Characterization of the Specificity of DNA Uptake and Transformation by Naturally Competent Acinetobacter Calcoaceticus

Although cultures of A. calcoaceticus BD413 are naturally competent at all growth phases, genetic markers can only be successfully transformed by DNA from the genus Acinetobacter. Transformation frequencies of nearly 1.2% were obtained with pcaA mutants were incubated in liquid culture with wild-type DNA

Aircraft Attitude Estimation Using Panoramic Images

This thesis investigates the problem of reliably estimating attitude from panoramic imagery in cluttered environments. Accurate attitude is an essential input to the stabilisation systems of autonomous aerial vehicles. A new camera system which combines a CCD camera, UltraViolet (UV) filters and a panoramic mirror-lens is designed. Drawing on biological inspiration from the Ocelli organ possessed by certain insects, UV filtered images are used to enhance the contrast between the sky and ground and mitigate the effect of the sun. A novel method for real–time horizon-based attitude estimation using panoramic image that is capable of estimating an aircraft pitch and roll at a low altitude in the presence of sun, clouds and occluding features such as tree, building, is developed. Also, a new method for panoramic sky/ground thresholding, consisting of a horizon– and a sun–tracking system which works effectively even when the horizon line is difficult to detect by normal thresholding methods due to flares and other effects from the presence of the sun in the image, is proposed. An algorithm for estimating the attitude from three–dimensional mapping of the horizon projected onto a 3D plane is developed. The use of optic flow to determine pitch and roll rates is investigated using the panoramic image and image interpolation algorithm (I2A). Two methods which employ sensor fusion techniques, Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), are used to fuse unfiltered measurements from inertial sensors and the vision system. The EKF estimates gyroscope biases and also the attitude. The ANN fuses the optic flow and horizon–based attitude to provide smooth attitude estimations. The results obtained from different parts of the research are tested and validated through simulations and real flight tests

Advanced Targeted Drug Delivery of Fluoresceine Isothiocyanate by FOL-PEG-g-PEI-GAL conjugate as the Novel Nanoparticles

Abstract Polyethylenimine (PEI) is a well-known cationic polymer that has gained recent attention as a transfection and transduction agent. However; it is extremely cytotoxic in many cell lines because of its high surface charge (about +40 mV), non-biodegradability and non-biocompatibility. Other drawbacks of this polymer include, low duration of expression, non-specific cell uptake and instability in blood circulation. To enhance Polyethyleneimine biocompatibility, the graft pegylated copolymer was synthesized. To target cancer liver cells, two targeting ligands folic acid and galactose (lactobionic acid) were attached with graft Pegylated copolymer to increase specifically the entrance of this new targeted copolymer to cancer liver cells, because the folic acid and lactobionic acid receptors are over expressed only on human hepatocyte carcinoma. The composition of this new conjugated copolymer was characterized using 1H-NMR spectra. Its molecular weight and zeta potential were compared to polyethyleneimine. To study the entrance of this targeted carrier to human hepatocyte carcinoma (HepG2), fluoresceine isothiocyanate (FITC) as a model drug was conjugated to this novel carrier and the emission of green fluorescent was determined from three cell lines (HEK293, KB and HepG2) and compared with  fluoresceine isothiocyanate alone. Introduction: In recent years, there has been an enormous interest in the formulation of a targeted carrier for a specific population of cells, either locally or systematically. The targeted drug delivery system can be achieved by either non-polymeric or polymeric carrier methods.  Novel drug delivery by non-polymeric carriers has been studied for years; however, the broad use of this system is affected by the limited size of material delivered, cytotoxicity and no targeting interaction to certain cells. Polymeric drug delivery carriers have become a promising alternative since the carriers could be synthesized with higher purity and quality degree and less immunogenic response than the viral and lipidic carriers for drug targeting. Methods and results:  First of all, pegylated polyethylenimine (PEG-g-PEI) was synthesized and then folate-PEG-g-PEI, folate-PEG-g-PEI-galactose was prepared and folate-PEG-g-PEI-galactose conjugated with Fluorescein isothiocyanat as a model drug.          To investigate transduction efficacy of FOL-PEG-g-PEI-GAL conjugated with FITC, as a drug model, the fluorescent activity was measured in transduced HepG2, HEK293 and KB cell lines and the results are monitored

