Phenotypic and Genotypic Identification of Yeast Species Isolated from Diabetic Foot Patients in Al-Najaf Province, Iraq.

Opportunistic yeasts, such as Trichosporon and Candida species (spp.), are reported to cause high rates of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised and underlying patients. This study was conducted to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic identification of yeast spp. isolated from diabetic patients in Al-Najaf province, Iraq. Samples were collected from the depth of diabetic foot patients' wounds. They were then cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and incubated at 30°C to 35°C for 5 to 7 days for the growth of yeast spp. The colonies were identified based on their microscopic features. Afterward, these yeast samples were cultured in CHROMagar for the isolation and identification of yeast spp. All collected samples were cultured on the SDA through the use of CHROMagar, which is considered a differential agar since the colonies obtained from Candida intermedia and Trichosporon asahii appear in different colors on this media. The Polymerase Chain Reaction assay was performed to amplify the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and Internal transcribed spacer 4 (ITS4) sequences for the identification of the yeast spp. Furthermore, the products were sequenced by the Sanger method and compared to the reference global sequences in the national center for biotechnology information Gene Bank. The results showed different molecular sizes of the ITS regions of yeast spp. The primer pair was used for the same sample (i.e., ITS1-ITS4) and targeted the ITS regions. Yeast spp. can be considered the most common fungal agent of life-threatening invasive infections in patients with severe immunodeficiency or underlying diseases, and the treatment of these infections requires long stays in the intensive care units.

High velocity impact analysis of free-free carbon nanotubes.

In the present work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to investigate the impact behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with free boundary conditions in two directions, i.e. vertical and horizontal. To consider the effect of consecutive impacts, the number of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) participated in simulations is chosen from two to five in a row. MD results show that adding the number of impacts increases the magnitude of energy loss in both mentioned directions and reduces the maximum impact force in horizontal cases. In addition, by increasing the velocity of striker CNT from 1 km/s to the maximum value which causes any fracture, the effect of initial velocity on the impact properties and also the ultimate initial velocity for each model are investigated. It is demonstrated that the energy loss and the maximum value of impact force increase as the initial velocity of the striker increases. Also, it is found that the impact strength in the vertical direction is higher than that of the horizontal one, while the horizontal CNTs perform better in the absorption of impact energy. Moreover, for all models, the fracture mechanism of CNTs resulting from the impact process is represented and the procedure of failure is explained.

On the mechanical stability and buckling analysis of carbon nanotubes filled with ice nanotubes in the aqueous environment: A molecular dynamics simulation approach.

In this article, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are utilized to investigate the buckling behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing ice nanotubes in the vacuum and aqueous environment. The obtained results show that unlike the critical strain, the critical buckling load of CNT containing ice nanotube is higher than that of pure CNT in the vacuum. It is also indicated that the sensitivity of critical buckling load and the critical strain of CNT containing ice nanotube to the variation of length decreases when the nanostructure is subjected to the aqueous environment. Additionally, it is observed that the calculated critical buckling load and the critical strain of CNTs filled with ice nanotubes in the aqueous environment are respectively larger and smaller than those obtained in the vacuum. It is further observed that CNTs lose their symmetric buckling mode shape as they are filled with ice nanotubes in the vacuum. The results of these simulations can be used as a benchmark for further studies in designing novel potential applications such as proton electronic-based nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

Current and Future Challenges of Radiation Oncology in Iran: A Report from the Iranian Society of Clinical Oncology.

AIMS: Growth of the cancer incidence rate in Iran has been very high in recent years. Therefore, the Iranian health care system should be prepared for the treatment of a huge number of patients in the foreseeable future. One of the most important treatment options for cancer is radiation. However, there is no comprehensive information on infrastructure for radiation oncology in this country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 2015, a questionnaire was designed by the Iranian Society of Clinical Oncology (ISCO) and all radiation oncology centres in the country were visited to determine four important components of radiation oncology services, including facilities, equipment, personnel and patients. RESULTS: In 2015, 94 radiotherapy centres were identified in Iran. Sixty-one centres were fully operational, six centres were commissioning, 26 centres were under construction and one was inactive. Among the fully operational radiotherapy centres, 54 offered three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and two-dimensional radiotherapy, eight offered brachytherapy, two intensity-modulated radiotherapy, two intraoperative radiotherapy, ostereotactic radiosurgery, two hyperthermia and 59 chemotherapy. Moreover, the survey identified 110 linear accelerators, 25 cobalt-60, one gamma knife, 21 remote brachytherapy afterloaders and six orthovoltage units. Treatment planning equipment included 15 graphy simulators, 19 dedicated computed tomography simulators, 22 multileaf collimator and 12 electronic portal imaging devices. Moreover, in 2015, 243 clinical oncologists participated in the treatment of 42 350 cancer patients in need of radiotherapy, which is about one radiation oncologist for 175 patients. During 2010-2015, number of cobalt-60 reduced 70%, from 25 units to 8 units. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant gap between Iran's available facilities for radiation therapy and international standards. Moreover, during international economic sanctions against Iran this gap widened.

