Protective effects of prebiotic in zebrafish, Danio rerio, under experimental exposure to Chlorpyrifos

The current study estimated the immunotoxicological effects of the herbicide chlorpyrifos at sub-lethal concentration and the potential ameliorative effects of galactooligosaccharide (GOS) in Danio rerio. Fish was sampled after a 56-days feeding with GOS and then exposed to 15 mg/l chlorpyrifos for 7-days to assess the non-specific immune responses (total protein, immunoglobulin and ALP activity). The results revealed that feeding zebrafish with 1% dietary GOS increased total protein levels (P<0.05), but no significant effect was noticed between groups fed 0.5 and 2% GOS and control (P>0.05). There were significant difference between total immunoglobulin levels 1% and control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, in case of ALP activity no significant alteration was noticed between GOS fed fish and control (P>0.05). The present findings revealed that dietary supplementation with GOS could be useful for modulation of the immunity in response to chlorpyrifos exposure, thereby presenting a promising feed additive in aquaculture

Synthesis and in vitro bioactivity evaluation of new glucose and xylitol ester derivatives of 5- aminosalicylic acid

New glucose and xylitol esters of 5-amino salicylic acid (5-ASA) were synthesized followed by evaluation of their in vitro antimicrobial, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. The results of the antimicrobial activity assessment revealed that the new final esters were more effective against Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive bacteria than the original drug. Furthermore, the new final products were confirmed by a cytotoxicity assay over HT-29 and 3T3 cell lines to be less toxic for normal cells compared to the initial drug. On the other hand, however, their suppressive effect against cancerous cells was somewhat lower. Meanwhile, the anti-inflammatory activity assay over a RAW264.7 macrophage cell line demonstrated that the NO inhibition activity of the conjugated drug to the previously mentioned saccharides, especially to glucose, has slightly improved compared to the non-conjugated drug. Finally, in silico screening was also performed in order to predict the potential interactions and binding energy of the novel products against cyclooxygenase (COX-1/COX-2) and lipoxygenase (5-LOX) proteins. Findings indicated that the new products had greater hydrogen bonds and binding affinities with the active sites of proteins towards 5-ASA

Effect of PEGylation on assembly morphology and cellular uptake of poly ethyleneimine-cholesterol conjugates for delivery of sorafenib tosylate in hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: Sorafenib (SFB) is an FDA-approved chemotherapeutic agent with a high partition coefficient (log P = 4.34) for monotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The oral bioavailability is low and variable, so it was aimed to study the application of the polymeric nanoassembly of cholesterol conjugates of branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) for micellar solubilization of SFB and to investigate the impact of the polymer PEGylation on the physicochemical and cellular characteristics of the lipopolymeric dispersions. Methods: Successful synthesis of cholesterol-PEI lipopolymers, either native or PEGylated, was confirmed by FTIR, 1H-NMR, pyrene assay methods. The nanoassemblies were also characterized in terms of morphology, particle size distribution and zeta-potential by TEM and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The SFB loading was optimized using general factorial design. Finally, the effect of particle characteristics on cellular uptake and specific cytotoxicity was investigated by flow cytometry and MTT assay in HepG2 cells. Results: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that PEGylation of the lipopolymers reduces the size and changes the morphology of the nanoassembly from rod-like to spherical shape. However, PEGylation of the lipopolymer increased critical micelle concentration (CMC) and reduced the drug loading. Moreover, the particle shape changes from large rods to small spheres promoted the cellular uptake and SFB-related cytotoxicity. Conclusion: The combinatory effects of enhanced cellular uptake and reduced general cytotoxicity can present PEGylated PEI-cholesterol conjugates as a potential carrier for delivery of poorly soluble chemotherapeutic agents such as SFB in HCC that certainly requires further investigations in vitro and in vivo

Effects of medicinal plants Origanum vulgare L. and Aloe vera on immune system of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

In recent years, according to increase in consumption of fish in the world, however, due to the lack of control of many common diseases with disease-causing pathogens, the total world production of fish is threated in aquaculture industry. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is one of the most preferred species in aquaculture of Iran. Development of an economical artificial to accelerate the growth and to maintain the health status of this fish is of major importance for sustainable rainbow trout culture. Fish diseases are a serious threat to economic viability of any aquaculture practice. Currently, the commercial aquaculture industry prefers to reduce the costs of production. Because the cost of antibiotics used for prevention and treatment of diseases, and excessive use of growth hormones for improving growth performance is very high. However, the development of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains, accumulation of residue in cultured fish and environmental problems associated with the use of chemicals have led to investigate on suitable methods of disease management. Therefore, a new approach to immunotherapy is actively used to prevent or treat fish diseases, increased disease resistance, feed efficiency and growth performance of fish in a sustainable aquaculture industry. In this regard, extensive research has been carried out to test the new compounds led to the development of the aquaculture industry. It has been proved that use of medicinal herbs in fish diet enhance the immune system against infections with various bacteria, especially, Aeromonas hydrophila in different species of fish, which is of the major bacterial pathogens, leading to heavy mortality rate and decrease the productivity efficiency, causing high economic loss of the fish farmers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous-alcoholic extracts of two medicinal herbs, Origanum Vulgare L. and Aloe vera on the immune system of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aqueousalcoholic was prepared by percolation method and concentrated. After, they were dried by dry evapory. The study was conducted in two stages. First, 1200 of rainbow trout (Oncorynchus mykiss) fry with an average initial weight of 13 ±0.05 g, and the second, 2400 of fry rainbow trout with an average initial weight of 2±0.13 g. At each stage, the fish in 4 groups: 1) placebo-treated group (negative control), 2) treatment with Origanum vulgare extract, 3) treatment with Aloe vera extract and 4) treatment with levamisole (positive control). Each group was consisted of three replicates. Fish were distributed in 12 circular concrete tanks with volume 1000 liters of water and flow 2.5L per second. In the first phase were used of 100 fish 13 grams and the second phase of 200 fish 2 grams. During the experiments, a number of physico-chemical factors, including water temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH were measured. In this study, Origanum vulgare, Aloe vera extracts and placebo (70 % lactose, 10 % starch and 20 % talc) were used at a rate of 1% and levamisole at a rate of 0.1% of weight feed at a rate 2% of body weight. At each stage of the experiments, each group of fish were fed once a day and in the first feeding for 10 weeks. Other promises were fed with regular food (no additives). During the experiments, the fish were weighed weekly throughout the biometry and measured every 2 weeks. To measure the weight, total biomass of fish from each replicate was divided the number of fish in the same replicate. To measure the length from each replicate 15 fish were randomly netted and anaesthetized with 50 mg/L of tricaine methanesulfonate (MS222, Sigma Chemical Co. St. Louis, MO, USA) and then the mean was calculated. During bleeding, fish were rapidly netted, tranquillized with 50 mg/L of MS222. Fish 13 gram were bled from caudal vein using 1 ml insulin syringe fitted with 24 gauge needle and 2 gram by cutting the caudal. To minimize the stress to fish, 1 ml of blood was drawn and the whole bleeding procedure was completed within 1 min. A total number of 15 blood samples were collected from 15 fish from each group (5 fish from each replicate) at the end of every 2 weeks, 24 h after final feeding period for the analysis of the hematological and serological parameters. The blood pooling of 5 fish from each replicate divided into 2 haves. Half collected in serological tubes containing a pinch of lithium heparin powder, shaken gently and kept at 4ºC to test hematological parameters. Other half collected in tubes without of anticoagulant and allowed to clot at 4ºC for 2hrs to test serological parameters. The clot was the spun down at 2000g for 10 min to separate the serum. The serum collected by micropipette and was stored in sterile Eppendorf tubes at -20ºC until used for assay. Blood samples for measurement of hematological parameters including red blood cell count (RBC) and white blood cell count (WBC), differential cell counts (monocytes, lymphocytes and neutrophiles), and blood indices, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), percentage of hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct), and also blood biochemical parameters including serum total protein, albumin, globulin and also immunological parameters such as lysozyme activity, phagocytic activity and respiratory burst activity were done. The results showed that there were not significant differences in hematological parameters between experimental groups with placebo group in identical weeks (p>0.05), but there were significant differences in biochemical parameters and immunological parameters between experimental groups with placebo group in identical weeks (p<0.05). Levels of serum total protein, albumin, and globulin and also lysozyme activity, phagocytic activity and respiratory burst activity were higher in experimental groups than placebo group in identical weeks. Immunology indicators of changes were compared between the two groups of fish 13 g and 2 g at the end of the eighth week after feeding. The results were indicated that the response of the respiratory burst activity; phagocytic activity and serum lysozyme activity were higher in juveniles of 13 gram than juveniles 2 gram. In conclusion, dried Origanum Vulgare and Aloe vera extracts at a rate of 1% of weight feed increased specific and non-specific immune systems in rainbow trout (13 and 2 gram) in identical weeks (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10). Therefore, these extracts can use to enhance immune system in aquaculture industry

Vectorial crystal growth of oriented vertically aligned carbon nanotubes using statistical analysis

In this present work, crystalline growth conditions of oriented carbon nanotubes based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were optimized. The crystallinity and degree of alignment of the grown carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The effects of four variables, namely, deposition time, deposition temperature, annealing process, and concentration of the precursor on the crystallinity of the CNTs, were explored. Furthermore, the correlation of parameters with the growth mechanism was examined using response surface methodology in an attempt to determine the complex interactions between the variables. A total of 30 runs, including predicting and consolidation runs to confirm the results, were required for screening the effect of the parameters on the growth of the CNTs. On the basis of the investigated model, it was found that the crystallinity of the CNTs grown by the CVD method can be controlled via restriction of the effective parameters. (Graph Presented)

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Synthesis, in-vitro bioactivity evaluation and molecular docking of monosaccharide ester and fatty acid amide derivatives of 5-aminosalicylic acid

5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), structurally related to the salicylates, is active in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since IBD is a high-incidence disease and considering that 5-ASA has been approved as one of the most effective and tolerable drug for the majority of patients in treatment of IBD, up to date, varied derivatives with slightly different formulation of 5-ASA have been prepared to allow it to reach different areas of the bowel and to help keep the condition in remission. On the other hand, according to the documentary evidences on the remarkable properties of fatty acids and saccharides in various areas especially in pharmaceutical field, they have been proposed as beneficial candidates for conjugating with drugs in order to enhance drugs’ bioavailability. Therefore, in this work, a series of new monosaccharide selective ester derivatives of 5-ASA including galactose, fructose, glucose and xylitol esters and new fatty acid amide derivatives of 5-ASA including lauric, linoleic and oleic amide, were synthesized to study their anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxicity activities in comparison with initial drug. The structures of all the produced compounds (sixteen compounds: including eleven unknown compounds and five known intermediates) were confirmed by spectroscopic methods (1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR and DIMS). Following that, the above-mentioned in vitro bioactivity evaluation was performed for all new final ester and amide derivatives of 5-ASA (four monosaccharide ester and three fatty acid amide derivatives). The antibacterial activity evaluation of them against Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria revealed that all were more effective against Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive bacteria than the parent drug (5-ASA) which showed insignificant activity. Furthermore, they were confirmed by the cytotoxicity assay over HT-29 and 3T3 cell lines to be less toxic for normal cells (3T3 cells) compared to the parent drug. On the other hand, however, their suppressive effect against colon cancerous cells (HT-29 cells) was somewhat lower. Meanwhile, the anti-inflammatory assay over RAW264.7 macrophage cell line demonstrated NO (nitric oxide) inhibition activity of these new derivatives of 5-ASA, moderately has improved in comparison with the parent drug. Although the mechanism of action of 5-ASA is still is unknown, but the clinical effectiveness of 5-ASA attributed to its inhibition effect on cyclooxygenase (COX-1/COX-2) and lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzymes’ pathways which are playing a vital role in the inflammation process to produce inflammatory mediators. To predict the possible interactions and binding energy of the new compounds against these proteins, in-silico screening via molecular docking technique was performed and the new products exhibited greater hydrogen bonding and greater binding affinities with the active sites of proteins towards 5-ASA. As conclusion, eleven new monosaccharie ester and fatty acid amide derivatives of 5-ASA were synthesized successfully in average yields and showed approximately moderate to superior bioactivities for above-mentioned assays than 5-ASA which may help for drug development in future. Also, molecular docking was performed against two enzymes involved in the inflammation process to predict the possible interactions and binding energy of the new compounds for future in-vivo experimental works

