Effects of enriched daphnia with microscopic algae on some growth indices and survival rate of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) larvae

Microalgae as a source of valuable compounds such as fatty acids are isolated from the natural environments and their mass production with high nutritional value is one the necessities of many hatcheries. The present study aimed to determine the effects of enriched daphnia with microscopic algae on some growth indices and survival rate of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) larvae. Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus dimorphus were purified and cultured. Then, Daphnia longispina was fed microalgae including Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus dimorphus enriched with Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The microalgae density to enrich daphnia was estimated at 5× 107 cells mL-1. Three treatments with three replicates and a control group were considered in this study. A total of 30 Acipenser persicus larvae were allocated to each sixty liters tank. Experimental fish were fed daphnia enriched with Chlorella vulgaris (treatment 1), daphnia enriched with Scenedesmus dimorphus (treatment 2) and daphnia enriched with Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus dimorphus (at the rates of 50%) (treatment 3). Persian sturgeon larvae in the control group were fed like VNIRO stage from daphnia caught in pond. Larvae were fed 30% of body weight per day for four times. During the experimental period, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration and pH ranged between 18-24°C, 5.8-7.2 mg l-1 and 5.6-8.2, respectively. The minimum (219 ± 98.4 mg) and maximum (315.16 ± 140.8 mg) mean (±SD) weights were observed in the control group and treatment 3, respectively. The results obtained from the body weight increase (BWI %) revealed that there were significant differences between treatment 3 and other treatments. Highest (4.6±1.13% day-1) and lowest (5.5±1.24% day-1) mean (±SD) specific growth rates (SGR) were recorded in fish fed the control group and treatment 3, respectively. Lowest (68%) and highest (85%) survival rates were recorded in the control group and treatment 3, respectively

Meta-Analysis of Biofilm Formation, Antibiotic Resistance Pattern, and Biofilm-Related Genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Clinical Samples

Resistant microorganisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa grow by developing biofilms in hospitals. We aimed to investigate the biofilm formation and the frequencies of biofilm-related genes and their associations with antibiotic resistance pattern in P. aeruginosa isolated from Iranians' clinical samples. This review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We conducted a systematic literature search in scientific databases using medical subject heading terms, including "Pseudomonas aeruginosa,""biofilm formation,""biofilm-related genes,""antibiotic resistance,"and "prevalence,"to obtain related articles published from 1st January, 2000, to 30th March, 2019. The studies reporting the prevalence of biofilm formation, the frequencies of biofilm-related genes, and the antibiotic resistance pattern in P. aeruginosa retrieved from Iranian patients were included. Meta-analysis was performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. The pooled rate of biofilm formation was calculated as 86.5 (95 confidence interval CI: 79-91.6). The combined frequencies of strong, moderate, and weak biofilms were 51% (95% CI: 37.4-64.4), 29.2% (95% CI: 20.9-39.1), and 25.4% (95% CI: 11.5-47.2), respectively. The pooled prevalence of laslR, algD, algU, ppyR, and pelF genes were 93.6% (95% CI: 88.1-96.6), 91.4% (95% CI: 80.8-96.4), 89.3% (95% CI: 85.2-92.3), 98.7% (95% CI: 96.5-99.6), and 93% (95% CI: 82.7-97.3), respectively. The highest combined antibiotic resistance rates of P. aeruginosa isolates were against piperacillin/tazobactam (90%). This study showed that biofilm formation was higher in multidrug-resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa than non-MDRs. A significant correlation was observed between biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance in 50% of studies included in this review. © Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020

Environmental evaluation and employee's exposure of a thermal power plant with extremely low frequency magnetic fields

