Karyotype analysis of Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in Fars Province

The number of chromosome and karyotype of Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) was determined by the conventional preparation and Gimsa staining technique, using gill epithelia and kidney cells. In this investigation, 5 specimens of G. rufa were used which collected from Rodbal River, Firouzabad, Fars Province. Based on 30 chromosome spreads counts, the chromosome number was found to be 2n=50 with arm number NF=84. By using the ratio of long arm to short arm, the karyotype formula of 10 metacentric, 24 sub-metacentric and 16 sub-telocentric (10M +24SM +16St) was obtained

The Design of a Smart Refrigerator Prototype

The technological development nowadays has enabled the use of smart appliances and machines almost everywhere. The refrigerator is considered one of the most important appliances that is being used in almost every place for the purpose of storing foods, drinks, and medicines at cold temperatures, and in a sealed place to avoid exposure. However, there are several  challenges encountered with refrigerators; like the expiration of some of the items inside the fridge, the need to know the exact count  and availability of the items, potential liquid leaks, and open fridge door. A smart refrigerator is proposed as a solution to the aforementioned problems. The proposed smart refrigerator uses a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, the Arduino Uno microcontroller, RFID tags for all items in the fridge, a user friendly application developed using Microsoft Visual Studio, MySQL main database developed by the suppliers to store the information related to each purchased item and Phidget Interface Kit board

Otolith morphology of some freshwater fishes of Iran

Otoliths or ear stones are small white bodies present in the ear of bony fishes. Otoliths are important in keeping fish position and steadiness and also are useful structures in hearing. There are three pairs of otoliths which are called Sagittus, Lapillus and Astriscus. In the present study, otoliths of 15 species belonging to 14 genera and 6 families were collected from different basins including Kor Watershed, (Ghadamgah), Persian Gulf (Ghara Aghaj River), Hormuz (Khurgu Hot Spring), Tigris and Karon (Ghaghakhor wetland) and also some fish farms of Fars province were examined. Results showed that in Salmonidae, Cichlidae and Cyprinodontidae families Sagittus is larger while in the Balitoridae, Cobitidae and Cyprinidae Asteriscus is bigger than the other otoliths. Moreover, there is high variation in Asteriscus shape in different families

Short communication: Infection of Aphanius dispar (Holly, 1929) with Ligula intestinalis plerocercoids in Mehran River, Hormuzgan province, south of Iran

Aphanius dispar (Holly, 1929) (known as Mahi gour-e khari, mahi dom parchami, kopurdandandar-e balehbolband) is an euryhaline tooth-carp fish which apparently prefers brackish waters of coastal areas of Iran. It is also distributed in Cyprus, Iraq, Somalia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Djibouti. Aphanius dispar occurs in shallow water and among vegetation over sand, rock or soft detritus bottoms. Ligula intestinalis (L., 1758) is a pseudophyllidean cestode which in its plerocercoid stage infects a range of freshwater fish species, particularly members of the cyprinidae, as its second intermediate host and it has a widespread distribution throughout the northern hemisphere. However, no report is available on the occurrence of L. intestinalis from tooth-carp fish found in southern Iran. Recently, the present authors studied the infection of A. persicus in Barme-e-Shoor Spring-Stream System, Maharlu Basin, Shiraz, Iran. The present study was undertaken to investigate the possibility of A. dispar acting as an intermediate host for Ligula intestinalis from Mehran river in Mehran basin, near Bastak city, Hormuzgan Province, south of Iran

Effect of pancreatic extract on insulin secreting cell differentiation from mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

