Cytotoxic effect of a new endodontic cement and mineral trioxide aggregate on L929 line culture

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare the cytotoxicity of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) and a New Endodontic Cement (NEC) on L929 mouse fibroblasts. Materials and Methods: Different dilutions (Neat, 1/2, 1/10, 1/100) of fresh and set materials placed adjacent flasks of L929 in DMEM medium. Cellular viability was assessed using MTT assay in three time intervals (24, 48, and 72 h after mixing). Differences in mean cell viability values between materials were assessed by using the One-way ANOVA and Bonferoni post-test. Optical microscopic analysis of morphology of the untreated control and the cement-treated cell cultures were carried out in all experimental periods. Results: It was indicated that there was not a significant difference in cytotoxicity among the materials of test and between them and the control group. However, there was a statistically significant difference between different time intervals within each group (P< 0.05) and between different concentration of test materials (P<0.05). In all samples, set materials showed better viability than fresh ones. Conclusion: According to results of this study, NEC and MTA have similar cytotoxic effect on L929 cell culture

Association of the Myocilin Gene Polymorphism With Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the second cause of irreversible blindness, and the Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) subtype is the most common type of glaucoma. It has been shown that genetic mutations increase the risk of POAG used for early detection. The aim of the current study was to determine the association between genetic variations of Myocilin (MYOC) gene and susceptibility to POAG in the Iranian population. This case-control study was conducted on patients with POAG, referred to Khatam-al Anbia Eye Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. The control group was selected from healthy patients with a refractive disorder, who had referred to this hospital. After extracting the DNA from the whole blood sample, the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphisms (PCR-SSCP) method was used to discriminate variability in sequences in three exons of MYOC gene locus, known as GLC1A. Clinical characteristics of the subjects, comprised of visual acuity, Cup to Disc Ratio (CDR), and Intra-Ocular Pressure (IOP) were statistically compared between the wild and mutant type of the MYOC gene using independent samples t-test, Chi-square, and logistic regression test with SPSS version 15.0 software. P-values of < 0.05 were considered significant. One hundred and forty participants (75.1% males) were studied in two groups of case (n = 70) and control (n = 70). The frequency of mutant alleles in patients and healthy groups was statistically significant (40% versus 11.5%, Odd’s Ratio (OR): 5.1, CI 95% for OR: 2.1 to 12.4, P-value < 0.001). Also, the detected mutation in the case group was significantly higher in exon 1 and 3 (15.7% versus 0%, P-value = 0.001, and 11.5% versus 2.8%, P-value = 0.049, respectively). Based on the result of the current study, it seems that the MYOC gene polymorphisms increased the risk of POAG in the Iranian population

Association of the Myocilin Gene Polymorphism With Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the second cause of irreversible blindness, and the Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) subtype is the most common type of glaucoma. It has been shown that genetic mutations increase the risk of POAG used for early detection. The aim of the current study was to determine the association between genetic variations of Myocilin (MYOC) gene and susceptibility to POAG in the Iranian population. This case-control study was conducted on patients with POAG, referred to Khatam-al Anbia Eye Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. The control group was selected from healthy patients with a refractive disorder, who had referred to this hospital. After extracting the DNA from the whole blood sample, the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphisms (PCR-SSCP) method was used to discriminate variability in sequences in three exons of MYOC gene locus, known as GLC1A. Clinical characteristics of the subjects, comprised of visual acuity, Cup to Disc Ratio (CDR), and Intra-Ocular Pressure (IOP) were statistically compared between the wild and mutant type of the MYOC gene using independent samples t-test, Chi-square, and logistic regression test with SPSS version 15.0 software. P-values of < 0.05 were considered significant. One hundred and forty participants (75.1% males) were studied in two groups of case (n = 70) and control (n = 70). The frequency of mutant alleles in patients and healthy groups was statistically significant (40% versus 11.5%, Odd’s Ratio (OR): 5.1, CI 95% for OR: 2.1 to 12.4, P-value < 0.001). Also, the detected mutation in the case group was significantly higher in exon 1 and 3 (15.7% versus 0%, P-value = 0.001, and 11.5% versus 2.8%, P-value = 0.049, respectively). Based on the result of the current study, it seems that the MYOC gene polymorphisms increased the risk of POAG in the Iranian population

The influence of vernalization and daylength on expression of flowering-time genes in the shoot apex and leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare).

