Biochemical and histopathological changes in kidney of diabetic rats treated with hydroalcoholic extract of Centaurea cyanus

Background and purpose: Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease, currently affecting more than 280 million people worldwide. Centaurea cyanus known as cornflower has antioxidant properties and is used in traditional medicine in lowering blood sugar. This study aimed at determining the biochemical and histopathological changes in serum and the kidneys of diabetic rats treated with hydroalcoholic extract of Centaurea cyanus. Materials and methods: In this study, 60 male Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n= 12 per group). Diabetes was induced by alloxan. The diabetic rats were treated for 8 weeks with hydro alcoholic extract of C. cyanus at two concentrations (400 and 800 mg/kg). Finally, the animals were anesthetized and the serum levels of glucose, creatinine and urea and kidney tissue catalase level were measured. The kidney tissue slides were histopathologically examined. Results: Histopathological examination showed that similar to the control group, there were no significant changes in histolological features of the group receiving 800 mg/kg extract of the C. cyanus. In the group treated with 400 mg/kg of the extract there were mild tubular changes. Biochemical examination showed higher levels of creatinine in the group receiving the extract at 800 mg/kg. The level of urea in the group receiving the extract at 400 mg/kg, was significantly higher compared to that of the control group. (P<0.05). Conclusion: Consumption of Centaurea cyanus extract at 800 mg/kg could prevent kidney tissue injuries in diabetic rats, but further investigations are required before its use in treatment of patients with diabetes. © 2016, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Engineering. All rights reserved

Molecular analysis of Iranian colorectal cancer patients at risk for Lynch syndrome: a new molecular, clinicopathological feature.

PURPOSE Microsatellite instability (MSI) and mismatch repair (MMR) gene expression present a hallmark mutational signature of Lynch syndrome as a common hereditary cancer predisposing condition. Since there is not enough data of molecular and clinicopathological aspects of the disease in Iranian populations, this article is a new description in Central Iran. METHODS It is a descriptive analytical study in which we screened 1659 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients based on early-onset disease and Amsterdam II criteria during 14 years (2000-2013). MSI testing was applied through a commercial kit evaluating five mononucleotide markers (BAT-25, BAT-26, MON0-27, NR-21, and NR-24) using a fluorescent multiplex PCR method. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was set up to detect expression of four mismatch repair (MMR) genes including MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2. SPSS 16 software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS Overall, 31 of 45 screened at-risk families were eventually included to MSI testing of which 9/31 patients (∼29 %) showed MSI in their tumor tissues including 6 (19.4 %) MSI-H (high). BAT-26 was the most instable marker with instability in 7/31 MSI tumors (22.6 %). IHC-MMR staining was absent in 7/31 probands (22.6 %) of which in 4 cases, both MSH2/MSH6 (57.1 %) and, in 2 cases, both MLH1/PMS2 showed deficiency (28.6 %), and just in one case, MSH6 was defective (14.3 %). IHC-MMR was absent in all 6 MSI-H tumors while none of 3 MSI-L tumors were MMR-deficient. Just single MSH6-defective tumor showed MSS state. The frequency of CRC among MMR-deficient and MMR-proficient families was 67.5 and 27.9 %, respectively. The most common extracolonic cancer among both MMR-deficient and MMR-proficient groups was stomach, respectively, with 26.7 and 16.5 %. CONCLUSIONS A different molecular and clinicopathological phenotype of tumors in CRC Iranian patients at risk for Lynch syndrome could suggest some new molecular mechanisms about which more evaluations are necessary

Renal biochemical and histopathological alterations of diabetic rats under treatment with hydro alcoholic Morus nigra extrac.

