The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire was successfully translated to Persian

IntroductionThe Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) is designed to evaluate pain and disability in subjects with lateral elbow tendinopathy. This questionnaire is available in Swedish, Italian, and some other languages. A Persian language version of the questionnaire is needed for both research and clinical purposes.Purpose of the StudyThe purpose of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE questionnaire into the Persian language and to determine its validity and reliability.MethodsThe PRTEE was translated and culturally adapted from English into Persian (PRTEE-P) according to the established guidelines. The PRTEE-P was completed by 68 Iranian subjects (44 women, 24 men) diagnosed with chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy. To assess test-retest reliability, all subjects filled out the PRTEE-P on a second admission within one week. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha were measured to report reliability. The validity was determined by correlating the PRTEE-P questionnaire with the Persian version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire.ResultsThe Persian version of the PRTEE showed a high internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.99, demonstrating good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.99). It was well correlated with Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (r = 0.80).ConclusionThe PRTEE-P is a reliable and valid tool designed for measuring pain and disability in subjects with lateral elbow tendinopathy.     

Effects of eight-week “gyroscopic device” mediated resistance training exercise on participants with impingement syndrome or tennis elbow

Background

Rehabilitation of injuries in the upper extremity and reestablishment of muscle strength throughout the range of motion in overhead movements, are the major concerns of athletes and coaches in the sports field.

Effect of micro-aerobic process on improvement of anaerobic digestion sewage sludge treatment: flow cytometry and ATP assessment

Micro-aeration as a pretreatment method improves the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of municipal sewage sludge and consequently promotes the methane production. In this study, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and flow cytometry (FCM) were employed to monitor the performance of the micro-aerobic process and investigate the survival of bacterial cells within the process. At first, the effect of air flow rate (AFR) (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 vvm) on hydrolysis of mixed sludge in 5 aeration cycles (20, 30, 40, 48 and 60 hours) was examined. Then, the effects of the micro aerobic process on methane (CH₄) production in anaerobic digestion were surveyed. The highest VSS reduction was 30.6% and 10.4% for 40 hours in the reactor and control, respectively. Soluble COD also fluctuated between 40.87 and 65.14% in micro-aerobic conditions; the highest SCOD was achieved at the time of 40 h. Microbial activities were increased by 597%, 170% and 79.4% for 20, 30 and 40 h pretreatment with the micro-aerobic process, respectively. Apoptosis assay showed that micro-aerobic pre-treatment at 20, 30 and 40 h increased the percentage of living cells by 57.4, 62.8 and 67.9%, respectively. On the other hand, FCM results showed that the highest percentage of viable bacteria (i.e., 67.9%) was observed at 40 h pretreating which was approximately 40% higher the ones for the control. Variation in cumulative methane production shows that methane production was increased by 221% compared to anaerobic digestion (control group). Therefore, ATP and FCM can be employed as two appropriate, accurate, relatively specific indicators for monitoring the process and bacteria viability.

Micro-aeration as a pretreatment method improves the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of municipal sewage sludge and consequently promotes the methane production.     

A novel T‐cell receptor mimic defines dendritic cells that present an immunodominant West Nile virus epitope in mice

We used a newly generated T‐cell receptor mimic monoclonal antibody (TCRm MAb) that recognizes a known nonself immunodominant peptide epitope from West Nile virus (WNV) NS4B protein to investigate epitope presentation after virus infection in C57BL/6 mice. Previous studies suggested that peptides of different length, either SSVWNATTAI (10‐mer) or SSVWNATTA (9‐mer) in complex with class I MHC antigen H‐2D^b, were immunodominant after WNV infection. Our data establish that both peptides are presented on the cell surface after WNV infection and that CD8⁺ T cells can detect 10‐ and 9‐mer length variants similarly. This result varies from the idea that a given T‐cell receptor (TCR) prefers a single peptide length bound to its cognate class I MHC. In separate WNV infection studies with the TCRm MAb, we show that in vivo the 10‐mer was presented on the surface of uninfected and infected CD8α⁺CD11c⁺ dendritic cells, which suggests the use of direct and cross‐presentation pathways. In contrast, CD11b⁺CD11c^? cells bound the TCRm MAb only when they were infected. Our study demonstrates that TCR recognition of peptides is not limited to certain peptide lengths and that TCRm MAbs can be used to dissect the cell‐type specific mechanisms of antigen presentation in vivo.     

Biased Homozygous Haplotypes Across the Human Caveolin 1 Upstream Purine Complex in Parkinson’s Disease

The alpha-synuclein–caveolin 1 axis is suggested to be of role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease in cell line models. The objective of this study was to analyze the homozygous haplotype compartment of the human caveolin 1 gene upstream purine complex in patients afflicted with Parkinson’s disease. This complex was screened in patients with Parkinson’s disease (n?=?141) and compared with a group of controls (n?=?760) using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. The expression activity of the homozygous haplotypes was then examined using luciferase Dual-Glo system in human neuronal cell line, LAN-5. Six haplotypes were found to be homozygous in the patients, and not in the control pool (Fisher exact p?<?1?×?10^?6). Three of those haplotypes were specific to Parkinson’s disease (Fisher exact p?<?0.002), and the remaining three overlapped with homozygous haplotypes in Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis (Fisher exact p?<?0.002). The disease haplotypes contained motif lengths that were nonexistent in the control homozygous haplotype pool and significantly increased gene expression (p?<?9?×?10^—6). We conclude that skew in the caveolin 1 purine complex homozygous haplotype compartment and an additive effect of those haplotypes may be linked with Parkinson’s disease.     

A comparative study of dydrogesterone and micronized progesterone for luteal phase support during in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy, tolerability and patients’ satisfaction after the use of oral dydrogesterone with vaginal micronized progesterone for luteal-phase support (LPS) among infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). A total of 210 women (aged 20–40 years old) with a history of infertility, who underwent controlled ovarian stimulation for fresh intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer cycles, were included in the study. Consequently, they were randomized to receive LPS with dydrogesterone 20?mg twice daily (n?=?96) or micronized progesterone 400?mg twice daily at the day of oocyte retrieval (n?=?114). The clinical success rate (31% versus 33%; p?=?0.888), miscarriage rate (5.0% versus 3.0%; p?=?0.721), ongoing pregnancy rate (30.0% versus 30.0%; p?=?1.000), implantation (22.0% versus 24.0%; p?=?0.254) and multiple pregnancy rate (5.30% versus 7.20%; p?=?0.394) were comparable among the two groups. Serum progesterone levels were significantly lower among the patients receiving dydrogesterone than the control group (13.62?±?13.83?ng/ml versus 20.66?±?18.09?ng/ml; p?=?0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference regarding the patients’ satisfaction (p?=?0.825) and tolerability (0.790) between the two groups. Our results showed that oral dydrogesterone (40?mg/day) is as effective as vaginal micronized progesterone considering its clinical outcomes and patients’ satisfaction and tolerability, for LPS among women undergoing IVF.     

Parathyroid hormone regulation of NA+,K+-ATPase requires the PDZ 1 domain of sodium hydrogen exchanger regulatory factor-1 in opossum kidney cells

It was demonstrated that expression of murine sodium hydrogen exchanger regulatory factor (NHERF-1) lacking the ezrin-binding domain blocks parathyroid hormone (PTH) regulation of Na+,K+-ATPase in opossum kidney (OK) cells. The hypothesis that the NHERF-1 PDZ domains contribute to PTH regulation of Na+,K+-ATPase was tested by comparison of PTH regulation of Na+,K+-ATPase in wild-type OK (OK-WT) cells, NHERF-deficient OKH cells, OK-WT transfected with siRNA for NHERF (NHERF siRNA OK-WT), and OKH cells that were stably transfected with full-length NHERF-1 or constructs with mutated PDZ domains. OKH cells and NHERF siRNA OK-WT showed decreased expression of NHERF-1 but equivalent expression of ezrin and Na+,K+-ATPase alpha1 subunit when compared with OK-WT cells. PTH decreased Na+,K+-ATPase activity and stimulated phosphorylation of the Na+,K+-ATPase alpha1 in OK-WT cells but not in NHERF-deficient cells. Rubidium (86Rb) uptake was equivalent in OK-WT, OKH, and OKH cells that were transfected with all but the double PDZ domain mutants. PTH decreased 86Rb uptake significantly in OK-WT but not in OKH cells. PTH also significantly inhibited 86Rb uptake in OKH cells that were transfected with full-length NHERF-1 or NHERF-1 with mutated PDZ 2 but not in OKH cells that were transfected with mutated PDZ 1. Transfection with NHERF expressing both mutated PDZ domains resulted in diminished basal 86Rb uptake that was not inhibited further by PTH. PTH stimulated protein kinase Calpha activity and alpha1 subunit phosphorylation in OK-WT but not in NHERF-deficient cells. Transfection of OKH cells with NHERF constructs that contained an intact PDZ1 domain restored PTH-stimulated protein kinase Calpha activity and alpha1 subunit phosphorylation. These results demonstrate that NHERF-1 is necessary for PTH-mediated inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase activity and that the inhibition is mediated through the PDZ1, not PDZ2, domain.     

Alterations in the renal elastin-elastase system in type 1 diabetic nephropathy identified by proteomic analysis

Diabetes now accounts for >40% of patients with ESRD. Despite significant progress in understanding diabetic nephropathy, the cellular mechanisms that lead to diabetes-induced renal damage are incompletely defined. For defining changes in protein expression that accompany diabetic nephropathy, the renal proteome of 120-d-old OVE26 transgenic mice with hypoinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and proteinuria were compared with those of background FVB nondiabetic mice (n = 5). Proteins derived from whole-kidney lysate were separated by two-dimensional PAGE and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Forty-one proteins from 300 visualized protein spots were differentially expressed in diabetic kidneys. Among these altered proteins, expression of monocyte/neutrophil elastase inhibitor was increased, whereas elastase IIIB was decreased, leading to the hypothesis that elastin expression would be increased in diabetic kidneys. Renal immunohistochemistry for elastin of 325-d-old FVB and OVE26 mice demonstrated marked accumulation of elastin in the macula densa, collecting ducts, and pelvicalyceal epithelia of diabetic kidneys. Elastin immunohistochemistry of human renal biopsies from patients with type 1 diabetes (n = 3) showed increased elastin expression in renal tubular cells and the interstitium but not glomeruli. These results suggest that coordinated changes in elastase inhibitor and elastase expression result in increased tubulointerstitial deposition of elastin in diabetic nephropathy. The identification of these coordinated changes in protein expression in diabetic nephropathy indicates the potential value of proteomic analysis in defining pathophysiology.     

Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in Boyer Ahmad District,Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmad Province,Southwest of Iran

Background

Mediterranean type of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is present in different parts of Iran. Several studies have identified dogs as the main reservoirs of the VL caused by Leishmania infantum in Iran and other Mediterranean regions. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis as animal reservoir host for human visceral leishmaniasis in Boyer Ahmad district in southwest of Iran.

Methods

A seroepidemiological study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) among ownership dogs by using direct agglutination test (DAT) in 23 of 182 villages of Boyer Ahmad district, during August 2009 to August 2010. One hundred and seventy serum samples from ownership dogs were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling in villages of Boyer Ahmad district. All samples were tested by DAT and anti-Leishmania antibodies titers at ≥ 1:320 was considered as positive.

Results

Of the 170 serum samples, 10% were positive by DAT at titers of 1:320 and higher. No statistical significant difference was found between male (10.7%) and female (8.3%) seroprevalence. The highest seroprevalence rate (15.1%) was observed among the ownership dogs of four to seven years age. Altogether, seventeen (25.4%) of the seropositive dogs had clinical signs and symptoms.

Conclusion

It seems that Boyer Ahmad district is an endemic area for canine visceral leishmaniasis in Iran.