COMPARISON OF SERUM VITAMIN A LEVELS BETWEEN NEONATES WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE AND CONTROLS

Objective: Prevention of congenital heart disease (CHD) has been hampered by a lack of information about the known modifiable risk factors for abnormalities in cardiac development. Vitamin A plays an important role in the periods of rapid cellular growth and differentiation, especially during pregnancy. Assuming a link between Vitamin A levels and congenital malformations, hypothetical different levels of Vitamin A were evaluated in neonates with and without CHD, in this study.Methods: In a case–control study that was conducted in 2015 in Mashhad/Iran, serum levels of Vitamin A in 30 neonates with CHD were compared to 30 healthy controls. The cases were diagnosed by echocardiography and recruited by convenience sampling. Demographic and laboratory data including age, sex, and serum Vitamin A level in each group were collected. Data analysis was done in SPSS V 20 software, and descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of covariance were used.Results: The mean age in cases was 11±3.4 days and in controls was 12.5±4.8 days. A total of 18 patients (60%) were male. In CHD patients, 10 cases (33.3%) had cyanotic heart disease, and 20 cases (66.7%) had non-cyanotic heart disease. The mean serum Vitamin A values in subjects (11.54±9.56 μg/dL) and controls (21.84±14.3 μg/dL) were significantly different, (p<0.05) and in case group was lower than the normal range.Conclusion: There was a significant difference in serum Vitamin A values in subjects and controls. Therefore, awareness of people about the importance of this vitamin in preventing CHD in children seems necessary

A novel aseptic technique for micropropagation of Aloe vera mill

Background and aims:Aloe vera has been used medicinally for several thousands of years in many cultures from Egypt, Greece, and Rome to China, India, and etc. Although Aloe barbadensis propagates vegetative manner in its natural state, but propagation is too slow for commercial plant production. To overcome slow propagation rate, micropropagation will be a very useful technique for mass multiplication of Aloe vera. The aim of this study was to investigate and establish an effective method for aseptic micropropagation of Aloe vera. Methods: This researchwas an experimental study that was conducted in tissue culture lab, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, BHU, Varanasi, India to develop a protocol for surface sterilization of Aloe vera explants. 42 treatments carried out for the shoot tip, apical meristem and rhizome discs of Aloe explant. Results: Using of Tween 20 (5 drops) for 10 mints, Bavistin 1 for 10 mints and NaOCl (1.0) for 6 minutes followed by rinsing sterilized distilled water showed the higher survival explants (70) and asepsis was 81 and just 11 percent of the explants contaminated after 2 weeks. But the highest survived explants was for Tween 20 (5 drops) 10 minutes, Bavistin 1; 10 minutes and Ca(ClO)2 (3.25.0) 6 minutes (77 survival) and asepsis was 81 and only 11 of the explants contaminated after 2 weeks. Conclusion: In the present study, calcium hypochlorite with the highest asepsis, survival of explant and normally growth were more suitable than sodium hypochlorite for surface sterilization of Aloe vera

Investigation of Cancer Risk Factors in the Lifestyle of Medical Students at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Every year, over 10 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed worldwide. Cancers tend to be closely associated with lifestyle.This study aimed to investigate the lifestyle-related cancer risk factors in the medical students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 270 students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran, who were selected through convenience sampling. Data collection was performed using a lifestyle risk factor questionnaire, which was provided to students online. Data were analyzed with the statistical analysis software SPSS-21 by using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and Mann-Whitney tests at the 0.05 significance level. Results: All participants were in the age range of 22-25 years old. About 28% of the participants were male and 72% were female. Men showed higher awareness of cancer warning signs than women (p=0.046). Women were more active in taking protection measures against chemical substances than men (p=0.042). Men were in significantly better condition in terms of the use of hormones than women (p=0.048). Married people were also more active in taking protection measures against chemical substances than single people (p=0.042). Conclusion: Compared to other lifestyle risk factors for cancer, the surveyed medical students had particularly poor “eating habits” and “solar radiation exposure”. About half of the surveyed students had a high level of exposure to sunlight. Therefore, it is highly recommended to implement a program to raise students’ awareness of cancer risk factors and promote healthy lifestyles in this population

Molecular markers associated with male-sterile cytoplasms and male-fertility restorer locus in onion (Allium cepa): a review

Purpose: CMS hybrid seed production systems are employed effectively for onion. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) has long been used to economically produce hybrids that harness growth vigor through heterosis. Three types of onion CMS (CMS-S, CMS-R, and CMS-T) have been used in hybrid onion breeding. Findings: The sources of onion CMS, their maintainer plants and fertility restorer lines can be distinguished by markers, saving times spent on crop establishment and avoiding the complex of phenotypic screening. Numerous molecular markers especially PCR markers associated with male-sterile (CMS-S and CMS-T) cytoplasms, male-fertile normal (N) cytoplasm and nuclear-male- fertility restorers (Ms locus) were developed. These simple PCR markers are valuable tools for the marker-assisted selection of segregating individuals in onion F1 hybrid breeding programs. The present review reveals practical utility and functional effectiveness in the MAS of male-sterile cytoplasm types with nuclear-fertility-restorer locus. Limitations: the environment effect especially temperature may cause male-sterility instability and deviations in segregation ratios for male sterility. Also, maximum exploitation of molecular markers linked to Ms/ms and CMS-S, -T genes aid in the recovery of male-sterile traits requires to a perfect linkage disequilibrium that must be investigated further. Directions for future research: Furthermore, this information could highly have paved the way for hybrid onion development by applicating of the molecular findings to identify onion male sterility, maintainer and male fertility restorer lines

Review of Competitive Intelligence & Competitive Advantage in the Industrial Estates Companies in the Kerman City: Appraisal and Testing of Model by Amos Graphics

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of competitive intelligence on the competitive advantage of corporate organizations. While much empirical works have centered on competitive advantage, the generalization of its relationship to competitive intelligence in the Iran context has been under researched. A 32- item survey questionnaire to measure competitive intelligence and competitive advantage was developed and corporates in Iran are selected from industrial estates companies in the kerman city as a sample for this study. For analysis data used of the SPSS 16 and appraisal of model by Amos graphics 18. The results of the study reported in this paper validated and finds strong association between competitive intelligence and competitive advantage of corporate organizations in the Iran context. The main finding of this study is that competitive intelligence lead to competitive advantage in corporate organizations in Iran. The implications of the results of this study are clear for scholars and managers. Key words: Competitive intelligence; Competitive advantag

Effect of composite/amalgam thickness on fracture resistance of maxillary premolar teeth, restored with combined amalgam-composite restorations

Background: Combined amalgam-composite restorations have been used through many years to benefit from the advantages of both dental amalgam and composite resin. Two variations have been mentioned for this technique, this study investigated the fracture resistance of maxillary premolar teeth with extended mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) cavities, restored with the two variations of combined amalgam-composite restorations. Material and Methods: Sixty intact extracted premolar teeth were randomly divided into 6 groups (G1-G6) of 10 teeth. G1; consisted of intact teeth and G2; consisted of teeth with MOD preparations were assigned as the positive and negative control groups respectively. Other experimental groups after MOD preparations were as follows: G3, amalgam restoration; G4, composite restoration; G5 combined amalgam-composite restoration with amalgam placement only on 1mm of the gingival floor of the proximal boxes; G6, combined amalgam-composite restoration with amalgam placement to the height of contact area of the proximal surface of the tooth. Fracture strength of the specimens was measured and the data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The level of significance was P˂0.05. Fracture mode of the specimens was also recorded. Results: G1 had the highest value of fracture resistance (1736.90 N). G2 and G3 had the lowest fracture resistance (775.70 N and 874.70 N, respectively). The difference between G 4, 5 and 6 was not statistically significant. However, G4, G5 and G6 showed significantly higher resistance to fracture compared to G2 and G3. Fracture modes were favorable in all of the study groups except in G6. Conclusions: Fracture resistance of the premolars restored with the two variations of combined amalgam-composite restoration was similar to that achieved with composite restoration alone and more than that of amalgam restoration alone. It can be concluded that the thickness of amalgam in combined amalgam-composite restorations did not affect fracture resistance of the teeth

Stapedotomy and Stapedectomy Outcomes as Surgical Approaches in Juvenile Otosclerosis: A Systematic Review

Background: Pediatric otosclerosis is characterized by progressive conductive hearing loss with a relatively low incidence, compared to adults. The treatment approaches range from conservative options, such as hearing aids, to surgical managements including stapedectomy and stapedotomy. Aim: To compare hearing outcomes (air-bone gap<10 dB) after stapedectomy vs. stapedotomy in patients with juvenile otosclerosis. Methods: We conducted a systematic search in Google scholar, PubMed, and Scopus. Studies reporting the outcomes of stapedectomy and/or stapedotomy and those specifically defining the mixed data from data of each procedure for the patients under the age of 18 years old with juvenile sclerosis were included. On the other hand, post-operative air-bone gap was extracted. There was no time limitation for search of studies. Results: After evaluating all studies, post-operative air-bone gap below 10dB ranged from 66% to 91% of cases in stapedectomy group and from 66% to 92% in stapedotomy group. Conclusion:Based on the reviewed studies, we found similar success rates in hearing outcome of the patients with juvenile otosclerosis following stapedotomy and stapedectomy.