Determination of normal blood biochemistry (electrolytes and non-electrolytes) values in mature Huso huso in spring

Knowledge of fish haematology can provide information supportive of a wide variety of uses. These studies have generally been used as an effective and sensitive index to monitor physiological and pathological changes in fish, especially in the management of endangered species such as Huso huso. In this study, 12 biochemical parameters in mature H. huso were measured. Serum samples of 40 H. huso (20 males and 20 females) were analysed, and their serum parameter values were determined as median (percentiles) in males and females, respectively: Na, 162.70 (160–164.75) and 141.10 (156–144.9 mmol/l); K, 3.2 (2.75–3.35) and 3.1 (2.75–3.85 mmol/l); Ca, 9.6 (7.8–11) and 9.7 (8.6–10.9 mg/dl); P, 14.7 (12.65–15.65) and 12.1 (11.25–13.95 mg/dl); glucose, 176 (124.5–234.5) and 173 (147.5–212 mg/dl); triglyceride, 770 (607.5–872) and 750 (664.5–842 mg/dl); bilirubin, 0.67 (0.575–0.825) and 0.61 (0.525–0.745 mg/dl); TOP, 3.2 (2.85–3.45) and 3.6 (3–3.8 g/dl); albumin, 1.4 (1.3–1.6) and 1.6 (1.2–1.85 g/dl); cholesterol, 286 (202–289.5) and 239 (202–308 mg/dl); creatinine, 0.13 (0.11–0.14) and 0.11 (0.9–0.15 mg/dl) and BUN, 15.2 (12.3–17.6) and 17.7 (15.7–19.55 mg/dl). The concentration of P was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in males than in females and levels of BUN and TOP in females was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in male fish.     

Comparison of serum enzyme activity in great sturgeon, Huso huso, cultured in brackish and freshwater earth ponds in Iran

Blood samples were collected from 60 great sturgeons, Huso huso, to establish the following serum enzyme activity: aspartate amino-transferase (AST), alanine amino-transferase (ALT), lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) using an autoanalyzer, and acid phosphatase (ACP) by manual method. Thirty 5-year-old cultured fish were caught from each of two sites; a brackish-water earth pond in Bafgh and a freshwater pond in Gorgan in the centre and northeast of Iran, during May 2006. Results of the serum enzymes activity for H. huso samples from Bafgh and Gorgan were: AST, 502.9 ± 258.2 and 436.1 ± 186.8; ALT, 104.4 ± 35.1 and 53.1 ± 38.7; LDH, 3094.2 ± 1277.5 and 2486.3 ± 1393.3; CK, 3632.9 ± 2618.7 and 3967 ± 5054.9; ALP, 281.2 ± 112.7 and 762.2 ± 600.2; ACP, 13.3 ± 2.5 and 33 ± 6.8 IU/L. Mean values of ALT, ALP and ACP were significantly different in the fish from the two sites (p < 0.05). These results may be used to understand some biological (e.g., serum enzyme activity) and ecological characteristics of cultured H. huso.     

Serum bactericidal antibody responses to meningococcal polysaccharide vaccination as a basis for clinical classification of common variable immunodeficiency

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and increased susceptibility to recurrent pyogenic infections. This study was performed to subclassify CVID on the basis of the bactericidal antibody responses of patients to polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine. Twenty-five patients with CVID (18 male and 7 female) and 25 healthy volunteers received meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine A + C. Serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) titers were measured at baseline and after 3 weeks. Response was correlated with clinical and immunological manifestations of CVID. Twenty-four (96%) of the 25 normal controls had a protective SBA titer of > or = 8 postvaccination, whereas only 16 (64%) of the 25 CVID patients had a protective titer (P value = 0.013). Among the patients with CVID who were nonresponders, there were significantly increased rates of bronchiectasis (P = 0.008), splenomegaly (P = 0.016), and autoimmunity (P = 0.034) in comparison with patients who had protective SBA titers. A reversed CD4/CD8 ratio was more common in the nonresponder group of patients (P = 0.053). We conclude that individuals with CVID who cannot produce protective postvaccination titers after receiving meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine are more likely to exhibit bronchiectasis, splenomegaly, and autoimmune diseases. Vaccination response may define subgroups of patients with CVID, enabling more effective monitoring and therapeutic strategies.     

Persian Verb and Sentence Production Protocol (PVSP) and its efficacy on Persian-speaking agrammatic non-fluent persons with aphasia

ABSTRACT

Background: The semantic/syntactic representation of the verb is directly correspondent with the information required for generating well-constructed messages. Although various verb and sentence impairment therapies for persons with aphasia (PWA) are presented, there has been no published study of Persian verb treatment protocol for linguistic and cross-linguistic purposes.

Aims: This study was aimed at introducing a verb treatment protocol founded upon the Persian syntax, teaching to link the key thematic information of verbs, and targeting treatment at the word and sentence level.

Methods & Procedures: A single-subject study with multiple baselines design across participants was conducted. The efficacy of Persian Verb and Sentence Production Protocol (PVSP) on three agrammatic non-fluent patients was examined. Verb production skills at the word and sentence level were examined. The Mean Sentence Length (MSL) and sentence production across different tasks were measured at baseline and daily treatment probes.

Outcome and Results: Three participants notably improved in verb percent production at the word level in experimental items (from 3.3% to 88% for participant 1, from 1.17% to 27.6% for participant 2 and from 3.75% to 58.6% for participant 3). Generalisation to control items were observed (from 10% to 81.2% for participant 1, from 24.9% to 52.98% for participant 2, from 19.7% to 60.89% for participant 3). All participants also enhanced in verb percent production at the sentence level in experimental items (from 13.3% to 67% for participant 1, from 16.6% to 40% for participant 2, and from 5.7% to 55% for participant 3). Generalisation to control items was noted (from 20% to 57% for participant 1, from 23.3% to 43.5% for participant 2, from 5% to 61% for participant 3). The results of the maintenance and follow-up phases were subsequently remarkable. Pre-post measures of MSL in connected speech (free speech) were improved outstandingly (from 1 to 4.3 for participant 1, from 3.5 to 8 for participant 2, from 0 to 5.2 for participant 3).

Conclusions : PVSP seems to be beneficial to various degrees for Persian-speaking agrammatic non-fluent patients, enhancing their verb retrieval and sentence making skills.     

Echocardiography and pulmonary function as screening tests for pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis

OBJECTIVE: A prospective study to evaluate echocardiography and gas transfer (DLCO) by comparison with cardiac catheterization in discriminating between patients with and without systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SScPAH). METHOD: A total of 137 (52 with and 85 without pulmonary fibrosis) had echocardiography and lung function tests within 3 months of their definitive invasive study. RESULTS: At cardiac catheterization 99 of these patients were found to have PAH, while PAH was excluded in 38. Echocardiographically estimated tricuspid gradient (TG) showed a moderate positive correlation (r(2) = 0.44, P<0.005) with both mean pulmonary pressure and invasively determined tricuspid gradient. DLCO showed a weak correlation (r(2 )= 0.09, P = 0.006), when compared with mean pulmonary arterial pressure. In total, 97% of patients with an echocardiographically determined TG of > 45 mmHg were found to have pulmonary hypertension at catheterization. However, no threshold could be defined with either screening test that safely excluded PAH. CONCLUSIONS: The positive predictive accuracy of currently used non-invasive tests are adequate for the diagnosis of advanced PAH provided sufficiently high thresholds (TG > 45 mmHg or DLCO < 55% predicted) are used. These tests cannot be relied upon to exclude pulmonary hypertension where pre-test probability is high.