Comparison of growth indices, survival and total production of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis and Fenneropenaeus indicus in Hormozgan Province

The aim of the project was to assess production per hectare and other growth indices of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis and F. indicus in Zarabzy farm in earthen ponds of Tiab area, Hormozgan province. We used two treatments, one for each species three replications each. Post larvae of the species were stocked at density 20 ind/m2. Shrimp were fed by imported pellet on the basis of standard feeding table. In order to obtain the growth rate and calculate daily feeding status, the shrimp were biometrically assessed twice a month. We also measured physic-chemical factors of water including pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and salinity twice a day. The recorded mean results of survival rate in treatment 1 and 2 were 10% and 64%, respectively. Final product and mean body weight in treatment 1 and 2 were 337.5 and 1526Kg/ha and 16.97 and 11.44g, respectively. The result of final product, survival rate and F.C.R. were above standards. The result of physico-chemical tests showed the parameters were higher than standard which had negative impact on production in both treatments. The results showed that propagation of F. merguiensis is feasible and it can be cultured provided that the suitable food is made available

Eagle Syndrome Masquerading as a Chicken Bone

This is a brief report of a 17-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with odynophagia and a foreign body sensation in the throat after choking on a chicken wing. A soft tissue neck radiograph was performed which revealed a 4.6-cm linear object in the vallecula read by the radiology department as a chicken bone. The otolaryngology team was consulted and performed a nasopharyngeal laryngoscopy which did not reveal a foreign body in the upper aerodigestive tract. On physical examination, the right tonsillar fossa was tender to palpation. Upon further review of the radiograph, the right stylohyoid ligament was noted to be elongated and calcified. Thereafter, the diagnosis of Eagle syndrome was made. This case provides an important teaching point for providers by pointing out a syndrome that can mimic other disease processes. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of providers reviewing their own films

Current and former smokers among adolescents aged 12-17 years in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Smoking, especially among adolescents, is considered a serious public health concern worldwide being associated with increased mortality. The present study was designed as the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of current and former smoking behavior among adolescents in Iran. Methods: Seven international scholarly databases, namely Scopus, Embase, Pubmed/Medline, ISI/Web of Science (WOS), the Cochrane Library, Psyc Info and Cinahl, were extensively searched from January 2000 to September 18, 2019. Google Scholar was also mined. Iranian databases were searched as well (namely, MagIran, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Barakatkns). The DerSimonian-Laird's approach, via the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine method, was used to synthesize the prevalence estimates. Results: The prevalence of current smokers among Iranian adolescents was estimated to be 9 (95 CI: 7 to 10). Stratifying based on gender, the prevalence was 12 among boys (95 CI: 10 to 14) and 6 among girls (95 CI: 5 to 8). The prevalence of former smokers among Iranian adolescents using the random-effect model was computed to be 24 (95 CI: 21 to 27). Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of current and former smoking behavior among Iranian adolescents is a relevant public health concern. The country's young population should be given more attention by health policy- A nd decision-makers and implementation of ad hoc prevention and control policies should be on their agenda. © 2020 The Author(s)

Determination of heavy metal (lead and cadmium) concentrations in liver and muscle tissue of Indian mackerel (Rastrelliiger kanagurta) in Persian Gulf

This study was conducted to compare heavy metal concentrations including lead and cadmium in liver and muscle tissues of Indian mackerel (Rastrelliiger Kanagurta) in Bandar Lengeh, Hormoz island, Hengam island and Kolahi regions. In current research, the influence of season, sex and size (length and weight) on Pb and Cd concentrations in Indian mackerel was investigated in these areas. Then Lead and cadmium concentrations in muscle tissues were compared with international standards for human consumption. Sampling was performed in summer and winter. Metal concentrations of organs were assessed by dry digestion method and atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). Results showed that there are statistically significant differences between concentrations of lead and cadmium in liver and tissues of the fish in these regions (Bandar Lengeh, Hormoz, Hengam and Kolahi) (p0.05). In addition, there is no correlation between lead and cadmium concentrations in muscle and liver of Indian mackerel with size (length and weight) (p>0.05)

Switching magnetization with a Weyl semimetal

Energy-efficient magnetization manipulation is a prerequisite for competitive spintronic devices. The Weyl semimetal WTe2 can act as a spin current source that enables magnetization switching of an adjacent ferromagnet at low power consumption and additionally induces chiral magnetism.</p

THz and IR spectroscopy of endofullerene H₂O@C₆₀

Terahertz time-domain and infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy techniques are used to investigate the properties of H2O@C60 endofullerene in 6 K – 300 K temperature interval. A number of absorption lines associated with rotational transitions of water molecule entrapped inside C60 cages are observed and assigned. Fitting the resonances with Lorenzian lineshapes allowed us to obtain temperature dependencies of absorption lines parameters – frequency, strength and damping

Primary skin fibroblasts as a model of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder. While most cases occur sporadic mutations in a growing number of genes including Parkin (PARK2) and PINK1 (PARK6) have been associated with the disease. Different animal models and cell models like patient skin fibroblasts and recombinant cell lines can be used as model systems for Parkinson's disease. Skin fibroblasts present a system with defined mutations and the cumulative cellular damage of the patients. PINK1 and Parkin genes show relevant expression levels in human fibroblasts and since both genes participate in stress response pathways, we believe fibroblasts advantageous in order to assess, e.g. the effect of stressors. Furthermore, since a bioenergetic deficit underlies early stage Parkinson's disease, while atrophy underlies later stages, the use of primary cells seems preferable over the use of tumor cell lines. The new option to use fibroblast-derived induced pluripotent stem cells redifferentiated into dopaminergic neurons is an additional benefit. However, the use of fibroblast has also some drawbacks. We have investigated PARK6 fibroblasts and they mirror closely the respiratory alterations, the expression profiles, the mitochondrial dynamics pathology and the vulnerability to proteasomal stress that has been documented in other model systems. Fibroblasts from patients with PARK2, PARK6, idiopathic Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 demonstrated a distinct and unique mRNA expression pattern of key genes in neurodegeneration. Thus, primary skin fibroblasts are a useful Parkinson's disease model, able to serve as a complement to animal mutants, transformed cell lines and patient tissues

Class-modeling analysis reveals T-cell homeostasis disturbances involved in loss of immune control in elite controllers

Despite long-lasting HIV replication control, a significant proportion of elite controller (EC) patients may experience CD4 T-cell loss. Discovering perturbations in immunological parameters could help our understanding of the mechanisms that may be operating in those patients experiencing loss of immunological control. Methods A case–control study was performed to evaluate if alterations in different T-cell homeostatic parameters can predict CD4 T-cell loss in ECs by comparing data from EC patients showing significant CD4 decline (cases) and EC patients showing stable CD4 counts (controls). The partial least-squares–class modeling (PLS-CM) statistical methodology was employed to discriminate between the two groups of patients, and as a predictive model. Results Herein, we show that among T-cell homeostatic alterations, lower levels of naïve and recent thymic emigrant subsets of CD8 cells and higher levels of effector and senescent subsets of CD8 cells as well as higher levels of exhaustion of CD4 cells, measured prior to CD4 T-cell loss, predict the loss of immunological control. Conclusions These data indicate that the parameters of T-cell homeostasis may identify those EC patients with a higher proclivity to CD4 T-cell loss. Our results may open new avenues for understanding the mechanisms underlying immunological progression despite HIV replication control, and eventually, for finding a functional cure through immune-based clinical trials.projects RD12/0017/0031, RD16/0025/ 0013, and SAF2015-66193-R as part of the Health Research and Development Strategy, State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (2008– 2011 and 2013–2016) and cofinanced by the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Sub-Directorate General for Research Assessment and Promotion and European Regional Development Fund. NR is a Miguel Servet investigator from the ISCIII (CP14/00198), Madrid, Spain. C Restrepo was funded by project RD12/0017/ 0031 and is currently funded by project RD16/0025/0013. M García is a predoctoral student co-funded by grant CP14/00198 and an Intramural Research Scholarship from Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz (IIS-FJD)

Chronic Delivery of Antibody Fragments Using Immunoisolated Cell Implants as a Passive Vaccination Tool

BACKGROUND: Monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments are powerful biotherapeutics for various debilitating diseases. However, high production costs, functional limitations such as inadequate pharmacokinetics and tissue accessibility are the current principal disadvantages for broadening their use in clinic. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report a novel method for the long-term delivery of antibody fragments. We designed an allogenous immunoisolated implant consisting of polymer encapsulated myoblasts engineered to chronically release scFv antibodies targeted against the N-terminus of the Aβ peptide. Following a 6-month intracerebral therapy we observed a significant reduction of the production and aggregation of the Aβ peptide in the APP23 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. In addition, functional assessment showed prevention of behavioral deficits related to anxiety and memory traits. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The chronic local release of antibodies using immunoisolated polymer cell implants represents an alternative passive vaccination strategy in Alzheimer's disease. This novel technique could potentially benefit other diseases presently treated by local and systemic antibody administration

Plos One

One of the approaches by which the scientific community is seeking to cure HIV is the use of therapeutic vaccination. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of the virus-specific CD8+ T cell cytotoxic responses for the immune control of HIV and have oriented research on vaccine constructs based on CTL epitopes from circulating HIV-1 strains. The clinical trials with therapeutic vaccines to date have had limited success likely due to (i) a discrepancy between archived CTL epitopes in the viral reservoir and those in circulating viruses before antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and (ii) the lack of strong affinity between the selected CTL epitopes and the HLA grooves for presentation to CD8+ cells. To overcome these limitations, we launched the Provir/Latitude 45 study to identify conserved CTL epitopes in archived HIV-1 DNA according to the HLA class I alleles of aviremic patients, most of whom are under ART. The near full-length genomes or Gag, Pol and Nef regions of proviral DNA were sequenced by Sanger and/or Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). The HLA-A and B alleles were defined by NGS or molecular analysis. The TuTuGenetics software, which moves a sliding window of 8 to 10 amino acids through the amino acid alignment, was combined with the Immune Epitope Data Base (IEDB) to automatically calculate the theoretical binding affinity of identified epitopes to the HLA alleles for each individual. We identified 15 conserved epitopes in Pol (11), Gag (3), and Nef (1) according to their potential presentation by the dominant HLA-A and B alleles and now propose to use the corresponding conserved peptides in a multi-epitopic vaccine (HLA-fitted VAC, HFVAC)