Nicotine attenuates spatial learning deficits induced by sodium metavanadate.

Learning can be severely impaired as a consequence of exposure to environmental pollutants. Vanadium (V), a metalloid which is widely distributed in the environment, has been shown to exert toxic effects on a variety of biological systems including the nervous system. However, studies exploring the impact of vanadium on learning are limited.

Gamma irradiation as a useful tool for the isolation of astaxanthin-overproducing mutant strains of Phaffia rhodozyma.

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment responsible for the red color of the flesh of many marine animals. There is an increasing interest in the use of astaxanthin in aquaculture, chemical, pharmaceutical, and alimentary industries. Phaffia rhodozyma has been identified as the best biological source of astaxanthin.

Treatment of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia by arsenic trioxide in Iran.

Background: Although standard first line treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia is All trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and chemotherapy, some patients relapse and need a second line of treatment. Relapsed cases of promyelocytic leukemia can be salvaged with arsenic trioxide.

Methods: Between May 1999 and Jan.

The presence of amorpha-4, 11-diene synthase, a key enzyme in artemisinin production in ten Artemisia species.

Background And The Purpose Of The Study: Artemisinin is one of the most effective medicine against malaria, which is produced naturally by Artemisia annua in low yield. It is produced in a metabolic pathway, in which several genes and gene products are involved. One of the key genes in this pathway is am1, which encodes amorpha-4, 11-diene synthase (ADS), a key enzyme in artemisinin biosynthesis pathway.

Association between Local External Gamma Rays and Frequency of Cancer in Babol-Iran.

Introduction: The effect of natural background radiation on Cancer is still challenging. The investigation of association between external gamma rays and Cancer was the main goal of study. MATERIALS #ENTITYSTARTX00026;

Methods: External Gamma rays were measured using a radiation survey meter in 184 urban and rural health centers to estimate the exposure to the population in residential areas of Babol.

Lower bounds on the redundancy of natural images.

The light intensities of natural images exhibit a high degree of redundancy. Knowing the exact amount of their statistical dependencies is important for biological vision as well as compression and coding applications but estimating the total amount of redundancy, the multi-information, is intrinsically hard. The common approach is to estimate the multi-information for patches of increasing sizes and divide by the number of pixels.

The expression of p38, ERK1 and Bax proteins has increased during the treatment of newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia with arsenic trioxide.

Background: Promising reports exist regarding the use of arsenic trioxide (ATO) as first-line treatment in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Although the in vitro effect of ATO is extensively studied, the in vivo mechanism(s) of ATO action is mostly unknown.

Patients And Methods: Newly diagnosed APL patients were involved and received ATO (0.

Cholestasis induced nephrotoxicity: the role of endogenous opioids.

Aims: Elevated levels of endogenous opioids play a pivotal role in several deleterious consequences of cholestasis. Renal dysfunction occurs in cholestasis but its exact mechanism is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of endogenous opioids in cholestasis induced nephrotoxicity.

Efficacy of folate and vitamin B12 in lowering homocysteine concentrations in hemodialysis patients.

To evaluate the efficacy of supplementation with high dose folic acid with and without vitamin B 12 in lowering plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in hemodialysis (HD) patients, we studied 36 HD patients randomized into four groups according to the received therapeutic regimen: group I (only folic acid (FA), 5 mg/day), group II (FA, 5 mg/day + vitamin B 12 , 1 mg/day) group III (only FA, 15 mg/day), group IV (FA, 15 mg/day, vitamin B 12 , 1 mg/day) for a period of 8 weeks. Plasma tHcy and serum FA and vitamin B 12 levels were measured at baseline and after the supplementation period. Dietary intakes were assessed during the study period.

Comparison of metformin treatment and laparoscopic ovarian diathermy in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: To compare hormone levels and clinical outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) after metformin therapy or laparoscopic ovarian diathermy (LOD) at 6 months follow-up.

Methods: A randomized trial was conducted in 126 patients with PCOS who had a history of infertility for at least 1 year and resistance to clomiphene citrate (CC). Patients (n=63) received metformin treatment or underwent LOD (n=63).

Kidney transplantation before or after augmentation cystoplasty in children with high-pressure neurogenic bladder.

Objective: To compare the outcome and complications of augmentation cystoplasty before or after renal transplantation in children with neurogenic bladders, with those after kidney transplantation in children with normal bladders.

Patients And Methods: Augmentation cystoplasty preceded transplantation in 21 children (group 1) and after transplantation in 23 (group 2) operated from 1985 to 2006; these two groups were compared with a control group of 45 children with a normal bladder (group 3) who also received a transplant, for kidney function, episodes of urinary tract infection (UTI), surgical and medical complications.

Results: The mean age of the three groups was 12.

Comparison of dorsal root ganglion gene expression in rat models of traumatic and HIV-associated neuropathic pain.

To elucidate the mechanisms underlying peripheral neuropathic pain in the context of HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy, we measured gene expression in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of rats subjected to systemic treatment with the anti-retroviral agent, ddC (Zalcitabine) and concomitant delivery of HIV-gp120 to the rat sciatic nerve. L4 and L5 DRGs were collected at day 14 (time of peak behavioural change) and changes in gene expression were measured using Affymetrix whole genome rat arrays. Conventional analysis of this data set and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to discover biological processes altered in this model.

Determination of urinary enzymes as a marker of early renal damage in diabetic patients.

Diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy in the early stages is very important since there are no clinical signs or symptoms. Urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) excretion has been recommended as a tubular dysfunction marker that elevates before other markers, such as microalbuminuria and a decrease in creatinine clearance. In this study, we compared excretion of urinary enzymes with other markers that are used routinely in diabetic nephropathy assessment.

Epidemiology of hospitalized female burns patients in a burn centre in Shiraz.

During 2000 to 2001, all 170 female burn patients admitted to the Ghotbeddin Burn Centre in Shiraz were studied to determine the epidemiological characteristics and outcome of burn for these patients. The overall mortality rate was 64%. The highest frequency of burns (53.

Expression of Thy 1.2 surface antigen increases significantly during the murine mesenchymal stem cells cultivation period.

This study sought to investigate the absence or expression of some surface antigens on murine mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) during the cultivation period of primary culture to passage 3 (equivalent to about 15 or 16 population doubling number). For this purpose, bone marrow cells from 6-8-week-old mice (either NMRI or Balb/c) were cultivated in 75-cm(2) culture flask for three successive passages, in each of which the culture was examined for the expression of CD135, CD44, CD31, Thy1.2, CD11b, CD45, CD34, Vcam1, Sca-1, and c-Kit antigens, using flow cytometry.

Kidney transplantation in children with augmentation cystoplasty.

Purpose: Treatment of children with end stage renal disease, especially those with significant bladder dysfunction, is difficult. A high pressure and low capacity bladder is a major risk factor for a transplanted kidney. Cystoplasty can protect the kidney allograft by reducing the intravesical pressure and creating an appropriate capacity.

Micropropagation of Aloe vera L. grown in south Iran.

Aloe vera L. is a medicinal plant grown in different parts of the world. Several papers have reported the micropropagation of this plant and its response to different combinations of hormones.

Study of alpha1-antitrypsin phenotypes frequencies in patients with primary antibody deficiency.

Primary antibody deficiencies are the most frequent primary immunodeficiency disorders. Bronchiectasis as a feature of these disorders may be developed due to some factors such alpha-1- antitrypsin deficiency. In order to determine the prevalence of two common alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency alleles (PI*Z and PI*S) in Iranian patients with antibody deficiency, this study was performed.

Consanguinity in primary immunodeficiency disorders; the report from Iranian Primary Immunodeficiency Registry.

Problem: Primary Immunodeficiency Disorders (PiD) are a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders, with different modes of inheritance. This study was accomplished in order to determine the frequency of consanguineous marriages in the families of patients with PiD.

Method: In this study, the records 515 Iranian PiD patients were reviewed during a 25-year period.

Synthesis and analgesic activity of 2-phenoxybenzoic acid and N-phenylanthranilic acid hydrazides.

A series of 2-phenoxybenzoic acid and N-phenylanthranilic acid hydrazides were synthesized and evaluated for their analgesic activities. Several compounds were significantly more potent than mefenamic acid and diclofenac sodium in abdominal constriction and formalin tests.

A vacuum device for penile elongation: fact or fiction?

Objective: To assess the efficacy of a vacuum device as a noninvasive method for penile elongation.

Patients And Methods: Between September 2003 and November 2004, 37 sexually active men with a stretched penis length of <10 cm were given vacuum treatment three times a week, for 20 min on each occasion, for 6 months.

Results: After 6 months, the mean penile length had increased from 7.

Does pre-transplantation antireflux surgery eliminate post-renal transplantation pyelonephritis in children?

Purpose: Antireflux surgery for VUR before renal transplantation decreases the risk of post-kidney transplant UTI in pediatric patients with primary vesicoureteral reflux. We studied the risk of post-kidney transplant UTI in patients with or without surgical correction of VUR before transplantation compared to patients without VUR.

Materials And Methods: We compared 12 patients who had VUR corrected before transplantation (group 1) to 17 patients with VUR who did not undergo antireflux surgery before transplantation (group 2) and 36 patients undergoing renal transplantation without VUR (group 3).

Evaluation of oxidative stress and genotoxicity in organophosphorus insecticide formulators.

The aim of this study was to evaluate genotoxicity and oxidative stress in workers who formulate organophosphorus (OP) pesticides. In this survey, blood leukocytes and erythrocytes of a group of 21 pesticide formulating workers and an equal number of control subjects were examined for genotoxicity and oxidative stress parameters. The mean comet tail length and mean comet length were used to measure DNA damage.

Treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia with arsenic trioxide without ATRA and/or chemotherapy.

Introduction: Arsenic trioxide is effective and approved for treatment of relapsed or refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cases resistant to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), but its effect on new cases of APL is not clear.

Materials And Methods: We studied 111 patients with APL. Arsenic trioxide was infused at 0.

Skin-to-skin contact (Kangaroo Care) analgesia for preterm infant heel stick.

The purpose of the study was to compare a heel stick conducted during Kangaroo Care (skin-to-skin contact) with the mother to a heel stick in a warmer in reducing premature infant physiologic and behavioral pain responses. Twenty-four premature infants in a university-based neonatal intensive care unit were recruited and randomized to 2 sequences: sequence A group received 3 hours of Kangaroo Care (with a heel stick in Kangaroo Care) followed by 3 hours in a warmer (with a heel stick in the warmer). Sequence B group had warmer care and a heel stick (in the warmer) before Kangaroo Care and a heel stick (in Kangaroo Care).