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Abstract Introduction: Childbirth is a natural or plysiological mechanism without any medial intervention, except for cases that mother or her child are at risk .In such case , mother and infant are helped by cesarean section. Although, the goal of WHO for cesarean section is 15% by 2010, most countries report a prevalence rate of 50% or more. Material & Methods: By a cross sectional study, 140 primipar women were selected .A questionnaire was used for data to be collected. The questionnaire was designed upon behavioral intention model which included some variables such as knowledge, evaluation of results, normal subjectives, attitude and intention of participants. Results: The mean age of women was 23.2±2.8 and most of them were at high school levels. The mean knowledge score of participants was 52.7 out of 100.Evaluation of results and attitude showed mean scores of 22 out of 30 and 50 out of 80 respectively. More than 60% of selected women were doctors as the most important normal subjective and 70% or more of them intended to do a normal delivery. Conclusion: This study showed a relation between knowledge, attitude and intention. Also, a relation between normal subjective and intention to comply was proved, more intervention is needed to decrease the prevalence of cesarean section. As the social and individual factors are effective variables for choosing the type of delivery, therefore, using the Behavioral Intention Model is suggested

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Abstract Introduction: Pregnancy has a specific condition that can affect sleeping patterns. About 2/3 of pregnant women complain of their sleeping patterns as abnormal. Such disturbances in sleeping patterns, besides in physical and psychological side-affects in women, can affect the labor process such as the length of labor and type of delivery. Thus, analytic cohort study was conducted to determine the association between sleeping disturbances in the last month of pregnancy as well as the length of labor and type of delivery. Materials & Methods: Method of sampling in this study was sequential and non-randomized. Women with the specifications of research units were selected for the study. 139 women (59 subject without disturbances and 85 ones with sleeping disturbances) were followed until delivery. The information was collected through filling in the questionnaires and using checklists of observation. Findings: The results of this study indicated that the average first stage of labor length time in the group without a sleep disturbance was 66 minutes less than that of the group with disturbances. The average second stage of labor length in the group with disturbed patterns was 25 minutes shorter than the other group. Statistically, this difference was significant (P < 0/001). The average for the three stage labor length between the two groups was not significant (P > 0.05).The results also showed that the chance of cesarean section among the disturbed group was 2.7 times more than the other group (CI= 0/83 – 8/5 , RR = 2/7 ) . Using X2 test according to (P = 0/096) this difference was proved as significant, further more, sleeping disturbances are of no effect in increasing cesarean prevalence. Conclusion: There, It is concluded that sleeping disturbance is associated with increasing the first and second stages of labor length, but has no influence on the 3rd stage labor length and the type of delivery

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Abstract Introduction: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a dangerous and poisonous gas of pollutant air in industrial countries. It is used to produce sulfuric acid and other industrial substances. Since many people are exposed to this gas daily, in this study, we examined the histopathologic effects of gas on the mouse liver in both acute and chronic exposures. Materlals and Methods: 28 male mice were divided into 4 groups. Group1 (G1) as the control one (not exposed to gas), group2 (G2) which were exposed to high doses of sulfur dioxide (100 ppm( and group3 (G3)& group4 (G4)which were exposed to a low dose of sulfur dioxide for 5 minutes for 1 to 3 weeks(20 ppm). Finally, the mice were slaughtered. First, the livers were assessed macroscopically and then a biopsy on the livers was assessed microscopically. At last the data were analyzed statistically. Findings: The results show that the mean number of Kupffer cells in G2, G3, and G4 significantly increased compared with the control group (9± 1.0, 10± 1.0, 11± 1.2 vs 7± 1.4: p<0.0001). Qualitative observations also show a significantly increase in the rate of liver cells necrosis and deformation of hepatic cords and sinusoids with an increase of inflammatory reactions in the experimental mice. Conclusion: The present study indicated that the liver can be damaged by the chronic and acute exposure to sulfur dioxide.

