Anti-Toxoplasma Effects of Methanol Extracts of Feijoa sellowiana, Quercus castaneifolia, and Allium paradoxum

Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh,Mohammad Mohammad Taheri,Ehsan Ahmadpour,Mahbobeh Montazeri,Shahabeddin Sarvi,Mohammad Akbari,Ahmad Daryani 대한약침학회 2017 Journal of pharmacopuncture Vol.20 No.3

Objectives: The currently available agents for use against toxoplasmosis have serious limitations. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) activities of methanol extracts of Feijoa sellowiana (F. sellowiana) (leaves and fruits), Quercus castaneifolia (Q. castaneifolia) (fruits), and Allium paradoxum (A. paradoxum) (leaves) in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Vero cells were treated with different concentrations (from 0 to 400 μg/mL) of the above extracts or with pyrimethamine at a dose of 50 mg/mL (positive control). Then, the viabilities of the T. gondii-infected cells were measured by using colorimetric MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays. In addition, the survival rates of mice acutely infected with 2 × 104 RH strain tachyzoites of T. gondii were examined in vivo after intraperitoneal injection of the extracts at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg/day for 5 days. Results: In the in vitro anti- T. gondii assay, the IC50 values were 12.77, 180.2, 74.73, 213.2 and 163.8 μg/mL, and the selectivity indices were 6.05, 1.31, 0.35, 0.69 and 1.30 for the F. sellowiana (leaves and fruits), Q. castaneifolia, and A. paradoxum extracts and pyrimethamine, respectively. Moreover, the mice treated with F. sellowiana (leaves and fruits) achieved better results in terms of survival than the others (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that methanol extract of F. sellowiana has significant anti-Toxoplasma activity. Further study should be conducted to investigate the potential bioactivity of this extract through bioactivity-guided fractionation.

Comparison of model predictive controller and optimized min-max algorithm for turbofan engine fuel control

Morteza Montazeri-Gh,Ali Rasti 대한기계학회 2019 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.33 No.11

Min-max selector structure is traditionally used as the industrial control architecture of commercial turbofan engines. However, recent studies indicate that this structure with linear compensators suffers from lack of safety guarantee in fast demands. On the other hand, model predictive control (MPC) technique, which incorporates input/output constraints in its optimization process, has the potential to fulfill the control requirements of an aircraft engine. In this paper, a practical approach is performed for design and optimization of the turbofan engine controller through a comparative study where all control modes and requirements have been taken into account simultaneously. For this purpose, a thermodynamic nonlinear model is firstly developed for the turbofan engine. The linear regulators of minmax structure are then optimized via genetic algorithm (GA). The MPC technique is formulated based on the proper discrete-time linearized state-space models at desired operating points with real-time optimization, in which the MPC tuning horizons are obtained through GA optimization procedure. The both controllers are implemented on appropriate hardware taking the real-time aspects into account. Finally, a hardware in the loop (HIL) platform is developed for the turbofan engine electronic control unit (ECU) testing. The software and HIL simulation results confirm that MPC improves the response time of the system in comparison with min-max algorithm and guarantees the engine limit protection. This study demonstrates competitive advantages of MPC in terms of limit protection assurance and fast response, despite more computational burden.

Anti-Toxoplasma Effects of Methanol Extracts of Feijoa sellowiana, Quercus castaneifolia, and Allium paradoxum

Ebrahimzadeh, Mohammad Ali,Taheri, Mohammad Mohammad,Ahmadpour, Ehsan,Montazeri, Mahbobeh,Sarvi, Shahabeddin,Akbari, Mohammad,Daryani, Ahmad KOREAN PHARMACOPUNCTURE INSTITUTE 2017 Journal of pharmacopuncture Vol.20 No.3

