Serological evidence of Coxiella burnetii infection among companion dogs in Fars Province, South Iran

Coxiella burnetii is an important zoonosis at a global scale. The epidemiological role of dogs in transmission of Q fever has recently been demonstrated, but there is still a dearth of information on the subject. The aim of present study was to evaluate the occurrence and seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection among companion dogs population in Fars province, South Iran. Blood samples were collected from 181 asymptomatic dogs, mostly referred to Veterinary Hospital of Shiraz Univer-sity for regular vaccination. The IgG antibody detection against C. burnetii was made by indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), employing C. burnetii phase I and II antigens. A logistic regression model was developed to analyse multiple risk factors associated with seropositi¬vity. Specific antibodies against C. burnetii were detected in 14 (7.7%) cases, 12 with S/P% of 20–50% and 2 with S/P% greater than 80%. Prevalence was significantly higher in adult dogs above 5 years (18.18 %; 2 out of 11) compared with dogs between 1 and 5 years (7.86 %; 7 out of 89) and less than 1 year (6.17%; 5 out of 81) (P=0.043). Prevalence was also higher in male dogs (11.21 %; 12 out of 107) than in female (2.7 %; 2 out of 74) (P=0.035). Breed, type of housing, type of food and exposure to other farm animals showed no significant differences between positive and negative cases (P>0.05). The results of this study showed the presence of C. burnetii infection among the companion dogs population in Iran, which could be a public health concern for humans. In areas like Iran, where human cases of Q fever are not common or remain unreported, the public health implications of Q fever seroprevalence in dogs are quite significant

The Frequency of Road Accident Injuries among Victims Admitted to Shahid ‎Beheshti Hospital of Babol, Iran in 2010-2012‎

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Road accidents are one of the major causes of mortality and severe injuries, which impose substantial financial and social costs on communities. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of road traffic traumas to the upper and lower extremities. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, victims, admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Babol, Iran, were evaluated during 2010-2012. Demographic data, accident location, day, season and time of accident, as well as admission time were investigated. FINDINGS: In total, 1049 victims with the mean age of 32.93±16.56 years were included in this study. Overall, 830 (79.1%) and 219 (20%) victims were male and female, respectively. The majority of accidents occurred on inter-urban roads (n=830, 35%) on week days (n=839, 72.5%). The highest frequency of accidents was reported in summer (n=311, 29.6%) between 13:30 pm and 19:30 pm. The longest interval between the accident and hospital admission was 1-2 hours following the accident. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that road accidents were more frequent in certain hours and seasons of the year. Therefore, recognition of local effective factors in accidents could be a proper guide for authorities to promote accurate and effective health plannin

Pantoprazole Derivatives: Synthesis, Urease Inhibition Assay and In Silico Molecular Modeling Studies

A number of pantoprazole derivatives were synthesized and screened for their urease inhibitory properties. Some of them showed potent inhibitions against jack bean urease. All compounds showed varying degree of IC50 in the range of 25.85 to 181 μMol as compared to standard acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) (100±2.02 μMol). Derivatives bearing 5-aryl-1,3,4-oxadiazole ring substitutions (aryl= pyrazyl, pyridyl and phenyl) were found to be more potent inhibitors than AHA and pantoprazole. The most promising compound, 2-((3,4-dimethoxypyridin-2-yl)methylthio)-5-(pyrazin-2-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole 12, with IC50 value of 25.85±1.21 showed remarkable urease inhibition activity. In silico molecular modeling investigation performed to rationalize the possible binding interaction and ADME properties of compounds over the active site of urease enzyme. The induced fit docking study showed that compound 12 interacted with conserved residues His593 and Arg609 located at the mouth of the urease active site flap and are essential for enzyme catalytic activity. These target compounds could be further studied as a lead skeleton for discovery of novel urease inhibitors. © 2020 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Effect of combination of Melatonin and All-Trans retinoic acid on maturation, fertilization and embryonic development of immature mouse oocytes

Background and Objective: With respect to the antioxidant role of melatonin and retinoic acid, it seems to be effective both in the maturation and embryonic development. This study was done to investigate the effect of combination of melatonin and All-Trans retinoic acid (RA) on maturation, fertilization and embryonic development of immature mouse oocytes. Methods: In this experimental study, cumulus - oocyte complex (COCs) were recovered from 4-6 week old female mice NMRI and were divided into 6 maturation medium groups including control, sham, experiment 1(melatonin 100 nM, 1 and 2 µM), experiment 2 (retinoic acid 1, 2, 4, 6 µM), experiment 3 (melatonin 2 µM+RA 4 µM), experiment 4 (Mel 100nM + retinoic acid 4µM). The maturation rate was recorded after 24 hours of culture in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 at 37°C. The matured oocytes were fertilized with sperm. Fertilization and embryonic development rates to the blastocyst stage were recorded. Results: Maturation rate in the control and sham groups were 50.6% and 49.4%, respectively. Maturation rate were 54.3%, 54.8%, 59.9% in melatonin group with concentrations of 100 nM, 1 and 2 µM, respectively. Maturation rate were 51.6%, 51%, 59% and 49.6% in t-RA group with concentrations of 1, 2, 4, 6 μM. Maturation rate were 60.4% and 54.2% in the experiment 3 and 4 groups, respectively. The maturation rates in the melatonin 2 µM, retinoic acid 4 µM and experiment 3 significantly increased in compare to control (P<0.05). The embryonic development rate in the melatonin with 100nM concentration and 4 µM of retinoic acid increased significantly compared to controls (P<0.05). Although, embryonic development rate in experiment 3 was higher than control, but lower in compare to melatonin 100 nM and the retinoic acid 4 µM. The embryonic development rate in experiment 4 significantly increased in compare to control (P<0.05). Conclusion: Combination of melatonin and All-Trans retinoic acid in medium culture increase maturation rate and improved embryonic development in dose dependent manner