Vitamin D suppresses cellular pathways of diabetes complication in liver

Objective(s): The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin D on glucose metabolism, as well as the expression of five key genes involved in the development of diabetes complications in liver tissue of diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups (8 rats in each group). The first group served as control and the other two groups received an intraperitoneal injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin to develop diabetes. Groups were treated for four weeks either with placebo or vitamin D (two injections of 20000 IU/kg). Thereafter, serum levels of glucose, insulin and HbA1c were assessed. Liver tissue was examined for the level of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and the gene expression of AGE cellular receptor (AGER), glyoxalase-1 (GLO-1), aldose reductase (AR), O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) and glutamine/ fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase (GFAT). Results: Vitamin D injection resulted in a significant increase in plasma level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, which could improve hyperglycemia about 11% compared to placebo-receiving diabetic rats (P=0.005). Insulin level increased as a result of vitamin D treatment compared to control (3.31±0.65 vs. 2.15±0.79; P= 0.01). Serum HbA1c and liver AGE concentrations had a slight but insignificant reduction following vitamin D intake. Moreover, a significant decline was observed in gene expression of AGER and OGT in liver tissue (P=0.04 and PConclusion: Vitamin D might contribute in ameliorating diabetes complications not only by improving blood glucose and insulin levels, but also by suppressing AGER and OGT gene expression in the liver

The Relationship Between Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Organizational Performance of Librarians

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and job performance among public librarians in Ilam province. Methodology: The methodology applied for this research was descriptive and correlational in nature, with data collected through survey methods. Utilizing the organizational citizenship behavior questionnaire developed by Podsakoff et al. (1990) and the job performance questionnaire by Paterson (1970), the study focused on the librarians in Ilam province in 2023. With three predictor variables considered, a confidence level of 0.95, test power of 0.90, and G*Power software indicating a minimum required sample size of 99 individuals, a total of 103 participants were included in the analysis after accounting for an additional 5% sample volume. Findings: The findings revealed significant relationships between altruism and civil virtue among librarians, as well as associations between respect for librarians and their job performance. However, no significant correlations were found between conscientiousness or chivalry and job performance. Conclusion: In democratic systems, increasing attention is being placed on citizen participation. Active engagement from organizational members as good citizens is crucial for fostering positive behaviors within an organization. Recognizing organizational citizens as valuable resources, their behavior plays a key role in overall success. This study highlights the positive link between organizational citizenship behavior and librarian performance in Ilam province. Value: This study adds to the existing literature by examining the impact of organizational citizenship behavior on librarian job performance and underscores the importance of this relationship in enhancing professional performance. The results can offer valuable insights for cultural officials, public library managers, and policymakers seeking to motivate library staff effectively

Optimal Robust Control For Tremor Suppression in Parkinson\u27s Disease

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective and promising therapy to control Parkinson\u27s tremor movement in patients with advanced Parkinson\u27s disease (PD). This paper proposes a new alternative medication that has several advantages, including compatibility with individual needs and low side effects. There has been a rapid improvement in the literature on the development of the dynamic computational model of neuroscience, alongside the development of DBS. A combination of DBS and model-based control strategies opens up a new vision for Parkinson\u27s disease treatment. Despite the numerous studies on basal ganglia (BG) modeling, researchers are required to employ adaptive and robust strategies to eliminate Parkinson\u27s patients\u27 tremors. This paper proposes a new adaptive optimal fast terminal sliding mode control (AOFTSMC) method to mitigate tremors by tuning GABA thorough DBS. This approach represents finite-time convergence law, a new method to stimulate the inner nuclei of BG in a robust and optimum manner that leads to removing tremors of PD fluctuation signal in the presence of uncertainties. Finally, simulation results of the basal ganglia model under the addressed approach are adopted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method

Identification of a Non-Stop Mutation in PAX6 Causing a Unique Presentation of Aniridia in an Iranian Family Trial

Non-syndromic aniridia (iris hypoplasia) as an autosomal dominant eye disorder results from the chromosomal abnormalities and mutations within the paired box gene 6 (PAX6). The aim of this study was to investigate on the clinical and the underlying genetic alteration in PAX6 gene in a large pedigree with five generations of Iranian family with an autosomal dominant aniridia. Here, we reported unique clinical features in terms of presenting nystagmus, ptosis, minimal iris abnormality, foveal hypoplasia and late-onset clinical limbal stem cell deficiency. Genomic DNA was extracted from the affected members and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted using specific primers to amplify coding sequence of PAX6. Then, PCR products were subjected to bidirectional dye terminator sequencing. A heterozygous transversion mutation A→T (c.1268A>T, p.*423Lext*15) in exon 13 of PAX6 was identified in all affected individuals, but not in the healthy members. This is the first report of non-stop mutation in PAX6 gene in an Iranian family accompanied with an isolated form of unusual congenital aniridia running within this family

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity in controlled and uncontrolled Type 2 diabetic patients

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to compare lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity in Type 2 diabetes patients with good or weak glycemic control. METHODS: In this case-control study, 62 Type 2 diabetic patients with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between 6 and 8 were enrolled as the controlled group and 55 patients with HbA1c &gt; 8 were selected as an uncontrolled group. Patients were all referred to Iranian Diabetes Association in Tehran, Iran, from 2010 onward. Groups were chosen by convenience sampling and were matched based on age, sex and duration of disease. Demographic questionnaire, two 24-hour food recall, HbA1c, insulin, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase were measured in blood samples. Data were analyzed by Food Processor II and SPSS software. RESULTS: A mean daily consumption of energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fat was not significantly different between two groups. MDA in the uncontrolled group was significantly higher than controlled group (2.03 &plusmn; 0.88 vs. 1.65 &plusmn; 1.01 nmol/ml; P = 0.030). A mean SOD was slightly higher in the uncontrolled group comparing to the control group (843.3 &plusmn; 101.9 vs. 828.0 &plusmn; 127.3 U/g Hb; P = 0.400). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that MDA as a lipid peroxidation indicator is higher in uncontrolled diabetes probably due to chronic high blood sugar followed by higher oxidative stress. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p

Best practice network business model for internationalization of small and medium enterprises

Best Practice Network, Internationalization, Small and medium enterprises, Business model design, Business model ontology,