Short communication: Study on bioaccumulation of heavy metals (cadmium, nickel, zinc and lead) in the muscle of wels catfish (Silurus glanis) in the Anzali Wetland

After entering aquatic ecosystems, heavy metals accumulate in the organs and tissues of aquatics including fish and finally enter the food chain. These heavy metals can enter the human body through eating contaminated fish. Absorbance values and accumulation of heavy metals in aquatics especially the fish depend on ecological conditions, physical, chemical and biological factors of water, the element type, and the physiological state of the aquatic (Oryan et al., 2010). Among aquatic ecosystems, wetlands and rivers are considerably important from the point of ecology. Rivers act as carriers of nutrients and non–nutrients and wetlands act as sinks for these substances. Now this effect will be more apparent if the wetland is an intermediary between a river and a static ecosystem. The Anzali Wetland is the type of ecosystem that embraces water from 11 rivers from one side and passes water into the Caspian Sea through a second outlet on the other side. The rivers passing through urban and rural areas and forests carry different types of organic matter, minerals, sediment, and industrial sewage (Taheri, 2013). The Anzali Wetland is one of the valuable wetlands registered in the Ramsar International Convention the contamination of which has become the main challenge for the people and officials during the past two decades (Khosravi, 2011)

Heavy metals (Cd, Ni and Zn) concentrations in the edible muscle tissue of Pike perch (Esox lucius) from Anzali Wetland

Pike (Esox lucius) is a native species in Anzali Wetland and has been considered for its flesh. This study was carried out to compare the rate of accumulation and concentration of heavy metals such as cadmium, nickel and zinc in edible muscle tissue of pike at three stations (west, center and east) of Anzali wetland in 2012.Ten fishes were randomly caught by gillnet from different stations in standard weights. After removal of the tissue samples, for chemical digestion through mixed acid digestion (HNO3 / HClO4) was performed on samples. Heavy metal concentrations were measured using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The average concentration of cadmium in pike in western station was 0.05 and in eastern and central part of wetland was 0.09 (μg/g dry weight), Mean concentrations of nickel metal in west, center and east, were 0.44, 0.37 and 0.22 (μg/g dry weight), Average concentrations of zinc in western, central and eastern part of wetland were 28, 25.55 and 13.55 (μg/g dry weight) respectively. In this study, concentrations of cadmium, nickel and zinc in edible muscle tissue of pike did not show significant differences between stations (P>0.05). The cadmium, nickel and zinc standards in American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), World Health Organization (WHO) were compared. The results showed that toxicity of nickel in samples of central was near but in western part was more than the permissible limit compared with the standard WHO = 0.38, therefore consumption of this fish could be a warning of a threat to the health of these fish in vulnerable groups of society

Fluctuation in density of ciliates in Bukan dam reservoir, Zarrinehrud, Iran

The abundance and species composition of ciliates were analyzed in the Bukan Dam Reservoir (West Azerbaijan, Iran) from January to December 2008. Surface water samples were collected at monthly intervals from the middle (Stations 1 and 3) and shallow (Stations 2 and 4) areas of the lake. Three samples were taken in the water column using a 5-litre sampler. Totally 30 liters water was collected, 200 ml of which was fixed immediately with 8.6 ml of a saturated HgCl2 solution and stained with 0.04% bromophenol blue. Three subsamples were counted in a 5-ml chamber and examined with a microscope (100 x) as well as Chlorophyll a and a few ecological parameters such as dissolved oxygen, pH, transperancy and water temperature were measured. Totally 50 ciliates species were found in Bukan Dam Reservoir. Regarding the density, a high-density period was detected from January to April with a mean density of 2.86 x 103 cells.l-1 Ciliata at stations 1 and 3 and 4.16 x 103 cells.l-1 at stations 2 and 4. The high density of ciliate in summer may be due to the increase in the density of bacteria and moderate metazooplankton as a result of the appearance of non-edible algae . The ciliata occurring at the highest densities were Coleps tessellates, Didinium nasutum, Paradileptus elephantinus, Stentor polymorphus, Zosterograptus labiatus, Paramecium bursaria, Cyclidium citrullus, Vorticella campanula, Halteria grandinella and Aspidisca costata. The maximum and minimum chlorophyll a values observed at the reservoir water were 10.39 µg.l-l and 1.0 µg.l-l being obtained in May and Octobor respectively

Quality assessment of fish burgers from deep flounder (Pseudorhombus elevatus) and brushtooth lizardfish (Saurida undosquamis) during storage at -18ºC

Microbiological, chemical and sensory changes of fish burgers prepared from deep flounder (Pseudorhombus elevatus) and brushtooth lizardfish (Saurida undosquamis) were determined during storage at -18ºC for 5 months. Microbiological counts were including total plate count (TPC), total coliform (TC), Staphylococcus aureus, Psychotropic and Escherichia coli decreased throughout the frozen storage . Reduction of microbial load in brushtooth lizardfish was higher than that in deep flounder, except for Staphylococcus aureus counts that was almost equal in both groups. There was a significant increase in pH value in both groups (P<0.05) in first and second months of storage only. Moisture content increased in both groups at the end of 5th month, with increase of moisture in deep flounder fish burgers being higher than that in brushtooth lizardfish burgers. TVB-N values in both groups increased significantly (P<0.05 and P<0.008 for deep flounder and brushtooth lizardfish burgers, respectively) at the end of the second month, however, there was a decrease or no significant change afterward. TBA value of deep flounder fish burgers had a significant decrease (P<0.05) as storage time continued, however, it increased significantly in brushtooth lizardfish burgers at the end of second month (P<0.006) following by a decrease at the end of storage period. Peroxide value (PV) in both groups increased significantly (P<0.05 and P<0.002 in deep flounder and brushtooth lizardfish burgers, respectively) during storage time but a significant decrease was observed at the end of third and fourth months (P<0.005 and P<0.001 in deep flounder and brushtooth lizardfish burgers, respectively). Sensory parameters (color, texture, taste and general acceptability) for two groups decreased significantly (P<0.003 for all parameters in 2 groups) during storage with deep flounder fish burgers receiving higher scores than brushtooth lizardfish burgers at the beginning and end of the storage period

Prevalence of torque teno virus in healthy individuals and those infected with hepatitis C virus living in Yazd, Iran

Background: Torque teno virus (TTV) is a non-enveloped DNA virus that its role as a helper or causative agent in hepatitis is still unclear. TTV prevalence varies in different regions of the world. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of TTV in healthy individuals and those infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) living in Yazd city, Iran. Methods: In this case-control study, 50 healthy subjects and 68 HCV-positive individuals who referred to Yazd hospitals participated in this study. TTV DNA in serum samples were detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers of 5?-UTR and N22 regions. The genotypes of HCV and TTV were determined by sequencing method. Results: TTV-DNA was detected in 2 out of 50 (4?) healthy individuals and in 4 out of 68 (5.8?) HCV-positive persons. There was not a significant correlation between the prevalence of TTV and HCV infection. The most common TTV genotypes among HCV-positive individuals were 3, 17 and 13, respectively. There was not a significant association obtained between HCV genotypes and TTV genotypes. Conclusion: The prevalence of TTV in Yazd province was low compared with the other areas of Iran. The prevalence of TTV in HCV infected people was not significantly higher than its rate in uninfected individuals. © 2020 Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine. All rights reserved

Quality evaluation of Non- Atchabledecapsulated Cysts of Artemia Urmiana during one year after produce

Low hatching artemia cysts which has no use in the aquaculture can be decapsulated and directly use in larvae culture. In order to increase the knowledge of consumers to know the quality changes of low hatching decapsulated cysts during storage after production (especially fatty acids) this research was carried out. In this work Low hatching cysts of artemia urmiana had decapsulated with sodium hypochlorite and other chemicals. We used drying room and f.b.d system for drying of this decapsulated cysts and package units had used for packing this product to cans. We had three experimental treatments of dry decapsulated cysts (3 type packing including vaccumed cans and free (plastic dishes). These treatment were evaluated at different times (comparing of before produce, after produce , 3, 6 and 12 months keeping after production ) such as fatty acids , fatty percent , protein percent , bacterial and fungal contamination and presence of aflatoxin the result of fatty acids using one way anova analysis showed that the variation of half of fatty acids specially DHA and EPA were significant (p<0.05) . Fatty percentage increased and protein was decreased about 12-15% during the one year storage we separated two species of bacteria and two species of fungi but they had no pathogenic bacterial and fungal. During 6 months storage the quality of products have less variation compared whit 12 months

