Echinococcus granulosus: In vitro effectiveness of warm water on protoscolices

Hydatid disease is one of the most important helminthic diseases worldwide. Hydatid cysts may be found anywhere in the body. The most effective treatment of hydatid cyst is surgical operation. Spillage of live protoscolices during the operation is the major cause of recurrence. Instillation of scolicidal agent into hydatid cyst is the most commonly employed measure to prevent this complication. To date, many scolicidal agents have been used for inactivation of the hydatid cyst content, however, most common scolicidal agents may cause unacceptable side-effects, limiting their use. In this study the scolicidal effect of warm water (45, 50, 55, and 60 C) at different exposure times (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 min) is investigated. Protoscolices were collected aseptically from sheep livers containing hydatid cyst. Viability of protoscolices was determined by 0.1% eosin staining. Even though the highest scolicidal activity of warm water at 45 C was 40.4% at the end of 15 min, the best scolicidal effect (100%) of warm water at 50, 55, and 60 C was obtained after 5, 2, and 1 min, respectively. The results of this in vitro study showed that warm water at 50–60 C can be regarded as an effective scolicidal agent. Warm water is commonly available, easily prepared, and inexpensive. In vivo scolicidal activity of warm water and also the possible side effects need further investigation.

The effect of adding gentamicin to contrast media for prevention of cholangitis after biliary stenting for non-calculous biliary obstruction, a randomized controlled trial

Aim: Cholangitis is the most common infectious complication of ERCP. In vitro studies showed that addition of aminoglycosides to contrast medium was effective in reducing cholangitis but the results of clinical trials are conflicting. We studied the effect of adding gentamicin to contrast medium in reducing the rate of post-ERCP cholangitis in patients with non-calculous obstructive jaundice. Methods: All patients with non-calculous obstructive jaundice who underwent endoscopic biliary stenting at the Shariati Hospital, Tehran, between December 2009 and October 2010 were enrolled in the study. Gentamicin (10 mg) or distilled water was added to each 10 cc contrast medium during ERCP. Intravenous antibiotics were administered before and after the procedure in all patients. After ERCP and stent deployment, patients were followed for 72 h for symptoms and signs of cholangitis. Results: A total of 114 patients were eligible for the study. Of these, 57 patients were included in each group. Cholangiocarcinoma was the most prevalent diagnosis. The obstruction was relieved in all patients by stenting. Five patients in each group (8. 8 %) developed cholangitis. There was no significant difference in the incidence of cholangitis between the two groups (p = 1. 000). Conclusions: With adequate drainage of the obstructed biliary tract by proper stenting, adding gentamicin to contrast media had no significant effect on incidence of post-ERCP cholangitis. © 2012 Indian Society of Gastroenterology

