Graphene-based current mode logic circuits: a simulation study for an emerging technology

In this paper, the usage of graphene transistors is introduced to be a suitable solution for extending low power designs. Static and current mode logic (CML) styles on both nanoscale graphene and silicon FINFET technologies are compared. Results show that power in CML styles approximately are independent of frequency and the graphene-based CML (G-CML) designs are more power-efficient as the frequency and complexity increase. Compared to silicon-based CML (Si-CML) standard cells, there is 94% reduction in power consumption for G-CML counterparts. Furthermore, a G-CML 4-bit adder respectively offers 8.9 and 1.7 times less power and delay than the Si-CML adder

Screening of membrane active antimicrobial metabolites produced by soil actinomycetes using membrane models

     The focus of this study was antimicrobial membrane-activity of actinomycetes isolated from soils of Iran. In this work, soil samples were collected from desert and farming zones of Northern and Central Iran. A total number of 45 actinomycetes were isolated from the soil samples. In the primary screening performed to evaluate antimicrobial activity, isolated microorganisms were analyzed in terms of their general inhibition effects to indicator strains E. coli, C. albicans, and S. cervisae. It has been found that 12 actinomycetes, were effective against test microorganisms. In the secondary screening to determine membrane-active metabolites producing microorganisms, isolates having an inhibitory effect against test microorganisms, were analyzed for membrane activity using a Rapid Chromatic Detection method. Based on color changes that are easily identified by the naked eye and recorded by UV-vis spectrophotometery, two actinomycetes had membrane-activity effect and were stored for the sake of further study and identification

Review of Anti-Inflammatory Herbal Medicines

Medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites are progressively used in the treatment of diseases as a complementary medicine. Inflammation is a pathologic condition that includes a wide range of diseases such as rheumatic and immune-mediated conditions, diabetes, cardiovascular accident, and etcetera. We introduce some herbs which their anti-inflammatory effects have been evaluated in clinical and experimental studies. Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Rosmarinus officinalis, Borago officinalis, evening primrose, and Devil’s claw are some of the introduced medicinal herbs in this review. Since the treatment of inflammation is not a one-dimensional remedy, this review tries to reach a multidimensional therapeutic approach to inflammation with the help of herbal medicine and modification in lifestyle

Bedtime Single-Dose Prednisolone in Clinically Stable Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Introduction. Sign and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis have circadian rhythms and are more prominent in the morning. Timing of glucocorticoid administration may be important with respect to the natural secretion of endogenous glucocorticoids. Herein, we intended to test the hypothesis that bedtime administration of prednisolone could be more efficient in controlling signs and symptoms in patients with RA. Material and Methods. Sixty patients with stable disease were treated with single dose prednisolone at 8 a.m. for the first three months and thereafter with similar dose at 10 PM for the next three months (before-after method). We compared fatigue scores, morning stiffness and pain scores, Clinical Disease Activity Indices, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, C Reactive Protein, and profile of adverse effects. Results. The mean of morning stiffness, fatigue scores, CRP and CDAI decreased statistically when prednisolone was administrated at 10 p.m. The means of pain scores and ESR were also decreased when the patients took prednisolone at night, without significant statistical difference. Conclusion. Administration of low-dose oral prednisolone could reduce disease activity scores in morning in clinically stable patients with RA. So it could be supposed that administrating bedtime prednisolone may permit the smallest possible dose

Antimicrobial susceptibility differences among mucoid and non-mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates

[english] is one of the most important opportunistic bacteria, causing a wide variety of infections particularly in immunocompromised patients. The extracellular glycocalyx is produced in copious amounts by mucoid strains of . Mucoid and non-mucoid strains show some differences in their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of mucoid and non-mucoid types and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns isolated from Milad and Mostafa Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran. One hundred isolates were collected which all were confirmed by conventional biochemical tests and PCR assay using specific primers for and lipoproteins. Mucoid and non-mucoid types of isolates were determined by culturing isolates on BHI agar containing Congo red and Muir mordant staining method. The susceptibility pattern of isolates against 23 different antibiotics was assessed using MIC sensititre susceptibility plates.Fifty of 100 of isolates were mucoid type, of which 14 isolates were from Mostafa Khomeini Hospital. Frequency of mucoid type of in Mostafa Khomeini hospital (70%) was higher than that seen in Milad hospital (45%). The statistical analysis of MICs results showed significant differences in antimicrobial resistance among mucoid and non-mucoid types (non mucoid strains showed more resistance against tested antibiotics). This may be due to the tendency of some antibiotics to attach to extracellular glycocalyx of mucoid strains