Background and aims: Extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF) is a Spectrum of electromagnetic waves with the range of 30 to 300 Hz. The average magnetic field exposures in the workplace have been found to be higher in "electrical occupations" compared to the other occupations such as office work. The interaction between magnetic fields produced by power lines and substations with living organisms are not fully understood and still open to many researchers. Methods: The three axes TES-1394 was used for magnetic field measurement. Magnetic field measurement conducted based on the IEEE std 644-1994 standard. Firstly all magnetic field sources were detected, then the measuring stations were determined nearby and around the source. The occupational groups with exposure to magnetic field were identified to determine the maximum exposure level and then to compare with ISIRI 8567 national standard. Results: The minimum and maximum measured magnetic field were in near of 63 Kv lines (1.03 μT) and generators (17.6 μT), respectively. The mean of magnetic flux density nearby the generators building source was significantly different from the other sources. The environmental amount of magnetic flux density in 230 Kv (1.58 μT) post was higher than the other environments. Maximum exposure (17.6 μT) of occupational groups was related to engineer's of generators building. Conclusion: Our results of the magnetic flux density measurement close to sources matched with the other relevant studies except for control room. The maximum exposure level of the occupational groups was not higher than the occupational exposure standard value

Tumour brain: pre‐treatment cognitive and affective disorders caused by peripheral cancers

People that develop extracranial cancers often display co-morbid neurological disorders, such as anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment, even before commencement of chemotherapy. This suggests bidirectional crosstalk between non-CNS tumours and the brain, which can regulate peripheral tumour growth. However, the reciprocal neurological effects of tumour progression on brain homeostasis are not well understood. Here, we review brain regions involved in regulating peripheral tumour development and how they, in turn, are adversely affected by advancing tumour burden. Tumour-induced activation of the immune system, blood–brain barrier breakdown and chronic neuroinflammation can lead to circadian rhythm dysfunction, sleep disturbances, aberrant glucocorticoid production, decreased hippocampal neurogenesis and dysregulation of neural network activity, resulting in depression and memory impairments. Given that cancer-related cognitive impairment diminishes patient quality of life, reduces adherence to chemotherapy and worsens cancer prognosis, it is essential that more research is focused at understanding how peripheral tumours affect brain homeostasis

Evaluation of a Partial Genome Screening of Two Asthma Susceptibility Regions Using Bayesian Network Based Bayesian Multilevel Analysis of Relevance

Genetic studies indicate high number of potential factors related to asthma. Based on earlier linkage analyses we selected the 11q13 and 14q22 asthma susceptibility regions, for which we designed a partial genome screening study using 145 SNPs in 1201 individuals (436 asthmatic children and 765 controls). The results were evaluated with traditional frequentist methods and we applied a new statistical method, called Bayesian network based Bayesian multilevel analysis of relevance (BN-BMLA). This method uses Bayesian network representation to provide detailed characterization of the relevance of factors, such as joint significance, the type of dependency, and multi-target aspects. We estimated posteriors for these relations within the Bayesian statistical framework, in order to estimate the posteriors whether a variable is directly relevant or its association is only mediated. With frequentist methods one SNP (rs3751464 in the FRMD6 gene) provided evidence for an association with asthma (OR = 1.43(1.2–1.8); p = 3×10−4). The possible role of the FRMD6 gene in asthma was also confirmed in an animal model and human asthmatics. In the BN-BMLA analysis altogether 5 SNPs in 4 genes were found relevant in connection with asthma phenotype: PRPF19 on chromosome 11, and FRMD6, PTGER2 and PTGDR on chromosome 14. In a subsequent step a partial dataset containing rhinitis and further clinical parameters was used, which allowed the analysis of relevance of SNPs for asthma and multiple targets. These analyses suggested that SNPs in the AHNAK and MS4A2 genes were indirectly associated with asthma. This paper indicates that BN-BMLA explores the relevant factors more comprehensively than traditional statistical methods and extends the scope of strong relevance based methods to include partial relevance, global characterization of relevance and multi-target relevance

The study of effective Zooplanktons in nutrition of Acipenser stellatus Fingerlings in earthen Ponds

