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Maryam Dibaei,1 Mohammad-Reza Rouini,1 Behjat Sheikholeslami,1 Mahdi Gholami,2,3 Rassoul Dinarvand4,51Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetic Division, Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Experimental Medicine Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Nanotechnology Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 5Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranBackground: Curcumin, a bioactive component with multiple characteristics, has been shown to have many therapeutic effects. However, there are several limitations regarding the use of curcumin such as instability, low solubility, poor bioavailability, and rapid elimination. Different approaches have been used to solve these problems.Materials and methods: In this study, surface-modified nanosuspension (NS) is investigated as a novel brain delivery system. Two different methods were used for the preparation of nanosuspensions with two different stabilizers. The surface of the nanosuspensions was coated with D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1,000 succinate (TPGS) and Tween 80 using physical adsorption. Curcumin NSs were prepared using two different top-down techniques by high-pressure homogenizer and probe sonicator. A validated sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography method using fluorescence detection was used for the determination and quantification of curcumin. Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of curcumin NSs and solutions after intravenous administration in rats were studied.Results: Higher levels of curcumin in the brain were detected when Tween 80-coated NS was used compared with the curcumin solution and TPGS coated NS (TPGS-NS) (P-value

Mohaddeseh Salehi,1,* Mona Amin-Beidokhti,2,* Behnam Safarpour Lima,3 Milad Gholami,2 Gholam-Reza Javadi,1 Reza Mirfakhraie2,4 1Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, 2Department of Medical Genetics, 3Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, 4Genomic Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran *These authors contributed equally to this work Introduction: Migraine is a painful complex neurovascular disease characterized by recurrent moderate-to-severe headaches. Increased level of homocysteine is related to dilation of cerebral vessels and endothelial injury that could trigger migraine attacks. Functional polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene affect homocysteine metabolism and, therefore, play an important role in the etiology of the disease. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the possible association between MTHFR gene rs4846049, C677T, and A1298C polymorphisms and the risk of migraine in Iranian population. Methods: In this genetic association study, 498 individuals were enrolled, including 223 migraine patients and 275 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed using tetra-primer ARMS-PCR for rs4846049 and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism for C677T and A1298C polymorphisms. Results: The association between rs4846049 and C677T polymorphisms and migraine was observed. For the rs4846049 polymorphism, the association was detected under a dominant model (P=0.007; odds ratio [OR] =0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41–0.87), and for the C677T polymorphism, the TT genotype frequency was significantly different in the studied groups (P=0.009; OR =2.48; 95% CI, 1.25–4.92). No significant differences in the genotype or allele frequencies were found for the A1298C polymorphism between the migraineurs and controls. Conclusion: Present data provide evidence for the association of rs4846049 and C677T polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene and migraine. Further studies are required to validate the significance of the studied genetic variations in diverse ethnic populations. Keywords: migraine, genetic association study, MTHFR, single nucleotide polymorphism

Background: In many studies, chemicals and natural materials were tested to reduce the harmful effects of radiation. It is known that Famotidine and vitamin C reduce DNA damage. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the radioprotective effect of vitamin C, Cimetidine and Famotidine on gamma-radiation-induced damage on mouse bone marrow. Methods: Six-to-seven week male NMRI mice (28 g ±3) were randomly divided into fourteen groups: control, 2Gy irradiation, six group drugs without irradition (Famotidine, Cimetidine, vitaminC, Fam-Cim, Fam-Vit, Cim-Vit), six groups received drugs and 2Gy radiation with a 60Co |γ|-ray source at room temperature 22 ± 2 °C. The mice were killed 48 hours after irradiation by cervical dislocation. Slides were prepared from bone marrow cells and stained in May-Granwald and Giemsa. Finally, the cells were counted with microscope, frequencies of polychromatic erythrocyte (PCE), normochoromatic erythrocyte (NCE) and their micronuclated cell were recorded. PCE / PCE + NCE were calculated. Results: There were significant differences of MNPCE/1000PCE, MNNCE/1000NCE and PCE/PCE+NCE among different groups with similar radiation doses (p≤0.01). Moreover, there were significant differences of MNPCE/1000PCE and PCE/PCE+NCE among different doses of radiation (p≤0.01). While considering MNNCE/1000NCE, there were no significant differences among silimar groups with radiation dose (p˃0.05). Conclusion: Oral administration of Famotidine, vitamin C and Cimetidine demonstrate reliable and similar radioprotective effects. Additionally, the protective effect of single use of these drugs was similar to the combination form. Thus, the oral use of combination, 48 hours after irradiation cannot induce more radioprotective effect.

Background: It is demonstrated that morphine and tramadol affects seizure but the mode of action of these drugs on seizure has not been compared yet with increasing of age. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of exposure to these drugs on Pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure in immature rat.Methods: Male neonate rats were randomly chosen and divided into three groups namely Saline (n=21), Morphine (n=12) and Tramadol (n=13). On postnatal days 8-14, Saline group received normal saline and two other groups received morphine and tramadol with additive doses, respectively. On postnatal days 22-28, the saline treated rats divided into three subgroups and received saline (n=8), morphine (n=8) or tramadol (n=5). Morphine treated rats received saline or morphine (each n=6), and tramadol treated rats received saline (n=7) or tramadol (n=6). At postnatal day 29, they were evaluated for PTZ-induced seizure.Results: Number of tonic-clonic seizure was increased in all groups compared with control and tramadol+saline groups (P

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Conventional processes of drinking water disinfection could not completely remove contamination indicator bacteria. So, application of new technologies like ultrasonic process has been considered for drinking water disinfection. In this study, the performance of the ultrasonic process on removal of E. coli and E. faecalis from drinking water was evaluated.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, synthetic solution contained E. coli and E. faecalis with populations of 103, 105, 107 and 109 cfu/mL (Colony Forming Unit/ milliliter) were used. After microbial seeding, drinking water samples were exposed to ultrasonic waves with the cycle of 2, 6 and 10 Pulse/s in 5 and 10 minutes. A measurement criterion of the disinfection performance was removal efficiency of indicator bacteria. Microbial colonies were counted by McFarland and plate count methods. The ultrasonic power and microbial concentration in the process of inactivation of bacteria were compared by using McFarland method.FINDINGS: In this study, the removal performance of E. coli with colony density of 103 cfu/mL and the sonication cycle of 2 pulse/s was 1.1 log, while in the sonication cycles of 6 and 10 pulse/s was 3 log (p

Hydrogen has received a lot of attention and is regarded as the most promising energy source of the twenty-first century because of its high energy density and eco-friendliness. However, there are increasing concerns about its safe use, storage, and transportation. The present research study scrutinizes the chemi-resistive behavior of pure and Cu-doped TiO2 thin films that may be applied to the creation of hydrogen sensing devices. The spray technique was used to synthesize the samples with different levels of Cu content (0, 0.2 and 0.4 wt %) on thermally oxidized Si substrates. The samples were characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The hydrogen chemi-resistive behavior of the samples was assessed and the sensing mechanism of the pure and doped samples was analyzed. The results showed that Cu-doping significantly affected the hydrogen sensing performance of the TiO2 thin films due to the increase of oxygen adsorption sites. The sample of 0.4 wt % Cu-doped TiO2 (the most sensitive sample) showed a response value of 2600% with a reaction time of 55 s to 1000 ppm of hydrogen at the operating temperature of 200 °C. It was also selective to H2 compared to CO2, NO2, NH3, and LPG. The evaluation of the reliability of the mentioned sample revealed that it can be considered as a potential for hydrogen sensing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]