Adding wheat to a pre-partum diet of Holstein cows favours post-partum protein utilization and benefits calcium status

This study evaluated the effects of replacing corn with wheat on the lactation performance, ruminal fermentation, plasma metabolites and hormonal profiles of multiparous Holstein cows. Thirty-four multiparous cows were divided into two equal groups, based on parity, body condition score, and bodyweight. The basal diet was supplemented with 186 g/kg corn or wheat, and was offered from day -28 (±7) relative to the date of expected calving. After calving, all cows received the same diet for four weeks (day +28). The wheat diets increased (P <0.05) the body condition score in the peri-parturient period and caused greater changes in dry matter intake and bodyweight post-partum, with no differences in energy balance compared with the corn diets. Further, the wheat increased (P <0.05) the concentration of propionate in the rumen, thus reducing the ratio of acetate to propionate, and produced (P <0.05) more milk and milk protein, but had reduced levels of urea nitrogen in the milk and serum. Similarly, the wheat diets increased (P <0.05) the plasma concentrations of albumin and glucose, and reduced (P <0.05) triglycerides with no effect (P >0.10) post partum on insulin, cortisol, β-hydroxybutyric acid and aspartate aminotransferase. The replacement of corn with wheat increased (P <0.05) plasma calcium and reduced non-esterified fatty acids around calving (day 0±1) and post-partum (days 0 to +28), and reduced urinary pH during the last week relative to the date of expected calving.Keywords: calving, energy balance, grain source, peri-parturient perio

A supplement containing multiple types of gluconeogenic substrates alters intake but not productivity of heat-stressed Afshari lambs

Citation: Mahjoubi, E., Amanlou, H., Yazdi, M. H., Aghaziarati, N., Noori, G. R., Vahl, C. I., . . . Baumgard, L. H. (2016). A supplement containing multiple types of gluconeogenic substrates alters intake but not productivity of heat-stressed Afshari lambs. Journal of Animal Science, 94(6), 2497-2505. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9697Thirty-two Afshari lambs were used in a completely randomized design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments to evaluate a nutritional supplement designed to provide multiple gluconeogenic precursors during heat stress (HS). Lambs were housed in thermal neutral (TN) conditions and fed ad libitum for 8 d to obtain covariate data (period 1 [P1]) for the subsequent experimental period (period 2 [P2]). During P2, which lasted 9 d, half of the lambs were subjected to HS and the other 16 lambs were maintained in TN conditions but pair fed (PFTN) to the HS lambs. Half of the lambs in each thermal regime were fed (top-dressed) 100 g/d of a feed supplement designed to provide gluconeogenic precursors (8 lambs in HS [heat stress with Glukosa {HSG}] and 8 lambs in PFTN [pair-fed thermal neutral with Glukosa]) and the other lambs in both thermal regimes were fed only the basal control diet (HS without Glukosa [HSC] and pair-fed thermal neutral without Glukosa). Heat stress decreased DMI (14%) and by design there were no differences between the thermal treatments, but HSG lambs had increased DMI (7.5%; P < 0.05) compared with the HSC lambs. Compared with PFTN lambs, rectal temperature and skin temperature at the rump, shoulder, and legs of HS lambs were increased (P < 0.05) at 0700 and 1400 h. Rectal temperature at 1400 h decreased for HSG lambs (0.15 +/- 0.03 degrees C; P < 0.05) compared with HSC lambs. Despite similar DMI between thermal treatments, ADG for HS and PFTN lambs in P2 was decreased 55 and 85%, respectively, compared with lambs in P1 (P < 0.01). Although the prefeeding glucose concentration was not affected by thermal treatment or diet, HSG lambs had increased postfeeding glucose concentration compared with HSC lambs (P < 0.05). In contrast to the glucose responses, circulating insulin was influenced only by thermal treatment; HS lambs had increased insulin concentration (P < 0.01) before feeding and decreased concentration (P < 0.05) after feeding compared with PFTN lambs. Heat-stressed lambs had decreased NEFA concentration before feeding (P < 0.01) but not after feeding relative to PFTN lambs. Although this nutritional strategy did not affect ADG, the lower rectal temperature in HSG lambs indicates that dietary inclusion of a mixture of glucogenic precursors can potentially benefit animal health during HS

Effect of Onopordon acanthium L. as add on antihypertensive therapy in patients with primary hypertension taking Losartan: A pilot study

Purpose: Onopordon acanthium L. is known for its medicinal properties. Our recent study showed that its seed extract is a novel natura angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACEI). This study was carried out to investigate its possible antihypertensive effects in patients receiving losartan. Methods: This uncontrolled clinical trial was carried out among 20 patients (30-60y) with uncontrolled hypertension despite receiving 50 mg losartan (stage I & II) in two hospitals in Iran. After completing informed consent, patients were treated by 2 capsules each 1g of Onopordon acanthium seed extract (OSE) as add-on therapy, two times per day. Results: 18 patients completed the study (50.94 ±8.37y). Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) at the baseline was 151.9 ± 13.74mmHg and at the end of the study, it was 134.6 ± 18.25 mmHg and mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 97.41 ± 10.36 at the baseline and was 85.71 ± 7.481 after 8 weeks. OSE significantly reduced SBP and DBP at the end of 8 weeks (P=0.003, 95% CI: -19.7, -15.1; P=0.0006, 95% CI: -10.23, -13.15; respectively). No evidence of hepatic or renal toxicity was detected. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study OSE has antihypertensive property with no significant adverse effects. However, because of the low number of samples, this medication may be not safely administered. The results of this study could be the basis for further studies with larger sample size. IRCT registration number: IRCT2013020712391N. © 2018 The Authors

Effect of Onopordon acanthium L. as add on antihypertensive therapy in patients with primary hypertension taking Losartan: A pilot study

Purpose: Onopordon acanthium L. is known for its medicinal properties. Our recent study showed that its seed extract is a novel natura angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACEI). This study was carried out to investigate its possible antihypertensive effects in patients receiving losartan. Methods: This uncontrolled clinical trial was carried out among 20 patients (30-60y) with uncontrolled hypertension despite receiving 50 mg losartan (stage I & II) in two hospitals in Iran. After completing informed consent, patients were treated by 2 capsules each 1g of Onopordon acanthium seed extract (OSE) as add-on therapy, two times per day. Results: 18 patients completed the study (50.94 ±8.37y). Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) at the baseline was 151.9 ± 13.74mmHg and at the end of the study, it was 134.6 ± 18.25 mmHg and mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 97.41 ± 10.36 at the baseline and was 85.71 ± 7.481 after 8 weeks. OSE significantly reduced SBP and DBP at the end of 8 weeks (P=0.003, 95% CI: -19.7, -15.1; P=0.0006, 95% CI: -10.23, -13.15; respectively). No evidence of hepatic or renal toxicity was detected. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study OSE has antihypertensive property with no significant adverse effects. However, because of the low number of samples, this medication may be not safely administered. The results of this study could be the basis for further studies with larger sample size. IRCT registration number: IRCT2013020712391N. © 2018 The Authors

Breast cancer cells imaging by targeting methionine transporters with gadolinium-based nanoprobe

Purpose: Early cancer diagnosis using MRI imaging is of high global interest as a non-invasive and powerful modality. In this study, methionine was conjugated on gadolinium-based mesoporous silica nanospheres to evaluate intra-cellular uptake and its accumulation in human breast cancer cells. Procedures: The contrast agent was synthesized and characterized using different techniques including N2 physisorption, thermal gravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The intra-cellular uptake of Gd3+ was measured by ICP-AES, fluorescent microscopy, and flow cytometry. Finally, cellular and tumor MR imaging were performed to determine in vitro and in vivo relaxometry. Results: According to the results, the contrast agents accumulated in tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. There was no significant cellular toxicity on either normal or cancer cells along with strong intense signal on T1 compared to the unlabeled cells. Conclusions: The results showed that the novel contrast agent could become a useful tool in early detection of cancer. © 2014 World Molecular Imaging Society

Arylmethylene hydrazine derivatives containing 1,3-dimethylbarbituric moiety as novel urease inhibitors

