Background: Nicotine is a major pharmacologically active substance in cigarette smoke. It is mainly metabolized in liver and causes devastating effects. Crocin is the chemical ingredient primarily responsible for the color of saffron. It has different pharmacological effects such as antioxidant and anticancer. This study was designed to evaluate the protective role of crocin against nicotine on the liver of mice. Methods: Forty-eight mice were equally divided into 8 groups; control (normal saline), nicotine (2.5 mg/kg), crocin (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg) and crocin plus nicotine treated groups. Saline, crocin, nicotine and crocin/nicotine (once a day) were intraperitoneally injected for 4 weeks. The liver weight and histology, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and serum nitric oxide levels have been studied. Results: The results indicated that nicotine administration significantly decreased liver weight (48.37%) and increased the mean diameter of hepatocyte (239%), central hepatic vein (28.45%), liver enzymes level (ALP 29.43%, AST 21.81%, ALT 21.55%), and blood serum nitric oxide level (57.18%) compared to saline group (P < 0.05). However, crocin and crocin plus nicotine administration significantly boosted liver weight (49.54%) and decreased the mean diameter of hepatocyte (40.48%), central hepatic vein (15.44%), liver enzymes (ALP 22.02%, AST 19.05%, ALT 23.11%), and nitric oxide levels (35.80%) in all groups compared to nicotine group (percentages represent the maximum dose) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Crocin showed its partly protective effect against nicotine-induced liver toxicity.

Background: Regarding cases of infectious diseases tuberculosis (TB) is the most important cause of death and according to the DALY criteria, this disease has the seventh position in global disease ranking. In this study, we aim to determine the risk factors, which have a significant effect on the treatment completion and mortality of TB patients. Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study. The sample is made up of registered TB patients in the Isfahan Province from 2006 to 2011. Information of the patients was collected from their files in health centers in the Isfahan Province. Variables such as age, sex, weight, nationality, residence, type of TB, imprisonment, human immunodeficiency virus, TB case were measured. Descriptive statistics (including frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and statistical analysis (including Cox proportional hazard model) were used. Results: The result showed that imprisonment (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.76, P = 0.019), age (HR = 4.44, P = 0.001) and the TB case (HR = 2.73, P = 0.037) of pulmonary TB had significant impacts on mortality of the patients, also in the case of treatment completion, the TB case (HR = 0.34, P < 0.001) proved to have a significant impact on completion of the treatment. Type of extra-pulmonary TB in extra-pulmonary TB patients also had an effect on treatment completion. Conclusions: We can conclude that factors such as age, imprisonment, TB case and type of extra-pulmonary TB are effective on the treatment completion and mortality of the patients. It may be useful for policy makers to make more control of high-risk patients.

Background: Adolescents who suffer from depression early in life, have an increase in suicidal tendency, anxiety, conduct disorders, substance abuse, and continue to be depressed, later on in life. This study was conducted to identify the prevalence and correlates of depression among adolescent girls in Riyadh city in order to carry out early intervention. Methods: A cross-sectional, school-based survey was conducted among 1028 adolescent girls aged 15-19 years in secondary schools of Riyadh city. Riyadh was divided into clusters and within each cluster, both public and private schools were enrolled. From the selected schools students from grade 10-12 were surveyed. Survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire including the beck depression inventory-II, and questions exploring the correlates of depression. Results: About 30% of participants were found to be depressed. Depression was more prevalent among female adolescents whose household income was <12,000 Saudi Riyal/month (odds ratio [OR] 2.17, confidence interval [CI] 0.97-6.84), did not have a good relationship with peers and family members (OR 4.63, CI 2.56-8.41), lived with single parent or alone (OR 1.77, CI 0.97-3.23), been emotionally abused (OR 3.45, CI 2.56-8.41), and those who had been subjected to physical violence, at least once (OR 3.34, CI 1.89-5.91). Conclusions: Strategies need to be developed to identify early signs and symptoms of depression among Saudi female adolescents. Training can be given to groups of students to help their peers, and also to the teachers to identify, and help students identify early signs of depression and provide them with better-coping strategies to combat progression of depression and anxiety among such adolescents.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) among patients with b-thalassemia major. A high prevalence of HCV was reported among these patients. The aim of this study is seeking the trend of the prevalence of HCV infection among the patients with b-thalassemia major in Guilan province, Northern Iran over a 10-year period. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 1113 patients with b-thalassemia major in the Guilan province, northern Iran from 2002 to 2012, using multiple data sources. A blood sample was taken from each patient, and a questionnaire regarding demographic data and risk factors was completed for them. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and recombinant immunoblot assay for HCV were performed in all cases. A stepwise forward logistic regression analysis was done. Results: The prevalence of hepatitis C infection among b-thalassemia major patients was 13.6%. The risk of hepatitis C among b-thalassemia major patients was greater before screening program for HCV (odds ratio = 9.6, 95% confidence interval: 2.3-40.5). In addition, the prevalence of anti-HCV seropositivity was decreased dramatically among patients who have received transfusions after implementation of blood donor screening for HCV. There were no positive HCV cases in the patients younger than 10 years. Conclusions: The risk of TTIs including HCV can be reduced by implementing screening program for healthy blood.

