Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Women of Childbearing Age Throughout Fars Province - Iran: A Population-based Cohort Study

Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) has been described as an important etiological agent of intrauterine infection in women of childbearing age that causes congenital malformation. In the present study we examined 844 serum samples from women of child-bearing age for the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against hCMV by Elisa technique. 764 out of 844 (93%) of the cases were seropositive for hCMV-IgG and 45 (5.4%) cases were seropositive for hCMV-IgM. An increase in the rate of IgG seroprevalance was associated with an increase in age and parity. The IgG seroprevalance rate was inversely proportional to increasing abortions. Intrestingly seasonal variation affected IgG seroprevalance. There was an increasing trend in IgM positivity rate with age in women less than 29 years. hCMV seroprevalence rate was higher in women from rural as compared to those of urban areas. Finally hCMV primary infections occured in 2.4 % of all pregnancis and it is estimated that up to 0.3% of all congenital disorders, through out Fars province, were due to hCMV. We suggest a role of child to mother hCMV transmission and sexual maturity as the most probable epidemiological factors of hCMV seroprevalence among women of child bearing age

Geometry optimization of five-phase permanent magnet synchronous motors using Bees algorithm

Among all types of electrical motors, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) are reliable and efficient motors in industrial applications. Because of their superiority over other kinds of motors, they are replacing conventional electric motors. On the other hand, high-phase PMSMs are good candidates to be used in certain industrial and military projects such as electric vehicles, spacecrafts, naval systems and etc. In these cases, the motor has to be designed with minimum volume and high torque and efficiency. Design optimization can improve their features noticeably, thus reduce volume and enhance performance of motors. In this paper, a new method for optimum design of a five-phase surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor is presented to achieve minimum permanent magnets (PMs) volume with an increased torque and efficiency. Design optimization is performed in search for optimum dimensions of the motor and its permanent magnets using Bees Algorithm (BA). The design optimization results in a motor with great improvement regarding the original motor which is compared with two well-known evolutionary algorithms i.e. GA and PSO. Finally, finite element method simulation is utilized to validate the accuracy of the design

Reverse staining: Effective method for purification of HIV-1 Nef protein in prokaryotic expression system

Background: Nef protein is one of the HIV regulatory proteins. This protein has various conserved epitopes inducing the efficient immune responses in HIV-1 infected individuals. Thus, Nef protein has been proposed as a suitable candidate for vaccine design. In current study, our goal was the cloning and expression of Nef protein in prokaryotic expression system and its purification using the reverse staining method. Materials and Methods: The coding sequence of Nef protein was amplified from pUC19-nef vector by PCR. Then, nef gene was inserted into the pGEX6p2 expression vector. This construct was transformed into the E.coli BL21 E.coli strain and subsequently protein expression was induced by IPTG anti-repressor. The protein expression was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot using anti-Nef antibody. Protein purification was performed by reverse staining method. Results: The PCR and digestion analysis showed a clear band of 648 bp in agarose gel indicating the correct cloning of HIV-nef in pGEX6p2 expression vector. In addition, the detection of a clear 50 kDa band in Western blotting using Anti-Nef antibody suggests the Nef protein expression induced by IPTG. Finally, the purified protein was obtained by reverse staining method. Conclusion: The recombinant Nef protein expressed in E.coli was purified by reverse staining method. The Nef protein has the potential of antigenicity for vaccine designing against HIV infections

Rapid detection of Streptococcus pyogenes in throat swab specimens by fluorescent in situ hybridization

Background and Objectives: Streptococcus pyogenes ( S. pyogenes) is an important cause of pharyngitis. Rapid detection of this microorganism in throat specimens is essential to promptly start antibiotic therapy which could be lead to prevent complications and stop transmission of infection to other individuals. In the present study, fluorescent in situ hybridization ( FISH) was compared with culture method for the detection of S. pyogenes in throat swab specimens. Materials and Methods: One hundred eleven patients with pharyngitis were included in this study. The throat swab specimens of these patients were investigated by both conventional culturing and FISH. Results: Based on the results of this investigation, the sensitivity and specificity of FISH were 88.9 and 97.8, respectively. Strikingly, in the specimen of one patient who had received antibiotic previous to clinical sampling, S. pyogenes was detected by means of FISH, whereas the culture method could not detect this bacterium. Conclusions: It seems that FISH is a suitable method for quick identification of S. pyogenes in throat swab specimens. When FISH is positive, culturing is not necessary. But because of the limited sensitivity of FISH for detection of S. pyogenes in throat swab specimens, culturing shoud be performed if FISH was negative

