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Background: With considering the importance of natural products for their remedial and therapeutic value, this research was aimed to analyze the chemical compositions and antimicrobial activity of four propolis samples from different areas of Iran (Chenaran, Taleghan, Morad Beyg, and Kalaleh) with various climates and flora. Methods: Ethanolic (70% EtOH) and dichlromethane (DCM) extracts of Iranian propolis were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods, and antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus using disk diffusion antimicrobial method. Results: The results of GC-MS analysis showed the presence of fatty acids, flavonoids, terpenes, aromatic-aliphatic acids, and their related esters. The total flavonoids in DCM extract of Chenaran, Taleghan, Morad Beyg, and Kalaleh propolis were pinocembrin and pinostrobin chalcone. The common phenolic and terpene compounds detected in all four tested EtOH extracts were P-cumaric acid and dimethyl -1,3,5,6-tetramethyl-[1,3-(13C2)] bicycloce [5.5.0] dodeca-1,3,5,6,8,10-hexaene-9,10-dicarboxylate, respectively. The highest inhibitory diameter zone of the Iranian propolis against C. albicans, E. coli, and S. aureus was for DCM extract of Kalaleh propolis (13.33 mm), Morad Beyg propolis (12 mm), and Kalaleh (11.67 mm), respectively. Conclusion: Iranian propolis showed antimicrobial activities against C. albicans, E. coli, and S. aurous, perhaps due to the presence of flavonoids, phenolic acids, and terpenes as active components that can be used alone or in combination with the selected antibiotics to synergize antibiotic effect, as well as to prevent microbial resistance to available antimicrobial drugs.

Grief is an unavoidable emotional reaction against the death of beloved ones that can lead to psychiatric disorders. Persian medicine (PM) scholars have made considerable recommendations regarding emotional reactions including grief. This research was carried out by studying outstanding PM textbooks (Canon of Medicine, Zakhireye Kharazmshahi, ExirAzamand kholasa al hekma) with specific keywords related to the emotional reaction, then a series of database queries (PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct) were performed to reconfirm the efficacy of PM recommendations by conventional medicine. PM physicians considered emotional reactions as one of the most important factors in physical or mental dysfunction. They treated bereaved patients based on their mental and cardiovascular conditions. They used a combination of appropriate nutrition, herbal medicines (Amygdalus communis L., Cinnamomum zylanicum, Crocus sativus L., Cydonia oblonga etc.), physical movement (exercise, massage therapy, game etc.) and psychotherapy (music therapy, aromatherapy etc.) for grief resolution. PM is one of the old paradigms of medicine that can improve psychological and physical complications of grief. Grief is one of the debilitative emotions that can influence patient quality of life so it is important and necessary that health authorities and physicians employ the total potential of medical science for patients’ treatment and rehabilitation.

Aims: Showing a meta-cognitive aspect, creativity is related to higher mental processes such as thinking, intelligence, imagination, and information process. There are many studies on the physiological bases of creativity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of creative thinking on the heart rate signal. Materials & Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 52 medical engineering, electrical, and control students of Sahand University were studied in 2012. The subjects were selected via accessible sampling method. To assess the level of the students’ creative thinking, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (B form; figural) was used. Before and during creative thinking test, heart signal in the rest position was recorded by 1000Hz sampling frequency. Data was analyzed using Wilcoxon non-parametric test. Findings: There was an increase in the mean heart power amplitude during creative thinking than the rest position. However, passing time and conducting the last sessions of the creativity test, it showed a reduction. There was an increase in the heart rate in persons with high creativity than those with low creativity. In addition, based on the test scores, there was a higher creativity level in females and three-lingual persons than males and bi-lingual persons, respectively. There was an increase in the heart rate in females than males (p=0.0398). Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between three-lingual and bilingual persons (p>0.05). Conclusion: Creative thinking results in an increase in the heart rate in persons with high creativity than persons with low creativity. Therefore, the creativity level can be detected via heart signal.&nbsp

Background The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of rheumatologic manifestations associated with MDS. Methods: Eighty patients with MDS were evaluated by history and physical examination for inflammatory rheumatologic disorders from Jan 2013 to May 2014. Patients who had any signs or symptoms of rheumatologic disorders underwent evaluation by laboratory tests. Patients with and without inflammatory rheumatic disorders were compared for their characteristics. Results: Of 80 participants with MDS, 9 (11.3%) patients were diagnosed as having rheumatic disorders. MDS patients with or without rheumatologic disorder were similar in demographic and hematologic parameters, except age which was lower in patients with rheumatologic disorders. (p=0.016). In younger patients, refractory cytopenia and refractory cytopenia with multilinage dysplasia were more prevalent. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that rheumatologic manifestations may be present in MDS patients. Younger patients are more prone to the occurrence of MDS and rheumatic disorders.

Objective: Interest in the subject of creativity and its impacts on human life is growing extensively. However, only a few surveys pay attention to the relation between creativity and physiological changes. This paper presents a novel approach to distinguish between creativity states from electrocardiogram signals. Nineteen linear and nonlinear features of the cardiac signal were extracted to detect creativity states. Method: ECG signals of 52 participants were recorded while doing three tasks of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT/ figural B). To remove artifacts, notch filter 50 Hz and Chebyshev II were applied. According to TTCT scores, participants were categorized into the high and low creativity groups: Participants with scores higher than 70 were assigned into the high creativity group and those with scores less than 30 were considered as low creativity group. Some linear and nonlinear features were extracted from the ECGs. Then, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) were used to classify the groups. Results: Applying the Wilcoxon test, significant differences were observed between rest and each three tasks of creativity. However, better discrimination was performed between rest and the first task. In addition, there were no statistical differences between the second and third task of the test. The results indicated that the SVM effectively detects all the three tasks from the rest, particularly the task 1 and reached the maximum accuracy of 99.63% in the linear analysis. In addition, the high creative group was separated from the low creative group with the accuracy of 98.41%. Conclusion: the combination of SVM classifier with linear features can be useful to show the relation between creativity and physiological changes.

The normal and the lateral Casimir interactions between corrugated ideal metallic plates in the presence of an amplifying or an absorptive dielectric slab is studied by the path-integral quantization technique. The effect of the amplifying slab, which is located between corrugated conductors, is to increase the normal and lateral Casimir interactions, while the presence of the absorptive slab diminishes the interactions. These effects are more pronounced if the thickness of the slab increases and, also, if the slab comes closer to one of the bounding conductors. When both bounding ideal conductors are flat, the normal Casimir force is nonmonotonic in the presence of the amplifying slab and the system has a stable mechanical equilibrium state, while the force is attractive and is weakened by intervening the absorptive dielectric slab in the cavity. Upon replacing one of the flat conductors with a flat ideal permeable plate the force becomes nonmonotonic and the system has an unstable mechanical equilibrium state in the presence of either an amplifying or an absorptive slab. When the left-side plate is a conductor and the right one is permeable, the force is nonmonotonic in the presence of a double-layer dissipative-amplifying dielectric slab with a stable mechanical equilibrium state, while it is purely repulsive in the presence of a double-layer amplifying-dissipative dielectric slab.

Background Because of the lack of an effective and economical control strategy against malaria (the most devastating infectious disease in developing countries) Transmission-Blocking Vaccines (TBVs) concept has been raised in recent years, promising a more efficient way to malaria control. TBVs aim at interfering and/or blocking pathogen development within the vector, halting transmission to non-infected vertebrate host. Aminopeptidase N (APN) is one of the most potent proteins in parasite development in Anopheles malaria vectors, which is strongly co-localized with human malaria parasites in the mosquito midgut epithelium. Therefore, Aminopeptidase N is one of the best choices for a new TBV. Methods In this study for the first time we used 3’-RACE to amplify APN gene in Anopheles stephensi (An.stephensi), a major malaria vector in Iran, Indian subcontinent up to China by using different sets of primers including exon junction, conserved and specific region primers. Results Full length of APN was sequenced stepwise, which could be applied in designing a new regional TBV and act as an essential component of malaria elimination program in An.stephensi distribution areas. Conclusion Primers design and method modification should be set up exactly in approach based amplifications. From results we came to this conclusion that that 3’-RACE could be applied to amplified key regions which are beyond reach.

Background: Ovine babesiosis is the most important haemoparasitic tick-borne disease of small ruminants in Iran caused by Babesia ovis, B. motasi, and B. crassa. The aim of this study was to characterize the species of ovine Babesia species isolated from different geographical region of Iran. Methods: One hundred fifty four blood samples collected from animals, which demonstrated the pale mucous membranes or hyperthermia. The specimens were transferred to the laboratory and the blood smears stained with Geimsa, the morphological and biometrical data of parasite in any infected erythrocyte have been considered. Extracted DNA from each blood samples were used in PCR and semi nested- PCR in order to confirm the presence of the species. Results: The results of the PCR assays showed nine (5.85%), 81 (53%) and 18 (11.7%) were distinguished as Babesia, Theileria and mixed infection, respectively. Semi nested- PCR did not confirm the presence of B. motasi. Conclusion: The causative organism of many cases of haemoprotozoal diseases, which recorded in previous studies, could be B. ovis or Theileria lestoquardi. The result confirmed that B. ovis was only species which causes babesiosis in the study areas. It seems that the biometrical polymor­phisms could exist in B. ovis in Iran. This polymorphism could be a main problem in differen­tiation between B. ovis and B. motasi and it could be dissolved by specific PCR analysis.

International audience; BACKGROUND: A successful malaria elimination program calls for enough attention to parasite carriers, especially asymptomatic malaria, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of clinical cases. Asymptomatic malaria is an infection that patients do not show any symptom; thus, these patients play critical role in the concept of an elimination program. The current investigation was conducted to evaluate the presence of these cases in Bashagard District, formerly a high malaria transmission area in Hormozgan Province, Iran. METHODS: Blood samples (n = 500) were collected from symptomless individuals residing in Bashagard to evaluate Plasmodium infection by using microscopic, serological and nested-PCR techniques. RESULTS: Regarding the microscopic and nested-PCR analysis, no asymptomatic infection was detected among studied individuals. Totally, 1% of the studied population (5 of 500) had anti PvMSP-1(19)-specific IgG antibody; however, only 0.2% (1 of 500) of the individuals was seropositive to recombinant PfMSP-1(19), using ELISA. CONCLUSION: This study showed no asymptomatic malaria infection in the studied population; hence malaria elimination is feasible and can be successfully carried out in this region.