Background: Long-term memory is based on synaptic plasticity, a series of biochemical mechanisms include changes in structure and proteins of brain's neurons. In this article, we systematically reviewed the studies that indicate calcium/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) is a ubiquitous molecule among different enzymes involved in human long-term memory and the main downstream signaling pathway of long-term memory. Methods: All of the observational, case-control and review studies were considered and evaluated by the search engines PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ScienceDirect Scopus between 1990 and February 2015. We did not carry out meta-analysis. Results: At the first search, it was fined 1015 articles which included "synaptic plasticity" OR "neuronal plasticity" OR "synaptic density" AND memory AND "molecular mechanism" AND "calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II" OR CaMKII as the keywords. A total of 335 articles were duplicates in the databases and eliminated. A total of 680 title articles were evaluated. Finally, 40 articles were selected as reference. Conclusions: The studies have shown the most important intracellular signal of long-term memory is calcium-dependent signals. Calcium linked calmodulin can activate CaMKII. After receiving information for learning and memory, CaMKII is activated by Glutamate, the most important neurotransmitter for memory-related plasticity. Glutamate activates CaMKII and it plays some important roles in synaptic plasticity modification and long-term memory.

Background: Low vitamin D and diminished bone minerals with the potential for fractures are one of the nonapparent late effects of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Chemotherapy and radiation were known as two important risk factors. We evaluated these late effects in ALL survivors who were treated with chemotherapy or chemo plus cranial radiation therapy. Methods: In a case-control study, 33 of ALL survivors who were treated with chemotherapy (Group A), and 33 subjects who were treated with chemoplus cranial radiation (Group B) were compared against 33 matched age, sex, and pubertal stage of their healthy siblings (Group C). Standard anthropometric data were collected as well as Tanner staging for puberty, number of fractures since treatment, serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D). The independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Chi-square test, and Tukey's test were used to analyze the data. Results: The findings indicated that the mean serum levels of 25(OH) D in ALL survivors (i.e. Groups A and B) with age mean score of 11.2 years and 12.3 years, average treatment length: 3.25 years and average time after treatment completion: 4 years, was lower compared to the controls group (12.94 ± 6.69, 14.6 ± 8.1, 20.16 ± 10.83, respectively, P < 0.001) but no significant difference was observed between Group A and B in this regard (P > 0.05). Other clinical and laboratory parameters had no significant differences between the survivors and control. Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) was observed in 27% of group A and 24% of group B and vitamin D insufficiency (20-30 ng/ml) in 72.7% and 69.6% survivors of Group A and B and 48.5% of controls group (P = 0.003). Conclusions: ALL treatment is associated with the increase in prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in the childhood ALL survivors and since the low vitamin D level potentially increases the risk of low bone density, subsequent malignancies, and cardiovascular disease in the survivors, close follow-up of such patients are highly recommended to prevent the stated complications.

Background: Health consequences of food insecurity among infants and toddlers have not been fully examined. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between household food insecurity, mother's infant feeding practices and iron status of 6-24 months children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 423 mother-child pairs were randomly selected by multistage sampling method. Children blood samples were analyzed for hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations. Household food security was evaluated using a validated Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. The mother's feeding practices were evaluated using Infant and Young Child Feeding practice variables including: The duration of breastfeeding and the time of introducing of complementary feeding. Results: Based on the results, of the studied households only 47.7% were food secure. Mild and moderate-severe household food insecurity was 39.5% and 12.8%, respectively. Anemia, iron deficiency (ID), and iron deficiency anemia were seen in 29.1%, 12.2%, and 4.8% of children, respectively. There was no significant association between household food insecurity; mother's feeding practices and child ID with or without anemia. Conclusions: We found no association between household food insecurity and the occurrence of anemia in the 6-24 months children. However, these findings do not rule out the possibility of other micronutrient deficiencies among the food-insecure household children.

Background: This study explored cross-country differences in how multi-morbidity explains the effects of socioeconomic characteristics on self-rated health. Methods: The study borrowed data from the Research on Early Life and Aging Trends and Effects. Participants were 44,530 individuals (age > 65 years) who were sampled from 15 countries (i.e. United States, China, India, Russia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Uruguay, Ghana and South Africa). Multi-morbidity was measured as number of chronic medical conditions. In Model I, main effects of socioeconomic factors on self-rated health were calculated using country-specific logistic regressions. In Model II, number of chronic conditions were also added to the models to find changes in coefficients for demographic and socioeconomic factors. Results: In the United States, number of chronic medical conditions explained the effect of income on subjective health. In Puerto Rico, number of chronic medical conditions explained the effect of marital status on subjective health. In Costa Rica, Argentina, Barbados, Cuba, and Uruguay, number of chronic medical conditions explained gender disparities in subjective health. In China, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Chile, India, Ghana and South Africa, number of chronic medical conditions did not explain the effect of demographic or socioeconomic factors on subjective health. Conclusions: Multi-morbidity explains the effect of demographic and socioeconomic factors on subjective health in some but not other countries. Further research is needed.

Background: Estimating the prevalence of prehypertension and its risk factors in a population becomes important to design preventive measures and hence reduce the burden of hypertension.The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of prehypertension and determine the factors associated with hypertension. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and was carried out in a rural population. The study included 402 participants. Data regarding basic demographic characteristics were collected along with anthropometric measurements including height and weight. Information regarding smoking alcohol intake, dietary habits were collected. Prehypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure 120-139 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure 80-89 mm Hg. Chi-square-test was used to find the association of various risk factors; t-test was used to compare the means. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to know the relationship of various risk factors. Results: Prevalence of prehypertension was estimated to be 28.8%. Factors such as salt intake, tobacco consumption, alcohol consumption, stress, family history of hypertension, history of diabetes mellitus had a significant association with prehypertension (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of prehypertension was found to be high among the rural population. Early intervention is needed to decrease the burden of hypertension and its complications in future.

Background: The etiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not exactly known and its etiology is multifactorial. The usual treatment for these children is based on pharmacotherapy treatment, although the pharmacotherapy has a high effectiveness in ADHD treatment, it often causes different side effects. Existing evidence suggests that children who receive mineral supplement without considering their age and supplement formula may perform better on different behavioral tests compared with those receiving placebo. Methods: In this study, we tried to review the previous evidence regarding the effects of minerals in prevention and management of ADHD. We searched PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, Ovid, Scopus, and ISI web of science up to June 2013. "iron," "iron supplementation," "magnesium," "magnesium supplementation," "zinc," "zinc supplementation," "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" were used as the keywords. Totally 11 randomized controlled trials were eligible to be included in the systematic review. Results: Our review showed that we don't have any predominant evidence about using mineral supplementation on children with ADHD. Conclusions: We need more evidence for indicating the effect of zinc, magnesium, and iron supplementation in the treatment of ADHD among children.

Background: The aim of the current study was to determine effects of probiotic yoghurt and multispecies probiotic capsule supplementation on biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammatory factors in petrochemical workers. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was done among petrochemical workers. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups to receive 100 g/day probiotic yogurt (n = 12) or one probiotic capsule daily (n = 13) or 100 g/day conventional yogurt (n = 10) for 6 weeks. The probiotic yoghurt was containing two strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis with a total of min 1 Χ 10 ⁷ CFU. Multispecies probiotic capsule contains seven probiotic bacteria spices Actobacillus casei 3 Χ 10 ³ , L. acidophilus 3 Χ 10 ⁷ , Lactobacillus rhamnosus 7 Χ 10 ⁹ , Lactobacillus bulgaricus 5 Χ 10 ⁸ , Bifidobacterium breve 2 Χ 10 ¹⁰ , Bifidobacterium longum 1 Χ 10 ⁹ and Streptococcus thermophilus 3 Χ 10 ⁸ CFU/g. Fasting blood samples were obtained at the beginning and end of the trial to quantify biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammatory factors. Results: Although a significant within-group decrease in plasma protein carbonyl levels was seen in the probiotic capsule group (326.0 ± 308.9 vs. 251.0 ± 176.3 ng/mL, P = 0.02), the changes were similar among the three groups. In addition, significant within-group decreases in plasma iso prostaglandin were observed in the probiotic supplements group (111.9 ± 85.4 vs. 88.0 ± 71.0 pg/mL, P = 0.003) and in the probiotic yogurt group (116.3 ± 93.0 vs. 92.0 ± 66.0 pg/mL, P = 0.02), nevertheless there were no significant change among the three groups. Conclusions: Taken together, consumption of probiotic yogurt or multispecies probiotic capsule had beneficial effects on biomarkers of oxidative stress in petrochemical workers.

Background: Health systems play key roles in identifying tobacco users and providing evidence-based care to help them quit. This treatment includes different methods such as simple medical consultation, medication, and telephone counseling. To assess different quit smoking methods selected by patients in tobacco cessation centers in Iran in order to identify those that are most appropriate for the country health system. Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, a random sample of all quit centers at the country level was used to obtain a representative sample. Patients completed the self-administered questionnaire which contained 10 questions regarding the quality, cost, effect, side effects and the results of quitting methods using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Percentages, frequencies, mean, T-test, and variance analyses were computed for all study variables. Results: A total of 1063 smokers returned completed survey questionnaires. The most frequently used methods were Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and combination therapy (NRT and Counseling) with 228 and 163 individuals reporting these respectively. The least used methods were hypnotism (n = 8) and the quit and win (n = 17). The methods which gained the maximum scores were respectively the combined method, personal and Champix with means of 21.4, 20.4 and 18.4. The minimum scores were for e-cigarettes, hypnotism and education with means of 12.8, 11 and 10.8, respectively. There were significant differences in mean scores based on different cities and different methods. Conclusions: According to smokers' selection the combined therapy, personal methods and Champix are the most effective methods for quit smoking and these methods could be much more considered in the country health system.