Effect of nutrition counseling on gastrointestinal complications in patients undergoing radiation for abdominal and pelvic cancer: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: Nowadays, the rate of referral to radiotherapy clinics has also increased due to the development of medical facilities and increased diagnosis of malignant diseases. Implementation of counseling programs by the nurses and health care providers for improving nutritional patterns and simultaneously prevention in cancer patients may improve their health level. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the effect of dietary counseling on gastrointestinal complications in patients receiving abdominal and pelvic radiotherapy. Patients and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial study, 80 patients referred to the radiotherapy ward of Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj (Kurdistan Province, Iran), during 2018-2019 were randomly categorized into two 40-subject intervention and comparison groups. They received nutritional counseling three times a week in one-hour sessions over 2 consecutive weeks. After that, in the 4th week, both groups were assessed for gastrointestinal complications using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale. Results: The patients in the intervention group had a mean age of 59.95 ± 1.25 years old, and those in the comparison group had a mean age of 61.87 ± 1.41 years old. Moreover, the mean score of gastrointestinal complications was equal to 5.55 ± 0.81 in the comparison group, and it was similar to 1.49 ± 0.25 in the intervention group, which was significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group (p-value = 0.0001). The mean score of the scale in all dimensions except the constipation dimension was not significantly different between the two study groups, and it was significantly lower in the intervention group than that of the control group (p-value = 0.0001). Conclusions: The findings of the present study revealed that nutrition counseling could be useful in controlling and decreasing acute gastrointestinal complications caused by abdominal and pelvic radiotherapy

Evaluation of the Genetic Variation of Non Coding Control Region of BK Virus Using Nested-PCR Sequencing Method in Renal Graft Patients

Background & aim: Polyomaviruses (BK) is a comprehensive infection with more than of 80% prevalence in the world. One of the most important reasons of BK virus nephropathy is in the renal transplant recipients and rejection of transplanted tissue between them. Non Coding region of this virus play a regulatory role in replication and amplification of the virus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic patterns of this area in renal graft at Namazi Transplantation Center, Shiraz, Iran. Methods: In the present experimental study, 380 renal allograft serums were collected. DNAs of 129 eligible samples were extracted and evaluated using a virus genome. The presence of the virus was determined by qualitative and sequencing. Of these, 129 samples were tested for the presence of virus according to the condition study, using quantitative, qualitative genomic amplification and sequencing. Results: The study showed symptoms of nephropathy, 76 (58.9%) of them were males and 46 (35.7%) were females with the mean age 38.0±.089 years of age. In general, 46 patients (35.7%) percent) were positive for BK Polyomaviruses. After comparing the genomic sequence with applications of molecular they were categorized in three groups and then recorded in gene bank. Conclusion: About 35% of renal transplant recipients with high creatinine levels were positive for the presence of BK virus. Non-coding region of respondents in the sample survey revealed that among patients with the most common genotypes were rearranged the entire transplant patients were observed at this tranplant center. Examination of these sequences indicated that this rearrangments had a specific pattern, different from the standard strain of archaea type

Human Bone Marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell: A Source for Cell-Based Therapy

Background: The ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to differentiate into many cell types, and modulate immune responses, makes them an attractive therapeutic tool for cell transplantation and tissue engineering.Objective: This project was designed for isolation, culture, and characterization of human marrow-derived MSCs based on the immunophenotypic markers and the differentiation potential.Methods: Bone marrow of healthy donors was aspirated from the iliac crest. Mononuclear cells were layered over the Ficoll-Paque density-gradient and plated in tissue cultures dish. The adherent cells expanded rapidly and maintained with periodic passages until a relatively homogeneous population was established. The identification of adherent cells and the immune-surface markers was performed by flow cytometric analysis at the third passage. The in vitro differentiation of MSCs into osteoblast and adipocytes was also achieved.Results: The MSCs were CD11b (CR3), CD45, CD34, CD31 (PCAM-1), CD40, CD80 (B7-1), and HLA-class II negative because antigen expression was less than 5%, while they showed a high expression of CD90, and CD73. The differentiation of osteoblasts, is determined by deposition of a mineralized extracellular matrix in the culture plates that can be detected with Alizarin Red. Adipocytes were easily identified by their morphology and staining with Oil Red.Conclusion: MSCs can be isolated and expanded from most healthy donors, providing for a source of cell-based therapy