Advances in proteomics analytical techniques

   Proteins are fundamental components of cells which mediate many essential biological processes. Proteomics is a rapidly growing field for the study of proteome, the protein complement expressed by the genome of an organism or cell type. The large-scale analysis of proteins leads to a more comprehensive view of molecular and cellular pathways that improves the overall understanding of the complex processes supporting the living systems. The analysis of proteome is significantly challenging due to high dynamic range and difficulties in assessment of low abundance proteins and the absence of efficient purification and identification techniques. A variety of methods have been utilized for protein studies including gel-based techniques, protein microarrays, mass spectrometry-based approaches such as MALDI and SELDI, high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography and fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. NMR spectroscopy and X-Ray crystallography methods are also used for structural study of proteins. This review aims to give a brief overview of some of the above techniques and their most recent advances. We also introduce Proteominer, a recent protein enrichment technology for the exploration of the entire proteome conten

Bi-Objective Model for Locating and Sizing Emergency Stations

Abstract In this paper, we want to present a bi-objective model within the integer linear programming framework to determine the location of emergency stations, the regions covered by each of these stations and the allocation of ambulances to these stations. Objectives of this model are minimizing the cost of locating the stations and ambulances as well as the maximum time it takes to serve the demands. In this model, service time is the interval between dispatching the ambulance and transporting the patient to the closest hospital. Thus, the locations of existing hospitals are taken into account in making decisions while this parameter has been ignored in most of the models available in the literature review. Solving this model by using the constraint method, provides us with a set of Pareto optimal solutions, so we can make better decisions. The presented algorithm is able to solve problem instances containing up to 150 regions within a period of less than 12 seconds which is a reasonable time

Improving the reliability in bio-nanosensor modules using hardware redundancy techniques

A nano-robot is a controlled robotic system at the nanoscale. Nowadays, nanorobotics has become of particular interest in medicine and pharmacy. The accurate diagnosis of the diseases as well as their rapid treatment will make everyone surprised and will significantly reduce the associated risks. The modeling of reliability in biosensors is studied for the first time in this paper. The use of practical hardware redundancy has turned into the most cost-effective to improve the reliability of a system. Additionally, the Markov model is used to design fault-tolerant systems in nanotechnology. The proposed method is compared with some existing methods, such as triple modular redundancy and non-fault-tolerant systems; it is shown that using this method, a larger number of faults between 3-5 can be tolerated. Using the proposed method, the number of modules can be increased to nine. However, a larger number than 9 MR is not recommended because of an increased delay and requiring more hardware. As the scale of components used in digital systems has gotten smaller, the use of hardware redundancy has become cost-effective. But there is a trade-off between the amount of used hardware and fault tolerance, which can also be investigated

A study of relationship between suicidal ideas, depression, anxiety, resiliency, daily stresses and mental health among Tehran university students

AbstractThe current study was conducted to explore the relationship between suicidal ideas, depression, anxiety, resiliency, daily stresses and mental health among university students. 265 students of Tehran University were studied. They were asked to answer the Beck's depression and anxiety, suicidal ideation, mental health, daily stresses and resiliency questioners. Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analyses were used for the data analysis. Suicidal ideations had a significant and negative relationship with resiliency. Anxiety, depression, mental health and daily stresses had a positive relationship with suicidal ideations. Regression analysis revealed that depression had the most contribution in predicting suicidal ideations while anxiety, mental health, Resiliency, and daily stresses were the next contributing factors, respectively. These variables could predict 21 percent of suicidal ideations altogether. Psychological problems and mental health issues and other factors such as resiliency and daily stresses play an important role in suicidal ideations

The correlation between total antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide concentration in seminal plasma with sperm DNA damage

Sperm DNA quality is important in male fertility. Oxidative stress increases sperm DNA damages. Antioxidants decrease production of free radicals and scavenge them. Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical which is produced by most cells and has a dual role on cells. Low concentrations of NO is essential in biology and physiology of systems but high level of NO has a detrimental effect on cells. The aim of this study was to determine the role of the nitric oxide concentration and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in seminal plasma with sperm DNA damage. Semen samples from 45 infertile men and 70 normozospermic men were examined for DNA damage, nitric oxide concentration and TAC. DNA damage was measured by comet assay and nitric oxide concentration was evaluated by Griess assay. TAC was measured in seminal plasma based on the generation of peroxyl radicals from 2,2-azinobis (2-amidino propane) dihydrochlorid (AAPH). Our results show that the means of DNA damage and nitric oxide concentration in infertile men was higher than fertile men. TAC level in infertile men was significantly lower than fertile men. DNA damage was significantly correlated with nitric oxide concentration in infertile men (p = 0.001, r = +0.598) and TAC (p = 0.04, r = - 0.3) in infertile men. In conclusion, sperm DNA damage in infertile men may be induced by nitric oxide-mediated oxidative stress and low levels of TAC.Keywords: Nitric oxide, male infertility, total antioxidant capacity, DNA damageAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(35), pp. 5739-5745, 30 August, 201

Level of Moral Distress in Operating Room Technologist Students in Iran: A Cross‑Sectional Study

AbstractIntroduction: Moral distress is one of the issues considered in the educational environment. That it can affect the physical, psychological, and social dimensions of individuals and access to ethical and educational goals. This study aimed to investigate the moral distress in operating room technologist students of Iran University of Medical Sciences.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on Iran University of Medical Sciences' operating room technologist students in 2017. Data were collected with two questionnaires, including demographic information and a moral distress questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using an independent t-test and one-way ANOVA (P < 0.05).Results: In this study, 121 operating room technologist students participated. The mean score of moral distress in the scores' severity and frequency dimensions was (3.5 ± 1.76) and (3.11 ± 1.6), respectively. The results showed that only age and semester had a significant relationship with the total score of moral distress, and with increasing age and semester, students’ moral pain has decreased.Conclusions: This study's results indicated that the moral distress in operating room technologist students was moderate, which requires investigating the factors involved in creating moral distress and providing strategies and measures to reduce its adverse effects in the educational setting

Pathway and Network Analysis in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Glaucoma, a group of multifactor ocular diseases, is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. Primary open angle (POA) is the most common type of glaucoma, characterized by progressive optic nerve degeneration. Numerous genes and proteins have been revealed to be associated with POAG, but the pathologic mechanisms of the disease are still poorly understood. Proteomics, the collective study of proteins in an organism at a given condition, has extensively been used for the high-throughput identification of proteins related to POAG. A significant obstacle in proteomics studies is the data variability which makes it hard to interpret the results. Pathway analysis and network topological information can help address the challenge and provide a greater appreciation of the disease mechanism and progression. The purpose of this paper is to determine POAG biological and network information to further understand the mechanisms associated with POAG. PANTHER classification system was used, including classification with gene ontology, protein class and pathway. 474 gene/protein IDs were extracted from previous proteomic studies. Among pathways found by PANTHER classification, apoptosis signaling pathway was the most significant pathway (with the p-value of 5.54E-12). Other PANTHER categories results demonstrated that developmental processes, receptor binding, extracellular region and extracellular matrix proteins were the most significant biological process, molecular function, cellular component and protein class respectively. Pathway analysis aids to find probable mechanisms involved in POAG. A network analysis on proteins was also performed using STRING database and cytoscape software. From network analysis, candidate biomarkers for the disease were introduced.

Metabolomics-based studies in the field of Leishmania/leishmaniasis

Leishmania is a neglected protozoan parasite which creates some problems for public health with different clinical infections in different countries around. Due to the lack of an effective drug without side effects and the emergence drug resistance, there is an urgent need to introduce the novel drug targets and new drugs and vaccines to control leishmaniasis during recent years, metabolomics and other ‘‘Omics” platforms has become an important approach to comprehensive knowledge of the Leishmania  parasites biology. The study of metabolite profiles can open the insights for discovering novel therapeutic targets in this infection in both of the parasites and human host. In addition, specifying the metabolomics profile changes among promastigotes, amastigotes and during metacyclogenesis can pay the way for achieving parasite survival parameters and the host-parasite interaction. The previous studies in this field have been extracted from the databases, literature and their detailed major concepts. The present review highlights the role of metabolomics approach in the field of Leishmania research. Also, several important metabolite signatures introduced in various aspect of leishmania parasite such as drug resistance and parasite biology which would be useful in the field of biomarker and drug discovery process. Finally, metabolomics plays a potential role in introducing metabolic pathways related to Leishmania parasite and its treatment design.Keywords:  Omics, System biology, Metabolomics, Leishmania, Parasite, Leishmaniasis, Biomarke

Comparing the adverse outcomes of contraception failure between IUD and withdrawal methods

Background: Objective of current study was to compare the adverse outcomes of pregnancy after failure of IUD (Intrauterine device) with the withdrawal method of contraception in order to predict and prevent such outcomes.Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, the adverse outcomes of 224 pregnancies (2 groups, 112 women each) were assessed following failure of the IUD or withdrawal methods of contraception (coitus interruptus). Data were analyzed and P values ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: Rates of spontaneous and induced abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and vaginal bleeding during second half of pregnancy were more common in the removed IUD group compared to the withdrawal method, differences however not significant. No fetal abnormality was observed in IUD group. Preterm birth (p= 0.045), preterm premature rupture of membrane (p= 0.01), and vaginal bleeding during pregnancy (p= 0.01), were more prevalent in the IUD group (retained and removed) compared to those using the withdrawal method.Conclusions: Considering the adverse outcomes, we knew women with pregnancy after failure of IUD were at an increased risk for such outcomes, compared to those using the withdrawal method; however the results of this research showed these adverse effects are not significant when pregnancy with IUD is detected earlier and IUD is removed during the early stage(s) of pregnancy