Population dynamics of Barbus grypus (Heckel, 1843) and Barbus barbulus (Heckel, 1847) in Karoon River, south-west Iran

Barbus sp. fish samples were collected during November 2007 to October 2008 from five landing stations in Karoon River: Gotvand, Shoshtar, Molasani, Ahwaz, and Darkhoin. During one year of study, more than 2000 specimens of B. grypus and B. barbulus were measured, mean±SD length values for this species were 37.94±8.18 and 43.62±10.27, respectively and maximum and minimum total length were 20-76cm and 20-94cm, respectively. Mean±SD of weight values for this species were 873.2±1092.45 grams and 778.59±725.97 grams, respectively and maximum and minimum weight were 52-11170 grams and 52-4675 grams, respectively. Growth and mortality parameters were calculated for B. grypus and B. barbulus as L∞: 86.64, 132.9 and K: 0.27, 0.17 and t0: -0.46, -0.66, M: 0.50, 0.33, F: 1.22, 1.04, Z: 1.72, 2.72, 'Ф: 3.31, 3.48, E: 0.71, 0.76, respectively. According to the exploitation coefficient, B. grypus and B. barbulus stocks are overfished; hence we suggest a decrease in exploitation coefficient. Based on results and their comparison with the American Fisheries Society (AFS) indices, these species are classified in moderate to high vulnerable group fishes

The effect of physical and psychosocial occupational factors on the chronicity of low back pain in the workers of Iranian metal industry: A cohort study

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common problems among the workers of different industries. The role of occupational factors in causing the LBP has been indicated previously. LBP has great socio-economic costs and most of its costs are related to the chronic LBP. The aim of this study was to identify the occupational risk factors that are related to the progression of the LBP from acute to chronic phase. Methods: This cohort study has been conducted on 185 workers with acute LBP. Information related to their occupational exposure at baseline has been measured with a valid questionnaire using the self-report approach. Patients follow up was done monthly for three months after the start of the pain. Those workers whose occupational exposure had not changed during the follow up were divided into two groups of chronic LBP (n = 49) and cured (n = 136) according to the duration of the pain period (more or less than 3 months), and their job exposures were compared. Results: Among the physical and psychosocial risk factors, social support (OR = 0.466, CI = 0.231-0.940) and job satisfaction (OR = 0.455, CI = 0.232-0.891), and lifting weights more than 15kg (OR = 2.482, CI = 1.274-4.834) indicated a significant relationship with the chronicity of the LBP. After putting the variables into the regression model, only lifting > 15kg remained statistically significant. Conclusion: According to the observed relationship between these occupational risk factors (social support, job satisfaction, lifting > 15kg) and the chronicity of the LBP, there is hope that eliminating these factors in the workers with acute LBP will prevent its progression to the chronic phase

Resistance of Bifidobacterium sp. Isolated from Iranian Subjects to Simulated Gastric Juice and Bile Salt

Abstract: Introduction: Bifidobacteria are one of the most important probiotic bacteria and their benefits have been known since many years ago. Probiotic organisms are required to be safe, viable and metabolically active within the gastrointestinal tract and to show enough resistance against bile and gastric juice. Methods: In this research, the ability of growth and survival of 42 strains, isolated from Iranian subjects, were studied in MRS3 containing 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2% of bile salts and simulated gastric juice with pH 3. The cultured strains were incubated under anaerobic condition and at 37°C for 48 h and then the survival/growth rates were examined at 3, 6, 12 and 24 hrs. Results: The results demonstrated that some strains had significantly high tolerance against bile salts and simulated gastric juice. Conclusion: The strains with high tolerance are suggested as Iranian strains for future work especially in preparing Iranian starter and bifidus products. Keywords: Bifidobacteria, Iranian strains, Bile, Simulated gastric juice, Resistance, Surviva

Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Nanoemulsion of Citrus paradisi Essential Oil Against Pathogenic Microorganisms: In Vitro Study

