The Role of Liposomal CpG ODN on the Course of L. major Infection in BALB/C Mice

"nBackground: Historically, leishmanization is the most effective protective measure against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL), CL lesion induced by leishmanization sometimes takes a long time to heal. Ma­nipulation of leishmanization inoculums needed to induce a mild and acceptable CL lesion. The aim of this study was to explore if liposomal form of CpG ODN (Cytosin phosphate Guanin Oligodeoxynu­cleotides) mixed with Leishmania major   would induce a milder lesion size in Balb/c mice."nMethods: This study was performed in Biotechnology Research Center, Mashhad, and Center for Re­search and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, Tehran, Iran during 2008-2009.  mice were subcutaneously (SC) inoculated with L. major mixed with liposomal form of CpG ODN, or L. major plus free CpG ODN, or L. major mixed with empty liposomes or L. major in PBS. The lesion onset and the size of lesion were recorded; the death rate was also monitored. "nResult: Footpad thickness was significantly (P<0.01) smaller, death rate was also significantly (P<0.05) lower in the mice received L. major mixed with liposomal CpG ODN or free CpG ODN than control groups received L. major in PBS or L. major plus liposomes, also mice which received L. ma­jor mixed with CpG ODN in soluble form showed a significantly (P < 0.001) smaller lesion size than control groups."nConclusion: CpG ODN seems to be an appropriate immunopotentiator mixed with Leishmania stabi­late in leishmanization

Comparison of three different therapies for cutaneous leishmaniasis and identification of the etiologic isolates in Isfahan, Iran

Background: In Iran, zoonotic and anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are caused by Leishmania major and L. tropica respectively. Despite extensive studies, no effective therapies have ever been reported for CL. The main objective of this research was to determine and compare the three different protocols for treatment of CL patients referring to Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center (SDLRC), affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran from September 2017 to October 2018. Methods: In a randomized controlled parallel groups clinical trial, 150 selected CL patients who met our inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to one of the three therapy groups: A, intra-lesional glucantime plus 50 trichloroacetic acid (TCA), B, intra-lesional glucantime and C, systemic glucantime. All patients in the three groups received the complete course of treatment and were followed for 6 months. To identify the etiologic agents, smears from their lesions were prepared and PCR-RFLP was used after parasite culture. Also, clinical characteristics, history of previous involvement, endemic emigration and demographic data were collected. Results: The results showed that the mean value of healing period was 53.12 ± 25.88 (median: 45, IQR: Q1 = 30-Q3 = 77) days in group A, 57.22 ± 44.02 (median: 42.5, IQR: Q1 = 30-Q3 = 60) days in group B, and 73.56 ± 41.08 (median: 71, IQR: Q1 = 45-Q3 = 90) days in group C; the observed differences were statistically significant (P = 0.024). There was a significant difference between group A and group C (P = 0.049), and between group B and group C (P = 0.047) in terms of mean healing period. Finally, complete recovery rates of 80, 62 and 42 were shown in the three medicinal groups of A, B and C, respectively (P = 0.022). Conclusion: In this study, the average duration of lesion healing among the three groups was the shortest in patients with IL glucantime plus 50 TCA treatment regimen. Also, the use of 50 TCA in patients suffering from CL was associated with a significant improvement in the depth of scars, the time and the percentage of recovery, and the low cost of this agent in the treatment of CL. © 2020 Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved

Cloning of taxadiene synthase gene into Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Columbia-0)

Paclitaxel (Taxol), a complex diterpenoid, produced by yew tree (Taxus sp.) is the most important chemotherapeutic agent that is widely used against a variety of malignancies such as ovarian and breast cancers. However, destructive methods for its production from natural resources together with currently used low-yielding industrial production systems via total synthesis or semi-synthesis have led researchers to invent a robust alternative biological production system using biotechnological approaches. The first committed step in taxol biosynthesis pathway is the&#160; production of taxadiene from geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) catalyzed by the plastid-localized enzyme taxadiene synthase (TXS). In this research, an attempt was made to evaluate the effects of the first critical enzyme in thetaxol biosynthesis pathway on Arabidopsis plant through the expression of taxadiene synthase gene under the control of a dexamethasone-inducible promoter. To achieve this goal, Arabidopsis plants (ecotype Columbia-0) were transformed with the construct pTA-TXS-His via floral dip method using Agrobacterium tumefaciens AGL1. The transformed plants were confirmed using the PCR reaction amplifying an 800 bp fragment of the cloned gene. Upon these findings, a proposal was made that biotechnological strategies could be utilized for the production of taxol components

The Unseen Face of E-Business Project Development

The purpose of this paper is intent on identify and analyze the unseen factors of successful or failure of e-business project development. The IT managers must take into account both all costs involved in e-business development and all phases (analysis, design, testing, implementation, maintenance and operation) according to principle of project management for software/systems life cycle development. There are many solutions to exceed these factors of failure among could be counted outsourcing, a good project management, involvement of senior management, a real cost estimation etc.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej nauk