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Abstract Introduction: Every year 150 million women become pregnant, but some of them do not have easy labors and have pain or even may die. Prolonged labor is one of the reasons for undergoing cesarean sections. Morbidity of CS is more than normal vaginal delivery. Prolonged labor will be preventable through special care in the maternity hospital so as to encourage mothers to walk during the first stage of labor, because this action shortens the course of labor. Therefore, we decided to study on ambulation effects during the active phase of first stage labor on the type of delivery. Materials & methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 70 women of age 18 -35 years and primipara, gestational age 37 were divided randomly in two groups (35 experimental and 35 control). The women in the experimental group walked more than ½ course of labor, while there was no intervention in the control group. Findings: Findings showed that the rate of normal vaginal delivery was significantly different between the experimental group and the control one (33 people v/s 24 people p=0/006). The results also showed that rate of cesarean sections were significantly different in the two groups (2 person v/s 11 person p=0/006). It was, furthermore, found out that need of oxytocin was significantly different in the groups (7 people v/s 17 people p=0/012). Also, the time of second stage of labor was significantly different between the cases (39/29 minutes VS 47/46 minutes p=0/032). Conclusion: We came to the conclusion that ambulation during active phase of first stage of labor is effective on the type of delivery so we recommend maternity hospital administrators to urge pregnant mothers to ambulate at this stage of active delivery as a helpful factor.

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Introduction: Morphine is a potent analgesic and narcotic drug that is found in opium. It is also an endocrine substance in humans and animals. This medication is used to treat mild to severe pain. This study was done to evaluate the histopathological effects of opium on liver and kidney. Material and methods: 60 rabbits (30 male and 30 female) weighing 300-250 g were divided into control and addicts, randomly. Addicted rabbits received 25 mg / case / day opium by gavage. This rate gradually over a period of one week to 100 mg / case / day and kept on to day 60. At the end of period rabbits were euthanized, kidney and liver tissues were removed and fixed in formalin. Routine histological methods was done to prepare slides and stained with H&E. Results: our findings showed that in rabbits treated with opium the dilation of collecting tubules, dilation on interestisium, sever hemorrhage, hypertrophy and hyperplasia of renal corpuscles was recorded. In liver hyperemia in central veins, presence of inflammatory cells, fatty change, necrosis of hepatocytes and enlarging the sinusoids was seen. Conclusion: Morphine caused Structural abnormalities in liver and kidney. With respect to our findings, histological changes and dysfunction in kidney and liver could be considered as problems in addicted.

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Introduction: The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of the two methods of delivery " hands-on" versus "hand-poised" on perineal trauma and delivery outcome in primiparous women. hands-on method or Ritgen’s maneuver, used to control fetal head is associated with higher need for episiotomy and perineal traumas. Thus, hand-poised method, which is done without touching the perineum in the second labor stage, is preferred. Materials & Methods: This is a clinical trial in which 100 low risk primiparous parturients were randomly assigned to two groups hands-on and hand-poised (hands-off). In the hands-on group, in the second stage of labor hands-on method was used to control fetal head, i.e., the fingers of one hand supports fetal occiput and the other hand applies slight pressure on the head to control the delivery of the head during the crowning process. In the hands-off group, the midwife observes the parturient and do not touch perineum during the second labor stage while fetal head is delivering. Then, the two groups were compared in terms of perineal trauma, as well as delivery outcome. Findings: The findings demonstrated that the two groups were significantly different in terms of perineal trauma resulted from episiotomy, and the need for episiotomy was smaller in the hands-off group (p<0.001) as 16% of participants in hand-on group and 60% in hands-poised group did not need episiotomy. first degree tears in hands-on and hands-poised groups were 22% and 34%, respectively. The two groups were not significantly different considering second degree tears (26% and 22% for hands-on and hands-off groups, respectively) . However, 82% of hands-on group participants did not have hemorrhage or hematoma at the site of episiotomy, while in the hands-off group the frequency was 74%. Discussion & Conclusion: It seems that hands-off method is associated with less perineal trauma, particularly lower need for episiotomy, and less perineal tear.

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Introduction: Cytomegalovirus (Cytome-galovirus: CMV) infection is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who are the candidate for liver transplant. Serological monitoring of individuals rece-iving and giving the liver transplant is necessary for prevention, early diagnosis and treatment strategies and reducing the prevalence of infection. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of CMV serology in pediatric candidates for liver transplantation in Namazi Hospital of Shiraz. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional and retrospective study was carried out on the serological data collected from 98 child patients less than 18 years old who had referred to the Namazi Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and were candidates for liver transplantation during 2006-2009. The serological parameters, IgM and IgG CMV were determined by im-munoassay methods. Findings: Of 98 child patients, 58 were male and 40 were female. Their most com-mon symptoms were jaundice and ascites. The most underlying diseases leading to liver transplantation were cryptogenic cirr-hosis, duct bile atresia and tyrosinemia. Percentages of candidate children of liver transplant with positive IgM and IgG CMV were 9.92% and 3.17%, respectively and that of candidate children with negative IgM and IgG CMV were 1.7% and 7.82, respectively. The positive serology along with the high prevalence of the disease had been caused that the high risk patients (the positive donor and negative receptor gro-ups) comprised a lesser percentage of our patients because the transplant receptors with negative serology were only 7.1%. Discussion & Conclusion: The high preva-lence of positive CMV amongst candidates for liver transplantation confirmed the need for appropriate and continuous programs to prevent the side effects of the infection through early diagnosis and treatment. Th-ese measures are essential to have a positive outcome in candidate patients for liver tran-splantation.

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IIntroduction: Maternal Mortality Rate ind-ex is a reflection of public health status in society. Mothers are the main family axes, so maternal mortality and disability will affect all dimensions of family health, so this study was performed aimed to inv-estigate the frequency and effective factors on pregnant women´s mortality in Ilam Province, Iran, 2002-2010.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional, short-term study was performed using data from the clinical records and completed questionnaire for pregnant women´s deaths in Ilam province. The data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics and chi-square by SPSS software version 7.
Findings: results showed that the frequency of maternal mortality in the study was 22 cases, and Maternal Mortality Rate was 25.51 per 100,000 live births. The highest (22.73%), in the age group 30 to 35 years (36.36%), first pregnancy (31.9%), urban number of maternal deaths were in 2004 resident (59.09%), illiterate or poorly educated (50%), housewife (90.9%), receiving special care during pregnancy (81.8%), Cesarean delivery (54.54%) and wanted pregnancy (72.7%). Bleeding was the most common cause of maternal mor-tality (22.7%). The cause of maternal mo-rtality has statistically significant associ-ation with maternal education level (P=0. 031), maternal age (P=0.029), requiring to special care(P=0.003), the time of dea-th(P=0.019)and the type of delive-ry(P=0.019).
Discussion & Conclusion: According to rel-ative stability and lack of a clear trend in the maternal mortality ratio a basic action should be done by administrators and pol-icy makers in surveillance system of mate-rnal mortality and morbidity in designing and developing this program

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Despite the progresses achieved in the treatment, detection and development of effective drugs for curing of diseases e.g. cancer, using of such therapeutics by patients is associated with severe side-effects. Since, most of them are not specific for cancerous cells they may affect normal cells as well. So, targeted delivery of therapeutics is very important. Bacteriophages are a subtype of viral nanoparticles (VNPs) which can potentially deliver therapeutics to target cells/tissues, and this aspect of bacteriophage application has recently been considered by researchers. Plenty of studies show that not only bacteriophages have capacity for targeted delivering of imaging agents, drugs and genes into the cells/tissues but have appropriate profile of distribution in tissues and clearance from blood stream as well. Moreover, images obtained from different radioactive and optic imaging approaches have high-resolution in methods using bacteriophage because of their depth penetration into the tissues. Furthermore, bacteriophage-based approaches have more advantages such as safety and low cost. Regarding the plenty of advantages, it is expected that bacteriophages might be used as a suitable tool in diverse clinical trials in the near future. In the present study, the potential applications of bacteriophages are considered in medical imaging, targeted drug and gene delivery.

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Introduction: Regarding the increased risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and due to the special attention to fructose as a risk factor for developing NAFLD and obesity in recent years and also due to the lack of papers that have worked on fructose from its natural sources -no artificial sweeteners-, this study was designed to determine the association between dietary sources of fructose and anthropometric indices in NAFLD.

Materials & methods: This case-control study was carried out on 57 patients with NAFLD (confirmed by ultrasonography and elevated liver enzyme levels) and 57 healthy subjects matched for age, sex and body mass index in Sheykh-ol-rais clinic in Tabriz. Anthropometric indices were measured by standard method and BMI, Waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. Using a food frequency questionnaire, weekly consumption of fruit and vegetables were estimated and using 3-day food records the amount of fructose intake and its proportion of energy and macronutrients was estimated.

Findings: The median frequency of weekly fruit consumption and total fructose from energy intake in all participants and the median frequency of weekly fruit consumption in women with abdominal obesity were significantly higher than healthy ones. Although the total fructose intake and BMI in healthy subjects showed a significant positive correlation (p=0.040, r=0.273), but there was no significant difference between weekly median frequency of fruits and vegetables consumption as natural sources of fructose and different BMI levels. After adjusting for confounders, only WHtR was a predictor and other factors have no role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Discussion & Conclusions: The findings suggest no association between dietary sources of fructose and anthropometric indices in patients with NAFLD.

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Introduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver is a very common chronic liver disease that is caused by some factors such as insulin resistance, central obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. The beneficial effects of ginger on metabolic disorders have been shown previously. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ginger supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Materials & methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial study, 50 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease participated in the intervention and placebo groups. For 12 weeks the intervention and placebo groups received 2 gram of ginger or placebo, respectively.  Both groups were advised to follow a balanced diet and physical activity recommendations. Levels of inflammatory biomarkers, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, insulin and insulin resistance were measured at the beginning and end of the study.

Findings: Ginger supplementation reduced inflammatory biomarkers, fasting blood glucose, insulin resistance and triglyceride levels more than placebo, but there were no significant changes in total cholesterol, HDL and LDL in each group.

Discussion & conclusions: Ginger supplementation reduced levels of some cardiovascular risk factors in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

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Introduction: Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is an enveloped DNA virus in the Herpesviridae family which causes various infections globally. Acyclovir (ACV) is a choice treatment, and the widespread usage of ACV has lead to the emergence of HSV strains resistant to ACV. Therefore, the discovery of novel anti-HSV drugs deserves great effort. Oliveria decumbens is a traditional medicinal plant used in Iran for many purposes, particularly for gastrointestinal disorders and analgesia. There is no report about antiviral effects of this plant; so, this report was the first study to evaluate antiviral effects of Oliveria decumbens. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro antiviral activity of Oliveria decumbens flowers methanolic extract against HSV-1.
 
Materials & Methods: In this laboratorial study, methanolic extract of the dried powder was obtained through maceration method. Then, the solvent was removed by rotary evaporator. The cytotoxicity and antiviral activity were evaluated by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay in Vero cell line and at different incubation times. Cell cultures were treated with the extract before, during, and after infection to study its antiviral activity. 
 
Findings: The cytotoxicity results revealed that cytotoxic concentration of the extract which reduced viable cells number by 50% (CC50) was above the range of 1500µg/ml. The findings also indicated that the plant extract had the most antiviral activity when it was mixed with the virus, and this mixture was used to infect the cells where it reached a high antiviral activity of 43.75percent.
 
Discussion & Conclusion: As demonsterated by our gains, the tested methanolic extract displayed a moderate antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus-1.
 

