The effects of aerobic exercise with lavender essence use on cognitive state and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in elderly with mild cognitive impairment

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 12-week aerobic exercise and lavender essence on cognitive states and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels of elderly with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Methods: In this clinical study, 40 elderly whose scores for mini–mental state examination (MMSE) ranged 21 to 25 were purposively selected by simple sampling. They were randomly divided into 4 equal groups: aerobic exercise, lavender extract, aerobic-lavender. and placebo. They underwent their respective treatments for 12 weeks. The aerobic exercise consisted of 8-minute running session with intensity of 75-85 HRR Max for the first session. One minute was added to the running span after each 2 sessions. Accordingly, the running span reached 26 minutes at the end of the 12-week exercise period. To conduct treatment with lavender, 2 drops of lavender essence were administered twice a day. Before and after the treatments, cognitive state was measured and blood samples collected to measure BDNF.Results: BDNF levels of the exercise and exercise + lavender groups increased significantly compared to those of the other 2 groups (P < 0.05). In addition, the cognitive states of the 3 intervention groups increased significantly compared to that of the placebo group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Combination of 12-week aerobic exercise and lavender may decelerate or probably halt the progressive process of the impairment via improving the cognitive state in elderly with MCI

Association of Body Surface Area and Body Composition with Heart Structural Characteristics of Female Swimmers

In healthy nonathletic populations, some left ventricle (LV) parameters such as LV mass (LVM) and LV end diastolic dimension (LVEDD) can be predicted by some of body size parameters such as body surface area (BSA), fat-free mass (FFM), and height (H). These body size parameters use to remove covariate influence of body size from cardiac dimension variables and allow comparisons to be made between individuals and groups of different body size. Endurance exercise has been associated with changes in LV size and body composition of athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate in 30 trained female swimmers (age range 12-17 years) possible correlations between BSA, FFM, fat mass (FM) determined by bioelectrical impedance analyzer(BIA); and a range of cardiac dimensions derived by echocardiography. Univariate correlations were studied between left ventricular and body size variables. Stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to determine the best determinants of LV variables. LVM and LVEDD had a significant relation with FFM and BSA (p\u3c0.001), (p\u3c0.05) respectively. Left ventricle posterior wall thickness (PWT) had a significant relation with BSA (p\u3c0.001) and FFM (p\u3c0.005). No relation was found between heart’s structural variable (LVM, LVEDD, LVESD and PWT) and FM. Using a multivariate regression analysis, FFM was the only independent predictor of both LVM (R2=0.541, p\u3c0.001) and LVEDD (R2=0.189, P\u3c0.05). These results suggest that Correction of LVM and LVEDD by FFM in athletes may be more appropriate than other measures of body size for indexing absolute amounts of LV dimension. Yet further researches in other athletes are required to confirm these findings. Key words: Indexation, LVM, LVEDD, fat-free mass, athlet

The effect of continuous and intermittent training on resting level and acute response of salivary IgA and total protein in male basketball players

زمینه و هدف: ایمونوگلوبولین A بزاقی (S-IgA) اصلی ترین بخش سیستم ایمنی در مجاری تنفسی فوقانی می باشد. این مطالعه با هدف بررسی تاثیر تمرینات تداومی و تناوبی بر سطوح استراحتی و پاسخ سریع ایمنی مخاطی انجام شده است. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه نیمه تجربی 20 بسکتبالیست مرد به مدت هشت هفته تمرینات تداومی و تناوبی را انجام دادند. پنج میلی لیتر بزاق تحریک نشده قبل، بلافاصله و یکساعت پس از پایان یک جلسه فعالیت در آغاز و پایان دوره جهت تعیین پاسخ سریع ایمنی مخاطی جمع آوری شد. همچنین هر دو هفته یکبار قبل از تمرین نمونه های بزاقی جمع آوری شد. میزان ایمنوگلوبولین A و پروتئین تام بزاق اندازه گیری و داده ها به کمک آزمون های آماری اسمیرنوف-کولموگروف تحلیل واریانس یک طرفه و t زوجی تجزیه و تحلیل گردید. یافته ها: یک جلسه فعالیت در آغاز هفته اول موجب کاهش معنی دار S-IgA شد (001/0

The effect of exercise mode and intensity of submaximal physical activities on salivary testosterone to cortisol ratio and α-amylase in young active males

We examined the effect of exercise intensity and mode on the acute responses of free testosterone to cortisol ratio and salivary α-amylase. We also evaluated the relationship between cortisol and salivary α-amylase. Ten healthy young active males participated voluntarily in this study in six single sessions. They exercised on a cycle ergo meter, treadmill, and elliptical instrument at intensities of 70% and 85% maximum heart rate for 25 minutes. Saliva samples were collected 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after each exercise session. No significant changes were observed for cortisol. Free testosterone to cortisol ratio increased during each exercise session (F5, 45=3.15, P=0.02). However, these changes are only significant after exercise on the treadmill at 70% maximum heart rate (t=2.94, P=0.02) and 85% maximum heart rate (t=0.53, P=0.03). Salivary α-amylase significantly varied among exercise sessions (F5, 45=3.97, P=0.005), and a significant decline was observed after exercise on the elliptical instrument (t=2.38, P=0.04) and treadmill (t=3.55, P=0.006) at 85% maximum heart rate. We found that the free testosterone to cortisol ratio is dependent on the exercise mode, while the salivary α-amylase response is dependent on the intensity of exercise. The increase of free testosterone to cortisol ratio in this study may indicate lower physiological stress in response to performing these exercises. Applying muscular strength with moderate intensity weight-bearing exercises possibly activates the anabolic pathways. Although the cortisol and salivary α-amylase responses were opposite in the majority of the exercise sessions, no significant inverse relationship was observed

Responses of salivary cortisol and α-amylase to official competition

This study was designed to determine the relationship between salivary cortisol, α-amylase and total protein response in the official football players during the course of a game. Nine young amateur football players agreed to participate in the study. Saliva samples were collected from each player 30 min and 5 min before the start of the competition, at half time, and then again 5 and 30 min after the end of competition. A significant increase in cortisol (p=0.04) in response to playing the competition was observed including a significantly higher concentration 30 min after match as compared to half time (p=0.016). In contrast, changes in salivary α-amylase changes were irregular, but there was significant decline 5 min after end of match as compared to the 5 min before the beginning of match (p<0.019). No significant difference in total protein concentration was observed. Though salivary cortisol, α-amylase and total protein changes were observed concomitantly, but there no significant relationship between them. We conclude that participation in competition has an accumulative effect on salivary cortisol concentration, but this was not related changes in salivary α-amylase

Study of Physicochemical Properties of Hydroquinone Nanofibers

Introduction: &nbsp;Melasma is a common hypermelanotic disorder affecting the face that is associated with considerable psychological impacts that one of the treatment options is hydroquinone. The phenolic and hydroquinone derivatives and derivatives thereof, including the sesquiterpenoid hydroquinone and quinone, are widely used to inhibit bacteria, fungi and viruses, on the other Polymeric drug delivery system are able to improve therapeutic efficacy, reduce toxicity, and prolong drug release by adjusting the degradation rate of the polymer. So in this study we product and investigate of antifungal activity of Hydroquinone nanofibers. Methods and Results: &nbsp;Films containing hydroquinone were produced from electrospining method. The physicochemical properties of prepared films were investigated by electronic microscopy and FTIR. Physical stability and degradation rate of nanofibers as well as the rate of hydroquinone release were also studied. In this study, the antifungal effects of hydroquinone were studied in laboratory conditions. The release test revealed that the release rate of hydroquinone nanofibers increased with increase in temperature. Hydroquinone prevents the growth of the fungal species of Candida albicans Conclusions: &nbsp;Hydroquinone is widely used in the treatment of melasma, but no report has yet been made of the use of hydroquinone in the treatment of fungal diseases. Antifungal effects of hydroquinone on the Candida albicans species have been tested in laboratory conditions and its positive effect has been determined

Towards Understanding the Benefits and Challenges of Demand Responsive Public Transit- A Case Study in the City of Charlotte, NC

Access to adequate public transportation plays a critical role in inequity and socio-economic mobility, particularly in low-income communities. Low-income workers who rely heavily on public transportation face a spatial disparity between home and work, which leads to higher unemployment, longer job searches, and longer commute times. The overarching goal of this study is to get initial data that would result in creating a connected, coordinated, demand-responsive, and efficient public bus system that minimizes transit gaps for low-income, transit-dependent communities. To create equitable metropolitan public transportation, this paper evaluates existing CATS mobile applications that assist passengers in finding bus routes and arrival times. Our community survey methodology includes filling out questionnaires on Charlotte's current bus system on specific bus lines and determining user acceptance for a future novel smart technology. We have also collected data on the demand and transit gap for a real-world pilot study, Sprinter bus line, Bus line 7, Bus line 9, and Bus lines 97-99. These lines connect all of Charlotte City's main areas and are the most important bus lines in the system. On the studied routes, the primary survey results indicate that the current bus system has many flaws, the major one being the lack of proper timing to meet the needs of passengers. The most common problems are long commutes and long waiting times at stations. Moreover, the existing application provides inaccurate information, and on average, 80 percent of travelers and respondents are inclined to use new technology.Comment: 22 pages, 54 figure