[ simple method for purification of mouse igg2a by ion exchange and affinity chromatography]

Background: Purified mouse IgG2a [a product that could be used in medical research] subclass could be used for animal immunization to production of polyclonal Antibody and to obtain hybridomas in Monoclonal Antibody Production Procedures. The goal of this study was to purify the mouse IgG2a

Methods: In one step, Ion exchange chromatography was carried out for purification of mouse IgG and then in second step, ProA affinity chromatography was used for IgG2a purification .The chosen method for determination of purity was reduced and non-reduced SDS-PAGE. ELISA method was used for titer and isotype determination

Results: Mouse Igs with a protein concentration of 27mg/ml [volume: 3CC] was applied on Ion exchange column. Purification by Ion exchange chromatography yielded about 28mg of mouse IgG. Eight mg mouse IgG2a was obtained by ProA affinity chromatography. In reduced SDS-PAGE analysis of purified antibody, two bands were seen in 25and 50 KDa MW positions. Isotype determination of purified mouse IgG2a with mouse isotyping Kit showed the presence of mouse IgG2a isotype with a kappa light chain in related fraction

Conclusion: Purified mouse IgG2a subclass was obtained with purity more than 95%. Due to the obtained high purity we concluded that Ion exchange chromatography following by ProA affinity chromatography could be a suitable method for purification of mouse IgG subclasses with high quality. Our product is an economical and suitable product that takes a step towards self-sufficiency of the country

Amelioration of lipid abnormalities by vitamin therapy in women using oral contraceptives / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: Combined oral contraceptives (COCs) have some adverse effects on the serum lipid profile. Because hyperlipidemia is one of the risk factors in cardiovascular diseases, lipid abnormalities should be evaluated in women consuming COCs. Vitamins E and C are known to have beneficial effects on serum lipid profiles. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the effects of vitamins E and C on serum lipids in women using COCs. METHODS: The study compared changes in lipid parameters with and without vitamin therapy in women consuming COCs compared to those of a control group (40 non-contraceptive users or NCU) for 4 weeks. Total cholesterol and triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels along with HDL/LDL ratios were measured for all participants. RESULTS: COC users experienced significantly higher increases in the levels of triglycerides and LDL than non-users (p<0.05). However, no significant differences were noted in the total cholesterol and HDL levels. In the treated COC group receiving vitamins E and C, the HDL level and the HDL/LDL ratio increased and the LDL and triglycerides levels decreased significantly compared with those of the other groups. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that supplementation with antioxidant vitamins E and C restores a normal lipid profile in COC users.

Is students' mini-lecture an effective strategy to learn English?

In most general and special English courses of the Iranian universities, reading comprehension is the main component of the syllabus. Nonetheless, in an attempt to improve listening and speaking skills, some general English courses were accompanied by oral presentations, according to which each student had to give a lecture lasting for nearly 10 minutes. The main objective was to investigate the effect of a 10-minute oral presentation on students' linguistic skills, in a comprehension-oriented syllabus. As such, two linguistically homogeneous general English classes were selected. Students in both classes were taught by the same English teacher, using the same textbook and syllabus, which, as usual, focused on reading comprehension. In one class [group 1] a 10-minute lecture, using a Power-point slide presentation software, was included in the syllabus whereas in the other class [group 2] the usual no-lecture syllabus was followed. At the beginning of the semester, both groups took a pretest composed of a set of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, vocabulary and grammar items, and at the semester end they sat for a posttest, which was similar to the pretest. The results of the two tests were then compared using the student t-test. Comparison of the mean scores on reading comprehension, listening comprehension, vocabulary and grammar, for the pre-test and post-test, showed no significant differences between the two groups although score gains on listening comprehension for the first group was noticeable. The conclusion may be that mini-lectures in a reading comprehension-oriented syllabus can improve students' listening comprehension although the level of improvement may not be so significant

Patient's attitudes towards clinical interviews in various fields of medical specialties

Although the physician-patient relationship is of special significance for a proper diagnosis, few studies have been done to find out how successful these interactions are across various medical specialties. Common physician knowledge measured by a questionnaire tended to view fields such as psychiatry more successful in achieving patient satisfaction than other specialties. However, the validity of such assumptions has rarely been assessed scientifically. The current study was designed to find out whether medical specialties with greater mental/emotional orientation, such as psychiatry, are more successful in achieving patient satisfaction than specialties with a stronger manual orientation, such as surgery A total of 27 physicians were randomly selected from different medical orientations. They were requested to use their common-sense to rate the specialties under study depending on whether they were more mentally oriented or manually inclined. They were also asked to indicate which groups of specialties are likely to be more successful in achieving patient satisfaction from clinical interactions. Another sample of 561 patients was selected from nine different medical specialty clinics based on a quota sample method. Patients were asked to complete a 15-item Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire following their clinical interviews with their physicians The results obtained from the patients did not fully corroborate the results of the physicians' questionnaire, which predicted greatest patient satisfaction from psychiatrists. Our results showed that pediatricians and gynecologists were more successful in achieving patient satisfaction [P < 0.001] than psychiatrists. Patients' satisfaction with different medical specialties is different from physicians' common-sense assumptions. Patients were more satisfied with pediatricians and gynecologists rather than psychiatrists

Adenylyl cyclase assays to measure macrophage chemotactic protein-1 receptor function

Adenylyl cyclase is a membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ATP to cAMP. The inhibition of adenylyl cyclase was carried out by measuring the ability of the macrophage chemotactic protein-1 to inhibit the forskolin-induced enzyme activity. Adenylyl cyclase activity in the presence of macrophage chemotactic protein-1 was decreased compared to that in controls [2.11 +/- 0.15 [mean +/- sd.] vs. 6.83 +/- 0.45, activity [micro mol cAMP/mg protein/min]]