The modalities of Iranian soft power: from cultural diplomacy to soft war

Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft power's potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran's public diplomacy is used to promote its soft power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage

Health-related quality of life and associated factors in adults living with HIV in Rwanda

In Rwanda, as in other sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLWH) has increased dramatically as a result of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). People living with HIV can now live longer but with increasing rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Thus, prevention of NCD comorbidities in PWLHI is crucial to maintain and gain health-related benefits and to maximise the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the long-term management of PLWH. This study determines the association between physical and mental health-related dimensions of quality of life (QOL) with behavioural and biological risk factors, after controlling socio-demographic and HIV-related factors in adults living with HIV in Rwand

Strut-and-tie model for externally bonded CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete deep beams based on particle swarm optimization algorithm: CFRP debonding and rupture

A substantial number of studies have been done on the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP). However, in reference to shear, there are still many questions concerning the complexity and nature of the failure mechanism of RC structures strengthened in shear using CFRP. This is particularly true for concrete deep beams because of the nonlinearity of the stress distribution. This study had the goal of developing a simple procedure or model for estimating the shear capacity of RC deep beams strengthened with CFRP sheets. The proposed model was designed based on an extension of the strut-and-tie model (STM) used for un-strengthened RC deep beams to the case of those shear strengthened with CFRP sheets. The technique avoided the traditional trial-and-error procedure for obtaining the unknown coefficients of the proposed model. It utilized a particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), in which the optimal STM of an CFRP-strengthened RC beam was determined by searching for the optimum unknown coefficients (stress distribution and concrete tensile stress reduction factors). This model considered the effects of two CFRP failure modes, namely the CFRP debonding and CFRP tensile rupture failure modes. The proposed model was validated using experimental data collected from the current study and existing literature. The hybrid PSO-STM predicted a mean value = 1.1, SD = 0.098, and coefficient of variation (CoV) = 8.9%. These results showed that the proposed model has high accuracy and consistency and it can accurately estimate the ultimate shear strength of CFRP-strengthened RC deep beams

Carotenoid fluorescence in Dunaliella salina

Dunaliella salina is a halotolerant green alga that is well known for its carotenoid producing capacity. The produced carotenoids are mainly stored in lipid globules. For various research purposes, such as production and extraction kinetics, we would like to determine and/or localise the carotenoid globules in vivo. In this study, we show that the carotenoid-rich globules emit clear green fluorescence, which can be used in, for example, fluorescence microscopy (e.g. CLSM) to obtain pictures of the cells and their carotenoid content

A geometric morphometric study on geographical Iranian populations of the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Multivariate analyses of the morphological variation in five geographical populations of the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), was performed using 15 and 12 landmarks selected from the fore- and hindwings respectively. Using their geometric morphometric characters (26 in the forewings and 20 in the hindwings), 287 and 277 images of fore- and hindwings were made respectively. Analyses of size showed the wings of the females are bigger than those of the males (forewing: F = 3.98, P = 0.047; hindwing: F = 14.62, P = 0.000) on populations tested. The discriminant function analysis (DFA) of fore- and hindwings differentiated five geographical populations with 86.1% and 69.3%, respectively. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) of shape variables in fore- and hindwings indicated significant differences among populations as well as sexes (at least for one of the shape variables). Sex interaction within the populations was significant in fore- and hindwings, particularly based on the hindwing landmarks. The relative warp analysis (RWA) showed well-supported discrimination between sexes. The results showed significant difference between the sexes and also within the populations

Increasing mothers� confidence and ability by creating opportunities for parent empowerment (COPE): A randomized, controlled trial

Objectives Premature neonates are at great risk for cerebral palsy, developmental delays, hearing problems and visual impairments. Interventions to reduce the morbidities and adverse health outcomes in these neonates and improve parent-infant interaction are highly important. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) program on the perceived maternal parenting self-efficacy of premature parents. Materials & Methods This was a randomized controlled trial with equal randomization (1:1:1 for 3 groups) and parallel group design. Forty-five preterm neonates were randomly allocated to treatment (n=15), supervision (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. COPE program was provided in the form of a 4-phase educational-behavioral intervention to the treatment and supervision groups. The primary outcome was parental self-efficacy, which was assessed by the Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy inventory. All the measurements were performed pre-and post-completion with the valid equipment and by blind assessors. Results COPE mothers reported significantly stronger beliefs regarding their parental role and have more confidence to their ability in caring of neonates compared with control mothers (P-value <0.001). Conclusion An educational-behavioral intervention would strengthen mothers� belief in themselves and knowledge about their neonates and would enhance premature mothers� ability to care for their neonates as well as parent-infant interaction. © 2020, Iranian Child Neurology Society. All rights reserved