Comparison of Selective Attention and Intelligence Profile in Bilingual and Monolingual Adolescents

Objective Cognitive abilities can be affected by bilingualism because of the close relationship between cognition and language. In the current study, selective attention and intelligence profile in adolescents who were dominant learner of English with those who were not learner of English were compared. Materials & Methods This study is a retrospective analysis and conducted by the cross-sectional method. This study included all adolescent who were dominant learners in English and non-learners adolescent (aged 13-15 years) in Isfahan in 2015. Adolescent aged 13-15 years (n=64) in advanced levels of English (level RECE and REACH from the center of Iranian language and equivalent levels in other schools) and non-learner subjects (monolingual, n=51, control group) were selected from Region 3 of Isfahan. Adolescents in both groups were chosen from the same institute. Sampling was performed by non-random sampling method. To evaluate and measure adolescent&rsquo;s Intelligence profile in both groups, Gardner&rsquo;s multiple intelligence questionnaires were used. The classic Stroop test D-KEFS CW was used to measure the ability of selective attention of dominant learners in English and of non-learners adolescent. The data obtained by the classic Stroop test D-KEFS CW and Gardner&rsquo;s multiple intelligence questionnaires were analyzed through descriptive statistics and multivariate variance (MANOVA). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results The results of the current study demonstrated that there is a significant difference between the two groups. Selective attention was different in dominant learners in English and non-learners adolescent as determined by the classic Stroop test D-KEFS CW (P<0.05). This suggests that reaction time for learners was less than the non-learners adolescent in the classic Stroop task D-KEFS CW. The result indicates their faster performance and subsequently demonstrates that learner adolescent&rsquo;s functions are better than their non-learners counterparts in the classic Stroop test. Also, there is a significant difference between the scores of two groups in six components of intelligence profile including logical-mathematical intelligence and language intelligence (P<0.001) as well as in interpersonal intelligence, musical intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence (P<0.05). The results demonstrated that the scores of the learners were significantly higher than their peers&rsquo; non-learners adolescent in the six components of multiple intelligences. This demonstrates that the learners were better than non-learners adolescent counterparts in the six components of the intellectual profile. The learners had better performances than their non-learners adolescent counterparts in selective attention, logical-mathematical intelligence, language intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, musical intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence. Conclusion Learning a foreign language (e.g. English) may be an effective factor in selective attention and intelligence profile of adolescents. Therefore, the role of learning a foreign language should be considered in selective attention and intelligence profile of adolescents

Comparison Between Switching and Creativity Among Bilingual and Monolingual Children

Objective Several studies have reported that bilingualism may affect cognitive processes. Second language acquisition takes place in a variety of ways. However, considering the fact that language training courses provided by institutes are expanding at a blistering pace, the effects of foreign language learning through the medium of language schools deserves a separate line of investigation in the realm of research pertaining to bilingualism. This study aimed at probing the effect of language learning on children by comparing the switching and creativity levels of those who undertook advanced English classes and others who did not. Methods & Materials A cross-sectional, causal-comparative study was conducted. The population of this research included all monolingual and bilingual children in the age group of 13-15 years in Isfahan in the year 2015. Sixty-four children pursuing advanced levels of English (level RECE and REACH from the center of Iranian language and equivalent levels in other schools) were part of the intervention group, and 51 monolingual children of the same age group were selected as participants in the control group. The purposive sampling method was used. In order to evaluate and measure children's creativity in the monolingual and bilingual groups, the Torrance creativity questionnaire was used. The classic Stroop test D-KEFS CW was used to measure the ability of switching of monolingual and bilingual children. The data obtained was analyzed by way of descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), using SPSS software (version 22). Results The results showed that there is a significant difference between children belonging to bilingual and monolingual groups in terms of switching (P0.01). Conclusion In accordance with the results of the study, it can be concluded that learning English through educational institutions, and at an advanced level, significantly increases the switching capability in children as well as their scores across the three components of creativity (fluency, flexibility, and elaboration). Therefore, the role of second language acquisition should be highlighted because of its contribution to children's creativity and ability to switch. In general, better performances of children are attributed to the capability of switching languages, specific cognitive mechanisms used in the two systems of languages, their familiarity with a new culture and customs while learning a new language, the intensive training sessions as well as the special atmosphere prevailing in the classes