0.001, F: 4.80) in three groups of assertiveness. Moreover, a significant difference was found in aggression (P<0.001, F: 12.1), social anxiety (P<0.001, F: 5.24) and shyness (P<0.001, F: 8.65) among the high, low and moderate-assertive students. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the high-assertive students had the higher levels of self-efficacy and self-esteem and lower levels of social anxiety, shyness and aggression as compared to the low and moderate-assertive students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]