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Background & objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver is one of the most common diseases. Nutrition and exercise are recommended for the patients with this disease, and chicory is considered due to its protective effects on the liver. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of chicory extract along with treadmill walking on the hepatic transaminases levels and tissue changes in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Methods: In this experimental study, 56 mature male rats were divided into control (without treatment), sham (treatment with high-fat diet 10 ml/kg) and 5 experimental groups receiving high-fat diet (10 ml/kg) with 200 and 100 mg/kg chicory extract alone and with treadmill walking. Chicory was administered as gavage in 28 consecutive days. At the end, after anesthetizing the animals and collecting blood from their hearts the Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzymes were measured. The their livers were removed and after preparing the tissue sections, the results of hepatic enzymes measurements were analyzed by ANOVA and Duncan tests and P≤0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The results showed that high-fat diet increased AST, ALT and ALP enzymes and hepatic tissue damage compared to the control group at p<0.001. Treatment with chicory and treadmill walking alone and together resulted in a significant reduction of the above enzymes at p<0.001 and improvement of hepatic tissue compared to the high-fat diet group.
Conclusion: The results showed that high-fat diet increased the levels of ALT, AST and ALP, and hepatic tissue damage. Treadmill walking and chicory extract alone and together reduced the above enzymes and improved the hepatic tissue structure.

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Background & objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the bacterial bioaerosols in indoor air of Ardabil universities and to investigate the factors affecting their concentration in Ardabil city.
Methods: Air sampling was performed using Andersen single-stage sampler at a flow rate of 28.3 liters per minute and a respiratory range of 10 min. In this study, trypticase soy agar containing cycloheximide antibiotic was used for bacterial culture. Biochemical tests such as DNase, catalase, oxidase, coagulase, bile esculin hydrolysis test, urease, citrate test, antibiotic resistance to novobiocin, bacitracin and optochin were used for identification and differentiation of isolates.
Result: The mean bacterial concentration in Ardabil university of medical sciences in the open air, outside the college, the halls, the classrooms and the staff rooms  was 18, 88.4, 76.6, 77.4 CFU/m³ , respectively. The concentration of bacteria in Islamic Azad university of Ardabil in the open air, outside the college, the halls, the classrooms and the staff rooms was 103, 97, 124, 132 CFU/m³, respectively. The dominant species of bacteria in indoor air were Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Actinomycetes and Bacillus, respectively.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is found that the concentration of bacterial bioaerosols in indoor air is not more than standard, but the abundance of bacterial species can cause lung, intestinal and other diseases in academic personnel, staff and students in the long-term.

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Background & objectives: Due to the increasing prevalence of bacterial resistance, there is a growing attention to application of auxiliary treatment of pharyngitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of honey throat spray in the auxiliary treatment of patients with a diagnosis of pharyngitis.
Methods: At the start, different physicochemical quality parameters of the honey sample were evaluated. Then, the bottles of honey and the placebo throat spray were prepared. The numbers of 70 patients with the diagnosis of pharyngitis were included in a one-step and double-blinded study. In addition to standard treatment, each patient received either one of the honey or placebo throat spray. The clinical symptoms of the patients were compared between the two groups at baseline and then at 24 hours, 48 hours, 5 days and 10 days after the starting the treatment procedure.
Results: As per results, the quality of honey sample was met to the standard honey criteria. The treatment and placebo groups were statistically similar in terms of demographic specifications or clinical symptoms at the time to enter the study. Pharyngitis recovery was better in treatment group than in the placebo group; this positive effect was statistically significant for symptoms of morning phlegm and painful swallowing, 24 hours after the starting treatment. In treatment group, after 48 hours, symptoms of fever and painful swallowing were resolved, while this indicator was 23% in placebo group. Also, throat pain of 85.71% of patients in treatment group and 17.14% of patients in placebo group was relieved. Overall, the mean recovery time in treatment group was shorter than placebo group.
Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the use of honey throat spray as auxiliary treatment of pharyngitis can improve the clinical symptoms of pharyngitis and reduce recovery time.

