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SUMMARY: Histology is considered one of the most important but challenging topics in health sciences. Deficiencies in teaching and general histology directly affect the student's understanding, performance and promote dynamism and integration while covering the primary curriculum. The goal of the current study was to assess and provide a better experience of difficulties in learning histology, examine some standard teaching strategies, and determine how to implement suitable changes to improve the curriculum from students' perspectives. The study comprised of a self-administered questionnaire that included descriptive questions. Data was collected based on the survey conducted via 100 students studying histology. Data was analyzed further qualitatively and quantitatively to elaborate on the difficulties in this area. Many of them strongly agreed that the lack of essential comprehension regarding using light and electron microscopes resulted in challenges with comprehending and identifying tissue samples for image identification due to inadequate anatomical knowledge. Moreover, according to students, some difficulties understood the topic, perception of new terminologies, and insufficient teaching strategies to grasp students' interests. They also agreed that improvement was needed in terms of the modes of teaching employed by histology teachers; they felt that modern education techniques based on practical tasks should be incorporated to stimulate student interest and make understanding histological concepts easier. The Institution should modify the teaching system to allocate more time to relevant subjects to make this subject matter more interesting. This survey-based study evaluated that students faced some challenges while studying the current curriculum of histology. From the student's perspective, it is identified that some changes are needed to improve the course curriculum and way of teaching to make it more understandable.

La histología se considera uno de los temas más importantes pero desafiantes de las ciencias de la salud. Las deficiencias en la enseñanza y en la histología general afectan directamente la comprensión, el desempeño del estudiante y promueven el dinamismo y la integración al abarcar el currículo primario. El objetivo del estudio actual fue evaluar y proporcionar una mejor experiencia de las dificultades en el aprendizaje de histología, examinar algunas estrategias de enseñanza estándar y determinar cómo implementar cambios adecuados para mejorar el plan de estudios desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes. El estudio constaba de un cuestionario auto administrado que incluía preguntas descriptivas. Los datos se recopilaron a partir de una encuesta realizada a 100 estudiantes de histología. Los datos se analizaron más a fondo de forma cualitativa y cuantitativa para profundizar en las dificultades en esta área. Muchos de ellos estuvieron totalmente de acuerdo en que la falta de comprensión esencial sobre el uso de microscopios ópticos y electrónicos resultó en desafíos para comprender e identificar muestras de tejido para la identificación de imágenes debido a un conocimiento anatómico inadecuado. Además, según los estudiantes, algunas dificultades en la comprensión del tema, percepción de nuevas terminologías y estrategias de enseñanza insuficientes para captar los intereses de los estudiantes. También coincidieron en que era necesario mejorar los métodos de enseñanza empleados por los profesores de histología; sintieron que deberían incorporarse técnicas educativas modernas basadas en tareas prácticas para estimular el interés de los estudiantes y facilitar la comprensión de los conceptos histológicos. La Institución debería modificar el sistema de enseñanza para asignar más tiempo a materias relevantes para hacer esta materia más interesante. Este estudio basado en encuestas evaluó que los estudiantes enfrentaron algunos desafíos mientras estudiaban el plan de estudios actual de histología. Desde la perspectiva del estudiante, se identifica que se necesitan algunos cambios para mejorar el plan de estudios del curso y la forma de enseñar para hacerlo más comprensible.

