Prevalence of fungi in patients with allergic rhinitis in Shahrekord, Iran (2009)

Background and Objective: The identification of fungi agents causes allergic rhinitis is crucial for the appropriate diagnosis prophylaxis and treatment of patients suffering from the disease. This study was done to evaluate the prevalence of fungi in patients with allergic rhinitis in Shahrekord, Iran. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was done on 124 patients whom referred to Kashani hospital in Shahrekord, Iran during 2009. 62 patients with allergic rhinitis were selected as case group and 62 patients without allergic rhinitis were considered as controls. Direct smear and culture of nasal secretion were performed to identify the fungi. Also IgE level's were measured for all participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16, Chi-Square and independent t-tests. Results: The fungi from culture medium of nose exeretion were isolated from 15 (24%) cases and 5 persons (8%) in control group. The most common isolated fungi were Aspergillus (8%) and Penicillinum (6.5%). In direct smear the fungi agent were found in 23% and 8% in case and control groups respectively. The IgE titre in 31% of cases with allergic rhinitis was higher than 100 IU/mL, but this titre of IgE only was seen in 4.8% of control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that the fungi can be considered as induce of allergic rhinitis

The effect of metoclopramide addition to lidocaine on pain of patients with grades II and III post-episiotomy repair

Episiotomy is the most common procedure used for dilatation of the vaginal opening for giving birth. Although episiotomy is associated with benefits for the mother, it may lead to short term and long term disabilities, including postpartum perineal pain that is secondary to perineal tearing. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of subcutaneous lidocaine compared with lidocaine and metoclopramide on pain after episiotomy. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, the patients (83 for control group and 83 for case group) with episiotomy Grades II and III were enrolled and were asked to express their postpartum episiotomy pain as a number, from zero (no pain) to 10 (severest pain) Visual Analogue Scale (VAS score) at 0, 30 minute, 1 hour, 2 hour, 4 hour, 6 hour and 12 hour postpartum. Patients at the second stage of labour (crowning) were assigned to two groups: In the control group, 5 cc lidocaine 2% and in the case group, 5 cc lidocaine + 10 mg metoclopramide was injected for episiotomy. Then, the pain score was compared between the two groups. The data were analyzed by t-test and chi-square test with software SPSS version 20.0. Results: Mean age of the women was 23.19±0.46 years in the control group and 23.96±0.58 years in the case group with no significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). The mean pain score in the control group was 3.54±0.71 and in the case group 2.93±0.91 at 30 minutes after the injection, with a statistically significant difference. At other intervals, postnatal pain scores in the case group was lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Injection of metoclopramide with lidocaine is more effective than lidocaine alone for relieving the pain after episiotom

Comparison of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) growth rate in culture media supplemented with or without basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF or FGF-2) is a member of the FGF family secreted by different kinds of cells like HDFs and it is an important nutritional factor for cell growth and differentiation. The HDFs release bFGF in culture media at very low. The present study aims to investigate the HDFs growth rate in culture media supplemented either with or without bFGF. In brief, HDFs were isolated from human foreskin sample and were cultured in vitro in media containing bFGF and lack of this factor. The cells growth rate was calculated by trypan blue. The karyotyping was performed using G-banding to investigate the chromosomal abnormality of HDFs in both groups. Total RNA of each groups were extracted and cDNA samples were synthesized then, real-time Q-PCR was used to measure the expression level of p27kip1 and cyclin D1 genes normalized to internal control gene (GAPDH). The karyotype analysis showed that HDFs cultured in media or without bFGF had normal karyotype (46 chromosomes, XY) and chromosomal abnormalities were not observed. The cell growth rates in both groups were normal with proliferated exponentially but the slope of growth curve in HDFs cultured in media containing bFGF was increased. Karyotyp test showed that bFGF does not affect on cytogenetic stability of cells. The survey of p27kip1 and cyclin D1 genes by real-time Q-PCR showed that the expression level of these genes were up-regulated when adding bFGF in culture media (p < 0.05). The findings of the present study demonstrate that appropriate supplementation of culture media with growth factor like bFGF could enhance the proliferation and differentiation capacity of cells and improve cells growth rate. Similarly, fibroblast growth factors did not induce any chromosomal abnormality in cells. Furthermore, in HDFs cultured in bFGF supplemented media, the p27kip1 and cyclin D1 genes were up-regulated and suggesting an important role for bFGF in cell-cycle regulation and progression and fibroblast division stimulation. It also suggests that the effects of bFGF on different cell types with/or without production of bFGF or other regulation factors be investigated in future

Investigation and validation of PV fed reduced switch asymmetric multilevel inverter using optimization based selective harmonic elimination technique

Pulse width modulation for Selective Harmonics Elimination (SHE) is mostly employed in the reduction of lower order harmonics. The PV system in this research provides input voltage to the reduced switch 31-level inverter, which is based on the Artificial Bee Colony algorithm. With a high gain DC-DC single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC), the PV panel output voltage is kept constant. The Grey wolf optimization algorithm (GWO) approach is used to get the most power out PV scheme. Multi Carrier modulation, a high-frequency modulation technology, is also used in this novel design of the inverter to reduce upper order harmonics. The suggested Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm, harmonics is compared to a SHE technique based on a genetic algorithm. The hardware findings were confirmed using DSPIC30F2010 controller simulation, and the recommended system was validated using Matlab simulation

Синтез и исследование гибридных биодеградируемых скэффолдов, содержащих магнетит

Работа направлена на получение и исследование свойств гибридных биодеградируемых скэффолдов на основе ПГБ, содержащих магнетит, для применения в области восстановления поврежденных тканей. Было описано влияние добавления Fe3O4 на структуру, фазовый состав, магнитные свойства, механические свойства полученных образцов.The work is aimed at obtaining and studying the properties of hybrid biodegradable scaffolds based on PHB containing magnetite for use in the field of restoration of damaged tissues. The influence of the addition of Fe3O4 on the structure, phase composition, magnetic properties, and mechanical properties of the obtained samples was described

Diabetes reversal by inhibition of the low-molecular-weight tyrosine phosphatase.

Obesity-associated insulin resistance plays a central role in type 2 diabetes. As such, tyrosine phosphatases that dephosphorylate the insulin receptor (IR) are potential therapeutic targets. The low-molecular-weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP) is a proposed IR phosphatase, yet its role in insulin signaling in vivo has not been defined. Here we show that global and liver-specific LMPTP deletion protects mice from high-fat diet-induced diabetes without affecting body weight. To examine the role of the catalytic activity of LMPTP, we developed a small-molecule inhibitor with a novel uncompetitive mechanism, a unique binding site at the opening of the catalytic pocket, and an exquisite selectivity over other phosphatases. This inhibitor is orally bioavailable, and it increases liver IR phosphorylation in vivo and reverses high-fat diet-induced diabetes. Our findings suggest that LMPTP is a key promoter of insulin resistance and that LMPTP inhibitors would be beneficial for treating type 2 diabetes

The study of genetical differentiation of bisexual and parthenogenetic strains of Artemia urmiana by RAPD s method

The brine shrimp Artemia consists of a number of bisexual species and a large number of parthenogenetic forms, which collectively, inhabiting a wide range of hypersaline habitats. This research was carried out in order to study the genetic differentiation of Artemia urmiana and two parthenogenetic populations originated from surrounding lagoons of the Lake Urmia (Fesendoz, Saray village) and also to find the phylogenetic relationships of some Iranian Artemia (Qom, Arak, Golestan, and Shiraz) with a comparison to some foreign Artemia species (A. sinica, A. franciscana, A. parthenogenetica (Russia and Turkmenistan) using a molecular technique (PCRRAPD`s). Of a total number of 56 random primers (10 bp) survey, 29 and 26 oligonucleotides showed polymorphic patterns with highly reproducible bands in Artemia urmiana groups and Iranian Artemia groups.The highest percentage of polymorphic loci were in Artemia urmiana (P= 78.89 %) and in comparison with the other parthenogenetic forms, in parthenogenetic Artemia from Saray village (P= 59.8 %). The highest values of Shannon index were estimated in Artemia urmiana (I= 0.41), and in comparison with other parthenogenetic forms, in parthenogenetic Artemia from Saray village (I= 0.3). Analysis of molecular variance indicated that most variation were within populations (A. urmiana with parthenogenetic forms, FST= 0.35) and among populations (Iranian Artemia with foreign species, FST= 0.76). Genetic pattern was not in accordance to geographical distribution, which indicated the wide range of Artemia samples at different regions in Iran. UPGMA showed two distinct clusters in group I including A. urmiana with two parthenogenetic forms and four clusters in group II including Iranian Artemia with some foreign species. It is understood that two parthenogenetic populations (Fesendoz and Saray village) had close genetic relationship together with high value of heterozygosity in parthenogenetic Artemia from Saray village. Iranian Artemia (Qom, Arak, and Golestan) indicated close genetic relationships with A. parthenogenetica (Russia and Turkmenistan) with low values of heterozygosity. A sister group was generated including Shiraz and USA Artemia samples which attests a possible contamination of local water with A. franciscana. FST value revealed high genetic structuring at all studied groups. Besides, it is suggested that gene flow was not strong enough to prevent substantial genetic differentiation. Result could lead to a management programmes to use suitable Artemia strains with high genetic diversity, for culturing and establishment of gene bank of Artemia stocks in Lake Urmia

