Effect of gestational diabetes on neuronal cells in rat cerebellum in early postnatal life

Previous study has shown the adverse effects of gestational diabetes on hippocampal neuronal density in animal model. This study was conducted to determine the effect of gestational diabetes on rat cerebellum in early postnatal life. In this experimental study, 10 dams randomly allocated into control and diabetic groups on day 1 of gestation. Five dams in diabetic group were administered 40 mg/kg/BW (intraperitoneally) of streptozotocin and control animals received normal saline. Six offspring of each gestational diabetes mellitus and controls were randomly selected at day 7 of postnatal life. Offspring were sacrificed and coronal sections were taken from the cerebellum and stained with cresyl violet. The number of Purkinje and granular cells and thickness of layers of cerebellum were evaluated by quantitative computer-assisted morphometric method. The Purkinje cells density at apex and depth of cerebellar lobules in the experimental group (14.40±0.7, 14.86±0.6) significantly reduced in comparison with the control group (16.72±0.3, 17.85±0.7) (P<0.05). The granular cell density at apex and depth of cerebellar lobules in the experimental group (23.94±0.6, 22.81±0.5) significantly reduced in comparison with the control group (29.20±0.8, 28.1±0.8) (P<0.05). The thickness of the Purkinje and internal granular and molecular layers at apex and depth of cerebellar cortex significantly reduced in diabetics group compared to controls (P<0.05). This study revealed that gestational diabetes induces loss of number and size of the Purkinje cells and the granular cells and reduction of thickness of the Purkinje and internal granular layer of the cerebellar cortex in neonatal mice

The rise and fall of the reform movement in Iran : a systemic analysis

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal

Marginalization and Leadership: Iranian Immigrant Women’s Challenges in Canadian Academia and Society

Iranian women disappointed by increasing social and political instability in their homeland have migrated to Canada to achieve their dream of social rights and justice. However, the tragedy of September 11, 2001 directed considerable hatred toward Middle Eastern people. They did not feel at peace, were not treated with respect, and their presence in the west aroused suspicion. More recently, Iran's president, Mahmood Ahmadinejad is largely seen to be a person who threatens world peace; this negatively impacts Iranians in the west as those remaining in Iran face heavy economic sanctions. In this article, which is a small part of my thesis research findings, I discuss the challenges of first-generation of Iranian immigrant women through their experiences in Canadian graduate schools and workplaces. How do they negotiate the many negative images of Iranians and how do these images shape their experiences within these institutions?First-generation female Iranian graduate students' experiences in Canada are unheard and undocumented. In interviews, these women questioned the ability of neo-liberal capitalist schools to connect them to Canadian society while honouring their Iranian origins and identities and enabling them to achieve their goal to live and study in Canada. I argue that Iranian immigrant women experience a double exclusion both at school and in the workplace despite their willingness to engage with both places. This dual exclusion is an enormous source of pressure on their minds and spirits. The goal of this research is to give these women a voice. Policy makers in school and workplaces will benefit from the findings of this research, which calls for significant changes to realize social justice in Canadian society

Signaling Components Involved in the Hormone Induced Translocation of ENaC in Cultured Adult Human Fungiform (HBO) Taste Cells

The amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+ channel, ENaC, is the Na+-specific salt taste receptor in rodents. Compared to rodents, human salt taste perception is amiloride-insensitive. In rodents the ENaC is composed of aβg-subunits. Whereas humans express an additional subunit, the d-ENaC subunit. ENaC in human taste cells is composed of aβg-subunits or dβg-subunits, with the latter being amiloride-insensitive. Currently, it is not known if dβg-ENaC expression and trafficking is regulated by hormones and their downstream intracellular signaling effectors. The aim of this study is to investigate if arginine vasopressin (AVP), aldosterone, and cAMP regulate d-ENaC expression and trafficking in cultured fungiform human taste cells (HBO cells). Secondly, we want to demonstrate the expression of downstream signaling effectors involved in the trafficking of d-ENaC in HBO cells. Using molecular and immunocytochemical techniques, our results demonstrate that AVP, cAMP, and aldosterone increase expression of d-ENaC mRNA and protein in HBO cells. Furthermore, AVP, cAMP and aldosterone increased trafficking of the d-ENaC subunit from the cytosolic compartment to the apical pole of the HBO cells. Our results further demonstrate that HBO cells express several components of signaling cascade involved in ENaC translocation from cytosol to apical pole in HBO cells. The components of this signaling cascade include AVPR2, PKA, CREB, SGK-1, Nedd4-2, and GILZ-1. These hormones in mice and rats upregulate ENaC. Currently, we are not sure if these hormones affect ENaC this way in humans. By studying d-ENaC with these hormones, we are able to see how human ENaC is regulated in the tongue

Comparison of the HER2/neu gene amplification assesment by differential PCR and immunohistochemistry in breast cancer patients in Isfahan

Background and aim: Amplification of the oncogene HER-2/neu influences the breast cancer progression, prognosis and therapy. Accurate assessment of HER-2/neu status of the tumor is important for management of the disease and correct selection of patients who are able to respond to trastuzumab neu treatment. This study designed to evaluate the HER-2/neu gene status in breast cancer specimens by differential PCR and to show the concordance between these evaluations and IHC test in some specimens. Methods: In this case-control study the quantitative accuracy of differential PCR was evaluated and then 67 fresh and 16 formalin fixed paraffin embedded breast cancer tissues were analysed using this method. IHC reports were available only for 27 of these samples. Data were analysed using McNemar and kappa test. Results: HER-2/neu gene amplification was estimated (35%) in 29 cases out of 83 specimens (35%), as shown by differential PCR. IHC reports showed that 12 out of the 27 specimens contain overexpressed HER-2/neu. So, there was 70% agreement between these two methods (19 out off 27). Among the 8 discordant samples, 6 cases were negative by IHC but positive by differential PCR and 2 cases with HER-2/neu amplification had normal HER-2/neu expression by IHC. Conclusion: Differential PCR is a simple, rapid and cheap method to determine the gene dosage in samples with small amount of tumor tissue but it does not seem to be so accurate, as it compares the end point products of the PCR. Thus, this method has low accuracy and the observation of 6 cases with HER-2/neu amplification in the absence of HER-2/neu over expression may have come from this reality

Effect of cusp coverage and water storage on compressive strength of composite restorations of premolars

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of cusp coverage and water storage on compressive strength of composite restorations. This in vitro experimental study was conducted on 40 extracted human maxillary premolar teeth, which were randomly divided into four groups of 10. Mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) cavities were prepared in all teeth. The thickness of composite for cusp coverage was 1.5 mm in groups 1 and 3 and 2.5 mm in groups 2 and 4. Compressive strength (CS) was measured after 24 hours in groups 1 and 2 and after six months of water storage in groups 3 and 4. Two-way ANOVA was used to statistically analyze the data. The mean and standard error (SE) of compressive strength was 795.23 ± 35.18N in Group 1, 1232.52 ± 78.01N in Group 2, 617.18 ± 40.19N in Group 3 and 963.22 ± 50.05N in Group 4. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in compressive strength measured after 24 hours (groups 1 and 3) and after six months of water storage (groups 2 and 4). The compressive strength of groups with 2.5 mm cusp coverage was significantly greater than that of groups with 1.5 mm cusp coverage