Objectives: The currently available agents for use against toxoplasmosis have serious limitations. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) activities of methanol extracts of Feijoa sellowiana (F. sellowiana) (leaves and fruits), Quercus castaneifolia (Q. castaneifolia) (fruits), and Allium paradoxum (A. paradoxum) (leaves) in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Vero cells were treated with different concentrations (from 0 to $400{\mu}g/mL$) of the above extracts or with pyrimethamine at a dose of 50 mg/mL (positive control). Then, the viabilities of the T. gondii-infected cells were measured by using colorimetric MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays. In addition, the survival rates of mice acutely infected with $2{\times}10^4$ RH strain tachyzoites of T. gondii were examined in vivo after intraperitoneal injection of the extracts at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg/day for 5 days. Results: In the in vitro anti- T. gondii assay, the $IC_{50}$ values were 12.77, 180.2, 74.73, 213.2 and $163.8{\mu}g/mL$, and the selectivity indices were 6.05, 1.31, 0.35, 0.69 and 1.30 for the F. sellowiana (leaves and fruits), Q. castaneifolia, and A. paradoxum extracts and pyrimethamine, respectively. Moreover, the mice treated with F. sellowiana (leaves and fruits) achieved better results in terms of survival than the others (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that methanol extract of F. sellowiana has significant anti-Toxoplasma activity. Further study should be conducted to investigate the potential bioactivity of this extract through bioactivity-guided fractionation.

Reanalysis of discarded blastocysts for autosomal aneuploidy after sex selection in cleavage-stage embryos

Ebrahimian, Neda,Montazeri, Fatemeh,Sadeghi, Mohammad Reza,Kalantar, Seyed Mehdi,Gilany, Kambiz,Khalili, Mohannad Ali The Korean Society for Reproductive Medicine 2020 Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine Vol.47 No.4

Objective: The goal of the present study was to investigate the rate of chromosomal aneuploidies in surplus embryos after sex determination at the cleavage stage. Then, the same chromosomal aneuploidies were evaluated in blastocysts after extended culture. Methods: Sixty-eight surplus embryos were biopsied at the cleavage stage and incubated for an additional 3 days to allow them to reach the blastocyst stage. The embryos were reanalyzed via fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to examine eight chromosomes (13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, X, and Y) in both cleavage-stage embryos and blastocysts. Results: Although the total abnormality rate was lower in blastocysts (32.35%) than in cleavage-stage embryos (45.58%), the difference was not significant (p=0.113). However, when we restricted the analysis to autosomal abnormalities, we observed a significant difference in the abnormality rate between the cleavage-stage embryos (44.11%) and the blastocysts (17.64%, p=0.008). A higher rate of sex chromosomal abnormalities was also observed in cleavage-stage embryos (29.4%) than in blastocysts (14.70%, p=0.038). Conclusion: The data indicated that embryo biopsy should be conducted at the blastocyst stage rather than the cleavage stage. The results also emphasized that examination of common chromosomal aneuploidies apart from sex selection cycles can be conducted in the blastocyst stage with the FISH method.

An Iranian Version of the Fukushima Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Scale (FLS-25): A Validation Study

Parisa Azimi,Ali Montazeri 대한척추외과학회 2017 Asian Spine Journal Vol.11 No.2

Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Purpose: To translate and validate the Fukushima lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) scale 25 (FLS-25) for use in Iran. Overview of Literature: Tools measuring patient-reported outcomes should satisfy certain psychometric properties. Methods: FLS-25 is a self-administered scale for evaluating symptoms of LSS. A forward-backward procedure was applied to translate the questionnaire from English into Persian. A sample of patients with LSS completed the questionnaire at two points in time: once before surgery and once 6 months after the surgery. The Neurogenic Claudication Outcome Score (NCOS) was also used for assessment. The psychometric properties of FLS-25 were evaluated for internal consistency, test-retest and interobserver reliabilities, responsiveness to change, known-group comparison, and convergent validity. Results: In all, 131 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 61.4 (standard deviation, 11.1) years. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for FLS-25 was 0.89. Test-retest reliability as carried out by the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94 (95% confidence interval, 0.95). Interobserver agreement as measured by the kappa statistics also was found to be acceptable (kappa value, 0.88), and validity was found to be satisfactory. The instrument was able to discriminate between the subgroups of patients who differed in symptom severity. The correlation between FLS-25 and NCOS scores was excellent, indicating good convergent validity (r =0.82, p <0.001). The results also indicated that the instrument was responsive to change (p <0.001). Conclusions: The Iranian version of FLS-25 performed well, and the findings suggest that it is a valid measure of symptom severity in LSS patients.