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Introduction & objectives: Cannabis extract is an important psychoactive substance that have used by people around the world. Due to the diverse effects of cannabis on brain cells, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of cannabis extract on the growth of SH-SY5Y neurons.
Methods: In this experimental study, SH-SY5Y cells were prepared from Pasteur Institute of Iran and then incubated in DMEM, supplemented with  10% fetal bovine serum ,embryo-L glutamine, penicillin and streptomycin at 37^oC and 5% CO₂. following cell proliferation, the cells in the fourth passage were divided into control and experimental groups which were treated with cannabis at concentrations of 100 and1000 ng/ml. during  1 to 9 days, SH-SY5Y cells growth was calculated by flow cytometry using PDT= T× formula.
 
Results: SH-SY5Y cells adhered to the bottom of the flask 24 hours after transfer to the cell culture flask. These cells were initially spherical and after 24 hours become spindle. The results of cell count test on days 1 to 6 showed the growth of cannabis-treated cells similar to the control group, but from the sixth day, in the cannabis extract treated groups, a significant reduction in cell growth was observed at the level of p<0.05 compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The results showed that SH-SY5Y cells in the culture medium were spherically shaped, similar to fibroblast cells, and the based on the results of cell count, it was determined that cannabis inhibits the growth of these cells.

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Background & objectives: Over the last couple of decades, research has focused on attempting to understand the genetic influence on sports performance. Whole exome sequencing (WES) has great potential to explore all possible genetic variants associated with physical performance. However, this new technique has not been used in sports genetics research. Therefore the aim of this case study was to report new variants in genes involved in skeletal muscles strength (ACE, NOS3, IGF1R, IL-6) in an elite weightlifter using WES.
Methods: After obtaining a written testimony from a 32-year-old man, who is a member of the Iranian national weightlifting team, 5 cc of blood was taken and then DNA was extracted. DNA samples were analyzed using the whole exome sequencing method.
Results: Whole exome sequencing analysis revealed a missense variant (99454613G>A) in IGF1R, 22771156C>T polymorphism in IL-6, 150695726T>C and 150704250C>G polymorphisms in NOS3 and 61573761T>C and 61564052A>G in ACE genes.
Conclusion: Results of whole exome sequencing analysis revealed a missense variant and polymorphism in muscle strength and hypertrophy related genes in this elite weightlifter. However, other studies with larger sample sizes are needed to investigate the relationship between these variants and power athlete status. 

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Background & objectives: The main motivator of hospitals is manpower. The expansion and complexity of educational medical centers and the appearance of new diseases such as Covid-19 have increased the need for effective management. During the Covid-19 crisis, in which hospitals are at the forefront, special measures should be taken for better management in critical situations. The current study has been conducted with the aim of identifying the main factors affecting management in crisis and its control.
Methods: The study method was the "Mix Method" performed in two stages. The first stage was exploratory; in this stage 19 university experts as a research sample were selected by simple random sampling. The second stage was a quantitative, confirmative, and survey study. 202 patients were selected randomly as a research sample from both educational-medical centers involved in Covid-19 of Ardabil city. Data were collected by using a questionnaire. Descriptive analysis of data was performed using SPSS software for heuristic factor analysis, and LISREL software was also used for confirmatory factor analysis and finding correlations between factors.
Results: In this study, 17 factors were identified and confirmed, affecting the crisis management in 5 dimensions, including; safety training, crisis control, trust in human resources, sense of vulnerability, the physical and mental health, transparency, justice, participation in decision-making, trust in the manager, honesty, the expectation of needs, efficiency, reward, elimination of stresses, fulfillment of manager's promises, controlling of crisis, inter-sectorial solidity. There was a significant correlation between factors with latent variables.
Conclusion: From the perspective of management, being prepared and training the committed forces are very important in controlling the crisis. Manpower plays the main role in the Covid-19 crisis and treating patients, so paying attention to them by considering the factors and dimensions of leadership, social, motivation, organization, and quickness has high importance.
 

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Background & objective: Diabetes causes chronic problems in the structure and function of tissues, such as apoptosis and fibrosis in addition to glycemic disorders. In this study the effect of 8 weeks of endurance and resistance training on various signaling pathways of apoptosis and tissue fibrosis of the heart of diabetic rats was investigated.
Methods: Thirty Wistar rats, approximately 8-10 weeks old, weight about 210-250 grams, received intraperitoneal injection of diabetic streptozotocin and were randomly divided into three groups: endurance training, resistance training and control group. The rats of the endurance training group were trained on the treadmill for 8 weeks, 5 days a week with intensity of vo2Max 60-80%. The resistance training group was trained on the ladder with a slope of 85 degrees and with a weight equals to 30-100% of their body weight. Forty eight hours after the last training session, blood samples were collected and ventricular tissues of mice were extracted. Glucose, insulin, serum insulin resistance index and Bcl-2, Bax, caspase 8 gene expression levels and Bax to Bcl-2 ratio were evaluated. Masson's trichrome and hematoxylin-eosin staining methods were used for histological examination of diabetic rat's heart structure to detect fibrosis.
Results: There was a significant decrease in Bax gene expression and the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2, and also  there was a significant increase in Bcl-2 and caspase 8 in the endurance and resistance training groups in comparison with the control group. The rate of cardiomyocyte fiber rupture in the endurance and resistance groups was less than the control group, and the presence of lymphocyte cells was observed in some fibers in the control group. (p≤0.05).
Conclusion: The results showed that high-intensity resistance training and moderate-intensity endurance training can prevent tissue fibrosis caused by collagen deposition in diabetes, and these two types of training can reduce the factors involved in apoptosis both in the internal and external pathways. On the other hand, this training intensity can be used as an effective non-pharmacological method to reduce the problems of apoptosis and fibrosis caused by diabetes in the heart tissue.
 

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Background & objectives: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is an important medical disorder and one of the most common heart diseases worldwide, which causes disability and economic burden. The medical and research community is increasingly interested in computer-aided coronary heart disease diagnosis through the use of machine learning methods. This study aimed to diagnose coronary heart disease using a discriminant analysis algorithm in active elderly men.
Methods: This analytical study was conducted on 351 patients of Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Tehran. This work used discriminant analysis algorithm to diagnose coronary artery disease. Python software was used for data analysis.
Results: The results showed that by using 14 characteristics as risk factors related to the subjects' laboratory, personal and lifestyle information. The discriminant analysis algorithm could distinguish healthy and sick people with 94.4% accuracy and 88.9% precision.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that this system can probably be used as an effective and intelligent method along with other diagnostic methods by cardiologists to predict coronary artery disease. Also, new data mining methods can be effective in reducing invasive risks.
 

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Background & Objective: Hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection is one of the most important public health concerns. The present study was conducted to provide a descriptive analysis of detected HBV infection in Ardabil province.
Methods: In this retrospective longitudinal study, the hepatitis B surveillance database of Ardabil province was examined from 2014 to 2018. The frequency of hepatitis B virus infections was presented based on age, gender, marital status, place of residence, primary symptoms, and reporting sources. Also, the trend of changes in the number of detected cases over time was investigated using time series analysis.
Results: A total of 817 positive cases with a mean age of 43.1 years were reported. Most of them were male [n=503, 61.5]. The Frequency of identified positive cases decreased over time. Most of the infections were asymptomatic [87.5%]. Almost 90.0% of patients with HBV were married and the majority of the identified patients were resided in urban settings [n=598, 73.2%]. Most diagnostic tests were done voluntarily [n=219, 26.8%] or during prenatal care [n=109, 13.3%]. Most cases were identified and reported by the health network [n=292, 35.7%] and blood transfusion organization [n=190, 23.2%].
Conclusion: Decision-makers of the health sector of the province can use this information as a source for evidence-based decision-making in the effective management of the disease.

Corresponding Author:
Eslam moradi-Asl, Department of Public Health, School of Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
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