Introduction Oxidation reactions and microorganisms’ activity are considered as the most important factors affecting the quality of food products. Recently, in the light of the inefficiency of some chemical preservatives against microorganisms and the presence of toxic residues in food products, the use of natural antimicrobials and antioxidants has been increased. Natural antimicrobial compounds have the potential to control microbial contamination and reduce the use of antibiotics. Plant essential oils are natural compounds with the potential to be used as active ingredients in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Various studies have shown that essential oils have antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant activity. The essential oils are considered as superb preservatives with various biological functions. Essential oils are generally recognized as safe product (GRAS) which can be used as an alternative to synthetic additives. Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) peel and fruit contain active ingredients such as acids, flavonoids, vitamin C, and potassium, and its essential oil is composed of terpenic hydrocarbons, such as citral, limonene, citronelal, and geraniol. Although plant essential oils have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, one of the main problems of these natural compounds is their high volatility and instability. In this context, nanoemulsion formulations are frequently used to increase the stability and efficiency of these biologically active compounds. This study is therefore aimed to nanoemulsifying the grapefruit essential oil and evaluate its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.   Materials and Methods β-carotene, linoleic acid, ABTS (2,2’-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt), and DPPH (2,2-diphenly-1-picrylhydrazyl) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Co. (USA). Mueller Hinton Broth (MHB) and Mueller Hinton Agar (MHA) were supplied from Merck Co. (Darmstadt, Germany). Grapefruit peel was dried at ambient temperature and then powdered. The obtained powder was then transferred to a Clevenger device containing 750 ml of distilled water to perform the distillation extraction (3 h). The resulting grapefruit essential oil was stored at 4 °C until use. Grapefruit essential oil was prepared using the hydrodistillation method, and then nanoemulsified. The antioxidant activity of the nanoemulsified essential oil was investigated by DPPH and ABTS  radical scavenging activity and beta-carotene/linoleic bleaching test. The nanoemulsified essential oil or methanolic (control) was mixed with DPPH solution and the mixture was then stored at ambient temperature for 30 min, in a dark place. The control sample was prepared by methanol. The absorbance of the samples was measured at 517 nm. To determine the ABTS-RS activity, the nanoemulsified essential oil was briefly charged with methanolic ABTS radical cation solution and the resulting mixture was left at room temperature for 30 min. Afterward, the absorbance was read at 734 nm. A spectrophotometric method was applied to monitor β-carotene/linoleate solution bleaching in the presence of the nanoemulsified essential oil. To do this, the absorbance of the solution was recorded at 490 nm after 120 min against the control sample at time zero and after 120 min. Antibacterial effect of the grapefruit essential oil nanoemulsion was also evaluated against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella typhi ATCC 6539, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Listeria innocua ATCC 33090, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 23857, Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, and Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, based on disk diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum bactericidal concentration.   Results and Discussions The results showed that the nanoemulsion of grapefruit essential oil had a remarkable antioxidant effect of 42.27 mg/ml, 33.27 mg/ml and 54.54%, respectively, based on DPPH, ABTS, and beta-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching tests. According to disk diffusion agar and well diffusion agar results, the lowest inhibition zone was related to E. coli and the highest inhibition zone was observed in L. innocua. The minimum inhibitory concentration for L. innocua and S. aureus (the most sensitive bacteria) was 25 mg/ml, and E. coli, S. typhi, and P. aeruginosa had the highest inhibitory concentration. Also, the lowest bactericidal concentration was related to L. innocua and S. aureus bacteria and the highest concentration was observed for E. coli, S. typhi and P. aeruginosa. The nanoemulsified essential oil generally exhibited greater antibacterial activity against Gram-positive species. This could be mainly due to the difference in the cell wall composition of Gram-positive bacteria in comparison to Gram-negative; Gram-positive bacteria have a thicker mucopeptide layer in their cell wall, while Gram-negative bacteria have only a thin layer of mucopeptide and the wall structure is mainly composed of lipoprotein and lipopolysaccharide, thereby leading to a higher resistant to antibacterial agents According to the results, grapefruit essential oil nanoemulsion can be used as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent to control oxidation reactions and the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms

Effect of starch utilization on sensory quality of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix) fish ball can

A variety of products made from fish meat is increasingly being produced in most countries. The availability of low cost ingredients, the use of suitable formulations and modern equipment has made it feasible to produce different products of high nutritious value to satisfy consumer demands. Starch is an ingredient used in most products in the food industry because of its physical characteristics. In the present study fish ball were prepared using starch from two different sources (wheat and potato) either individually or by mixing equal proportions of two sources of starch at a rate of 5, 10 and 15% to 80% ground meat of silver carp. A control group was also tested without adding starch. Results obtained indicate that flavor, odor and texture of the resulting product made with 10% starch were more acceptable as compared to the other trials. Fish ball made with the addition of 15% starch were lighter in color and sticky and loses its strength to form. No significant differences were observed in color, flavor, odor and texture of fish ball in trials containing 10% starch from one individual source (p>0.05) and the resulting product in these trials were rated higher in organoleptic tests as compared to those containing 5 and 15% starch. Among trials containing two sources of starch, mixed trials with potato and wheat (5% potato + 5% wheat) were rated higher in organoleptic tests as compared to the other trials(p<0.05)

λ phage nanobioparticle expressing apoptin efficiently suppress human breast carcinoma tumor growth in vivo

Using phages is a novel field of cancer therapy and phage nanobioparticles (NBPs) such as λ phage could be modified to deliver and express genetic cassettes into eukaryotic cells safely in contrast with animal viruses. Apoptin, a protein from chicken anemia virus (CAV) has the ability to specifically induce apoptosis only in carcinoma cells. We presented a safe method of breast tumor therapy via the apoptin expressing λ NBPs. Here, we constructed a λ ZAP-CMV-apoptin recombinant NBP and investigated the effectiveness of its apoptotic activity on BT-474, MDA-MB-361, SKBR-3, UACC-812 and ZR-75 cell lines that over-expressing her-2 marker. Apoptosis was evaluated via annexin-V fluorescent iso-thiocyanate/propidium iodide staining, flow-cytometric method and TUNEL assay. Transfection with NBPs carrying λ ZAP-CMV-apoptin significantly inhibited growth of all the breast carcinoma cell lines in vitro. Also nude mice model implanted BT-474 human breast tumor was successfully responded to the systemic and local injection of untargeted recombinant λ NBPs. The results presented here reveal important features of recombinant λ nanobioparticles to serve as safe delivery and expression platform for human cancer therapy. © 2013 Shoae-Hassani et al

An investigation into the mechanism of mucoadhesion

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX176758 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Phytochemical study of Euphorbia microsciada

Background: Euphorbiaceae family is a large family of medical plants, containing over 800 species. This rather important family of plants could be used in the treatment of various diseases such as cancer and neuralgia. Euphorbia microsciada has not yet undergone phytochemical studies, thus, the present study was achieved. Materials and methods: It was an exploratory study. The plant was obtained form Kohak region in Qom-Kashan road. Extraction was performed by maceration in methanol. Extracts was finally dried and using silica gel column chromatography and various solvents, separation and then identification of constitutes were carried out. Techniques of NMR, Mass, IR and UV were employed for this purpose. Results: Four fractions were obtained from the extract, which were Ma7, MgIII, MgIV, and Md70. Structural determination showed the presence of linear alkane, nonacosane in fraction Ma7. In fraction MgIII, the terpenoid ß-sitosterol was identified and in fraction MgIV, cycloclarkeanol was isolated. Nothing was identified from Md70 fraction. Conclusion: For the first time nonacosane, terpenoid ß-sitosterol, and cycloclarkeanol were isolated from Euphorbia microsciada

Evaluation of the physicochemical characteristics of a formulated liquid soap containing lavender (Lavandula Officinalis) essence

Background : Today the use of hygienic products with a natural source is of high interest among consumers. Lavender essence (Lavandula Officinalis) owing to its pleasant odor and also its antibacterial, antifugal, and antiviral effects can be used in dermatological preparations. Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of a formulated liquid soap from this essence as a new hygienic/therapeutic product. Materials and methods : 0.5 of the essence was extracted from the lavender plant and added to a liquid soap base prepared in preliminary studies, then the prepared product was evaluated in terms of the visual characteristics, color, odor, cleansing and foaming ability, ease of washing from the skin, skin softening ability, compatibility with the skin, PH, and total active determination of the product, determination of the volume and durability of the foam and mechanical and thermal stability. Results : The prepared product had a clear appearance. It was homogenous, with a suitable viscosity and free of suspended particles or sedimentation and possess a pleasant odor. It had a good cleansing ability and could produce an appropriate amount of stable and durable foam and could be easily washed away with water after use. Consumption of the formulated liquid soap softens the skin and causes no side effects such as skin dryness, rash, sensitivity, etc. PH and the total active (total amount of surfactants present in the formulation) of the products were 7.21±0.02 and 18.15±0.04 respectively. Finally, the product was found to have desirable mechanical and thermal stability. Conclusion : Results have revealed that the formulated liquid soap containing lavender essence is acceptable as a new fragment product with cleansing and hygienic ability