Morphological adaptation of Cercis griffithii seedlings in response to progressive drought and salinity stresses

The experiment for evaluate the effect of drought and salinity stresses on the morphological behaviours of Afghan redbud seedlings was done in Torogh nursery in Iran country. This study was conducted in a completely randomized design; without stress (tap common water in the nursery- EC 0.8 dS m-1), drought stress (four days a time irrigation) and salt treatment (EC 12.03 dS m-1). During the summer, morphological traits were measured and calculated. Result showed that height seedling after 60th until 70th day significant at the (p<0.05) level and significantly at (p<0.01) levels at the end of growth period under the drought and salinity conditions. Leaf area at the end of growth, leaf area growth and leaf area reduced significantly at (p<0.01) in comparison with control treatment. The result indicated that effect of time × drought interaction for height, diameter, number of leaves and leaf area was not significant. The result indicated that effect of time × salinity interaction for height, diameter and number of leaves was not significant but for leaf area had significant difference at (p<0.05) level. We used four days a time by irrigation and saline water in nursery less than EC 12.03 dS m-1 for economy well water in arid and semi-arid region.Keywords: Afghan redbud, Stress, Growth, Regression model, Repeated Measure

PCSK9 SNP rs11591147 association study with coronary artery disease risk in Iran

Pro-protein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has been implicated in the regulation of the plasma levels of LDL-cholesterol. The SNP rs11591147 variant in PCSK9 gene is associated with low levels of LDL and reduced risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in various populations. We therefore, investigated the association and protective role of the SNP rs11591147 with CAD in 94 patients and 94 healthy participants as controls. rs11591147 T>G was genotyped in all subjects by TaqMan Probe Real Time PCR, although we could not observe neither positive or insignificant association between SNP genotypes with CAD incidence. Allele frequencies also remained insignificant after performing comparison analyses between cases and controls. LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels were not associated with the genotypes. Our data indicated that CAD or the plasma level of LDL-cholesterol was not associated with the reduction of CAD incidence in Iranian population, even in a population with high frequency of lipid-connected CAD risk factors. Prospective investigations should include more cases to accurately analyze the effect of SNP rs11591147 in protecting patients from CAD

Comparative analgesic effects of intradermal and subdermal injection of sterile water on active labor pain

Background: The labor pain is one of the factors encouraging pregnant women for cesarean section delivery. Recently, intradermal and subdermal injection of distilled water has shown to be effective in improving this pain. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine which method has a greater impact on labor pain reduction. Methods: In this double-blind, randomized clinical trial, 121 nulliparous women with a gestational age of � 37 weeks were randomly divided into three groups: (1) 0.5 cc sterile water injection subdermally at four sacral points with insulin needles (n = 40); (2) 0.5 cc sterile water injection intradermally (n = 39); and (3) needle contact with the mentioned points as the placebo (n = 42). Before the intervention, the VAS score was measured for labor pain, and it was repeated 10, 30, 60, and 90 min after the intervention. The results were compared between the three groups. Results: Before the intervention, the mean VAS pain score had no significant difference between the three groups. However, 30, 60, and 90 min after the intervention, the mean pain score was significantly lower in the intradermal and subdermal injection groups than in the control group (P = 0.001); however, the difference between the intradermal and subdermal injection groups was not significant. Conclusions: The injection of distilled water by either intradermal or subdermal method was associated with a significant reduction in the pain score during labor, but there was no difference between these two methods in terms of decreasing labor pain. As sterile water injection is a safe, effective, and low-cost method, it is proposed to increase the knowledge of midwives and obstetri-cians about this method. © 2020, Author(s)

Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Emergent Variants Following AZD7442 (Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab) for Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19 (TACKLE Trial)

Introduction: AZD7442 (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) comprises neutralising monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bind to distinct non-overlapping epitopes on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein. Viral evolution during mAb therapy can select for variants with reduced neutralisation susceptibility. We examined treatment-emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants during TACKLE (NCT04723394), a phase 3 study of AZD7442 for early outpatient treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). // Methods: Non-hospitalised adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 were randomised and dosed ≤ 7 days from symptom onset with AZD7442 (n = 452) or placebo (n = 451). Next-generation sequencing of the spike gene was performed on SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction-positive nasopharyngeal swabs at baseline and study days 3, 6, and 15 post dosing. SARS-CoV-2 lineages were assigned using spike nucleotide sequences. Amino acid substitutions were analysed at allele fractions (AF; % of sequence reads represented by substitution) ≥ 25% and 3% to 25%. In vitro susceptibility to tixagevimab, cilgavimab, and AZD7442 was evaluated for all identified treatment-emergent variants using a pseudotyped microneutralisation assay. // Results: Longitudinal spike sequences were available for 461 participants (AZD7442, n = 235; placebo, n = 226) and showed that treatment-emergent variants at any time were rare, with 5 (2.1%) AZD7442 participants presenting ≥ 1 substitution in tixagevimab/cilgavimab binding sites at AF ≥ 25%. At AF 3% to 25%, treatment-emergent variants were observed in 15 (6.4%) AZD7442 and 12 (5.3%) placebo participants. All treatment-emergent variants showed in vitro susceptibility to AZD7442. // Conclusion: These data indicate that AZD7442 creates a high genetic barrier for resistance and is a feasible option for COVID-19 treatment