The Late presenting Bochdalek hernia; A Case report and review of literature

We report a 22-month-old boy who referred due to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and watery non-bloody diarrhea and after thorough evaluation, a large defect in the left postero-lateral side of diaphragm and presence of bowel loops, spleen, stomach and left lobe of liver in the left hemi-thorax were detected. So, he was operated and managed with the impression of Bochdalek hernia. We have also reviewed the similar case reports in the past 10 years, briefly, in order to map the presentations and clinical course of cases with Bochdalek hernia which were diagnosed late, for giving physicians a better insight on this issue

Optimizing Hardware Simulation and Realization of Discrete Cosine Transform Using VHDL Hardware Description Language

Discrete cosine transform (DCT) is the fundamental part of JPEG compressor and is one of the most widely used conversion technique in digital signal processing (DSP) and image compression. Due to importance of the discrete cosine transform in JPEG standard, an algorithm is proposed that is in parallel structure thus intensify hardware implementation speed of discrete cosine transform and JPEG compression procedure. The proposed method is implemented by utilizing VHDL hardware description language in structural format and follows optimal programming tips by which, low hardware resource utilization, low latency, high throughput and high clock rate are achieved. Inputs are 8-bit long, 4 separate units are considered and CSA and CLA adders are used to realize discrete cosine transform. Working frequency for this implementation is 100 MHz and each stage delay is 10ns which is optimum in comparison with other methods. This proposed method can be easily utilized in any hardware applications such as JPEG compressor, image/signal processing and etc. by minimum change in design parameters. Also, it can be used as a hard-core in embedded systems, system on chips (SOC), system on programmable chips (SOPC) and network on chips (NOC)

The clinical presentation of Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder (PTLD) following pediatric liver transplantation

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder is a life-threatening complication of solid organ transplantation. In pediatric recipients, PTLD has been reported in 6.4-19.5 of lung, heart and heart-lung transplants, 4-15 of liver transplants and 1.2-10.1 of kidney transplants. Although most lymphomas typically occur in lymph nodes, extranodal involvement is also common. The aim of our study was to determine the site and symptoms of PTLD in children who underwent liver transplantation during 2009-2012 in Liver Transplantation Center of Nemazee Hospital. Material and methods: This study is a cohort study on existing data of children who received liver transplant between Juanury 2009 and December 2012 at Liver Transplant Center of Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz. During the study period, the PTLD occurrence was assessed in follow up visits, if the diagnosis of PTLD was confirmed the affected patient was entered the study and additional information was obtained. The diagnosis of PTLD was considered in patients with fever of undetermined origin, lymphadenopathy, allograft dysfunction, and pulmonary infiltrates. The data was analyzed using SPSS software ver.18. Statistical descriptive methods, Chi square test, and independent t-test, were used for analyzing the data. P value smaller than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Totally, 203 children undergoing liver transplant surgery were evaluated. The age range of patients was 8 months to 18 years with mean of 8.8±5.6 years old. In our study 17 (8.4) patients developed PTLD. The mean interval between transplantation and PTLD diagnosis was 8.4 ±5.61 months ranging from 4 to 24 months. A total of five patients (2.5) died during the follow-up period and all of them were PTLD affected children (29.4 of PTLD patients). Lymph nodes were the most predominant site involved (64.7), while liver and GI involved in 35.2. Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the relatively high incidence of PTLD after liver transplantation in children. Because of its impact on patient's outcome and reducing recipient's survival, it is important to minimize this problem by early diagnosis and providing effective treatment

A Review of Low-Level Laser Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury: Challenges And Safety

Introduction: Damage to the spinal cord is a central nervous system disorder that results in direct damage to neural cells (axons, cell bodies) and glia, followed by autonomic, motor and sensory impairments. Inflammatory response after this injury can contribute to secondary tissue damage that leads to further behavioral and functional disorders. Inflammation is a complex process, which occurs after an injury. If this progressive process is not well controlled can lead to additional damage to the spinal cord which is preventing neural improvement and regeneration and, which ultimately will not provide good clinical consequences. Inflammation in the injured spinal cord is a physiological response that causes the death of glial and neuronal cells. The reduction of the initial inflammatory process after damage to the spinal cord is one of the important therapeutic strategies. It has been proposed that low-level laser (LLL) therapy, as a noninvasive manner, can modulate inflammatory processes, which leads to a significant improvement in neurological symptoms after spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods: A comprehensive review was performed on SCI, the etiologies, and treatment methods using the keywords spinal cord injury, low-level laser, and inflammation in valid medical databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Elsevier (76 articles). Among the collected papers, articles that were most relevant to the purposes of the study were selected and studied.Results: LLL therapy was able to reduce inflammation and also attenuate neuronal damage after spinal cord damage.Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study illustrates that LLL therapy has positive effects on improving functional recovery and regulating the inflammatory function in the SCI

Immunophenotypic characterization of the leukemic B-cells from Iranian patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia : association between CD38 expression and disease progression

Background: Patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) have hetero-geneous clinical courses, thus several biological parameters need to be added to the cur-rent clinical staging systems to predict disease outcome. Recent immunophenotypic stud-ies performed mainly in Western populations have demonstrated the prognostic value of CD38 and ZAP-70 expression in B-CLL. Objectives: To investigate the expression pat-tern of a variety of membrane antigens on leukemic cells from Iranian patients with CLL and to find out if there are any differences in the expression of these markers between in-dolent and progressive groups. Methods: In the present study, peripheral blood samples from 87 Iranian patients with B-CLL were analysed by flow cytometry. Results: In all cases, the neoplastic cells displayed B-CLL phenotype (CD5+/CD19+/sIg+). The vast ma-jority of the cases expressed CD23, but failed to stain for CD3 or CD14. The leukemic cells of most patients expressed CD27 (84/87, 95.4%) and CD45RO (74/87, 83.9%) molecules, suggesting a memory B-cell phenotype. Comparison between the indolent (n=42) and progressive (n=37) patients revealed significantly higher frequency and inten-sity of CD38 expression in progressive group (40.5%) compared to indolent (11.9%) pa-tients (p<0.05). None of the other membrane antigens were differentially expressed in these two groups of patients. Conclusion: Our results obtained in an Asian ethnic popula-tion confirm and extend previous findings obtained from Western populations regarding the association of CD38 expression and disease progression in B-CLL.Tehran University of Medical Sciences and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran.Publishe

Immunophenotypic characterization of the leukemic B-cells from Iranian patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Background: Patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) have heterogeneous clinical courses, thus several biological parameters need to be added to the current clinical staging systems to predict disease outcome. Recent immunophenotypic studies performed mainly in Western populations have demonstrated the prognostic value of CD38 and ZAP-70 expression in B-CLL. Objectives: To investigate the expression pattern of a variety of membrane antigens on leukemic cells from Iranian patients with CLL and to find out if there are any differences in the expression of these markers between indolent and progressive groups. Methods: In the present study, peripheral blood samples from 87 Iranian patients with B-CLL were analysed by flow cytometry. Results: In all cases, the neoplastic cells displayed B-CLL phenotype (CD5+/CD19+/sIg+). The vast majority of the cases expressed CD23, but failed to stain for CD3 or CD14. The leukemic cells of most patients expressed CD27 (84/87, 95.4%) and CD45RO (74/87, 83.9%) molecules, suggesting a memory B-cell phenotype. Comparison between the indolent (n=42) and progressive (n=37) patients revealed significantly higher frequency and intensity of CD38 expression in progressive group (40.5%) compared to indolent (11.9%) patients (p<0.05). None of the other membrane antigens were differentially expressed in these two groups of patients. Conclusion: Our results obtained in an Asian ethnic population confirm and extend previous findings obtained from Western populations regarding the association of CD38 expression and disease progression in B-CLL.Tehran University of Medical sciences, Tehran, IranPublishe

Effects of Patient Education Program on the Quality of Nursing Care and Inpatient Satisfaction in Surgical Wards of Selected Hospitals in Isfahan, Iran

Background: The implementation of patient education within a hospital is a difficult task that plays a key role in improving and controlling diseases and providing quality healthcare services. Objective: The current study evaluated the effect of patient education on the quality of nursing care and inpatient satisfaction in surgical wards of selected hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2014. The sample group consisted of 64 patients admitted to the surgical wards of select hospitals in Isfahan and selected using the voluntary sampling method. Participants were randomly divided into experimental (n=32) and control (n=32) groups. A patient education program was implemented for each subject in the experimental group (during hospitalization and after discharge), but no intervention was conducted for the control group. Data was collected from both groups before and after the educational intervention using the standard questionnaire SERVQUAL to measure expectations (with a reliability of 87%), perceptions (with a reliability of 85%), and inpatient satisfaction (with a reliability of 83%). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Chi-square, and t-tests in SPSS software (ver. 20). Results: The results of covariance analysis showed that the patient education program significantly increased the mean scores of the quality of nursing services and inpatient satisfaction in the experimental group compared with the control group (p Conclusion: A patient education program is an important pillar for improving public health. It is also a low-cost intervention to increase a patient's hope in living a good quality life