Gastrointestinal microflora of captured stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus, Pallas, 1771) from Southeast Caspian Sea, Iran

Acipenser stellatus is one of the most invaluable species of Sturgeon fishes in the world. The purpose of this study was to identify the resident microbial community from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of Acipenser stellatus. One hundred and twenty three fungi were isolated from the GIT of 7 Acipenser stellatus samples including Aspergillus spp (45.5%), Trichoderma spp (8.9%) and Cladophialophora spp (8.1%). Among different Aspergillus isolates, A. niger was the predominant species. Although, fungi were predominantly isolated from stomach (36.6%), but with respect to frequency of fungal isolates there were no significant differences between stomach and other parts of GI. In general, the bacterial isolates recovered were mostly gram negative and related to Enterobacteriaceae family such as Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Salmonella species. The most bacterial species were isolated from intestine and pre stomach region (88.2%). It is concluded that A. niger and Aeromonas species were predominant fugal and bacterial microbes isolated from understudy fish GIT, respectively

A new algorithm for computing distance matrix and Wiener index of zig-zag polyhex nanotubes

The Wiener index of a graph G is defined as the sum of all distances between distinct vertices of G. In this paper an algorithm for constructing distance matrix of a zig-zag polyhex nanotube is introduced. As a consequence, the Wiener index of this nanotube is computed

Genetic testing of leukodystrophies unraveling extensive heterogeneity in a large cohort and report of five common diseases and 38 novel variants

This study evaluates the genetic spectrum of leukodystrophies and leukoencephalopathies in Iran. 152 children, aged from 1 day to 15 years, were genetically tested for leukodystrophies and leukoencephalopathies based on clinical and neuroradiological findings from 2016 to 2019. Patients with a suggestive specific leukodystrophy, e. g. metachromatic leukodystrophy, Canavan disease, Tay-Sachs disease were tested for mutations in single genes (108; 71) while patients with less suggestive findings were evaluated by NGS. 108 of 152(71) had MRI patterns and clinical findings suggestive of a known leukodystrophy. In total, 114(75) affected individuals had (likely) pathogenic variants which included 38 novel variants. 35 different types of leukodystrophies and genetic leukoencephalopathies were identified. The more common identified disorders included metachromatic leukodystrophy (19 of 152; 13), Canavan disease (12; 8), Tay-Sachs disease (11; 7), megalencephalic leukodystrophy with subcortical cysts (7; 5), X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (8; 5), Pelizaeus�Merzbacher-like disease type 1 (8; 5), Sandhoff disease (6; 4), Krabbe disease (5; 3), and vanishing white matter disease (4; 3). Whole exome sequencing (WES) revealed 90 leukodystrophies and genetic leukoencephalopathies. The total diagnosis rate was 75. This unique study presents a national genetic data of leukodystrophies; it may provide clues to the genetic pool of neighboring countries. Patients with clinical and neuroradiological evidence of a genetic leukoencephalopathy should undergo a genetic analysis to reach a definitive diagnosis. This will allow a diagnosis at earlier stages of the disease, reduce the burden of uncertainty and costs, and will provide the basis for genetic counseling and family planning. © 2021, The Author(s)

Seizure as the early and main manifestation of infantile vanishing white matter disease: A case report

Introduction: Vanishing white matter disease (VWM) is considered as one of the most frequent types of inherited childhood leukoencephalopathies. Various neurological and non-neurological manifestations have been reported in this type of leukodystrophy; however, seizures are rarely described in infantile type of VWM. Case Presentation: To patient is a 12 months old boy who experienced frequent seizures at 4th month of age. The seizures were resistant to anti-epileptic drugs and caused 3 periods of hospitalization. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated demyeli-nating pattern and whole exome sequencing (WES) reported homozygous mutation (c.922G > A) in EIF2B2 gene in exon 8 leading to an amino-acid substitution (p.Val308Met). Conclusions: Infantile onset of vanishing white matter disease can be considered as one of few childhood leukodystrophies that are associated with early onset seizures. © 2018, Iranian Journal of Pediatrics