Phenytoin mouthwash to treat cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis: A pilot studyPrimary neuroendocrine carcinoma of breast: A rare tumor.

BACKGROUND: Oral mucositis is one of the most common side effects of cancer therapy with no definite treatment. Phenytoin has positive effects on healing of mucosal and dermal wounds. In this study efficacy of 1% phenytoin mouthwash on severity of mucositis (on the basis of WHO scale), pain relief (based on Visual Analogue Scale), and improvement of patients' quality of life (on the basis of EORTC-QLQ-H and N35 questionnaire) was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a pilot -double-blind randomized clinical trial, eight patients in study group were given 1% phenytoin mouthwash while eight patients in control group used normal saline. Data analysis was performed by Mann-Whitney and Repeated Measured ANOVA tests. RESULTS: Reduction of mucositis severity was observed, but the difference was not significant. On the other hand, patients on phenytoin therapy had better pain relief (VAS# 6.75 ± 1.58 at the beginning of the study reached to # 3.75 ± 1.16 after 3 weeks in phenytoin group) and improvement in quality of life (score of QOL was 70.63 ± 5.5 that reached to 63.61 ± 6.39 in phenytoin group) than normal saline group significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: One percent phenytoin mouthwash caused pain relief and improvement of life quality significantly in patients with mucositis due to cancer therapy, but it did not reduce the severity of mucositis in a statistically significant scale.

Selection of DNA barcoding loci and phylogenetic study of a medicinal and endemic plant, Plectranthus asirensis J.R.I. Wood from Saudi Arabia.

Genuine medicinal plant materials are very important for potential crude drug production, which can be used to cure many human diseases. DNA barcoding of medicinal plants is an effective way to identify adulterated or contaminated market materials, but it can be quite challenging to generate barcodes and analyze the data to determine discrimination power. The molecular phylogeny of a plant species infers its relationship to other species. We screened the various loci of the nuclear and chloroplast genome for the barcoding of Plectranthus asirensis, an endemic plant of Saudi Arabia. The chloroplast genome loci such as rps16 and rpoB showed maximum similarity to taxa of the same and other genera via BLAST of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank database; hence, they are less preferable for the development of a DNA barcode. However, nrDNA-ITS and chloroplast loci rbcL and rpoC1 showed less similarity via BLAST of the NCBI GenBank database; therefore, they could be used for DNA barcoding for this species.

Seasonal variation in the chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content of Artemisia absinthium essential oils.

BACKGROUND: The genus Artemisia belonging to the Compositae (Asteraceae) family and many traditional uses from the Artemisia species were reported. Artemisia absinthium is one of the species in this genus and commonly used in the food industry in the preparation of aperitifs, bitters, and spirits. OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the effect of different harvesting stages on the composition of essential oil and antioxidant capacity of A. absinthium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Essential oils from the aerial parts of A. absinthium, collected in three stages (preflowering, flowering, and after-flowering) from plants grown in the North Khorasan province of Iran were obtained by steam distillation and the chemical composition of the oils was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were determined by 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay and Folin-Ciocalteu method. RESULTS: Analysis of the isolated oils revealed the presence of 44 compounds, mainly alpha-pinene, sabinene, beta-pinene, alpha-phellandrene, p-cymene and chamazulene. Alpha-phellandrene, and chamazulene were major compounds in preflowering stage, but beta-pinene and alpha-phellandrene were major in flowering and past-flowering stages. Flowering stage had highest yield and after flowering stage had lowest yield. The essential oil of preflowering stage had the highest amount of antioxidant compound (chamazulene). Preflowering stage with highest amount of phenolic compounds had the strongest antioxidant activity with the lowest amount of EC50. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the harvesting stage had significant effects on chemical composition and antioxidant properties of essential oils, and chamazulene is main compound for antioxidant activity in A. absinthium.

In Vitro Activities of Ertapenem and Imipenem against Clinical Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Collected in Military Teaching Hospital Mohammed V of Rabat.

Objective. To study the sensitivity level of extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae to Carbapenems (Imipenem, Ertapenem) marketed in Morocco and discusses the place of Ertapenem in the treatment of extended spectrum-beta-lactamase-producing. Materials and Methods. A retrospective study of 110 extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Isolates obtained from blood cultures, superficial and deep pus, and catheters were conducted. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of Imipenem and Ertapenem were done by the E-test. The modified Hodge test was conducted for resistant or intermediate strains. Results. 99.1% of isolates were susceptible to Imipenem. For Ertapenem, 4 were resistant and 4 intermediate. The modified Hodge test was positive for all 08 isolates. A minimum inhibitory concentration comparison of K. pneumoniae, E. cloacae, and E. coli for Imipenem has noted a significant difference between E. cloacae on one hand and E. coli, K. pneumoniae on the other hand (P < 0.01). No significant difference was noted for minimum inhibitory concentration of Ertapenem. Conclusion. Our results confirm in vitro effectiveness of Ertapenem against extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae as reported elsewhere. However, the emergence of resistance to Carbapenems revealed by production of carbapenemases in this study confirmed a necessary bacteriological documented infection before using Ertapenem.

[Pyelonephritis table during the pregnancy: think of the listeriosis]. / Tableau de pyélonéphrite chez une femme enceinte : penser à la listériose.

Listeriosis in pregnancy is usually benign; however the foetal consequences are serious. We report a case of atypical listeriosis simulating pyelonephritis, in a pregnant woman who presented at 25 weeks gestation a left renal colic, operating in a febrile context; it was treated as urinary tract infection with gentamicin and ceftriaxon. The evolution was marked by the exacerbation of symptoms followed by in utero foetal death. Blood culture was performed in post abortion; the diagnosis was retained after bacteriological examination of the placenta. This observation suggested evoking listeriosis in any case of unexplained fever during pregnancy, even with clinical signs suggestive of pyelonephritis, and not delay making blood cultures and prescribing antibiotics in general an amoxicillin.

[Petrous plasmacytoma revealed by a painful peripheral facial palsy]. / Plasmocytome du rocher révélé par une paralysie faciale périphérique douloureuse.

INTRODUCTION: The classical hypothesis of Bell's palsy, tempting in cases of peripheral facial palsy of rapid onset, must nevertheless be evoked with caution particularly if an intense pain is present, which should lead to search for a tumor of the skull base, especially the petrous bone. CASE REPORT: A 43-year-old man presented a peripheral facial palsy of rapidly progressive onset. A petrous bone tumor was diagnosed on the CT scan, which revealed an aspect of a glomic tumor or a metastatic lesion. The final histological diagnosis was plasmacytoma. DISCUSSION: This type of tumor has been rarely reported in this location. The radiological features are not specific at all, underlying the importance of searching for some associated signs such as a monoclonal protein and performing a histological examination when the firm diagnosis of a systemic disease like multiple myeloma has not been possible.

Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on serum lipids, apolipoproteins and malondialdehyde in type 2 diabetes patients.

In order to test whether hyperlipidaemia and glycaemic control can be improved among diabetes patients by dietary supplementation with purified omega-3 fatty acids, we carried out a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on 50 type 2 diabetes patients randomized to 2 g/day purified omega-3 fatty acids or placebo for 10 weeks. Fasting triglycerides decreased significantly with supplementation relative to placebo (P = 0.01). There was a significant decrease in ApoB-100 and malondialdehyde compared to baseline values and compared to the control group. Omega-3 fatty acids had no significant effect on serum lipid levels, ApoA-I, glucose, insulin and HbA1c.

Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on serum lipids, apolipoproteins and malondialdehyde in type 2 diabetes patients

In order to test whether hyperlipidaemia and glycaemic control can be improved among diabetes patients by dietary supplementation with purified omega-3 fatty acids, we carried out a doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial on 50 type 2 diabetes patients randomized to 2 g/day purified omega-3 fatty acids or placebo for 10 weeks. Fasting triglycerides decreased significantly with supplementation relative to placebo [P = 0.01]. There was a significant decrease in ApoB-100 and malondialdehyde compared to baseline values and compared to the control group. Omega-3 fatty acids had no significant effect on serum lipid levels, ApoA-I, glucose, insulin and HbA1[c]

Genetic determinants of normal variation in coagulation factor (F) IX levels: genome-wide scan and examination of the FIX structural gene.

