Neuroprotective Effect of Chalcone on P53, Caspase III Expression and D2-Like Dopaminergic Receptor Up-Regulation in In-vitro Parkinson's Model

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). Several studies indicated abnormal cell death in neurodegenerative diseases. Chalcone is a compound of natural origin with various properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and inhibition of apoptosis. We investigated the impact of chalcone in an in-vitro model of PD. Materials and Methods: PC12 cells were divided into four groups. Negative control, 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA) group (treatment with 75µM 6-OHDA), sham (treated with dimethyl sulfoxide), and the experimental groups with different dosages of chalcone treatment. Cell viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed by MTT and ROS kit, respectively. The expressions of D2-like receptors, P53, and caspase III were evaluated by Western blotting. Results: We found that 6-OHDA induced cytotoxicity and ROS production. The viability results showed that all doses of chalcone significantly increased viability after 48 hours compared to the control group (P<0.01). The western blotting results showed that caspase III and P53 expression decreased significantly in the experimental groups compared to the 6-OHDA group. However, D2-like receptor expression did not significantly differ between the experimental and the 6-OHDA group.Conclusion: Complementary therapies, such as the use of antioxidants and the chalcone family, along with standard treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, may reduce the symptoms of the disease

Insulin Can Improve the Normal Function of the Brain by Preventing the Loss of the Neurons

Background: Insulin promotes the expression of genes related to brain function, thus preventing the neurodegeneration process. The present study was designed to find the neuroprotective effect of insulin by reducing neuron loss in the brain. Materials and Methods: In this study, 20 adult male NMRI mice were divided into two groups: control and insulin. The control group was intact, and the insulin group received 100 µL of insulin at a 72-hour interval by intraperitoneal (I.P.) injection for 30 days. At the end of the study, the brain was removed. The volume of the brain and the total number of neurons and glia were estimated by stereological techniques, and also the gene expression of NSR, PI3K, AKT, IGF-1, and FOXO-1 was measured using real-time PCR. Results: The results showed that the total number of neurons decreased in the control group compared to the experimental group. Furthermore, the expression of NSR, PI3K, AKT, IGF-1, and FOXO-1 genes was lower in the control group than in the insulin group. Conclusion: The results showed that treating mice with insulin prevented reducing the number of neurons and gene expression related to normal brain function. So, insulin could have neuroprotective effects against neuron loss. Insulin may be beneficial as a new approach to avoiding neuron loss in regenerative medicine

PCR Identification of Escherichia coli Isolated from Bushehr Coastal Water

Background: Standard methods of identification have not been able to solve all issues concerning E. coli. With the development of genomic studies, PCR appears promising to deal with the shortcomings. This study aimed to utilize PCR with specific primers for lacZ, uidA, cyd, and lacY gene segments to identify environmental E. coli isolates. Materials and methods: PCR and the aforementioned four primers were used for molecular identification of E. coli on purified genome DNA from 120 environmental E. coli isolates, standard strains of Shigella, and Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli strain as controls. All environmental E. coli isolates were isolated from Bushehr coastal areas and identified in a previous study by standard bacteriological methods and then preserved in -70 ˚C for further studies. Results: The primers successfully showed their ability to identify the targets in environmental isolates and standard strains. It is shown that the four PCR fragments related to lacZ, uidA, cyd, and lacY genes were observed only for E. coli isolates and strains. Conclusion: PCR method proved capable to distinguish E. coli from Shigella as the most phylogenetically related genus and contrary to the classical methods, it could detect enterohaemorrhagic strains as Escherichia coli

Designing a Model of Consumer Purchase Behavior towards Domestic Brands of Sports Apparel

Iran's apparel market is currently filled with foreign brands that are generally ranked as high quality goods with high prices. With a surface examination of the apparel market and customers’ opinions, it can be concluded that Iranian apparel, despite having lower prices, is not in a suitable status in comparison with its foreign counterparts. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of individual characteristics and brand-specific features, and finally design a model of consumer purchase behavior towards domestic brands of sports apparel that are available in the Iran market. The method of this study is descriptive-correlational and in terms of the aim, is applicable. The statistical population of the study consisted of sports experts. 141 individuals as sample size were studied out of 220 individuals of the population. A questionnaire used by Kumar, Kim, and Pelton (2009) was also used to collect the data, and the validity of the model and the relationship between the studied variables was supported by the techniques of structural equation modeling. The research findings showed that self-concept of individuals has no role in their orientation towards domestic brands of sports apparel, but need for uniqueness was effective on individual’s orientation towards brand. On the other hand, brand orientation also had positive impact on both emotional value and perceived quality of domestic brands of sports apparel. Also, according to the findings, increasing brand orientation did not increase their purchase intention. All the dimensions of brand in this study, both perceived quality and emotional value had significant positive impact on consumer’s purchase intention towards domestic brands of sports apparel

Diseño de un modelo de ventaja competitiva para los clubs de fútbol de Irán basado en la reputación de los equipos

ABSTRACT: The objective of the present study was to design a competitive advantage model for Iranian football clubs based on teams’ reputation. In order to explore the components of the model, two rounds of Fuzzy Delphi staged by a half-open researcher-made questionnaire. The results of data analysis of two Fuzzy Delphi rounds indicated that, in the experts’ views, the most important components of club reputation were public relations (media and social relations), identity and brand image of the club, perfor- mance, tradition, social responsibility, fan orientation, quality of manage- ment and financial health of the team or football club. Furthermore, the most important competitive advantage based on team reputation in terms of experts includes the components of efficiency, responsiveness, innovation, quality and loyalty of fans. The model also demonstrated that the club re- putation will lead to a competitive advantage through the fans’ satisfaction.RESUMEN: El objetivo del presente estudio fue diseñar un modelo de ventaja competitiva para los clubs de fútbol iraníes basado en la reputación de los equipos. Para explorar los componentes del modelo, se realizaron dos ron- das de Fuzzy Delphi por medio de un cuestionario semiabierto elaborado por el equipo investigador. Los resultados del análisis de datos de las dos rondas Fuzzy Delphi indicaron que, en opinión de los expertos, los compo- nentes más importantes de la reputación del club eran las relaciones públi- cas (medios y relaciones sociales), la identidad e imagen de marca del club, el rendimiento, la tradición, la responsabilidad social, la orientación de los fans, la calidad de la gestión y la salud financiera del equipo o club de fútbol en cuestión. ventaja competitiva a través de la satisfacción de los aficionados. Además, la ventaja competitiva más importante basada en la reputación del equipo, según los expertos, incluye los componentes de eficiencia, receptivi- dad, innovación, calidad y lealtad de los fans. El modelo también demostró que la reputación del club generará una ventaja competitiva a través de la satisfacción de los fans

Intraspecific divergence in essential oil content, composition and genes expression patterns of monoterpene synthesis in Origanum vulgare subsp. vulgare and subsp. gracile under salinity stress

Abstract Background Oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), one of the important medicinal plants in the world, has valuable pharmacological compounds with antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antiurolithic, antiproliferative and neuroprotective activities. Phenolic monoterpenes such as thymol and carvacrol with many medical importance are found in Oregano essential oil. The biosynthesis of these compounds is carried out through the methyl erythritol-4 phosphate (MEP) pathway. Environmental stresses such as salinity might improve the secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. The influence of salinity stress (0 (control), 25, 50 and 100 mM NaCl) on the essential oil content, composition and expression of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), γ-terpinene synthase (Ovtps2) and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP71D180) genes involved in thymol and carvacrol biosynthesis, was investigated in two oregano subspecies (vulgare and gracile). Results Essential oil content was increased at low NaCl concentration (25 mM) compared with non-stress conditions, whereas it was decreased as salinity stress intensified (50 and 100 mM). Essential oil content was significantly higher in subsp. gracile than subsp. vulgare. The highest (0.20 mL pot−1) and lowest (0.06 mL pot−1) amount of essential oil yield was obtained in subsp. gracile at 25 and 100 mM NaCl, respectively. The content of carvacrol, as the main component of essential oil, decreased with increasing salinity level in subsp. gracile, but increased in subsp. vulgare. The highest expression of DXR, Ovtps2 and CYP71D180 genes was observed at 50 mM NaCl in subsp. vulgare. While, in subsp. gracile, the expression of the mentioned genes decreased with increasing salinity levels. A positive correlation was obtained between the expression of DXR, Ovtps2 and CYP71D180 genes with carvacrol content in both subspecies. On the other hand, a negative correlation was found between the expression of CYP71D180 and carvacrol content in subsp. gracile. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrated that both oregano subspecies can tolerate NaCl salinity up to 50 mM without significant reduction in essential oil yield. Also, moderate salinity stress (50 mM NaCl) in subsp. vulgare might increase the carvacrol content partly via increment the expression levels of DXR, Ovtps2 and CYP71D180 genes