Ischemic Toes after Venous Thromboembolism: A Difficult Differential Diagnosis with Good Response to Combination Therapy—A Case Report

The obliteration of the arterial vascular system of toes is considered as a potentially catastrophic event in clinical practices. In most instances, the cessation of arterial blood flow heralds a serious underlying pathology. A definite classification of some cases is somehow difficult and subject to diagnostic challenges. The aim of the present case study is to share and discuss potentially complex and multifactorial mechanisms of some acute vascular events. In this report, we deal with a 46-year-old man with a rather gradual-onset ischemia of his toe who responded favorably to a combination of pulsed glucocorticoid and anticoagulation within a week

Yeast Enriched with Selenium: A Promising Source of Selenomethionine and Seleno-Proteins

Organic selenium compound such as selenomethionine plays a significant function in response to oxidative stress. Currently Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the best organisms that has ability to accumulate selenomethionine and selenium biotransformation. Addition of mineral selenium to medium culture is a very common practice in order to produce the selenomethionine and Seleno-proteins. Due to the toxicity of selenium for yeasts, selenium tolerant yeast isolation procedures are required. The aim of this investigation was to separate indigenous selenium tolerant S.cerevisiae strains which will not be affected by high selenium concentrations and are able to produce high levels of selenomethionine. In this study, 85 samples were collected from fermentative fruit. Screening was carried out in order to select high yeast cell density and also high selenomethionine accumulation. After confirming yeast strains, selected strains were cultured at a concentration of 25 mg/L sodium selenite and selenomethionine content was measured after 48 hours. The S18 isolate showed had maximum biomass production and selenomethionine accumulation (2655 ppm) and (3.73 g/L) compared to the other isolates.Highlights Selenomethionine is an important amino acid that has a significant role against oxidative stress.Addition of inorganic selenium to the yeast media culture leads to produce the selenomethionine.Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the best organisms for selenium biotransformation

Isolation of membrane-active fraction of Streptomyces spp. from soil

Purpose: To isolate and characterize the membrane-active antimicrobial fraction and isolate metabolite produced by Streptomyces in soil samples from IranMethods: More than 60 Actinomycete strains were isolated from soil samples in Iran. A total number of 16 strains were studied using antimicrobial assay against Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. Among these, three strains produced membrane-active metabolites based on artificial vesicle assay. Extracts of Streptomyces culture were obtained using ethyl acetate fractionation.Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by broth microdilution assay. Among these active extracts, one metabolite was isolated. Further fractionation and purification strategies were applied to finally identify the isolated metabolite using appropriate spectroscopic methods including thin layer chromatography (TLC), preparative thin-layer chromatography (PTLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS).Results: Three strains isolated from the soil samples, namely, strains 0811, 08346 and 08317 showed the highest antifungal and antimicrobial activity in Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) and International Streptomyces Projects 2 (ISP2) medium in the range of 46.8 to 62.5 μg/ml. Strain 08346 was selected for further chemical profiling based on TLC pattern and membrane activity. It yielded a purified compound which was determined to be a novel aromatic amino alkyne, named Sourin.Conclusion: Streptomyces-produced 08346 strain demonstrates good antimicrobial activities against bacteria and yeasts, suggesting its potential as an antimicrobial membrane-active agent.Keywords: Actinomycetes, Secondary metabolites, Streptomycetes, Membrane-active agen

A highlighted case for emphasizing on clinical diagnosis for rare syndrome in third world

Premature tooth loss is a disastrous situation may impact on deciduous or permanent teeth era with different cause. It is may be attributed to some disorders like papillon- lefevr syndrome or coffin-lowry  syndrome but because of ambiguous nature, precious diagnosis is not easily possible .having very low incidence and defined by few and limited case series ,with vague characters to some extent, confusion in detecting the right diagnosis is a common possibility. Then it's expectable to have a wrong diagnosis for this case. In this article, a 5 year old boy with chief complaint of early tooth loss despite having blindness in left eye and palmar keratosis is reported, although he had some other manifestation of ODDD like ataxia, dysartheria and nail deformity, ignoring other extra and intra oral finding, he was diagnosed as papillon- lefevr syndrome before, just because of early tooth loss and palmar keratosis