Hydrocarbon degradation by thermophilic Nocardia otitidiscaviarum strain TSH1: physiological aspects

Indigenous thermophilic hydrocarbon degraders are of special significance for the bioremediation of oil-contaminated desert soils with ambient temperature of 45-50 degrees C. The first objective of this study was to demonstrate the hydrocarbon-degrading capability of Nocardia otitidiscaviarum TSH1 (DSM 45,036) which grows optimally at 50 degrees C. Analysis of the metabolic profile of the strain TSH1 showed that it could metabolize phenol, intermediate-chain-length n -alkanes and some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) ranging in size from two to four fused rings efficiently, but not toluene and xylene. N. otitidiscaviarum TSH1 was able to survive and grow at phenol concentrations up to 875 mg l(-1). For the first time, the physiological response of a thermophilic Nocardia strain to poorly available hydrophobic compounds was also investigated. When grown on a mineral salt medium with hexadecane, N. otitidiscaviarum TSH1 showed very high affinity for the organic phase. Additionally, PAH-grown cells were considerably hydrophobic. The capacity of PAH-utilizing N. otitidiscaviarum TSH1 isolate to produce biosurfactants was also investigated. Fatty acids (C(14)-C(18)) were detected by GC-MS analysis during bacterial growth in PAH supplemented mineral media. High cell surface hydrophobicity and capability of N. otitidiscaviarum TSH1 to degrade different hydrocarbons at 50 degrees C may make it an ideal candidate to treat oil-contaminated desert soils.     

Synthesis,radiolabeling and bioevaluation of a novel arylpiperazine derivative containing triazole as a 5-HT1A receptor imaging agents

IntroductionIt has been recognized that serotonin plays a main role in various pathological conditions such as anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, schizophrenia, suicidal behavior, panic and autism. 1-(2-Methoxyphenyl) piperazine pharmacophore, a fragment of the true 5-HT_1A antagonist WAY100635, is found in numerous selective 5-HT_1A imaging agents. In this paper, we have reported the synthesis of a novel derivative of 1-(2-methoxyphenyl) piperazine that is labeled with ^99mTc (CO)₃ via click chemistry.MethodsThe bidentate alkyne, propargylglycine was reacted with phenyl piperazine triazole derivative in the presence of a catalytic amount of Cu (I) to form tridentate ligand. The ligand was radiolabeled with the precursor [^99mTc] [(H₂O)₃ (CO)₃]⁺ and characterized by HPLC. The bioevaluation of radio labeled ligand was carried out in rats.ResultsTriazole complex was labeled by ^99mTc-tricarbonyl and its radiochemical yield was more than > 95% which was determined by HPLC. In vivo stability studies in human serum albumin show a 93% ratio of complex after a 24 h period. The calculated partition coefficient (logP) was 0.34 ± 0.02. Receptor binding assays indicated about 70% specific binding of radioligand to 5-HT_1A receptors. Biodistribution studies have shown brain hippocampus uptake of 0.40 ± 0.08 %ID/g at 30 min post injection.ConclusionsResults indicate that this ^99mTc-tricabonyl-arylpiperazine derivative has specific binding to 5-HT_1A receptors and presented suitable characters for its use as a CNS imaging agent.     

Mental health problems of Iranian female adolescents and its association with pubertal development: a nationwide study

Mental health problems including emotional and behavioral problems during puberty may be under influence of different risk factors including cultures, living in urban or rural areas and ethnic factors which may vary between different countries. The main aim of this study is to investigate the profile of emotional and behavioral problems and the role of factors such as age, stage of puberty, ethnicity, rurality and living in urban area, as risk factors in Iranian girls. As a part of a large national study we evaluated the emotional and behavioral problems in different stages of puberty in a community sample of Iranian adolescent girls from public schools that were selected by clustered random sampling method. In all subjects, demographic characteristics, and pubertal stages were measured. Emotional and behavioral problems were evaluated using Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The associations of age, pubertal development indices, socioeconomic and demographic factors with the behavioral problems were assessed. A total number of 4576 students enrolled the study and responded to the questions. The mean age of participants was 13.83 ± 2.19 years. The mean total score of difficulties in participants was 14.34 ± 5.81. According to these results 813 (17.8%) adolescents had total problem scores higher than Goodman's cutoff points and the most frequent problem domain was conduct problems (20.5%). According to the results the most related variable with the total difficulty score of SDQ were ethnicity, residency in urban areas and development of menstrual cycle respectively. The results of this study showed that the most correlated factors with mental health problems in Iranian girls during puberty are ethnicity, urbanity and development of menstrual cycle.     

VIP-loaded PLGA as an anti-asthma nanodrug candidate

Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), a biodegradable polymer, can effectively protect encapsulated peptides from enzymatic degradation. PLGA was approved by FDA as a safe drug delivery system suitable for inhalation administration. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a 28-amino-acid peptide, displays anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic effects, which can be considered as a new therapeutic option to control and treat asthma. Because of in vivo enzymatic degradation of VIP including in the lung, there is a need for an applicable delivery system. In light of this, the purpose of this study was to prepare VIP-loaded PLGA microspheres as a drug delivery system, assuming that the newly-introduced model has the ability to persist for a longer time in respiratory tracts. The PLGA microsphere was produced, and loaded with VIP as an applicable nanodrug system. A series of physiochemical properties were determined, including the morphological characteristics, average size of nanoparticles, electric charge distribution, FTIR spectroscopy absorption, and loading and releasing percentage of the nanodrug. VIP-loaded PLGA exhibited an average size of approximately 550?±?50 nm. Additionally, the produced microsphere showed 78 % VIP release after 10 h at the pH value corresponding to bronchioalveolar microenvironment (approximately 6.5). In the present study, PLGA was formulated and used as a delivery system for VIP. Taken together, the newly-introduced nanodrug seems to be helpful for the clinical treatment of allergic asthma. PLGA nanoparticles can be considered as a potential efficient delivery system for VIP in the respiratory system.     

Vitamin D Status and Risk of Breast Cancer in Iranian Women: A Case–Control Study

Objective: Considering the rising incidence of breast cancer and high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Iran, this case–control study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum concentration and intake of vitamin D and risk of breast cancer.

Methods: A total of 135 incident breast cancer cases at the Cancer Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were matched with 135 controls by age and menopausal status. A validated and reliable 168-item food frequency questionnaire was completed by participant interviews. To determine the vitamin D content of foods we used the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient database. To analyze the food frequency questionnaires we used the data collected in the Iranian Household Food Pattern Study, conducted by the National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute and the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture. Five-milliliter blood samples were collected to measure serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.

Results: Women in the fourth quartile of serum 25(OH)D level had 3 times lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to those in the first quartile. In the adjusted model the inverse relationship remained significant (odds ratio [OR] = 0.269; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.122–0.593). In the stratified model by menopausal status the inverse association was only seen in premenopausal women (OR = 0.25; 95% CI, 0.094–0.687).

Dietary intake of vitamin D was inversely associated with risk of breast cancer (OR fourth quartile [Q4] vs first quartile [Q1] = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.196–0.784; p = 0.008). After adjusting for the confounding factors, this inverse association remained significant.

Conclusion: Results from this case–control study support the protective effect of higher serum concentration of 25(OH)D against breast cancer. Moreover, dietary but not total intake of vitamin D was associated with decreased risk of breast cancer.     

