Biofouling in the Southern Caspian Sea: recruitment and successional patterns in a low diversity region

Abstract Biofouling is predicted to increase in the course of global warming, making the study and monitoring of its ecological and economic consequences of great importance. The present study describes, for the first time, recruitment and successional patterns of fouling communities in the Caspian Sea. During one year, short-term panels (STP; replaced every 2 months) and long-term panels (LTP; retrieved after 4, 8 and 12 months) were deployed in the Western Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea. Temporal trends in both sets of panels were evaluated through Generalized Additive Models and discussed in light of the environmental variables registered in each sampling event. Recruitment and successional patterns observed at the community level were mainly driven by barnacles and bryozoans, the dominant taxa over the entire sampling period. Panel coverage, biomass and inorganic to organic matter ratio exhibited clear seasonal patterns in STP, following temperature and chlorophyll a trends. In LTP, coverage and biomass increased over the study period, while the inorganic to organic matter ratio peaked in summer and decreased during autumn and winter months. These results represent a baseline for future studies on biofouling communities in the Caspian Sea, where this topic has been completely neglected

Synthesis and antiproliferative activities of quebecol and its analogs

Simple and efficient synthesis of quebecol and a number of its analogs was accomplished in five steps. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activities against human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human ovarian carcinoma (SK-OV-3), human colon carcinoma (HT-29), and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cancer cell lines. Among all the compounds, 7c, 7d, 7f, and 8f exhibited antiproliferative activities against four tested cell lines with inhibition over 80% at 75 μM after 72 h, whereas, compound 7b and 7g were more selective towards MCF-7 cell line. The IC50 values for compounds 7c, 7d, and 7f were 85.1 μM, 78.7 μM, and 80.6 μM against MCF-7 cell line, respectively, showing slightly higher antiproliferative activtiy than the synthesized and isolated quebecol with an IC50 value of 104.2 μM against MCF-7. [Refer to PDF for graphical abstract

Being young in a changing world: how temperature and salinity changes interactively modify the performance of larval stages of the barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus

The fate of key species, such as the barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus, in the course of global change is of particular interest since any change in their abundance and/or performance may entail community-wide effects. In the fluctuating Western Baltic, species typically experience a broad range of environmental conditions, which may preselect them to better cope with climate change. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of two crucial ontogenetic phases (naupliar, cypris) of the barnacle toward a range of temperature (12, 20, and 28°C) and salinity (5, 15, and 30 psu) combinations. Under all salinity treatments, nauplii developed faster at intermediate and high temperatures. Cyprid metamorphosis success, in contrast, was interactively impacted by temperature and salinity. Survival of nauplii decreased with increasing salinity under all temperature treatments. Highest settlement rates occurred at the intermediate temperature and salinity combination, i.e., 20°C and 15 psu. Settlement success of “naive” cyprids, i.e., when nauplii were raised in the absence of stress (20°C/15 psu), was less impacted by stressful temperature/salinity combinations than that of cyprids with a stress history. Here, settlement success was highest at 30 psu particularly at low and high temperatures. Surprisingly, larval survival was not highest under the conditions typical for the Kiel Fjord at the season of peak settlement (20°C/15 psu). The proportion of nauplii that ultimately transformed to attached juveniles was, however, highest under these “home” conditions. Overall, only particularly stressful combinations of temperature and salinity substantially reduced larval performance and development. Given more time for adaptation, the relatively smooth climate shifts predicted will probably not dramatically affect this species

Do genetic factors predispose people to COVID-19: A review article

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a threat to human life and society. Scientists and clinicians are struggling with the intrusive SARS-CoV-2 virus to enhance their knowledge about its pathogenesis and find an effective medicine and vaccine to combat its complications. Till now, they have learned that this SARS-CoV-2 has not infected all people exposed to this virus, and also severe respiratory illnesses have not been observed in all infected patients. Patients over 65 or with underlying diseases are more vulnerable to develop severe disease. Based on this premise, a high challengeable question is why some people are more susceptible to this virus and others are not. The present study was aimed to reviewthe current information which explains the broad spectrum of COVID-19 presentation.Herewe discussed that how genetic background, immune system, underlying disease, smokingstatus as well as age, race, and gender affect COVID-19 susceptibility

Correlation between Corneal Thickness and Degree of Myopic Refractory Error

Background: corneal thickness is an important factor in refractive surgeries such as Radial Keratotomy (RK), Photo Refractive Keratotomy (PRK) and Laser Insitu Keratomileusis (LASIK). This study evaluated the correlation between this factor and the degree of myopic refractory error.
 Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 224 myopic eyes (112 patients) which had undergone LASIK operation were assessed. These patients had referred to Aban Eye Clinic, Isfahan, Iran, during August and September 2002. Corneal thickness was measured by ORB SCAN Topoghraphy, and cycloplegic refraction was performed with autorefratometery and retinoscopy. Suspected keratoconus cases and hyperopic patients were excluded.
 Results: The patients' age was 27.2 ± 1.36 in men (N = 35) and 30.13 ± 1.04 in women (N = 77). Mean value of myopic refractory error in male patients was 5.1 ± 0.24D and in female patients was 3.8 ± 0.36D. Mean of corneal thickness was 540 ± 5.25 µM and 530 ± 5.88 µM in male and female patients respectively. There was no correlation between the degree of myopia and corneal thickness in any of the patients. Also in this research, no relations between the age and myopia were found. Right eye (P > 0.5, r = 0.124) Left eye (P > 0.5, r = 0.104).
 Conclusion: Based on our findings, corneal thickness and myopic refectory error do not seem to have any relations. (r = 0.039, p = 0.684).
 Keywords: Corneal Thickness, Cornea, Myopia, LASIK, Refractory Erro

Population and Housing Censuses

Statistics of population who are living in Historic City of Yazd, Ira

Shared Pathological Mechanisms Between Diabetes Mellitus and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegeneration is a term for the description of the progressive neuronal and neural structure loss, function, and their populations in the central nervous system (CNS). Recent studies have shed light on shared pathological mechanisms including inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress between diabetes mellitus (DM) and neurodegenerative disorders. The association between these age-related chronic diseases has attracted immense attention during the past decade. Because shared mechanisms may underlie the co-occurrence of DM and neurodegeneration, deep understanding about the potential links between these conditions may be helpful for a better management of both diseases. In the present review, we attempt to provide an overview on the relationship pathways between DM and chronic neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG