Search

Background: H. pylori infection is associated with gastritis and marked infiltration of the gastric mucosa by inflammatory cells secreting of several cytokines that contribute to maintain and expand the local inflammation. Different clinical expressions of the infection may reflect different patterns of cytokine expression. Interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-17, IL-23, and IL-18 have been reported to be involved in H. pylori-induced gastric mucosal inflammation, but the details and relation to different patterns of inflammation remain unclear. Materials and Methods: Analysis of IL-18 RNA transcripts was performed by real-time PCR. Total RNA was extracted from gastric biopsies of 56 H. pylori-infected patients, 50 H. pylori-negative patients with gastritis, by biozol reagent according to the manufacturer's instructions. CDNA was synthesized from 1 mg of total RNA using First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (fermentas) and 3 µL cDNA was amplified by PCR using the 2x Rotor-Gene Probe PCR Master Mix (QIAGEN) and specific primers for each cytokine and β-actin. Results: IL-18 mRNA expression was significantly increased in biopsies of H. pylori-infected patients compared to H. pylori-uninfected individuals. Conclusion: IL-18 may play an important role in the inflammatory response and promoting gastric Th1 responses to H. pylori colonization, and may ultimately influence the outcome of H. pylori-associated diseases that arise within the context of gastritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The prevalence of hydatid cyst in patients with cancer is lower than those of normal population. In this study the effect of different extractions of hydatid cyst antigens on growth of Hella cancer cells has been investigated in vitro. Methods: In this experimental study, crude protoscolices antigen, protoscolices ES antigen and hydatid fluid antigen were prepared and fractions of these antigens were using salting out method. These fractions were added to Hella cell line and incubated for 48h. Then the number of alive and dead cells was counted in comparison to appropriate control. Analysis of data was carried out using SPSS software and Jonckheere-Terpstra test. P<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: In cell cultures treated with mentioned fractions, all 3 fractions significantly decrease the growth of Hella cancer in comparison to control cell culture. Also fractions of crude protoscolices antigen significantly increase the growth of Hella cancer cells. Conclusion: Different extracts of hydatid cyst antigens inhibitory effects on Hella cell's growth in culture medium. Further work is recommended an anti-cancer property of these antigens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel monopole antenna is presented for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. Enhancement in the antenna's bandwidth was obtained by using a new radiating patch structure that includes a q-shaped slots in the ground plane. UWB performance is achieved without increasing the overall size of the antenna's structure. The antenna operates between 2.4 GHz - 13.9 GHz for S11 < -10 dB. The antenna radiates omni-directionally over its operating band. The antenna occupies an area of about 25 x 25 mm² when fabricated on FR4 substrate with thickness of 1 mm and relative permittivity of &#949r = 4.4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have previously reported a new receptor (NC-2) for natural cytotoxicity (NC) on murine leucocytes, identified by monoclonal antibody D9 (mAb D9). Pretreatment of mouse spleen cells with different concentrations of mAb D9 in vitro blocked NC against WEHI-164, whereas natural killing (NK) activity against YAC-1 was unaffected. This paper reports the immune surveillance against the growth of WEHI-164 tumour cells in mice by NC-2 Cells . The kinetics of in vivo reduction in NC activity were investigated by treating BALB/ c and (CBA × C57BL/6) F1 mice with a single injection of 40 μg of mAb D9 and monitoring splenic NC activity by Cr-release assay at intervals from 24 h to 3 weeks. Control mice were injected with OKT8 irrelevant antibody. Results showed a significant ( P < 0.05) reduction in splenic NC activity within 24 h which persisted for up to 1 week. Similar results were also obtained when (CBA × C57BL/6) F1 mice were employed ( P < 0.001). In vivo tumour studies were undertaken to investigate the role of NC-2 cells in surveillance against tumour growth and metastasis of the WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma. When syngeneic BALB/ c mice were injected with 40 μg of mAb D9 and then challenged with 5 × 10 WEHI-164 cells, results showed significantly increased growth rate of the transplanted WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma and tumour nodules in the lungs of animals, when compared to control mice with normal NC activity. Our data support an innate surveillance in metastasis and growth of WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road traffic injuries and opioid use-related mental disorders were the first and fifth cause of burden of disease in 2003 accordingly. In 2007, a media campaign was carried out to notify the public drivers about random drug tests in roads of the country. The objective of this study was to assess the results of random drug test among large vehicle drivers before and after this campaign. Methods Two different national roadside surveys were conducted on 1168 and 680 drivers in 2002 and 2008 respectively. In both studies, the subjects were bus and truck drivers and their urine samples were tested by a rapid morphine test at study sites and positive samples were transferred for thin layer chromatography. Results In 2002, 168 drivers out of 1168 (14.4% 95% CI 95% 12.4 to 16.4) were found to have positive morphine test. The second roadside survey which was conducted after media campaign showed that this proportion has decreased to 9.0% (95% CI 95% 7.0 to 11.4). Discussion Opioid use among large vehicle drivers is a major public health and road safety issue in Iran which needs more attention. Random drug test supported by a media campaign seems to have promising effects on reducing driving under influence of drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background and aims: P19 cells are a line of pluripotent embryonal carcinoma stem cells, that are able to grow continuously in serum-supplemented media and can be induced to differentiate into all three lineages, mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm. The sequence of foreign DNA can be introduced into these cells using of standard methods of transfection, through which to examine the cell function and differentiation. This study aimed to induce neuronal phenotype in P19 cells transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, using an antiparkinson drug, deprenyl. Methods: In this laboratory descriptive study, calcium phosphate precipitation method was used to introduce pML8 plasmid, encoding GFP and puromycin resistance gene, into these cells. The cells were cultured using MEM-A medium, supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum. Here 108 M concentrations of deprenyl was used to induce embryoid body differentiation to neuronal lineage. Cresyl violet staining was used to evaluate the morphology of differentiated P19 cells. In addition, immunofluorescence techniques was used to evaluate neuron specific proteins, synaptophysin and β-III tubulin. Results: In addition to production of stable transfected P19 cells, neuronal differentiation of these cells was carried out by the effect of deprenyl induction. GFP-positive neurons derived from embryonic carcinoma cells expressed neuron specific markers. Conclusions: GFP-positive differentiated cells can be used in transplantation studies and basic researches in association with cell therapy and neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research attempts to extend the available literature in the area of secure communications to provide an efficient robust adaptive sliding mode control approach in the presence of uncertainties, external disturbances and unknown parameters. It is obvious that the proposed control approach aims to synchronize two hyper-chaotic systems through secure communication. In order to assure the security of signal sending and receiving, the technique of chaotic parameter modulation is taken into consideration. The stability performance of the present approach is accurately guaranteed via the Lyapunov theorem. Numerical simulation results are carried out to illustrate the proposed approach performance, which is easily able to follow the control objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, the design of a novel printed monopole antenna is presented that operates across a super wideband frequency range (2.39 GHz to 40 GHz) and exhibits band-notch characteristic that is necessary to eradicate interference from WLAN systems operating between 5.15 GHz -- 5.825 GHz. The prototype antenna consists of a radiating patch in the shape of an octagonal ring structure and embedded within ring is a rectangular strip. The antenna is excited through a microstrip feed-line and includes an elliptically shaped ground-plane that is defected with a dielectric notch in the vicinity of the patch. The proposed antenna's structure is simple to design and is relatively inexpensive to fabricate. In addition, it is compact in size with overall dimensions of 30 x 30 x 1.6 mm3. The measured results confirm the impedance bandwidth cover a super wideband frequency range from 2.3 GHz - 40 GHz, for VSWR < 2 that corresponds to a fractional bandwidth of 178 %. The radiation characteristic of the proposed antenna is approximately omni-directional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Garlic components may change due to its enzymes activity such as alliance. In this research the effect of three months old garlic on the growth of WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma cells was examined in comparison with fresh garlic in Balb/c mice. Material and Methods: In this interventional study 40 female inbred Balb/c mice were designated into 5 groups. WEHI-164 cells were injected subcutaneously in the chest of animal. Two weeks before and three weeks after injection of cancer cells, 0.2 cc of normal saline or 20 mg/kg extracts of fresh or three months old garlic was injected intraperitoneally (IP) to mice. Five days after cells' injection until day 21, every other day, and the mean size of tumors was measured and compared with each other, using ANOVA test. The antioxidant potential of extracts and the amount of total phenolic were also measured. Results: The amount of phenolic compounds in fresh garlic extract was 12.61mg/g and in three months old garlic was 2.89 mg/g. The efficiency of fresh garlic (35.63) was further compared with three month old garlic (10.2) in prevention of oxidation (p<0.05). The mean size of tumors in groups which received fresh garlic was smaller than that of control group. This tumor size was increased by time, so that a significant difference in mention groups could be seen on days 17, 19 and 21 (p=0.001). Injection of 3-months old garlic had no effect on inhibition of growth of cancer cells compared to control group (P=0.61). Conclusion: Findings showed that garlic consumption might have important role in control and prevention of fibrosarcoma growth. But along with time the beneficial effect of garlic on cancer cells is reduced. Therefore, fresh garlic consumption is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Aim of the study was to evaluate the HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection and associated risk behaviors among Injection Drug Users in Detention, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey included 499 male Injection Drug Users arrested by police during a predetermined police sweep in Tehran (February, 2006). At the temporary detention center, they were screened using a urine test and a physical examination for injection marks. Those who were identified as injectors were sent to the rehabilitation center for 3 months. A questionnaire was filled out for each individual by interview. Blood specimens were collected for HIV and HCV testing. The variables associated with HIV/HCV coinfection at a significance level of P<0.10 were considered in multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Of the 417 participants, 100 (24.0%) had HIV/HCV coinfection (95%CI 19.9 - 28.4). Factors independently associated with HIV/HCV coinfection included history of using opioid in jail, and age (P<0.05). There were not any association between other demographic characteristics (marital status, birthplace, residence, and education), type and years of drug abuse, age of first injection, years of injection, sharing needles inside and outside of jail, injection in jail, history of tattooing, any sexual behavior, and history of sexually transmitted diseases with HIV/HCV coinfection (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study supports that incarceration is contributing to the increased spread of HIV/HCV coinfection. So, there is urgent need for effective harm reduction programs, particularly among incarcerated Injection Drug Users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichomoniasis is a worldwide infection and due to its complications rapid and accurate diagnosis of infection especially in pregnant women is very important. In this study, development of a latex agglutination test using native antigens for rapid diagnosis of trichomoniasis is investigated. Trichomonas vaginalis was harvested from TYIS33 culture medium and anti Trichomonas vaginalis antiserum was raised in rabbits. Salt precipitation method was used for antibody purification. Polyesteren latex particles coated with purified antibody and used for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis. Clinical samples of vaginal discharge were collected from 500 women and examined for Trichomonas vaginalis by using wet mount, culture and latex agglutination tests. Sensitivity and specificity of latex test was determined considering culture as golden standard. Sensitivity and specificity of latex agglutination test was 100% and 81% and those of wet mount were 33.3% and 100%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values of latex agglutination test were 6% and 100%, respectively. Due to inconvenient sensitivity and specificity of the latex agglutination test developed in this study, further work is recommended to improve the test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor about distribution and risk factors of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV infection in a female population with illegal social behavior.

The article presents a study which evaluates HIV prevalence and risk behaviors among male injection drug users (IDU) detained by the police during a sweep in Tehran, Iran in 2006. Questionnaires are completed by 459 male IDU and blood samples are collected for HIV testing. Results show that overall HIV prevalence was 24.4% and the risk factors associated with HIV infection includes the history of using opioid during the detention.