Genome-wide analysis of population structure, effective population size and inbreeding in Iranian and exotic horses.

Population structure and genetic diversity are the key parameters to study the breeding history of animals. This research aimed to provide a characterization of the population structure and to compare the effective population size (Ne), LD decay, genetic diversity, and genomic inbreeding in Iranian native Caspian (n = 38), Turkmen (n = 24) and Kurdish (n = 29) breeds and some other exotic horses consisting of Arabian (n = 24), Fell pony (n = 21) and Akhal-Teke (n = 20). A variety of statistical population analysis techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant analysis of principal component (DAPC) and model-based method (STRUCTURE) were employed. The results of the population analysis clearly demonstrated a distinct separation of native and exotic horse breeds and clarified the relationships between studied breeds. The effective population size (Ne) for the last six generations was estimated 54, 49, 37, 35, 27 and 26 for the Caspian, Kurdish, Arabian, Turkmen, Akhal-Teke and Fell pony breeds, respectively. The Caspian breed showed the lowest LD with an average r2 value of 0.079, while the highest was observed in Fell pony (0.148). The highest and lowest average observed heterozygosity were found in the Kurdish breeds (0.346) and Fell pony (0.290) breeds, respectively. The lowest genomic inbreeding coefficient based on run of homozygosity (FROH) and excess of homozygosity (FHOM) was in the Caspian and Kurdish breeds, respectively, while based on genomic relationship matrix) FGRM) and correlation between uniting gametes) FUNI) the lowest genomic inbreeding coefficient was found in the Kurdish breed. The estimation of genomic inbreeding rates in the six breeds revealed that FROH yielded lower estimates compared to the other three methods. Additionally, the Iranian breeds displayed lower levels of inbreeding compared to the exotic breeds. Overall, the findings of this study provide valuable insights for the development of effective breeding management strategies aimed at preserving these horse breeds.

Genome-wide study of linkage disequilibrium, population structure, and inbreeding in Iranian indigenous sheep breeds.

Knowledge of linkage disequilibrium (LD), genetic structure and genetic diversity are some key parameters to study the breeding history of indigenous small ruminants. In this study, the OvineSNP50 Bead Chip array was used to estimate and compare LD, genetic diversity, effective population size (Ne) and genomic inbreeding in 186 individuals, from three Iranian indigenous sheep breeds consisting of Baluchi (n = 96), Lori-Bakhtiari (n = 47) and Zel (n = 47). The results of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that all animals were allocated to the groups that they sampled and the admixture analysis revealed that the structure within the populations is best explained when separated into three groups (K = 3). The average r2 values estimated between adjacent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at distances up to 10Kb, were 0.388±0.324, 0.353±0.311, and 0.333±0.309 for Baluchi, Lori-Bakhtiari and Zel, respectively. Estimation of genetic diversity and effective population size (Ne) showed that the Zel breed had the highest heterozygosity and Ne, whereas the lowest value was found in Baluchi breed. Estimation of genomic inbreeding using FROH (based on the long stretches of consecutive homozygous genotypes) showed the highest inbreeding coefficient in Baluchi and the lowest in Zel breed that could be due to higher pressure of artificial selection on Baluchi breed. The results of genomic inbreeding and Ne showed an increase in sharing haplotypes in Baluchi, leading to the enlargement of LD and the consequences of linkage disequilibrium and haplotype blocks confirmed this point. Also, the persistence of the LD phase between Zel and Lori-Bakhtiari was highest indicating that these two breeds would be combined in a multi-breed training population in genomic selection studies.

Controlled drug delivery from chitosan-coated heparin-loaded nanopores anodically grown on nitinol shape-memory alloy.

