Coenzyme Q10 Improves Developmental Competence of Mice Pre_antral Follicle Derived From Vitrified Ovary

     The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro developmental competence of isolated pre-antral follicles derived from vitrified ovaries in the presence of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Mice pre-antral follicles derived from fresh and vitrified-warmed ovarian tissues were in vitro cultured individually in α-MEM medium supplemented with or without CoQ10, followed by adding human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) to induce ovulation. The follicle development parameters and ovulated oocyte maturationwere assessed.The diameter and development of pre-antral follicles and oocyte maturation rates were significantly higher in CoQ10 pretreatment groups of both vitrified and fresh samples compared to the respective CoQ10free conditions groups. CoQ10 improves the in vitrodevelopment of pre-antral follicles derived from fresh and vitrified –warmed ovaries

Review of Lifespan diagnosis in Patients with Substance-induced Psychosis Admitted to Psychiatric Wards of Imam Hussein Hospital in Tehran 2015

Introduction: Diagnostic certainty is difficult in the early stages of psychotic disorders, and it becomes more complicated if at the same time alcohol or drugs get consumed. There is a bilateral association between substance use and psychotic symptoms. Thus, this study was aimed to evaluate the lifespan diagnosis in patients with substance-induced psychosis admitted to psychiatric wards of Imam Hussein Hospital in Tehran 2015.Method: Through an accessible sampling method, this cross-sectional study was conducted on 90 patients diagnosed with substance-induced psychosis in the psychiatric wards of Imam Hussein Hospital in Tehran. The data were analyzed through frequency descriptive statistics and charts, and by logistic regression using SPSS23 software. Results: In patients with substance-induced psychosis, the results showed that bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms was the most common disorder (48.9%), followed by schizoaffective (36.7%) disorder, schizophrenia (22.2%), personality disorders (16.6%) (Antisocial, 5.5%; borderline (BPD), 11.1%), adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (3.3%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (4.4%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (1.1%). Logistic regression results showed that the patients' age and family history of psychotic disorders could significantly predict the transition to the spectrum of primary psychotic disorders.Conclusion: In psychotic patients or those with primary psychosis, the simultaneous consumption of several substances may indicate a further aggravation of the disease and accelerate the transition of their diagnosis. The transition of the diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis into primary schizophrenia should be considered in the treatment and administration of the drugs

Investigate the Effect of Exchange Rate Volatility on the Demand for Life Insurance in Iran

Numerous factors affect the insurance industry and its growth and development that comprehensive study and recognition about them and taking action to solve or control the negative effects of each one can in turn have a significant effect on the development of this potential market, particularly in the life insurances sector. One of the most important factors is the presence of some economic variables including exchange rate fluctuations in the economy of a country. Given the growing importance of variable exchange rate, especially in the current economic situation of Iran, the effect of exchange rate volatility on the demand for life insurance has been discussed in this study on a monthly basis during the period 1991-2012. Accordingly, the hybrid model of neural network and autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) method for modeling and predicting the effect of exchange rate volatility on demand for life insurance have been used. The results showed that hybrid model of neural network group method of data handling and ARCH (1, 1), based on the criteria of root mean squared prediction error, significantly able to explain changes of exchange rate volatility on the demand for life insurance. Keywords: Exchange Rate, Demand for Life Insurance, Instability (Volatility), Neural Network Group Method of Data Handling, Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity JEL Classifications: G22, F41, C22, C45, C53, C63, C8

Comparison of the Personality Dimensions in Male Cigarette Smokers and non-smokers

The aim of this study was to compare temperament and character dimensions according to the Cloninger’s seven-factor model of personality in cigarette smokers and non-smokers. The research was causal-comparative and statistical population consisted of male college students of Tehran University, from which two-hundred persons were selected purpose. The research tools were Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (NDSS; Shiffman et al, 2004) and the short form of Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-56)(1994). The data were analyzed using Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and logistic regression by means of version 22 of SPSS.  The results showed the significant difference between two groups in only two factors of temperament and character of subjects: Novelty-Seeking (NS) and Self-Directedness (SD) (p<0/001). In other words, non-smokers earned more scores in novelty-seeking and smokers earned more scores in directedness.  Further studies are required to confirm these results on larger sample including both genders

Molekularna karakterizacija i otpornost na antibiotike bakterije Clostridium perfringens izolirane iz trupova goveda i ovaca u klaonicama Shiraza u južnom Iranu