Responses to prolonged low-temperature treatment of imbibed seeds (vernalization) were examined in barley (Hordeum vulgare). These occurred in two phases: the perception of prolonged cold, which occurred gradually at low temperatures, and the acceleration of reproductive development, which occurred after vernalization. Expression of the VERNALIZATION1 gene (HvVRN1) increased gradually in germinating seedlings during vernalization, both at the shoot apex and in the developing leaves. This occurred in darkness, independently of VERNALIZATION2 (HvVRN2), consistent with the hypothesis that expression of HvVRN1 is induced by prolonged cold independently of daylength flowering-response pathways. After vernalization, expression of HvVRN1 was maintained in the shoot apex and leaves. This was associated with accelerated inflorescence initiation and with down-regulation of HvVRN2 in the leaves. The largest determinant of HvVRN1 expression levels in vernalized plants was the length of seed vernalization treatment. Daylength did not influence HvVRN1 expression levels in shoot apices and typically did not affect expression in leaves. In the leaves of plants that had experienced a saturating seed vernalization treatment, expression of HvVRN1 was higher in long days, however. HvFT1 was expressed in the leaves of these plants in long days, which might account for the elevated HvVRN1 expression. Long-day up-regulation of HvVRN1 was not required for inflorescence initiation, but might accelerate subsequent stages of inflorescence development. Similar responses to seed vernalization were also observed in wheat (Triticum aestivum). These data support the hypothesis that VRN1 is induced by cold during winter to promote spring flowering in vernalization-responsive cereals

Soluble Fas might serve as a diagnostic tool for gastric adenocarcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fas (Apo-1/CD95) and its specific ligand (FasL) are key elements in apoptosis. They have been studied in different malignancies but there are few published studies about the soluble forms of these markers (i.e. sFas/sFasL) in gastric cancer. We have compared the serum levels of sFas/sFasL in gastric adenocarcinoma patients and cases with pre-neoplastic lesions as potential markers for early diagnosis, and investigated their relation with clinicopathological characteristics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-nine newly-diagnosed cases of gastric adenocarcinoma who had undergone gastrectomy, along with 62 endoscopically- and histologically-confirmed non-cancer individuals were enrolled in this study. sFas/sFasL serum levels were detected by Enzyme Linked Immunosurbent Assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean serum sFas level was significantly higher in gastric cancer patients than in control group (305.97 ± 63.71 (pg/ml) vs. 92.98 ± 4.95 (pg/ml), P < 0.001); while the mean serum level of sFasL was lower in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (0.138 ± 0.04 (pg/ml) vs. 0.150 ± 0.02 (pg/ml), P < 0.001). Mean serum levels of sFas/sFasL were significantly different in both intestinal/diffuse and cardiac/non-cardiac subtypes when compared to the control group (P < 0.001). There was an increase in the serum level of sFas from the first steps of pre-neoplastic lesions to gastric adenocarcinoma (P < 0.001). Patients who had no lymph node involvement (<it>N₀</it>) showed significantly higher serum levels of sFas compared to others (P = 0.044).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Production of sFas may play a critical role in the carcinogenesis of intestinal-type gastric cancer. sFas serum level may serve as a non-invasive tool for early diagnosis of gastric cancer.</p

Variation in seed dormancy of tetraploid wheat

In western Canada, durum wheat cultivars, (Triticum durum) have low to moderate levels of seed dormancy and are susceptible to pre-harvest sprouting. The first objective of this research was to evaluate the dormancy level of Canadian durum wheat cultivars and to identify tetraploid wheat accessions with elevated levels of seed dormancy. Level of seed dormancy and length of after-ripening of 17 Canadian durum wheat cultivars and a collection of 78 tetraploid wheat germplasm were evaluated. The plants were grown under field conditions in 1995 and 1996, harvested at maturity (Zadok's Growth Stage 92), dried at room temperature for one week, and assessed for level of seed dormancy over seven weeks of after-ripening. The results indicated that the durum cultivars Kyle, Mindum, Pelissier, and Wascana exhibited moderate levels of seed dormancy at maturity while the remaining cultivars were non-dormant. Likewise, a rapid loss of dormancy (within 2-3 weeks of after-ripening) was characteristic of all durum cultivars. Seventy-eight accessions of 'T. turgidum', 'T. turanicum', 'T. carthlicum', 'T. polonicum', and 'T. durum' from the USDA germplasm collection were evaluated for seed dormancy with the idea of identifying potential breeding materials. At ZGS 92, eighteen accessions were classified as dormant. Accession 93-282 was the only highly dormant genotype

