The impact of the family-centered empowerment model on the children's quality of life with chemical burns and their parent’s perceived stress

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Chemical burns are challenging for children and their families due to the unpleasant health consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to provide organized programs to support and educate families suffering child burns. This study aimed at determining the impact of the Family-Centered Empowerment Model (FCEM) on the quality of life of children with chemical burns and their parents' stress.

METHODS

This two-group pre-test-post-test experimental study was conducted on 50 children 1-12 years old with chemical burns along with their parents (n = 50) in three hospitals in Birjand, Iran. Eligible participants were selected by convenience randomized sampling method and then assigned to intervention and control groups. The questionnaires included: PedsQL for measuring the quality of life of children aged 6-12 years, TAPQOL for evaluating the quality of life of children aged 1-6 years, and PSS for exploring the perceived parental stress. The intervention group received the FCEM-based program consisting of four steps (perceived threat, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and evaluation) and the control group received the standard care. Perceived parental stress and children's quality of life were assessed before and after the intervention in both groups. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software V. 23.

RESULTS

The results showed that the mean scores of parental stress and children's quality of life (total and subscales) were not significantly different before the intervention. The independent t-test results exhibited a significant difference after the intervention between the mean scores of the variables of the two groups (P < 0.001), indicating an increase in the quality-of-life score and its subscales and a decrease in the parents' stress score. The paired t-test results revealed a significant difference between the means of scores before and after the intervention in the intervention group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

FCEM is an effective approach to reducing parental stress and improving the children's quality of life aged 1-12 years old suffered chemical burns. Therefore, it is suggested to consider the model care plan for this population.

A pilot study of the effects of crocin on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol uptake capacity in patients with metabolic syndrome: A randomized clinical trial

A randomized clinical trial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol uptake capacity (CUC) is reduced in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). We have assessed the effect of crocin supplementation on HDL CUC in patients with MetS. Forty-four subjects with MetS were randomly allocated to one of two groups: one group received placebo and the other group received crocin at a dose of 30 mg (two tablets of 15 mg per day) for 8 weeks. Serum biochemical parameters were measured using an AutoAnalyzer BT3000 (BioTechnica). The modified CUC method is a cell free, simple, and high-throughput assay that used to evaluate HDL CUC of serum samples. The decision tree analysis was undertaken using JMP Pro (SAS) version 13. The mean age of the crocin and placebo groups were 38.97 ± 13.33 and 43.46 ± 12.77 years, respectively. There was a significant increase in serum HDL CUC in the crocin group compared to that of the placebo group in patients with MetS (p-value< 0.05). The decision tree analysis showed that serum HDL functionality was more important variable than HDL-C level in predicting patients with hypertension at baseline (p-value < 0.05). Crocin administration (30 mg for a period of 8 weeks) was found to improve serum HDL CUC in patients with MetS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IRCT2013080514279N1.

Does curcumin have an effect on sleep duration in metabolic syndrome patients?

OBJECTIVE

Sleep-duration is related to obesity. Curcumin can affect behavioral changes that arise from sleep deprivation in animal models. In this study, we assessed the effects of curcumin on sleep-duration in metabolic-syndrome (MetS) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was a double-blind clinical trial in 120 adults with MetS. All participants received crude curcuminoids in a simple formulation (n=40), phospholipidated curcuminoids (n=40) or placebo (n=40) 1 g/day during 6 weeks. Demographic data, anthropometric indices and serum biochemical factors were documented for all volunteers at baseline and after the intervention. A standard questionnaire was used for evaluating physical-activity-level (PAL) and patients' sleep-duration, including night time sleep and daily napping. Based on the time of sleep, sleeping hours were classified into: night time sleep; daily naps and total sleeping hours in 24 hours.

RESULTS

A total of 120 participants aged 38.72±10.05 years old were enrolled into the study. We did not find significant differences in biochemical factors, sleep-duration or PAL at baseline among the 3 groups (p>0·05). Moreover, curcumin did not exert any significant effect on sleep-duration before, or after, adjustment for confounding factors in the overweight and obese individuals, or in total population (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results showed that curcumin does not have an effect on sleep-duration in subject with MetS.