Relationship between metabolic syndrome and angiographic severity of coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: There are a few literature data on the correlation between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and coronary disease among Iranian population. This study aimed to find relationship between MetS and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in presence of diabetes. METHODS: Total of 192 patients were consecutively enrolled in the study who were admitted to coronary care unit because of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and then underwent coronary angiography. MetS was defined by Iranian criteria. A coronary atherosclerosis score was used to quantify the extent of atherosclerotic involvement. The relationship between MetS and angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD) severity or clinical presentation was compared between them after adjusting for diabetes. RESULTS: Individuals with MetS (n = 125) had a higher prevalence of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (71 vs 30, P < 0.001), multi-vessel disease (50 vs. 34, P = 0.003), decreased ejection fraction (P = 0.001) and more severe angiographic stenosis based on both modified Gensini (P = 0.081) and syntax (P = 0.008) scores, compared to those without MetS. Syntax score showed statistically significant difference between two groups before (P = 0.021) and after adjustment for diabetes (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: MetS was related to the severity of CAD both clinically and by angiographic scores but diabetes was a challenging factor and may independently increase the severity of CAD. © 2016,.Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved

Assessment of genetic diversity among Iranian Triticum germplasm using agro-morphological traits and start codon targeted (SCoT) markers

The knowledge about genetic diversity in the wild relatives of wheat provides useful information for breeding programs and gene pool management. In the present study, an assessment of agro-morphological diversity and molecular variability among 70 accessions of Triticum, belonging to T. boeoticum, T. urartu, T. durum and T. aestivum species, collected from different regions of Iran was made. According to phenotypic analysis, all traits except peduncle length, stem diameter and the number of seeds per spike indicated a high level of diversity among studied accessions. Also, principal component analysis identified six components that explained 87.53% of the total variation in agro-morphological traits. In molecular analysis, 15 start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism primers produced 166 bands, out of which, 162 (97.59%) were polymorphic. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated the 63% of the variation resided among populations. The maximum value of polymorphism information content (PIC), the observed (Na) and effective (Ne) number of alleles, Nie’s gene diversity (He) and Shannon’s information index (I) was detected for T. boeoticum than the other species. The SCoT-based tree revealed three different groups corresponding to the genomic constitution in Triticum germplasm, which was in part confirmed by STRUCTURE and principal coordinate (PCoA) analyses. Our results indicated a remarkable level of genetic diversity among studied Iranian Triticum species, especially T. boeoticum, which can be of interest for future breeding and other analyses associated with future studies of the wild relatives of wheat. More importantly, our results revealed that SCoT markers could be used to accurate evaluate genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among different Triticum species

α:Non-α and Gγ:Aγ globin chain ratios in thalassemia intermedia patients treated with hydroxyurea

Objectives: To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) synthesis. Methods: A total of 23 thalassemia intermedia patients (13 male and 10 female) aged between 5 and 26 years were treated for five months with 15 mg/(kg-day) of hydroxyurea. Hemoglobins electrophoresis and globin chain electrophoresis was performed on each sample at different time points before and during the treatment. Results: Fetal hemoglobin increased significantly in most patients and average episodes of transfusion decreased. Both Gγ and Aγ-globin chains increased significantly and α-globin:Nonα-globin chain as well as Gγ-globin:Aγ globin chains ratios decreased. Conclusions: Improvement in α:non-α ratio and consequent decrease of free α-globin chain might be the cause of beneficial effects of hydroxyurea therapy. Two patients who felt better didn't show significant increase in their fetal hemoglobin level, and this is in contradiction with the hypothesis claiming that the HbF level increase is the cause of such therapeutic effect. In spite of the unclear mechanism of action of this drug, hydroxyurea therapy had noticeable impacts on thalassemia intermedia and also sickle cell disease and even patients suffering from thalassemia major. © 2014 by the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine

Size-dependent Correlation Effects in Ultrafast Optical Dynamics of Metal Nanoparticles

We study the role of collective surface excitations in the electron relaxation in small metal particles. We show that the dynamically screened electron-electron interaction in a nanoparticle contains a size-dependent correction induced by the surface. This leads to new channels of quasiparticle scattering accompanied by the emission of surface collective excitations. We calculate the energy and temperature dependence of the corresponding rates, which depend strongly on the nanoparticle size. We show that the surface-plasmon-mediated scattering rate of a conduction electron increases with energy, in contrast to that mediated by a bulk plasmon. In noble-metal particles, we find that the dipole collective excitations (surface plasmons) mediate a resonant scattering of d-holes to the conduction band. We study the role of the latter effect in the ultrafast optical dynamics of small nanoparticles and show that, with decreasing nanoparticle size, it leads to a drastic change in the differential absorption lineshape and a strong frequency dependence of the relaxation near the surface plasmon resonance. The experimental implications of our results in ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy are also discussed.Comment: 29 pages including 6 figure