زمینه و هدف: با دیابت نوع یک در نتیجه ی تخریب خود ایمنی سلول های بتای جزایر پانکراس ایجاد می شود. مطالعات اخیر نشان می‌دهد بسیاری از انواع سلول های بنیادی می توانند به عنوان منابع احتمالی برای به دست آوردن سلول های قابل پیوند تولید کننده انسولین (IPCs) در نظر گرفته شوند. در این مطالعه تمایز سلول های بنیادی مزانشیمی مغز استخوان به سلول های مولد انسولین با استفاده از عصاره پانکراس موش مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی آزمایشگاهی از سلول های بنیادی مزانشیمی مغز استخوان موش کوچک آزمایشگاهی برای تمایز به سلول های انسولین ساز استفاده شد. سلول های تمایز یافته با استفاده از رنگ اختصاصی دیتیزون و آنتی بادی های ضد انسولین- پروانسولین و ضد رسپتور بتای انسولین مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفتند. همچنین بیان ژن اختصاصی سلول های پانکراسی یعنی pdx-I در این سلول ها با روش RT-PCR بررسی شد. یافته ها: سلول های تمایز یافته مشتق از روش مستقیم مورفولوژی مشابه با سلول های بتای پانکراس نشان دادند. سلول های دیتیزون مثبت به صورت دستجات قرمز ارغوانی دیده شدند. نتایج بررسی RT-PCR بیان ژن اختصاصی سلول های بتا (pdx-I) را در سلول های تمایز مستقیم نشان داد. ایمنوفلورسنس وجود نشانگرهای اختصاصی سلول های بتا را دراین سلول ها به اثبات رساند. نتیجه گیری: نتایج این مطالعه نشان داد که سلول های بنیادی مزانشیمی مغز استخوان می توانند در حضور عصاره پانکراس به سلول های مولد انسولین تمایز یابند؛ لذا استفاده از این نتایج تولید سلول های بتا از سلول های بنیادی در شرایط آزمایشگاهی را تسهیل می کند

Evaluation of pdx-1 gene expression in insulin producing cells, derived from embryonal carcinoma stem cells

زمینه و هدف: درک عملکرد سلول های بتا در سطح مولکولی به احتمال زیاد توسعه تکنیک های تولید سلول های بتا را تسهیل می کند. این مطالعه با هدف بررسی بیان ژن هومئوباکس دئودنال 1 (pdx-1) در سلول‌های تمایز یافته طراحی و اجرا شد. روش بررسی: این مطالعه بنیادی-کاربردی بر روی تمایز سلول‌های بنیادی به سلول‌های انسولین‌ساز انجام گرفت. محیط ثانویه حاصل از کشت پانکراس نوزاد یک هفته‌ای موش برای تمایز سلول‌های P19 استفاده شد. اجسام شبه جنینی (EBs) با کشت معلق 24 ساعته سلول‌های P19 تشکیل شدند. برای القای تمایز، غلظت‌های متفاوت محیط ثانویه (25، 50، 75 و 100) به محیط کشت اضافه شد. جهت شناسایی سلول‌های تمایز یافته مشتق از EBs در شرایط آزمایشــگاهی از رنگ آمیزی دیتیزون استفاده شد. تولید انسولین-پروانسولین و رسپتور بتای انسولین در این سلول ها به روش ایمنوفلورسنس تعیین و بیان ژن pdx-1 به وسیله واکنش زنجیره پلی‌مراز-رونویسی معکوس ارزیابی شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون های آماری آنالیز واریانس یک طرفه و دانکن تجزیه و تحلیل شدند. یافته‌ها: پس از هفت روز القا، دستجات سلولی تمایز یافته ظاهر شدند. اوج پاسخ‌گویی تمایزی مربوط به غلظت 50 از محیط ثانویه بود. بیان ژن pdx-1 در دستجات سلولی تمایز یافته مشاهده شد. بیان نشانگرهای انسولین-پروانسولین و رسپتور بتا در سلول‌های تمایز یافته به روش ایمنوفلورسنس اثبات شد. نتیجه‌گیری: محیط ثانویه پانکراس باعث تمایز سلول‌های P19به سلول‌های انسولین ساز ‌‌شد، لذا نتایج این مطالعه می تواند تولید سلول های بتا را از سلول های بنیادی تسهیل نماید

Effect of Nepeta Menthoides on Cognitive Disorders in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Clinical Trial

Nowadays, given the outbreak of Alzheimer disease (AD) as a global phenomenon, it is absolutely essential to take efficacious measures against it. Heating up the brain is a recommended approach to decrease the symptoms of AD. Furthermore, using hot herb is an effective method to enhance the temperature of the brain. One of the hot herbs is Nepeta menthoides which is known as Ostokhodus and has neuroprotective effects. In the present paper, the effect of Nepeta on the treatment of Alzheimer was studied. A trial was carried out on two groups of AD patients. While the first group was prescribed the capsules of Nepeta extraction, the second group was given the placebo capsules. The results of the taken MMSE inventories from both of the tested groups as the comparison criteria revealed that Nepeta had positive influence on the treatment of AD

Effect of Nepeta Menthoides on Cognitive Disorders in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Clinical Trial

Nowadays, given the outbreak of Alzheimer disease (AD) as a global phenomenon, it is absolutely essential to take efficacious measures against it. Heating up the brain is a recommended approach to decrease the symptoms of AD. Furthermore, using hot herb is an effective method to enhance the temperature of the brain. One of the hot herbs is Nepeta menthoides which is known as Ostokhodus and has neuroprotective effects. In the present paper, the effect of Nepeta on the treatment of Alzheimer was studied. A trial was carried out on two groups of AD patients. While the first group was prescribed the capsules of Nepeta extraction, the second group was given the placebo capsules. The results of the taken MMSE inventories from both of the tested groups as the comparison criteria revealed that Nepeta had positive influence on the treatment of AD

Does pesticides pollution affect rice plants in the southern coastline of the Caspian Sea?

Considering the increasing rice consumption in the world and also the excessive application of pesticides to increase production, an experiment was conducted to determine the pesticide residues and their effects on nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus content of Hashemi, Khazar and Gohar (SA13) rice cultivars, in a factorial design at randomized complete block design with three replications. In this study, rice plants were treated with three pesticides including insecticide Diazinon, herbicide Butachlor and fungicide Tricyclazole which are commonly used in the paddy fields of the southern coastline of the Caspian Sea, with standard concentrations recommended for these pesticides. The results indicated that the impacts of different pesticides on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents in rice grains of Hashemi and Khazar cultivars were not significantly different. However, the nitrogen content reduced significantly in Gohar cultivar treated by Butachlor and Tricyclazole in comparison with control (p≤0.01). Determination of pesticides residues showed that Diazinon residue in white grains of Hashemi, Khazar and Gohar cultivars was lower than recommended limit determined by Codex (0.1 ppm), and also Tricyclazole amount was below the limit of detection. Therefore, using pesticides in permissible limits is strongly recommended. However, it cannot be concluded that using pesticides; even in permissible limits, does not have dangerous impacts over time on living organisms of the Caspian ecosystem

Wide distribution of carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in burns patients in Iran

Antimicrobial resistance in carbapenem non-susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii (CNSAb) is a major public health concern globally. This study determined the antibiotic resistance and molecular epidemiology of CNSAb isolates from a referral burn center in Tehran, Iran. Sixty-nine CNSAb isolates were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobial agents using the E test methodology. Multiple locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and multiplex PCR were performed. PCR assays tested for ambler classes A, B, and D β-lactamases. Detection of ISAba1, characterization of integrons, and biofilm formation were investigated. Fifty-three (77) isolates revealed XDR phenotypes. High prevalence of blaOXA-23-like (88) and blaPER-1 (54) were detected. ISAba1 was detected upstream of blaADC, blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA51-like genes in, 97, 42, and 26 of isolates, respectively. Thirty-one (45) isolates were assigned to international clone (IC) variants. MLVA identified 56 distinct types with six clusters and 53 singleton genotypes. Forty previously known MLST sequence types forming 5 clonal complexes were identified. The Class 1 integron (class 1 integrons) gene was identified in 84 of the isolates. The most prevalent (33) cassette combination was aacA4-catB8-aadA1. The IC variants were predominant in the A. baumannii lineage with the ability to form strong biofilms. The XDR-CNSAb from burned patients in Iran is resistant to various antimicrobials, including tigecycline. This study shows wide genetic diversity in CNSAb. Integrating the new Iranian A. baumannii IC variants into the epidemiologic clonal and susceptibility profile databases can help effective global control measures against the XDR-CNSAb pandemic. � 2015 Farshadzadeh, Hashemi, Rahimi, Pourakbari, Esmaeili, Haghighi, Majidpour, Shojaa, Rahmani, Gharesi, Aziemzadeh and Bahador