The effect of pentoxifylline on malathion-induced mitochondrial damage in rat liver

زمینه و هدف: مالاتیون از حشره کش های ارگانوفسفره ای است که استرس اکسیداتیو را از طریق ‏تولید رادیکال های آزاد و تغییر سیستم آنتی ‏اکسیدانی ایجاد می نماید. هدف این مطالعه بررسی ‏اثرات حفاظت احتمالی پنتوکسی فیلین (PTX) در آسیب اکسیداتیو ‏القاء شده در اثر مالاتیون بر میتوکندری کبد موش صحرایی نر می باشد.‏ روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی 20 سر موش صحرایی نر نژاد ویستار در محدوده وزنی 200 تا 250 گرم به طور تصادفی به 4 گروه تقسیم شدند. گروه اول (شاهد) نرمال سالین، گروه دوم مالاتیون به میزان ‏‎mg/kg/day‏200، گروه سوم پنتوکسی فیلین به میزان ‏day‏/‏mg/kg‏ 50 و گروه چهارم پنتوکی فیلین و مالاتیون با هم دریافت نمودند. بعد از دو هفته درمان، بافت ‏کبد و میتوکندری های آن جدا شدند. فعالیت ‏آنزیم های کاتالاز (CAT)، سوپراکسیددیسموتاز (SOD)‏‏‎‏،‌ میزان پراکسیداسیون ‏لیپیدی (LPO) و درصد بقاء‏ میتوکندری کبد اندازه گیری شد. داده ها با آزمون های آماری آنالیز واریانس یک طرفه و توکی در نرم افزار SPSS تحلیل شدند. یافته ها: فعالیت آنزیم سوپراکسیددیسموتاز در گروه مالاتیون به همراه پنتوکسی فیلین، نسبت به گروهی که فقط مالاتیون دریافت کردند، در کبد کاهش معنی داری نشان داد (05/

Somatic embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration from protoplast culture of Muscari neglectum Guss

A protocol has been developed for plant regeneration from protoplast culture of Muscari neglectum using regenerable embryogenic calli obtained from bulb culture on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) plant growth regulators (PGR)-free or containing lower 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6- benzylaminopurine (BA) concentrations and 30 g/l sucrose. Protoplasts were isolated directly from embryogenic calli, embedded in Ca-alginate beads and cultured with nurse cells in MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/l each of NAA and BA, 100 mg/l ascorbic acid and 0.5 M mannitol at 25°C in darkness. After 4 weeks of culture, microcalli appeared on the surface of the Ca-alginate beads. Growth of microcalli in the medium with nurse cells (33.3%) was much better than those in the medium without nurse cells (6.5%). Transferring beads onto MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/l BA increased the growth of embryogenic calli. Somatic embryo development was observed either on half strength MS medium PGR-free or with 1 mg/l abscisic acid at 25°C under continuous illumination with fluorescent light. Maturated embryos germinated and then converted to plantlets on half strength MS medium containing 1 mg/l BA after 3 months. The plantlets left in the medium produced bulbs after 5 months.Key words: Ca-alginate beads, Muscari neglectum, nurse culture, plantlet regeneration, protoplast culture, somatic embryogenesis

Neural network models for solving the maximum flow problem

In this paper, two new neural network models for solving the maximum flow problem are presented. The maximum flow problem in networks is formulated as a special type of linear programming problem and it is solved by appropriately defined neural networks. The nonlinear neural networks are able to generate optimal solution for maximum flow problem. We solve neural network models by one of the numerical method. Finally, some numerical examples are provided for the sake of illustration

Local scour due to free fall jets in non-uniform sediment

AbstractThe results of experiments on the local scour due to free fall jets are presented in this paper. Experiments were conducted for various values of the densimetric Froude number, the relative tailwater depth, the relative drop height and the relative sediment size. It has been found that by increasing the sediment non-uniformity parameter the scour hole parameters decrease. Moreover, in non-uniform sediment, d90 can be used instead of d50 in the densimetric Froude number of the jet. By using the present and previous experimental data, new equations for the scour parameters were developed. The validity of the developed equations was checked by available prototype data on the scour depth

The effect of 12 weeks Anethum graveolens (dill) on metabolic markers in patients with metabolic syndrome; A randomized double blind controlled trial

