Effect of cadmium and nickel on expression of CatSper 1 and 2 genes in mice

This study was designed to investigate the effect of the administration of cadmium and nickel on the histology of the testes, sperm parameters, and the expression of CatSper 1 and CatSper 2 genes in adult male mice. Despite the vital role of CatSper genes in male fertility, very little is known about the factors that regulate their expression. Thirty-two adult male mice were randomly allocated into four groups. The control group received no treatment. The sham group was injected with normal saline. The cadmium and nickel groups were injected with 2?mg/kg/day of cadmium chloride or 5?mg/kg/day of nickel chloride for 2-weeks as models for testicular injury. Histological study and the analysis of their sperm were performed according to WHO’s guidelines for the examination of human sperm. In addition, a prooxidant antioxidant balance assay and real-time PCR were performed 35?days after the treatment, as the duration of spermatogenesis cycle in mice is 35?days. The data were analyzed using SPSS software using ANOVA. Both nickel and cadmium injections caused a reduction in sperm parameters as well as a decrease in the thickness of the germinal epithelium. The administration of cadmium caused down-regulation in the expression of both CatSper1 and CatSper2 genes. Only cadmium increased the PAB values.     

Ocular trauma treated with pars plana vitrectomy: early outcome report

AIM: To evaluate demographic variables and visual outcomes, among patients with ocular injuries involving the posterior segment, managed with pars plana vitrectomy. METHODS: The records of patients were studied retrospectively from March to September 2010, to determine the age, gender, place of occurrence of trauma, visual acuity, anatomical site, nature of injury, wound length, the presence of an afferent pupillary defect, and the timing of vitrectomy. The Ocular Trauma Score was measured. The minimum follow-up from presentation was 6mo. RESULTS: Ninety patients (77 males, 13 females), with a mean age of 32.7±15.8y were included over the 6-month period. The majority of cases occurred in the workplace (47 patients), followed by home (14 patients). The mean visual acuity (logMAR) of patients significantly improved from 2.36±0.72 preoperatively to 1.50±1.14 postoperatively. Twenty-three patients had preoperative vision better than 2.0 logMAR, the postoperative visual acuity was significantly better among these patients than patients with worse than 2.0 logMAR (P<0.001). Visual improvement between groups with early vitrectomy (<7d) and delayed vitrectomy (>7d) was not significantly different (P=0.66). Postoperative visual acuity was not significantly different between patients with injury in Zone I and II (P=0.64), but patients with injury in Zone III had significantly poorer visual acuity (P=0.02). Patients with relative afferent pupillary defect had significantly poorer postoperative visual acuity (P=0.02). Preoperative visual acuity, the difference of preoperative and postoperative visual acuity, and postoperative visual acuity were significantly different between groups with different ocular trauma scores (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Trauma is more likely to occur in men under 40y of age and in the workplace. The favorable final visual outcome is associated with the absence of afferent pupillary defect, ocular trauma score and presenting visual acuity as well as the zone of injury, and not associated with the timing of vitrectomy.     

Comparative evaluation of the effects of tranexamic acid and low-dose aprotinin on post-valvular heart surgery bleeding and allogenic transfusion

Bleeding diathesis and allogenic transfusion after complex heart surgery, such as heart valve surgery, may result in complications such as transfusion reaction, viral infection, postoperative infection, haemodynamic disturbance, prolonged stay in the intensive care unit and hospital, renal and respiratory failure and mortality. In this prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 90 patients were randomly divided into three groups: aprotinin, tranexamic acid and control. Chest-tube drainage, transfusion requirements and renal and neurological complications were evaluated. We found that chest-tube drainage during the first (P < 0.0001) and second 24 h (P = 0.001) after admission to the intensive care unit were significantly lower in the aprotinin group. The amounts of transfused packed red blood cells (P < 0.0001) and platelets (P = 0.02) were significantly lower in the aprotinin and tranexamic acid groups. The quantity of transfused fresh frozen plasma (P = 0.034) was significantly lower in the aprotinin group only. We did not find any neurological complications or renal failure in the three groups. Our data suggest that in valvular heart surgery, low-dose aprotinin is significantly better than tranexamic acid or a placebo for reduction of postoperative bleeding and allogenic transfusion, without increasing adverse outcomes.     

Rectal versus oral misoprostol for active management of third stage of labor: a randomized controlled trial

Aim of the study  

To test that rectal misoprostol is effective for active management of third stage of labor, and probably with less side effects than oral misoprostol.     

Crosslinked Graft Copolymer of Methacrylic Acid and Gelatin as a Novel Hydrogel with pH-Responsiveness Properties

In this paper, a novel gelatin-based hydrogel was synthesized through crosslinking graft copolymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) onto gelatin, using ammonium persulfate (APS) as a free radical initiator in the presence of methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker. A proposed mechanism for hydrogel formation was suggested and the structure of the product was established using FTIR spectroscopy and gravimetric analysis of the products. Moreover, morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG). The effect of reaction variables such as concentration of APS and MBA were systematically optimized to achieve a hydrogel with swelling capacity as high as possible. The gelatin-g-PMAA hydrogel exhibited a pH-responsiveness character so that a swelling-deswelling pulsatile behavior was recorded at pHs 2 and 8. This on-off switching behavior makes the hydrogel as a good candidate for controlled delivery of bioactive agents.