Coronavirus, its neurologic manifestations, and complications

Context: We are going to face an epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) virus in our country. The main manifestation of this viral infection is respiratory and cardiovascular; however, up-to-date knowledge of its probable neurologic complications is highly needed. Evidence Acquisition: To provide up-to-date information on neurologic manifestation on coronaviruses, we concisely reviewed the neurologic manifestations and their complications. Using the keywords, coronavirus, corona, human coronaviruses (HCoVs), SARS, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related (MERS), coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), manifestations, complications, and neurologic, all the relevant articles were retrieved from PubMed, reviewed, and critically analyzed. Results: Although the main clinical manifestation of human coronaviruses is respiratory involvement and the main cause of death is acute respiratory failure, extra respiratory manifestations such as neurologic findings have been reported. Fortunately, the neurologic manifestations in COVID-19 have not been reported yet. Conclusions: We need well-designed studies to monitor neurologic manifestations of COVID-19 in adults and children. © 2020, Author(s)

Deformation-induced microstructural banding in TRIP steels

Microstructure inhomogeneities can strongly influence the mechanical properties of advanced high-strength steels in a detrimental manner. This study of a transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel investigates the effect of pre-existing contiguous grain boundary networks (CGBNs) of hard second-phases and shows how these develop into bands during tensile testing using in situ observations in conjunction with digital image correlation (DIC). The bands form by the lateral contraction of the soft ferrite matrix, which rotates and displaces the CGBNs of second-phases and the individual features within them to become aligned with the loading direction. The more extensive pre-existing CGBNs that were before the deformation already aligned with the loading direction are the most critical microstructural feature for damage initiation and propagation. They induce micro-void formation between the hard second-phases along them, which coalesce and develop into long macroscopic fissures. The hard phases, retained austenite and martensite, were not differentiated as it was found that the individual phases do not play a role in the formation of these bands. It is suggested that minimizing the presence of CGBNs of hard second-phases in the initial microstructure will increase the formability

Comparison between Szeged indices of graphs

The Szeged index Sz(G) of a simple connected graph G is the sum of the terms nu(e)nv(e) over all edges e = uv of G, where nu(e) is the number of vertices of G lying closer to u than v, and nv(e) is defined analogously. The aim of this paper is to present some relationship between Szeged index and some of its variants such as the edge-vertex Szeged index, the vertex-edge Szeged index and revised Szeged index. Moreover, we obtain lower and upper bounds on the difference between vertex-edge Szeged index and edge-vertex Szeged index of unicyclic graphs. Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): Primary: 05C12; Secondary: 05C90. Keywords: Molecular graph, Szeged index, edge-vertex Szeged index, vertex-edge Szeged index, revised Szeged inde

Prediction of the active layer nanomorphology in polymer solar cells using molecular dynamics simulation

Active layer nanomorphology is a major factor that determines the efficiency of bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells (PSCs). Synthesizing diblock copolymers in which acceptor and donor materials are the constituent blocks is the most recent method to control the structure of the active layer. In the current work, a computational method is proposed to predict the nanomorphology of the active layer consisting of a diblock copolymer. Diblock copolymers have a tendency to self-organize and form well-defined nanostructures. The shape of the structure depends on the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (i.e., \u3c7), the total degree of polymerization (N) and volume fractions of the constituent blocks (\u3c6i). In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to calculate \u3c7 parameters for two different block copolymers used in PSCs: P3HT-b-poly(S8A 2)-C60 and P3HT-b-poly(n-butyl acrylate-stat-acrylate perylene) also known as P3HT-b-PPerAcr. Such calculations indicated strong segregation of blocks into cylindrical structure for P3HT-b-poly(S 8A2)-C60 and intermediate segregation into cylindrical structure for P3HT-b-PPerAcr. Experimental results of P3HT-b-poly(S8A2)-C60 and P3HT-b-PTP4AP, a diblock copolymer having very similar structure to P3HT-b-PPerAcr, validate our predictions. \ua9 2013 American Chemical Society.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye