Association of polymorphism of IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-6 with Toxoplasma gondii infection susceptibility in HIV/AIDS patients in Shiraz, southern Iran

INTRODUCTION

Toxoplasma gondii infection is considered as one of the most important opportunistic infections and cause of death in HIV patients.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 334 HIV positive patients were included. The molecular test was performed by the restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction method. Allelic frequency, haplotype analyses, and linkage disequilibrium were calculated. The odds ratio was calculated. The linear regression model was used to analysis of interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-17F, and IL-6 single-nucleotide polymorphism genotypes in HIV patients with and without toxoplasmosis.

RESULTS

In total, 95 tested'patients (28.4%) were positive for toxoplasmosis. The risk of toxoplasma infection in the current study did not correlate with IL-17 and IL-6 polymorphism and the risk of contracting toxoplasma was also not significantly correlated in this study. There was no association between the frequency of alleles and the risk of toxoplasma infection in IL-17 haplotype analysis.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study revealed that there were significant differences in the serum levels of IL-6 and IL-17A, but not IL-17F, between the case and control groups in various genetic models. However, these polymorphisms did not show a significant relationship with toxoplasma infection in HIV-positive patients. This study represents the first investigation in Iran to explore the role of IL-6 and IL-17 polymorphisms in toxoplasma infection among HIV-positive patients.

Relationship between interleukin 17 polymorphism in rs 2275913 and rs 763780 and interleukin 6 in rs 1800795 gene region with sensitivity to antiretroviral drugs in patients with human immunodeficiency virus

Drug complication is still considered as one of the most important causes of death and drug in-compliance around the world. In this cross sectional study, 372 people living with HIV (PLHIV) above 16 years were enrolled. The drug complication was extracted based on the information of the patient's file. The molecular test was performed by the Restriction Fragment length polymorphism-Polymerase Chain Reaction method. Allelic frequency, haplotype analyses, linkage disequilibrium and odds ratio (OR) were calculated. The linear regression model was used to analyze the association of IL'SNPs with drug complication after adjustment for age and sex. Drug complications were observed in 150(40.3%) participants. The most common drug complications were hematological 94(62.7%) ones. The SNPs- rs 2275913 and rs763780- of IL-17were in complete linkage (D́ = 1 and r = 1). A-A haplotype of IL-17 in SNPs- rs 2275913 and rs763780 can increase the risk of drug complication up to 1.628 times more than other haplotypes and G-G and G-A haplotypes have a protective role among them 0.268 and 0.628 times, respectively. Our result for the first time demonstrated the role of IL-17 polymorphism in induced antiretroviral drug complication incidence. Probably A-A haplotype could increase the immune response to anti-retroviral drugs, and G-G and A-G haplotypes can decrease it.

Investigation of job satisfaction amongst voluntary, counseling and testing centers and health centers in Iran

Background

Job satisfaction is the persons’ feeling about their job and if personnel have not good feel to his work, can destroy all plans, intentionally or unintentionally. The present research aims to investigate and compare job satisfaction in the employees and therapists of Voluntary, Counseling and Testing Centers versus Health centers in 9 provinces of Iran.

Methods

All employees of Voluntary, Counseling and Testing Centers were included from Fars, Bushehr, Tehran, Isfahan, South Khorasan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Kerman, and Yazd provinces as case group and 103 staffs of similar Health centers selected with the same ratio as the staffs of Voluntary, Counseling and Testing Centers as control samples and answered to Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ).

Results

50.5% of Health centers employees and 54% of Voluntary, Counseling and Testing Centers employees had high job satisfaction. The highest satisfaction levels were reported in Fars and Kurdistan provinces and the lowest satisfaction levels were reported in Kermanshah and Bushehr.

Conclusion

According to the findings, in the Iranian treatment centers, the employees’ satisfaction were at the same level regardless of their position and workplace. Also, the eastern and western regions of the country reported higher satisfaction score than the southern and central regions.

Conservation of Buck's Spermatozoa during Cooling Storage Period through Cooling Medium Supplementation with L-Carnitine

This research examined the influence of the addition of L-carnitine (LC) to cooling medium on buck's semen quality during cooling storage periods at 4oC. Semen samples were collected, diluted, assigned into four groups, and received LC (0, 1, 5, and 10 mM LC). The samples were then chilled to 4oC and stores for 48 h. Sperm total motility, progressive motility, viability, lipid peroxidation, membrane integrity, and mitochondrial activity were examined at 0, 24, and 48 h of cooling storage. At time 0 of cooling storage, different treatments showed no impact on the quality of sperm samples (P>0.05). During 24 and 48 h of chilling periods, the supplementation of cooling medium with 5 mM LC presented greater motility, viability, membrane integrity, and mitochondrial activity (P≤0.05), compared to the other groups. Moreover, the treatment of 5 mM LC caused lower lipid peroxidation (P≤0.05) than the other treatments at 24 and 48 h storage times. In conclusion, the supplementation of buck's cooling storage medium with 5 mM LC is a suitable way to protect buck spermatozoa during 24 and 48 h storage against cold-induced structural and functional damages.

Investigating the contributing factors to HIV/AIDS infection from the perspective of HIV-infected patients

Background

People with HIV have always faced stigma and discrimination. Given the numerous papers that have addressed the psychological and social risk factors in spreading HIV, a pressing question is whether individuals’ mere careless and behavioural flaws can still account for the spread of HIV. Barriers and opposing politic made a hard position for HIV and sex education in Iran.

Methods

The present study investigated the causes of contracting HIV/AIDS from the perspective of HIV-infected patients. To accomplish this, 150 patients referring to the voluntary counseling and testing Center, Shiraz were convenient selected based on the convenient sampling method and responded to a researcher-made questionnaire From June to August 2019. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (mean, SD, frequency tables) and inferential statistics (chi-square).

Results

Results revealed that the main cause of HIV infection amongst males was the injection of narcotics, and in the females it was sexual intercourse with an infected individual. Meanwhile, 57% of the females and 66% of the males blamed themselves for contracting and transmitting the disease. The patients stated that if they could return to pre-infection period, they would use one of the following ways to prevent the disease: (a) they would pay attention to hygienic/sanitary principles; (b) they would not get married; and (c) they would prevent drug addiction. Also only 44% of the individuals had successful siblings (those who were neither addicts nor HIV/AIDS-infected individuals), which was an observation that emphasizes on the epidemic of high-risk behaviors in the patients’ families.

Conclusions

According to participants' statements collected in our study, weakness in governmental public health education, along with family-related and individual factors, are important causes of HIV spread

Beet pulp substituted for corn silage and barley grain in diets fed to dairy cows in the summer months: feed intake, total-tract digestibility, and milk production

The responses of dairy cows to the substitution of beet pulp (BP) for grain or forage are not consistent, and heat stress may affect the response of dairy cows to this substitution. The effects of substituted BP for corn silage and barley grain on feed intake, performance, and ruminal parameters were evaluated using eight multiparous Holstein cows in a duplicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-day periods. Cows were in mid-lactation (45.4 ± 3.6 kg/day milk production and 116 ± 10 days in milk) with an average BW of 664 ± 41.2 kg. Dietary treatments were as follows: 1) 0% BP (0BP, control, 38.5% barley grain, and 20.3% corn silage); 2) 12% BP (12BP, 32.5% barley grain, and 14.3% corn silage); 3) 18% BP (18BP, 29.5% barley grain, and 11.3% corn silage); and 4) 24% BP (24BP, 26.5% barley grain, and 8.3% corn silage). Cows were under mild heat stress and the average temperature-humidity index was 70.5; increasing BP caused a linear decrease in respiration rate (P < 0.01). Higher BP in the diet caused a linear increase in DM intake (P = 0.01) and NDF digestibility (P = 0.03). Dry and organic matter (OM) digestibilities tended to increase linearly with higher BP (P < 0.10). Milk yield, energy-corrected milk, protein, lactose, and fat production and content were not affected by the treatments. Increasing BP in the diet caused a linear decrease in feed efficiency and rumen ammonia (P < 0.05) and a tendency to a linear decrease in milk urea nitrogen (P < 0.10). Rumen pH and acetate to propionate ratio were not affected by the replacement. Total volatile fatty acid concentration in the rumen increased linearly with increasing the BP inclusion (P = 0.04). Acetate and butyrate (P = 0.07) proportion tended to increase, whereas propionate (P = 0.06) and isovalerate (P = 0.08) proportion tended to decrease linearly as BP was substituted for corn silage and barley grain. The results indicated that under mild heat stress condition, BP can be successfully substituted for barley grain and corn silage up to 24% of the diet without any negative effect on production and ruminal pH.

Coping styles in HIV positives and HIV negatives

Background

Choosing the most useful and versatile way to solve one's personal and social problems is one of the most important choices in individual life. The aim of this study was to compare the coping styles of people living with Human immunodeficiency virus positive and negative.

Methods

This is a Cross-sectional study that accomplished in Shiraz Behavioural Disease Counselling Centre in 2019 and 2020. For this purpose, in the first phase, 40 HIV+ and 40 HIV− patients were randomly selected to answer the questionnaire of dealing with the stressful conditions of Andler and Parker. In the second phase, the same questionnaire was filled out along with a reality distortion questionnaire from similar individuals (40 HIV+ and 40 HIV−).

Results

92% of the HIV population in this study was between 15 and 55 years and 8% was upper than 55 years. 90% of them had no university degree. Among all, 47.5% of them were, 48.5% were self-employed and 49% of them were infected sexually. The results showed that in the first stage there was a significant relationship between marital status and the chances of getting the disease in people, and after controlling the demographic factors, coping styles did not show a significant effect on the disease. In the second stage, the factors of age, sex, education, and marital status had significant effects on people living with HIV, but the effect of coping styles on people with HIV was not significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that demographic factors more than coping styles can affect the chances of high-risk behaviours; so, what is identified and measured as a coping style in people in the process that leads to the manifestation of high-risk behaviours or healthy behaviour does not matter much. It should be noted that the reason for rejecting the hypotheses of this study could be the effect of cultural and social factors of Iranian society.

Performance and feeding behavior of dairy cows fed high-concentrate diets containing steam-flaked or ground corn varying in particle size

Steam-flaked corn (SFC) and ground corn (GC) of different particle sizes were evaluated for their effects on dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield and components, chewing activity, ration sorting, ruminal fermentation, and digestibility in lactating dairy cows. Eight multiparous Holstein cows in mid-lactation (46.6 ± 3.5 kg/d milk production and 101 ± 10 d in milk) were used in a double 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Cows were fed diets (dry matter basis) containing 36.2% forage (alfalfa hay and corn silage), 37.4% corn grain, and 26.4% other ingredients. The corn grain was ground (coarse: 1.08 mm; medium: 0.84 mm; and fine: 0.73 mm) or steam-flaked (SFC; density = 0.40 kg/L). The dry matter proportion retained on an 8-mm sieve was greater for the SFC diet than for the GC diets. There were no treatment effects on DMI, milk yield, fat-corrected milk, energy-corrected milk, fat or lactose yield, protein or lactose content, or milk urea nitrogen concentration. However, digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were greater for fine GC and SFC than the other diets. In addition, cows fed SFC had lower total-tract starch digestibility than cows fed GC diets. Cows fed SFC tended to have lower propionate proportion (22.8 vs. 27.1 mM) and total volatile fatty acid concentration (88.6 vs. 99.8 mM) in ruminal fluid than those fed GC diets. Acetate and butyrate concentration, acetate to propionate ratio, and ruminal concentration of ammonia-nitrogen were not affected by treatments. Ruminal pH (6.46 vs. 6.01) as well as milk fat content (2.75 vs. 2.59%) and efficiencies (fat-corrected milk/DMI and energy-corrected milk/DMI) were greater for SFC than GC, regardless of its particle size. Milk fat content tended to increase linearly with increasing particle size of GC. Eating activity (min/d) tended to be less for SFC compared with GC, but rumination activity (min/d) and total chewing activity (min/d) were not affected by processing or particle size. The results of study indicate that, compared with GC, steam flaking of corn with 400 g/L density increased milk fat content and efficiency of high-producing dairy cows without any negative effect on milk yield. For GC, milk fat content tended to linearly increase and starch digestibility decreased linearly with increasing particle size.

