A Neglected Case of Wilson’s Disease Presenting as Symptomatic Urolithiasis and Proteinuria: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

We report a short-statured, 39-year-old male presenting with recurrent kidney stones, history of refractory rickets, and bone deformity. He had been consuming multiple doses of calcium supplements and multiple courses of vitamin D over past 30 years before prior to reporting in our clinic without any significant laboratory or clinical improvement. The patient was diagnosed as having Fanconi’s syndrome attributable to Wilson’s disease. This patient highlighted that in case of resistant rickets, a high index of uncertainty must be invoked for Wilson’s disease. Appropriate timely recognition of this entity results in prompt ministrations and prevention of disability. We also presented and discussed reviews on Wilson’s disease from literature

Concerns in the Design and Development of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides

Peptide and protein based therapeutics are the most promising approaches in today medicine. Bioactive peptides can be valuable drugs in the treatment of various illnesses, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Cell toxic peptides can be considered for cancer or infection therapy. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are one of the most interesting antibiotic groups in this regard, especially in drug resistance infections. Numerous AMPs have been discovered from the natural source; however, artificial synthetic ones have been also developed based on rational design or bioinformatics modeling. Physicochemical features of AMPs are highly important in their antibacterial activity as well as their toxicity. The best AMP is the one that has selective potent antimicrobial bioactivity and no or least hemolytic and cytotoxic effect. In this review, various structural factors affecting the AMPs bioactivity, such as AMPs size, charge, amphipathicity, and amino acid sequence are illustrated considering the most recently published articles. Finally, the trends in AMP design and development are discussed. HIGHLIGHTS•Antimicrobial peptides are highly interesting antibiotics in multi-drug resistance infections.•Antimicrobial peptides are short peptides with less than 50 amino acids and overall positive charge.•First and second structural features of AMPs are important factors in their bioactivities.•Cyclization and branching of AMPs could affect their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics

Fabrication and characterization of PVA/WPI nanofibers containing probiotics using electrospinning technique

Objective(s): This study aimed to evaluate the viability of encapsulated probiotics using electrospinning technique. Specifically, the study focused on polyvinyl alcohol-whey protein isolate nanofibers (PVA/WPI) containing Bifidobacterium bifidum. These nanofibers have potential applications in active food packaging to improve food safety and extend shelf life, as well as in medical and pharmaceutical fields.Materials and Methods: PVA/WPI nanofibers were electrospun in varying ratios (ranging from 100:00 to 50:50) and evaluated for their morphology, mechanical properties, FT-IR and DSC characteristics. B. bifidum was also encapsulated in the optimized PVA/WPI nanofibers to assess their encapsulation efficiency and viability, and the antimicrobial properties of the nanofibers were determined using the disk diffusion method.Results: All prepared nanofibers displayed a diameter range of 186.42-612.5 nm, with an inverse relationship between WPI ratio and nanofiber diameter. The PVA/WPI nanofiber with a ratio of 60:40 was found to be the most favorable. DSC analysis showed that adding WPI decreased thermal stability, and the enthalpy of endothermic peaks decreased in nanofibers containing B. bifidum. Mechanical evaluation revealed that adding WPI reduced tensile strength and elongation at break, without significant effects from B. bifidum (P>0.05). Bacterial encapsulation efficiency was 80.58%. Probiotic nanofibers exhibited antimicrobial properties against Listeria monocytogenes (11.00±0.37 mm) and Escherichia coli (9.71±0.06 mm).Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the optimized PVA/WPI nanofiber (60:40) contained suitable morphological, mechanical and thermal characteristics with the highest encapsulation efficiency in regards to B. bifidum (>80%). Probiotics-containing PVA/WPI nanofibers are a suitable platform for medical applications and food industry packaging due to their antimicrobial properties

Soluciones de gestión urbana para promover el estilo de vida iraní-islámico. (Estudio de caso: Municipio de Teherán)

The main objective of the present research is urban management strategies for the promotion of Iranian-Islamic lifestyle (Case study: Tehran Municipality). This objective will be achieved through by descriptive-analytical method, the role of the Tehran municipality in achieving this pattern is from the aspects of physical development of Tehran under the title of maintaining Iranian-Islamic identity in physical development, determining the criteria for urban construction based on Islamic criteria and values, The clarity of the Islamic symbols and symbols, the organization of the image and the urban landscape, and research on Iranian-Islamic architecture and urbanization. The results of the research show that the municipality of Tehran can promote the genuine values of the Iranian-Islamic lifestyle and use of the sciences and experiences of human societies based on Islamic teachings and as one of the pillars of authentication and self-sufficiency factor and scientific independence, freedom from feelings of humiliation and Alienation and, ultimately, the social development of society.El objetivo principal de la presente investigación son las estrategias de gestión urbana para la promoción del estilo de vida iraní-islámico (Estudio de caso: Municipio de Teherán). Este objetivo se logrará mediante un método descriptivo-analítico, el papel del municipio de Teherán en el logro de este patrón proviene de los aspectos del desarrollo físico de Teherán bajo el título de mantener la identidad iraní-islámica en el desarrollo físico, determinando los criterios para la construcción urbana basada sobre criterios y valores islámicos, la claridad de los símbolos y símbolos islámicos, la organización de la imagen y el paisaje urbano, y la investigación sobre la arquitectura y urbanización iraní-islámica. Los resultados de la investigación muestran que el municipio de Teherán puede promover los valores genuinos del estilo de vida iraní-islámico y el uso de las ciencias y experiencias de las sociedades humanas basadas en las enseñanzas islámicas y como uno de los pilares del factor de autenticación y autosuficiencia y independencia científica, libertad de sentimientos de humillación y alienación y, en última instancia, el desarrollo social de la sociedad

Evaluation of the Efficiency of Double Aluminum-Magnesium Layered Nano-Hydroxide in Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Aquatic Solutions and Determination of Optimal Adsorption

Background: Antibiotics and their metabolites are known as dangerous non-degradable substances that potentially remain after the wastewater treatment process. Therefore, it is necessary to remove these compounds from aqueous solutions. This study aimed to use layered double nano-hydroxides to remove carbamazepine, cephalexin, and ciprofloxacin. Methods: In this experimental study the characteristics of double aluminum-magnesium layered nano-hydroxide were investigated by SEM, FTIR, XRD, and DLS. In order to determine the removal efficacy of this adsorbent; the effects of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial concentration of antibiotics was investigated and the isotherms and kinetics of absorption were determined. Results: According to the SEM and TEM analysis, the synthesized adsorbent had a hexagonal shape and its size ranged from 200 to 1000 nm. The analysis of XRD and FTIR showed that the adsorbent is a layered double hydroxide. The highest removal rate of antibiotics was observed at the contact time of 120 min, pH of 9, the adsorbent dose of 8 g/L and concentration of 30 mg/L for all three types of antibiotics which was 94%, 91% and 97% for carbamazepine, cefalexin, and ciprofloxacin respectively. The study of isotherm and kinetics showed that absorption data were more consistent with the Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order kinetics. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that layered double hydroxide that was synthesized by urea hydrolysis, had high efficacy in the treatment of carbamazepine, cephalexin, and ciprofloxacin

Comparison of Analgesia in Subcutaneous Infiltration of Ropivacaine and Magnesium Sulfate for Postoperative Pain Control of Cholecystectomy

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of analgesia of Ropivacaine and magnesium sulfate as subcutaneous infiltration at the site of surgical cutaneous cholecystectomy in the postoperative period.Materials and Methods: To achieve the research goals, 80 patients referred to Shohada Tajrish Hospital in Tehran in 2016, which were randomly divided into two groups: Ropivacaine and magnesium sulfate. Patients in both groups had similar anesthetic procedures and all of them were monitored standard were recorded within 24 hours of operation. Overall morphine dose was also recorded for postoperative pain.Results: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in the Ropivacaine group in the next hours despite the no significant difference in age, sex, BMI, duration of operation and pain scoring at first and third hours. In addition, the comparison of the number of requests for at least one dose of morphine in the Ropivacaine group is significantly lower. In addition, the comparison of the number of requests for at least one dose of morphine in the Ropivacaine group is significantly lower. The occurrence of PONV is also higher in the magnesium sulfate group, but this difference is not significant.Conclusion: Local injection of Ropivacaine reduced acute pain after open cholecystectomy surgery in comparison to local injection of magnesium sulfate. In addition, the use of Ropivacaine is associated with a significant reduction in the need for intravenous morphine for analgesia

Comparison between Infusion Pumps: Fentanyl/Ketamine and Fentanyl/Paracetamol in Pain control Following Tight and Leg Surgeries

Background: Adjuvants such as ketamine, promethazine and paracetamol could bring up patients satisfaction and control harmful effects of opioids besides lessening their needed doses, as seen by fentanyl/paracetamol and fentanyl/ketamine combination before. The current study headed to compare paracetamol and ketamine in addition to fentanyl applied by infusion pumps in order to pain relief following major surgery.Methods: Through a double blinded randomized clinical trial, patients between18 and 65 with elective surgery for tight or leg fractures with ASA Class 1 and 2 referring to a university hospital in Arak, a town in central region of Iran, were recruited and used infusion pump for their postoperative pain control. The participants were divided into cases and controls regarding using ketamine/fentanyl (KF) or paracetamol/fentanyl (PF) infusion pumps.Results: The mean pain score was totally 3.87 with higher value in KF (5.06) and lower in PF (4.5) immediately after finishing surgery and getting conscious when started using infusion pump. There was no statistical difference between the groups in this regard. Concerning the side effects of the applied medications, blood pressure and heart rate had no differences comparing the groups.Conclusion: This study showed that paracetamol used in infusion pump can be brilliant in pain control after major surgeries like what done in lower extremities and joint replacement while lessens opioid use. Although paracetamol was more effective than ketamine in the current trial, more qualified studies at bigger size and in other fields of surgery beside orthopedic ones would be useful to support the effects if applicable.Keywords: Infusion pump, Ketamine, Paracetamol, Fentanyl, Postoperative pai

Effect of dietary supplementation of sodium butyrate on growth performance, survival rate and carcass composition of beluga, Huso huso

In the present study, the effects of sodium butyrate as a dietary supplement on growth performance, survival rate and carcass composition of beluga, Huso huso were evaluated. After acclimatizing to the rearing conditions feeding with the basal diet for a week, five experimental diets containing 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% (T0, T0.1, T0.2, T0.3, T0.4 and T0.5) sodium butyrate were examined on 360 juvenile beluga (average weight 15 ± 0.59 g) for 8 weeks. The studied fish were randomly transferred to 18 experimental 3200-L tanks and a dewatering volume of 1000 L (20 fish per tank). At the end of the trial, growth indices (final weight, weight gain, weight gain percentage, condition factor, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio), survival rate (%) and carcass composition were measured. The results showed that sodium butyrate supplementation influenced the growth performance, survival rate and carcass composition of the examined fish. The best growth performance and survival rate were observed in T0.3 (p<0.05). In addition, feed conversion ratio and feed efficiency in T0.3 were significantly better than the control group (p<0.05). Carcass protein of fish in T0.3 was significantly higher, while carcass fat was significantly lower than the control group (p<0.05). Overall, this study showed that 0.3% sodium butyrate supplement in the diet can enhance the growth performance, survival rate and carcass composition in juvenile beluga

A Promising Modified Procedure for Upper Eyelid Retraction-Associated Graves’ Ophthalmopathy: Transconjunctival Lateral Levator Aponeurectomy

Upper eyelid retraction is a characteristic feature of thyroid eye disease, including Graves’ orbitopathy. In this study, a new surgical technique for correction of lid retraction secondary to Graves’ orbitopathy is described. Sixteen eyelids of patients older than 18 years old underwent surgical correction for moderate to severe lid retraction secondary to Graves’ orbitopathy. In this procedure, levator aponeurectomy was performed via a transconjunctival approach. Upper marginal reflex distance (MRD1) was measured before the surgery and at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months after the surgery. MRD1 was reduced significantly from preoperatively (mean: 7.84 mm) to 1 week after the surgery (mean: 3.59 mm) (P &lt; 0.001). Three and six months after surgery, mean MRD1 was 5.09 mm and 5.10 mm, respectively, showing that lid retraction was improved significantly (P &lt; 0.001). Lateral levator aponeurectomy via the transconjunctival approach is a simple, scar-less, quick procedure that has optimal stable outcome.Â