Cytotoxic activity of natural components soluble in methanol and diethyl ether of Dysidea pallescens from Hengam Island, Persian Gulf

Sponges are the most primitive of the multicellular, These organisms don’t have any mechanical defense system, so their early appearance in evolution has given them a lot of time for the development of advanced secondary metabolites as chemical defense system. Sponges have the potential to provide drugs from chemical components against diseases. In this investigation the sponge samples, which it is Dysidea pallescens, were collected at depth of 15- 20 meter, from locations on the coastline of Island Hengam in Persian Gulf of Iran. For identifying natural components, methanol and diethyl ether were used as extraction solvents, after removal of the solvents; the in vitro cytotoxic activity was identified. In vitro cytotoxicity screening, by XTT assay, against KB/ C152 and HUT-78/ C185 cell line, was conducted in this study in 1 - 500 µg/ml. IC50 for diethyl ether and methanol extract was 200 µg/ml in HUT-78, IC50 for diethyl ether extract was 325µg/ml and methanol extract 325µg/ml in KB

Genetic variability and differentiation of common Kilka fish (Clupeonella cultriventris Nordmann, 1840) in the southern coasts of Caspian Sea

A total of 120 samples of adult common Kilka fish (Clupeonella cultriventris) were collected during spring and summer from the southern coasts of Caspian Sea (Bandar Anzali and Babolsar). Fifteen sets of microsatellite primers were developed from Clupeidae being tested on genomic DNA of common Kilka. Allele frequency, observed and expected heterozygosity, FST, RST, FIS index were determined. Five primer sets as polymorphic loci were used to analyze the genetic variation in adults of the common Kilka population. Results revealed that average alleles per locus was 13.1 (range 5 to 22 alleles per locus in regions, Ne=9.5). All sampled regions contained private alleles. Average observed and expected heterozygosity was 0.348 and 0.877, respectively. Deviations from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium were observed in most cases. FST, RST and gene flow estimates in AMOVA and the genetic distance between populations indicated that the genetic difference among the studied populations was pronounced. The data generated in this study provide primary information on the genetic variation and differentiation in populations of Caspian common Kilka

Antimicrobial activities of semi polar-nonpolar and polar secondary metabolites of sponge Dysidea pallescens from Hengam Island, Persian Gulf

Sponges are the simplest multicellular animals that lack defense mechanisms and rely on chemical defense that have been used by mankind to develop antimicrobial drugs against diseases. The present study was designed to demonstrate the antibacterial and antifungal activities of marine sponge Dysidea pallescens semipolar and nonpolar extracts. In this study, D. pallescens were collected from Hengam Island in the Persian Gulf. The extracts were produced by Bligh and Dyer method. Broth Dilution Methods were used to check the antimicrobial activity of D. pallescens extracts against Escherichia coli (ATCC 15224), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 25619), Staphylococcus aureus aureus (ATCC 1764), Bacillus subtilis pizizenii (ATCC 6633), Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) and Aspergillus fumigates (PTCC 5009). The results showed diethyl ether extract has bactericidal activity against S. aureus aureus (MBC=10mg/mL) and B. subtilis spizizenii (MBC=20mg/mL). D. pallescens diethyl ether extract showed a very weak antifungal activity but methanol extract showed fungicidal activity against A. fumigates (MFC=5mg/mL) and C. albicans (MFC=1.5 mg/mL). Therefore nonpolar-semipolar secondary metabolites of D. pallescens solutions in diethyl ether have shown significant antibacterial activity and polar-secondary metabolites solutions in methanol have shown significant antifungal activity

Microbiological qualification of air, water and dialysate in a haemodialysis centre; a new focus on Legionella spp.

Background and Objectives: The microbiological monitoring of the water used for haemodialysis is important especially for Legionella and non-fermentative bacteria since patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) are suffering from deteriorated function of immune system. Materials and Methods: A total 50 water and dialysate samples were weekly collected over a period of 10 weeks from 5 sites. Total and faecal coliforms were determined by utilizing the most probable number (MPN) method. For isolation of Legionella, water samples were inoculated on a BCYE medium. DNA extraction was performed and was used to amplify 16S rRNA gene of Legionella species. Airborne bacteria were sampled using a single stage Andersen air sampler. Results: Out of total 50 water samples, 24 samples had bacterial contamination. The highest rate of Legionella contamination was observed in the storage tank (67 cfu/ml). Legionella was not isolated from the dialysate effluent samples. The highest rate of total bacterial count was related to the dialysate effluent and the maximum total count of coliforms was related to the reverse osmosis. The isolated bacteria were Gram-negative bacilli (mostly Pseudomonas isolates), Gram-positive cocci (mostly Micrococcus spp.) and Gram-positive bacilli (mostly Bacillus spp.). Six samples were contaminated with coliforms. No faecal coliform was isolated from the samples. Conclusion: These results indicated that dialysis machine is an important source of contaminations such as Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Legionella. Therefore an efficient prevention program is needed to eliminate bacterial contamination of dialysis water system. Moreover, in haemodialysis centres, periodic surveillance programs for microbiological qualification can lead to a better planning for disinfection of haemodialysis water systems. © 2016, Tehran University of Medical Science. All rights reserved

Preparation of nanostructured nickel aluminate spinel powder from spent NiO/Al2O3 catalyst by mechano-chemical synthesis

In this paper, the possibility of mechano-chemical synthesis, as a single step process for preparation of nanostructured nickel aluminate spinel powder from NiO/Al2O3 spent catalyst was investigated. Powder samples were characterized in terms of composition, morphology, structure, particle size and surface area using complementary techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and volumetric adsorption of nitrogen. It was found that formation of spinel was possible after 60 h of milling with no heat treatment. Additionally, influence of mechanical activation on the heat treatment temperature was discussed. It was observed that heat treatment of 15 h milled sample at 1100 °C is enough to produce nickel aluminate spinel. A product of direct mechanical milling showed higher value of surface area (42.3 m2/g) and smaller crystallite size (12 nm) as compared to the heat treated product.Gobierno de España ENE 2007-67926-C02-0

Design and Construction of Zana Robot for Modeling Human Player in Rock-paper-scissors Game using Multilayer Perceptron, Radial basis Functions and Markov Algorithms

In this paper, the implementation of artificial neural networks (multilayer perceptron [MLP] and radial base functions [RBF]) and the upgraded Markov chain model have been studied and performed to identify the human behavior patterns during rock, paper, and scissors game. The main motivation of this research is the design and construction of an intelligent robot with the ability to defeat a human opponent. MATLAB software has been used to implement intelligent algorithms. After implementing the algorithms, their effectiveness in detecting human behavior pattern has been investigated. To ensure the ideal performance of the implemented model, each player played with the desired algorithms in three different stages. The results showed that the percentage of winning computer with MLP and RBF neural networks and upgraded Markov model, on average in men and women is 59%, 76.66%, and 75%, respectively. Obtained results clearly indicate a very good performance of the RBF neural network and the upgraded Markov model in the mental modeling of the human opponent in the game of rock, paper, and scissors. In the end, the designed game has been employed in both hardware and software which include the Zana intelligent robot and a digital version with a graphical user interface design on the stand. To the best knowledge of the authors, the precision of novel presented method for determining human behavior patterns was the highest precision among all of the previous studies

Population genetic structure of common kilka (Clupeonella cultriventris) in the south Caspian Sea costline (Mazandaran province) using micro satellite markers

Common kilka, Clupeonella cultriventris is an economic fish in Caspian sea and we investigate population genetic structure of common kilka in the South Caspian Sea costline (Mazandaran province) using microsatellite markers. Totally, 60 individuals of adult common kilka from two seasons were sampled. Eight sets of microsatellite primers were developed from American shad and Pacific herring tested on genomic DNA of common kilka. At this point only the five successfully used primer sets and were used to analyze the genetic variation in adultsof the common kilka population. Analyses revealed that average of alleles per locus was 11.7 (Na range 6 to 17 alleles per locus). Both of sampled seasons contained private alleles. Average observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.543 and 0.866 respectively. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were in most cases (P<0.01). Basis on AMOVA for both FST values among pairs them indicated a significant difference between the two seasons (P≤0.01). These results support the existence of different genetic populations along the South Caspian Sea costline (Mazandaran province) in different seasons

Cytotoxic furanosesquiterpenoids and steroids from Ircinia mutans sponges

CONTEXT: Ircinia mutans Wilson (Irciniidae) is a sponge with antimicrobial and cytotoxic constituents. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to characterise the cytotoxic constituents of two seasonal collections of I. mutans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sponges were extracted in methanol-dichloromethane and their constituents were purified and characterised using column chromatography, GC-MS, 1 D and 2 D NMR. Anti-proliferative activities of the compounds, were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay (0.25–100 μg/mL, 72 h) against leukaemia (MOLT-4), breast (MCF-7) and colon cancer (HT-29) human cells. RESULTS: Three furanosesquiterpoids; furodysin (1), ent-furodysinin (2) and furoircin (3) and ten sterols were characterised in I. mutans, for the first time. Cholesterol (4), cholesta-5, 7-dien-3β-ol (5) and ergosterol (6) were determined in the sponge from the winter collections, while cholesta-5, 22-dien-3β-ol (7), 24-methyldesmosterol (8), campesterol (9), stigmasterol (10), γ-ergostenol (11), chondrillasterol (12) and γ-sitosterol (13) were detected in the summer samples. The steroids from the winter collection exhibited cytotoxic activity with IC(50) values of 13.0 ± 0.9, 11.1 ± 1.7 and 1.1 ± 0.4 µg/mL, against the mentioned cancer cell lines, respectively, while those from the summer sample, showed greater activity, IC(50) = 1.1 ± 0.2 μg/mL against MOLT-4. The purified steroids showed potent MOLT-4 cytotoxic activity, IC(50) values = 2.3–7.8 µg/mL. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that I. mutans is a rich source of cytotoxic steroids, and introduces 3 as new natural product. Considering the high cytotoxic activity of the steroids, these structures could be candidates for anticancer drug development in future research

Does L-carnitine improve endothelial function in hemodialysis patients?

Background: Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in hemodialysis patients. These patients are also very prone to Lcarnitine deficiency due to kidney disease. In this clinical trial, we investigated the effect of oral L-carnitine on endothelial function of these patients. Materials ans Methods: We studied 31 adult chronic hemodialysis patients in our center and divided them into two groups. The first group (n = 20) received 1500 mg/dialysis interval (every other day) oral L-carnitine. The control group (n = 11) received placebo for one month. Ultrasonographic measurements of flow mediated dilation and carotid intima-media thickness were performed before and after one month of L-carnitine and placebo therapy. Results: This study showed that after one month of Lcarnitine or placebo therapy there was no significant improvement in flow mediated dilation (p = 0.80 and p = 0.59, respectively) or decrease in carotid intima-media thickness (p = 0.12 and p = 0.50, respectively). Conclusions: Our study revealed that one month of oral L-carnitine therapy did not improve endothelial function in hemodialysis patients. Long-term studies with large sample size using intravenous form and higher doses of the drug are required to clarify the questionable role of L-carnitine in hemodialysis patients