Phytochemical, Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antioxidant Properties of Agastache foeniculum Essential Oil

Phytochemicals are good sources of natural antioxidants and have beneficial effects on human health. Many of phenolic phytochemicals have shown antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum [Pursh] Kuntze) is a perennial aromatic plant of the Lamiaceae family with antimicrobial and antifungal properties and useful for gastrointestinal problems. In this investigation, the antioxidant activity of extracts, their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Salmonella thyphimurium, S. enteritidis, Escherichia coli strains and their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and A. flavus was evaluated. Seven components were identified, representing 95.4% of the oils including methyl chavicol (83.1%), limonene (3.4%), spathulenol (3.1%) and caryophyllene oxide (3.1%). Agar disk diffusion and broth micro-well dilution assays showed that B. subtilis was the most resistant strain against both of the EOs and E. coli was the most sensitive bacteria. Results of both disc diffusion and MIC showed that the EO was more effective against A. flavus than A. niger. Antioxidant activity of A. foeniculum by DPPH and ABTS assays revealed remarkable antioxidant activities of this EO comparing with BHT. Results of current study indicated that A. foeniculum EOs can be used as a food preservative in having antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activity for the control of food deterioration

The controversial effect of smoking and nicotine in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract The effects of nicotine and cigarette smoke in many diseases, notably COVID-19 infection, are being debated more frequently. The current basic data for COVID-19 is increasing and indicating the higher risk of COVID-19 infections in smokers due to the overexpression of corresponding host receptors to viral entry. However, current multi-national epidemiological reports indicate a lower incidence of COVID-19 disease in smokers. Current data indicates that smokers are more susceptible to some diseases and more protective of some other. Interestingly, nicotine is also reported to play a dual role, being both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory. In the present study, we tried to investigate the effect of pure nicotine on various cells involved in COVID-19 infection. We followed an organ-based systematic approach to decipher the effect of nicotine in damaged organs corresponding to COVID-19 pathogenesis (12 related diseases). Considering that the effects of nicotine and cigarette smoke are different from each other, it is necessary to be careful in generalizing the effects of nicotine and cigarette to each other in the conducted researches. The generalization and the undifferentiation of nicotine from smoke is a significant bias. Moreover, different doses of nicotine stimulate different effects (dose-dependent response). In addition to further assessing the role of nicotine in COVID-19 infection and any other cases, a clever assessment of underlying diseases should also be considered to achieve a guideline for health providers and a personalized approach to treatment

p38 MAPK signaling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pathogenesis and inhibitor therapeutics

Abstract Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation due to airway and/or alveolar remodeling. Although the abnormalities are primarily prompted by chronic exposure to inhaled irritants, maladjusted and self-reinforcing immune responses are significant contributors to the development and progression of the disease. The p38 isoforms are regarded as pivotal hub proteins that regulate immune and inflammatory responses in both healthy and disease states. As a result, their inhibition has been the subject of numerous recent studies exploring their therapeutic potential in COPD. Main body We performed a systematic search based on the PRISMA guidelines to find relevant studies about P38 signaling in COPD patients. We searched the PubMed and Google Scholar databases and used “P38” AND “COPD” Mesh Terms. We applied the following inclusion criteria: (1) human, animal, ex vivo and in vitro studies; (2) original research articles; (3) published in English; and (4) focused on P38 signaling in COPD pathogenesis, progression, or treatment. We screened the titles and abstracts of the retrieved studies and assessed the full texts of the eligible studies for quality and relevance. We extracted the following data from each study: authors, year, country, sample size, study design, cell type, intervention, outcome, and main findings. We classified the studies according to the role of different cells and treatments in P38 signaling in COPD. Conclusion While targeting p38 MAPK has demonstrated some therapeutic potential in COPD, its efficacy is limited. Nevertheless, combining p38 MAPK inhibitors with other anti-inflammatory steroids appears to be a promising treatment choice. Clinical trials testing various p38 MAPK inhibitors have produced mixed results, with some showing improvement in lung function and reduction in exacerbations in COPD patients. Despite these mixed results, research on p38 MAPK inhibitors is still a major area of study to develop new and more effective therapies for COPD. As our understanding of COPD evolves, we may gain a better understanding of how to utilize p38 MAPK inhibitors to treat this disease. Video Abstrac