Artificial insemination practice in British United Turkeys: a report in Iran

No domestic availability to breeder turkey stocks and turkey hatching eggs prompted the present experiment that aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a conventional artificial insemination [AI] procedure in British United Turkey [BUT] for the first time in Iran. Broiler turkeys were restrictedly fed, grown for 46 weeks, and used for the current study [10 turkey toms and 24 turkey hens in total]. After a 3 week period of habituating the toms to abdominal massage, the pooled semen was used for insemination after the dilution in sterilized and homogenized low-fat milk [at the ratio of 1 to 6]. The hens were inseminated [14:00 h] and hatching eggs were collected [n = 148]. All the eggs were broken open to assess the fertility rate. Although being lower than the conventional average fertility rate noticed for breeder turkeys in the production manuals [91%], a fertility rate of 61.5% was obtained. The present report provided a preliminary data on the feasibility of the conventional procedure used in chickens to artificially inseminate the turkey, using low-fat milk as a simple available extender. The present findings might also be promising to the future establishment of turkey breeder enterprise in Iran

Surveying Desferal production increment by inducing mutation in Streptomyces griseoflavus

Desferal or Desferrioxamine B mesylate is an iron chealator drug. This medicine decreases the iron overload in the thalassemia patients who have been blood transfused; the excess of iron is excreted through bile or urine. Novartis is the sole company which produces desferrioxamine B mesylate in the world and our country is importer of such drug. Thus we tried to increase Desferal production by inducing mutation in Streptomyces griseoflavus. This is an applied research carried out at pilot level. The organism is a Gram-positive bacterium that was supplied in lyophilized by Persian Type culture Collection, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology [IROST], Tehran, Iran bearing the code no. PTCC1130, which was cultured on Des4 medium. The organism was mutated by UV irradiation hence selective techniques and markers were employed to distinguish marked strains from parent S. griseoflavus. When the mutated organisms were selected according to their characteristics and used to fuse their protoplasts in order to obtain high yield desferrioxamine producing recombinant Streptomyces griseoflavus. The varied parameters were bacterial growth rate and desferal concentration in the culture broth. Our study showed that the rate of desferal production in mutant's strains called C7031 and S7011 and fusants srains called FP10 and FP9 was higher than wiled type Streptomyces griseoflavus. The increment in production of desferrioxamine was found to be 68% in FP9 and 81% in FP10 fusants. The mutation and protoplasts fusion of Streptomyces griseoflavus caused increment in production of desferrioxamine. The infrared spectrum, thin layer chromatogram of desferrioxamine extracted from culture broth was similar to that of standard desferrioxamine [Novartis] from the point of molecular identity

Safety and immunogenecity of human therapeutic morphine vaccine in morphine addicts

Morphine vaccine is a product of morphine-6- succinate synthesis and its conjugation with albumin serum. Each dose contains 0.5 mg Aluminum hydroxide, 8 mg sodium chloride, 1.12 mg di- sodium hydrogen phosphate, 1.1 mg sodium di- hydrogen phosphate and 50 mg morphine-6-succinate albumin serum. Humoral safety is achieved in morphine addicts following three successive doses within 0-30-60-day intervals. Its immunogenecity brings about withdrawal without the risk of abstinence syndrome. This study was conducted to examine the effect morphine vaccine on morphine addicts. Based on the Ethics protocol of Pasteur Institute of Iran, this clinical trial was conducted on 102 male volunteer addicts [mean age 25 years]. Variables included vaccine dosage and concentration on of antibodies. Volunteers were divided into groups of 30 [experimental] and 4 [placebo]. Adjuant was injected to placebo group addicts; the three experimental groups were given 5, 12, 100 and 600 microg within 0-30-60 days interval through injection to deltoid; all subjects referred for follow-up on the 90[th] day. Blood samples and antibody evaluation was obtained from all three groups in months 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12. A positive correlation was observed between antibody production and vaccine dosage as well as frequency of injection. Anti-morphine antibody was detected after the first injection of 100 microg/ml, 600 microg/ml and second injection of 12.5 microg/ml doses. Antibody levels reached the peak by three months and did not decline to the baseline after one year. The vaccine was well tolerated and lacked the reverse and unfavorable effects, characteristic of vaccines and drugs. On day 90, humoral immunity was created in all patients