Effects of Fresh Yellow Onion Consumption on CEA, CA125 and Hepatic Enzymes in Breast Cancer Patients: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Jafarpour-Sadegh, Farnaz,Montazeri, Vahid,Adili, Ali,Esfehani, Ali,Rashidi, Mohammad-Reza,Mesgari, Mehran,Pirouzpanah, Saeed Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.17

Onion (Allium cepa) consumption has been remarked in folk medicine which has not been noted to be administered so far as an adjunct to conventional doxorubicin-based chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study aimed to investigate the effects of consuming fresh yellow onions on hepatic enzymes and cancer specific antigens compared with a low-onion containing diet among breast cancer (BC) participants treated with doxorubicin. This parallel design randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 56 BC patients whose malignancy was confirmed with histopathological examination. Subjects were assigned in a stratified-random allocation into either group received body mass index dependent 100-160 g/d of onion as high onion group (HO; n=28) or 30-40 g/d small onion in low onion group (LO; n=28) for eight weeks intervention. Participants, care givers and laboratory assessor were blinded to the assignments (IRCT registry no: IRCT2012103111335N1). The compliance of participants in the analysis was appropriate (87.9%). Comparing changes throughout pre- and post-dose treatments indicated significant controls on carcinoembryonic antigen, cancer antigen-125 and alkaline phosphatase levels in the HO group (P<0.05). Our findings for the first time showed that regular onion administration could be effective for hepatic enzyme conveying adjuvant chemotherapy relevant toxicity and reducing the tumor markers in BC during doxorubicin-based chemotherapy.

Literacy and Breast Cancer Prevention: a Population-Based Study from Iran

Harirchi, Iraj,Azary, Saeedeh,Montazeri, Ali,Mousavi, Seyed Mohsen,Sedighi, Zahra,Keshtmand, Gelavizh,Zarinkolah, Zahra,Soltani, S.M. Amin Khalifeh Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.8

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the leading cause of death from cancer among women. Evidence suggests that early diagnosis and screening interventions might help to improve outcomes. This population-based study was conducted to determine breast cancer awareness and screening behavior among Iranian women and to examine its association with women's literacy. The study was carried out in two provinces, with 1,477,045 population, located in central and eastern part of Iran. Overall, 770 women were studied. Of these, 482 (62.7%) were literate and 287 (37.3%) were not. The results obtained from the data analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between literate and illiterate women. Further analysis of the data using logistic regression showed that literacy was an important contributing factor for breast cancer prevention behavior. The findings suggest that in order to improve women's health and breast cancer outcomes providing equal educational opportunities for women seems necessary.

Quality of Life among Iranian Infertile Women in Postmenopausal Period: A Cross-sectional Study

( Ashraf Direkvand-moghadam ),( Ali Delpisheh ),( Ali Montazeri ),( Kourosh Sayehmiri ) 대한폐경학회 2016 대한폐경학회지 Vol.22 No.2

Objective: Infertility has a significant impact on a women``s quality of life (QOL). Infertile women face with physical and mental challenges during their postmenopausal period. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the QOL among Iranian infertile women in the postmenopausal period using a valid and reliable instrument. Methods: In this cross-sectional study both snowball and social networking methods were used for sampling. Two demographic and QOL questionnaire were used for data collection. The QOL questionnaire includes 41 items which measure the QOL in five dimensions: socioeconomic, mental health, religiousness, physical health and future imagining. Data analyzed was carried out in IBM SPSS ver. 20.0 using descriptive statistic, x² test, and Fisher test. A P value of 0.01 or less was considered significant. Results: Overall 211 eligible participants were studied. Some participants obtained full score on socioeconomic, religiousness, physical health and future imagining dimensions of QOL but none on the mental health dimension of the QOL. Only, 6.6% of study participants have a good QOL. There was a significant relationship between age and financial provider whit status of QOL. Conclusion: Most Iranian infertile women in the postmenopausal period have poor or moderate QOL. Therefore, improving the QOL among these women should be considered. (J Menopausal Med 2016;22:108-113)

