Water Quality Assessment of Groundwater Resources in Qaleeh Shahin Plain Based on Cd and HEI

Abstract Aims: The chemical elements in water resources, especially groundwater, can affect the water consumption purposes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of the overall pollution level of ground water of Qaleeh Shahin plain with respect to heavy metals by Cd and HEI methods. Instrument & Methods: This cross-sectional semi-experimental study was conducted in Sarpol-e Zahab township in Kermanshah Province, west of Iran. For this purpose, 20 groundwater wells were chosen randomly. The samples were filtered (0.45μm), stored in polyethylene bottles and were acidified at a pH lower than 2 by adding concentrated HNO3 in order to avoid metal adsorption onto the inner bottle walls. Element concentrations were determined using ICP-OES. The correlation between the metals in the different seasons, between the indices values and concentration of metals and between different indices values was assessed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Findings: There were no significant correlations between the concentrations of the elements in 2 seasons except between As and Cd in winter (r=0.544; p<0.05). Only the concentration of Pb had significant correlations with Cd (r=0.937; p=0.0001) and HEI (r=0.997; p=0.0001) values in winter and with Cd (r=0.997; p=0.0001) and HEI (r=0.810; p=0.0001) values in summer, which indicated Pb as the main contributory pollutant. The correlation between Cd and HEI was significant in winter (r=0.943; p=0.0001) and was significant in summer (r=0.818; p=0.0001). Conclusion: The water resources of Qaleeh Shahin plain, Kermanshah Province, Iran, are not polluted by heavy metals and are suitable for drinking

UPAYA MENINGKATKAN MOTIVASI BELAJAR DAN HASIL PRAKTIK MESIN BUBUTMELALUI PERANCANGAN WORK PREPARATION SISWA KELAS XI PEMESINAN SMK PGRI 1 SURAKARTA TAHUN PELAJARAN 2014/2015

The aim of this research is improving learning motivation and the result in practice learning at machining practice lesson of students at class XI M2 Vocational High School PGRI 1 Surakarta in academic year 2014/2015. The effort is applied design of work preparation by the students. This research is classroom action research. This research conducted on two cycles with four phases, includes: (1) planning: (2) doing: (3) assessment; and (4) reflection. The subject of this research is all of student class XI M2 Vocational High School PGRI 1 Surakarta in academic year 2014/2015 as many as 24 students. This research did by collaboration between researcher, teacher and students. The data of research were collected through observation, documentation, interview and test. The instrument validated with content, questionnaire and test validity, using expert judgment technique. Data analyzed by comparative descriptive analysis and critical analysis. The experiment result show that the design of work preparation could improve the learning motivation and the result of lathe machine practice. In cycle I, the percentage attainment of student learning motivation is 71,8% and the average of the student practice record is 74,79 with the percentage of students to get score upper of minimum learning completeness criterion is 70,83%. In cycle II, the percentange attainment of student learning motivation is 85,14% with the average is 84,07 with the percentage of students to get score upper of minimum learning completeness criterion is 100%

In-vitro application of pentoxifylline preserved ultrastructure of spermatozoa after vitrification in asthenozoospermic patients

Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of in vitro application of pentoxifylline (PX) on sperm parameters and ultrastructure after vitrification in asthenozoospermic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 asthenozoospermic semen samples (aged 25-45 years) were divided into four groups before vitrification, after vitrification, control (without PX) and experimental (with PX). In experimental group, each sample was exposed for 30 min to 3.6mmol/l PX and the control group without any treatment apposing in 370C for 30 min. After incubation, the samples were washed and analyzed again. Vitrification was done according to straw method. Eosin-nigrosin and Papanicolaou staining were applied for assessment of sperm viability and morphology, respectively. The samples without PX and post treatment with PX were assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RESULTS: A significant decrease in sperm motility (P ≤ .001), morphology (11.47 ± 2.9 versus 6.73 ± 2.01) and viability (73.37 ± 6.26 versus 54.67 ± 6.73) was observed post vitrification, but sperm motility (19.85 ± 4.75 versus 32.07 ± 5.58, P ≤ .001) was increased significantly following application of PX. This drug had no significant (P >.05) detrimental neither negative effect on ultrastructure acrosome, plasma membrane and coiled tail statues of spermatozoa. CONCLUSION: Vitrification had detrimental effects on sperm parameters, but PX reversed detrimental effects on sperm motility. However, PX had no alteration on ultrastructure morphology of human spermatozoa after vitrification

Translating proteomic into functional data: An high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) proteomic signature has prognostic value in breast cancer

Cancer is a very heterogeneous disease, and biological variability adds a further level of complexity, thus limiting the ability to identify new genes involved in cancer development. Oncogenes whose expression levels control cell aggressiveness are very useful for developing cellular models that permit differential expression screenings in isogenic contexts. HMGA1 protein has this unique property because it is a master regulator in breast cancer cells that control the transition from a nontumorigenic epithelial-like phenotype toward a highly aggressive mesenchymal-like one. The proteins extracted from HMGA1-silenced and control MDA-MB-231 cells were analyzed using label-free shotgun mass spectrometry. The differentially expressed proteins were cross-referenced with DNA microarray data obtained using the same cellular model and the overlapping genes were filtered for factors linked to poor prognosis in breast cancer gene expression meta-data sets, resulting in an HMGA1 protein signature composed of 21 members (HRS, HMGA1 reduced signature). This signature had a prognostic value (overall survival, relapse-free survival, and distant metastasis-free survival) in breast cancer. qRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry analyses validated the link of three members of this signature (KIFC1, LRRC59, and TRIP13) with HMGA1 expression levels both in vitro and in vivo and wound healing assays demonstrated that these three proteins are involved in modulating tumor cell motility. Combining proteomic and genomic data with the aid of bioinformatic tools, our results highlight the potential involvement in neoplastic transformation of a restricted list of factors with an as-yet-unexplored role in cancer. These factors are druggable targets that could be exploited for the development of new, targeted therapeutic approaches in triple-negative breast cancer

A comparative evaluation of rehydration and cuploading sample application for modified twodimensional gel electrophoresis of human serum proteins using immobilized pH gradient

Proteomics is a powerful technique to study proteomes extracted from biological sources. Proteome analysis classically is based on two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-E) for protein separation and mass spectrometry (MS) for the protein identification. The serum protein analysis is a useful diagnosis that can be used as an indicator of the physiological or clinical status of a patient. One of the central and critical steps is sample application, therefore this method should be considered and optimized for 2-DE with immobilized pH gradient. The aim of this study was focused on comparative application of ingel (rehydration loading) and in-cup (cup loading) sample application for 2-DE of human serum analysis. The results indicate that the number of spots detected with the rehydration loading was higher than the number obtained by cup-loading sample application. Also in this work, in order to obtain the best result with high resolution, a 2-DE procedure was optimized.Key words: Proteomics, 2D-E, proteome, sample application

Effect of replacing corn grain by wheat-based dried distillers’ grains with solubles dietary energy and protein value in cattle

Non-Peer ReviewedThe objectives of this study were to determine the effect of replacing corn grain portion of the diet by wheat-based dried distillers’ grains with solubles (wDDGS) on feeding value for ruminants by chemical fractionation, nylon bag rumen degradation and nutrient modeling approaches. This study revealed that increasing wDDGS inclusion level increased most of nutritional composition linearly, except for starch which linearly decreased. Metabolizable protein supply in small intestine increased linearly with increasing levels of wDDGS. The inclusion of wDDGS in corn based diets decreased energy values of the diet slightly. Optimum ruminal N to energy balance for microbial growth was reached by replacing 25-50% of corn by wDDGS. In summary, this study suggests that corn and wheat DDGS combinations are a viable alternative for replace feed barley grain for the beef industry in western Canada

Oil-in-water microemulsion encapsulation of antagonist drugs prevents renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Developing new therapeutic drugs to prevent ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced renal injuries is highly pursued. Liposomal encapsulation of spironolactone (SP) as a mineralocorticoid antagonist increases dissolution rate, bioavailability and prevents the drug from degradation. In this context, this work develops a new formulation of oil-in-water type microemulsions to enhance the bioavailability of SP. The size of the SP-loaded microemulsion was about 6.0 nm by dynamic light scattering analysis. Briefly, we investigated the effects of nano-encapsulated SP (NESP) on renal oxidative stress, biochemical markers and histopathological changes in a rat model of renal I/R injury. Forty eight male Wistar rats were divided into six groups. Two groups served as control and injury model (I/R). Two groups received “conventional” SP administration (20 mg/kg) and NESP (20 mg/kg), respectively, for two days. The remaining two groups received SP (20 mg/kg) and NESP (20 mg/kg) two days before induction of I/R. At the end of the experiments, serum and kidneys of rats underwent biochemical, molecular and histological examinations. Our results showed that I/R induces renal oxidative stress, abnormal histological features and altered levels of renal biomarkers. Administration of SP in healthy animals did not cause any significant changes in the measured biochemical and histological parameters compared to the control group. However, SP administration in the I/R group caused some corrections in renal injury, although it could not completely restore I/R-induced renal oxidative stress and kidney damage. On the contrary, NESP administration restored kidney oxidative injury via decreasing renal lipid peroxidation and enhancing glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase in kidneys of the I/R group. The deviated serum levels of urea, creatinine, total proteins and uric acid were also normalized by NESP administration. Furthermore, NESP protected against renal abnormal histology features induced by I/R. Therefore, NESP has beneficial effects in preventing kidney damage and renal oxidative stress in a rat model of I/R, which deserves further evaluations in the future