Evaluation of some haematological variables of Acipenser persicus and Acipenser stellatus at different water temperaures

Some haematological variables including Red Blood Cells (RBC), White Blood Cells (WBC) differential counts, Haemoglobin (Hb), Haematorite (HCT), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) were measured in 90 stellate sturgeon juveniles Acipenser stellatus (1-2 years old) and 90 Persian sturgeons Acipenser persicus (1-2 years old) at different water temperature 10-15C, 16-20?C and 21-25C. Also these parameters were evaluated in 84 adult including A. persicus (54 samples) and A. stellatus (30 samples) collected from Caspian Sea during spring and autumn 1997. The results have showed that WBC differential counts, Hb, HCT, MCV and MCH were identical for both species at the mentioned water temperatures. However, the values for RBC of A. persicus were generally less than those of A. stellatus. These haematological factors relatively increased with the water temperature increasing. Although RBC and WBC values of A. persicus were less than those of A. stellatus. The rates for HCT, MCV and MCH were higher in A. persicus

A study of the lower gastrointestinal tract cancer with emphasis on gender and age of the patients in western Iran (Kermanshah) over 2006-2011

Given that the incidence of cancers in the coming years will have a growing trend due to the increased average age of the world's population, the partial control of communicable diseases, and the rapid growth of the environmental risk factors. The present work was a descriptive, comparative and analytical study. The statistical population consisted of all patients residing in Kermanshah who had been suffering from the lower gastrointestinal tract cancer for five years. The results of the present study revealed that 46.10% were male, and 53.90% were female. Further, the results indicated that the age of patients and the intensity of cancer differentiation were significantly correlated.It seemed that the lack of early diagnosis would ensue from a lack of periodic screening programs at early ages and lack of forums in which specialists could get together due to the unavailability of comparative statistics.Keywords: Cancer, Lower Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer, Western Iran, Kermanshah Cit

Seed viability, germination and seedling growth of canola (Brassica napus L.) as influenced by chemical mutagens

Mutation induction is considered as an effective way to enrich plant genetic variation, particularly for traits with a very low level of genetic variation. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of different dosages of chemical mutagens on seed germination, seed viability and seedling growth characteristics and to identify optimum treatment conditions for chemical mutagens based on the LD50 criterion in canola (Brassica napus L.). Two pretreatment conditions of soaking in distilled water and non-soaking, different concentrations of chemical mutagens, and four treatment periods were investigated. The effect of mutagen dosage on seed viability was also assessed using the tetrazolium staining test. Results revealed the significant effects of mutagen dosages and treatment periods on seed viability and seed germination as well as on seedling characteristics for all the mutagens tested. Additionally, it was found that increased dosage and period in each treatment led to significant reductions in seed viability for the tested mutagens. Pretreatment did not significantly influence most of the studied characteristics. The 0.8% ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) for 6 h, 12 mM N-nitroso-Nethylurea (ENU) and 6 mM sodium azide for 8 h and 9 mM N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU) for 4 h were considered as optimum treatment conditions.Key words: Brassica napus, canola, chemical mutagen, germination, seed viability, seedling growth

Correlation between sleep quality and blood pressure changes in Iranian children

Background: Hypertension has a growing trend all around the world among children. Evidences imply that inadequate sleep duration and its poor quality are related to hypertension. But there are only few studies to show this relationship in children. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between sleep quality parameters and blood pressure (BP) changes in children. Patients and Methods: Eighty six patients aged 5-15 years old with the history of urinary tract infection were included in this study. They underwent 24-hour BP monitoring. In addition, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality index questionnaire was filled out and the data were compared with BP records. Results: After excluding duplicate cases and those with insufficient data, 76 children entered into study. Overall sleep quality was good in 48 and poor in 28 children. Mean diastolic BP load (P = 0.019), diastolic load Awake-Time (P = 0.045), mean systolic Sleep-Time (P = 0.022), Non-Dipper state (P = 0.009) were statistically different among groups. By dividing the children into two groups of good and poor sleeper, the parameters of BP were not different. In addition, there was no correlation between BP classifications and sleep latency, duration of sleep, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, day dysfunction due to sleepiness, and overall sleep quality score. Conclusions: Our study could not show any correlation between sleep quality and ambulatory BP monitoring parameters in children with abnormal BP. © 2015, Iranian Society of Pediatrics

Immunomodulatory effects of human umbilical cord wharton's Jelly-Derived mesenchymal stem cells on differentiation, maturation and endocytosis of monocyte-derived dendritic cells

The Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord is believed to be a source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which can be therapeutically applied in degenerative diseases. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory effect of umbilical cord derivedmesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) and bone marrow-derived-mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) on differentiation, maturation, and endocytosis of monocyte-derived dendritic cells in a transwell culture system under laboratory conditions. Monocytes were differentiated into immature dendritic cells (iDCs) in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4 for 6 days and then differentiated into mature dendritic cells (mDCs) in the presence of TNF-for 2 days. In every stage of differentiation, immature and mature dendritic cells were separately cocultured with UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs. The findings showed that UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs inhibited strongly differentiation and maturation of dendritic cells at higher dilution ratios (1:1). The BM-MSCs and UC-MSCs showed more inhibitory effect on CD1a, CD83, CD86 expression, and dendritic cell endocytic activity, respectively. On the other hand, these cells severely up-regulated CD14 marker expression. We concluded that UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs could inhibit differentiation, maturation and endocytosis in monocyte-derived DCs through the secreted factors and free of any cellcell contacts under laboratory conditions. As DCs are believed to be the main antigen presenting cells for naive T cells in triggering immune responses, it would be logical that their inhibitory effect on differentiation, maturation and function can decrease or modulate immune and inflammatory responses. Copyright © Spring 2013, Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. All rights reserved

Pulsating flow and convective heat transfer in a cavity with inlet and outlet sections

This paper deals with the study of 2-D, laminar, pulsating flow inside a heated rectangular cavity with different aspect ratios. The cooling liquid (water with temperature dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity) comes and leaves the cavity via inlet and outlet ports. The flow topology is characterised by the large recirculation regions that exist at inner corners of the cavity. These low velocity regions cause the heat transfer to be small when compared, for instance, to that of a straight channel. We study the effect that a prescribed pulsation at the inlet port has on the cavity heat transfer. This pulsating boundary condition, of the unsteady Poiseuille type, is described by its frequency and the amplitude of the pressure gradient. The time averaged Reynolds number of the flow, based on the hydraulic diameter of the inlet channel, is 100 and we consider that the dimensionless pulsation frequency (Strouhal number) varies in the range from 0.0 to 0.4. We show that the prescribed pulsation enhances heat transfer in the cavity and that the mechanism that causes this enhancement appears to be the periodic change in the recirculation flow pattern generated by the pulsation. Regarding the quantitative extent of heat transfer recovery, we find that appropriate selection of the pulsation parameters allows for the cavity to behave like a straight channel that is the configuration with the highest Nusselt number