Electrocardiographic manifestations in acute methanol poisoning cannot predict mortality

The aim of this retrospective observational case series was to determine electrocardiographic (ECG) manifestations in patients poisoned with methanol and see whether they could predict mortality. We also wanted to see whether there was an association between ECG changes and time elapsed between ingestion and treatment, age, sex, seizure, coma (Glasgow Coma Scale �8), arterial blood gas (ABG) parameters, and serum potassium levels on hospital admission. The study included 42 patients aged 31.14±12.5 years. Twenty-five survived and 17 died. Almost all patients had one or more abnormal ECG findings, including heart rate, rhythm, and conduction abnormalities. However, we found no significant difference between survivors and non-survivors. QTc interval did not correlate with time elapsed between ingestion and treatment, age, sex, seizure and coma, HCO3 -, or serum potassium level. Similarly, T waves showed no correlation with serum potassium. ECG abnormalities did not correlate with coma or seizure. Even though cardiotoxicity in methanol poisoning is high, none of the ECG abnormalities found in our study predicted mortality. This however does not rule out the need to routinely run ECG for cardiotoxicity in every single patient poisoned by methanol

The relationship between cutinases and the pathogenicity/virulence of Fusarium solani in potato tubers

Cutinase activity was spectrophotometrically determined in the culture supernatants of 40 isolates of Fusarium solani, obtained in Iran from various biological origins and grown in a minimal medium with 0.4% cutin as the only carbon source. Enzymatic activities, which ranged from 0 to 488 nmol min-1 mL-1, were related to the pathogenicity or virulence of the fungal isolates, determined on potato tubers using a 0–5 disease severity scale. Cutinase activity was either not detected at all or was very low in the non-pathogenic isolates, whereas it was directly correlated with the virulence of the pathogenic isolates (Radj 2 = 0.97), with an increase in cutinase activity of about 100 units corresponding to a one-point increase in the disease severity scale. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that non-pathogenic F. solani isolates did not produce a cutinase band, while pathogenic isolates, with various degrees of virulence, produced single or double peptide bands with molecular weights of 20–23 kDa. We conclude that enzyme activity can be used as a predictive marker of the pathogenicity and virulence of F. solani isolates obtained from various hosts

Recent developments in genetics and medically assisted reproduction : from research to clinical applications

Two leading European professional societies, the European Society of Human Genetics and the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, have worked together since 2004 to evaluate the impact of fast research advances at the interface of assisted reproduction and genetics, including their application into clinical practice. In September 2016, the expert panel met for the third time. The topics discussed highlighted important issues covering the impacts of expanded carrier screening, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, voiding of the presumed anonymity of gamete donors by advanced genetic testing, advances in the research of genetic causes underlying male and female infertility, utilisation of massively parallel sequencing in preimplantation genetic testing and non-invasive prenatal screening, mitochondrial replacement in human oocytes, and additionally, issues related to cross-generational epigenetic inheritance following IVF and germline genome editing. The resulting paper represents a consensus of both professional societies involved.Peer reviewe

Hallmarks of opium poisoning in infants and toddlers

Accidental opium intoxication in children is an extremely dangerous poisoning if it remains undiagnosed and untreated. The classic triad of miosis, decreased level of consciousness and bradypnea, which are the hallmarks of opiate intoxication, are used for the diagnosis of opium poisoning in adults and children. Little attention has been paid to the signs of opium intoxication in children and no published study has explored the frequency of hallmarks of this type of poisoning in the paediatric population. We conducted a study in order to evaluate the prevalence of major signs of opium poisoning in infants and toddlers. In this study, a total of 228 infants and 82 toddlers who had been admitted to Loghman Hakim Hospital as a result of opium poisoning between 2001 and 2009 were evaluated, retrospectively. The most usual sign of opium poisoning was miosis (90) followed by a decreased level of consciousness (88.4), bradypnea (28.4) and seizure (10.3). The prevalence of the triad of miosis, bradypnea and a decreased level of consciousness was 25.2. Miosis in association with decreased level of consciousness was detected in 82.6 of our patients. Bradypnea was present in 74 infants and 14 toddlers, which shows a statistically significant difference (P = 0.01). The mean age and weight of the patients with bradypnea were significantly less than those without bradypnea (P = 0.008 and P = 0.0001, respectively). Bradypnea and seizure were significantly more common in females (36.7 versus 26; P = 0.05 and 15.2 versus 6.5; P = 0.01, respectively). Miosis in association with a decreased level of consciousness is the most useful indicator of opium poisoning in infants and toddlers. Furthermore, seizure is a more common feature of this type of poisoning in infants, especially in those who are less than 1 month old. © 2010, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved

The relationship between cutinases and the pathogenicity/virulence of <I>Fusarium solani</I> in potato tubers

Cutinase activity was spectrophotometrically determined in the culture supernatants of 40 isolates of Fusarium solani, obtained in Iran from various biological origins and grown in a minimal medium with 0.4% cutin as the only carbon source. Enzymatic activities, which ranged from 0 to 488 nmol min-1 mL-1, were related to the pathogenicity or virulence of the fungal isolates, determined on potato tubers using a 0–5 disease severity scale. Cutinase activity was either not detected at all or was very low in the non-pathogenic isolates, whereas it was directly correlated with the virulence of the pathogenic isolates (Radj 2 = 0.97), with an increase in cutinase activity of about 100 units corresponding to a one-point increase in the disease severity scale. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that non-pathogenic F. solani isolates did not produce a cutinase band, while pathogenic isolates, with various degrees of virulence, produced single or double peptide bands with molecular weights of 20–23 kDa. We conclude that enzyme activity can be used as a predictive marker of the pathogenicity and virulence of F. solani isolates obtained from various hosts

Prevalence of pituitary incidentaloma in the Iranian cadavers

Aim: Although one-fourth of the pituitary tumors are inactive and silent, increased total volume of the pituitary gland exerts pressure on sella turcica and corrodes the clinoid processes, resulting in several problems. Therefore, determination of the prevalence of the concealed pituitary tumors is of major concern among clinical practitioners. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of these tumors in cadavers referred to the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization (Kahrizak, Tehran). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed between June 2007 and February 2008. A total of 485 cadavers were selected by simple random sampling method. Pituitary glands were removed and then horizontally cut and four slides were prepared from each of them, stained by hematoxylin and eosin, and evaluated by a light microscope. For statistical analysis, SPSS software (version 16), Mann-Whitney U test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric test (K-S test), and Chi-square test were used. Results: Of the 485 investigated cadavers, 365 (75.3%) were males with an average age of 42 ± 20.5 years and 120 (24.7%) were females with an average age of 44 ± 22 years. A total of 61 (12.6%) had concealed pituitary masses. No statistically significant difference was found between the mean age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) of the cadavers with and without concealed tumors (P=0.380 P=0.450, and P=0.884, respectively). Conclusions: In the present study, the prevalence of the concealed pituitary adenomas was 12.6%. There was no correlation between age, sex, and BMI and the prevalence of the concealed masses

Genome-wide association study of four composite reproductive traits in Iranian fat-tailed sheep

Composite reproductive traits are a combination of growth and reproductive traits. They have the advantage of being better attuned to the market drivers since producers are paid on a per kilogram basis and not on a per head basis. In this study, 124 Lori­­–Bakhtiari ewes were genotyped using the medium-density Illumina Ovine SNP50 array. A genome-wide association study was performed on estimated breeding values of four composite reproductive traits and genetic parameters were also estimated. The traits were litter mean weight at birth, litter mean weight at weaning, total litter weight at birth and total litter weight at weaning. Several suggestive and associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Neighbouring the top SNPs there were five genes, inhibin β E subunit (INHBE), inhibin β C subunit (INHBC), testis expressed 12 (TEX12), β-carotene oxygenase 2 (BCO2) and WD Repeat Domain 70 (WDR70) identified as possible candidate genes for composite reproductive traits of the Lori–Bakhtiari sheep. These genes are in pathways known to be relevant to fertility and growth characteristics. The results provide new information for the functional annotation of genes associated with fertility traits and add new evidence towards a consensus of quantitative trait loci associated with reproductive traits in sheep

Genome-wide association study of first lambing age and lambing interval in sheep

First lambing age and lambing interval are among the most important reproductive traits affecting profitability of sheep breeding systems. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed on estimated breeding values (EBVs) for age at first lambing and the lambing interval between first and second lambing in Lori-Bakhtiari ewes. Animals were genotyped using the Illumina Ovine SNP50 K genotyping array. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with lambing interval were identified on chromosomes 1 and 2 (Bonferroni adjusted P-valu