Identification of Candida Species Associated with Blood Infection by Multiplex PCR and Phenotypic Characteristics

Background and Aim: The correct identification of Candida species is one of the most critical procedures in prognostic and therapeutic significance, allowing an early and appropriate antifungal therapy. This study aimed to evaluate multiplex PCR as a rapid diagnostic method and traditional phenotypic tests in identifying Candida species isolated from candidemia cases. Methods: In this study, 38 Candida spp were isolated from culturing of human blood obtained from patients suspected to candidemia. The isolated species were evaluated by phenotypic and molecular methods including carbohydrate assimilation test, colony colour on CHROMagar Candida, chlamydoconidia production, germ tube formation and Multiplex PCR. Multiplex PCR was performed using specific primers of 4 common species. The results of multiplex PCR were compared with those obtained from phenotypic tests. Results: According to multiplex PCR findings, the isolated Candida species were identified as C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. glabrata, and C. tropicalis. Phenotypic tests identified that 23 (60.52%), 8 (21.05%), 5 (13.15%), and 2 (5.26%) isolates belonged to C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. glabrata, and C. tropicalis, respectively, that were confirmed by multiplex PCR results. C. albicans and C. parapsilosis had the same carbohydrate assimilation pattern but were differentiated based on their colonies color on CHROMagar and the ability of C. albicans to produce chlamydoconidia and germ tube. C. glabrata (100%) and C. tropicalis (100%) assimilated trehalose and cellobiose, respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that the both phenotypic and molecular techniques provide appropriate information for identification of Candida spp from blood samples. *Corresponding Author: Masoomeh Shams-Ghahfarokhi; Email: [email protected]; ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2562-965X Please cite this article as:  Fallah B, Shams-Ghahfarokhi M, Salehi M. Identification of Candida Species Associated with Blood Infection by Multiplex PCR and Phenotypic Characteristics.  Arch Med Lab Sci. 2023;9:1-9 (e1). https://doi.org/10.22037/amls.v9.3840

Comparison of Gene Expression of Different Isoforms of Osteopontin in Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis of Human Dental Pulp

Introduction: Osteopontin (OPN), plays an important role in immune system modulation. OPN can activate osteoclasts, thus causing resorption of bone. In addition, it might have a protective function against polymicrobial endodontic infections. Since different isoforms of OPN might have diverse roles, the aim of the present study was to compare gene expression of different isoforms of osteopontin in symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and normal pulps of the human dental pulp. Materials and Methods: Pulps were taken from 20 teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis as the case group and from 20 intact premolars scheduled for extraction as the control group. After RNA extraction and synthesis of complementary DNA (cDNA), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the evaluation of gene expression of OPN, OPN2 and OPN3. The Mann-Whitney U, t and Chi-square tests were used to analyze differences between the groups. Results: Mean values of OPN, OPN2 and OPN3 in normal pulps were 0.695±0.295, 0.656±0.298 and 0.816±0.422, respectively. Mean values of OPN, OPN2 and OPN3 in symptomatic irreversible pulpitis were 2.52±1.82, 1.99±0.899 and 1.816±0.954, respectively. Unlike OPN and OPN2, OPN3 exhibited significantly higher expression in normal pulps (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of the present case- control study showed that some variants of OPN are upregulated during pulpitis and it might be due to their prominent modulatory roles in dental pulps

A Combination of Physical and Chemical Treatments Is More Effective in The Preparation of Acellular Uterine Scaffolds

Objective: Decellularized uterine scaffold, as a new achievement in tissue engineering, enables recellularization andregeneration of uterine tissues and supports pregnancy in a fashion comparable to the intact uterus. The acellularmethods are methods preferred in many respects due to their similarity to normal tissue, so it is necessary to try tointroduce an acellularization protocol with minimum disadvantages and maximum advantages. Therefore, this studyaimed to compare different protocols to achieve the optimal uterus decellularization method for future in vitro and invivo bioengineering experiments. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, rat uteri were decellularized by four different protocols (P) usingsodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with different doses and time incubations (P1 and P2), SDS/Triton-X100 sequentially(P3), and a combination of physical (freeze/thaw) and chemical reagents (SDS/Triton X-100). The scaffolds wereexamined by histopathological staining, DNA quantification, MTT assay, blood compatibility assay, FESEM, andmechanical studies. Results: Histology assessment showed that only in P4, cell residues were completely removed. Masson’s trichromestaining demonstrated that in P3, collagen fibers were decreased; however, no damage was observed in the collagenbundles using other protocols. In indirect MTT assays, cell viabilities achieved by all used protocols were significantlyhigher than the native samples. The percentage of red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis in the presence of prepared scaffoldsfrom all 4 protocols was less than 2%. The mechanical properties of none of the obtained scaffolds were significantlydifferent from the native sample except for P3. Conclusion: Uteri decellularized with a combination of physical and chemical treatments (P4) was the most favorabletreatment in our study with the complete removal of cell residue, preservation of the three-dimensional structure,complete removal of detergents, and preservation of the mechanical property of the scaffolds

