The Effect of Herbal Essential Oil in Preservative Solution, on Quantitative, Vase Life, Bacteria-induced Stem Xylem Blockage of Lisianthus Var. Echo

In this study the effect of essential oil taken from medicinal plant as antibacterial components in preservative solution of Lisianthus var. Echo (Eustoma grandiflorum) was investigated. The test was done with application of preservative solution. Cut flowers were treated with different concentrations of Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Spearmint (Mentha spicata) and Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) essential oil in addition to Sucrose 2.5%. The results showed that there was the longest time in vase life with Thyme in 50 ppm (15.6 days) and the control treatment showed the shortest vase life (11.6 days). Moreover, Thyme with 50 ppm had the highest effect on relative fresh weight and solution uptake. In addition, bacteria-induced stem xylem blockage, extracted from the end of stem, was cultured in NA medium culture with several concentrations of essential oil. The result showed that in pure concentration (100%) inhibition was completed and in various concentrations of essential oil the bacterial population was reduced

Apoptosis/necrosis induction by ultraviolet, in ER positive and ER negative breast cancer cell lines

Background: Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure has been one of the major inducers of apoptosis. UV exposure has caused pyrimidine dimers and DNA fragmentation which might lead to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis signals activation. UV induced apoptosis has investigated in MDA-MB 468 as an ER negative breast adenocarcinoma and MCF-7 as an ER positive breast cancer cell line. Apoptosis induction rate by UV might be different in these two types of cells due to different biological characteristics of the cell. Objectives: In this paper we have evaluated serial dose of UV-B exposure on ER positive and ER negative breast cancer cell lines and its effect on apoptosis or necrosis induction in these cells. Materials and Methods: MDA-MB468 and MCF-7 cell lines have cultured for 24 hours and UV exposure has carried out at 290 nm at dose of 154 J/m2 to 18 KJ/m2 using UV lamp. UV exposed cells have incubated in cell culture condition for 24 or 48 hours following UV exposure and the cells have stained and analyzed by flow cytometry for apoptosis evaluation by Annexin V/PI method. Results: Apoptosis rate (PI and Annexin V double positive cells) after 24 hours incubation was higher in 24 hours in comparison with 48 hours incubation in both cell lines. The frequency of PI positive MDA-MB 468 cells was higher than PI and Annexin V double positive cells after 48 hours. PI positive MDA-MB 468 cells were significantly higher than MCF-7 cells in 24 hours incubation time. Conclusions: The results have shown that MDA-MB 468 cells were more sensitive to UV exposure and DNA fragmentation and necrosis pathway was dominant in these cells. © 2015, Iranian Journal of Cancer Prevention

Population genetic structure of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) between South Caspian Sea and Sefidrud River using DNA sequencing method

The goal of this study was to analyse the population genetic structure of the Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) between South Caspian Sea and Sefidrud River with mtDNA control region (Dloop gene) and DNA sequencing method during 2010 – 2012 sturgeon stock assessment project. Fish speciemns were collected by bottom trawl net. Extraction of DNA, PCR and DNA sequencing were carried out. Diversity index, the gamma distribution shape parameter for the rate heterogeneity among sites and nucleotide sequence, Fst index, exact test, the historical demographic pattern using neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analysis (D test of Tajima and Fs test of Fu) were analysed. Thirteen haplotypes were obtained, average (±SD) for haplotype diversity was 0.961 ± 0.101, nucleotide diversity was 0.038 ± 0.015, the gamma distribution shape parameter was 0.19, Fst index revealed little genetic structure between populations and the significant Fst value was seen by 10000 permutation only between Sefidrud River and Other Areas (P≤ 0.05) and was confirmed by exact test of population differentiation. Mismatch distribution for Acipenser persicus appeared to be unimodal, which closely matched the expected distributions under the sudden expansion model and supported by the low Harpending’s Raggedness index (0.061). Tajima’s D and Fu’s Fs statistics were -0.84 and - 0.220, respectively, and was not significant. The results of this study showed that the population of Acipenser persicus in Sefidrud River were genetically differentiated from South Caspian Sea and three other areas represented a single panmictic populations. Therefore, fisheries managements of this valuable species should be directed towards conservation of gene pools and increasing different populations

