Evaluation of rapid purification of high concentrations of 2, 4-Dinitrophenol in wastewater using catalytic ozonation with carboneus nanocomposite

Background and purpose: 2, 4-dinitrophenol (DNP) are carcinogenic and non-biodegradable pollutants that exist at high concentration in wastewater of chemical industries. In this study, treatment and removal of organic materials (COD) in wastewater was carried out by catalytic ozonation process (COP) using carbon Nano-composite catalysts. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in cylindrical 250 mL semi-continuous reactor and the effects of several parameters including pH of the solution (4-10), the amount of catalyst concentrations (0 to 4 g/L), reaction time (0 to 60 min), and saturated catalyst was studied on treatment of high concentration of DNP and the COD removal efficiency. Also, the kinetics were compared with single ozonation (SOP). Results: Removal efficiency of high concentrations of DNP (1500 mg/L) and kinetics of the COP process catalyst concentration of 4 g/L was 83 (0.0241 min-1) while the results in SOP were 50 (0.0108 min-1). The optimum pH was 6 with the reaction time of 60 min. However, the removal efficiency of COD at initial concentration of 610 mg/L in the SOP process was 61 which increased to 92 after addition of the catalyst. The main mechanism of process was chemical oxidation and a small share (3) was due to adsorption. Conclusion: The results showed that COP and this new catalyst effectively and quickly removed high concentrations of DNP and COD. This method is believed to be economic due to the short time of ozonation, recovery and reuse of the catalyst. © 2016, AMazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Ineffectiveness of Methylation in Rgulation of VHL, ECAD, and RUNX3 Genes in Erythroid Cells Differentiated by Erythropoietin

Background: Vast variety of intermediate factors including cell cycle regulators, growth factors, transcription factors, and signaling pathways are involved in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) commitment and differentiation into distinct lineages. VHL, Ecad, and RUNX3 are among these. Epigenetics is currently introduced as a potential mechanism to control the gene regulation. The aim of this study is to reveal the correlation between the expression level and methylation pattern of mentioned genes after in vitro differentiation of cord blood HSCs into erythroid lineage mediated by erythropoietin.Materials and Methods: After isolation and expansion, the CD34+ cord blood stem cells were divided into two parts. The first part was used to extract the DNA and RNA and the second to differentiate into erythroid lineage. Methylation specific PCR (MSP) and Real-time PCR were used to determine the methylation status and expression levels of the genes, respectively.Results: Although the significant upregulation observed for VHL and Ecad genes and a down-regulation for RUNX3 gene after differentiation, no remarkable changes were seen in methylation pattern compared with cord blood HSCs by MSP technique.Conclusion: It is appearing that methylation pattern in promoter region has not an effective role in expression of VHL, Ecad, and RUNX3. Moreover, considering the inability of MSP method to detect subtle differences in methylation level a more sensitive method is needed to distinguish the methylation levels of these genes before and after erythroid differentiation

Cell-free seminal mRNA of DDX4 and TNP1 Genes as Potential Biomarkers of the Presence of Sperm in the Testicular Tissue

Introduction: Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is one of the reasons for infertility in men, and different factors including genetic factors are involved in its development. Since taking biopsies of the testicular tissue for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) is invasive and time-consuming, and the testicular tissue is heterogeneous, introducing a biomarker for predicting the possibility of the presence of sperm in the testicle can increase the ART efficiency. Accordingly, Cell-free seminal mRNA (CFs-mRNA), which is found in many fluids of the body including the seminal fluid of NOA individuals, can be employed as a biomarker for this purpose. Materials and methods: This study was conducted on 15 men suffering NOA, candidates for testicular sperm extraction (TESE), along with 15 healthy men as control. The testicular tissue of 10 patients was examined using hematoxylin and eosin staining and then classified according to Johnsen scoring. RNA was extracted from the cell-free plasma of semen samples and cDNA was synthesized. The Expression level of TNP1 and DDX4 genes was investigated using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The expression of CFS-mRNA of the DDX4 gene was observed in only one sample of NOA individuals (10%), showing a score of 8. Further, the expression of CFS-mRNA of the TNP1 gene was observed only in two samples (20%) of NOA patients whose scores were 3 and 8. Conclusion: Insufficiency or lack of expression of CFS-mRNA of TNP1 and DDX4 genes may be helpful in predicting the absence of sperm in the testicular tissue of NOA patients in terms of sperm retrieval for ART. Yet, further studies with more specific and sensitive techniques are required to achieve a more solid and precise conclusion

Impact of wastewater discharge on water quality of Karoon River in Iran

Preservation of the Karoon and Dez Rivers, the fresh water resource, is of high importance in Khuzestan province with its rapid growth of population and agricultural and industrial activities. In this paper the water quality and quality conditions of four study areas are mapped, agricultural, industrial and urban pollutant sources identified, and their impact on biological, physical and chemical water quality of Karoon River examined. Twenty five quality monitoring stations were established to determine the pollution load to the Karoon and Dez Rivers. The analysis shows that wastewater discharge has different impacts on chemical and biological water quality in the four study areas, in both the short and long term. © 2010 WIT Press