BACKGROUND: High-normal and elevated plasma FIX activity (FIX:C) levels are associated with increased risk for venous- and possibly arterial-thrombosis. OBJECTIVE: Because the broad normal range for FIX:C involves a substantial unknown genetic component, we sought to identify quantitative-trait loci (QTLs) for this medically important hemostasis trait. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide screen and a resequencing-based variation scan of the known functional regions of every distinct FIX gene (F9) in the genetic analysis of idiopathic thrombophilia project (GAIT), a collection of 398 Spanish-Caucasians from 21 pedigrees. RESULTS: We found no evidence for linkage (LOD scores <1.5) despite genotyping more than 540 uniformly-spaced microsatellites. We identified 27 candidate F9 polymorphisms, including three in cis-elements responsible for the increase in FIX:C that occurs with aging, but found no significant genotype-specific differences in mean FIX:C levels (P-values > or = 0.11) despite evaluating every polymorphism in GAIT by marginal multicovariate measured-genotype association analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The heritable component of interindividual FIX:C variability likely involves a collection of QTLs with modest effects that may reside in genes other than F9. Nevertheless, because the alleles of these 27 polymorphisms exhibited a low overall degree of linkage disequilibrium, we are currently defining their haplotypes to interrogate several highly-conserved non-exonic sequences and other F9 segments not examined here.

Applying a basic development needs approach for sustainable and integrated community development in less-developed areas: report of ongoing Iranian experience.

INTRODUCTION: Despite considerable achievements in the provision of basic developmental facilities in terms of drinking water, access to primary healthcare services, high-quality and nutritious food, social services, and proper housing facilities, there are many rural and slum communities in Iran where these essential needs remain unfulfilled. Lack of equity is prominent, as large differences exist in underprivileged provinces. New policies developed in the past two decades have resulted in substantial achievements in meeting population needs and reducing the socio-economic gap; nevertheless, poverty levels, unemployment due to a large increase in the birth rate in the early 1980s, and lack of community participation are matters yet to be addressed. To overcome these deficiencies, a basic development needs approach was adopted to promote the concept of community self-help and self-reliance through intersectoral collaboration, creating an environment where people could take an active part in the development process, with the Iranian government providing the necessary support to achieve the desired level of development. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Following firm commitment from the Iranian government and technical support from the World Health Organization Regional Office, basic development needs was assigned a high priority in health and health-related sectors, reflected in the third National Masterplan (2001-2005). A comprehensive intersectoral plan was designed, and pilot projects were commenced in three villages. Each village elected a representative, and committee clusters were formed to run and monitor projects identified by a process of local needs assessment and priority assignment. In each region, a variety of needs were elicited from these assessments, which were actively supported by local authorities. LESSON LEARNED: A basic development needs approach was found to be a reliable discipline to improve community participation, needs-led resource allocation and intersectoral co-operation in community development, particularly in underprivileged areas. Iran's initial experience of basic development needs has gained widespread public support but will require periodical evaluation as it is introduced into other rural and urban regions across the country.

Comparison of plasma and leukocyte vitamin C status between asthmatic and healthy subjects.

In a case-control study the vitamin C status of 50 adults with chronic controlled asthma was compared with that of 50 randomly selected healthy controls. Vitamin C intake was assessed by 3-day dietary recall, and plasma and leukocyte vitamin C concentrations were measured colorimetrically. A positive significant correlation was found between plasma vitamin C and dietary vitamin C intake. Plasma and leukocyte vitamin C levels were significantly lower in the asthma group. Plasma vitamin C was deficient (< 0.4 mg/dL) in significantly more patients than controls (38.0% versus 0%) and leukocyte vitamin C (< 20 microg/10(8) leukocytes) was deficient in 92.0% of asthmatics versus 8.0% of controls. A significant association was observed between duration of asthma and plasma vitamin C level.

Comparison of plasma and leukocyte vitamin C status between asthmatic and healthy subjects

In a case-control study the vitamin C status of 50 adults with chronic controlled asthma was compared with that of 50 randomly selected healthy controls. Vitamin C intake was assessed by 3-day dietary recall, and plasma and leukocyte vitamin C concentrations were measured colorimetrically. A positive significant correlation was found between plasma vitamin C and dietary vitamin C intake. Plasma and leukocyte vitamin C levels were significantly lower in the asthma group. Plasma vitamin C was deficient [< 0.4 mg/dL] in significantly more patients than controls [38.0% versus 0%] and leukocyte vitamin C [< 20 micro g/10[8] leukocytes] was deficient in 92.0% of asthmatics versus 8.0% of controls. significant association was observed between duration of asthma and plasma vitamin C level