Methotrexate hepatotoxicity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND Increases in aminotransferases (transaminitis) are potential major adverse reactions seen with long-term use of methotrexate (MTX). The aim of this study, therefore was to evaluate the incidence of MTX induced hepatotoxicity and its risk factors among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS This retrospective study described 286 patients with RA who received ≥ 7.5 mg MTX weekly in an academic rheumatology clinic over a 15 year period. The results of serial liver function tests, concurrent MTX dose, cumulative dose and use of hepatotoxic drugs were collected and statistically analyzed according to a consecutive elevation in aminotransferases which occurred over at least a two week interval. RESULTS During the study period, 286 patients (84.4% female) with mean age of 46.6±12.7 years (18-84 years) were enrolled. Transaminitis occurred among 23.7% of patients (incidence: 6.9 per 100 person-years) during 40.5±34.6 month's exposure to MTX (989.6 person-years). The time difference between onset of therapy and occurrence of transaminitis was 22.1±22.0 months. The only significant factor related to the occurrence of transaminitis was the duration of MTX therapy. The average duration of treatment among patients with transaminitis (59.6±42.3 months) was greater than those with no transaminitis (p<0.001). The cumulative dose of MTX was significantly related to the occurrence of transaminitis (p<0.001). CONCLUSION MTX hepatotoxicity is a common complication of long-term treatment with MTX. It is associated with mild liver enzyme elevation and related to the duration of therapy

Cloning of phenazine carboxylic acid genes of Fusarium fujikuroi antagonists bacteria

Bakanae disease caused by Fusarium fujikuroi is an important diseases on rice. Pseudomonasfluorescens produces the broad-spectrum antibiotic phenazine-carboxylic acid (PCA), which is activeagainst a variety of fungal root pathogens. In this study two genes from seven gene locus of phenazinewere cloned in Escherichia coli DH5. The contaminated rice samples were collected from infected farmsof Guilan. 238 bacteria were isolated from the rhizosphere. The antagonistic ability of 12 of which, wasdemonstrated with dual culture method. From the biochemical and culture results, 8 isolated wereidentified as P. fluorescens. The two genes from seven gene locus of phenazine were cloned into E. coliDH5. We speculate that P. fluorescens that produce 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl) play an importantrole in the natural suppressiveness of this soil to causal agent of collar and root rot of rice

Submerged Yeast Fermentation of Cheese Whey for Protein Production and Nutritional Profile Analysis

Abstract: In this study, ten whey samples collected from dairy industries in Rasht (Iran). Five lactose fermentative yeasts strains (designated A1 to A5) were isolated. Beta-galactosidase activity in the yeast strains showed that strain of Kluyveromyces marxianus designated as A2 had highest enzyme activity (up to 9012 EU/mL) and the most SCP production from whey with the yield of 12.68 g/L. Ammonium sulfate as nitrogen source had an increasing effect on biomass yield up to 30%. Crude fiber, lipids, carbohydrates and ash content of isolate dry cells were found to be 4.9, 7.23, 33.19 and 14.05%, respectively. The true protein content based on nitrogen fractionation procedure was 29.25%. The yeast biomass recovering by ultrafiltration reduced the total COD to 96.26% of its initial value in the raw whey

Special Issue on Advances in Integrated Energy Systems Design, Control and Optimization

In the face of climate change and resource scarcity, energy supply systems are on the verge of a major transformation, which mainly includes the introduction of new components and their integration into the existing infrastructures, new network configurations and reliable topologies, optimal design and novel operation schemes, and new incentives and business models. This revolution is affecting the current paradigm and demanding that energy systems be integrated into multi-carrier energy hubs [1]. [...

Coordinated Demand Response and Distributed Generation Management in Residential Smart Microgrids

Nowadays with the emerging of small-scale integrated energy systems (IESs) in form of residential smart microgrids (SMGs), a large portion of energy can be saved through coordinated scheduling of smart household devices and management of distributed energy resources (DERs). There are significant potentials to increase the functionality of a typical demand-side management (DSM) strategy, and typical implementation of building-level DERs by integrating them into a cohesive, networked package that fully utilizes smart energy-efficient end-use devices, advanced building control/automation systems, and an integrated communications architecture to efficiently manage energy and comfort at the end-use location. By the aid of such technologies, residential consumers have also the capability to mitigate their energy costs and satisfy their own requirements paying less attention to the configuration of the energy supply system. Regarding these points, this chapter initially defines an efficient framework for coordinated DSM and DERs management in an integrated building and SMG system. Then a working energy management system (EMS) for applications in residential IESs is described and mathematically modeled. Finally, the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed model is tested and validated in different operating modes compared to the existing models. The findings of this chapter show that by the use of an expert EMS that coordinates supply and demand sides simultaneously, it is very possible not only to reduce energy costs of a residential IES, but also to provide comfortable lifestyle for occupants