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Introduction: Regarding the importance of liver injuries in modern societies, researchers have paid great attention to safer therapeutic products due to the side effects of chemical medicine. Klaussia odoratissima Mozaff is a herb with medicinal properties, such as antioxidant effects. This paper aimed to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extracts of the aerial parts of this plant (leaves and stems) on liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride in mice.
 
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 36 male mice divide into 6 groups, including a control group, a positive control (distilled water, olive oil and carbon tetrachloride), a negative control (distilled water and olive oil), and 3 experimental groups, which received the extract (concentrations of 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg). At first, the Klaussia odoratissima Mozaff extract was administered to mice by gavage for 3 days. Afterwards, the equal proportions of olive oil and carbon tetrachloride (1 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to male mice for 5 days by gavage.
 
Findings: Pathological findings in liver tissue indicated that apart from the control and negative control groups, there were different degrees of liver necrosis around the in all groups, more specifically in the positive control group. Study of the blood factors revealed a significant decrease of these factors in experimental groups compared to the positive control group. In addition, it was also found that the increase in the dose of extract could decrease the level of liver enzymes ALT-AST-ALP, total and direct bilirubin, and pathological damages.
 
Discussion & Conclusions: According to the findings of the current study it can concluded that flavonoid compounds  and  phenolic in Klaussia odoratissima  Mozaff  can decrease the toxic effects induced by carbon tetrachloride in liver tissues of  mice.
 

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Introduction: Fatty liver can cause vascular damage due to metabolic syndrome. On the other hand, the onset of fatty liver disease is expected to lead to a change in the level of GFR or possibly the resistance of the renal artery. According to the above, we aimed to study the effect of fatty liver with or without hepatomegaly on the resistance of the renal artery by designing this study.
 
Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients after diagnosis of fatty liver by ultrasound (hyper echogenic hepatomegaly with dorsal hypo echogenicity) and elevated liver enzymes enrolled the study. Also, as patients in the case group, healthy subjects with no liver problems that were matched for age and sex were included. Subsequently, patients were asked about demographic information and anthropometric information, and then the patients underwent sonography of B mode and Doppler. Renal length, kidney thickness, liver size and spleen size were also calculated by abdominal sonography. In this study, the renal artery resistance index was obtained based on the formula RI= [VmaxSystole-VminDiastole]/Vmax-Systole. All patients' information was entered into SPSS software and analyzed. Ethics code: IR.TBZMED.REC.1396.906
 
Findings: In this study,The mean age of all participants in the study was 42±11 years. Right kidney RI was 0.61±0.05 in the fatty liver group and 0.59±0.11 in the normal group (P=0.155). The RI value of the left kidney was 0.62±0.05 in the fatty liver group and 0.59±0.0.03 in the healthy subjects group. This difference was not statistically significant (P=0.389). Correlation coefficient between age and right renal RI was 0.249 (P=0.027) and this factor between age and left kidney RI was 0.325 (P=0.003). Both relationships were statistically significant.
 
Discussion & Conclusions: There is no meaningful relationship between renal RI and fatty liver, and the use of renal RI in early diagnosis of kidney disease in patients with fatty liver is not beneficial.
 

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Introduction: Given that a huge amount of cost is imposed on public and private hospitals from the department of liver diseases, it is necessary to provide a method to predict liver diseases. This study aimed to propose a hybrid model based on the Ant Lion Optimization algorithm and K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm to diagnose liver diseases.
 
Materials & Methods: This descriptive-analytic study proposed a hybrid model based on machine learning algorithms to classify individuals into two categories, including healthy and unhealthy (those with liver diseases). The proposed model has been simulated using MATLAB software. The datasets used in this study were obtained from the Indian Liver Patient Dataset available in the Machine Learning Repository at the University of Irvine, California. This dataset contains 583 independent records, including 10 features for liver diseases.
 
Findings: After pre-processing, the dataset was randomly divided into 20 categories of the entire dataset, which included different training and test data. In each category of the dataset, 90% and 10% of the data were used for training and test, respectively. Regarding all features, the results obtained the most accurate mode at 95.23%. Moreover, according to the criteria of specificity and sensitivity accuracy, the corresponding values were 93.95% and 94.11%, respectively. Furthermore, the accuracy of the proposed model along with five features was estimated at 98.63%.
 