Nitinol (NiTi shape-memory alloy) is an interesting candidate in various medical applications like dental, orthopedic, and cardiovascular devices, owing to its unique mechanical behaviors and proper biocompatibility. The aim of this work is the local controlled delivery of a cardiovascular drug, heparin, loaded onto nitinol treated by electrochemical anodizing and chitosan coating. In this regard, the structure, wettability, drug release kinetics, and cell cytocompatibility of the specimens were analyzed in vitro. The two-stage anodizing process successfully developed a regular nanoporous layer of Ni-Ti-O on nitinol, which considerably decreased the sessile water contact angle and induced hydrophilicity. The application of the chitosan coatings controlled the release of heparin mainly by a diffusional mechanism, where the drug release mechanisms were evaluated by the Higuchi, first-order, zero-order, and Korsmeyer-Pepass models. Human umbilical cord endothelial cells (HUVECs) viability assay also showed the non-cytotoxicity of the samples, so that the best performance was found for the chitosan-coated samples. It is concluded that the designed drug delivery systems are promising for cardiovascular, particularly stent applications.

Intelligent modeling of hydrogen sulfide solubility in various types of single and multicomponent solvents.

This study aims to study the solubility of acid gas, i.e., hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in different solvents. Three intelligent approaches, including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) were used to construct reliable models based on an extensive databank comprising 5148 measured samples from 54 published sources. The analyzed data cover 95 single and multicomponent solvents such as amines, ionic liquids, electrolytes, organics, etc., in broad pressure and temperature ranges. The proposed models require just three simple input variables, i.e., pressure, temperature and the equivalent molecular weight of solvent to determine the solubility. A competitive examination of the novel models implied that the GPR-based one gives the most appropriate estimations with excellent AARE, R2 and RRMSE values of 4.73%, 99.75% and 4.83%, respectively for the tested data. The mentioned intelligent model also performed well in describing the physical behaviors of H2S solubility at various operating conditions. Furthermore, analyzing the William's plot for the GPR-based model affirmed the high reliability of the analyzed databank, as the outlying data points comprise just 2.04% of entire data. In contrast to the literature models, the newly presented approaches proved to be applicable for different types of single and multicomponent H2S absorbers with AAREs less than 7%. Eventually, a sensitivity analysis based on the GPR model reflected the fact that the solvent equivalent molecular weight is the most influential factor in controlling H2S solubility.

Diversity of actinomycete and their metabolites isolated from Howz Soltan Lake, Iran.

Saline environments are largely unexplored sources of actinomycetes with the potential to produce biologically active secondary metabolites. A total of 34 actinomycete isolates from water, sediments and mostly rhizosphere (82%) were collected from different sites at Howz Soltan Lake in Iran. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the isolates belonged to the genera Streptomyces, Nocardia and Saccharomonospora. Cytotoxic assay revealed extract from isolate act9 as the most potent (19.716±5.72 µg/ml) against the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell. Also, 38% of the isolates showed antimicrobial activity against some of the test microorganisms. The ethyl-acetate extract of isolate act18 showed the strongest antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA, and was further analyzed by GC/MS. Ar-tumerone (26.41%) and butyl isodecyl phthalate (21.77 %) were the main constituents detected in the extract. This is the first time Ar-tumerone is being detected in a prokaryote. Isolate act18 showed a high 16S rRNA sequence similarity to that of Streptomyces youssoufiensis DSM 41920. In addition, a number of the isolates produced different enzymes including lipase, amylase, protease, gelatinase, urease and lecithinase. Some of the isolates belonging to the genera Streptomyces and Nocardia exhibited plant growth promoting activity such as increased seed germination, stem length and the number of Echium leaves during the 20 days. Findings from this study indicated the diversity and biosynthetic potential of actinomycetes from saline environment.

In vitro maturation medium supplementation: utilization of repaglinide, L-carnitine, and mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium to improve developmental competence of oocytes derived from endometriosis mouse models.

