A Case Report of the Rare Disease of Pseudoainhum at Kerman Afzalipour Hospital, Iran

Abstract: Background & Aims: Pseudoainhum is a rare acquired or congenital disorder characterized by progressive development of a fibrotic band on a finger or toe until spontaneous autoamputation occurs. The various etiological hypotheses given for this disease include infectious (mycosis, mycobacteria), traumatic (plants), vascular (andysplasia), neurological (polyneuritis), and genetic (keratodermia) mechanisms. Ainhum predominantly affects black people living in west Africa, south America, and India. Case presentation: A 12 year old girl from Chahrigan Harirabad, a village near Kahnooj, Iran, with low socioeconomic status whose parents were not related, presented with autoamputated right foot toes. According to her mother she was in her usual state of good health until 1 year of age, when she developed a deep painless wound in the base of the fifth toe of the right foot. The depth of the wound progressed over time until it autoamputed. The same process happened to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th toes of the same foot. On physical examination the pulse of the posterior tibialis artery was too weak and there was no detectable pulse of the dorsalis pedis artery. All examinations of toes of the left foot were normal. There was also a kyphoscoliosis toward the left side. The laboratory tests were normal; however, triphasic Doppler sonography showed a decreased velocity of blood flow in the distal part of the anterior tibialis artery. Conclusion: Due to the rarity of the disease and genetics being the most important contributing factor, we suggest a genetic study of this patient and her family members, regular follow up, and physical examination of the patient. We also suggest that with promotion of the level of hygiene and adequate education we can prevent further damage in this patient, as trauma and subsequent infection are the likely predisposing factors. Keywords: Pseudoainhum, Autoamputation, Dorsalis pedis artery, Anterior tibialis artery » XM

Identification of Azole Resistance Markers in Clinical Isolates of Candida tropicalis Using cDNA-AFLP Method

Background: Global reports have highlighted the increasing prevalence of Candida tropicalis infections as well as organism's drug resistance. This study aimed at identifying azole resistance markers in clinical isolates of C. tropicalis, which will be a great resource for developing new drugs. Methods: Two susceptible and resistant isolates of C. tropicalis were recovered from an epidemiological investigation of candidiasis in immunocompromised patients. C. tropicalis ATCC 750 was used as reference strain. Antifungal susceptibility to fluconazole and itraconazole was determined using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) method. Complementary DNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) technology and real-time reverse-transcriptase (RT) PCR were used for identification of potential genes involved in azole resistance of C. tropicalis clinical isolates. Results: Five genes encoding the following enzymes were identified as superoxide dismutase (SOD) implicated in antioxidant defense, ornithine aminotransferase (OAT), acetyl ornithine aminotransferase (ACOAT), adenosylmethionine-8-amino-7-oxononanoate aminotransferase (DAPA AT), and 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase (ABAT)-belonging to pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes and acting in an important physiological role in many fungal-cell cycles. Real-time RT-PCR confirmed mRNA level of the aforementioned genes. Conclusion: Our findings showed that factors such as PLP-dependent enzymes and SOD might be implicated in drug resistance in C. tropicalis clinical isolate. Therefore, further studies are required to explore the accurate biological functions of the mentioned genes that would be helpful for effective drug development. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Subcellular concentrations of sugar alcohols and sugars in relation to phloem translocation in Plantago major, Plantago maritima, Prunus persica, and Apium graveolens

Sugar and sugar alcohol concentrations were analyzed in subcellular compartments of mesophyll cells, in the apoplast, and in the phloem sap of leaves of Plantago major (common plantain), Plantago maritima (sea plantain), Prunus persica (peach) and Apium graveolens (celery). In addition to sucrose, common plantain, sea plantain, and peach also translocated substantial amounts of sorbitol, whereas celery translocated mannitol as well. Sucrose was always present in vacuole and cytosol of mesophyll cells, whereas sorbitol and mannitol were found in vacuole, stroma, and cytosol in all cases except for sea plantain. The concentration of sorbitol, mannitol and sucrose in phloem sap was 2- to 40-fold higher than that in the cytosol of mesophyll cells. Apoplastic carbohydrate concentrations in all species tested were in the low millimolar range versus high millimolar concentrations in symplastic compartments. Therefore, the concentration ratios between the apoplast and the phloem were very strong, ranging between 20- to 100-fold for sorbitol and mannitol, and between 200- and 2000-fold for sucrose. The woody species, peach, showed the smallest concentration ratios between the cytosol of mesophyll cells and the phloem as well as between the apoplast and the phloem, suggesting a mixture of apoplastic and symplastic phloem loading, in contrast to the herbal plant species (common plantain, sea plantain, celery) which likely exhibit an active loading mode for sorbitol and mannitol as well as sucrose from the apoplast into the phloem