Discussions & Conclusions: This model was proposed to diagnose and classify liver diseases along with an accuracy rate of higher than 90%. Healthcare centers and physicians can utilize the results of this study.
 

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Introduction: Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is a member of the cytokine family and an important regulator of inflammatory reactions. Due to the severe and irreversible complications of this disease in the advanced stages, timely treatment, especially with herbal medicines, can be considered an important strategy. This study aimed to investigate the effect of grapefruit extract on the IL-18 gene expression in mice with fatty liver.
Material & Methods: In this study, 24 male Wistar rats weighing 180±20 g were divided into four groups (positive control, negative control, first treatment, and second treatment). The two treatment groups received grapefruit extract 4 and 8 ml/kg by gavage for 5 weeks, respectively. Finally, the rats were anesthetized with chloroform, and after dissection, the liver tissue and blood samples were collected. Subsequently, RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were performed using the relevant kits according to the protocol, and finally the expression of IL18 gene was performed using Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, and the relevant analyzes were performed.
(Ethic code: IR.IAU.SHK.REC.1399.049)
Findings: In the present study, the results showed that grapefruit extract at a dose of 8 ml/kg could further reduce the expression of IL-18 gene, compared to a dose of 4 ml/kg in rats with fatty liver. This decrease in the rate expression was significant in the patient group (P<0.05). The results of biochemical tests confirmed liver improvement in treated rats at a dose of 8 ml/kg.
Discussion & Conclusion: Grapefruit juice seems to reduce various symptoms of inflammation due to its orange content by reducing the expression of the IL-18 gene in rats with a fatty liver that can be considered a therapeutic target in fatty liver disease.

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Introduction: Aging impairs the function of genes involved in hepatic metabolisms, such as Mitogen-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K). Exercise and Citrus Aurantium (CA) have a beneficial effect on improving metabolic factors in aging. This study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic training (T) with consumption of CA on the AMPK and PI3K gene expression levels in the liver tissue of elderly rats.
Material & Methods: In this experimental study, 25 elderly female rats were divided into five groups of five animals per group. The groups included 1) control, 2) sham, 3) CA, 4) T, and 5) T+CA. Over the course of eight weeks, the T groups ran on the treadmill three sessions per week at 65% to 75% of the maximum running speed for 15 min in the first week to 31 min in the eighth week. The supplement groups also received 300 mg/kg/day of CA extract peritoneal. After 48 h of the last training session and CA consumption, AMPK and PI3K gene expression levels in the liver tissue were measured by the real-time PCR method.
(Ethic code: IR.IAU.M.REC.1399.032)
Findings: AMPK expression was significantly increased in CA (P=0.043), T (P=0.025,) and T+CA (P=0.009) groups, compared to the control group. Moreover, a significant increase in the PI3K expression was observed in the T+CA (P=0.031) group, compared to the control group.
Discussion & Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that T and CA might improve liver cell function in elderly rats by increasing the expression of AMPK and PI3K genes.

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Introduction: Nonparametric regression can usually be used when the distribution of the dependent variable does not follow the property of normality. In this study, due to the nature of the variables, a bivariate Capula regression model was used to identify the factors affecting the liver enzymes (ALT and AST) and the relationship between these enzymes. This type of regression is suitable when the response variables have a relatively high degree of skewness and interdependence.
Material & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 2000 participants in the Shahrekord cohort study were randomly selected. To achieve the Capula regression model, the inverse Gaussian margin distribution and the Gumble joint function were selected according to the Akaike criterion. Gamlss, Copula, and Ggrm statistical packages were used in the R software.
(Ethic code: 3316)
Findings: According to the findings, some variables were identified as effective factors on the concentration of ALT and AST enzymes through marginal distribution parameters and Capula function. Blood urea, triglyceride, GGT, ALP, and BMI had a nonlinear and significant effect on the mean concentration of the ALT enzyme. The BMI, GGT, ALP, LDL, and HDL (nonlinearly), as well as blood urea (linearly), had a significant effect on the mean concentration of AST enzyme. Finally, the variables of BMI, triglycerides, GGT, and ALP affect the relationship between the concentration levels of the liver enzymes (ALT and AST).
Discussion & Conclusion: Using this model, in addition to identifying the effective factors, it is possible to distinguish between linear and nonlinear relationships between independent and dependent variables.
 