The effect of vitamin C on the gene expression profile of sperm protamines in the male partners of couples with recurrent pregnancy loss: A randomized clinical trial

Hamidian, Saeideh,Talebi, Ali Reza,Fesahat, Farzaneh,Bayat, Mohammad,Mirjalili, Ali Mohammad,Ashrafzadeh, Hamid Reza,Rajabi, Mahya,Montazeri, Fateme,Babaei, Saeid The Korean Society for Reproductive Medicine 2020 Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine Vol.47 No.1

Objective: Since sperm abnormalities are known to be a major reason for recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), any defects in DNA structure and chromatin condensation can place embryos at risk in the early stage of development and implantation. As antioxidants such as vitamin C may play a protective role against the destruction of protamine genes in sperm chromatin, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of vitamin C on chromatin and the expression of protamine genes in the male partners of couples with RPL. Methods: Twenty male partners of couples with RPL were selected as the intervention group and received vitamin C supplementation (250 mg daily for 3 months). Healthy fertile men (n = 20) were included as controls. Sperm chromatin, DNA integrity, and the expression levels of protamine genes were evaluated before and after treatment. Results: Significant differences were found in sperm morphology, protamine deficiency, and apoptosis between the two groups and before and after vitamin C administration. A significant change was found in mRNA levels of PRM1, PRM2, and the PRM1/PRM2 ratio after treatment. Conclusion: Daily oral administration of vitamin C may improve human sperm parameters and DNA integrity by increasing protamine gene expression levels in the male partners of couples with RPL. The beneficial effects of vitamin C supplementation as an antioxidant for the male partners of couples with RPL could lead to improved pregnancy outcomes in these cases.

Anti-Toxoplasma Activities of Zea Mays and Eryngium Caucasicum Extracts, In Vitro and In Vivo

Ehsan Ahmadpour,Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh,Mehdi Sharif,Sara Edalatian,Shahabeddin Sarvi,Mahbobeh Montazeri,Saeed Mehrzadi,Mohammad Akbari,Mohammad Taghi Rahimi,Ahmad Daryani 대한약침학회 2019 Journal of pharmacopuncture Vol.22 No.3

Objectives: Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide health problem that caused by intracellular apicomplexan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). Considering that the available drugs for toxoplasmosis have serious host toxicity, the aim of the current study was to survey the in vitro and in vivo anti-Toxoplasma activity of Zea mays (Z. mays) and Eryngium caucasicum (E. caucasicum) extracts. Methods: Four concentrations (5, 10, 25, and 50 mg mL -1 ) of Z. mays and E. caucasicum methanolic extracts for 30, 60, 120, and 180 min were incubated with infected macrophages and then the viability of RH strain of T. gondii tachyzoites was evaluated by trypan blue staining method. Also, we evaluated the survival rate of acutely infected mice with the extracts (100 and 200 mg kg -1 day -1 ) intraperitoneally for 5 days after infection with 2× 104tachyzoites of T. gondii. Results: The anti-Toxoplasma effect of the methanolic extracts were extremely significant compared to the negative control group in all exposure times (P < 0.05). The Z. mays (10, 25 and 50 mg mL -1 ) killed 100% of the parasites after 180 and 120 min exposure, respectively. Also, high toxoplasmacidal activity was observed with E. caucasicum extract. Furthermore, treatment of experimentally infected mice with the Z. mays (100, 200 mg kg -1 day -1 ) and E. caucasicum (100 mg kg -1 day -1 ) significantly increased their survival rate compared to untreated infected control (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These extracts are promising candidates for further medicine development on toxoplasmosis. However, further investigations are necessary to clarify effective fractions of the Z. mays and E. caucasicum extracts and the mechanisms of action.