Increasing Seed Germination Efficiency of Tall Wheat Grass (Agropyron elongatum (Host.) P. Beauv) at Low Temperature and Drought Stress Conditions Using Urea Osmopriming

Seed priming is one of the most important techniques used to improve seed germination under biotic and abiotic stresses. For this purpose, germination and seedling growth characteristics of primed seeds of Tall wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum (Host.) P. Beauv) were evaluated under drought and low-temperature condition. A factorial experiment was conducted on the basis of randomized completely block design with three factors with four replications. The experimental factors were priming with two levels including urea primed (using urea -4 bar at 10 &deg;C for 36 h) and non-primed seeds germination temperatures, including 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 20 and 25 &deg;C and osmotic potential including zero (distilled water), -3, -6, -9, and -12 bars (applied by polyethylene glycol 6000). Increasing trend has been observed for all germination indices, except mean germination time, with increasing temperature from 3 to 25 &deg;C and seeds revealed the greatest sensitivity to temperatures below 9 &deg;C. However, this trend was reversed with increasing drought stress, the seeds sensitivity to drought stress started from the potential of -6 bar and reached the maximum in -12 bar. However, primed seeds compared to non-primed seeds have demonstrated better germination under both drought and low-temperature stresses. The results of this study showed that the highest seedling vigor index and germination rates achieved in the temperature range of 20-25 &deg;C and water potential of zero to -3 bar

Physiological and molecular changes of onion (Allium cepa L.) seeds under different aging conditions

Abstract Background Onion seeds have limited storage capacity compared to other vegetable seeds. It is crucial to identify the mechanisms that induce tolerance to storage conditions and reduce seed deterioration. To address this goal, an experiment was conducted to evaluate changes in germination, biochemical, physiological, and molecular characteristics of onion seed landraces (Horand, Kazerun landraces and Zargan cultivar) at different aging levels (control, three-days and six-days accelerated aging, and natural aging for one year). Results The findings suggest that there was an increase in glucose, fructose, total sugar, and electrolyte leakage in the Horand (HOR), Kazerun (KAZ) landraces, and Zarghan (ZAR) cultivar, with Kazerun exhibiting the greatest increase. The percentage and rate of germination of Kazerun decreased by 54% and 33%, respectively, in six-day accelerated aging compared to the control, while it decreased by 12% and 14%, respectively, in Horand. Protein content decreased with increasing levels of aging, with a decrease of 26% in Kazerun landrace at six days of aging, while it was 16% in Horand landrace. The antioxidant activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase decreased more intensively in Kazerun. The expression of AMY1, BMY1, CTR1, and NPR1 genes were lower in Kazerun landraces than in Horand and Zargan at different aging levels. Conclusions The AMY1, BMY1, CTR1, and NPR1 genes play a pivotal role in onion seed germination, and their downregulation under stressful conditions has been shown to decrease germination rates. In addition, the activity of CAT, SOD, and GPx enzymes decreased by seed aging, and the amount of glucose, fructose, total sugar and electrolyte leakage increased, which ultimately led to seed deterioration. Based on the results of this experiment, it is recommended to conduct further studies into the molecular aspects involved in onion seed deterioration. More research on the genes related to this process is suggested, as well as investigating the impact of different priming treatments on the genes expression involved in the onion seed aging process

Allelopathic Effects of Aqueous Extract of Leaf Stem and Root of Sorghum bicolor on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Vigna radiata L.

Seed germination under field conditions is highly influenced by the presence of other plants. Allelopathy is an important mechanism of plant competition, by producing phytotoxins to the plant environment in order to decline other plants� growth. Soil sickness problem in farm lands is also known as an allelopathic effect or even autotoxicity. The toxicity of released allelochemicals by a plant in the environment is attributed to its function of concentration, age and metabolic stage. In this study we investigate the effect (5, 20, 35 and 50 g l-1) of leaf, stem and root water extract of sorghum on seed germination and seedling growth of mung bean. The results of the experiment showed that allelopathic effect of different concentrations was not significant for germination percentage, but germination rate and mean germination time decreased significantly by increasing the concentration of allelopathic extracts; also, there was a clear allelopathic effect of sorghum extract on seedling growth of mung bean. 50 g l-1 sorghum stem extract exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on root and shoot growth of mung bean. Among all parts of sorghum, stem extracts showed the highest allelopatic effect on seedling growth. Root extract showed higher inhibitory effect than leaf extracts