Morphology, thermal, and electrical properties of polypropylene hybrid composites co-filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Wegrzyn, M., Galindo, B., Benedito, A., & Gimenez, E. (2015). Morphology, thermal, and electrical properties of polypropylene hybrid composites co‐filled with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 132(46)., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/app.42793. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."[EN] In this study, nanocomposites of polypropylene (PP) with various loadings of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) were formed by masterbatch dilution/mixing approach from individual masterbatches PP-MWCNT and PP-GnP. Melt mixing on a twin-screw extruder at two different processing temperatures was followed by characterization of morphology by transmitted-light microscopy including the statistical analysis of agglomeration behavior. The influence of processing temperature and weight fractions of both nanofillers on the dispersion quality is reported. Thermal properties of the nanocomposites investigated by DSC and TGA show sensitivity to the nanofillers weight fraction ratio and to processing conditions. Electrical conductivity is observed to increase up to an order of magnitude with the concentration of each nanofiller increasing from 0.5 wt % to 1.0 wt %. This is related with a decrease of electrical conductivity observed for unequal concentration of both nanofillers. This particular behavior shows the increase of electrical properties for higher MWCNT loadings and the increase of thermo-mechanical properties for higher GnP loadings. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.This study is funded by the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7-PEOPLE-ITN-2008) within the CONTACT project Marie Curie Fellowship under grant number 238363.Wegrzyn, M.; Galindo-Galiana, B.; Benedito, A.; Giménez Torres, E. (2015). 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Composites Science and Technology, 65(11-12), 1703-1710. doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2005.02.017Arasteh, R., Omidi, M., Rousta, A. H. A., & Kazerooni, H. (2011). A Study on Effect of Waviness on Mechanical Properties of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Epoxy Composites Using Modified Halpin–Tsai Theory. Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B, 50(12), 2464-2480. doi:10.1080/00222348.2011.579868Cai, D., Jin, J., Yusoh, K., Rafiq, R., & Song, M. (2012). High performance polyurethane/functionalized graphene nanocomposites with improved mechanical and thermal properties. Composites Science and Technology, 72(6), 702-707. doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2012.01.020Yan, D., Zhang, H.-B., Jia, Y., Hu, J., Qi, X.-Y., Zhang, Z., & Yu, Z.-Z. (2012). Improved Electrical Conductivity of Polyamide 12/Graphene Nanocomposites with Maleated Polyethylene-Octene Rubber Prepared by Melt Compounding. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 4(9), 4740-4745. doi:10.1021/am301119bHaslam, M. D., & Raeymaekers, B. (2013). 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Compounding of MWCNTs with PS in a Twin-Screw Extruder with Varying Process Parameters: Morphology, Interfacial Behavior, Thermal Stability, Rheology, and Volume Resistivity. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 298(1), 89-105. doi:10.1002/mame.201200018Vega, J. F., Martínez-Salazar, J., Trujillo, M., Arnal, M. L., Müller, A. J., Bredeau, S., & Dubois, P. (2009). Rheology, Processing, Tensile Properties, and Crystallization of Polyethylene/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites. Macromolecules, 42(13), 4719-4727. doi:10.1021/ma900645fAlig, I., Lellinger, D., Dudkin, S. M., & Pötschke, P. (2007). Conductivity spectroscopy on melt processed polypropylene–multiwalled carbon nanotube composites: Recovery after shear and crystallization. Polymer, 48(4), 1020-1029. doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2006.12.035Chaharmahali, M., Hamzeh, Y., Ebrahimi, G., Ashori, A., & Ghasemi, I. (2013). Effects of nano-graphene on the physico-mechanical properties of bagasse/polypropylene composites. 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Calcium homeostasis in Pichia pastoris

Pichia pastoris is a methylotrophic yeast that has been used widely in biological and industrial researches. P. pastoris is able to produce from milligram to gram quantities of protein. In this study, we examined the effects of calcium and magnesium on growth, heterologous protein expression, and calcium homeostasis in P. pastoris . The divalent cations calcium and magnesium are responsible for diverse roles in in the function of the cells in eukaryotes. Although it is known that calcium is responsible for many biological functions in eukaryotes, there is a limited understanding of the calcium homeostasis in P. pastoris . In this study, we found that addition of calcium and magnesium to yeast extract peptone dextrose (YPD) does not increase the cell growth of wild type P. pastoris . However, the original concentrations of calcium and magnesium in YPD were critical to cells, as removing calcium and magnesium using EGTA and EDTA, respectively, decreased the cell growth of wild type P. pastoris . Changes to cytoplasmic calcium concentration in P. pastoris was studied using the fluorescent calcium sensitive dye, indo-1 (10 μM) and fluorescent spectrophotometer. The intracellular calcium concentration increased with addition of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and phosphate buffered saline (PBS). PBS (standard 1x) induced a significantly higher increase in intracellular calcium concentration compared to inductions with calcium chloride (1.2 mM). Our results showed that the addition of calcium and magnesium into the growth medium did not increase the expression of alcohol oxidase-1 driven β-galactosidase expression. However, calcium and magnesium may still play crucial roles in protein expression as EDTA and EGTA caused an increase in β-galactosidase expression as indicated by higher β-galactosidase activity. Our findings suggest that EDTA and EGTA may also increase the expression of other heterologous proteins in P. pastoris