Retardadores de crescimento no desenvolvimento e na qualidade ornamental de Zinnia elegans Jacq. 'Lilliput' envasada

As zínias têm grande potencial como plantas floríferas envasadas e representam rápida fonte de novidade para a floricultura com o auxílio de retardadores de crescimento. Avaliaram-se os efeitos de retardadores de crescimento no desenvolvimento e na produção de plantas envasadas de porte baixo, compactas e atrativas de 'Lilliput' Zinnia elegans, cultivar altamente ornamental, com sementes de baixo custo. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com dez tratamentos (controle e três concentrações de cada retardador: daminozide, paclobutrazol e chlormequat) e quatro repetições (dois vasos por unidade experimental, com uma planta por vaso de 0,6 L). Paclobutrazol (0,5; 0,75 e 1,0 mg i.a. por vaso) e chlormequat (1,0; 2,0 e 3,0 g L-1) foram aplicados ao substrato (40 mL por vaso), enquanto o daminozide (2,5; 3,75 e 5,0 g L-1) foi aplicado através de pulverização foliar (10 mL por vaso), no estádio de gema floral apical visível. Daminozide (2,5 e 3,75 g L-1), paclobutrazol (0,5; 0,75 e 1,0 mg i.a. por vaso) e 1,0 g L-1 de chlormequat reduziram significativamente a altura das plantas e o comprimento dos ramos laterais, sem afetar o diâmetro dos capítulos, atrasar o ciclo de produção e causar fitotoxicidade. Entretanto, as plantas não se apresentaram suficientemente baixas e compactas para atender às exigências de qualidade do mercado. Chlormequat (2,0 e 3,0 g L-1) causou fitotoxicidade e daminozide (5,0 g L-1) aumentou o ciclo de produção.Zinnias have good potential to be used as flowering, potted plants, being a quick source of novelty for the floriculture industry with the aid of growth retardants. This study evaluated the effect of growth retardants on development and production of short, compact and attractive plants of potted 'Lilliput' Zinnia elegans, a highly ornamental zinnia with low cost seeds. Trials were set up in randomized blocks, with ten treatments (control and three treatments of each retardant: daminozide, paclobutrazol and chlormequat) and four replications (two pots per experimental unit, with one plant per 0.6-L pot). Paclobutrazol (0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 mg a.i. per pot) and chlormequat (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 g L-1) were applied as a single drench (40 mL per pot), and daminozide (2.5, 3.75 and 5.0 g L-1) as a single foliar spray to runoff (10 mL per pot), at apical flower bud stage. Daminozide (2.5 and 3.75 g L-1), paclobutrazol (0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 mg a.i. per pot) and chlormequat at 1.0 g L-1 significantly reduced plant height and side branches length, without affecting flower diameter, delaying production cycle and causing phytotoxicity symptoms. However, plants were not short and compact enough to meet market quality demand. Chlormequat (2.0 and 3.0 g L-1) caused phytotoxicity symptoms and daminozide (5.0 g L-1) delayed production cycle

Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of Kala-azar in Hospitalized Children of Kerman Province, during 1991-2006

Abstract: Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a complex parasitic disease with various epidemiological and clinical features. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) can be extremely fatal in untreated cases. The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the disease in children with VL in Kerman province during 1991-2006. Method: In a descriptive-analytical survey, medical files of 68 VL cases hospitalized in Hospital No. 1 and Afzalipour Medical Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences during 1991-2006 were studied. Data analysis was done by SPSS software and using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Of 68 cases of Kala-azar, 45 ones were boys and 23 ones were girls with mean age of 52.3±46.2 months. Most of the cases were in the age group of 1-4 years. The majority of cases (41.2%) belonged to Baft, followed by Jiroft (22.0%), Kahnouj (14.7%) and Sirjan (10.3%). Most patients were referred to hospitals in winter and mainly during February. Mean duration of clinical symptoms before referring was 31.8 days and mean duration of hospitalization was 12 days. Overall, 65 cases cured completely, while 3 cases died. The mean sedimentation rate was 58 mm/hour and the most common clinical symptoms were fever, and hepato-splenomegaly, respectively. Conclusion: Further studies on reservoirs and vector ecology, particularily in Baft district are required for planning control programs, in the affected areas. Keywords: Kala azar, Clinical aspects, Epidemiology, Children, Kerma

A Simple Modification of Homotopy Perturbation Method for the Solution of Blasius Equation in Semi-Infinite Domains

A simple modification of the homotopy perturbation method is proposed for the solution of the Blasius equation with two different boundary conditions. Padé approximate is used to deal with the boundary condition at infinity. The results obtained from the analytical method are compared to Howarth’s numerical solution and fifth order Runge-Kutta Fehlberg method indicating a very good agreement. The proposed method is a simple and reliable modification of homotopy perturbation method, which does not require the existence of a small parameter, linearization of the equation, or computation of Adomian’s polynomials