Nilpotent fuzzy lie ideals

In this paper, we introduce a new definition for nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideal, which is a well-defined extension of nilpotent Lie ideal in Lie algebras, and we name it a good nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideal. Then we prove that a Lie algebra is nilpotent if and only if any fuzzy Lie ideal of it, is a good nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideal. In particular, we construct a nilpotent Lie algebra via a good nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideal. Also, we prove that with some conditions, every good nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideal is finite. Finally, we define an Engel fuzzy Lie ideal, and we show that every Engel fuzzy Lie ideal of a finite Lie algebra is a good nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideal. We think that these notions could be useful to solve some problems of Lie algebras with nilpotent fuzzy Lie ideals.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Crocus sativus on Serum Cytokine Levels in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo- Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND/AIMS

A growing body of evidence supports an important role of inflammatory cytokines in the development and progression of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), which explains, at least in part, its relationship with an increased cardiovascular-risk. Several studies have reported the therapeutic-impact of crocus-sativus in a preclinical/clinical setting. Here we have explored the effects of crocus-sativus, on the serum concentrations of twelve serum cytokines in subjects with MetS in a randomized control trial.

METHODS

Forty four adult volunteers, who met the diagnostic-criteria of MetS, were enrolled and randomly divided into 2 groups, to receive 100 mg/day crocus-sativus for 12 weeks. 12 cytokines, including IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, MCP-1, IFN-γ, EGF, and VEGF were measured using sandwich chemi-luminescence assays before/after therapy.

RESULTS

Individuals with MetS who received crocus-sativus had significantly (P<0.05) lower levels of total-cholesterol, low density-lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglyceride (TG), fasting-blood-sugar and hsCRP, however the serum concentration of high density-lipoprotein-cholesterol markedly enhanced after therapy (e.g., TG level reduced from 148.86±71.49 to 101.90±38.19 after therapy, P= 0.003). Moreover, we observed that treatment with Crocus-sativus affected the serumconcentrations of some pro-/anti-inflamatory cytokines. In particular, the level of VEGF was increased from 12.64 pg/mL (95% CI: 9.60-17.67) to 16.59 (95% CI: 11.33-35.98, P= 0.033. Similar results were detected for IL-6 and EGF.

CONCLUSION

Our findings provide a novel insight into the therapeutic effects of this therapy in MetS patients via perturbation of serum cytokines and reducing the levels of triglyceride and LDL/TC, but further studies are required in larger populations.

Leptin level decreases after treatment with the combination of Radiofrequency and Ultrasound cavitation in response to the reduction in adiposity

BACKGROUND

Obesity and overweight are major public health problem. Different-strategies have been developed for body contouring including Radiofrequency(RF) and Ultrasound(US). The aim of this study was to investigate changes in serum-leptin as a potential-modulator of food/energy intake, in overweight-women receiving RF/US and diet-therapy as well as the effect of therapy on modulation of lipid-profile and body-fat-mass.

METHODS

Fifty overweight-females were enrolled in current randomized-clinical-trial and randomly divided into two groups. The case group received RF/US twice a week for 5 weeks with a low calorie diet whilst the control-group received just a low calorie diet. Demographic, biochemical markers as well as serum-leptin were determined.

RESULTS

The level of leptin was reduced from 1.29 ± 0.32 ng/ml to 1.14 ± 0.34 ng/ml in case group, before and after therapy, respectively, whilst no significant differences were observed in the serum leptin levels of subjects in the control group. The combination of RF and US decreased the leptin-level. In particular, the mean reduction of abdominal-circumference and waist-circumference was significant (P < 0.05) after therapy. This reduction was inversely correlated with LDL levels. Weight was reduced in case and control groups and in both was significant, but no statistically significant differences were detected for weight between the groups(P < 0.93).

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrated the reduction of the leptin after treatment with the combination of Radiofrequency/Ultrasound cavitation, which was associated with reduced body-fat-mass.

Relationship between platelet count and platelet width distribution and serum uric acid concentrations in patients with untreated essential hypertension

Hematological parameters have emerged as independent determinants of high serum concentrations of uric acid (UA) and predictive factors in the evaluation of the total cardiovascular risk in patients with essential hypertensive. Here, we have investigated the possible relationships between hematological factors and serum uric acid levels in hypertensive patients recruited as part of Mashhad Stroke and Heart Atherosclerotic Disorders cohort study. Two-thousand three-hundred and thirty-four hypertensive individuals were recruited from this cohort and these were divided into two groups; those with either high or low serum UA concentrations. Demographic, biochemical, and hematological characteristics of population were evaluated in all the subjects. Logistic-regression analysis was performed to determine the association of hematological parameters with hypertension (HTN). Of the 2334 hypertensive subjects, 290 cases had low UA, and 2044 had high serum UA concentrations. Compared with the low UA group, the patients with high serum UA, had higher values for several hematological parameters, whilst platelet counts (PLT) were lower. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that PLT and serum high sensitivity-c reactive protein (hs-CRP) were correlated with serum UA level. Stepwise multiple logistic regression model confirmed that platelet distribution width (PDW) and gender were independent determinant of a high serum UA. PDW and PLT appear to be independently associated with serum UA level in patients with HTN. © 2018 BioFactors, 44(6):532-538, 2018.

Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Pancreatic cancer is among the leading cause of deaths due to cancer with extremely poor prognosis. Gemcitabine is being used in the treatment of patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), although, the response rate is bellow 12%. A recent phase III trial revealed that FOLFIRINOX could be an option for the treatment of metastatic PDAC patients, although it is associated with increased toxicity. Therefore, identification of novel agents that either improves gemcitabine activity, within novel combinatorial approaches, or with a better efficacy than gemcitabine is warranted. The antitumor activity of curcumin in several tumors, including prostate, breast and colorectal cancers have investigated. A recent phase II trial explored the effects of curcumin in advanced pancreatic cancer patient. They found that oral curcumin was well tolerated. Another trial showed the activity of 8,000 mg of curcumin in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. This review summarizes the current knowledge about possible molecular mechanisms of curcumin in PDAC with particular emphasis on preclinical/clinical studies in pancreatic cancer treatment. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1634-1638, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reduced Serum Levels of Zinc and Superoxide Dismutase in Obese Individuals

The oxidant-stress (OS) has an essential role to play in the pathogenesis and progression of many diseases. OS is the outcome when the level of free-radical-formation is increased or protective-antioxidant-mechanisms are compromised. Its value is expected to increase, although its emerging roles have not been conclusive in different studies. The objective of this study was to explore the level of zinc, copper, and antioxidant in response to obesity-related-stress by measuring superoxide-dismutase (SOD) levels as a key antioxidant-enzyme in 706 individuals with/without obesity. Anthropometric/biochemical parameters including total-cholesterol (TC), fasting-blood-glucose, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL), low-density-lipoprotein, and triglycerides were determined. The activity of SOD was measured followed by the measurement of Cu and Zn levels. Obese subjects had a significantly higher level of body mass index (BMI) and TC, while the level of HDL was lower in the obese group, as compared to the related values in control subjects. The level of Zn was significantly decreased in the obese group, while the level of Cu and Cu/Zn ratio increased. Additionally, we observed that the SOD level was less in obese subjects when compared to that in the non-obese subjects. In addition to the complications of high BMI, low level of Zn and SOD in obesity can be considered a risk factor, resulting in a reduced antioxidant response, supporting the need for identifying a suitable treatment option for this group.

The effect of opium addiction on thyroid function tests

Background

A number of abnormalities has been identified among drug addicted users especially heroin addicts. However, there are a few studies to assess the opium effects on thyroid hormones. the aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of opium on the thyroid function tests.

Method

In this case–control, 50 male addicts, aged 20–50 years, with history of addiction to opium lasting more than two years, and 50 male non-addicts as control group were randomly selected. 10 cc blood sample was taken for measurements of TSH, total T4 and T3, free T4 and T3, and T3 resin uptake (T3RU) and 50 cc urine sample for opium testing.

Results

The univariate analysis revealed that there was not a significant association between opium and serum levels of T4 and TSH, but compared with control group, a slight increase in total T3 and a decrease in T3RU were observed among addicts (P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, opium was also found to exert a lowering effect on serum free T4 level after adjusting of age and cigarette smoking (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The findings of the present study demonstrated that opium can influence on thyroid function by increasing total T3 and decreasing T3RU and free T4 levels.