Association between GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 variants and the risk of end stage renal disease

Introduction: There are some evidences indicating DNA damage by oxidant and mutant agents has an essential role in the chronic renal failure and end stage renal disease (ESRD). To investigate the possible association of GSTs variants with ESRD, we investigated the frequency of GST- T1, M1, and P1 genotypes, and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in patients with ESRD.Materials and methods: The present case-control study consisted of 136 ESRD patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis and 137 gender- and age-matched, unrelated healthy controls from the population of west of Iran. The GST- T1, M1, and P1 genotypes were determined in all individuals using multiplex-PCR and PCR-RFLP. The level of MDA was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: We found that GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes (GSTT1-/GSTM1-) increased the risk of ESRD by 1.8 times (p<0.001) and the increased risk of ESRD for GSTM-null (T1+-M1-) genotype was 3.04 times (p=0.002). ESRD patients carriers the GST (GSTM1-null+GSTT1-null+GST-null) genotypes compared to GST normal genotype increased the risk of ESRD by 3.3 (p<0.001) times. ESRD patients carriers of GST-null, GSTM1-null, and GSTT1-null genotypes had greater MDA concentration compared with the same genotypes of control subjects. Our results indicated that the GST-null allele (GSTT1-null/GSTM1-null) is a risk factor for ESRD and carriers of this allele have high levels of MDA.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that oxidative stress, impairment of the antioxidant system and abnormal lipid metabolism may play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of ESRD and its related complications. These data suggest that patients with ESRD are more susceptible to vascular diseases

Association between GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 variants and the risk of end stage renal disease

Introduction: There are some evidences indicating DNA damage by oxidant and mutant agents has an essential role in the chronic renal failure and end stage renal disease (ESRD). To investigate the possible association of GSTs variants with ESRD, we investigated the frequency of GST- T1, M1, and P1 genotypes, and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in patients with ESRD.Materials and methods: The present case-control study consisted of 136 ESRD patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis and 137 gender- and age-matched, unrelated healthy controls from the population of west of Iran. The GST- T1, M1, and P1 genotypes were determined in all individuals using multiplex-PCR and PCR-RFLP. The level of MDA was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: We found that GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes (GSTT1-/GSTM1-) increased the risk of ESRD by 1.8 times (p<0.001) and the increased risk of ESRD for GSTM-null (T1+-M1-) genotype was 3.04 times (p=0.002). ESRD patients carriers the GST (GSTM1-null+GSTT1-null+GST-null) genotypes compared to GST normal genotype increased the risk of ESRD by 3.3 (p<0.001) times. ESRD patients carriers of GST-null, GSTM1-null, and GSTT1-null genotypes had greater MDA concentration compared with the same genotypes of control subjects. Our results indicated that the GST-null allele (GSTT1-null/GSTM1-null) is a risk factor for ESRD and carriers of this allele have high levels of MDA.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that oxidative stress, impairment of the antioxidant system and abnormal lipid metabolism may play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of ESRD and its related complications. These data suggest that patients with ESRD are more susceptible to vascular diseases

Evaluation of Yield Stability Promising Lines of Rice (Oryza sativa)

Determining new and higher and stable yielding varieties is one of the most important objectives of rice breeding. To achieve this goal, ten promising lines of rice along with two improved cultivars (Hashemi and Kadous) were compared at National Rice Research Institute in Rasht, Iran, for three years (2006, 2007 and 2008). The experimental design was randomized complete blocks with four replications in these three years. The combined analysis of variance indicated significant difference among genotypes, for the traits studied. This indicates genetic variation among genotypes understudy. The interaction of genotype × year for yield was significant which demonstrate different responses of genotypes during different years. Different stability analysis methods were used to determine the higher and stable yielding variety like: environmental variance, coefficient of variability, coefficient of regression proposed by Finaly and Wilkinson, Deviation from regression by Eberhart and Russel, Shukla's stability variance, Wricke's equivalence, coefficient of determination of Pintus and non-parametric method of rank. By using these analyses it was found that Hashemi was a stable yielding variety. It was also revealed that line No. 9 (IR78530-45-3-1-3), line No. 6 (IR76993-49-1-1) and 8 (IR78533-30-2-1) were found as stable producer lines

