Acute stent thrombosis: Should preventative measures start in the emergency department?

Stent thrombosis is a potentially life threatening condition caused by several factors or a combination factors, such as resistance to platelet agents and type of anticoagulation used as well as stent types. We report a case of acute thrombosis and discuss potential areas of intervention with literature review.     

The association of hypercalciuria and hyperuricosuria with vesicoureteral reflux in children

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - One of the important complications of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the development of urolithiasis. Identifying factors involved in development of...     

Toxicity effects of AgZnO nanoparticles and rifampicin on Mycobacterium tuberculosis into the macrophage

The World Health Organization acknowledges tuberculosis as a global threat. Tuberculosis infection is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Nanotechnology and microbiology researchers are looking for new and safe nano drugs for eliminating Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. In this study, AgZnO nano‐crystals (AgZnONCs) is synthesized via the decomposition of the precursor of oxalate method. Characterization of AgZnONCs were evaluated. Next, various concentrations of AgZnONCs, as well AgZnONCs+Rifampicin, were prepared. The MTT assay was employed to study the viability of human macrophage cell lines (THP‐1) exposed to AgZnONCs. The bactericidal effects of AgZnONCs and AgZnONCs+Rifampicin were studied by Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) test. Subsequently, THP‐1 were infected by H₃₇Rv strain of M. tuberculosis (H₃₇RvMtb). Also, bactericidal effects of AgZnONCs and AgZnONCs+Rifampicin were compared with ex‐vivo conditions. The MBC of AgZnONCs and AgZnONCs+Rifampicin were ratios of 1:4 and 1:32 respectively (p‐value <0.05). Also, more than 50% and 80% of THP‐1 were alive in ratios of 1:4 and 1:32 in the presence of AgZnONCs, respectively. All phagocytic H₃₇RvMtb were killed in the presence of AgZnONCs+Rifampicin (p‐value <0.05), while AgZnONCs were not able to kill all the H₃₇RvMtb (p‐value >0.05). This study showed that, AgZnONCs+Rifampicin has the most anti‐tubercular behavior with respect to the macrophages.     

Cytochemical evaluation of sperm chromatin and DNA integrity in couples with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortions

The aim of this study was to examine the possible relationship between sperm DNA integrity and chromatin packaging evaluated by cytochemical assays, traditional sperm parameters and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) of unknown origin. In this cohort study, 40 couples with a history of RSA and 40 couples with proven fertility were considered as case and control groups respectively. The semen samples of all husbands were analysed for sperm parameters and also sperm chromatin and DNA integrity assessed using cytochemical tests including aniline blue (AB), chromomycin A3 (CMA3), toluidine blue (TB), acridine orange (AOT) and nuclear chromatin stability assay. Among different sperm parameters, only slow motility was significantly different between the two groups. In sperm chromatin evaluations, there were significant differences between the two groups in all of the tests. In addition, the majority of semen samples in RSA patients exhibited upper percentages of abnormal spermatozoa than the cut-off values regarding different cytochemical assays. Our study showed that in the cases of RSA, slow motility had a significant reduction in comparison with controls and also spermatozoa of men from RSA group had less chromatin condensation and poorer DNA integrity than spermatozoa that obtained from fertile men with no history of RSA.     

High resolution melting technique for molecular epidemiological studies of cystic echinococcosis: differentiating G1, G3, and G6 genotypes of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato

Reliable and rapid genotyping of large number of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato isolates is crucial for understanding the epidemiology and transmission of cystic echinococcosis. We have developed a method for distinguishing and discriminating common genotypes of E. granulosus s.l. (G1, G3, and G6) in Iran. This method is based on polymerase chain reaction coupled with high resolution melting curve (HRM), ramping from 70 to 86 °C with fluorescence data acquisition set at 0.1 °C increments and continuous fluorescence monitoring. Consistency of this technique was assessed by inter- and intra-assays. Assessment of intra- and inter-assay variability showed low and acceptable coefficient of variations ranging from 0.09 to 0.17 %. Two hundred and eighty E. granulosus s.l. isolates from sheep, cattle, and camel were used to evaluate the applicability and accuracy of the method. The isolates were categorized as G1 (93, 94, and 25 %), G3 (7, 4, and 4 %), and G6 (0, 2, and 71 %) for sheep, cattle, and camel, respectively. HRM results were completely compatible with those obtained from sequencing and rostellar hook measurement. This method proved to be a valuable screening tool for large-scale molecular epidemiological studies.     

The correlation between circulating inflammatory,oxidative stress,and neurotrophic factors level with the cognitive outcomes in multiple sclerosis patients

Neurological Sciences - Changes in the levels of circulating markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and neurotrophic factors might be a good candidate for the prediction of cognitive impairment...     

Detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in experimentally infected broiler chickens using Culture, SPA, ELISA, and PCR methods

Avian mycoplasmosis is caused by several pathogenic mycoplasmas of which Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae are the most important. This experiment was designed to study the diagnosis of M. gallisepticum infection in broiler chicken receiving M. ga llisepticum. One hundred and twenty one-day-old chickens were raised in separate isolated rooms and equally allocated into two groups and renamed groups A and B were 121-day-old chickens. At 3 weeks old, group A was considered as the control group while group B was challenged with M. gallisepticum containing 1?×?10⁶ CFU/bird via an eye drop. In this study, culture, serum plate agglutination (SPA) test, the commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were compared for the detection of M. gallisepticum infection during the 1–7 weeks of age. Results revealed that M. gallisepticum was found in group B using culture and PCR during the 4–7-week-old period. The SPA results showed positive reactors in group B during the 5–7-week-old period. The positive reactors were detected by commercial ELISA test kit from 6 to 7 weeks of age. In this study, sensitivity of the PCR method was higher as compared to culture and serological tests. Its high sensitivity and fast turnaround time is making it the most frequently used test to monitor M. gallisepticum infection beside other tests.     

Serum hyaluronic acid and laminin as potential tumor markers for upper gastrointestinal cancers

Background

Early diagnosis of patients with upper gastrointestinal cancer is important because many cases are diagnosed in advanced stages and have poor prognosis. Several studies have reported increased serum levels of hyaluronic acid and laminin in various cancers and the correlation of the levels with poor prognosis. However, little data on the use of serum hyaluronic acid and laminin levels for early detection of esophageal and gastric cancers are available.

Methods

We assessed serum hyaluronic acid and laminin levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 20 gastric cardia cancer, 23 gastric noncardia cancer and 20 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma incident cases and 25 controls in the Golestan Province, northern Iran, a high risk area for upper gastrointestinal cancers.

Results

Mean serum hyaluronic acid and laminin concentrations in cancer cases were higher than in controls in crude analyses. Significant correlations were observed between hyaluronic acid levels and gastric noncardia cancer (Beta-coefficient = 0.390; P = 0.01) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (Beta-coefficient = 0.332; P = 0.05) and between laminin levels and gastric cardia cancer (Beta-coefficient = 0.454; P = 0.003) in multivariate models. For esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, gastric cardia cancer, and gastric noncardia cancer, area under ROC curve (AUC) of hyaluronic acid was 0.708, 0.694, and 0.770, and of laminin was 0.706, 0.828, and 0.671.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that hyaluronic acid and laminin may be used to identify potentially high-risk groups of upper gastrointestinal cancers for further diagnostic work-ups, particularly in high incidence areas. Nevertheless, further studies with larger sample size and tumor staging information are warranted to clarify the clinical significance of hyaluronic acid and laminin in those cancers.     

Efficacy of Sublingual Swallow Immunotherapy in Children with Rye Grass Pollen Allergic Rhinitis: A Double-blind Placebo-Controlled Study

Specific local immunotherapy has been recently introduced as an alternative to classic subcutaneous immunotherapy in treatment of allergic rhinitis. In this study, the effects of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) on symptoms and medication score and skin prick test evaluation of patients with allergic rhinitis were investigated.In this placebo controlled trial, twenty four patients aged 5-18 years old with grass pollen induced rhinitis and sensitive to rye grass by positive skin prick test received randomly sublingual extract of rye grass or placebo for 6 months. Symptom and medication scores and adverse effects of SLIT were assessed during treatment. Skin prick test induced wheal at the beginning and the end of therapy were also measured. Data were analyzed with SPSS software.We found significant reduction of symptoms in intervention group from 21st week of immunotherapy (p<0.05). Medication scores were also reduced after 16th week (p<0.05), adverse effects were low and insignificant in both groups. Erythema induced diameter with skin prick test for grass and rye grass was significantly reduced in SLI group after immunotherapy.This study indicates that SLIT in grass-pollen rhinitis is well tolerated, improves overall clinical symptoms, and reduces drug consumes. We recommend this therapy as a safe therapy in patients with allergic rhinitis.