Endometriosis (EMS) is one of the most prevalent causes for female infertility. Herein, we investigated the effect of the repaglinide (RG), L-carnitine (LC), and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (BMSC-CM) supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM) on the quality, maturation, and fertilization rates, as well as embryonic quality and development of oocytes derived from normal and EMS mouse model. Immature oocytes were collected from two groups of normal and EMS-induced female NMRI mice at 6-8 weeks of age. Oocytes were cultured in IVM medium unsupplemented (control group), or supplemented with 1 M RG, 0.3 and 0.6 mg/mL LC, and 25 and 50% BMSC-CM. After 24 h of oocyte incubation, IVM rate and antioxidant status were assessed. Subsequently, the rates of fertilization, cleavage, blastulation, and embryonic development were assessed. Our results demonstrated that supplementation of IVM medium with LC and BMSC-CM, especially 50% BMSC-CM, significantly enhanced IVM and fertilization rates, and markedly improved blastocyst development and total blastocyst cell numbers in EMS-induced mice compared to the control group (53.28±0.24 vs 18.09±0.10%). Additionally, LC and BMSC-CM were able to significantly modulate EMS-induced nitro-oxidative stress by boosting total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and mitigating nitric oxide (NO) levels. Collectively, LC and BMSC-CM supplementation improved oocyte quality and IVM rates, pre-implantation developmental competence of oocytes after in vitro fertilization, and enhanced total blastocyst cell numbers probably by attenuating nitro-oxidative stress and accelerating nuclear maturation of oocytes. These outcomes may provide novel approaches to refining the IVM conditions that can advance the efficiency of assisted reproductive technologies in infertile couples.

The application of the loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for rapid detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important problem associated with significant mortality and morbidity and well known as a predominant bacterial pathogen. The aim of this study was to identify MRSA strains. In this study (June 2018 to June 2019) isolates of S. aureus were obtained from patients referred to teaching hospitals of Ahvaz, Iran. All isolates were confirmed by conventional microbiological methods. In following, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), MRSA screening, PCR detection of MRSA and LAMP assay were performed. Out of a total of 156 staphylococcal isolates, 126 isolates were identified as MRSA. Seventy-two (57.1%) MRSA isolates were recovered from wound. All MRSA isolates were sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, quinupristin-dalfopristin, and tigecycline. The results of LAMP showed 100% agreement with PCR. Sensitivity and specificity of the LAMP assays for the mecA genes were 100% and 100%, respectively. The LAMP assay is a rapid and simple method for the identifications of MRSA. Because of its performance without the need for specific instrumentation, this method can be easily employed in medical centers for the detection of mecA.

In vitro maturation medium supplementation: utilization of repaglinide, L-carnitine, and mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium to improve developmental competence of oocytes derived from endometriosis mouse models

Endometriosis (EMS) is one of the most prevalent causes for female infertility. Herein, we investigated the effect of the repaglinide (RG), L-carnitine (LC), and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (BMSC-CM) supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM) on the quality, maturation, and fertilization rates, as well as embryonic quality and development of oocytes derived from normal and EMS mouse model. Immature oocytes were collected from two groups of normal and EMS-induced female NMRI mice at 6-8 weeks of age. Oocytes were cultured in IVM medium unsupplemented (control group), or supplemented with 1 M RG, 0.3 and 0.6 mg/mL LC, and 25 and 50% BMSC-CM. After 24 h of oocyte incubation, IVM rate and antioxidant status were assessed. Subsequently, the rates of fertilization, cleavage, blastulation, and embryonic development were assessed. Our results demonstrated that supplementation of IVM medium with LC and BMSC-CM, especially 50% BMSC-CM, significantly enhanced IVM and fertilization rates, and markedly improved blastocyst development and total blastocyst cell numbers in EMS-induced mice compared to the control group (53.28±0.24 vs 18.09±0.10%). Additionally, LC and BMSC-CM were able to significantly modulate EMS-induced nitro-oxidative stress by boosting total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and mitigating nitric oxide (NO) levels. Collectively, LC and BMSC-CM supplementation improved oocyte quality and IVM rates, pre-implantation developmental competence of oocytes after in vitro fertilization, and enhanced total blastocyst cell numbers probably by attenuating nitro-oxidative stress and accelerating nuclear maturation of oocytes. These outcomes may provide novel approaches to refining the IVM conditions that can advance the efficiency of assisted reproductive technologies in infertile couples.

Moderate overfeeding of different sources of metabolizable energy and protein. II: Effects on inflammatory status of sheep in late pregnancy and growth trajectory of the offspring.