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BACKGROUND: Acute and chronic stresses affect the salivary glands, representing the source of plasma BDNF during stressful conditions. Pumpkin is a medicinal plant with an evident antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and potential antidepressant effects. OBJECTIVE: To assess the structural and biochemical effects induced by exposure to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) on salivary glands of albino rats, and to evaluate the role of pumpkin extract (Pump) in ameliorating this effect. METHODOLOGY: Four groups (n=10 each) of male albino rats were included in this study: the control, CUMS, Fluoxetine-treated and Pump-treated. The corticosterone, the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the oxidant/antioxidant profile were all assessed in the serum. The level of BDNF mRNA was measured in the salivary glands using qRT-PCR. Histopathological changes of the salivary glands were also assessed. RESULTS: The depressive-like status was confirmed behaviorally and biochemically. Exposure to CUMS significantly up-regulated (p<0.001) the level of serum corticosterone. CUMS induced degenerative changes in the secretory and ductal elements of the salivary glands evident by increased apoptosis. Both Fluoxetine and Pumpkin significantly up-regulated (p<0.001) BDNF expression in the salivary glands and ameliorated the CUMS-induced histopathological and biochemical alterations in the salivary glands. Pumpkin significantly (p<0.001) increased the serum levels of antioxidant enzymes SOD, GPX and CAT, and reduced the serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6. CONCLUSION: Pumpkin ameliorates the depressive-like status induced in rats following exposure to chronic stress through exerting a promising anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-depressant-like effects. The pumpkin, subsequently, improved stress-induced structural changes in the salivary glands that might be due to up-regulation of BDNF expression in the glands.

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BACKGROUND: Adipogenesis and fibrogenesis can be considered as a competitive process in muscle, which may affect the intramuscular fat deposition. The CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBPb) plays an important role in adipogenesis, which is well-characterized in mice, but little known in bovine so far. RESULTS: In this study, real-time qPCR revealed that the level of C/EBPb was increased during the developmental stages of bovine and adipogenesis process of preadipocytes. Overexpression of C/EBPb promoted bovine fibroblast proliferation through mitotic clonal expansion (MCE), a necessary process for initiating adipogenesis, by significantly downregulating levels of p21 and p27 (p < 0.01). Also, the PPARc expression was inhibited during the MCE stage (p < 0.01). 31.28% of transfected fibroblasts adopted lipid-laden adipocyte morphology after 8 d. Real-time qPCR showed that C/EBPb activated the transcription of early stage adipogenesis markers C/EBPa and PPARc. Expression of ACCa, FASN, FABP4 and LPL was also significantly upregulated, while the expression of LEPR was weakened. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded C/EBPb can convert bovine fibroblasts into adipocytes without hormone induction by initiating the MCE process and promoting adipogenic genes expression, which may provide new insights into the potential functions of C/EBPb in regulating intramuscular fat deposition in beef cattle.

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Abstract Acute and chronic stresses affect the salivary glands, representing the source of plasma BDNF during stressful conditions. Pumpkin is a medicinal plant with an evident antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and potential antidepressant effects. Objective To assess the structural and biochemical effects induced by exposure to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) on salivary glands of albino rats, and to evaluate the role of pumpkin extract (Pump) in ameliorating this effect. Methodology Four groups (n=10 each) of male albino rats were included in this study: the control, CUMS, Fluoxetine-treated and Pump-treated. The corticosterone, the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the oxidant/antioxidant profile were all assessed in the serum. The level of BDNF mRNA was measured in the salivary glands using qRT-PCR. Histopathological changes of the salivary glands were also assessed. Results The depressive-like status was confirmed behaviorally and biochemically. Exposure to CUMS significantly up-regulated (p<0.001) the level of serum corticosterone. CUMS induced degenerative changes in the secretory and ductal elements of the salivary glands evident by increased apoptosis. Both Fluoxetine and Pumpkin significantly up-regulated (p<0.001) BDNF expression in the salivary glands and ameliorated the CUMS-induced histopathological and biochemical alterations in the salivary glands. Pumpkin significantly (p<0.001) increased the serum levels of antioxidant enzymes SOD, GPX and CAT, and reduced the serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6. Conclusion Pumpkin ameliorates the depressive-like status induced in rats following exposure to chronic stress through exerting a promising anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-depressant-like effects. The pumpkin, subsequently, improved stress-induced structural changes in the salivary glands that might be due to up-regulation of BDNF expression in the glands.

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