Male factor testing in recurrent pregnancy loss cases: A narrative review

Recurrent pregnancy loss is a distinct disorder defined as the loss of at least 2 pregnancies before the 20th wk of gestation. With half of the genome of the embryo belonging to the father, the integrity of the sperm genome is crucial for a successful pregnancy. Semen analysis is recommended for men in such cases to evaluate sperm concentration, morphology, vitality and motility. However, other important sperm parameters such as sperm epigenetics, aneuploidy, Y chromosome microdeletion and chromatin integrity also correlate with successful pregnancy and delivery rate. This article examines the use of different sperm tests and their importance in male partners of women suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss. Key words: DNA fragmentation, Sperm, Y chromosome, Recurrent pregnancy loss

Prandtl Number Effect on Assisted Convective Heat Transfer through a Solar Collector

Numerical study of the influence of Prandtl number on forced convective heat transfer through a riser pipe of a flat plate solar collector is done. The working fluid is Al2O3/water nanofluid. By Finite Element Method the governing partial differential equations are solved. The effect of the Prandtl number on the temperature and velocity field has been depicted. Comprehensive average Nusselt number, average bulk temperature, mean velocity, mid-height temperature inside the pipe, mean output temperature and collector efficiency are presented for the governing parameter mentioned above. Nu increases by 16% with the variation of Pr from 4.6 to 6.6 using nanofluid. Due to rising Pr heat transfer rate increases but collector efficiency devalues

Comparison of the effects of gum chewing with those of early initiation of oral feeding and routine regimen on recovery of bowel function in primiparous women after cesarean section

Background and Aim: Ileuses is one of the most common problems after abdominal surgery including cesarean section (CS) which leads to inability to start feeding. Several studies have been performed on the effects of liquid diet in the postoperative period on the recovery of bowel movement but there has been no perfect study on the effect of gum chewing on this subject. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of early oral feeding with liquid diet on the recovery of bowel movements with that of gum chewing in primiparous women after (CS) in Hajar Hospitral in Shahrekord in 2007. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 180 patients scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomly divided into three groups: gum-chewing group (n=30), early feeding group (n=30) and control group (n=30) postoperatively. The patients in the gum-chewing group chewed postoperatively sugar free gum four times daily, each time for 15 minutes, as soon as they recovered from anesthesia. In the early oral feeding group the women received a liquid diet within six hours after surgery, and control group received routine post operative dietary regimen. Data were analyzed by x2, paired and independent t tests and one way ANOVA. p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Recovery of bowel movements in the gum chewing and early oral feeding groups was significantly faster than that of control group and was faster in gum chewing group in comparison to early oral feeding group (P<0.05). Conclusions: Gum chewing after CS is safe, inexpensive and beneficial which is well tolerated by the patients and associated with rapid resumption of intestinal function and rapid recovery of the patients after cesarean-section

Study about different types of medicinal plants used by elderly people in Shahrekord city, Iran, 2009

زمینه و هدف: سالمندان اغلب به بیماری های مزمن مبتلا می باشند. این افراد معمولاً بدون تجویز پزشک معالج و به شکل فزاینده ای از گیاهان دارویی استفاده می کنند. مطالعه حاضر با هدف تعیین انواع گیاهان دارویی مورد استفاده و کاربرد آنها در سالمندان ساکن شهرکرد سال 1388 انجام شد. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی – تحلیلی تعداد 400 نفر سالمند 60 سال و بالاتر دارای پرونده بهداشتی در مراکز بهداشتی و درمانی شهر شهرکرد به صورت آسان انتخاب شدند. داده ها با استفاده از پرسشنامه خودساخته جمع آوری و با آزمون آماری کای دو تجزیه و تحلیل گردید. یافته ها: 4/74 از نمونه های مورد بررسی از گیاهان دارویی استفاده می کردند. بیشترین علل مصرف به ترتیب فراوانی سرماخوردگی، دردهای معده، سردرد، پادرد و فشار خون و بیشترین گیاهان دارویی مورد استفاده به ترتیب آویشن، گل گاو زبان، خاکشیر، گل برنجاسب و شیرین بیان بود. 91 از سالمندان معتقد بودند که گیاهان دارویی در درمان بیماری آنها موثر بوده است. در این مطالعه ارتباط معنی دار آماری بین جنس، سن، تحصیلات و شغل سالمندان و مصرف گیاهان دارویی مشاهده نشد (05/0P>). نتیجه گیری: با توجه به مصرف نسبتا زیاد گیاهان دارویی در سالمندان ، لزوم اطلاع رسانی صحیح در سطح جامعه نسبت به عوارض و تداخلات احتمالی و انجام مطالعات بیشتر در خصوص اثربخشی و عوارض احتمالی آنها ضرورت دارد

Characterization of a potent plant growth promoting fungal strain Aspergillus fumigatus MCC 1721 with special reference to indole-3-acetic acid production

In the present study, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) producing plant growth promoting fungus was isolated from rice field of Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. Among the isolated 6 strains, AP2 (Aspergillus fumigatus) was selected as best-performing plant growth promoting fungal strain as it was an efficient indole-3-acetic acid producer as well as exhibits different plant growth promoting ability viz, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide production etc. Media and different growth conditions (pH, temperature, concentration of sodium chloride) were optimized for augmentation of the indole-3-acetic acid production. The genus of the selected isolate AP2 was identified as Aspergillus fumigatus both by 18S rDNA sequence-based homology and MALDI-TOF analyses of ribosomal protein. Plant growth promoting ability of Aspergillus fumigatus has been confirmed by measuring different morphological and biochemical growth parameters in Trigonella foenum-graecum L. So, AP2 (Aspergillus fumigatus) can be considered as novel plant growth promoting fungal strain that can be applied as bio-inoculants on agricultural field

Molecular Methods for Identification of Acinetobacter Species by Partial Sequencing of the rpoB and 16S rRNA Genes.

BACKGROUND Acinetobacter spp. is a diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria which are ubiquitous in soil and water, and an important cause of nosocomial infections. The purpose of this study was to identify a collection of Acinetobacter spp. clinical isolates accurately and to investigate their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 197 non-duplicate clinical isolates of Acinetobacter spp. isolates identified using conventional biochemical tests. The molecular technique of PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis of rpoB and 16S rRNA genes was applied for species identification. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed with a disk diffusion assay. RESULTS Based on 16S rRNA and rpoB genes analysis separately, most of clinical isolates can be identified with high bootstrap values. However, the identity of the isolate 555T was uncertain due to high similarity of A. grimontii and A. junii. Identification by concatenation of 16S rRNA and rpoB confirmed the identity of clinical isolates of Acenitobacer to species level confidently. Accordingly, the isolate 555T assigned as A. grimontii due to 100% similarity to A. grimontii. Moreover, this isolate showed 98.64% to A. junii. Besides, the identity of the isolates 218T and 364T was confirmed as Genomic species 3 and A. calcoaceticus respectively. So, the majority of Acinetobacter spp. isolates, were identified as: A. baumannii (131 isolates, 66%), A. calcoaceticus (9 isolates, 4.5%), and A. genomosp 16 (8 isolates, 4%). The rest of identified species showed the lower frequencies. In susceptibility test, 105 isolates (53%), presented high antibiotic resistance of 90% to ceftriaxone, piperacillin, piperacillin tazobactam, amikacin, and 81% to ciprofloxacin. CONCLUSION Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and rpoB spacer simultaneously was able to do identification of Acinetobacter spp. to species level. A.baumannii was identified as the most prevalent species with high antibiotic resistance. Other species showed lower frequencies ranged from 4 to 9 strains