Challenges in the treatment of Iranian patients with leukemia in comparison with developed countries from the perspective of specialists

     Evaluation of the factors associated with treatment process of leukemia and comparison with current related approaches in developed countries can present a good indicator to assess the weak and strong points in healthcare system of our country in leukemia treatment. The objective of this research is general and specific description of the challenges and shortcomings in Iranian healthcare system and monitoring of hematologic malignancies as well as comparison with developed countries. Our study is a descriptive-cross-sectional study. 100 hemato-oncologist , pathologists, and faculty members throughout the country were selected by random cluster sampling. Data collected using questionnaires with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.76 . SPSS and Chi-square test were used for data analysis. According to the specialists, lack of advanced diagnostic facilities as well as cell and BM banks together with high treatment expenses are the main factors contributing to poor treatment processes in Iran, which are far from worldwide standards.The use of novel currently methods used in developed countries for leukemia treatment, financial and psychological support of patients under treatment , making underprivileged provinces well-equipped ,balanced  specialist service distribution relative to capital city either in diagnosis or treatment are factors which makes system standardized. Moreover, integrated institutional work in relation to leukemia incidence and statistical analysis of mortality and morbidity rate can pave the way for reducing and eliminating the problems in diagnosis and treatment of leukemia patients

Wastewater project development of Tehran

Tehran, the capital city of Iran, has had many problems in the environmental field. Wastewater collection and treatment is one of most important of those. Tehran Sewerage Company has worked on the integrated wastewater management of Tehran by considering rapid population growth which results in increased water consumption and consequently more wastewater production. The wastewater project of Tehran began in 1959, but was stopped by the revolution in 1979. It was started again with financial support from the World Bank in 1990. This study conducted an environmental, social and financial assessment (short, medium and long term) of the Tehran Sewerage Project. Results showed that this project has moderate and temporary effects on environment and social communities. Furthermore, this paper proposes a management plan for mitigation measures (environmental monitoring and auditing). The combination of three solutions-governmental financial resources, public-private participation and the World Bank loan-as a function of three main factors-time, resources and quality-is discussed and investigated from an economic point of view. In this respect, supporting the private sector participation is considered as one of the critical factors for the success of the project. © 2010 WIT Press

Correlation between Methylation and Expression Level of P15 and P16 Genes during Differentiation of Cord Blood Stem Cells into Erythroid Lineage Mediated by Erythropoietin

Background: Several influential factors such as transcription factors and intracellular signaling components are involved in differentiation of stem cells into a specific lineage. P15 and p16 proteins are among these factors. Accumulating evidences has introduced the epigenetic as a master regulator of these factors during lineage specification. The main objective of this study is to determine the correlation between the expression level and methylation pattern of P15 and P16 genes in erythroid lineage after in vitro differentiation by erythropoietin (EPO).Materials and Methods: The purified and expanded CD34+ cord blood stem cells were differentiated into erythroid lineage in the presence of EPO. DNA was isolated from both cord blood stem cells and differentiated cells. The Real-Time PCR performed using cDNA and the isolated DNA was used in methylation Specific PCR (MSP) reaction for methylation pattern analysis in both pre and post differentiation stages.Results: The study demonstrated that P15 and P16 genes have partial methylation after erythroid differentiation by EPO. The Expression of P15 gene was higher after differentiation and the expression of P16 gene had a slightly decreased level in post differentiation stage.Conclusion: Significant increase in P15 gene expression after differentiation to erythroid lineage, suggests the remarkable efficacy of this gene in erythroid function. According to upregulation of P15 gene after differentiation despite unchanged methylation status and slight down regulation of P16 gene with slight hyper-methylation of the gene it can be suggested that although the methylation can affects the expression level of P16 gene, the P15 gene is not affected by this mechanism during erythroid differentiation mediated by EPO

Performance, kinetic, and biodegradation pathway evaluation of anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor in removing phthalic acid esters from wastewater

Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been reported as an important environment with high concentrations of PAEs. In the present study, four short-chain PAEs including diallyl phthalate (DAP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and phthalic acid (PA) were selected as a substrate for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AnFFFBR). The process performances of AnFFFBR, and also its kinetic behavior, were evaluated to find the best eco-friendly phthalate from the biodegradability point of view. According to the results and kinetic coefficients, removing and mineralizing of DMP occurred at a higher rate than other phthalates. In optimum conditions 92.5, 84.41, and 80.39% of DMP, COD, and TOC were removed. DAP was found as the most bio-refractory phthalate. The second-order (Grau) model was selected as the best model for describing phthalates removal