Subjective and objective measures

One of the greatest challenges in the study of emotions and emotional states is their measurement. The techniques used to measure emotions depend essentially on the authors’ definition of the concept of emotion. Currently, two types of measures are used: subjective and objective. While subjective measures focus on assessing the conscious recognition of one’s own emotions, objective measures allow researchers to quantify and assess the conscious and unconscious emotional processes. In this sense, when the objective is to evaluate the emotional experience from the subjective point of view of an individual in relation to a given event, then subjective measures such as self-report should be used. In addition to this, when the objective is to evaluate the emotional experience at the most unconscious level of processes such as the physiological response, objective measures should be used. There are no better or worse measures, only measures that allow access to the same phenomenon from different points of view. The chapter’s main objective is to make a survey of the main measures of evaluation of the emotions and emotional states more relevant in the current scientific panorama.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Platelet-Rich Plasma Promotes the Proliferation of Human Muscle Derived Progenitor Cells and Maintains Their Stemness

Human muscle-derived progenitor cells (hMDPCs) offer great promise for muscle cell-based regenerative medicine; however, prolonged ex-vivo expansion using animal sera is necessary to acquire sufficient cells for transplantation. Due to the risks associated with the use of animal sera, the development of a strategy for the ex vivo expansion of hMDPCs is required. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of using platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for the ex-vivo expansion of hMDPCs. Pre-plated MDPCs, myoendothelial cells, and pericytes are three populations of hMDPCs that we isolated by the modified pre-plate technique and Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), respectively. Pooled allogeneic human PRP was obtained from a local blood bank, and the effect that thrombin-activated PRP-releasate supplemented media had on the ex-vivo expansion of the hMDPCs was tested against FBS supplemented media, both in vitro and in vivo. PRP significantly enhanced short and long-term cell proliferation, with or without FBS supplementation. Antibody-neutralization of PDGF significantly blocked the mitogenic/proliferative effects that PRP had on the hMDPCs. A more stable and sustained expression of markers associated with stemness, and a decreased expression of lineage specific markers was observed in the PRP-expanded cells when compared with the FBS-expanded cells. The in vitro osteogenic, chondrogenic, and myogenic differentiation capacities of the hMDPCs were not altered when expanded in media supplemented with PRP. All populations of hMDPCs that were expanded in PRP supplemented media retained their ability to regenerate myofibers in vivo. Our data demonstrated that PRP promoted the proliferation and maintained the multi-differentiation capacities of the hMDPCs during ex-vivo expansion by maintaining the cells in an undifferentiated state. Moreover, PDGF appears to be a key contributing factor to the beneficial effect that PRP has on the proliferation of hMDPCs. © 2013 Li et al

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda

Although social media use is gaining increasing importance as a component of firms’ portfolio of strategies, scant research has systematically consolidated and extended knowledge on social media marketing strategies (SMMSs). To fill this research gap, we first define SMMS, using social media and marketing strategy dimensions. This is followed by a conceptualization of the developmental process of SMMSs, which comprises four major components, namely drivers, inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Next, we propose a taxonomy that classifies SMMSs into four types according to their strategic maturity level: social commerce strategy, social content strategy, social monitoring strategy, and social CRM strategy. We subsequently validate this taxonomy of SMMSs using information derived from prior empirical studies, as well with data collected from in-depth interviews and a quantitive survey among social media marketing managers. Finally, we suggest fruitful directions for future research based on input received from scholars specializing in the field

Examining the Relationship of Optimism and Emo-tion Regulation Strategies with General Health among Students of

Abstract Background and Objective: Individuals apply various emotion regulation strategies, some of which are adaptive and others are maladaptive affecting people's general health. Moreover, individual life-orientation including favorable expectancies about future (optimism) is associated with healthrelated behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of optimism and emotion regulation strategies with general health of university students. 866 and consistent with other findings, optimism is associated with higher levels of applying coping strategies and lower levels of avoidance

Evaluation of multidrug resistance patterns in siderophore-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa from clinical and environmental samples in Gorgan, Iran

Siderophores secreted by nonfermentative negative bacilli such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa are capable of increasing rates of resistance to carbapenem antibiotics. Furthermore, the resistance of these isolates to antibiotics has been enhanced by producing siderophores, and their frequencies have erratic patterns. We studied the outbreak of P. aeruginosa strains and their antibiotic patterns in different clinical samples. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 P. aeruginosa samples were isolated from different clinical specimens at the 5th Azar Hospital, Gorgan, Iran, in 2017. These strains were identified by biochemical tests, and their antibiotic resistance patterns were measured via the disc diffusion method. Next imipenem and EDTA-imipenem (10–30 μg) antibiotics were employed for the detection of siderophores. Amongst 100 P. aeruginosa samples, 31 isolates (31%) were siderophore carriers. The frequency of this enzyme among specimens was as follows: 56.2% in burn wounds, 36.4% in urine, 22.2% in respiratory secretion, 19.4% in blood and 16.7% in wounds (p > 0.05). Moreover, P. aeruginosa isolates producing siderophores had the highest range of resistance to ciprofloxacin (47.6%), gentamicin (46.7%), ceftazidime (34.9%), nalidixic acid (34.3%), amikacin (34.1%) and cefotaxime (31.6%). The prevalence of siderophore producers, and especially their antibiotic patterns have no specific algorithms; in addition, an antibiogram is recommended to identify the most effective antibiotics against those isolates. Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, clinical, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, siderophor