Effect of Cilia Beat Frequency on Muco-ciliary Clearance

BACKGROUND

The airway surface liquid (ASL), which is a fluid layer coating the interior epithelial surface of the bronchi and bronchiolesis, plays an important defensive role against foreign particles and chemicals entering lungs.

OBJECTIVE

Numerical investigation has been employed to solve two-layer model consisting of mucus layer as a viscoelastic fluid and periciliary liquid layer as a Newtonian fluid to study the effects of cilia beat frequency (CBF) at various amounts of mucus properties on muco-ciliary transport problem.

METHODS

Hybrid finite difference-lattice Boltzmann-method (FB-LBM) has been used to solve the momentum equations and to simulate cilia forces, and also the PCL-mucus interface more accurately, immersed boundary method (IBM) has been employed. The main contribution of the current study is to use an Oldroyd-B model as the constitutive equation of mucus.

RESULTS

Our results show that increasing CBF and decreasing mucus viscosity ratio have great effects on mucus flow, but the effect of viscosity ratio is more significant. The results also illustrate that the relation between cilia beat frequency and mean mucus velocity is almost linear and it has similar behavior at different values of viscosity ratio.

CONCLUSION

Numerical investigation based on hybrid IB-FD-LBM has been used to study the effect of CBF at various mounts of mucus viscosity ratio on the muco-ciliary clearance. The results showed that the effect of viscosity ratio on the muco-ciliary transport process is more significant compared with CBF.

Evaluation of the effects of injection velocity and different gel concentrations on nanoparticles in hyperthermia therapy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

In magnetic fluid hyperthermia therapy, controlling temperature elevation and optimizing heat generation is an immense challenge in practice. The resultant heating configuration by magnetic fluid in the tumor is closely related to the dispersion of particles, frequency and intensity of magnetic field, and biological tissue properties.

METHODS

In this study, to solve heat transfer equation, we used COMSOL Multiphysics and to verify the model, an experimental setup has been used.  To show the accuracy of the model, simulations have been compared with experimental results. In the second part, by using experimental results of nanoparticles distribution inside Agarose gel according to various gel concentration, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4%, as well as the injection velocity, 4 µL/min, 10 µL/min, 20 µL/min, and 40 µL/min, for 0.3 cc magnetite fluid, power dissipation inside gel has been calculated and used for temperature prediction inside of the gel.

RESULTS

The Outcomes demonstrated that by increasing the flow rate injection at determined concentrations, mean temperature drops. In addition, 2% concentration has a higher mean temperature than semi spherical nanoparticles distribution.

CONCLUSION

The results may have implications for treatment of the tumor and any kind of cancer diseases.

Effects of seasonal acclimation on cold tolerance and biochemical status of the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zeller, last instar larvae

The carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae, a pest of Punica granatum, overwinters as a larva. In this study, physiological changes, water content, cold hardiness and supercooling points (SCPs) in relation to ambient temperature in the overwintering period (October to March) and changes of these factors between diapausing (February) and non-diapausing (September) larvae were studied. Pupae that were derived from diapausing larvae (April) and from non-diapausing larvae (August) were also compared. Total body sugar, lipid and protein contents increased with decrease in the temperature and reached the highest levels (12.82, 1.99 and 6.11 mg g-1 body weight, respectively) in February, but glycogen content decreased and reached the lowest level (1.12 mg g-1 body weight) in February. There were significant differences in the levels of these compounds between diapausing and non-diapausing larvae, and pupae that were derived from diapausing and non-diapausing larvae. Trehalose and myo-inositol contents increased during diapause and reached the highest levels (0.50 and 0.07 mg g-1 body weight, respectively) in February. There were significant differences in the levels of these compounds between diapausing and non-diapausing larvae, but the differences between pupae that were derived from diapausing and non-diapausing larvae were not significant. The SCP of diapausing larvae (-17.3 °C) was significantly lower than in the non-diapausing larvae (-12.0 °C). SCP decreased gradually in autumn and reached the lowest level in the middle of winter. Changes of cold hardiness were inversely proportional to SCP changes. The lowest levels of water (65%) and weight (43.13 mg) were recorded in January and March, respectively. Most probably, lipids play a role as energy reserve, and low-molecular weight carbohydrates and polyols provide cryoprotection for overwintering larvae of the carob moth. Since the overwintering larvae die at temperatures above the SCP, the carob moth larvae were found to be a chill-intolerant insect.

The diminishing trend of β-thalassemia in Southern Iran from 1997 to 2011: the impact of preventive strategies

The marginal zones of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf have a higher prevalence of thalassemia compared to other regions of Iran. This disease has disabled many people and resulted in increasing health care costs. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of β-thalassemia (β-thal) and to evaluate the outcome of applied preventive strategies over a 14-year period in Fars Province, Southern Iran. This cross-sectional study comprised all new cases of β-thal recorded during 1997-2011. The data were obtained from the Non-Communicable Diseases Surveillance Department of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, and are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). The Fars Health Network System screened 840 686 males and females applying for marriage certificates. Among the carriers, 50.5% cancelled their marriages, 42.5% married, and 7.0% did not show up at the clinics. The rate of cancelled marriages has reduced since 2000, when marriage candidates were given the option of prenatal diagnosis. From 2000 to 2011, a total of 3539 married couples were referred for prenatal diagnosis. Of these, 806 fetuses were found to carry thalassemia and 800 aborted. It is impressive to note that while 101 cases of thalassemia were recorded in 1997, this figure was reduced to two cases by 2011. This study has established that an integrated primary health care approach, with good infrastructure for implementing successful strategies, can significantly reduce the incidence of β-thal.

The effect of high-intensity intermittent exercise on body composition of overweight young males

To determine the effect of a 12-week high intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) intervention on total body, abdominal, trunk, visceral fat mass, and fat free mass of young overweight males. Participants were randomly assigned to either exercise or control group. The intervention group received HIIE three times per week, 20 min per session, for 12 weeks. Aerobic power improved significantly (P < 0.001) by 15% for the exercising group. Exercisers compared to controls experienced significant weight loss of 1.5 kg (P < 0.005) and a significant reduction in total fat mass of 2 kg (P < 0.001). Abdominal and trunk adiposity was also significantly reduced in the exercising group by 0.1 kg (P < 0.05) and 1.5 kg (P < 0.001). Also the exercise group had a significant (P < 0.01) 17% reduction in visceral fat after 12 weeks of HIIE, whereas waist circumference was significantly decreased by week six (P < 0.001). Fat free mass was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the exercising group by 0.4 kg for the leg and 0.7 kg for the trunk. No significant change (P > 0.05) occurred in levels of insulin, HOMA-IR, and blood lipids. Twelve weeks of HIIE resulted in significant reductions in total, abdominal, trunk, and visceral fat and significant increases in fat free mass and aerobic power.

The role of biodegradable engineered scaffolds seeded with Schwann cells for spinal cord regeneration

Spinal cord injury is very complicated, as there are factors in the body that inhibit its repair. Although regeneration of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) was once thought to be impossible, studies over the past two decades have shown that axonal growth after spinal cord injury can occur when provided with the correct substratum. Traditionally, tissue transplantation or peripheral nerve grafting are used to repair damaged or diseased regions of the CNS, but donor shortage and immunological problems associated with infectious disease are often encountered. Fortunately, recent advances in neuroscience, cell culture, and biomaterials provide optimistic future using new treatments for nerve injuries. Biomaterial scaffold creates substrate within which cells are instructed to form a tissue or an organ in a highly controlled way. The principal function of a scaffold is to direct cell behavior such as migration, proliferation, differentiation, maintenance of phenotype, and apoptosis by facilitating sensing and responding to the environment via cell-matrix and cell-cell communications. Therefore, having such abilities provides scaffolds seeded with a special type of cell as an important part of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine which spinal cord regeneration is an example of. Nevertheless, the vast number of biodegradable synthetic and natural biopolymers makes choosing the right one very difficult. In this review article, it was tried to provide an inclusive survey of biopolymers seeded with Schwann cells (SCs) to be used for axonal regeneration in the nervous system.