This study was conducted to evaluate the prophylactic effect of ginger extract on ethanol-induced reproductive toxicity in male rats. Twenty-eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and treated daily for 28 days as follows: control, control-ginger (1 g/kg of body weight [BW]/day by gavage), ethanol group (ethanol 4 g/kg of BW/day by gavage), and ginger-ethanol group. At the end of the experiment, all the rats were sacrificed and their testes were removed and used for measurement of the total homocysteine (tHcy), trace elements, antioxidant enzymes activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA). The results in the ethanol group indicate that ethanol decreased antioxidant enzymes activity and increased MDA and tHcy compared with the control groups (P < .05). In ginger-ethanol group, ginger improved antioxidant enzymes activity and reduced tHcy and MDA compared to ethanol group (P < .05). It can be concluded that ginger protects the ethanol-induced testicular damage and improves the hormonal levels, trace elements, antioxidant enzymes activity, and decreases tHcy and MDA.

Hereditary Genes and SNPs Associated with Breast Cancer Breast cancer;hereditary genes;SNPs; Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women affecting up to one third of tehm during their lifespans. Increased expression of some genes due to polymorphisms increases the risk of breast cancer incidence. Since mutations that are recognized to increase breast cancer risk within families are quite rare, identification of these SNPs is very important. The most important loci which include mutations are; BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN, ATM, TP53, CHEK2, PPM1D, CDH1, MLH1, MRE11, MSH2, MSH6, MUTYH, NBN, PMS1, PMS2, BRIP1, RAD50, RAD51C, STK11 and BARD1. Presence of SNPs in these genes increases the risk of breast cancer and associated diagnostic markers are among the most reliable for assessing prognosis of breast cancer. In this article we reviewed the hereditary genes of breast cancer and SNPs associated with increasing the risk of breast cancer that were recently were reported from candidate gene, meta-analysis and GWAS studies. SNPs of genes associated with breast cancer can be used as a potential tool for improving cancer diagnosis and treatment planning.

Background: Sleep disorders are common mental disorders reported among the elderly in all countries, and with nonpharmacological interventions, they could be helped to improve their sleep quality. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two interventions, foot reflexology and foot bath, on sleep quality in elderly people. Patients and Methods: This three-group randomized clinical trial (two experimental groups and a control group) was conducted on 69 elderly men. The two experimental groups had reflexology (n = 23) and foot bath (n = 23) interventions for 6 weeks. The reflexology intervention was done in the mornings, once a week for ten minutes on each foot. The participants in the foot bath group were asked to soak their feet in 41°C to 42°C water one hour before sleeping. The pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was completed before and after the intervention through an interview process. Results: The results showed that the PSQI scores after intervention compared to before it in the reflexology and foot bath groups were statistically significant (P = 0.01 , P = 0.001); however, in the control group did not show a statistically significant difference (P = 0.14). In addition, the total score changes among the three groups were statistically significant (P = 0.01). Comparing the score changes of quality of sleep between the reflexology and foot bath groups showed that there was no significant difference in none of the components and the total score (P = 0.09). The two interventions had the same impact on the quality of sleep. Conclusions: It is suggested that the training of nonpharmacological methods to improve sleep quality such as reflexology and foot bath be included in the elderly health programs. In addition, it is recommended that the impact of these interventions on subjective sleep quality using polysomnographic recordings be explored in future research. Keywords: Bath; Elderly; Reflexology; Sleep

Purpose: Nursing is a practice-based discipline. Clinical education is one of the most important parts of nursing education; nurses play an important role in the learning of nursing students. This study was carried out to unveil the challenges of nursing students’ learning through working with nurses. Methods: A qualitative design was used to conduct the study in city of Khalkhal, Ardabil province, Iran. In order to collect data through purposive sampling, twenty students were interviewed using in-depth semi-structured individual techniques. Data analysis was done using MAXODA 12. Results: Challenges of nursing students’ learning were generally categorized into three main themes including inappropriate social norms, inadequate organizational atmosphere, and inadequate resources. Conclusion: It seems that inappropriate organizational culture in the clinical setting and wrong distribution of resources will lead to disruption of student-nurse relationships and ultimately disruption of clinical education.

Thyme oxymel is a mixture of vinegar, sugar and thyme which is traditionally used in many folk medicines as syrup to treat metabolic disorders. The molecular mechanisms of anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of thyme oxymel or oxymel and its role on homeostasis of trace elements are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti- hyperlipidemic effects of different doses of thyme oxymel and oxymel on obesity induced by high-fat/-fructose diet (HFFD) in male rat. Eighty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into eleven groups and treated daily for 24 weeks. At the end of the study, serum levels of liver enzymes, lipid profiles, blood glucose, insulin, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation and TNF-α were measured. The hepatic oxidative biomarkers and the genes expression of SREBP-1c, CPT-1, Nrf-2 and NF-κB were also studied to determine the molecular mechanism involved in this disease. The results showed that HFFD could significantly change the level of oxidative biomarkers, lipid profiles, TNF-α, liver enzymes, leptin, insulin and the levels of some trace elements in obese rats compared to control group (p < 0.05), while pretreatment and treatment with thyme oxymel and oxymel in obese rats could significantly ameliorate them and bring some of them back to normal (p < 0.05).The molecular results also showed that HFFD significantly up-regulated the expression of SREBP-1c and NF-κB and down-regulated CPT-1 and Nrf-2 expression(p < 0.05). While, pretreatment and treatment with thyme oxymel or oxymel in obese rats could significantly ameliorate them (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that thyme oxymel or oxymel can alleviate HFFD-induced obesity through improving oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid metabolism, homeostasis of some trace elements, and weight-regulating hormones.