Transplanted Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improve Memory in Rat Models of Alzheimer's Disease

The present study aims to evaluate the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) grafts on cognition deficit in chemically and age-induced Alzheimer's models of rats. In the first experiments aged animals (30 months) were tested in Morris water maze (MWM) and divided into two groups: impaired memory and unimpaired memory. Impaired groups were divided into two groups and cannulated bilaterally at the CA1 of the hippocampus for delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (500 × 103/μL) and PBS (phosphate buffer saline). In the second experiment, Ibotenic acid (Ibo) was injected bilaterally into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) of young rats (3 months) and animals were tested in MWM. Then, animals with memory impairment received the following treatments: MSCs (500 × 103/μL) and PBS. Two months after the treatments, cognitive recovery was assessed by MWM in relearning paradigm in both experiments. Results showed that MSCs treatment significantly increased learning ability and memory in both age- and Ibo-induced memory impairment. Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells show promise in treating cognitive decline associated with aging and NBM lesions

Evaluación de Silicio e irrigación en tres cultivares de Cártamo

This study was performed to evaluation of interaction of silicon application and irrigation on agronomic and physiologic traits of safflower at 2018 and 2019. The experiment was conducted as a split plot factorial based on randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The irrigation was main factor (0, 2 and 4 times during growth) and the sub-factor were silicon foliar application (at three levels: 0, 1 and 2 mM) and three safflower cultivars (Goldasht, Padideh and Golmehr). The studied traits were: number of seeds per boll and 1000-grain weight, number and weight of boll, number of lateral branches and branch diameter, plant weight and total plant weight, floret yield, grain yield, chlorophyll a and b, proline and antioxidant enzymes. According to results, treatments had significant effects on studied traits at 5 or 1% statistically level. 2 and 3 times irrigation led to 7 and 24% the increasing of seed yield in compare to control, respectively. It was obtained that 1 and 2mM silicon led to 25 and 15% the increase of seed yield in compare to control. Interaction between treatments showed that the highest seed yield (500g per m2) was observed by Goldasht cultivar under 4-time irrigation and 2mM silicon. Therefore, it can be suggested that Goldasht with 2 mM silicon be used to reduce the effects of dehydration.Este estudio se realizó para evaluar la interacción de la aplicación de silicio y el riego en rasgos agronómicos y fisiológicos del cártamo en 2018 y 2019. El experimento se realizó como un factorial de parcela dividida basado en un diseño de bloques completos al azar con 3 repeticiones. El riego fue el factor principal (0, 2 y 4 veces durante el crecimiento) y el subfactor fue la aplicación foliar de silicio (en tres niveles: 0, 1 y 2 mM) y tres cultivares de cártamo (Goldasht, Padideh y Golmehr). Los rasgos estudiados fueron: número de semillas por cápsula y peso de 1000 granos, número y peso de cápsula, número de ramas laterales y diámetro de rama, peso de la planta y peso total de la planta, rendimiento del florete, rendimiento de grano, clorofila ayb, prolina y enzimas antioxidantes Según los resultados, los tratamientos tuvieron efectos significativos en los rasgos estudiados a un nivel estadístico del 5 o 1%. El riego 2 y 3 veces condujo a un aumento de 7 y 24% en el rendimiento de semillas en comparación con el control, respectivamente. Se obtuvo que el silicio de 1 y 2 mM condujo a un aumento de 25 y 15% del rendimiento de la semilla en comparación con el control. La interacción entre tratamientos mostró que el cultivar Goldasht observó un rendimiento de semilla más alto (500 g por m2) bajo riego por 4 tiempos y silicio 2 mM. Por lo tanto, se puede sugerir que se use Goldasht con silicio 2 mM para reducir los efectos de la deshidratación

Effects of starvation and feeding strategies on hematological and biochemical indices in Russian sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii

The effects of feeding strategies on cytological and biochemical indices in juvenile Russian sturgeon were studied. For this, 180 Russian sturgeons (77 ± 0.33 g) were stocked in three treatments with 20 fish in each tank and three replicates. Different feeding strategies including starvation, restricted feeding and feeding to satiation were assessed. At the beginning, middle and at the end of experiment, blood samples were collected to assay the blood indices. The results showed that at the end of the experimental period, starvation caused a significant decrease in the number of white blood cells (WBC) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV; p0.05). Moreover, the results exhibited that starvation leads to a significant decrease in the plasma glucose and total protein, while a significant increase in cholesterol and triglycerides compared to the other treatments (p<0.05). This study displayed some adverse effects of starvation on hematological and biochemical indices of Russian sturgeon, so that most of hematological and biochemical indices in starvation were significantly different from the other groups. Therefore, this study indicates that Russian sturgeon is unable to acclimate to long-term starvation period and adverse effects of starvation will increase over time

Digital Entrepreneurship Dimensions and Strategies: Crowdsourcing and Digital Financing

[EN] This paper aims to investigate an agile, knowledge-based, innovative, and integrated solution for businesses, i.e., Digital entrepreneurship, which means creating new ventures and transforming existing businesses by developing novel digital technologies and novel usage of such technologies. On the one hand, financing the projects is unaffordable for the companies, and a crowdsourcing platform is a good way to mitigate the burden of expenditure. The Digital Entrepreneurship process is a multidisciplinary field: developing software is rooted in information systems (IS), conceptualising business models, and formulating strategy. In addition to that, digital entrepreneurship is located at the junction of knowledge, business, and institutional entrepreneurship. This complicated nature of digital entrepreneurship requires a strategy. The type of opportunities they pursue characterises the strategy of formation and sustainability for a new venture; therefore, the entrepreneurs need to select strategies to make the best position according to their resources or the attainable resources through crowdsourcing. We shed light on the importance of crowdsourcing to have a successful state¿of¿the¿art business after reviewing the background of digital entrepreneurship, crowdsourcing, and the digital entrepreneurship strategy.Garrigós Simón, FJ.; Alizadeh Moghadam, SS.; Abdi, L.; Pourmirali, Z.; Abdi, B. (2021). Digital Entrepreneurship Dimensions and Strategies: Crowdsourcing and Digital Financing. Management and Business Research Quarterly. 18:1-15. https://doi.org/10.32038/mbrq.2021.18.01S1151

Effects of Astaxanthin supplementation on selected metabolic parameters, anthropometric indices, Sirtuin1 and TNF-α levels in patients with coronary artery disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

BackgroundAtherosclerosis can develop as a result of an increase in oxidative stress and concurrently rising levels of inflammation. Astaxanthin (AX), a red fat-soluble pigment classified as a xanthophyll, may be able to prevent the vascular damage induced by free radicals and the activation of inflammatory signaling pathways. The objective of the current study is to assess the effects of AX supplementation on cardiometabolic risk factors in individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD).MethodsThis randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted among 50 CAD patients. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups to intake either AX supplements (12 mg/day) or placebo for 8 weeks. Lipid profile, glycemic parameters, anthropometric indices, body composition, Siruin1 and TNF-α levels were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks.ResultsBody composition, glycemic indices, serum levels of TNF-α, Sirtuin1 did not differ substantially between the AX and placebo groups (p &gt; 0.05). The data of AX group showed significant reduction in total cholesterol (−14.95 ± 33.57 mg/dl, p &lt; 0.05) and LDL-C (−14.64 ± 28.27 mg/dl, p &lt; 0.05). However, TG and HDL-C levels could not be affected through AX supplementation.ConclusionOur results suggest that AX supplementation play a beneficial role in reducing some components of lipid profile levels. However, further clinical investigations in CAD patients are required to obtain more conclusive findings.Clinical trial registrationwww.Irct.ir., identifier IRCT20201227049857N1

Effect of treatment with Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 on intestinal microbiota and mucosal immune responses against Clostridium perfringens in broiler chickens

Alterations in intestinal microbiota can modulate the developing avian intestinal immune system and, subsequently, may impact on resistance to enteric pathogens. The aim was to demonstrate that early life exposure to Lactococcus lactis, could affect either susceptibility or resistance of broilers to necrotic enteritis (NE). L. lactis NZ9000 (rL. lactis) pre-treatment at 1, 7, 14 and 21 days of age (DOA) led to a significant decrease in NE lesion scores in Clostridium perfringens infected chickens. C. perfringens Infection was associated with spatial and temporal decreases in mononuclear phagocytes and CD4+ αβ T cells. However, rL. Lactis pre-treatment and subsequent C. perfringens infection led to a significant increase in mononuclear phagocytes, CD8α + γδ T, αβ T cells (CD4+ and CD8α+) and B cells (IgM+, IgA+ and IgY+), as well as IL-12p40, IFN-γ and CD40. Differential expression of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-18, IL-22, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β were observed in L. lactis treated chickens when compared to C. perfringens infected chickens. Microbiota analysis in C. perfringens infected chickens demonstrated an increase in abundance of Bacillota, Bacteroidota, Pseudomonadota and Actinomycetota. These findings suggests that modulation of the chicken intestinal immune system by L. lactis confers partial protection 30 against NE

Combining ability and heterosis for some canola characteristics sown on recommended and late planting dates using biplot

Canola (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most efficient oil-producing crops in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In the current study, ten winter canola genotypes [seven genotypes as lines (Zarfam (L1), Talaye (L2), SLM046 (L3), Geronimo (L4), Modena (L5), Opera (L6) and Symbol (L7)] and three genotypes as testers [Okapi (T1), Licord (T2) and Orient (T3)] and their F1 hybrids (21 hybrids) were evaluated to determine the genetic parameters for grain yield, oil content, meal and seed glucosinolate contents under two different planting date [recommended (late September) and late planting (late October)]. According to combined analysis of variance there were significant differences among the genotypes for most studied traits. The genotype main effect and genotype × environment interaction (GGE) biplot method was used for analyzing line × tester design data. Among the lines, L5 showed high negative general combining ability (GCA) effect for meal glucosinolate content in both conditions whereas L1, L5 and L6 revealed high negative GCA effects for seed glucosinolate content in both planting date. From the results, it could be concluded that, hybridization between T1×L1, T1×L6 or T3×L5 is an efficient approach to release genotypes with low seed and meal glucosinolate content. Furthermore, to develop canola cultivars with higher seed and oil yield, hybridization between T1×L7 or T2×L7 is highly recommended. Improved oil content will be achieved if T1×L5, T2×L5 or T3×L6 hybrids are implemented into the breeding programs.</p

Distribution and molecular analysis of Blastocystis subtypes from gastrointestinal symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in Iran

Introduction: Blastocystis is a common intestinal parasite of human and animal hosts. The parasite has 17 subtypes, and among those at least nine subtypes (ST1-ST9) are found in human hosts. Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of different subtypes of Blastocystis spp. among the patients referred to Velayat hospital of Qazvin province, Iran. Methods: Overall, 864 stool samples were examined by using formalin-ethyl acetate concentration method and Trichrome staining. All specimens were cultured in clotted fetal bovine medium. Later, DNA extraction and PCR amplification of 18S ribosomal RNA gene region was conducted and phylogenetic tree constructed. Results: The results revealed 7.9% (68/864) of the study population were infected with Blastocystis. Intestinal symptoms were observed in 61% (36/59) of individuals positive for Blastocystis, with abdominal pain in 58% (21/36) of cases which was more frequent than other intestinal signs. No significant relationship was observed among the study variables. By molecular and phylogenetic analysis, three subtypes ST1 (45%), ST2 (30%) and ST3 (23%) of parasite were identified. Conclusion: This study showed ST1 subtype was the predominant subtype among the positive specimens, meanwhile the highest haplotype and nucleotide diversity were clarified in ST3 subtype

Borg CR-10 scale as a new approach to monitoring office exercise training

Background: There are many potential training exercises for office workers in an attempt to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. However, to date a suitable tool to monitor the perceived exertion of those exercises does not exist. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Borg CR-10 scale to monitor the perceived exertion of office exercise training. Methods: The study involved 105 staff members employed in a government office with an age range from 25 to 50 years. The Borg CR-10 scale was self-administered two times, with an interval of two weeks in order to evaluate the accuracy of the original findings with a retest. Face validity and content validity were also examined. Results: Reliability was found to be high for the Borg CR-10 scale (0.898). Additionally a high correlation between the Borg CR-10 scale and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was identified (rs = 0.754, P < 0.01). Conclusions: This study found the Borg CR-10 scale to be a reliable and valid tool for monitoring the perceived exertion of office exercise training and may potentially be useful for occupational therapists to measure physical activity intensity levels