Coding region analysis of vitamin D receptor gene and its association with active calcium stone disease

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms on the status of active renal calcium stone formation. Male active renal calcium stone formers (ASF, final N = 106) with two episodes of stone relapse in the past 5 years were enrolled from December 2008 to April 2009. Controls (N = 109) were selected from age range- and gender-matched individuals who had no evidence or history of stone disease. Sequencing and single-strand conformational polymorphism were used to determine VDR polymorphisms in the patients and controls. Three polymorphisms were identified in the VDR gene: (1) start codon polymorphism (rs2228570T>C; p.M1T); (2) C/T polymorphism in the second intron (NT-029419.12: g.10416049C>T); (3) a silent polymorphism in exon 9 (rs731236T>C; p.I352I). Start codon polymorphism was the only one that was associated with the status of calcium stone formation (p < 0.05). We performed a complete coding genome analysis of VDR gene and observed that only start codon polymorphism was related to the status of active calcium stone formation.     

In vitro anti-leishmanial activity of methanolic extracts of Calendula officinalis flowers,Datura stramonium seeds,and Salvia officinalis leaves

AIM： The anti-leishmanial activity of methanolic extracts of Calendula officinalis flowers, Datura stramonium seeds, and Salvia officina- lis leaves against extracellular （promastigote） and intracellular （amastigote） forms of Leishmania major were evaluated in this study. METHOD： In the first stage, promastigote forms of L. major, were treated with different doses of the plant extracts in a 96-well tis- sue-culture microplate and IC50 values for each extract were measured with colorimetric MTT assay. In the second stage, macrophage cells were infected with L. major promastigotes. Infected macrophages were treated with plant extracts. Then the macrophages were stained with Gimsa and the number of infected macrophages and amastigotes were counted with a light microscope. RESULTS： The results indicated that the plant extracts inhibited the growth of promastigotes and amastigotes of L. major. Inhibi- tory concentrations （ICs0） for promastigote assay were 108.19, 155.15, and 184.32 μg-mL ^-1 for C. officinalis flowers, D. stramo- nium seeds and S. officinalis, respectively. The extracts also reduced the number of amastigotes in macrophage cells from 264 for control group to 88, 97, and 102 for test groups. Although the anti-leishmanial activity of the extracts were not comparable with the standard drug, miltefosine; but they showed significant efficiency in reducing the number of amastigotes in macrophages, in com- parison with the control group （P 〈 0.001）. These plant extracts had lower toxicity compared with miltefosine. CONCLUSION： This study demonstrates the potential efficacy of the methanolic extracts of C. officinalis flowers, D. stramonium seeds, and S. officinalis leaves to control of cutaneous leishmaniasis.     

Purchases Made with a Fruit and Vegetable Voucher in a Rural Mexican-Heritage Community

Recent recommendations for US food assistance programs are intended to ensure foods provided through these programs help households consume a varied, healthful diet. From a policy viewpoint, it is important to examine the impact of economic incentives to purchase healthy foods across subpopulations, particularly low-income Latinos, who comprise 40% of the WIC program nationwide. Our aim was to determine how rural, Mexican-heritage households (N?=?227) residing in California’s Central Valley distributed fruit and vegetable (F/V) voucher spending among F/V subgroups and specific items over a 1-year period. Households contained at least one child who was between 3 and 8 years old at baseline and had a parent of Mexican-heritage. F/V voucher purchase data were collected via grocery store scanners. Expenditure and frequency shares of subgroups and individual items were analyzed to determine purchasing habits. Fruits were the most commonly purchased subgroup, representing 55% of spending and 45% of frequency. Households allocated low percentages of their voucher to dark green and red/orange vegetables—7 and 9% respectively. Approximately 20% of purchases were good potassium sources and 30% of purchases were good fiber sources. Many of the most frequently purchased items were of cultural significance (tomatillo, chayote, chili/jalapeño pepper, and Mexican squash). This study suggests that economic incentives can contribute important nutrients to participants’ diets and targeted vouchers provided by food assistance programs should continue to include culturally important foods and be aware of the cultural values of their participants.     

Evaluation of bone mineral density in Iranian HIV/AIDS patients

Bone disorders have emerged as a worrisome complication in HIV-infected patients in recent years. It is not clear that HIV infection itself or antiretroviral treatment or both are causes of bone loss. However, most studies have found a high prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in HIV/AIDS patients. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in HIV-infected patients either untreated or receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy as compared with HIV negative persons. We also assessed the factors associated with these conditions. Bone Mineral Density was assessed by Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry scans at the hip and lumbar spine in 36 AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy and 44 HIV infected patients not receiving antiretroviral therapy (na?ve patients) and 40 HIV negative individuals as control. Factors that affect BMD were also determined. Prevalence of osteopenia or osteoporosis in different regions was significantly higher in HIV/AIDS patients compared with HIV negative subjects (77.3% in HIV positive na?ve patients, 86.1% in HAART-treated patients and 60% in the control group, P=0.002). Mean serum alkaline phosphatase was higher in HIV/AIDS patients than the control group (P=0.003). Osteopenia and osteoporosis in HIV-infected patients were associated with duration of HIV infection (P<0.0001) and antiretroviral treatment (P=0.012). Prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in HIV/AIDS patients was higher than HIV negative individuals. Osteopenia and osteoporosis in HIV/AIDS patients was associated with duration of HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment.     

Des-acyl ghrelin fragments evoke endothelium-dependent vasodilatation of rat mesenteric vascular bed via activation of potassium channels

The mechanisms that subserve ghrelin-evoked vasodilatation have not been elucidated in previous studies. Changes in perfusion pressure evoked by ghrelin and its N-terminal fragments were examined ex vivo in phenylephrine-constricted perfused mesenteric vascular beds of male Sprague Dawley rats maintained at a constant flow rate. Both ghrelin (maximum effect [E(max)] 45%) and des-acyl ghrelin (E(max) 43%) evoked vasodilatation at concentrations between 10 pM and 1 nM, compared to acetylcholine (median effective concentration [EC(50)] 3 nM; E(max) 93%). Those responses were abolished in endothelium-denuded preparations, and in endothelium-intact preparations exposed to either calcium-activated potassium channel, or a depolarizing stimulus, or in the presence of a combination of either apamin and 1,2-chlorophenyl diphenylmethyl-1 H-pyrazole (triarylmethane-34 [TRAM-34]), or ouabain and barium. ATP-activated potassium channel blockade, or a combination of nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase inhibition had no effect. The classical growth hormone secretagogue antagonist, [d-Lys(3)]-growth hormone-releasing peptide (10 nM), or several N-terminal fragments of des-acyl ghrelin, including the tripeptide glycine-serine-serine (G-S-S [1 nM]), showed endothelium-dependent vasodilatation like des-acyl ghrelin, while responses to glycine-serine or serine-serine were relatively lower. A higher concentration (100 muM) of l-serine, but not glycine, evoked vasodilatation of similar magnitude. The serine dense N-terminal sequence of des-acyl ghrelin mediates endothelium-dependent vasodilatation via activation of apamin+TRAM-34 sensitive small- and intermediate-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels present on the mesenteric endothelium. Thus, the vasodilator response to ghrelins in the perfused rat mesenteric vascular bed is not mediated by the classical growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a.     

Early outcome of preterm infants with birth weight of 1500 g or less and gestational age of 30 weeks or less in Isfahan city,Iran

Background  

The outcome of preterm neonates has been varied in different hospitals and regions in developing countries. This study aimed to determine the mortality, morbidity and survival of neonates weighing 1500 g or less and with gestational age of 30 weeks or less who were admitted to referral neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of two hospitals in Isfahan city, Iran and to investigate the effect of birth weight, gestational age and Apgar score on infant mortality.     

Association between miRNA-146a rs2910164 (G/C) polymorphism with the susceptibility to chronic HBV infection and spontaneous viral clearance in an Iranian population

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the clinical dilemmas in chronic liver diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules that play an important role in the pathogenesis of liver diseases and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA genes affect the clinical course of HBV infection. Previous studies have shown that miRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism can be associated with the pathogenesis of liver diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma. The present study investigated the association between miRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and susceptibility to HBV infection in an Iranian population. The study comprised 266 patients with chronic HBV infection, 172 patients with spontaneous viral clearance (SVC) after acute HBV infection, and 266 healthy control adjusted for sex and age. The genotyping of the miRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Our data revealed that GG genotype and G allele of miRNA-146a rs2910164 SNP is dominated (P < 0.001) in patients with chronic HBV infection (Odds ratio [OR] = 3.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1-7.32). miRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism showed a statistically significant association (P < 0.001) between CC genotype and allele C with SVC (OR = 2.92; 95% CI = 1.56-546). Our findings suggest miRNA-146a SNP (C/G) in our population may be associated with the susceptibility to HBV infection and CC genotype is associated with SVC. Also, the GG genotype and G allele at miRNA-146a rs2910164 is associated with chronic HBV infection in our population.     

In vitro study of alginate–gelatin scaffolds incorporated with silica NPs as injectable,biodegradable hydrogels

Porous substrates composed of biodegradable polymers and nanoparticles have found extensive use as three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds to regenerate damaged tissues through the incorporation of cells or growth factors. Here, injectable thermally responsive hydrogels based on SiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs), alginate, and gelatin biopolymers, with possible utilization for cartilage tissue engineering, are introduced. The nanocomposites contain different amounts of SiO₂ NPs for reinforcement and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) for chemical crosslinking of polymer chains in the 3D hydrogel network. The cross-sectional structure of the hydrogels containing 0.25, 1.5, and 3.0% SiO₂ NPs was observed by FE-SEM, confirming porous morphology with interconnected pores. Based on the rheometer analyses, by increasing the amount of SiO₂ NPs, the mechanical strength of the gels can be found. In addition, in vitro biodegradation studies show that the hydrogels without SiO₂ are more unstable than the hydrogels containing SiO₂ NPs. In vitro biocompatibility of the products tested by MTT assay indicates that cell viability and attachment depend on the presence of SiO₂ NPs.

Thermoresponsive oxidized alginate/gelatin/SiO₂ NPs injectable hydrogels have great potential in cartilage tissue engineering due to low gelation time (120 s) and body temperature gelation (37 °C).