A new series of arylmethylene hydrazine derivatives bearing 1,3-dimethylbarbituric moiety 7a�o were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro urease inhibitory activity. All the title compounds displayed high anti-urease activity, with IC50 values in the range of 0.61 ± 0.06�4.56 ± 0.18 µM as compared to the two standard inhibitors hydroxyurea (IC50 = 100 ± 0.15 μM) and thiourea (IC50 = 23 ± 1.7 μM). Among the synthesized compounds, compound 7h with 2-nitro benzylidene group was found to be the most potent compound. Kinetic study of this compound revealed that it is a mix-mode inhibitor against urease. Evaluation of the interaction modes of the synthesized compounds in urease active site by molecular modeling revealed that that compounds with higher urease inhibitor activity (7h, 7m, 7c, 7l, 7i, and 7o, with IC50 of 0.61, 0.86, 1.2, 1.34, 1.33, 1.94 μM, respectively) could interact with higher number of residues, specially Arg609, Cys592 (as part of urease active site flap) and showed higher computed free energy, while compounds with lower urease activity (7f, 7n, 7g, and 7a with IC50 of 3.56, 4.56, 3.62 and 4.43 μM, respectively) and could not provide the proper interaction with Arg609, and Cys592 as the key interacting residues along with lower free binding energy. MD investigation revealed compound 7h interacted with Arg609 and Cys592 which are of the key residues at the root part of mobile flap covering the active site. Interacting with the mentioned residue for a significant amount of time, affects the flexibility of the mobile flap covering the active site and causes inhibition of the ureolytic activity. Furthermore, in silico physico-chemical study of compounds 7a�o predicted that all these compounds are drug-likeness with considerable orally availability. © 2021, The Author(s)

Dental caries in primary and permanent teeth in children's worldwide, 1995 to 2019: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a type of dental caries in the teeth of infants and children that is represented as one of the most prevalent dental problems in this period. Various studies have reported different types of prevalence of dental caries in primary and permanent teeth in children worldwide. However, there has been no comprehensive study to summarize the results of these studies in general, so this study aimed to determine the prevalence of dental caries in primary and permanent teeth in children in different continents of the world during a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: In this review study, articles were extracted by searching in the national and international databases of SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Cochrane, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science (ISI) between 1995 and December 2019. Random effects model was used for analysis and heterogeneity of studies was evaluated by using the I2 index. Data were analyzed by using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (Version 2) software. Findings: In this study, a total of 164 articles (81 articles on the prevalence of dental caries in primary teeth and 83 articles on the prevalence of dental caries in permanent teeth) were entered the meta-analysis. The prevalence of dental caries in primary teeth in children in the world with a sample size of 80,405 was 46.2% (95% CI: 41.6–50.8%), and the prevalence of dental caries in permanent teeth in children in the world with a sample size of 1,454,871 was 53.8% (95% CI: 50–57.5%). Regarding the heterogeneity on the basis of meta-regression analysis, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of dental caries in primary and permanent teeth in children in different continents of the world. With increasing the sample size and the year of study, dental caries in primary teeth increased and in permanent teeth decreased. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the prevalence of primary and permanent dental caries in children in the world was found to be high. Therefore, appropriate strategies should be implemented to improve the aforementioned situation and to troubleshoot and monitor at all levels by providing feedback to hospitals

"EFFICACY OF TOPICAL RETINOIC ACID COMPARED WITH TOPICAL TRIAMCINOLONE ACETONIDE IN THE TREATMENT OF ORAL LICHEN PLANUS"

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of retinoic acid 0.05% with triamcinolone acetonide 0.1%, both in an oral base, in the treatment of atrophic and erosive oral lichen planus. Thirty patients with clinically proven oral lichen planus were asked to participate in the study. The severity of lesions was scored from 0 (no lesion) to 5 (large erosion), and symptoms were scored ranging from 100 (asymptomatic) to 0 (impossible to live with symptoms). Patients were randomly assigned to receive either triamcinolone acetonide or retinoic acid. They were instructed to apply the medication on dried lesions four times a day. The signs and symptoms were evaluated after 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks of treatment. The scores were analyzed by the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The stage of lesions in patients receiving topical triamcinolone acetonide (n=18) improved from an average score of 3.22 to 1.05 after 4 weeks of treatment, whereas patients receiving topical retinoic acid (n=12) showed nonsignificant improvement (average score 3.41 improved to 3.25). The keratotic areas in 4 patients (22.2%) receiving triamcinolone acetonide and one patient (8.3%) in the retinoic acid group were completely resolved. After 4 weeks of treatment all patients in triamcinolone acetonide group, and 50% of retinoic acid group were asymptomatic. Improvement in symptoms and signs was significantly different in the two groups (p&amp;#8804; 0.003, p&amp;#8804; 0.0001 respectively). The results suggest that in non-keratotic and even keratotic oral lichen planus, topical triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% in oral base reduces the severity of atrophic and erosive oral lesions more effectively than topical retionoic acid 0.05% in oral base