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Introduction: Today, the use of magnetic nanomaterials promises purposeful and intelligent drug delivery. These magnetic drug nanocarriers can respond appropriately and intelligently to the external magnetic field, which can be used to selectively release the drug into the target tissue. Therefore, this study investigated the synthesis of zinc ferrite nanoparticles and some of their structural, electronic, and magnetic properties. The ultimate goal of this study is to use nanotechnology and quantum mechanics in intelligent and targeted drug delivery to improve the patient's quality of life and reduce the destructive effects of unwanted drug distribution in healthy tissues.
Material & Methods: In this study, zinc ferrite nanoparticles were prepared using heat treatment, and then the structural and magnetic properties of these nanoparticles were investigated using imaging-measurement methods on the nanoscale. In addition, cytotoxicity test (MTT) was performed on mouse fibroblast cell line (NIH3T3), and the results were analyzed using SPSS software. Moreover, using the results of quantum calculations, the chitosan molecular system was proposed as a coating for this drug carrier.
Findings: Analysis of the results obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron microscopy (SEM) spectra confirmed the existence of spinel structure and the small size of these particles (20-23 nm). Furthermore, the results obtained from the vibrating magnetometer and the paramagnetic resonance spectrometer showed the presence of paramagnetic properties in the synthetic nanoparticles. In addition, the analysis of the results obtained from the vibrating magnetometer shows the low magnetic residue of the synthetic magnetic nanoparticles. This can be useful in the mechanism of targeted drug release. In addition, analysis of cytotoxicity (MTT) test results on synthetic nanoparticles showed that the toxicity of these nanoparticles depends on the concentration (dose) and time. Therefore, at concentrations higher than 20 µg/ml and also over time, the vital activity of cells decreased.
Discussion & Conclusion: Based on the results obtained in this study, the use of magnetic zinc ferrite nanoparticles (coated with chitosan) for targeted drug delivery to the target tissue was suggested. The unique properties of these drug-carrying nanoparticles, such as good magnetic field response, good particle size, and low toxicity, enable the physician to have more precise control over targeted drug delivery to the target tissue.
 

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Introduction: The increasing trend of cancer morbidity and mortality is a major human health concern, indicating the necessity for the design and introduction of novel anticancer compounds. The use of nanotechnology products is a new approach to cancer treatment. Therefore, the current study was performed to synthesize Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with glutamine and conjugated to Thiosemicarbazide (TiO₂@Gln-TSC) to inhibit the proliferation of liver cancer cells line (HepG2) and evaluate the effect of TiO₂@Gln-TSC NPs on the expression of apoptotic genes.
Material & Methods: TiO₂@Gln-TSC NPs were synthesized by a chemical method and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cytotoxicity of the Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles was evaluated by the MTT assay, and relative gene expression was studied by Real Time PCR method.
Findings: The results showed that the synthesized Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles were spherical with a size range of 59 to 82 nm. The particles had a considerable anti-proliferative effect on liver cancer cells line with IC₅₀ of 80 µg/mL. The treatment of the cancer cell line with TiO₂@Gln-TSC NPs significantly increased the expression of the CASP3, BAX, and BCL2 by 2.8, 2.7, and 1.3 folds, respectively, which indicated the activation of apoptotic pathways in the treated cells.
Discussion & Conclusion: The results showed that the TiO₂@Gln-TSC NPs could inhibit the proliferation of liver cancer cells line and by triggering the apoptosis pathway.