The study of genetical differentiation of bisexual and parthenogenetic strains of Artemia urmiana by RAPD s method

The brine shrimp Artemia consists of a number of bisexual species and a large number of parthenogenetic forms, which collectively, inhabiting a wide range of hypersaline habitats. This research was carried out in order to study the genetic differentiation of Artemia urmiana and two parthenogenetic populations originated from surrounding lagoons of the Lake Urmia (Fesendoz, Saray village) and also to find the phylogenetic relationships of some Iranian Artemia (Qom, Arak, Golestan, and Shiraz) with a comparison to some foreign Artemia species (A. sinica, A. franciscana, A. parthenogenetica (Russia and Turkmenistan) using a molecular technique (PCRRAPD`s). Of a total number of 56 random primers (10 bp) survey, 29 and 26 oligonucleotides showed polymorphic patterns with highly reproducible bands in Artemia urmiana groups and Iranian Artemia groups.The highest percentage of polymorphic loci were in Artemia urmiana (P= 78.89 %) and in comparison with the other parthenogenetic forms, in parthenogenetic Artemia from Saray village (P= 59.8 %). The highest values of Shannon index were estimated in Artemia urmiana (I= 0.41), and in comparison with other parthenogenetic forms, in parthenogenetic Artemia from Saray village (I= 0.3). Analysis of molecular variance indicated that most variation were within populations (A. urmiana with parthenogenetic forms, FST= 0.35) and among populations (Iranian Artemia with foreign species, FST= 0.76). Genetic pattern was not in accordance to geographical distribution, which indicated the wide range of Artemia samples at different regions in Iran. UPGMA showed two distinct clusters in group I including A. urmiana with two parthenogenetic forms and four clusters in group II including Iranian Artemia with some foreign species. It is understood that two parthenogenetic populations (Fesendoz and Saray village) had close genetic relationship together with high value of heterozygosity in parthenogenetic Artemia from Saray village. Iranian Artemia (Qom, Arak, and Golestan) indicated close genetic relationships with A. parthenogenetica (Russia and Turkmenistan) with low values of heterozygosity. A sister group was generated including Shiraz and USA Artemia samples which attests a possible contamination of local water with A. franciscana. FST value revealed high genetic structuring at all studied groups. Besides, it is suggested that gene flow was not strong enough to prevent substantial genetic differentiation. Result could lead to a management programmes to use suitable Artemia strains with high genetic diversity, for culturing and establishment of gene bank of Artemia stocks in Lake Urmia

Molecular population genetic of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) and stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) using microsatellite markers

The fishery stocks of most commercial aquatic stocks in the world have shown declining trends in the past two decades. Several factors have been responsible for the decline of stocks the most important of which over fishing and over-exploitation, pollution, loss of natural habitats and natural spawning grounds, construction of dams and bridges across the important rivers which restrict the migratory routes of spawners, decrease in natural reproduction and rehabilitation of stocks through artificial breeding programs. Over-exploitation of stocks and pollution directly affect decreasing stocks in an ecosystem. Not differentiating between different populations and stocks of a species found distributed in an aquatic ecosystem is considered one of the main factors which causes the depletion of stocks in most ecosystems in the world. In most cases this is because genetic variations in aquatic stocks in the wild are not taken into consideration. Six species of sturgeons are found living in the Caspian Sea and its drainage basin which produce more than 85-90% of the world caviar. The Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) and the stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) are the main sturgeon species of the Caspian Sea. The Persian sturgeon is mainly found in the south Caspian Sea while the stellate sturgeon stocks are considered shared stocks by the five Caspian littoral states. Due to over fishing in the past two decades the legal catch figures for sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea dropped from 28500 tons in 1985 to less than 1500 tons in 2004. Similarly caviar production also dropped from 3000 tons to 110 tons in 2005. With regard to the severe reduction in sturgeon stocks it is necessary to take essential steps before these valuable species are totally wiped out. The fisheries management of the five Caspian littoral states should focus their efforts on identifying the different populations and stocks found in the Caspian Sea. Concerted measures should be taken to study the distribution and biomass of the different populations in order to develop a scientific solution for the sustainable use of these endangered species and to secure the long term conservation of sturgeon stocks. The aim of present study was to evaluate the genetic structure of the population of two species Acipenser persicus and Acipenser stellatus and to develop molecular markers to identify and differentiate different populations of these two species

Novel loss-of-function variants in CDC14A are associated with recessive sensorineural hearing loss in Iranian and Pakistani patients

CDC14A encodes the Cell Division Cycle 14A protein and has been associated with autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss (DFNB32), as well as hearing impairment and infertile male syndrome (HIIMS) since 2016. To date, only nine variants have been associated in patients whose initial symptoms included moderate-to-profound hearing impairment. Exome analysis of Iranian and Pakistani probands who both showed bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss revealed a novel splice site variant (c.1421+2T>C, p.?) that disrupts the splice donor site and a novel frameshift variant (c.1041dup, p.Ser348Glnfs*2) in the gene CDC14A, respectively. To evaluate the pathogenicity of both loss-of-function variants, we analyzed the effects of both variants on the RNA-level. The splice variant was characterized using a minigene assay. Altered expression levels due to the c.1041dup variant were assessed using RT-qPCR. In summary, cDNA analysis confirmed that the c.1421+2T>C variant activates a cryptic splice site, resulting in a truncated transcript (c.1414_1421del, p.Val472Leufs*20) and the c.1041dup variant results in a defective transcript that is likely degraded by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. The present study functionally characterizes two variants and provides further confirmatory evidence that CDC14A is associated with a rare form of hereditary hearing loss

Detection of SARS-coronavirus-2 in the central nervous system of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome and seizures

This study was designed to evaluate whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can directly target the central nervous system (CNS). We present four patients suffering from the loss of consciousness and seizure during the clinical course of COVID-19 infection. In addition to positive nasopharyngeal swab tests, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in their cerebrospinal fluid. This report indicates the neuroinvasive potential of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting the ability of this virus to spread from the respiratory tract to the CNS. © 2021, Journal of NeuroVirology, Inc

Knowledge, attitude and practice of nuclear medicine staff towards radiation protection

Introduction: Ionizing radiation in medical imaging is one of the dominant sources of exposure, and correct knowledge of radiation protection, affects staff safety behaviors during procedures. This study aimed to assess the radiation protection Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) amongst nuclear medicine centers' staff in Iran. Methods: To evaluate the level of radiation protection KAP, a validated questionnaire was distributed between 243 participants considering demographic characteristics in different geographical regions in Iran from 2014 to 2015. Results: There were statistically significant differences in the level of nuclear medicine staff KAP radiation protection with gender (p0.05). Conclusion: Our findings have shown that radiation protection KAP level of nuclear medicine staff was inadequate in some regions. This might be due to the lack of continuous training and absence of adequate safety knowledge about ionizing radiation. It seems that awareness about radiation protection rules and regulations, along with continuous training and preparations has a direct effect on radiation practice leading to enhanced KAP of staff in nuclear medicine centers. © 2019 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Radiation protection knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) in interventional radiology

Objectives: Due to increasing cardiac disease and its mortality rate, the frequency of cardiac imaging has grown and, as a result, interventional cardiologists potentially receive high radiation doses in cardiac examinations. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) level of radiation protection (RP) among interventional radiology staff in Iranian health care centers across the country. Methods: We used a validated questionnaire survey consisting of 30 multiple-choice questions to perform a cross-sectional study. Participants were healthcare personnel working professionally with radiation at different levels (i.e., secretary, radiology technologists, nurse, and physician). The questionnaire was divided into three sections to assess KAP regarding RP. Results: Significant differences exist in RP KAP mean scores based on educational age (p 0.050). We found a significant difference between RP KAP mean scores and different regions (p < 0.050). Conclusions: Educational and practice age, sex, type of hospital, and geographical region affect he KAP of interventional radiology staff regarding RP. Since many of the subjective radiation harms for both medical team and patients, this can be easily controlled and prevented; a checkup for personnel of interventional radiology departments, considering samples from different parts of the country with different levels of education, continuous training, and practical courses may help map the status of KAP. The results of this study may also help authorized health physics officers design strategic plans to enhance the quality of such services in radiation departments. © 2018, Oman Medical Specialty Board. All rights reserved