Molecular and Parasitological Study of Cryptosporidium Isolates From Cattle in Ilam,West of Iran

Background

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the most important parasitic infections in human and animals. This study was designed for survey on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in farms of Ilam, west of Iran, using parasitology method and genotyping by Nested PCR-RFLP.

Methods

Fecal samples of 217 cattle were collected fresh and directly from the rectum of cattle. All of the samples were examined by microscopic observation after staining with modified Ziehl-Neelsen (MZN). Genomic DNA extracted by using EURx DNA kit. A Nested PCR-RFLP protocol amplifying 825 bp fragment of 18s rRNA gene conducted to differentiate species and genotyping of the isolates using SspI and VspI as restriction enzymes.

Results

The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle using both methods is 3.68%. Most of the positive cattle were calves under six months. Species diagnosis carried out by digesting the secondary PCR product with SspI that C. parvum generated 3 visible bands of 448, 247 and 106 bp and digested by VspI restriction enzyme generated 2 visible bands of 628 and 104bp. In this investigation all of the positive samples were Cryptosporidium parvum.

Conclusion

C. parvum (bovine genotype) detected in all positive cattle samples in Ilam, west of Iran. The results of the present study can help for public health care systems to prevention and management of cryptosporidiosis in cattle and the assessment of cattle cryptosporidiosis as a reservoir for the human infection.     

Acetylsalicylic acid-induced release of HSP70 from mast cells results in cell activation through TLR pathway

OBJECTIVE: Mast cells are considered major players in IgE-mediated allergic responses, but have also recently been recognized as active participants in innate as well as specific immune responses. Heat stress can modulate innate immunity by inducing stress proteins such as heat shock proteins (HSPs). It has been reported that HSPs are capable of inducing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the monocyte-macrophage system. In the current study, we explored whether the stress response induces HSPs and affects the signaling pathways of mast cells. METHODS: In mouse mast cells, derived from a culture of bone marrow cells of male BALB/cBy and null HSF-1(-/-) mice, responsiveness to exogenous and endogenous HSP70 was monitored by measuring cytokine release. RESULTS: Using BMMC, we show that treatment with heat shock or acetylsalicylic acid results in a selective induction of HSPs, and leads to release of HSP70 into the extracellular environment. The release of HSP70 from mast cells may be of functional importance. We found that after induction of HSP70, the production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 was increased. In a number of experiments, we demonstrated that exogenous/secreted HSP70 is most likely responsible for the activation of mast cells to produce cytokines. Extracellular HSP70 induced production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 through the activation of the TLR4 receptor pathway, which was evidenced by an abrogation of the response in mast cells cultured from TLR4(null) or HSF-1(-/-) mice. CONCLUSION: Our experiments suggest that stress conditions can induce pro-inflammatory cytokine production by mast cells through an autocrine or paracrine stimulation of TLR receptors after a heat shock response. The recognition that heat shock proteins induce mast cell activation suggests an involvement of these cells in the immunological processes induced by heat shock response.     

Cigarette smoke stimulates the production of chemokines in mast cells

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major health problem and will become the third largest cause of death in the world by 2020. It is currently believed that an exaggerated inflammatory response to inhaled irritants, in particular, cigarette smoke (CS), causes the progressive airflow limitation, in which macrophages and neutrophils are attracted by chemokines, leading to oxidative stress, emphysema, small airways fibrosis, and mucus hypersecretion. Smoking is also associated with an increase in mast cell numbers in bronchial mucosa. This study was conducted to determine the direct effects of CS on mast cell function, using murine bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) as an in vitro model. BMMC were cultured from BALB/cBy mice for 3 weeks. Cells were treated with CS medium (CSM) for 30 min or 16 h. The effects of CSM on mast cell degranulation and chemokine production were measured. Moreover, we investigated the effect of CSM on IkappaB-alpha degradation and p38, Erk1/2, p65, and CREB expression by Western blotting. We found that CSM stimulated the release of chemokines in a noncytotoxic manner but did not induce mast cell degranulation. CSM induced phosphorylation of Erk1/2, p38, and CREB and increased translocation of p65 without degradation of IkappaB-alpha NF-kappaB in mast cells. The induction of chemokine production by CSM in mast cells could promote and prolong the inflammatory process. Our observations suggest that mast cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of emphysema through a direct effect of CS on the production of proinflammatory chemokines.     