The Role of Strategic Regions in International Cooperation and the Development of International Regimes

The end of the Cold War led to development of new cooperation among the states. International regimes are one of the types of cooperation. The presence of emerging powers in the region such as China and India as well as countries like Afghanistan and Iran with the common historical past, cultural values and economic cohesion, provide an appropriate ground for the development of an international regime in the region. The strategic port of Chabahar could be the hub of this regime. In this regard, this piece of research work is an attempt to address the main question as to what capacities does Chabahar have to become an international regime and how do the common elements of cooperation in West Asia facilitate the development of this regime? The hypothesis to answer the question is based on the fact that Chabahar due to its geo-economic and geostrategic location could become an international economic regime and the historical relations as well as common values among the countries of the region facilitate the development of this regime. This research is done through explanatory-analytical method by using secondary data including articles and books and internet sites

Comparison of the Native Bacillus subtillis and Bacillus Megaterium Strains Isolated from Soil in Production of Riboflavin

Background and Objectives: Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is a water-soluble vitamin and yellow. The aim of this study is to identify ‎strains of Bacillus isolated from soil do with the ability to produce riboflavin by PCR. Materials and Methods: Soil samples was mild randomly during 2 consecutive days the air. Sampling was performed of areas far from the sun ‎and from 3 to 10 cm soil depth. The genus Bacillus were identified to species level ‎using standard methods. Also isolates were approved identified using the PCR method. To study the ‎riboflavin production of synthetic culture media were used and HPLC techniques. Result: PCR using gene 16SrRNA test results showed that 32 strains obtained from a strain of Bacillus subtilis ‎and 10 were 2 strain of Bacillus megaterium. The isolated strains of Bacillus megaterium PTCC 1250 with ‎standard strains were positive of riboflavin production in synthetic medium and HPLC. ‎Conclusions: Bacillus subtilis bacteria living in the soil among the most important role in the production of ‎riboflavin and riboflavin-producing strains to confirm the use of molecular methods is necessary

The Role of Market Capitalization in the Relationship Between ROA, ROE and Stock Prices in Tehran Stock Exchange

Financial ratios analysis is considered among the most widely used tools for evaluating the performance of companies and investments. In this regard, ROA and ROE ratios are among the most important criterias. This study seeks evidence about the role of market capitalization in the relationship between return on assets and return on equity with Stock prices and is compared with their book value. This study was conducted on 136 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2008-2016. In order to test hypotheses, we used of 8 multivariate regression. The results indicate that both of ratios with book value and market value have a significant and positive relationship with stock prices; But the strength of this relationship is not the same, market value has more strongest relation than book value, return on assets can explain the stock price changes alone and about 66% and Combined return on assets to book value and return on equity to market value have strongest correlation with the stock price changes

Effect of Blending Method on the Mechanical Properties of Wood-Plastic Composites

In this study, the possibility of producing wood-plastic panels was studied using two different blending methods including melt blend and dry blend. Wood-plastic panels were made from recycled high density polyethylene (as resin) and MDF waste (as natural fiber) at 60, 70 and 80% by weight filler loading. Nominal density and dimensions of the panels were 1g/cm3 and 35×35×1 cm, respectively. The mechanical properties of the panels including flexural elastic modulus, flexural strength, screw and nail withdrawal resistance, and impact strength were studied. Maximum values of flexural modulus of wood-plastic panels were found at 70% fiber content in both methods. Flexural strength, screw and nail withdrawal resistance and impact strength of wood-plastic composites reduced with the increase in fiber content from 60% to 80%. Mechanical properties of samples made with dry blend method were generally higher than those of samples made with melt blend method for all corresponding formulations