Dietary administration of vitamin C and Lactobacillus rhamnosus in combination enhanced the growth and innate immune response of the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

The effects of dietary vitamin C and Lactobacillus rhamnosus on immunity and growth performance were investigated in Oncorhynchus mykiss. For this purpose, 480 rainbow trout (68±5g) were obtained from a local farm and acclimated to laboratory conditions for 10 days and then divided into four groups in three replicates. During 30 days, juvenile rainbow trout were fed diets supplemented with vitamin C (1g/kg) and L. rhamnosus (at 5 × 107 CFU/g) or a control diet. Biometry was done at day -30 and blood samples were taken by caudal vein after fish anesthesia with clove powder at day 0, 15, 30 and 45. Serum lysozyme activity, alternative complement activity and total plasma immunoglobulin level were assayed as innate immune response of rainbow trout. Results showed fish fed with vitamin c and L. rhamnosus (group 3) statistically could improve fish growth performance. Also lysozyme activity and alternative complement activity of serum significantly were higher in group three than other groups, but total plasma level of immunoglobulin only was higher than all groups at day 30. In conclusion dietary administration of vitamin C and L. rhamnosus in rainbow trout diet could enhance the growth and innate immune response, but these properties need further studies on the field applications

Modeling Wettability Alteration using Chemical EOR Processes in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

The objective of our search is to develop a mechanistic simulation tool by adapting UTCHEM to model the wettability alteration in both conventional and naturally fractured reservoirs. This will be a unique simulator that can model surfactant floods in naturally fractured reservoir with coupling of wettability effects on relative permeabilities, capillary pressure, and capillary desaturation curves. The capability of wettability alteration will help us and others to better understand and predict the oil recovery mechanisms as a function of wettability in naturally fractured reservoirs. The lack of a reliable simulator for wettability alteration means that either the concept that has already been proven to be effective in the laboratory scale may never be applied commercially to increase oil production or the process must be tested in the field by trial and error and at large expense in time and money. The objective of Task 1 is to perform a literature survey to compile published data on relative permeability, capillary pressure, dispersion, interfacial tension, and capillary desaturation curve as a function of wettability to aid in the development of petrophysical property models as a function of wettability. The new models and correlations will be tested against published data. The models will then be implemented in the compositional chemical flooding reservoir simulator, UTCHEM. The objective of Task 2 is to understand the mechanisms and develop a correlation for the degree of wettability alteration based on published data. The objective of Task 3 is to validate the models and implementation against published data and to perform 3-D field-scale simulations to evaluate the impact of uncertainties in the fracture and matrix properties on surfactant alkaline and hot water floods

Induction of humoral immune responses and inhibition of metastasis in mice by a VEGF peptide-based vaccine

Objective(s): Blocking of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a pivotal role in inhibition of metastasis and is a target for development of anti-angiogenic agents. In this study, a peptide-based vaccine was designed and its potential for induction of humoral immune responses, generation of neutralizing antibodies, inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis was determined. Materials and Methods: With online bioinformatics tools, a fragment of the VEGF-A was selected for a peptide-based vaccine. To enhance its antigenicity, the peptide was conjugated with Keyhole limpet hemocyanin and used to immunize mice. Then, the polyclonal anti-VEGF antibody titer was measured and its effect on proliferation of HUVEC cell line was investigated by MTT assay. Finally, we checked the effect of the peptide on tumor growth, metastasis, and survival rates in a mouse model of cancer. Results: The bioinformatics analysis of the selected region confirmed dis-similarity of the peptide with any other human protein and its acceptable antigenicity to stimulate a tumor-specific humoral response. Anti-VEGF antibody titers were significantly greater in vaccinated mice than in controls. IgG antibody from mice immunized with recombinant VEGF-A inhibited HUVEC proliferation (P<0.0001). Tumors in vaccinated mice were significantly smaller than those in controls. Moreover, metastasis was reduced and survival rates increased in the vaccinated group. Conclusion: Production of high-titer antibody against the peptide vaccine indicated that the peptide has the potency to be used as a peptide-based vaccine for humoral inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis. The efficacy of the peptide should be further tested in primate models. © 2020 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Physiological responses of Celtis caucasica L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L. to the cadmium and lead stresses

Afforestation of contaminated areas is considered as a possible strategy for reduction of contaminations. In the present study, the effects of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) were investigated on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fm, Fo, and Fm), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll), and proline in one-year-old seedlings of Celtis caucasica and Robinia pseudoacacia. The seedlings were treated 2 times during 10 days, with different concentrations of Pb and Cd (0, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg L-1). Saline solutions containing Pb and Cd were sprayed on the leaves. Chlorophyll fluorescence was measured every other day. Chlorophyll and proline were also measured at the end of experiment period. The results indicated that chlorophyll fluorescence of C. caucasica and R. pseaudoacacia was affected by Pb on the last days and by Cd on the first days. The chlorophyll a content of C. caucasica at 250 mg L-1 of Pb and the chlorophyll a of R. pseudoacacia at 1000 and 2000 mg L-1 of Cd increased. With increasing Cd and Pb concentrations, proline of C. caucasica increased significantly while proline of R. pseudoacacia was not affected by Cd and Pb. Our results suggested fairly similar photosynthetic responses of C. caucasica and R. pseudoacacia to Cd and Pb concentrations. We concluded that physiological sensitivity of the both species to Pb and Cd were weak and can be used for afforestation in semi-arid areas contaminated by Pb and Cd

A NEW GENERATION CHEMICAL FLOODING SIMULATOR Semi-annual Report for the Period

ABSTRACT The premise of this research is that a general-purpose reservoir simulator for several improved oil recovery processes can and should be developed so that high-resolution simulations of a variety of very large and difficult problems can be achieved using stateof-the-art algorithms and computers. Such a simulator is not currently available to the industry. The goal of this proposed research is to develop a new-generation chemical flooding simulator that is capable of efficiently and accurately simulating oil reservoirs with at least a million gridblocks in less than one day on massively parallel computers. Task 1 is the formulation and development of solution scheme, Task 2 is the implementation of the chemical module, and Task 3 is validation and application. We have made significant progress on all three tasks and we are on schedule on both technical and budget. In this report, we will detail our progress on Tasks 1 through 3 for the first six months of the second year of the project. i

A NEW GENERATION CHEMICAL FLOODING SIMULATOR Semi-annual Report for the Period

ABSTRACT 4 SUMMARY 4 Task 1: Formulation and development of Solution Scheme

Effects of Peer-education on Quality of Life in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Aims: Diabetes is the most prevalent metabolic disease in human being. Self-care is the most important way of preventing complications. This study aimed at investigating the effects of peer-education on quality of life in adult patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials & Methods: This semi experimental study was conducted at a diabetes clinic affiliated to Gonabad University of medical sciences, Iran in 2017 among 80 patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients were selected based on available sampling method, and they were randomly divided into two groups, namely intervention and control (40 patients each group). The data of all patients were collected by demographic and disease information questionnaire and diabetic patient quality of life (QOL) questionnaire. The present study was carried out in three main steps: In the first step (before intervention), peers were trained by the researcher during four sessions. In the second step (intervention), quality of life of patients was assessed before training; then, patients in intervention group were trained and instructed during three sessions; the control group received the usual instruction, too. In the third step (one month later), quality of life of patients in both groups was assessed. The data were analyzed by SPSS statistics software Version 20, using Chi-square, Fisher, independent t test, paired t test, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon. Findings: The mean scores of quality of life in intervention group did not have any significant difference with control group before instruction (p>0.05). After instruction, the mean scores of quality of life in the intervention group compared with the control group increased significantly (p<0.001). Conclusion: Peer education improves quality of life in adult patients with type 2 diabetes

Effects of intravenous Semelil (ANGIPARS�) on diabetic foot ulcers healing: A multicenter clinical trial

Some diabetic foot ulcers, which are notoriously difficult to cure, are one of the most common health problems in diabetic patients .There are several surgical and medical options which already have been introduced for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, so some patient will require amputation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous Semelil (ANGIPARS�), a naive herbal extract to accelerate healing of diabetic foot ulcers. A multi-centric randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate intravenous Semelil for healing of diabetic foot ulcers. Sixteen diabetic patients were treated with intravenous Semelil, and nine other patients were treated with placebo as control group. Both groups were otherwise treated by wound debridement and irrigation with normal saline solution, systemic antibiotic therapy and daily wound dressing. Before and after intervention, the foot ulcer surface area was measured, by digital photography, mapping and planimetry. After 4 weeks, the mean foot ulcer surface area decreased from 479.93±379.75 mm2 to 198.93±143.75 mm2 in the intervention group (p = 0.000) and from 766.22±960.50 mm2 to 689.11±846.74 mm2 in the control group (p = 0.076). Average wound closure in the treatment group was significantly greater than placebo group (64 vs. 25, p= 0.015). This herbal extract by intravenous rout in combination with conventional therapy is more effective than conventional therapy by itself probably without side effect. However, further studies are required in the future to confirm these results in larger population

Comparison of two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional simulations of dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs): Migration and entrapment in a nonuniform permeability field

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95015/1/wrcr10030.pd

Bioinformatic designing for producing vaccine peptide of human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A), and evaluation of polyclonal antibodies in mice

Background: It is stated that in the absence of angiogenesis, the tumoral tissue will not grow beyond 2 mm3. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a pivotal role in angiogenesis and blockade of this phenomenon could be applied as a novel strategy for immunotherapy of cancer. Methods: Peptide sequences of VEGF-A isoforms were derived from protein databases and aligned. Immunodominant epitopes were determined and the selected one was rechecked for dissimilarity with other human proteins. The selected conserved peptide sequence was synthesized and conjugated with Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Then, it was applied for immunization of mice. The polyclonal anti-VEGF antibody titer was measured using an indirect peptide-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-conjugated peptide. Findings: According to bioinformatic findings, the selected 41-aminoacid sequence did not show any similarity with other human proteins and revealed enough antigenicity to stimulate anti-tumor specific responses. A substantial increase of specific antibody titer was observed in vaccinated mice. Sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of the BSA-conjugated peptide showed efficient coupling of the molecules. Optimization steps in ELISA procedures revealed that coating of microtiter plates with BSA-conjugated antigen provided more reproducible outcome than unconjugated peptide. Conclusion: Our results reinforce the potential of KLH-conjugated peptides for immunization and production of specific polyclonal antibodies against VEGF-A. Production of high-titer antibodies against this autoantigen indicates that the designed peptide-vaccine could be used as a potential immunogen for stimulation of humoral immune system in animal model. © 2016, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved