Study on Prevalence of TTV among Cirrhotic patients due to Hepatitis B & C in Ahwaz University Hospitals during the Years 2004-2005

Background and Aims: Recently, a novel DNA virus was isolated from the serum of a patient with post-transfusion non A-G hepatitis and named TT virus. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence TT virus among cirrhotic patients due to hepatitis B & C in infection Ahwaz. Methods: The prevalence of TTV infection was studied in 41 patients with liver cirrhosis. TTV DNA was detected by semi-nested PCR. The plasma samples were tested for marker hepatitis B & C by ELISA test. Results: TT virus was detected in 17(41.46%) of the 41 patients with cirrhotic liver disease. There were no significant difference between the subject TTV DNA in relation to sex and age. TTV positivity in cirrhotic patient infected with hepatitis B (52.9%) was higher than in similar patients infected with hepatitis C (47.1%). Conclusion: TTV infection was highly prevalence in patient with cirrhotic hepatitis, especially in those with hepatitis B virus infection

Study of Photoluminescence Behaviour of Porous Silicon Samples Prepared at 20 mA Current Density

The paper presents a study on a series of porous silicon films of various thicknesses, prepared at 20 mA current density using a photoluminescence fitting model to determine the average crystallite size of sphe-rical shaped interconnected silicon quantum dots. Discrepancy in photoluminescence behavior of the samples is well explained with this model. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3097

Correlation of Michigan neuropathy screening instrument, United Kingdom screening test and electrodiagnosis for early detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Background: Almost half of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathies (DPNs) are symptom-free. Methods including questionnaires and electrodiagnosis (EDx) can be fruitful for easy reach to early diagnosis, correct treatments of diabetic neuropathy, and so decline of complications for instance diabetic foot ulcer and prevention of high costs. The goal of our study was to compare effectiveness of the Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI), United Kingdom screening test (UKST) and electrophysiological evaluation in confirming diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Methods: One hundred twenty five known diabetes mellitus male and female subjects older than 18 with or without symptoms of neuropathy comprised in this research. All of them were interviewed in terms of demographic data, lipid profile, HbA1C, duration of disease, and history of retinopathy, so examined by Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI), United Kingdom screening test (UKST), and nerve conduction studies (NCS). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software 18. Results: One hundred twenty five diabetic patients (70 female, 55 male) were recruited in this study with a mean age of 58.7 ± 10.2, and mean duration of diabetes was 10.17 ± 6.9 years. The mean neuropathy score of MNSI and UKST were 2.3 (1.7) and 4.16 (2.9), respectively. Each instrument detected the peripheral neuropathy in 78 (69 ) and 91 (73 ) of patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between number of neuropathies and mean of diabetes duration and development of retinopathy in both questionnaire evaluations and NCS. By nerve conduction study, neuropathy was detected in 121 (97 ) diabetic patients were reported in order 15 (12 ) mononeuropathy (as 33 sensory and 67 motor neuropathy) and 106 (85 ) polyneuropathy (as 31 motor and 69 sensorimotor neuropathy). Conclusions: As regards NCS is an objective, simple, and non-invasive tool and also can determine level of damage and regeneration in peripheral nerves, this study suggests electrodiagnosis as a convenient option for screening, confirming, and follow up of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. © 2016 Fateh et al

Evaluation of mRNA expression levels of cyp51a and mdr1, candidate genes for voriconazole resistance in Aspergillus flavus

Background: Voriconazole Resistance (VRC-R) in Aspergillus flavus isolates impacts the management of aspergillosis, since azoles are the first choice for prophylaxis and therapy. However, to the best of our knowledge, the mechanisms underlying voriconazole resistance are poorly understood. Objectives: The present study was designed to evaluate mRNA expression levels of cyp51A and mdr1 genes in voriconazole resistant A. flavus by a Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) technique. Materials and Methods: Five A. flavus isolates with resistance to VRC were examined by a RT-PCR approach. Results: Four out of five isolates revealed cyp51A and mdr1 mRNA overexpression. Interestingly, the isolate, which was negative for cyp51A and mdr1 mRNA expression showed a high voriconazole Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). Furthermore, a computational-based analysis predicted that voriconazole resistance could be mediated through cooperation with a network protein interaction. Conclusions: Our experimental and in silico findings may provide new insight in the complex molecular pathways of drug resistance and also could assist design an efficient therapeutic strategy for aspergillosis treatment. © 2015 Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences

Electronic Conduction in Annealed Sulfur-Doped a-Si:H Films

In present work, the effect of annealing on dark and photo conductivity as well as the various causes of conduction mechanics in S doped amorphous hydrogenated silicon films (a-Si:H) is discussed. The variation of the dark conductivity as a function of temperature has been carried out on unannealed and annealed (annealed at an optimized temperature of 300 °C) thin film samples and the activation energy of dark conductivity of respective samples was also calculated at different temperatures. The Study concludes that at high temperatures, an activated type mechanism is responsible for conduction in the a-Si:H films

OPTIMIZATION OF A CULTURE MEDIUM FOR BIOMASS AND δ-ENDOTOXIN PRODUCTION BY A RECOMBINANT ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAIN

A recombinant strain of Escherichia coli harboring a plasmid containing the Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxin synthesis gene, was tested for its efficacy to synthesize δ-endotoxin, in a complex medium containing sucrose and yeast extract. Also, the recombinant E. coli strain was tested for its efficacy against the 2nd instars of Spodoptera littoralis. The recombinant strain of E. coli showed a good activity against the 2nd instars of S. littoralis, the mortality was 70 % after 7 days at room temperature. A high cell biomass (8.8gL-1) and δ-endotoxin concentration (6.8 mg L-1), were obtained by the shake flask culture (100 ml medium/250 ml flask, at 200 rpm), of the recombinant E. coli in modified MR medium containing sucrose (20g/L), as carbon source and yeast extract as nitrogen source, in the presence of CaCO3, K2HPO4, MgSO4, FeSO4 and ZnSO4 as mineral salts. The best pH values for cell biomass production and endotoxin production were 7.0 and 7.5, respectively. The corresponding figures for the best temperature were 37oC and 30oC, respectively. The use of some byproducts such as black-strap molasses, corn-steep liquor and cheese whey, as an alternative for carbon and nitrogen sources of medium, were found to enhance the cell growth but showed no effect on endotoxin production

Specific identification and antifungal susceptibility pattern of clinically important dermatophyte species isolated from patients with dermatophytosis in Tehran, Iran

Background: With regard to the increasing number of antifungal-resistant dermatophytes, the requirement for precise identification of causative agents of infections and antifungal susceptibility test is vital. Antifungal susceptibility testing of dermatophytes plays a pivotal role in managing dermatophytosis. The current study aimed at determining antifungal susceptibility profile of 161 important dermatophyte species isolated from Iranian patients. Methods: The current descriptive, cross sectional study was conducted on 508 clinically suspected samples of dermatophytosis collected and identified by conventional methods. All dermatophyte isolates were identified using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The susceptibility of dermatophyte strains to two routine antider-matophyte agents (terbinafine and griseofulvin) was evaluated using micro-dilution method according to CLSI (the clinical and laboratory standards institute) M38-A2 guidelines. Trichophyton rubrum PTCC 5143 and Candida krusei ATCC 6258 were used as quality controls. Results: Among 161 dermatophyte isolates, T. interdigitale was reported as the most frequent species isolated from patients using PCR-RFLP and Microsporum ferruginum was the least isolated species. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of griseofulvin and terbinafine were ranged 0.0312-8 and 0.008-4 µg/mL, respectively. The most susceptible and resistant species to griseofulvin were T. interdigitale (MIC = 0.0312 µg/mL) and T. interdigitale/T. rubrum (MIC = 8 µg/mL), respectively. The results indicated that T. verrucosum (MIC = 0.008 µg/mL) was the most susceptible species to terbinafine, whereas T. interdigitale and T. rubrum were the most resistant species to it (MIC = 4 µg/mL). Conclusions: The obtained results assist clinicians to monitor the trend and be able to choose effective medications to treat patients with dermatophytosis, especially in countries such as Iran, where dermatophytosis is still a public health problem. © 2018, Archives of Clinical Infectious Diseases

The natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis in 781 children. A multicenter, international collaboration

There are limited data on the natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in children. We aimed to describe the disease characteristics and long-term outcomes of pediatric PSC. We retrospectively collected all pediatric PSC cases from 36 participating institutions and conducted a survival analysis from the date of PSC diagnosis to dates of diagnosis of portal hypertensive or biliary complications, cholangiocarcinoma, liver transplantation, or death. We analyzed patients grouped by disease phenotype and laboratory studies at diagnosis to identify objective predictors of long-term outcome. We identified 781 patients, median age 12 years, with 4,277 person-years of follow-up; 33% with autoimmune hepatitis, 76% with inflammatory bowel disease, and 13% with small duct PSC. Portal hypertensive and biliary complications developed in 38% and 25%, respectively, after 10 years of disease. Once these complications developed, median survival with native liver was 2.8 and 3.5 years, respectively. Cholangiocarcinoma occurred in 1%. Overall event-free survival was 70% at 5 years and 53% at 10 years. Patient groups with the most elevated total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index at diagnosis had the worst outcomes. In multivariate analysis PSC-inflammatory bowel disease and small duct phenotypes were associated with favorable prognosis (hazard ratios 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.9, and 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.96, respectively). Age, gender, and autoimmune hepatitis overlap did not impact long-term outcome. CONCLUSION: PSC has a chronic, progressive course in children, and nearly half of patients develop an adverse liver outcome after 10 years of disease; elevations in bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index at diagnosis can identify patients at highest risk; small duct PSC and PSC-inflammatory bowel disease are more favorable disease phenotypes