Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in miR- 499 and miR-196a with susceptibility to breast cancer

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between miR-499 rs3746444 and miR-196a rs11614913 polymorphisms, and susceptibility to breast cancer in an Iranian population.Methods: This case-control study was performed on a population of 200 subjects comprising 100 breast cancer patients (case/observation group) and 100 healthy individuals (control group). Amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) was used to genotype these polymorphisms. P-values and odd ratios were determined, and p-values < 0.05 and odd ratios > 1 were considered statistically significant.Results: There were no significant differences between observation and control groups with respect to rs11614913 T/C polymorphism. The rs11614913 T allele was not identified as a risk factor for susceptibility to breast cancer (OR = 0.86, 95 % CI = 0.85 - 1.3, p = 0.46). However, there were significant differences between observation and control groups with respect to rs3746444 T/C polymorphism. It was observed that cytosine-cytosine (CC) (OR = 4.5, 95 % CI = 1.3 - 15.4, p = 0.06), and cytosine-thymine (CT) (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1- 3.6, p = 0.04) genotypes had protective influence against susceptibility to breast cancer.Conclusion: These results indicate that CC and CT genotypes are associated with reduced risk of breast cancer. In particular, the presence of C allele is significantly associated with a low risk of breast cancer. These findings may provide useful information for prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer.Keywords: Breast cancer, Early diagnosis, miR-196a rs11614913, miR-499 rs3746444, Polymorphism, ARMS-PC

Dichlorido{2-[(3,4-dimethyl­phen­yl)imino­meth­yl]pyridine-κ2 N,N′}copper(II)

In the title complex, [CuCl2(C14H14N2)], the CuII atom exhibits a very distorted tetra­hedral coordination geometry involving two chloride ions and two N-atom donors from the Schiff base ligand. The range for the six bond angles about the Cu2+ cation is 81.49 (11)–145.95 (9)°. The chelate ring including the CuII atom is approximately planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.039 (4) Å for one of the C atoms; this plane forms a dihedral angle of 46.69 (9)° with the CuCl2 plane

Identification of Dynamic Damping Properties of a Flexible Structural Adhesive

In this paper dynamic damping properties of a nominated flexible structural adhesive have been identified using an extended-direct modal based joint identification method. It has been revealed that damping characteristics of adhesive are correlated to both frequency and mode shape. Young’s and shear moduli increase with frequency but damping on the other hand, decrease. The results showed that mode shape has an important role on the dynamic mechanical properties of adhesive. Modes that dominantly create normal stress on the adhesion surface represent higher stiffness and lower loss factor compared to shear modes. The different level of loss factors between bending modes and shear modes are notable, but damping property of bending modes and shear modes on the other hand, is in the same order and decreases with frequency. It has been shown that the effective, viscoelastic, mechanical properties of the adhesive can be identified successfully, using the suggested method of identification

Prevalence and molecular typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying Panton–Valentine leukocidin gene

Panton–Valentine leukocidin (pvl) toxin is an important virulence factor of Staphylococcus aureus. The main genes are coa and spa for distinguishing and typing of S. aureus isolates. The aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic resistance, presence of mecA and pvl genes, as well as epidemiological typing of these isolates according to polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method in clinical sample isolated from Rasht city, Iran. A total of 250 clinical samples have been isolated from different hospitals. First, isolates of S. aureus were identified through microbiological methods and their antibiotic sensitivity was determined by disk diffusion agar based on a standard method of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. DNA was extracted by boiling and presence of pvl and mecA genes was investigated by PCR using specific primers. To type these isolates, amplification of fragments of coa and spa genes was done and restriction enzyme digestion pattern was determined by PCR-RFLP method. Among the 250 samples, 50 isolates belonged to S. aureus and results of antibiotic sensitivity showed that 68% (34 samples) of isolates were methicillin resistant. Frequency of mecA and pvl genes among S. aureus isolates were 60% (30 samples) and 20% (10 samples). The PCR of coa gene showed three patterns whereas that of spa gene showed two patterns for enzyme digestion. Result of PCR-RFLP using HaeIII enzymes for coa gene and Bsp1431 for spa gene showed three patterns for enzyme digestion. Recent studies indicated increase in the resistance of S. aureus to different antibiotics, which is a serious problem in the treatment of infections resulting from S. aureus in this region. The result of PCR of pvl showed high frequency of this gene in this region, and coa and spa typing by PCR-RFLP was a useful tool for typing of S. aureus isolates

ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF SAMBUCUS EBULUS AND URTICA DIOICA AGAINST CLINICAL ISOLATES OF METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

Background: Increase in the emergence of drug - resistant pathogens led to the development of natural antimicrobials. In this study the antimicrobial effect of methanolic extracts of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica on 16 skin and wound infections isolates of methicillin resistant S. aureus have been studied. Material and Methods: Solvent extraction procedure was done using soxhlet apparatus for extracting antimicrobial agents from freeze dried plants. Antibacterial activity was measured using agar well diffusion method. Results: The MIC of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica extracts against the standard strain of S. aureus ATCC 6538 were determined using the micro dilution method at 15 mg and 20 mg respectively. All the test bacteria were found sensitive to the Sambucus ebulus extract and only one isolate was resistant to Urtica dioica extract. Conclusion: Extracts of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica possess antibacterial potency against MRSA isolates and may be used as a natural antiseptics and antimicrobial agents in medicine

Hope and religious beliefs in Iranian cancer patients

Despite considerable advances in medical science, cancer remains to be as one of the most important diseases. Psychological problems of cancer patients affect on the quality of life, suicide rate, long confinement and even their life lengths. As well as the goal of this study was assess the relation between hope and religious beliefs in the cancer patients who refer to chemotherapy center. This study is a descriptive and analytic study in which 220 cancer patients who referred to the chemotherapy and radiotherapy center, through accessible random sampling method were tested. For gathering the data we use demographic particulars questionnaire, Allport religious beliefs questionnaire and the Hope Herth questionnaire. Findings showed that, 78 patients (35.5) of the total 220 studied patients were in an age group of 51-60 and 14 (6.4) were 41-50. As for the goal of the research, i.e., determining the relation of religious beliefs and patients' hope, the results of Man-Whitney U test indicated a significant relation, p<0.002. Considering the results of this study as well as other conducted studies, it seems that addressing the effective factors can result in improvement of the relevant nursing cares and will allow the families and nurses to concentrate on important and significant aspects such as religious beliefs. © 2012. Zhengzhou University, Marsland Press

Di-μ-chlorido-bis­(chlorido{2-[(4-ethyl­phen­yl)imino­meth­yl]pyridine-κ2 N,N′}copper(II))

The binuclear title complex, [Cu2Cl4(C14H14N2)2], is located on a crystallographic inversion centre. The CuII ion is in a distorted square-pyramid coordination environment formed by the bichelating N-heterocyclic ligand, two bridging Cl atoms and one terminal Cl atom. One of the bridging Cu—Cl bonds is significantly longer than the other

Active processes in one dimension

We consider the thermal and athermal overdamped motion of particles in 1D geometries where discrete internal degrees of freedom (spin) are coupled with the translational motion. Adding a driving velocity that depends on the time-dependent spin constitutes the simplest model of active particles (run-and-tumble processes) where the violation of the equipartition principle and of the Sutherland-Einstein relation can be studied in detail even when there is generalized reversibility. We give an example (with four spin values) where the irreversibility of the translational motion manifests itself only in higher-order (than two) time correlations. We derive a generalized telegraph equation as the Smoluchowski equation for the spatial density for an arbitrary number of spin values. We also investigate the Arrhenius exponential law for run-and-tumble particles, due to their activity the slope of the potential becomes important in contrast to the passive diffusion case and activity enhances the escape from a potential well (if that slope is high enough). Finally, in the absence of a driving velocity, the presence of internal currents such as in the chemistry of molecular motors may be transmitted to the translational motion and the internal activity is crucial for the direction of the emerging spatial current.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figure

Bacterial Contamination of Collected Cockroaches and Determination their Antibiotic Susceptibility in Khorramabad City, Iran

Background: Cockroaches are one of the most important carriers of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, the pres­ence of cockroaches in public places, especially in hospitals, homes, and restaurants, is dangerous, and threatens the health of society, people, and the environment. The aim of this study was evaluation of bacterial contamination of cock­roaches and the sensitivity of these bacteria to various antibiotics, captured from Khorramabad City, Iran Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 150 cockroaches collected from hospital environ­ments, homes, and restaurants in Khorramabad. The outer surface of the cockroaches was washed with physiological sa­line. The suspension was centrifuged for 5 minutes at 2000rpm. Isolation and identification of bacteria was performed using phenotypic methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method according to Clini­cal and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guideline. Results: A total of 100 American cockroaches (66.66%), 28 B. germanica (18.66%) and 22 Blatta orientalis (14.66%) were identified. In total, 97.33% of the collected cockroaches were infected with bacteria. The most bacterial infection of the cockroaches was Escherichia coli, coagulase-negative Staphylococci and Bacillus respectively. The overall re­sults of the antibiogram test showed that the identified bacteria were resistant to cephalothin, ampicillin, cefotaxime, and kanamycin antibiotics, semi-sensitive to ciprofloxacin and sensitive to tetracycline, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, Tri­methoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and Chloramphenicol. Conclusion: Infection of cockroaches with pathogenic bacterial agents in hospital, residential, and restaurant environ­ments, as well as the observation of bacterial resistance to some common antibiotics is worrying

Computational Models for Clinical Applications in Personalized Medicine—Guidelines and Recommendations for Data Integration and Model Validation

The future development of personalized medicine depends on a vast exchange of data from different sources, as well as harmonized integrative analysis of large-scale clinical health and sample data. Computational-modelling approaches play a key role in the analysis of the underlying molecular processes and pathways that characterize human biology, but they also lead to a more profound understanding of the mechanisms and factors that drive diseases; hence, they allow personalized treatment strategies that are guided by central clinical questions. However, despite the growing popularity of computational-modelling approaches in different stakeholder communities, there are still many hurdles to overcome for their clinical routine implementation in the future. Especially the integration of heterogeneous data from multiple sources and types are challenging tasks that require clear guidelines that also have to comply with high ethical and legal standards. Here, we discuss the most relevant computational models for personalized medicine in detail that can be considered as best-practice guidelines for application in clinical care. We define specific challenges and provide applicable guidelines and recommendations for study design, data acquisition, and operation as well as for model validation and clinical translation and other research areas