Clostridium perfringens type A food-borne poisoning is often caused by C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) encoded by chromosomal cpe. Contamination of meat with C. perfringens usually leads to food poisoning outbreaks. To find more information regarding the causative agent, we focused on the identification of type A containing cpe and netB genes in cattle and sheep carcasses slaughtered at Shiraz slaughterhouse and investigated the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant plasmid in isolated C. perfringens. 200 specimens were randomly collected by swabbing the whole outer and inner surface of the carcasses, and processed for selective culture on sulfadiazine polymyxin sulphate agar (SPS). The suspected colonies were further identified using species-specific primers as to confirm the presence of the cpa, cpe, netB and tetracycline and enrofloxacin gene resistance patterns. Our results demonstrated that out of 90 and 70 colonies of the positive cultures from cattle and sheep samples, respectively, 40% and 35.7% of the suspected colonies were identified as C. perfringens type A by PCR assay. Moreover, from those type A isolates, only 1 (2.7%) isolate was positive for both cpe and netB genes in the cattle carcasses. The MIC values also showed high tetracycline resistance patterns for cattle (45.8%) and sheep (92.3%) while all of the PCR positive C. perfringens type A isolates were susceptible to enrofloxacin. The high prevalence of C. perfringens in slaughtered animals with a high rate of resistance to tetracycline implies the need for caution in the use of antibiotic in food animals.Trovanje hranom uzrokovano bakterijom Clostridium perfringens tipa A često uzrokuje C. perfringens enterotoksin (CPE), kodiran kromosomskim cpe. Kontaminacija mesa s C. perfringens obično uzrokuje otrovanje hranom. Da bismo doznali više informacija o uzročniku, iz trupova goveda i ovaca zaklanih u klaonicama Shiraza, identificirali smo tip A koji sadržava gene cpe i netB. Osim toga, u izoliranim bakterijama C. perfringens utvrdili smo prevalenciju plazmida rezistentnih na antibiotike. Obriskom cijele vanjske i unutarnje površine nasumično odabranih trupova, prikupljeno je 200 uzoraka koji su obrađeni selektivnom kulturom na sulfadiazin-polimiksin sulfatnom agaru (SPS). Sumnjive kolonije dodatno su identificirane primjenom specifičnih početnica kako bi se potvrdila prisutnost gena cpa, cpe, netB te gena za otpornost na tetraciklin i enrofloksacin. Naši su rezultati pokazali da je PCR analizom od 90, odnosno 70 kolonija pozitivnih kultura iz uzoraka goveda i ovaca, njih 40 %, odnosno 35,7 % identificirano kao C. perfringens tipa A. Štoviše, iz izolata tipa A dobivenih od goveđih trupova, samo je jedan izolat (2,7 %) bio pozitivan i za gene cpe i za netB. MIC vrijednosti također su pokazale visoku razinu otpornosti na tetracikline kod goveda (45,8 %) i ovaca (92,3 %), dok su svi PCR pozitivni na C. perfringens tipa A bili osjetljivi na enrofloksacin. Visoka prevalencija bakterije C. perfringens kod zaklanih životinja zajedno s visokom stopom otpornosti na tetraciklin upućuje na potrebu za oprezom u primjeni antibiotika kod životinja koje služe za ljudsku hranu

Evaluation of Cytotoxicity, Cell Cycle, and Apoptosis Induction of Methyl Thiosemicarbazone Complex with Copper on K562 Cell Line

Background & Aims:  Chronic human myeloid leukemia (CML) is caused by mutations and changes in stem cells. This study aimed to investigate the toxicity, apoptosis, and cell cycle of thiosemicarbazone complex with copper on the human chronic myelogenous K562 leukemia cell line. Materials & Methods:  After culturing the human K562 cell line, it was exposed to the combination of methyl thiosemicarbazone complex with copper in different concentrations and durations. Trypan blue dye exclusion test and MTT were used to determine cell viability and cell growth inhibition. The occurrence of apoptosis was examined by dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) fluorescent staining and fluorescence microscopy, cell cycle analysis, and dual PI/AnnexinV staining using flow cytometry. Results:  The data obtained from the present study showed morphological changes resulting from apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in Sub G1 in the presence of phosphatidylserine in the outer leaflet of the cell membrane due to treatment with thiosemicarbazone compound. It also decreased the biological growth of the K562 cell line in a concentration-/ and time-dependent manner. Conclusion:  effective at low concentrations and short duration of action, this compound can be a suitable candidate for future pharmacological studies on treating CML

