Isolation of keratinophilic fungi and aerobic actinomycetes from park soils in Gorgan, North of Iran

Background: Keratinophilic fungi are a group of fungi that colonize in various keratinous substrates and degrade them to the components with low molecular weight. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi and aerobic Actinomycetes in soil of city parks in Gorgan. Objectives: In this study, we surveyed the city park soils of Gorgan (a northern province of Iran) to determine the identities and diversity of soil aerobic Actinomycetes, keratinophilic and non-keratinophilic fungi. Materials and Methods: A total of 244 soil samples were collected from 22 diferent parks of Gorgan, North of Iran. The samples were collected from the superfcial layer with depth not exceeding than 0-10 cm in sterile polyethylene bags. We used hair bait technique for isolation keratinophilic fungi. The colonies identifed by macroscopic and microscopic characterization after slide culturing. Actinomycetes were isolated by antibiotic dilution methods and detected by using physiological tests such as Lysozyme, Casein, Xanthine, Hypoxanthine, Gelatin, Urea Broth, and modifed acid-fast stain. Results: Totally, 75 isolates of aerobic Actinomycetes were detected that Actinomadura madurae and Nocardia asteroides were the most prevalent strains, with 14.66 and 28% prevalence respectively. Microsporum gypseum was more frequent than other keratinophilic fungi (22.96%) and Aspergillus spp. was the most species of saprophyte fungi (15.92%). Conclusions: This study showed that the collected soil from studied areas was rich of keratinophilic fungi and Actinomycetes, therefore hygiene protocol should be taken to prevent the spread of pathogenic and saprophytes fungi in the environment of susceptible person. © 2013, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences

Synexin facilitates fusion of specific phospholipid membranes at divalent cation concentrations found intracellularly.

The effect of synexin (an adrenal medullary protein) on the kinetics of Ca2+- and Mg2+-mediated membrane fusion was examined. Membrane fusion was studied by monitoring intermixing of the aqueous contents of phospholipid vesicles. Synexin facilitated Ca2+-mediated, but not Mg2+-mediated, fusion of phosphatidate/phosphatidylethanolamine (1:3) and phosphatidate/phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylethanolamine/cholesterol (1:2:3:2) vesicles. The threshold concentration of Ca2+ for fusion was decreased to approximately equal to 10 microM in the presence of synexin at 6 micrograms/ml and 1.5 mM Mg2+ in vesicle suspensions containing 50 microM lipid. This effect of synexin was drastically inhibited by including 25% phosphatidylcholine (mol/mol) in the vesicle membrane. It is proposed that the Ca2+-dependent lipid-specific enhancement of membrane fusion by synexin contributes to an increase in the sensitivity of specific intracellular membranes to Ca2+ with respect to fusion

Effects of Ankaferd Hemostat on Helicobacter pylori strains and antibiotic resistance

Background/aim: Ankaferd hemostat (ABS; Ankaferd blood stopper, Istanbul, Turkey) is a folkloric medicinal plant extract. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Ankaferd hemostat (ABS) on the fate of Helicobacter pylori strains. The study also aims to determine alterations in the antimicrobial resistance of three different H. pylori strains in response to ABS exposure. Materials and methods: H. pylori Strain 1 was obtained from the culture collection ATCC 43504 and passaged three times for viability. Strain 2 was isolated from a gastric ulcer patient and Strain 3 was isolated from a gastritis patient. 1% of ABS was added to all of the strains and antimicrobial susceptibility was observed on 30 and 60 min after application. Results: The efficacy of ABS solutions in achieving significant logarithmic reduction in foodborne pathogens of H. pylori was observed in this study. This study showed that ABS has antibacterial (Anti-H. pylori) effects. Conclusion: Our present study indicated, for the first time, that ABS could act against H. pylori. ABS is clinically used for the management of GI bleeding due to benign and malignant GI lesions. Thus, the possible anti-H. pylori effect of ABS shall expand the therapeutic spectrum of the drug in GI lesions in relation to H. pylori infection such as peptic ulser disease (PUD) and lymphoid tissue ( MALT) lymphomagenesis

Noises Cancelling Adaptive Methods in Control Telemetry Systems of Oil Electrical Submersible Pumps

The main ideas of this paper are that only some from more than 10 MATLAB Adaptive Methods library may be useful and can be recommended to filter out High-Noises in similar Control Telemetry Channels of Electric Power Components like ESP Systems: only four of applied have shown successfully good results in the early prediction of the ESP motor real insulation disruption (like Sign-error, Sign-data and Sign-sign filters). The best among the ten analyzed adaptive filter algorithms was recognized to be, The Normalized LMS FIR filter algorithm — adaptfilt.nlm

Anionic liposomes inhibit human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infectivity in CD4\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e A3.01 and H9 cells

Immunodeficiency viruses undergo fusion with liposomes containing anionic phospholipids (Larsen et al., 1990). We have investigated the effect of liposomes composed of cardiolipin, phosphatidylserine or phosphatidylinositol, on the infectivity of three strains of HIV-1 in A3.01 and H9 cells, measured by p24 (gag) production in the medium. The infectivity of HIV-1 in A3.01 or H9 cells was inhibited by the presence of cardiolipin liposomes during a 2 h infection period, with IC50\u27s of 23.0, 4.8, and 5.0 μM phospholipid, respectively, for the different strains. Liposomes composed of phosphatidylserine or phosphatidylinositol were ineffective under similar conditions. However, prolonged pre-incubation of the virus with these liposomes also inhibited infectivity. Inhibition of virus binding to cells could not account for the inhibition of infectivity. We propose that the fusion products of HIV-1 and anionic liposomes are impaired in their ability to fuse with the plasma membrane

Tumor escape and progression under immune pressure.

Although cancers develop and progress in immunocompetent hosts, immunological therapies for cancer have been proposed as alternative or complementary approaches to more standard therapy. It was initially thought that tumors were silent to the immune system, and that breaking immunological tolerance could result in immune-mediated tumor rejection. However, we have learned that cancer patients have preexisting immune responses against their tumor antigens which, nevertheless, fail to protect them, in part because of increased activity of the immune suppressor cells such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Attempts to develop combinatorial therapies by depleting suppressor cells or blocking suppressor pathways and at the same time actively inducing immune responses in vivo or adoptively transferring tumor-specific T cells have largely failed. Very limited success has been achieved only against melanoma, using adoptive T-cell therapy, or prostate cancer, using a vaccine which improves patient survival but has no apparent inhibitory effect on disease progression. Further progress in the immunotherapy of cancer has been halted because of a poor understanding of the cellular components of the immune responses working together in favor of or against the tumors, as well as our inability to reliably reprogram immune responses towards the most effective phenotypes against cancer. This special issue is focused on understanding the escape mechanisms that malignant cells develop to hijack antitumor immune responses as well as strategies to overcome tumor escape. Four main areas that are covered in this issue include the following. Opposing Functions of the Immune System in Tumor Inhibition and Tumor ProgressionRobert Schreiber proposed the term “cancer immunoediting” in order to broadly describe the dual host-protecting and tumor-sculpting actions of the immune system that not only survey for, and eliminate, nascent malignant cells but also shape neoplastic disease through equilibrium and escape mechanisms. In this issue, M. Aris et al. discuss the dual function of the immune system in controlling and promoting tumor progression in cutaneous melanoma. They propose that tumor evolution is because of a continuous feedback between tumor cells and their environment, and thus different combinatorial therapeutic approaches can be implemented according to the tumor stage. A. Amedei et al. discuss recent knowledge on the contribution of T cells in oncogenesis. They review the different types, “friend or foe,” of T-cell response in gastric cancer. Tumor-Associated Modulation of Immune Checkpoint MoleculesUpon activation, T cells develop negative feedback regulatory mechanisms in order to avoid overstimulation. These include the expression of checkpoint molecules such as PD-1 and CTLA-4. T cells that recognize and respond to tumor antigens produce IFN-γ. A dual function of IFN-γ is the induction of apoptosis in target cells and upregulation of PD-L1 that interacts with PD-1 positive T cells, thereby resulting in the exhaustion of tumor-reactive T cells. Expression of CTLA-4 on activated T cells also results in T-cell anergy upon interaction with costimulatory molecules on DCs. S. Sapozink et al. describe new immunomodulatory approaches currently in the development pipeline, with focus on the novel CEACAM1 immune checkpoint, and compare its potential to the extensively described lymphocyte inhibitory targets, CTLA4 and PD-1. E. Rozali et al. provide an extensive review of the literature on the immunoregulatory role of PD-L2 in cancer-induced immune suppression and discuss the results of recent studies targeting PD-L2 in cancer. L. Cruz-Merino et al. discuss immune escape mechanisms in Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and summarize the clinical, histological, pathological, and biological factors in HL, with special emphasis on the improvement of prognosis and their impact on treatment strategies. L. Farnault et al. introduce various mechanisms involved in the escape of hematological malignancies from NK-cell surveillance. These include NK-cell qualitative and qualitative deficiencies that occur through modulating the inhibitory and activating stimuli. Tumor-Induced Immune SuppressionMalignant cells produce cytokines and chemokines that facilitate the expansion or differentiation of immune suppressor cells such as Tregs, MDSC, and M2 macrophages. G. Zhou and H. Levitsky summarize the findings from some recent preclinical and clinical studies, focusing on how tumor cells advance their survival and expansion by hijacking therapy-induced immune effector mechanisms that would otherwise mediate their destruction. A particularly interesting notion that is touched upon involves tumor-independent treatment-induced homeostatic counter-regulation. M. Jadus et al. cover the escape mechanisms of bronchogenic lung cancer that must be overcome before they can be successfully treated. They also review the history of immunotherapy directed towards lung cancers. N. Hao et al. discuss the role of tumor-associated macrophages including M1 and M2 subsets during tumour progression and metastasis, highlighting the immunosuppressive role of M2 macrophages. V. Levina et al. investigate the role of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1) in tumor escape and metastasis using 4T1 mammary carcinoma model. They show that IDO1 can not only suppress antitumour immune responses but also promote tumour cell proliferation. Improved Immunotherapeutic Strategies to Overcome Tumor EscapeImmunotherapy combined with blockade of immune suppressor pathways has been developed to overcome tumor-induced immune suppression. Cornelissen et al. discuss the interplay between a dual function of the immune responses against mesothelioma which can either inhibit or stimulate tumor growth and review the challenges associated with immunotherapy. They also discuss possible strategies and opportunities to overcome tumor escape. R. Casalegno-Garduño et al. analyze the expression of the leukemia-associated antigen receptor for hyaluronan acid-mediated motility (RHAMM) in patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Their results suggest that immunotherapies like peptide vaccination or adoptive transfer of RHAMM-specific T cells might improve the immune response and the clinical outcome in AML/MDS patients. S.Wallner et al. summarize the current knowledge about the negative regulatory role of Cbl-b in T-cell activation and its potential therapeutic implications for cancer immunotherapy. H. Nagai et al. demonstrate that sorafenib-induced Th1 dominance can prevent the escape of tumor cells from the host immune system in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC).Overall, this special issue provides a well-rounded synopsis of representative research efforts addressing the issues related to “tumor escape and progression under immune pressure.

Therapy of Mycobacterium avium complex infections in beige mice with streptomycin encapsulated in sterically stabilized liposomes

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) causes serious opportunistic infections in AIDS patients. Previous studies with MAC-infected beige mice have indicated that weekly administration of liposome-encapsulated streptomycin can reduce significantly the CFU in the liver and spleen. We examined whether streptomycin encapsulated in recently developed sterically stabilized liposomes with prolonged circulation times would have a therapeutic effect in this animal model. Two liposome types with prolonged circulation (polyethyleneglycol-distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine [PEG-DSPE]- distearoylphosphatidylcholine [DSPC]-cholesterol [chol] or phosphatidylinositol [PI]-DSPC-chol) and conventional liposomes (phosphatidylglycerol [PG]-phosphatidylcholine [PC]-chol) encapsulating streptomycin and administered twice weekly were bactericidal to MAC strain 101 in the spleen when the level of infection after treatment was compared with the level of infection before treatment. PI-DSPC-chol and PG-PC-chol liposomes encapsulating streptomycin were bactericidal in the liver. Although PG-PC-chol or PEG-DSPE-DSPE-chol liposomes encapsulating streptomycin were not bactericidal in the lungs, they reduced the level of MAC infection by more than 3 orders of magnitude compared with the level of MAC infection in untreated controls

Home energy monitoring system towards smart control of energy consumption

The need to manage, control and reduce energy consumption has led researchers to propose reliable solutions based on new technologies to achieve this goal. Our contribution in this subject is presented in this paper and consists of the design, implementation and testing of a home energy monitoring system. The presented system is dedicated for residential customers and allows the monitoring and control of the energy consumption, based on distributed and central processing. The system includes distributed monitoring devices, a gateway and a graphical user interface (GUI). To connect the all parts we use a hybrid wireless solution based on the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy standards. We present the design and the implementation of the monitoring device hardware as well as the embedded software used to calculate the electrical quantities. We also present the calibration methodology used to eliminate gain and offset errors. In terms of performance test results, we have achieved voltage measurement accuracy below 0.2% and current measurement accuracy below 0.5%. A GUI was also developed for the user to visualize and control remotely the household appliances.This work is supported by FCT with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, COMPETE 2020 with the code POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941

Enhancement of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection by cationic liposomes: The role of CD4, serum and liposome-cell interactions

We have reported previously the enhancement of the infectivity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV- 1) by liposomes composed of the cationic lipid N[2,3-(dioleyloxy) propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (DOTMA). To determine the mechanism by which this process occurs, we have investigated the role of CD4, serum concentration and liposome-cell interactions in the DOTMA-mediated stimulation of HIV-1 infection of A3.01 cells. Serum alone significantly inhibited the binding and infectivity of HIV-1, but DOTMA-mediated enhancement of infectivity was more pronounced in the presence of serum than in its absence. HIV-1 binding to cells was increased in the presence of DOTMA liposomes, DEAE-dextran and polybrene, all of which also enhanced infectivity to a similar extent at comparable concentrations. Fluorescence dequenching measurements indicated that DOTMA liposomes fused with HIV-1, but not with cell membranes, in the presence of serum. The enhancing effect of DOTMA liposomes on HIV-1 infectivity was CD4-dependent, and appeared to involve virus-liposome fusion and liposome binding to the cell surface. DOTMA liposomes did not mediate infection of the CD4- K562 and Raji cell lines

Pattern of mandibular third molar impaction: A cross‑sectional study in northeast of Iran

Objectives: Impacted teeth, if left untreated, have a potential to induce various complications. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of impacted mandibular third molar in the Iranian population.Study Design: This cross‑sectional study was performed in patients who were referred to the Department of Oral Radiology between July 2009 and October 2010 to obtain an orthopantomogram (OPG). Data were collected regarding age and gender, prevalence of impacted mandibular third molars, angulation of impacted teeth (Winter’s classification), level of impaction (Pell and Gregory classification), and relationship of the mandibular third molar with the ramus (Pell and Gregory classification). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 11.0 with a confidence interval of 95%.Results: Among the 1433 patients included in the study, 489 (34.12%) patients were male and 944 (65.88%) were female. Of the total OPGs performed, 871 (60.78%) OPGs demonstrated at least one impacted mandibular third molar. In addition, of the 2866 mandibular third molars investigated, 1397 (48.74%) were found to be impacted. A significant association was observed between gender and the number of impacted teeth or the presence of impaction of any mandibular tooth (or teeth) (P < 0.05). The most common type of tooth angulation was mesioangular (48.67%). In addition, the most prevalent type of impaction level and ramus relationship was level B (63.85%) and Class II (48.46%), respectively. There were no significant differences between the two sides of the mandible for the prevalence of impacted third molar (P > 0.05).Conclusion: The pattern of mandibular third molars in the Northeast region of Iran revealed a high prevalence of impaction, which was mostly mesioangular, level B, and Class II with a gender predilection for females.Keywords: Impaction, Iran, mandibular third molar, orthopantomogram, patter