Background: The clustering of metabolic abnormalities defined as metabolic syndrome is now both a public health and a clinical problem .While interest in herbal medicine has greatly increased, lack of human evidence to support efficacies shown in animals does exist. This clinical trial study designed to investigate whether herbal medicine, Anethum graveolens (dill) extract, could improve metabolic components in patients with metabolic syndrome. Methods: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial using a parallel design was conducted. 24 subjects who had metabolic syndrome diagnostic criteria (update of ATP III) were randomly assigned to either dill extract (n = 12) or placebo (n = 12) for 3 months. Results: Across lipid component of metabolic syndrome, no significant differences in triglyceride (TG) concentration and high density lipoprotein cholesterol were seen between the two groups. However TG improved significantly from baseline (257.0 vs. 201.5p = 0.01) with dill treatment but such a significant effect was not observed in placebo group. Moreover, no significant differences in waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting blood sugar were seen between two groups after 3 months follow up period. Conclusion: In this small clinical trial in patients with metabolic syndrome, 12 weeks of dill extract treatment had a beneficial effect in terms of reducing TG from baseline. However dill treatment was not associated with a significant improvement in metabolic syndrome related markers compared to control group. Larger studies might be required to prove the efficacy and safety of long-Term administration of dill to resolve metabolic syndrome components. © 2012 Mansouri et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Novel 5-oxo-hexahydroquinoline derivatives: design, synthesis, in vitro P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance reversal profile and molecular dynamics simulation study

Overexpression of the efflux pump P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is one of the important mechanisms of multidrug resistance (MDR) in many tumor cells. In this study, 26 novel 5-oxo-hexahydroquinoline derivatives containing different nitrophenyl moieties at C-4 and various carboxamide substituents at C-3 were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit P-gp by measuring the amount of rhodamine 123 (Rh123) accumulation in uterine sarcoma cells that overexpress P-gp (MES-SA/Dx5) using flow cytometry. The effect of compounds with highest MDR reversal activities was further evaluated by measuring the alterations of MES-SA/Dx5 cells' sensitivity to doxorubicin (DXR) using MTT assay. The results of both biological assays indicated that compounds bearing 2-nitrophenyl at C-4 position and compounds with 4-chlorophenyl carboxamide at C-3 demonstrated the highest activities in resistant cells, while they were devoid of any effect in parental nonresistant MES-SA cells. One of the active derivatives, 5c, significantly increased intracellular Rh123 at 100 mu M, and it also significantly reduced the IC50 of DXR by 70.1% and 88.7% at 10 and 25 mu M, respectively, in MES-SA/Dx5 cells. The toxicity of synthesized compounds against HEK293 as a noncancer cell line was also investigated. All tested derivatives except for 2c compound showed no cytotoxicity. A molecular dynamics simulation study was also performed to investigate the possible binding site of 5c in complex with human P-gp, which showed that this compound formed 11 average H-bonds with Ser909, Thr911, Arg547, Arg543 and Ser474 residues of P-gp. A good agreement was found between the results of the computational and experimental studies. The findings of this study show that some 5-oxo-hexahydroquinoline derivatives could serve as promising candidates for the discovery of new agents for P-gp-mediated MDR reversal

Short communication: Survey of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) toxicity using bioassay on Daphnia magna

In this study, the toxicity of MTBE on the crustacean Daphnia magna (Cladocera) has been studied. At the beginning, for finding the range of sensitivity of D. magna to MTBE, a test had been conducted at 24h. The initial and final tests with synthetic MTBE has been done with containing solutions of water accommodated fractions (WAFs) in periods of 24 and 48h and then static bioassay was calculated in two phases of tests and the data were obtained and analyzed by SPSS 13 by using probit analysis. In 24h, lc10, lc50 and lc90 for MTBE on D. magna were 345, 646 and 941mg/l and for 48h, they were 361, 476 and 893mg/l, respectively. Also, the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of MTBE (WAFs) on D. magna was determined in 24 and 48h, 64.6 and 47.6mg/l, respectively. Results indicated that D. magna could be used for toxicity tracing MTBE in surface and ground water, because these crustaceans have perfect resistance against pollution of MTBE. It is also concluded that after 24 and 48h exposure time, there was no significant difference observed in the activity and mortality of D. magna

Effect of plasmin and heparin on in vitro ovine spermoocyte interaction

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of plasmin and heparin on in vitro ovine spermoocyte interaction. Different concentrations of plasmin (0, 1, 10, 100 ng/ml) and heparin (0, 5, 10 IU/ml) were added alone or simultaneously into fertilization medium. After sperm and oocyte co-culture, binding and penetration of sperm to zona pellucida (ZP) were assayed. Treatment with 1 and 10 ng/ml plasmin resulted in higher sperm binding to ZP than those in control. The rates of sperm binding to ZP were increased with highest heparin concentrations (10 IU/ml). Heparin had no effect on penetration rate of sperm to ZP. Simultaneously effects of plasmin and heparin were not significant on penetration rate of sperm to ZP. But, 5 or 10 IU/ml heparin in the present of 1 ng/ml plasmin had higher effect on sperm binding to ZP than that in the other groups. These results suggest that plasmin and heparin (alone/simultaneously) might play a role in events related to fertilization in ovine