Introduction: Morus nigra fruit is known to have antioxidant effects and used to control the blood sugar level in traditional medicine. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the biochemical and histopathological changes in the serum and kidneys of diabetic rats treated with hydroalcoholic M. nigra extract. Materials and Methods: In this study, 60 male Wistar rats were divided into five groups of 12 each. After induction of diabetes with alloxan, the diabetic rats were treated with hydroalcoholic extract of M. nigra at different concentrations. Then, the animals were anesthetized and the serum levels of glucose, creatinine, and urea as well as kidney tissue catalase level measured. The kidney tissue was also histopathologically examined. Results: Milder glomerular damage was seen in the group treated with 800 mg/kg of the M. nigra extract compared with diabetic and positive controls, and no difference in the expansion of mesenchymal tissue into renal glomerular vessels observed between the group treated with 800 mg/kg of M. nigra extract and diabetic and positive controls. Furthermore, creatinine levels were significantly higher and urea levels significantly lower in the group treated with 800 mg/kg of M. nigra extract than healthy and positive control groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Administration of M. nigra extract at 800 mg/kg can prevent kidney tissue damage in diabetic rats and this fruit seems to be beneficial to patients with diabetes

Immunohistochemical analysis of mismatch repair proteins in Iranian Colorectal Cancer patients at risk for Lynch syndrome

Background: Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a common hereditary cancer predisposing syndrome has molecular and clinicopathological features still have remained ambiguous within Iranian populations. We discuss in this article some molecular and clinicopathological features of the condition. Methods: The study was a descriptive retrospective and designed on 1659 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were screened based on early-onset disease and Amsterdam II criteria during 14 years (2000-2013). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was set up to detect expression of mismatch repair (MMR) genes on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 31 HNPCC-CRC tumors. SPSS 19 software was used to analyze the data. Results: IHC-MMR staining was absent in 7/31 individuals (22.6%) of which 4 cases showed IHC-Absent (IHC-A) in both MSH2 and MSH6 (57.1%), in 2 cases both MLH1 and PMS2 had negative staining (28.6%), and just in one case, MSH6 was defective (14.3%). The frequency of CRC among IHC-A and IHC-Present (IHC-P) families was 67.5% and 27.9%, respectively. Also the most frequent extracolonic cancers in IHC-A group were: stomach (10%), small bowel (5%), and prostate (5%); and in IHC-P group: stomach (18.4%), lung (10.9%), and breast (7.5%). Average age of IHC-A individuals at diagnosis was 38.0 versus 45.3 years in IHC-P individuals. Overall, 20.8% and 57.1% of our index CRCs were localized proximal to the splenic flexure in IHC-P and IHC-A groups, respectively. Conclusion: Given the lack of enough information about molecular aspects of hereditary cancer syndromes like HNPCC in Iran, more evaluations are necessary on larger samples using complementary techniques such as MSI-testing and mutation analyses

Curcuma longa: A review of therapeutic effects in traditional and modern medical references

Turmeric with scientific name of Curcuma longa is a perennial and herbaceous plant from family Zingiberaceae that grows in East Asia, such as China, and India. Ample evidence from previous studies indicates that C. longa is effective on many diseases including diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. It also has hepatoprotective, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system protective effects, and may stimulate immune system. Because C. longa contains antioxidant compounds such as curcumin, zingibran, alpha and beta-Turmerin, arabinose, fructose, glucose, starch and desmetoxicurcumin. The therapeutic effects that have already been confirmed in with animal and human studies can be attributed to these compounds. Therefore, the effective compounds of C. longa on the above diseases should be investigated in clinical trials. This may help to produce effective and strong drugs to treat these diseases. This article was aimed to summarize and present the therapeutic effects of Curcuma longa in traditional and modern medical reference

Oxidation of o-chloro and o-hydroxy benzyl alcohols catalyzed by copper (II) tetraphenylporphyrin nanoparticles synthesized by mixed solvent method

Tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) and copper tetraphenylporphyrin (CuTPP) were synthesized and characterized by IR, UV-Vis, 1HNMR and 13CNMR. The CuTPP nanoparticles were synthesized by sonication and mixed solvent methods. These nanoparticles were characterized by AFM and SEM images and UV-Vis spectra. The catalytic activity of nanoparticles was investigated by oxidation of o-choloro and o-hydroxy benzyl alcohols in presence of molecular oxygen and isobutyraldehyde. The yields of oxidation of o-hydroxy benzyl alcohol by the two catalysts, CuTPP NPs and CuTPP, are 96.5% and ~ 2%, respectively. It is very obvious that the oxidation at the presence of CuTPP NPs catalyst is very high but selectivity for both reactants is 100%.

A historical and future impact assessment of mining activities on surface biophysical characteristics change : A remote sensing-based approach

Mining activities and associated actions cause land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes across the world. The objective of this study were to evaluate the historical impacts of mining activities on surface biophysical characteristics, and for the first time, to predict the future changes in pattern of vegetation cover and land surface temperature (LST). In terms of the utilized data, satellite images of Landsat, and meteorological data of Sungun mine in Iran, Athabasca oil sands in Canada, Singrauli coalfield in India and Hambach mine in Germany, were used over the period of 1989-2019. In the first step, the spectral bands of Landsat images were employed to extract historical LULC changes in the study areas based on the homogeneity distance classification algorithm (HDCA). Thereafter, a CA-Markov model was used to predict the future of LULC changes based on the historical changes. In addition, LST and vegetation cover maps were calculated using the single channel algorithm, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), respectively. In the second step, the trends of LST and NDVI variations in different LULC change types and over different time periods were investigated. Finally, a CA-Markov model was used to predict the LST and NDVI maps and the trend of their variations in future. The results indicated that the forest and green space cover was reduced from 9.95 in 1989 to 5.9 Km(2) in 2019 for Sungun mine, from 42.14 in 1999 to 33.09 Km(2) in 2019 for Athabasca oil sands, from 231.46 in 1996 to 263.95 Km(2) in 2016 for Singrauli coalfield, and from 180.38 in 1989 to 133.99 Km(2) in 2017 for Hambach mine, as a result of expansion and development of of mineral activities. Our findings about Sungun revealed that the areal coverage of forest and green space will decrease to 15% of the total study area by 2039, resulting in reduction of the mean NDVI by almost 0.06 and increase of mean standardized LST from 0.52 in 2019 to 0.61 in 2039. our results further indicate that for Athabasca oil sands (Singrauli coalfield, Hambach mine), the mean values of standardized LST and NDVI will change from 0.5 (0.44 and 0.4) and 0.38 (0.38, 0.35) in 2019 (2016, 2017) to 0.57 (0.5, 0.47) and 0.33 (0.32, 0.28), in 2039 (2036, 2035), respectively. This can be mainly attributed to the increasing mining activities in the past as well as future years. The discussion and conclusions presented in this study can be of interest to local planners, policy makers, and environmentalists in order to observe the damages brought to the environment and the society in a larger picture.Peer reviewe

Measuring process capability index Cpmk with fuzzy data and compare it with other fuzzy process capability indices

The index Cpmk is a well-known loss-based process capability index. It can reveal more information about the location of the process mean compared with other classic process capability indices. This index is also more sensitive than other capability indices to any deviations from process mean. When there are some uncertainties in observations, fuzzy logic can be employed to manage these uncertainties. There is some research on different fuzzy process capability indices and this paper is an extension of Tsai and Chen (2006), Chen, Lin, and Chen (2003) for the process capability index Cpmk of fuzzy numbers. In order to find the membership function of process capability index Cpmk, the α-cuts of the fuzzy observation were employed. An example of fuzzy process capability Cpmk calculator was illustrated and compared with other classic fuzzy process capability indices Cp,Cpl,Cpu,Cpk and Cpm . Results showed that fuzzy Cpmk has the advantages of both Cpk and Cpm . Since the index Cpmk is a more sensitive index compared with other classic indices, the fuzzy process capability index Cpmk can be a more sensitive fuzzy index compared with Cp,Cpl,Cpu,Cpk and Cpm