Impact of Rifampin Induction on the Fermentation Production of Ganoderic Acids by Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum

Backgrounds and Objectives: Ganoderic acids are the most valuable secondary metabolites in Ganoderma lucidum traditional medicinal mushrooms, which have shown antitumor properties in many studies. However, application of ganoderic acids is limited due to low yield production. Recently, it was shown that static liquid culture could be a proven technology for producing ganoderic acids in Ganoderma lucidum, and that applying elicitors could be a potential strategy to improve their production. Materials and Methods: In this work, the effect of rifampin, a cyto-chromes P450 inducer, on production of ganoderic acids was studied, and Response Surface Methodology was applied to optimize the elicitor induction. Then total ganoderic acid in the harvested mycelia was extracted and its absorbency was measured. Results and Conclusion: The results showed an increase in the concen-tration of ganoderic acid in all samples. Moreover, optimum concentration and induction time of rifampin were obtained. The proposed model predicted the maximum ganoderic acid production as 18.6 mg g-1 in which the optimal concentration and time induction obtained were 100 μM and day 9, respectively. This work demonstrated a useful method for the enhanced production of ganoderic acids by Ganoderma lucidum.

Isolated Intraconal Meningioma

Purpose: To report a rare case of isolated intraconal meningioma. Case Report: A 24-year-old woman presented with painless proptosis in her left eye which started and progressed during her pregnancy about 10 months ago. Hertel exophthalomometry revealed anterior displacement of the globe with 4 mm of proptosis which was remarkable. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated an intraconal circumscribed oval-shaped mass with hypointense signals on T1- weighted images and hyperintense signals on T2-weighted images, mimicking cavernous hemangioma. This mass, however, was free of any connections to optic nerve or bones. Due to the imaging characteristics, more prevalent diagnoses like cavernous hemangioma were placed on the top of the differential diagnoses list. However, during the surgical excision, the tumor’s consistency and gross features were not compatible with cavernous hemangioma. The pathologic findings instead determined meningotheliomatous meningioma, a very rare condition, which was far from our expectations prior to the surgery. Conclusion: Ectopic orbital meningiomas are rare tumors that are not easily diagnosed without postoperative histopathology. Despite its low prevalence, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis list of intraconal masses with hypointense signals on T1-weighted images and hyperintense signals on T2- weighted images

Cloning and Expression of N-terminal Region of IpaD from Shigella dysenteriae in E. coli

Genus Shigella is one of the important members of the family enterobacteriacae. There are numerous antigens in Shigella carrying by a 220 kb plasmid. Among them, IpaD is the key virulence factor of S. flexneri. Apart from having effectors function that is essential for host cell invasion and intracellular survival, this protein also controls the secretion and translocation of other effector proteins into eukaryotic host cells. In the present study, we have cloned and expressed the ipaD in E. coli. The ipaD gene was amplified by PCR. Prokaryote expression vector pET-28a(+)- ipaD was constructed, and used to transform E. coli BL21DE3 plySs. The expression of recombinant protein induced by IPTG was examined by SDS-PAGE. Western blot were used to determine immunoreactivity of IpaD-His by a rabbit monoclonal antibodies against his-tag. SDS-PAGE demonstrated that the constructed prokaryotic expression efficiently produced IpaD at the 1 mmol/L of IPTG. IpaD protein was able to react with the rabbit monoclonal antibody against His-tag.  IpaD is essential for Shigella spp invasion. N-terminal region is most significant functional fragment of IpaD. Purification of IpaD from the wild type of Shigella is difficult furthermore profound study on a specific domain on the N-terminal of IpaD by using the wild type of purified IpaD is not feasible.

Analysis of sturgeon fishes reproduction statistics on the northern part of Alborz region

Out put of sturgeon fish hatcheries on the Northern provinces analyzed. Unfortunately, for many reasons such as decreasing of brood fishes ,unsuitable and unprofessional managements, lack of sufficient financial supports, ageing of laboratory and incubation instruments, unemployment of energetic expertise sturgeon propagation and restocking programmes get decreasing trends. Thus managers must planning for activating of sturgeon restocking and propagation subjects