In order to study the growth rate of stellate sturgeon, three earthen ponds with 2 hectares area were selected randomly two ponds were treated with 16 tons organic fertilizer and 40 kg Daphnia. The total culture period considered 35 days. The physical and chemical parameters of and also the density of zooplanktons and benthos were measured during the rearing period. Apart from these factors the gastrosomatic index (GSI), daily growth rate and the condition factor of the fingerlings were also determined in order to assess the output of each pond. On the basis of the statistical analysis conducted, no significant difference was observed in the physical factors of the water in the three ponds but for nitrite values were significant. The major productivity of zooplanktons and benthic organisms were Daphnia (D. magna and D.pulex), cyclops and nauplii of cyclops. The minimum and maximum biomass of zooplanktons and benthic organisms m the ponds treated with fertilizer and live-food were estimated 0.018 and 38.63 g/m3; 00 to 2.1 g/m2, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the productivity of the ponds. On the basis of the abundance of prey in the studied pond, D. magna and D. pulex were the primary prey (FP>50), cyclops and nauplii cyclops were secondary prey (10<FP <50) and Tubificidae and Chironomidae were the occasional preys (FP=0). The results or GSI observations indicated a decrease in daily growth rate and condition factor with an increase in weight and length or the fingerlings, but this difference was not significant, The analysis of gut contents of the 120 fingerlings in the ponds treated with animal fertilizer and live-food indicated that 30 of the fingerlings were reared under good rearing condition

The design of “Super E. coli” through automated reaction network generation and genome scale models

Genome-scale metabolic reconstructions capture the known metabolic capabilities of organisms and their analysis have provided many insights into complex biochemical networks. However, this approach relies on a database of known biochemical reactions and hence may fail to take into account unique novel metabolic reactions. Even for well-characterized model organisms like E. coli, new reactions remain to be discovered. Starting from the known biochemistry of E. coli metabolism, we investigated how many more reactions could be evolved and if these reactions could give extra potential to this organism for industrial application in the production of fuels and chemicals. We utilized the BNICE (Biochemical Network Integrated Computational Explorer) methodology which applies known biotransformation rules to generate a “super” network which captures all the possible reactions given a set of E. coli core metabolites and known biotransformation rules in E. coli. This super network is found to capture all the known E. coli reactions as well as novel pathways that can serve as potential novel biosynthesis pathways to valuable chemicals. In order to identify the role of these novel reactions in E. coli metabolic network, we embedded them within the genome scale model of E. coli and performed a thermodynamics flux balance analysis (TFBA) to investigate the feasibility of the novel pathways in the context of the genome scale model. By performing a Flux Variability Analysis (FVA), subject to thermodynamic constraints, the reliable sets of reactions that increase the yield through biomass were identified. To further investigate the feasibility of the novel proposed reactions, we used the BridgIT computational framework for the identification of candidate gene sequences. BridgIT has a database of all the known biochemical reactions and it makes associations between novel predicted reactions and known reactions by using a chemical similarity metrics and it links the novel reactions with known genes in genomes and organisms

The Persian version of satisfaction assessment module of Orthotics and Prosthetics Users' Survey

Background Orthotics and Prosthetics User's Survey (OPUS) was developed to measure patient satisfaction in Prosthetic and Orthotic (P&O) field. Objective To translate the satisfaction assessment module of OPUS (OPUS-SM) into Persian language (Persian OPUS-SM) and investigate its psychometric properties. Methods For cross-cultural adaptation of the OPUS-SM, the guideline suggested by the World Health Organization was recruited. A sample of 116 Persian-speaking people who received P&O devices and services, participated in this study. During the first session, participants filled out the Persian OPUS-SM and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) regarding their satisfaction from delivered devices and services. Drawing from the above sample of 116 participants, 41 participants retook the Persian OPUS-SM 5-7 days after their first time. The results of the first and second administration sessions were analyzed to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, item-subscale correlation, minimal detectable change, floor and ceiling effects, criterion validity, and dimensionality of the Persian OPUS-SM. Results The Cronbach's alphas of the Persian OPUS-SM were 0.71 and 0.89 for device and service satisfaction subscales, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.76 and 0.90 for device and service satisfaction subscales, respectively. The SEM and MDC for device satisfaction were 6.21 and ±17.21, respectively. The SEM and MDC for service satisfaction were 2.25 and ±6.22, respectively. There was a strong correlation between VAS and satisfaction subscales of the Persian OPUS-SM. Dimensionality assessment revealed that Persian OPUS-SM is a unidimensional measure. Conclusions The adapted and translated Persian OPUS-SM is a reliable and validated measure. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved