RESUMEN
Heavy metals are considered contaminants that hazardously influence the healthy life of humans and animals as they are widely used in industry. Contact of youngsters and women at ages of parturition with lead (Pb+2) is a main related concern, which passes through the placental barricade and its better absorption in the intestine leads to flaws in the fetal developfment. However, the metals threaten animal and human life, in particular throughout developmental stages. Products existing in the nature have a major contribution to innovating chemo-preventives. As a naturally available polyphenol and necessary curcuminoid, curcumin (Cur) is a derivative of the herb Curcuma longa (L.) rhizome, which globally recognized as "wonder drug of life"; however, Cur has a limited clinical use as it is poorly dissolved in water. Therefore, to enhance its clinically relevant parameters, curcumin-loaded calcium carbonate (CaCO3@Cur) was synthesized by one step coprecipitation method as a newly introduced in this research. Initially, its structure was physio chemically characterized using FT-IR, FESEM and DLS equipment and then the cytotoxicity of lead when it was pretreated with Cur/CaCO3@Cur were assessed by MTT assay. Both Cur and CaCO3@Cur diminished the toxic effects of Pb+2 while the most protective effect on the Pb+2 cytotoxicity was achieved by pre-incubation of cells with CaCO3@Cur. Besides, the morphological changes of Pb+2-treated cells that were pre-incubated with or without Cur/CaCO3@Cur were observed by normal and florescent microscopes. A non-pharmacologic method that lowers the hazard of brain damage is exercise training that is capable of both improving and alleviating memory. In the current study, the role of regular aerobic training and CaCO3@Cur was assessed in reducing the risk of brain damage induced by lead nitrate contact. To achieve the mentioned goal, pregnant Balb/C mice were assigned to five groups (six mice/group) at random: negative and positive controls, aerobic training group and Cur and CaCO3@Cur treated (50 mg/kg/b.wt) trained groups that exposed to Pb+2 (2 mg/kg) by drinking water during breeding and pregnancy. With the completion of study, offspring were subjected to the behavioral tasks that was tested by step-through ORT, DLB, MWM and YM tests. As a result, having regular aerobic training and CaCO3@Cur co-administration with lead nitrate could reverse the most defected behavioral indicators; yet, this was not visible for both sexes and it seems that gender can also be a source of different effects in the animal's body. In fact, having regular aerobic training along with CaCO3@Cur supplementation during pregnancy may be encouraging protecting potential agents towards the toxicity of Pb+2 that could be recommended in the areas with high pollution of heavy metals.
Asunto(s)
Carbonato de Calcio , Disfunción Cognitiva/prevención & control , Curcumina , Suplementos Dietéticos , Sustancias Peligrosas/toxicidad , Plomo/toxicidad , Animales , Curcuma/efectos de los fármacos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Ratones , Nitratos , Extractos Vegetales , Embarazo , Espectroscopía Infrarroja por Transformada de FourierRESUMEN
CONTEXT: Although reliability is a population-specific property, few studies have investigated the measurement error associated with force-platform parameters in athletic populations. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the skill-related differences between athletes and nonathletes in reliability of center-of-pressure (COP) summary measures under eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) conditions. DESIGN: Test-retest reliability study. SETTING: COP was recorded during double-leg quiet standing on a Kistler force platform before and after a fatiguing treadmill exercise, with EO and EC. PARTICIPANTS: 31 male participants including 15 athletes practiced in karate and 16 nonathletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Standard deviation (SD) of amplitude, phase-plane portrait, SD of velocity, mean total velocity, and area were calculated from 30-s COP data. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement, and coefficient of variation (CV) were used as estimates of reliability and precision. RESULTS: Higher ICCs were found for COP measures in the athlete (compared with the nonathlete) group, postfatigued (compared with prefatigued) condition, and EC (compared with EO) tests. CVs smaller than 15% were obtained for most of the COP measures. SD of velocity in the anteroposterior direction showed the highest reliability in most conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Tests with EC and to a lesser extent tests performed in the athlete group and in the postfatigued condition showed better reliability.
Asunto(s)
Destreza Motora/fisiología , Equilibrio Postural/fisiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Fenómenos Biomecánicos , Humanos , Masculino , Artes Marciales/fisiología , Presión , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Visión Ocular/fisiología , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to culturally translate and validate the Persian version of Tegner and Marx activity rating scales and to investigate their psychometric properties in a sample of patients (nâ=â100) with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. METHOD: Four questionnaires were completed by the respondents: Tegner and Marx activity scales, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Short-Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12). The Tegner and Marx were re-administered to 45 patients in the retest session, with time interval of 2-6 days between the two sessions. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were assessed using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. To evaluate construct validity of Tegner and Marx compared to similar and dissimilar concepts of KOOS and SF-12, the Spearman's rank correlation was used. RESULTS: Both Tegner and Marx activity scales have a high ICC level. The minimum Cronbach's alpha level of 0.70 was exceeded by Marx scale. In terms of construct validity, most of a priori hypotheses were confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The Persian version of Tegner and Marx seems to be suitable for Iranian patients with ACL injury. Future studies are needed to investigate the psychometric properties of these questionnaires for Iranian patients with different knee problems.