Studies on immunology of Leishmania mexicana

Leishmaniasis is a worldwide disease prevalent in many tropical and sub tropical countries. Treatment of Leishmaniasis by chemotherapy is not wholly effective and is usually accompanied by unpleasant side effects. The development of an effective and inexpensive vaccine represents a practical way to control the disease, however at present no safe and effective vaccine is available. In the first part of the present study, the immunity induced by four different L. mexicana potential vaccines, including killed leishmania vaccine, Soluble L. mexicana Antigen (SLA), L. mexicana gp63 cDNA and CT26 tumour cells transfected with L. mexicana gp63, were compared. It was shown that DNA immunisation using L. mexicana gp63 generated the highest immunity to the parasite among the four tested vaccines where the killed leishmania vaccine and L. mexicana gp63 transfected CT26 tumour cells did not generate significant immunity. The efficacy of DNA immunisation by intramuscular injection or using gene gun, in generating immunity to leishmania was compared. Gene gun immunisation induced more immunity to the parasite and high levels of Th1 immune response, which were detected, one week after immunisation through determination of the IgG2a levels in blood serum. Gene gun immunisation also induced long-lasting CTL activity, which was detectable before and during the course of infection for up to 6 months

The upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase in Golestan Province, Northeast Iran

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase level in a population-based study in Golestan Province, northeast Iran. Methods: From the randomly invited individuals (2,292), 698 out of the 916 males and 1,351 out of the 1,376 females participated in the study (participation rate: 76.2 and 98.1, respectively). One hundred and twenty-one participants were excluded due to positive hepatitis B surface antigen or hepatitis C virus antibody and/or drinking more than 20 grams of alcohol per day. A total of 1,928 participants (1300 females) were included. The upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase level was defined as the 95th percentile. Results: The upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase level in normal weight and nondiabetics was significantly lower than the total study group (36 versus 45 U/L). Serum alanine aminotransferase level was independently associated with male gender, body mass index, and diabetes mellitus (OR=2.05; 95Cl: 1.44 - 2.94, OR=2.76; 95Cl: 1.84 - 4.13, and OR=2.96; 95Cl: 1.56-5.61, respectively). Conclusion: Considering the lower calculated upper normal limit in normal weight nondiabetic participants in this study, we recommend setting new upper normal limit for serum alanine aminotransferase level, It seems reasonable to set upper normal limit for serum alanine aminotransferase level in males and females separately

The upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase in Golestan Province, Northeast Iran

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase level in a population-based study in Golestan Province, northeast Iran. Methods: From the randomly invited individuals (2,292), 698 out of the 916 males and 1,351 out of the 1,376 females participated in the study (participation rate: 76.2 and 98.1, respectively). One hundred and twenty-one participants were excluded due to positive hepatitis B surface antigen or hepatitis C virus antibody and/or drinking more than 20 grams of alcohol per day. A total of 1,928 participants (1300 females) were included. The upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase level was defined as the 95th percentile. Results: The upper normal limit of serum alanine aminotransferase level in normal weight and nondiabetics was significantly lower than the total study group (36 versus 45 U/L). Serum alanine aminotransferase level was independently associated with male gender, body mass index, and diabetes mellitus (OR=2.05; 95Cl: 1.44 - 2.94, OR=2.76; 95Cl: 1.84 - 4.13, and OR=2.96; 95Cl: 1.56-5.61, respectively). Conclusion: Considering the lower calculated upper normal limit in normal weight nondiabetic participants in this study, we recommend setting new upper normal limit for serum alanine aminotransferase level, It seems reasonable to set upper normal limit for serum alanine aminotransferase level in males and females separately

An EF2X Allocation Protocol for Restricted Additive Valuations

We study the problem of fairly allocating a set of $m$ indivisible goods to aset of $n$ agents. Envy-freeness up to any good (EFX) criteria -- whichrequires that no agent prefers the bundle of another agent after removal of anysingle good -- is known to be a remarkable analogous of envy-freeness when theresource is a set of indivisible goods. In this paper, we investigate EFXnotion for the restricted additive valuations, that is, every good has somenon-negative value, and every agent is interested in only some of the goods. We introduce a natural relaxation of EFX called EFkX which requires that noagent envies another agent after removal of any $k$ goods. Our maincontribution is an algorithm that finds a complete (i.e., no good is discarded)EF2X allocation for the restricted additive valuations. In our algorithm wedevise new concepts, namely "configuration" and "envy-elimination" that mightbe of independent interest. We also use our new tools to find an EFX allocation for restricted additivevaluations that discards at most $\lfloor n/2 \rfloor -1$ goods. This improvesthe state of the art for the restricted additive valuations by a factor of $2$.<br

Study of Two Phase Fluid Flow in Water Wet Reservoir Rocks by Using X-Ray In situ Saturation Monitoring

Displacement of oil and water in porous media of reservoir rocks is described by relative                      permeability curves, which are important input data for reservoir performance simulation and drive mechanism studies. Many core studies, such as multiphase relative permeability, capillary pressure and saturation exponent determination, depend on the volume fractions of multiphase fluids present in the studied rock samples. X-ray scanners are increasingly used for measurement of fluids saturation in the core samples during core studies, mainly due to expanding need of modeling and measuring reservoir condition fluid flow behavior and its being safer issues than other radioactive sources like gamma ray. Incorporating X-Ray in situ saturation measurements into the relative permeability, capillary pressure and intrinsic wettability characterization of reservoir rocks may improve reservoir management and productivity prediction. This paper describes two phase immiscible fluid flow behavior of oil displaced by water through water wet porous media interpreted by X-ray data utility, according to saturation profile shapes incorporated by history matching of oil production and differential pressure history in low oil to water viscosity ratio fluid flow. In situ saturation profiles have been obtained with 1% saturation accuracy. The in situ saturation profiles confirm wettability character of reservoir rock samples and are an indication                     of the fact that initial water saturation and non-wetting oil phase values are controlled by reservoir rock wettability characteristics. The immovable water saturation increases because of oil snap-off and when light oil enters a water wet porous media, even increasing the oil injection rate cannot overcome van der Waals forces throughout water molecules. The saturation profiles have been shaped rather flat after water breakthrough. These profiles attribute to the recovery of the bulk of oil before breakthrough in low viscosity ratio displacement through water wet rocks. Besides, overlapping of various after bump saturation profiles indicates that there is no significant difference between remaining oil saturation and residual oil saturation in water wet reservoir rocks

The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antibody in Iran: A population-based study

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is a very common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. It is estimated that 3 of Iranians are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus. Current population-based studies on both rural and urban prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Iran are sparse with results that do not always agree. We performed this study to find the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis B core antibody, and associated factors in the general population of three provinces of Iran. Methods: We randomly selected 6,583 subjects from three provinces in Iran, namely Tehran, Golestan, and Hormozgan. The subjects were aged between 18 and 65 years. Serum samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antibody. Various risk factors were recorded and multivariate analysis was performed. Results: The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antibody in Iran was 2.6 and 16.4, respectively. Predictors of hepatitis B surface antigen or anti-hepatitis B core antibody in multivariate analysis included older age, not having high-school diploma, living in a rural area, and liver disease in a family member. We did not find any significant differences between males and females. Conclusion: In spite of nationwide vaccination of newborns against hepatitis B virus since 1992, hepatitis B virus infection remains a very common cause of chronic liver disease in Iran which should be dealt with for at least the next 30-50 years

Comparison of corneal thickness measurement with the Pentacam, the PARK1 and an ultrasonic pachymeter

Purpose: The aim was to determine the agreement between PARK1 pachymetric readings and measurements made with the Pentacam and ultrasonic pachymetry. Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled refractive surgery patients free of other ocular conditions and performed Pentacam and PARK1 acquisitions followed by ultrasonic pachymetry. We recorded pachymetric readings on the centre, apex and thinnest point with the Pentacam, corneal thickness values of the apex and minimum readings from the PARK1, and the central corneal thickness with the ultrasonic system. Data were compared using t-tests, and the Pearson correlations and 95 limits of agreement (LoA) of all pairs were determined. Results: The mean age of the 47 participants was 32 ± 10.4years and data from their right eyes were used. Overall, ultrasonic measurements were significantly higher than all readings from the PARK1 and the Pentacam. The smallest difference was between the PARK-apex and Pentacam-apex readings (0.2 ± 11μm); the 95 LoA of this pair gave a width of 43.7μm (-21.7 to 22.0μm). The smallest width pertained to the Pentacam-centre and ultrasound-centre paired readings; the width was 32.5μm (-21.8 to 11.8μm), while the mean difference was -5.54 ± 8μm. Conclusion: The PARK1 measurements of the apical corneal thickness can be a substitute for central corneal pachymetry with an ultrasonic device, provided that the range of agreement is taken into consideration in the interpretation of the results. Similar studies on populations with different corneal conditions such as keratoconus are needed. © 2011 Optometrists Association Australia

Evaluating functional brain organization in individuals and identifying contributions to network overlap

Individual differences in the spatial organization of resting-state networks have received increased attention in recent years. Measures of individual-specific spatial organization of brain networks and overlapping network organization have been linked to important behavioral and clinical traits and are therefore potential biomarker targets for personalized psychiatry approaches. To better understand individual-specific spatial brain organization, this paper addressed three key goals. First, we determined whether it is possible to reliably estimate weighted (non-binarized) resting-state network maps using data from only a single individual, while also maintaining maximum spatial correspondence across individuals. Second, we determined the degree of spatial overlap between distinct networks, using test-retest and twin data. Third, we systematically tested multiple hypotheses (spatial mixing, temporal switching, and coupling) as candidate explanations for why networks overlap spatially. To estimate weighted network organization, we adopt the Probabilistic Functional Modes (PROFUMO) algorithm, which implements a Bayesian framework with hemodynamic and connectivity priors to supplement optimization for spatial sparsity/independence. Our findings showed that replicable individual-specific estimates of weighted resting-state networks can be derived using high-quality fMRI data within individual subjects. Network organization estimates using only data from each individual subject closely resembled group-informed network estimates (which was not explicitly modeled in our individual-specific analyses), suggesting that cross-subject correspondence was largely maintained. Furthermore, our results confirmed the presence of spatial overlap in network organization, which was replicable across sessions within individuals and in monozygotic twin pairs. Intriguingly, our findings provide evidence that overlap between 2-network pairs is indicative of coupling. These results suggest that regions of network overlap concurrently process information from both contributing networks, potentially pointing to the role of overlapping network organization in the integration of information across multiple brain systems