Short communication: Infection of Aphanius dispar (Holly, 1929) with Ligula intestinalis plerocercoids in Mehran River, Hormuzgan province, south of Iran

Aphanius dispar (Holly, 1929) (known as Mahi gour-e khari, mahi dom parchami, kopurdandandar-e balehbolband) is an euryhaline tooth-carp fish which apparently prefers brackish waters of coastal areas of Iran. It is also distributed in Cyprus, Iraq, Somalia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Djibouti. Aphanius dispar occurs in shallow water and among vegetation over sand, rock or soft detritus bottoms. Ligula intestinalis (L., 1758) is a pseudophyllidean cestode which in its plerocercoid stage infects a range of freshwater fish species, particularly members of the cyprinidae, as its second intermediate host and it has a widespread distribution throughout the northern hemisphere. However, no report is available on the occurrence of L. intestinalis from tooth-carp fish found in southern Iran. Recently, the present authors studied the infection of A. persicus in Barme-e-Shoor Spring-Stream System, Maharlu Basin, Shiraz, Iran. The present study was undertaken to investigate the possibility of A. dispar acting as an intermediate host for Ligula intestinalis from Mehran river in Mehran basin, near Bastak city, Hormuzgan Province, south of Iran

Extensional rheology and stability behavior of alumina suspensions in the presence of AMPS-modified polycarboxylate ether-based copolymers

A series of polycarboxylate ether-based copolymers that include acrylic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, and polyethylene glycol-1000 was synthesized, and the performance of these copolymers as rheology modifiers in aqueous alumina suspensions was characterized. We discussed the effect of monomer feed ratio and molecular weight on dispersing ability of these copolymers and on extensional behavior of alumina suspensions. Results of zeta potential analysis determined that using the copolymers even at 0.5 wt.% results in all-negative zeta potentials for the entire pH range (2-12). These copolymers immensely affect the extensional rheological behavior of alumina suspensions-while 20 vol.% pure alumina suspension showed severe strain hardening behavior, suspensions with 1 wt.% copolymers and 35 vol.% alumina particles displayed no strain hardening. In this series, the copolymer with lowest molecular weight decreased the extensional viscosity of suspensions at the rupture of thread with three orders of magnitude as well

On the character degree graph of finite groups

Given a finite group G, let cd (G) denote the set of degrees of the irreducible complex characters of G. The character degree graph of G is defined as the simple undirected graph whose vertices are the prime divisors of the numbers in cd (G) , two distinct vertices p and q being adjacent if and only if pq divides some number in cd (G). In this paper, we consider the complement of the character degree graph, and we characterize the finite groups for which this complement graph is not bipartite. This extends the analysis of Akhlaghi et al. (Proc Am Math Soc 146:1505\u20131513, 2018), where the solvable case was treated

Poly(carboxylate ether)-based superplasticizer achieves workability retention in calcium aluminate cement

Calcium aluminate cement (CAC) suffers from loss of workability in less than an hour (~15 minutes) after first touch of water. Current superplasticizers that are utilized to modify the viscosity of cement admixtures are designed to target ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The high affinity between these superplasticizers and cement particles were found to be detrimental in CAC systems. Utilization of a monomer that, instead, facilitates gradual adsorption of a superplasticizer provides workability retention. For the first time in literature, we report a superplasticizer that caters to the properties of CAC such as high rate of surface development and surface charge. While neat CAC was almost unworkable after 1 hour, with the addition of only 0.4% of the optimized superplasticizer, 90% fluidity retention was achieved

A PCE-based rheology modifier allows machining of solid cast green bodies of alumina

The performance of a poly(carboxylate ether) (PCE)-based superplasticizer to enable the machining of green bodies that are solid cast from suspensions of alumina was investigated. An alumina loading of 35 vol% in the presence of 1.25 wt% superplasticizer was established to be suitable for lathing and removal of significant amount of material through drilling. A reduction of 77% in the diameter of green bodies that corresponds to a 59% reduction in volume was achieved. The lathed green bodies exhibited smooth terraces without visible cracks. All of the green bodies were sintered without a polymer burnout step

Dientamoeba fragilis diagnosis by fecal screening: Relative effectiveness of traditional techniques and molecular methods