Acellular fish skin for wound healing

Fish skin grafting as a new skin substitute is currently being used in clinical applications. Acceleration of the wound healing, lack of disease transmission, and low cost of the production process can introduce fish skin as a potential alternative to other grafts. An appropriate decellularization process allows the design of 3D acellular scaffolds for skin regeneration without damaging the morphology and extracellular matrix content. Therefore, the role of decellularization processes is very important to maintain the properties of fish skin. In this review article, recent studies on various decellularization processes as well as biological, physical, and mechanical properties of fish skin and its applications with therapeutic effects in wound healing were investigated.     

Frequency and Predictors of Axillary Lymph Node Metastases in Iranian Women with Early Breast Cancer

Background: Axillary lymph node metastasis is the most important predictive factor for recurrence risk andsurvival in patients with invasive breast carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated withmetastatic involvement of axillary lymph nodes in Iranian women with early breast cancer. Methods: This article reportsa retrospective study of 774 patients with T1-T2 breast cancer who underwent resection of the primary tumor and axillarystaging by SLNB and/or ALND between 2005 and 2015 at our institution. Results: Of the 774 patients included in thisstudy, 35.5% (275 cases) had axillary lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis. Factors associated with nodalinvolvement in univariate analyses were tumor size, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), tumor grade, ER/PR status andHER2 expression. All factors identified with univariate analyses were entered into a multivariate logistic regressionmodel and tumor size (OR= 3.01, CI 2.01–4.49, P <0.001), ER/PR positivity (OR = 1.74, CI 1.1.16–2.62, P = 0.007)and presence of LVI (OR = 3.3.8, CI 2.31–4.95, P <0.001) remained as independent predictors of axillary lymph nodeinvolvement .Conclusions: In conclusion, the results of this study suggests that positive hormonal receptor status, LVIand tumor size are predictive factors for ALNM in Iranian women with early breast cancer.     

Can lumbosacral orthoses cause trunk muscle weakness? A systematic review of literature

Background

Wearing lumbosacral orthosis (LSO) is one of the most common treatments prescribed for conservative management of low back pain. Although the results of randomized controlled trials suggest effectiveness of LSO in reducing pain and disability in these patients, there is a concern that prolonged use of LSO may lead to trunk muscle weakness and atrophy.

Designing an Informal Payment Model for Patients Admitted in the Iran Health System: A qualitative Study

BackgroundCountries rely on out-of-pocket spending to different degrees and employ varying techniques. This study aimed at designing an out-of-pocket payment model of patients admitted to the Iran health system.MethodsThis study was a combined qualitative and quantitative study. The statistical population of the qualitative section was 30 experts who were purposefully selected and continued by snowball method until data saturation, and in the quantitative section were 212 managers of the Ministry of Health. The questionnaire was designed based on qualitative analysis. Content validity was confirmed based on expert opinion and structural validity using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was confirmed using CRONBACH''s alpha coefficient and composite reliability. For model adequacy, KMO index and Bartlett test were used, and for model fit, CFI and IFI fitness index were used.ResultsBased on the results of 6 main themes, 20 Concept and 120 sub-themes of out of pocket payment of hospitalized patients were extracted. The value of chi-square was 4599.861, the degree of freedom was 2421 and the result of their ratio was 1.899 in the model, which was an acceptable value. CFI and IFI fitness indicators are acceptable. The SRMR index was 0.1153, which indicates the adequacy of the model.ConclusionThe findings showed that the main dimensions of out of pocket payment of hospitalized patients include causal factors, underlying factors, intervening factors, pivotal categories, strategies and consequences. Therefore, the use of a paradigm model to pay attention to all the effective dimensions in reducing the payment of hospitalized patients is recommended.