A novel insight to the functional role of Stathmin 1 in IgE-mediated activation of RBL-2H3 cells

IgE-mediated cell signaling, induced by cross-linking of high affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI) in the presence of antigen (Ag), is a well known mechanism described for mast cell activation in allergy and hypersensitivity reactions, which induces a spectrum of cellular responses such as secretion and up-regulation of cell surface FcεRI. Although for several years IgE binding to FcεRI was considered to be a passive sensitization process, the outcomes of several recent studies have revealed a variety of different cellular responses to IgE binding compared to IgE plus Antigen binding. The present study applied a functional proteomics-based approach to investigate mast cell signaling events and provided new insights to FcεRI-mediated cell signaling in RBL-2H3.1 cells, and may point to the activation of alternative signaling pathways in response to IgE or IgE plus Ag. Comparative analysis by 2-D PAGE of RBL cells activated with IgE plus Ag for three and four hours compared to non-activated cells was followed by mass spectrometric protein identification and provided evidence for the induction of Stathmin 1 (STMN1) gene expression in response to IgE plus Ag activation.Complementary SDS-PAGE analysis showed a distinct up-regulation of STMN1 induction in response to challenge with IgE plus Ag compared to sensitization with IgE only. Phosphoproteomics analysis gave evidence for significant increase at phosphorylation of STMN1 on ser16 after 1min, though a slight rise at 5 min, and on ser38 after 1 and 5min sensitization with IgE and a similar result was observed for 1min IgE plus Ag-activation. IgE plus Ag-activation was also found to induce the phosphorylation of ser38 to a greater extent than sensitization with IgE. In contrast, IgE alone was more effective than IgE plus Ag at inducing phosphorylation of ser16. Collectively this study provides further insights into the role of stathmin 1 in FcRI-mediated activation of cells of mast cell lineage and might shed light on the diverse response of these cells to IgE or IgE plus Ag.     

Serum insulin level,HOMA-IR and prostate cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AimsThis meta-analysis study was performed to assess serum insulin level and insulin resistance status in prostate cancer patients in observational studies.Materials and methodsA systematic literature search was performed for observational studies in Scopus, PubMed, Ovid and ISI Web of Science up to July 2017.ResultsFrom 2070 publication were searched firstly, only 10 studies with 9 and 6 arms included for the meta-analysis assessing serum insulin level and HOMA-IR status in prostate cancer patients, respectively. Pooled effects analysis showed that the Fasting insulin level was significantly higher in men with prostate cancer compared to control group (WMD = 2.12 μ IU/ml, 95%CI; 0.26, 3.99; P = 0.02). Sub-group analysis showed that the elevation in serum insulin level takes place only in patients with ages more than 65 years old (WMD = 3.88 μ IU/ml, 95%CI; 2.28, 5.48; P < 0.001). HOMA-IR was no significantly different between study groups. However, the difference got statistically significant after sub-grouping patients based on their age (WMD = 1.37, 95% CI; 0.61, 2.12; P < 0.001).ConclusionIn conclusion, the results of this meta-analysis study showed higher fasting serum insulin and HOMA-IR levels especially in patients with ages more than 65 years..     

Effect of Q10 supplementation on body weight and body mass index: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

AimsThis meta-analysis study was carried out to assess the effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on body weight and body mass index of patients in randomized controlled clinical trial studies.Materials and methodsA comprehensive systematic search of literature was performed through ISI web of sciences, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane library databases up to February 2018 which was supplemented by manual search of the references list of included studies. From a total of 1579 identified articles, only 17 trials with 14 and 14 effect-sizes were included for pooling the effects of co-enzyme Q10 supplementation on body weight and body mass index, respectively.ResultsResults of random-effect size meta-analysis showed that supplementation with coenzyme Q10 had no significant decreasing effects on body weight (WMD: 0.28 kg; 95% CI = ?0.91, 1.47; P = 0.64) and BMI (WMD: ?0.03; 95% CI = ?0.4, 0.34; P = 0.86) of study participants. Subgroup analysis revealed that dosage of Q10 and trial duration could not differ the results of Q10 supplementation.ConclusionResults of this meta-analysis study failed to show any beneficial effect of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on body weight and BMI of patients in clinical trial studies.