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Most people believe that they are adequately aware of sex and its etiquette and hence, they don’t need any education to improve their sexual knowledge. However, relevant issues that are often treatable, like sexual diseases or dissatisfaction, have made physicians write or translate various manuscripts and books to improve public knowledge of sex. The medical manuscript “Lazzat Un Nisaʼ” is an example of such an educational resource. In this paper, the miniatures of the manuscript and their relationship with the text are analyzed. The purpose is to determine the method employed in this visual narrative. The results indicate that the Miniaturist has not resorted to the erotic art; he, rather based his illustration on a lyrical-realistic method. This illustration refers to the effects of sexual knowledge on the success of married life, the intimacy between man and woman, and the satisfaction of their relationship. Accordingly, he has used intelligently visual techniques to picture people, especially women, in the most physical and mental health. He aims to evoke such effects by visual narrative in the miniatures and present the content of the medical text in the manuscript attractively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Chronic methamphetamine (METH) abuse is recognized as an important risk factor for cognitive impairment. A plant-based isoquinoline alkaloid, Berberine hydrochloride (BER), shows memory and cognition enhancement properties. Due to the aim of the present study which is to investigate the influence of BER administration on METH-induced cognitive deficits, we investigated neurotrophin signaling including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) as a possible mechanism by which BER exerts its cognitive improvement influences. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, thirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly classified into four groups, including non-treated control, intubated control, METH-inhaled, and METH-inhaled + BER-intubated. Rats in the METH-inhaled group underwent METH inhalation for 14 days, and the BER-inhaled and BER-intubated rats were intubated (100mg/kg) for the following three weeks. A novel object recognition task (NORt) was carried out on days 36 and 37. Rats were sacrificed for histological preparations after the behavioral tests. Neurotrophic factors, including GDNF and BDNF, were evaluated by immunofluorescence staining in the hippocampus. Results: This experiment indicated a dramatic improvement in cognitive deficits associated with chronic METH abuse (P<0.001). Furthermore, a significant decrease in the expression of both neurotrophins, GDNF (P<0.001) and BDNF (P<0.001), was observed in the METH-inhaled group compared with the METH-inhaled group treated with BER and non-treated control group. Conclusion: Activation of neurotrophic factors after BER administration resulted in improvement of METH-induced cognitive deficits. Therefore, BER may be considered a promising treatment for METH users who experience cognition deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Methamphetamine (MA) as an addictive psychostimulant drug affects the central nervous system. The present research aimed at evaluating the impact of Berberinehydrochloride on cognitive function Improvement and neuroprotective effects in MA Addicted Rats. Methods: In this study, 27 Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to three groups, including Control, MA addiction and MA addiction with Berberine Hydrochloride (100 mg/kg/day) per oral during the three-week period of withdrawal. Two groups received inhaled MA self-administration for two weeks (up to 10 mg/kg). Following the experimental procedures, Morris Water Maze (MWM) and shuttle box were used to assess memory and hippocampal sections from the animals were examined for caspase-3, ki-67 and GFAP expression. Results: The obtained results from MWM showed that Berberine Hydrochloride decreases (p<0.01) the distance moved and spent time to reach the hidden platform in four-day learning trails phase and there were significant differences in the distance moved, spent time and frequency of motion in target quadrant on probe test day between groups. Berberine Hydrochloride reduced also the latency to enter animals into the dark chamber in the treated group in comparison with the control group (p<0.05). A significant decrease in activation of caspases-3, higher percentages of Ki67 expression and increase in GFAP expression of cells in Addicted group was found to compare with Berberine-treated and control groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: Berberine Hydrochloride administration for 3 weeks improves cognition function in MA addiction and it has a potential for neuroprotective efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): End-stage hepatic failure is a potentially life-threatening condition for which orthotopic liver transplantation is the only effective treatment. However, a shortage of available donor organs for transplantation each year results in the death of many patients waiting for liver transplantation. Xenotransplantation, or the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs between different species, was proposed as a possible solution to the worldwide shortage of human organs and tissues for transplantation. The purpose of this preliminary study was to reconstruct human liver tissue by xenotransplantation of human Wharton jelly mesenchymal stem cells (hWJ-MSCs) into fetal rabbit. Materials and Methods: Isolation and confirmation of hWJ-MSCs from human umbilical cord was performed. Eight rabbits at gestational day 14 were anesthetized. All rabbits carried pregnancies to term yielding 40 rabbit fetuses. Intrauterine injection of hWJ-MSCs was performed in 24 fetuses. Twenty-seven fetuses were born alive. Ten liver samples from injected fetuses were sampled, eight rabbits 3 days after birth and two rabbits 21 days after birth. The non-injected fetuses served as positive control. Fetuses of non-injected rabbits were negative controls. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), mRNA expression of albumin (ALB), α-fetoprotein (AFP), hepatic nuclear factor 4 (HNF4), and CYP2B6 (CYP) were detected in liver samples. Results: The human ALB, AFP, HNF4, and CYP mRNAs were expressed in the injected sampled fetuses by hWJ-MSCs into fetuses of rabbits in utero. Conclusion: Developing xenotransplantation of hWJ-MSCs into rabbit uterus can introduce an applied approach for producing human liver tissue in rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]