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Background and purpose: Kindling is an animal model of epilepsy induced by repeated stimulation of the brain. The amygdala has been the focus of interest due to large part to its role in epilepsy induction and in fear conditioning in both human and rats. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether low electrical stimulation of foot pad of rats during fear can facilitate amygdala electrical kindling susceptibility. Material and methods: 32 Wistar male rats trained for the two way active avoidance learning in the shuttle box on the basis of escape response were divided into fast and slow learning animals and then each group was randomly assigned to two groups. Test groups (n= 10) received conditional and unconditional stimulus and control groups (n= 8) received conditional stimulus for ten days. The rats were kindled by electrical stimulation of basolateral amygdala and the seizure parameters were noted. The data were analyzed using one way ANOVA and Tukey’s test. Results: The results of the present study demonstrate that repeated electrical stimulation of slow learning animals during fear condition facilitates kindling induction. Conclusion: It seems that repeated electrical stimulation after fearing in rats that have impairments in performance of shuttle box conditioning increase the susceptibility to electrical kindling.

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Background and purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the Within-day and Between-days reliability of abdominal muscles size measurement in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) using ultrasound (US). Materials and methods: In this study, 15 patients with chronic non-specific LBP (20-50 years old) were recruited. The reliability of the abdominal muscle size (External and Internal oblique, and Transversus abdominis) was assessed in a relaxed and contraction state by a real time US. Two images were taken on the same day with an hour interval to assess the within day reliability and the third image was taken a week later to determine the between- days reliability. Results: Within-day and between-days reliability of abdominal muscles thickness measurements using US in patients with nonspecific chronic LBP in both rest and contraction state found to be high, ICC = 0.90 for within and ICC=0.85 for between-days of Transversus abdominis muscle in rest state and ICC= 0.82 and 0.86 in contraction state, respectively. For Internal oblique muscle, ICC=0.90 (82%) and ICC=0.88 (88%) were found for within-day and between-days in rest and contraction state, respectively. Within-day and between-days reliability at rest of ICC=0.86 (79%) and in contraction state of ICC=0.79 (75%) were demonstrated for External Oblique muscle. Conclusion: Results of the present study suggest US as a reliable method to evaluate the thickness of the abdominal muscles which could be used as a reliable tool in the assessment of patients and also in evaluating the effect of different therapeutic interventions.

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Background and purpose: Rapid emergence of traditional antibiotic-resistant pathogens is one of the most important global challenges in medical sciences. To this end, substitution of current antibiotics with strong antimicrobial peptides could be of great benefit.
Materials and methods: In this study, the DNA sequence encoding dermaseptin B1 (DrsB1) antimicrobial peptide derived from Phyllomedusa bicolor frog species was fused to either N or C terminal end of the sequence encoding the chitin-binding domain of the Avr4 gene from Cladosporium fulvum. The recombinant expression vectors containing two separate structures were transferred to Agrobacterium rhizogenes bacterium and then used to produce Hairy Roots (HRs) in tobacco plants. Recombinant dermaseptin B1 peptides were extracted from HRs and their antimicrobial activity was evaluated against some important human pathogens.
Results: Transgene integration and expression of recombinant DrsB1 in hairy roots were confirmed by PCR and semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis, respectively. Antimicrobial activity of the protein extracts from transgenic HRs showed that both recombinant proteins had significant inhibitory effects on the bacterial pathogens growth (P>0.01). CBD-DrsB1 recombinant protein had the highest inhibitory activity against Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus subtilis, whereas DrsB1-CBD recombinant protein showed the least antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study for the first time showed that the new recombinant peptides possess a high antibacterial activity. Acquiring resistance to antimicrobial peptides in bacteria is not readily feasible, therefore, present findings may find application as suitable alternative for current antibiotic drugs.
 

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 Background and purpose: Controlling the toxic effects of lead in biological systems is highly important. This study investigated the effect of sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) aqueous extract on liver enzymes in lead poisoning and behavioral changes in rats.
Materials and methods: This interventional study was performed in 7 groups of rats: control, drinking lead acetate at 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm, sumac aqueous extract 250 mg/kg and lead acetate in drinking water for 29 days. On the last day, after weighing, elevated plus-maze (EPM) test was performed. The serum was separated to measure Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), and Aspartate transaminase (AST). Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in liver and brain tissues were also determined.
Results: The highest average weight at the end, was seen in the group that received 1500 ppm lead acetate. The highest concentrations of liver and brain MDA were observed also in this group (18.0 ± 6.766 and 15.43 ± 0.432μmol /ml, respectively) which was higher compared to the control group, 500ppm lead group, and the extract group (P<0.01). The greatest and lowest TAC were found in the control group (333.00 ± 22.204 μmol/ml) and the 1500 ppm lead group (96.96 ± 6.669 μmol/ml), respectively (P<0.01). The ALT and AST concentrations were low in the control group and high in the 1500 ppm lead group. The minimum time passed in the open arm in the 1500 ppm lead group was 14.42%±8.247 which was lower compared to the control group (P <0.01).
Conclusion: In current study, sumac aqueous extract reduced the concentrations of liver enzymes in lead poisoning conditions. However, it had no significant effect on controlling lead induced anxiety.

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Background & Purpose: Brain tumors are one of the deadliest malignancies that can directly affect the brain, and are often accompanied by executive function and memory disorders. The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of endurance exercise and nano curcumin consumption on short-term memory of rats with glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor.
Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, 35 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into seven groups of five including: the basic healthy control group, 4-week healthy control, basic cancer control, 4-week cancer control, cancer + nano curcumin group, cancer + exercise, and cancer + practice + nano curcumin. One week after the injection of cancer cells into the frontal cortex, the animals entered the main exercise program on the treadmill (4 weeks, 18 m/min, and 3 days a week). In the end, the rats were sacrificed, the data were collected, and the results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc statistical tests.
Results: The results showed that endurance exercise and nano curcumin consumption significantly reduced the tumor volume in the cancer + exercise + nano curcumin group (P= 0.001), and also caused a significant increase in short-term memory in the studied groups compared to the 4-week cancer group (P= 0.001).
Conclusion: Probably, performing endurance exercises along with the use of nano curcumin can improve short-term memory in rats with brain tumors, in addition to reducing tumor volume.
 

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Nahid Naghizadeh¹,
Shahin Riyahi Malayeri²,
Mehdi Roozbahani³,
Alireza Khademi⁴,
Hossein Shirvani<sup>5

1</sup> PhD Student in Exercise Physiology, Department of Exercise Physiology, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
² Associate Professor, Department of Sport Sciences, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
³ Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
⁴ Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Science, Jahrom University, Jahrom, Fars, Iran
⁵ Associate Professor, Sports Physiology Research Center, Lifestyle Research Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran





In the article published in volume 33, issue 226, 2023, the title was published incorrectly, which is now corrected.