In the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos in Greece, the girdle (belt) of the Virgin bestows blessings on white ribbons for the wrists of infertile husbands and their wives, and this liturgy has resulted in natural conceptions for centuries. The procedure is economic and non-invasive, and therefore ideal for patients, but is unorthodox to contemporary medicine. In 1766 John Hunter advised a l...

CONTEXT The Creighton Model FertilityCareTM System (CrM) is a standardized approach for educating women about the biomarkers of their fertility. Couples can use this information for timing intercourse during "fertile" or "infertile" days in order to try to conceive or to avoid pregnancy. OBJECTIVES The study of Creighton Model Effectiveness, Intentions, and Behaviors Assessment (CEIBA) was co...

This paper examines the findings of a public opinion survey conducted to determine the knowledge of American women regarding implemented changes in Catholic hospitals and how they feel about the issue of limiting access to medical services. A total of 1000 women aged 18 years and above were contacted and interviewed between February 22 and March 5. In terms of awareness, although majority of ...

Many couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) are at a higher risk of having a child with a genetic abnormality. In a sample of 55 consecutive couples starting IVF, only 33% had no genetic risk factor. The most common genetic risks were advanced maternal age and possible abnormalities associated with severe male infertility. Despite education on these risks, 71% of couples had no interes...

BACKGROUND The disclosure of widespread sexual abuse committed by professional educators and clergymen in institutions in Germany ignited a national political debate, in which special attention was paid to church-run institutions. We wanted to find out whether the nature of the abuse and its effect on victims differed depending on whether the abuse had been experienced in religiously affiliated...

BACKGROUND Herbal self-therapy is a common practice among Palestinians. However, no published data are available on herbal self-therapy in the Middle East in general, and in Palestine in particular. OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to (1) determine the extent of herbal self-therapy among university students, (2) investigate the different types of herbal remedies used and (3) investigate the...

Dendrobium nobile is widely used as an analgesic, an antipyretic, and a tonic to nourish the stomach in traditional medicine. Mounting evidence suggests an antitumor activity of denbinobin, a major phenanthrene isolated from stems of Dendrobium nobile. The present study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of denbinobin on the invasive abili...

Interactions between an isolate of dark septate endophytes (DSE) and roots of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. seedlings are reported in this paper. The isolate was obtained from orchid mycorrhizas on Dendrobium sp. in subtropical forest. The fungus formed typical orchid mycorrhiza in aseptic co-culture with D. nobile seedlings on modified Murashige-Skoog (MMS) medium. Anatomic observations of the infe...

Background: The elderly often face difficulties in achieving a comfortable sleep. Due to its relaxing properties, chamomile may be effective in improving sleep quality in the elderly. Aim: to determine the effect of Chamaemelum Nobile extract on the sleep quality of hospitalized elderly in nursing homes of Isfahan. Methods: This study is a clinical trial with pretest and post test. The study po...