Scalable MAC Strategy for Emergency Communication Networks

Due to the advancement of wireless communication, the wireless devices increase tremendously in Emergency Communication Networks (ECNs) for various purposes such as search and rescue activities, military applications, digester management, etc. The domain of this network varies from small to large scale based on the devastation area or influence zone of the scenario (i.e., if the devastation area is small then it needs to set a small network; otherwise, it requires to set a big network in order to achieve the goal). Scalability is an important issue that needs to be ensured for this network. If a solution of a small-scale network is also feasible while the network is getting larger, the solution is called scalable. Collision and congestion are two main concerning issues for designing a scalable ECN. It is an emerging research area to explore a dynamic approach that adapts the behavior of the networks so that the same solution will work for both small and large networks. In order to address this issue, this paper proposes a dynamic CSMA/CA-based salable MAC strategy for ECNs in particularly for search and rescue activities. The simulation results prove the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed MAC approach

Glial influences on neuron survival and regeneration in the CNS environment

Inflammation plays important role in limiting neuronal survival and axonal regeneration. Meanwhile, microglia and astrocytes are key players in mediating inflammation in CNS. Controlling inflammation thus is a crucial step in promoting neural survival and axonal regeneration. In our recent experiments, we have established an in vitro model to study inflammatory response in the CNS after ischemic (glucose and oxygen deprived)/hypoxic (oxygen deprived) injury. Methods: E-16 cortical neurons from rats were seeded on ischemic/hypoxic-injured glial cells, isolated from 1-day old rat brains, and co-cultured for 7 days. Using MAP2 immunocytochemistry, neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth were assessed by cell counts and image analysis (Neurolucider). Results: Our data suggest that small amount of inflammation (0.5 hr of ischemic treatment on glial cells) promotes neuronal survival and neurite extension. However, in longer ischemic/hypoxic-treated groups (>2hrs), both neuronal survival and neurite extension were decreased. Neurotrophic factors (NTF) are believed to modulate microglia, and glial cells have been known to release NTFs. However, detail mechanism on the regulation of NTFs by glial cells has not been fully understood. Our hypothesis is that the release of cytokines from the glial cells as a response to inflammation will decrease NTFs release, which leads to a decrease of neuronal survival and neurite extension. This abstract is sponsored by The Hong Kong Society of Neuroscience. Supported by the Hong Kong Regional Grant Council and The University of Hong Kong

Development and Field-Testing of a Hand-Held Ultrasonic Monitoring Device

The effective life of timber bridges is often shortened by decay of timber components and failure of timber connections. Consequently, periodic inspections must be carried out to identify potential problems. Reliable methods for in-situ assessment of the strength and degradation rate in terms of strength loss over a period of time are essential for maintenance and rehabilitation of wooden bridges. A nondestructive technique such as ultrasonic measurement and testing has been found to be more accurate than the conventional practice of visual inspection for assessing the condition of wooden members. Ultrasonic measurements have shown considerable promise in determining the stiffness and strength of wood members by identifying the presence of defects such as knots and decay [1,2,3]. Experimental results have shown significant differences between the velocities of ultrasonic signals in defect-free areas and areas with knots, decays, and other localized defects [4]. Halabe et al. [5,6] has shown that frequency domain signal amplitude and wave attenuation measurements, when used in conjunction with time domain velocity measurements, can be much more accurate and reliable than simply using velocity measurements in predicting stiffness and condition of wood. Use of simple parameters such as area under FFT amplitude plots or power spectral density plots can greatly simplify comparison of various signals in the field.</p

ABC Algorithm for Combinatorial Testing Problem

Computer software is in high demand everywhere in the world. The high dependence on software makes software requirements more complicated. As a result, software testing tasks get costlier and challenging due to a large number of test cases, coupled with the vast number of the system requirements. This challenge presents the need for reduction of the system redundant test cases. A combinatorial testing approach gives an intended result from the optimization of the system test cases. Hence, this study implements a combinatorial testing strategy called Artificial Bee Colony Test Generation (ABC-TG) that helps to get rid of some of the current combinatorial testing strategies. Results obtained from the ABC-TG were benchmarked with the results obtained from existing strategies in order to determine the efficiency of the ABC-TG. Finally, ABC-TG shows the efficiency and effectiveness in terms of generating optimum test cases size of some of the case studies and a comparable result with the existing combinatorial testing strategies