Technical Comparison of Three Surgical Methods: Open, Semi-closure, and Primary Closure in the Treatment of Pilonidal Sinus

Background and Objective: Pilonidal sinus of the sacrum is a relatively common chronic infectious disease. Surgical management of pilonidal sinus is a challenging matter, and despite the different surgical techniques, the recurrence rate is still high. Materials and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial study was conducted on 60 patients with pilonidal sinus (2023). These patients underwent surgery randomly and based on the available sampling method in three methods: open, semi-closure, and primary closure. Recovery time and intraoperative bleeding were recorded. The McGill Pain Questionnaire was used to evaluate postoperative pain, and the Southampton scale was employed to assess infection and secretions. Results: The recovery time was longer in the open method than in the closure and semi-closure methods (P=0.001). However, this difference did not exist between the closure and semi-closure methods (P=0.402). There were two cases of recurrence in the closed method, while no recurrence was observed in the open and semi-closure methods. The patients undergoing the closure surgical method experienced less bleeding postoperatively (P=0.002). No significant relationship was found between surgical method and infection (P=0.189). There was no significant difference in the intensity of pain experienced by patients after the operation (P=0.789). Conclusion: For the treatment of pilonidal sinus, primary surgical closure is not recommended due to recurrences, despite the shorter recovery time and less bleeding. The semi-closure surgical method seems to be safer than the open and primary closure methods

Ethical and Unethical Methods of Plagiarism Prevention in Academic Writing

This paper discusses plagiarism origins, and the ethical solutions to prevent it. It also reviews some unethical approaches, which may be used to decrease the plagiarism rate in academic writings. We propose eight ethical techniques to avoid unconscious and accidental plagiarism in manuscripts without using online systems such as Turnitin and/or iThenticate for cross checking and plagiarism detection. The efficiency of the proposed techniques is evaluated on five different texts using students individually. After application of the techniques on the texts, they were checked by Turnitin to produce the plagiarism and similarity report. At the end, the “effective factor” of each method has been compared with each other; and the best result went to a hybrid combination of all techniques to avoid plagiarism. The hybrid of ethical methods decreased the plagiarism rate reported by Turnitin from nearly 100 to the average of 8.4 on 5 manuscripts

Role of basal stress hormones and amygdala dimensions in stress coping strategies of male rhesus monkeys in response to a hazard-reward conflict

Objective(s): In the present study the effect of stress on monkeys that had learned to retrieve food from a five-chamber receptacle, as well as the relationship between their behavior and the serum cortisol and epinephrine levels and relative size of the amygdala was evaluated. Materials and Methods: Six male rhesus monkeys were individually given access to the food reward orderly. They could easily retrieve the rewards from all chambers except for the chamber 4, which a brief, mild electric shock (3 V) was delivered to them upon touching the chamber’s interior. The coping behaviors were video-recorded and analyzed offline. Baseline serum cortisol and epinephrine levels were measured before the experiments using monkey enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. One week after the behavioral experiment, the monkeys’ brains were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging under general anesthesia. The cross-sectional area of the left amygdala in sagittal plane relative to the area of the whole brain in the same slice was evaluated by the planimetric method using ImageJ software. Results: Exposure to the distressing condition caused different behavioral responses. Monkeys with higher baseline levels of serum cortisol and epinephrine and larger amygdala behaved more violently in the face of stress, indicating adopting emotion-focused stress-coping strategies. Conversely, those with low plasma epinephrine, moderate cortisol, and smaller amygdala showed perseverative behavior, indicating a problem-focused coping style. Conclusion: In dealing with the same stress, different responses might be observed from nonhuman primates according to their cortisol and epinephrine levels as well as their amygdala dimensions

Comparative Effect of Scaffolding Instruction and Self-Regulated Learning on ESP Learners‟ Reading Comprehension

The present research was carried out to investigate the effect of scaffolding and self-regulation on the reading comprehension of ESP students. For this purpose, one hundred and thirty ESP students who had passed prerequisite general English courses and who were about to take the professional English course were chosen. Further, through the PET test they were homogenized. Besides, the participants were non-randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. Therefore, a quasi-experimental design was adopted to test the effect of scaffolding instruction and self-regulated learning on ESP learners' reading comprehension. This study had a pretest before the treatment and a posttest at the end. Then, in order to find whether, scaffolding or self-regulation could be more effective on ESP students‟ reading comprehension, the pretest scores were compared with the posttest scores. The statistical measure of MANOVA was used to test the group scores and compare them against each other. The analysis of the data revealed that the experimental group in relation to scaffolding effect on reading comprehension outperformed the control group. In addition, it was found that the scaffolding group significantly outperformed the self-regulation learning group on the posttest of reading comprehension. This study has implications for students and teachers

Emergency Conversion from Off Pump to Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Patients with Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Introduction: As off pump Coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) is a developing method in coronary cardiac surgery, most surgeons are anxious about the danger of emergency crash conversion. In this observational study we tried to show the rate and outcome of conversion . Material and methods: In this descriptive study about 477 coronary off-pump CABG patients were operated in Ghaem hospital in Mashhad, Iran, from Jan 2012 to Jan 2013.In this group 20 patients needed to convert to Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) immediately .We analyzed these 20 patients and produced the results. Results: There was no cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and no neurologic problems.There was one death among these 20 patients.  There was one case of renal failure who was the same patient that expired. 75% of these 20 patients had hypertension and 45%  had  diabetes .  Conclusion: 20 patients (4.19%) had an emergency switch to On-pump CABG and only one death  occurred among 20 patients

Nausea and Vomiting after Septorhinoplasty Using Alfentanil or Remifentanil

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare Alfentanil with Remifentanil regarding postoperative nausea and vomiting. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, we studied 60 patients, between 17-48 years old with American Society of Anesthesiologists class I or II undergoing septorhinoplasty. The patients signed informed consent and then were randomly divided into two groups. Induction was started similarly in both groups using Midazolam, Propofol and Atracurium whereas group one Alfentanil group (AL group) received Alfentanil and group two Remifentanil group (R group) received Remifentanil. We used Alfentanil with Propofol in the AL group or Remifentanil with Propofol in the R group as maintenance drugs. We assessed nausea and vomiting with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) from the extubation time until 24 hours after the surgery. We used ondansetrone to relieve nausea. Results: Our patients had a mean age of 25.7±5.4. 75% were female and 25% were male. Duration of surgery had a mean time of 167.5±15.8 minutes and there was not statistically any difference between the two groups. We assessed nausea and vomiting incidence and severity on Visual Analogue Scale score in 0-1 hour, 1-6 hours and 6-24 hours after surgery. The highest nausea and vomiting incidence was in 1-6 hours after the surgery and the two groups were statistically the same. Conclusion: Our results did not show a statistically significant difference between using Alfentanil and Remifentanil as induction and maintenance drugs, regarding nausea and vomiting in the 24 hours post operation period.

Ultrasonography in distinguishing optic neuritis from nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy

Background and Objectives: Optic neuritis (ON) and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) have some overlapping clinical profiles. We evaluated the usefulness of B-scan ultrasonography in distinguishing ON from NAION by measuring diameter of the optic nerve. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients with an acute noncompressive unilateral optic neuropathy with relative afferent pupillary defect and onset of visual loss during the last 2 weeks were included. Diagnosis of ON was based on age ≤ 35 years, orbital pain associated with eye movement, and no disk edema, and diagnosis of NAION was based on age ≥ 60 years, no orbital pain associated with eye movement, and presence of disk edema. Age- and gender-matched subjects without ocular disease were selected for comparison. The diameter of the optic nerve was measured by a single radiologist with B-scan ultrasonography. Results: In ON patients, the mean diameter of the affected nerve was significantly larger than that of the unaffected nerve and also larger than that of the right nerve of young controls; P < 0.05. In NAION patients, however, there was no significant difference between the mean diameter of the affected nerve and of the unaffected nerve or the right nerve of elderly controls; P > 0.05. Also, the diameter of the affected nerve was significantly larger in ON than in AION patients; P < 0.05. Conclusion: B-scan ultrasonography is helpful in the early stages of optic neuropathy to distinguish ON from NAION in those cases for which the diagnosis is still uncertain after clinical evaluation