Our objective was to evaluate the effects of moderate overfeeding of different sources of metabolizable energy (ME) and protein (MP) on inflammatory status of sheep in late gestation and short-term growth performance of the offspring. A total of 32 healthy pregnant Zell ewes (2.5 ± 1 years old, 42.19 ± 1.65 kg body weight [BW]) were selected 7 weeks before lambing. After receiving a ten-day adaptation diet, eight ewes were randomly allocated to each of the four treatments including: 1) The adaptation diet that fulfills ME and MP requirements, according to the National Research Council's (NRC, 2007) recommendations for late pregnant ewes (CON); 2) A diet with 10% higher levels of ME than CON, using corn grain for extra ME (HEC); 3) A diet with 10% higher level of ME compared to CON, using flaxseed for additional ME (HEF); and 4) A diet with a 10% higher level of MP than CON, using a rumen-protected lysin and methionine supplement (RP-Lys & Met) to supply extra MP (PRO). After lambing, ewes continued their dietary treatments until 30 days postpartum; however, the content of ingredients were proportionally increased to meet the recommended levels of energy and protein for lactating ewes (NRC, 2007). Blood samples from the ewes were taken on days -21, -14, and -7 before parturition. Colostrum yield and components were determined, and lamb's BW and milk intake (MI) were measured weekly until 28 days of age. Other growth performance indexes were computed accordingly. Blood samples from the offspring were taken on days 15 and 30 of life. The data was analyzed using SAS software (SAS Institute Inc., 9.4). Compared with the CON, HEF-fed ewes were the only group that had lower levels of oxidative stress and blood inflammatory markers at -7 d before parturition (P < 0.05). Concentrations of aminotransferases in CON-fed ewes were greater than other groups in late gestation (P ≤ 0.05). Offspring of HEF- and PRO-fed ewes had higher birth BW than lambs of the CON-fed group (3.71 and 4.11 vs. 3.01 ± 0.24, Kg for HEF, PRO, and CON, respectively). Except for week 2, lambs of CON-fed ewes had lower BW gain compared with the other offspring (P < 0.01). Lambs of PRO-fed ewes had greater levels of plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG, days 15 and 30 of life; P < 0.05) and MI (from week 2; P < 0.001) than other groups. In conclusion, regardless of the source, moderate overfeeding of ME/MP was more beneficial for the immune status of late pregnant dams and the offspring's performance than non-overfed ones.

The Antioxidant Effect of Medicago sativa L. (Alfalfa) Ethanolic Extract against Mercury Chloride (HgCl2) Toxicity in Rat Liver and Kidney: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

Heavy metals such as mercury are some of the environmental pollutants and can induce toxicity by bioaccumulation and oxidative damage. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ethanolic extract of Medicago sativa L. (Alfalfa) on mercury damage in the kidney and liver of rats. Thirty Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups, the control group, S group (2 mg/kg mercury chloride), and T1, T2, and T3 groups that, in addition to mercury, received doses of 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg of the alfalfa extract. On the last day, blood samples were taken, and the serum was separated to measure biochemical and oxidative stress parameters in the kidney and liver. A part of the kidney and liver was also used for histopathological evaluation. Total phenols and flavonoids were 40.45 ± 2.12 and 14.36 ± 0.45 mg/g, respectively, whereas IC50 was 245.18 ± 19.76 µg/ml. The body weight significantly decreased in the S group compared to other groups, while treatment with different doses of alfalfa extract increased the body weight. Mercury concentration in the kidney was higher than that in the liver. The serum levels of urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) significantly increased in the S group compared to the control group, while treatment with different doses of alfalfa extract increased their levels. Moreover, an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and a decrease in glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were observed in the S group. The level of these parameters significantly improved in the groups receiving the extract compared to the S group. Furthermore, the histopathological evaluation showed glomerular and tubular damage and hepatic necrosis in the S group and that these conditions improved in the T3 group. The findings of this study showed that the ethanolic extract of alfalfa in a dose-dependent manner has potentially unique protective effects against mercury poisoning in the kidney and liver.

De-oiled soy lecithin positively influenced growth performance, nutrient digestibility, histological intestinal alteration, and antioxidant status in turkeys fed with low energy diets.

1. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of supplementing an emulsifier (de-oiled soybean lecithin (DSL)) in a low metabolisable energy (ME) diet on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcase characteristics, intestinal morphology, blood metabolites, and antioxidant status in growing turkeys.2. A total of 480 one-day-old turkeys were assigned to one of four dietary treatments with of eight replicates of 15 birds each. Experimental treatments included a basal diet (BE) with commercially recommended levels of ME, a reduced energy diet (RE) with 0.42 MJ/kg reduction in dietary ME content, the RE diet + 1 g/kg DSL (DSL-1), and RE + 2 g/kg DSL (DSL-2).3. After 112 days, the body weight, average daily gain, and feed:gain in turkeys fed the supplemented for BE diets were better (P < 0.05) than in those fed RE, and those fed diet DSL-2 had the best performance. Although the RE diet decreased abdominal fat and relative liver weight (P < 0.05), compared to the BE diet, and supplementation with either level of DSL did not influence these variables.4. There were linear increases (P < 0.05) in fat digestibility, nitrogen-corrected apparent ME, and duodenal villus height, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and villus surface area in LE diet supplemented with DSL. From the jejunal morphology, crypt depth was decreased by DSL-supplemented diets (P < 0.05).5. Serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and malondialdehyde concentrations were lower, whereas the serum superoxide dismutase activity was greater for the DSL-2 group compared to the BE and RE groups (P < 0.05).6. The findings suggested that, while low-ME diets impaired turkey growth performance, dietary supplementation of DSL could reverse such impacts of these diets. The DSL-supplemented diet at the inclusion level of 2 g/kg was advantageous over both BE and RE diets in terms of intestinal morphology, lipid profile, and antioxidant status in growing turkeys.

Moderate over-feeding of different sources of metabolizable energy and protein improved gestational insulin resistance markers and maternal metabolic status of sheep around lambing.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of moderate over-nutrition of energy (using flaxseed as a source of n-3 fatty acids) and protein (using rumen-protected lysine and methionine) around parturition on prepartal insulin resistance (IR) and periparturient metabolic status and performance of ewes. For this purpose, 32 apparently healthy ewes (2.5 ± 1 years old, 42.19 ± 1.65 kg body weight (BW)) were randomly selected out of 200 pregnant Zell ewes on d 50 before the expected lambing. After receiving a ten-day adaptation diet, eight ewes were randomly allocated to one of the following four dietary treatments: 1) the adaptation diet that meets the metabolizable energy (ME) and protein (MP) requirements of ewes during late pregnancy as recommended by National Research Council = NRC (2007) (Control = CON). 2) A diet with 10% higher levels of ME than NRC (2007) recommendations using corn grain as a source of extra ME (HEC). 3) A diet with 10% higher levels of ME compared to NRC (2007) recommendations using flaxseed for additional ME (HEF). 4) A diet with a 10% higher level of MP than NRC (2007) recommendations using rumen-protected lysine and methionine as a source of extra MP (PRO). While the dietary treatments did not affect animals' dry matter intake (DMI), the CON ewes lost more BW starting from d 10 to d 30 relative to parturition compared to others (P < 0.05). Milk protein and fat yield (g/d) were significantly higher for PRO and HEF compared to HEC and CON ewes (P < 0.05). Moderately over-fed ewes with MP and ME had an improved insulin sensitivity (IS) compared to CON ones. The source of additional ME also impacted IR indices because HEC showed an enhancement in IS than HEF animals (P < 0.05). A lower IS in CON ewes was parallel with higher concentrations of plasma urea at prepartum (P < 0.01), lower levels of plasma cholesterol, triglyceride (P < 0.01) and glucose post-partum (P < 0.05), and a tendency for higher levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) in CON ewes during both pre- and post-partum periods. There were negative correlations between plasma urea, BHB, and NEFA with IR markers on d 7 prepartum in line with these results. Comparing data, we could not find a significant change in metabolic status among ewes fed with either PRO or HEF/HEC. In conclusion, the inclusion of 10% extra MP and ME could improve late gestation maternal IS and the metabolic status of dams around lambing.

Investigating the anti-inflammatory effects of high molecular weight secretions from Limosilactobacillus reuteri PTCC 1655 on LPS-stimulated PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells.

AIMS: This study was done to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of high molecular weight secretions from Limosilactobacillus reuteri PTCC 1655 probiotic bacteria on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-differentiated THP-1 cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: After culturing the bacterium, the crude cell-free supernatant was fractionated on the basis of molecular weights using ultrafiltration. Also, a heat-killed and sonicated fraction was obtained from the biomass of the bacterial culture. All fractions were used to measure their anti-inflammatory effects on PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells following LPS stimulation by quantifying various cellular markers of inflammation. The results demonstrated that various L. reuteri PTCC 1655-derived fractions, especially the >100 kDa supernatant fraction decreased some of the inflammatory cytokines and mediators, including tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1, nitric oxide, cyclooxygenase-2, matrix metalloproteinase-9 and interleukin-6, which are critical for the pathogenesis of some inflammatory diseases. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the L. reuteri PTCC 1655-derived high molecular weight fractions significantly reduce inflammation and therefore could be appropriate candidates for future medical studies. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Providing new insights about the significance of L. reuteri PTCC 1655-derived extracts and their potential to modulate inflammation.

Evaluating the frequency of carbapenem and aminoglycoside resistance genes among clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from Ahvaz, south-west Iran.

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most important opportunistic challenging pathogens as a result of its ability to acquire resistance to broad range of antibiotics and cause a variety of severe nosocomial infections. We investigated the frequency of the aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes (AMEs) and oxacillinase genes among clinical isolates of A. baumannii collected from hospitalized patients in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz city, Iran. This prospective cross-sectional study was performed on 80 clinical isolates of A. baumannii collected from patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran. Initial identification of isolates as A. baumannii was performed using conventional bacteriologic tests, and final confirmation was carried out by PCR of bla OXA-51-like gene and multiplex PCR of gyrB locus. MICs of different classes of antibiotics against these strains was measured by using VITEK 2 system. After extraction of genomic DNA, two groups of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii genes including AME (aadA1, aadB, aphA6 and aacC1) and oxacillinases (bla OXA-23-like, bla OXA-24-like, bla OXA-51-like, bla OXA-58-like and bla OXA-143-like) were detected. According to antibiotic susceptibility testing, among 80 A. baumannii strains, 75 isolates (91.25%) were multidrug resistant. The results showed that colistin and tigecycline, with respective sensitivity rates of 97.5% (78/80) and 56.25% (45/80), had the highest effects. The presence of bla OXA-51-like and gyrB genes was confirmed in all strains. Furthermore, bla OXA-23-like and bla OXA-24-like genes were found in 68.75% (55/80) and 20% (16/80) of isolates respectively, while no isolate harbored the bla OXA-143-like gene. The frequency of genes encoding the AMEs including aadA1, aacC1, aphA6 and aadB were 11.25% (9/80), 16.25% (13/80), 22.5% (18/80) and 30% (24/80) respectively. Our findings indicate that the presence of the aadB and aphA6 is correlated with high resistance against amikacin and gentamicin. We found a very high resistance rate against most of the antimicrobial agents usually prescribed for severe infections caused by A. baumannii. Therefore, because of rapid emergence of resistance even for colistin or tigecycline, monotherapy should be avoided. These results show the importance of providing antibiotics correctly in intensive care units and following antibiotic stewardship protocols as the only effective strategies to attempt to control antibiotic resistance in healthcare settings.

Social capital and related factors in Western Iran students.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Social capital involves a set of norms available in social systems which improves the interaction between people and reduces the costs of interactions and communications. The purpose of this research was to study the social capital of the students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences and its related factors, 2017. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The method of this study was the descriptive survey. The statistical sample of this study included all students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences among whom 378 students were selected randomly as the study sample. Delaviz questionnaire of social capital was employed for data collection and data analysis was performed using SPSS software, through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and Inferential statistics (U-Mann Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis). RESULTS: The mean of social capital was 70.56 ± 10/88. The minimum and maximum mean was measured for "participation in local community" and "group participation", respectively. In this study, there were significant associations between social capital and gender, field of study as well as marital status (p < 0/01). CONCLUSIONS: Social capital is known as the most important factor for people dealing with stressful situations, and can facilitate toleration of problems for them. It can also support the health and life satisfaction of students.

Genetic diversity in Iranian indigenous sheep vis-à-vis selected exogenous sheep breeds and wild mouflon.

The heterogeneity of climate and different agro-ecological conditions in Iran have resulted in development of 27 indigenous sheep breeds. Wild Asiatic mouflon (Ovis orientalis) is believed to be the ancestor of Iranian sheep. Evaluation of genetic diversity and population structure within and among domestic breeds has important implications for animal breeding programs and genetic resources management. Based on 50K SNP genotype data, we studied the genetic diversity of five indigenous Iranian sheep breeds: Afshari (n = 37), Moghani (n = 34), Qezel (n = 35), Zel (n = 46) and Lori-Bakhtiari (n = 46), and Asiatic mouflon (n = 8) sampled from Iran. Furthermore, genetic diversity and the breed admixture of Iranian sheep were assessed on a larger geographic scale using a reference panel comprising: three indigenous Afghan breeds - Arabi (n = 15), Balouchi (n = 15) and Gadik (n = 15); three indigenous breeds from Turkey and Cyprus - Cyprus Fat Tail (n = 30), Karakas (n = 18) and Norduz (n = 20); and three commercial European breeds - Suffolk (n = 19), Comisana (n = 24) and Engadine Red Sheep (n = 24). The results revealed that the investigated breeds are divided into five genetically distinct clusters according to their geographic origin. Afshari was closest to the local mouflon population and showed signs of mouflon admixture. Qezel was identified as a hybrid sheep breed. Much evidence supported the Afghan breeds being identical. Inbreeding values, which were estimated based on ROHs, were highest for Suffolk (FROH  = 0.0544) and lowest for Balouchi (FROH  = 0.0078). In conclusion, analysis of selected breeds from neighboring countries along with Asiatic mouflon gave a deeper insight into the evolutionary history and origin of Iranian sheep with important implications for future breed management.

Assessing selection signatures within and between selected lines of dual-purpose black and white and German Holstein cattle.

The aim of this study was to detect selection signatures considering cows from the German Holstein (GH) and the local dual-purpose black and white (DSN) population, as well as from generated sub-populations. The 4654 GH and 261 DSN cows were genotyped with the BovineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip. The geographical herd location was used as an environmental descriptor to create the East-DSN and West-DSN sub-populations. In addition, two further sub-populations of GH cows were generated, using the extreme values for solutions of residual effects of cows for the claw disorder dermatitis digitalis. These groups represented the most susceptible and most resistant cows. We used cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity methodology (XP-EHH) to identify the most recent selection signatures. Furthermore, we calculated Wright's fixation index (FST ). Chromosomal segments for the top 0.1 percentile of negative or positive XP-EHH scores were studied in detail. For gene annotations, we used the Ensembl database and we considered a window of 250 kbp downstream and upstream of each core SNP corresponding to peaks of XP-EHH. In addition, functional interactions among potential candidate genes were inferred via gene network analyses. The most outstanding XP-EHH score was on chromosome 12 (at 77.34 Mb) for DSN and on chromosome 20 (at 36.29-38.42 Mb) for GH. Selection signature locations harbored QTL for several economically important milk and meat quality traits, reflecting the different breeding goals for GH and DSN. The average FST value between GH and DSN was quite low (0.068), indicating shared founders. For group stratifications according to cow health, several identified potential candidate genes influence disease resistance, especially to dermatitis digitalis.

Chlorhexidine alcohol versus povidone-iodine: The comparative study of skin disinfectants at the blood transfusion centers of Iran.

OBJECTIVES: The skin disinfection in the blood donor's arm is a key step to minimize the risk of microbial contamination at blood donation sessions. Current study aimed to compare the efficacy of 2% chlorhexidine gluconate in 70% isopropyl alcohol (CHG/IPA) with povidone-Iodine (PI) at blood transfusion centers (BTCs) of Iran. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Blood donors were selected to evaluate three commercial CHG/IPA disinfectants (N=300), prior the application at BTCs, and to compare the rate of positive skin cultures between CHG/IPA and PI in 31 BTCs (N=8578). The rate of positivity for PI over a 5-year period was also investigated. After application of a two-step disinfection procedure, the biochemical characteristics were checked in accordance with the conventional bacteriological methods. The Z-test analysis was used to compare the deviation between the positive microbial culture ratios. RESULT: No donors had a positive culture after disinfection during the evaluation study. There was no difference in the rate of positivity between PI and CHG/IPA after disinfection (P>0.05). The rate of positivity for PI from 2012 to 2017 showed a decreasing trend. The rate of positivity was significantly higher in winter rather than summer (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The disinfection efficacy of CHG/IPA was equivalent to that of PI. The 5-year monitoring of PI at BTCs showed that the improvement in the rate of positive skin cultures possibly due to effectiveness of correcting actions.

Identification of potential genomic regions for egg weight by a haplotype-based genome-wide association study using Bayesian methods.

1. Theoretically, haplotype blocks might be a more suitable alternative to SNP genotypes as they are usually better at capturing multi-allelic QTL effects, compared to individual SNP genotypes in genome-wide association studies. The objectives of this study were to identify genomic regions related to egg weight traits by Bayesian methods (BayesA, BayesB, and BayesN) that fit fixed-length haplotypes using GenSel software. 2. Genotypes at 294,705 SNPs, that were common on a 600K Affymetrix chip, were phased for an egg-laying hen population of 1,063 birds. Recorded traits included first egg weight (FEW) and average egg weight at 28, 36, 56, 66, 72 and 80 weeks of age. 2. Fitting 1Mb haplotypes from BayesB resulted in the highest proportion of genetic variance explained for the egg weight traits. Based on the trait, the genetic variance explained by each marker ranged from 27% to 76%. 3. Different haplotype windows associated with egg weight traits only explained a small percentage of the genetic variance. 4. The top one 1-Mb window on GGA1 explained approximately 4.05% of total genetic variance for the FEW. Candidate genes, including PRKAR2B, HMGA2, LEMD3, GRIP1, EHBP1, MAP3K7, and MYH were identified for egg weight traits. 5. Several genomic regions, potentially associated with egg weight traits, were identified, some of which overlapped with known genes and previously reported QTL regions for egg production traits.

[Pulmonary embolism and inferior vena cava agenesis: An unusual association]. / Embolie pulmonaire et agénésie de veine cave inférieure : une association inhabituelle.

INTRODUCTION: Inferior vena cava agenesis is a rare congenital anomaly, generally associated with thrombophilic conditions, and a predisposing factor for deep venous thrombosis (DVT), rarely complicated by pulmonary embolism, in a young population with atypical clinical features and frequent absence of risk factors. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 30-year-old woman who developed a right iliac DVT, initially presenting as a low back pain and complicated by a pulmonary embolism, 8 months after a sleeve gastrectomy. Chest CT angiography revealed abnormalities that led to the diagnosis of inferior vena cava agenesis. Thrombophilic screening showed a heterozygous prothrombin gene mutation G20210A and hyperhomocysteinemia. The patient was treated with rivaroxaban with good results after 2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In young patients without risk factors developing a deep venous thrombosis, an inferior vena cava anomaly should be considered. Although no therapeutic consensus has been currently established, inferior vena cava agenesis seems to be associated with a high prevalence of thrombophilic disorders. Screening could be useful, particularly in patients with a thrombotic family history.