The Effects of Dunaliella tertiolecta, Tetraselmis suecica and Nannochloropsis oculata as Food on the Growth, Survival and Reproductive Characteristics of Artemia urmiana

Abstract Artemia is the most widespread live food used in the production of different stages of many aquaculture organisms. It is a non-selective filter feeding organism. Generally, microalgae are the most favorable feeds for Artemia, particularly when the algal species have suitable size, digestibility and nutrient values. This study was performed to compare the efficiency of three microalgae namely Dunaliella tertiolecta, Tetraselmis suecica and Nannochloropsis oculata for growth, survival and reproduction efficiency of Artemia urmiana in laboratory conditions. Artemia cysts were harvested from Urmia Lake and hatched according to standard methods. Live microalgae were cultured using the f/2 culture medium. Artemia survival was determined in treatments on days 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20. The results indicated a significant difference (P&lt;0.01) among three microalgae in terms of growth, survival rates and reproduction characteristics in A.urmiana. In spite of higher length growth of A.urmiana fed on N.oculata than T.suecica but survival and reproduction in A.urmiana fed on T.suecica was better than the first treatment. In general, D.tertiolecta was more efficient than T.suecica and N.oculata on A.urmiana, hence, it is preferred for feeding A.urmiana

Monitoring of Artemia stocks in Urmia lake

Monitoring of Artemia Stock in Urmia Lake ( with less than 5 billion m^3 ), between 2001-2003 in order to survey of Artemia population dynamic and some water abiotic factors such as WT , salinity and transparency using Thermometer, refractometer and secchi disk, were done monthly. Phytoplankton with Rotner sampling device and Artemia (different life stages) were sampled by planktonic net from 7 suit stations(3 layers, surface, 2.5 and 5 meters with 3 replications) which were selected from 12 sites used in previous Artemia stock assessment project Graphs drawed by excel software in different layers , months and separation between north and southern parts of the Lake(±SD ,SE), showed WT fluctuated from 3 degree centigrade in December 2001 to 29 degree in November 2003 with the same changes in different layers. Salinities from 290 ppt in autumn 2001 to 340 ppt in summer of 2003 increased. Northern part of the lake had higher salinity than the southern. There were not any differences between different layers in salinity changes, transparency were as the depth of water and there were no any phytoplankton in samples. Number of cysts in surface was 1933±850, in northern part 1782±998 and in southern 2032±1061. At 2.5 meter depth 327±110T 229±107 and 363±110 cysts were counted respectively. At 5 meter depth there were 419±124, 181±62 and 282±65. Other numbers of biological stages were counted as cysts in three layers, north and southern parts of the lake. Data concluded that cysts and biomass were dominated in southern part but at surface and 2.5 meter depth respectively

A Fourier Analysis Based Attack against Physically Unclonable Functions

Electronic payment systems have leveraged the advantages offered by the RFID technology, whose security is promised to be improved by applying the notion of Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs). Along with the evolution of PUFs, numerous successful attacks against PUFs have been proposed in the literature. Among these are machine learning (ML) attacks, ranging from heuristic approaches to provable algorithms, that have attracted great attention. Our paper pursues this line of research by introducing a Fourier analysis based attack against PUFs. More specifically, this paper focuses on two main aspects of ML attacks, namely being provable and noise tolerant. In this regard, we prove that our attack is naturally integrated into a provable Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) model. Moreover, we show that our attacks against known PUF families are effective and applicable even in the presence of noise. Our proof relies heavily on the intrinsic properties of these PUF families, namely arbiter, Ring Oscillator (RO), and Bistable Ring (BR) PUF families. We believe that our new style of ML algorithms, which take advantage of the Fourier analysis principle, can offer better measures of PUF security