Introduction: Dientamoeba fragilis, an intestinal trichomonad, occurs in humans with and without gastrointestinal symptoms. Its presence was investigated in individuals referred to Milad Hospital, Tehran. Methodology: In a cross-sectional study, three time-separated fecal samples were collected from 200 participants from March through June 2011. Specimens were examined using traditional techniques for detecting D. fragilis and other gastrointestinal parasites: direct smear, culture, formalin-ether concentration, and iron-hematoxylin staining. The presence of D. fragilis was determined using PCR assays targeting 5.8S rRNA or small subunit ribosomal RNA. Results: Dientamoeba fragilis, Blastocystis sp., Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba coli, and Iodamoeba butschlii were detected by one or more traditional and molecular methods, with an overall prevalence of 56.5. Dientamoeba was not detected by direct smear or formalin-ether concentration but was identified in 1 and 5 of cases by culture and iron-hematoxylin staining, respectively. PCR amplification of SSU rRNA and 5.8S rRNA genes diagnosed D. fragilis in 6 and 13.5, respectively. Prevalence of D. fragilis was unrelated to participant gender, age, or gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusions: This is the first report of molecular assays to screen for D. fragilis in Iran. The frequent finding of D. fragilis via fecal analysis indicated the need to include this parasite in routine stool examination in diagnostic laboratories. As the length of amplification target correlates to the sensitivity of PCR, this assay targeting the D. fragilis 5.8S rRNA gene seems optimal for parasite detection and is recommended in combination with conventional microscopy for diagnosing intestinal parasites. © 2018 Hamidi et al

Dientamoeba fragilis diagnosis by fecal screening: Relative effectiveness of traditional techniques and molecular methods

Introduction: Dientamoeba fragilis, an intestinal trichomonad, occurs in humans with and without gastrointestinal symptoms. Its presence was investigated in individuals referred to Milad Hospital, Tehran. Methodology: In a cross-sectional study, three time-separated fecal samples were collected from 200 participants from March through June 2011. Specimens were examined using traditional techniques for detecting D. fragilis and other gastrointestinal parasites: direct smear, culture, formalin-ether concentration, and iron-hematoxylin staining. The presence of D. fragilis was determined using PCR assays targeting 5.8S rRNA or small subunit ribosomal RNA. Results: Dientamoeba fragilis, Blastocystis sp., Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba coli, and Iodamoeba butschlii were detected by one or more traditional and molecular methods, with an overall prevalence of 56.5. Dientamoeba was not detected by direct smear or formalin-ether concentration but was identified in 1 and 5 of cases by culture and iron-hematoxylin staining, respectively. PCR amplification of SSU rRNA and 5.8S rRNA genes diagnosed D. fragilis in 6 and 13.5, respectively. Prevalence of D. fragilis was unrelated to participant gender, age, or gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusions: This is the first report of molecular assays to screen for D. fragilis in Iran. The frequent finding of D. fragilis via fecal analysis indicated the need to include this parasite in routine stool examination in diagnostic laboratories. As the length of amplification target correlates to the sensitivity of PCR, this assay targeting the D. fragilis 5.8S rRNA gene seems optimal for parasite detection and is recommended in combination with conventional microscopy for diagnosing intestinal parasites. © 2018 Hamidi et al

Effect of glucose, lactate and pyruvate concentrations on in vitro growth of goat granulosa cell

Carbohydrates are among the most influential of the numerous components of culture medium that affect metabolism and developmental potential. Glucose, lactate and pyruvate are required for the growth of oocytes and other follicular cells in vitro. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different concentrations of glucose, lactate and pyruvate on promoting DNA synthesis of granulosa cells in a serum-free medium. Effects of glucose (0.75, 1.5 or 3 mM), pyruvate (0.1 or 0.33 mM) and Llactate (3, 6 or 12 mM) concentrations in the maturation medium on the relative granulosa cell growth during metaphase II (MII) were examined in a 3 × 2 × 3 factorial design. The greatest relative granulosa cell growth response (p<0.05) was observed in the presence of 1.5 mM glucose and 0.33 mM pyruvate or in 6 mM lactate and 0.33 mM pyruvate. Increasing pyruvate concentrations from 0.1 to 0.33 mM resulted in an increase in DNA synthesis in granulosa cells. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that increasing glucose and pyruvate concentrations in the maturation medium increased the growth of goat granulosa cells.Key word: Energy substrate, granulosa cell growth, methyl-3H-thymidine, goat

Cognitive functions in epileptic patients on lamotrigine and other antiepileptic drugs

Background and purpose: Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) can affect cognitive functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of lamotrigine (LT) on cognitive functions of patients with epilepsy. Materials and methods: A study with retrospective cohort design was carried out in which we assessed cognitive functions of 20 IGE patients attending Sari Bu Ali Hospital, and 12 healthy subjects. The control group was matched for age, sex, and educational level. Standardized neuropsychological tests were used to evaluate cognitive functions. The study was analyzed applying one-way ANOVA and Tukey Test in SPSS. Results: Compared with the control group, LT group showed poor performance in Stroop test and verbal fluency test-semantic test (P<0.05). The group on other drugs were also found to have poor performance in verbal fluency test (phonetic and semantic), forward digit span task, and Stroop test compared with those of the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Compared with LT, other AEDs had more adverse effects on cognitive functions which could be due to their effect on channels and release changing stimulatory neurotransmitters. © 2019, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved