Spin-Transfer and Exchange Torques in Ferromagnetic Superconductors

We consider how superconducting correlations influence spin-transfer torques in ferromagnetic superconductors. It is demonstrated that there is a novel torque arising from particle-hole interference that depends on the U(1) phase associated with the superconducting order parameter. We also show that there is an equilibrium exchange torque between two ferromagnetic superconductors in contact via a normal metal mediated by Andreev states. The latter equilibrium magnetic torque is also sensitive to spin-resolved phase differences in the superconducting order parameters as well as to an externally applied phase difference.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in PR

Anti-hypertriglyceridemic Activity of Cornus Mas in Diabetic Rats

Introduction: Hypertriglyceridemia is among the multiple metabolic derangements seen in diabetes mellitus. Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.), belongs to the family Cornacea and has been shown to be helpful in treating hyperlipidemia. Aim: The study investigates mechanisms of action of dietary Cornelian Cherry fruit Dried Powder (CCDP) for ameliorating hypertriglyceridemia in diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: An experimental study with parallel controls was performed. Fifty six male adult rats were randomly assigned into 8 equal groups and treated as follows for 4 weeks. Negative control: Normal rats, basic diet; positive control: streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, basic diet; T1 to T4 groups: diabetic rats fed with diets containing 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 g/ 100 g BW CCDP, respectively; T5: diabetic rats fed with basic diet plus 100 mg/kg BW of fenofibrate in drinking water and T6: normal rats fed with basic diet containing 1 g/100 g BW CCDP. Selected serum biochemical parameters, Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) level as well as Adipose Tissue Hormone Sensitive Lipase (HSL) and Hepatic Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha (PPARα) levels were assayed. Analysis of data was performed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test with p<0.05 as the significant level. Results: Treatment with CCDP at all dosages as well as fenofibrate decreased serum triglycerides and VLDL levels as compared to positive control. Serum AST significantly decreased in T1, T3 and T4 groups as compared to positive control rats. Serum LPL levels in the diabetic positive control group decreased significantly as compared to negative control. Rats in T1, T2, T4 and T5 groups showed increased serum LPL levels as compared to positive control. No significant difference was observed in hepatic PPARα levels among CCDP-treated and negative or positive controls. Positive control rats showed a significant decrease in adipose tissue HSL levels. Administration of CCDP in T3 group significantly increased HSL values as compared to positive control. CCDP in healthy rats did not change any of these parameters. Conclusion: Findings of the present study confirms positive effects of C. mas fruit on some liver function enzymes and hypertriglyceridemia and clarifies that increased serum LPL levels is at least partly responsible for hypotriglyceridemic effect of the fruit in rats with STZ-induced diabetes mellitus

Lithospheric structure beneath the Zagros collision zone resolved by non-linear teleseismic tomography

The upper-mantle structure across the Zagros collision zone, in southwest Iran, is investigated using a non-linear weighted damped least-squares teleseismic tomography approach. The resolution of the structures/transitions in the upper mantle is enhanced significantly by correcting the teleseismic relative arrival time residuals for an a priori crustal velocity model and then performing the inversion with fixed crustal blocks. To investigate whether or not the lithospheric blocks and major transitions in the resulting model are required by the data or are artefacts of the inversion, the data were inverted using two different inverse methods (singular value decomposition and a quadratic programming method). New high-quality seismic velocity models show apparent correlation between surface geological features and seismic velocity structures at lithospheric depth across the Zagros collision zone. The image shows a sharp lithospheric boundary at the Main Zagros Thrust between 100 km and 250 km depth with P-wave velocity about 3 per cent faster within the Arabian Shield to the south. A step-like increase in lithospheric thickness across the Zagros collision zone is assumed to separate two different mantle structures namely the Arabian (to the south) and the Eurasian (to the north) domains. The most striking feature resolved is a north-dipping slab-like positive velocity anomaly

Detection and Localization of HCA2 Receptors in Urinary System of Male Rats with Immunohistochemical Method

Background and aims: HCA2 receptors have attracted much interest due to their role as the target of important hypolipidemic agent, niacin. In this study, the presence of HCA2 receptors as well as cell types that express them has been evaluated in different parts of male rats' urinary system including kidney, ureter, urinary bladder and urethra (in penis). Methods: In this experimental study, six adult male Wistar rats were used. Histological slides were made from above mentioned parts and were evaluated by immunohistochemical method. Results: In kidney, capillary epithelium showed a high reactivity while proximal epithelial cells were stained moderately. The epithelial cells of loop of Henle, distal and collective tubules as well as glomerular cells showed weak staining. In urinary bladder, transitional epithelium and capillary endothelium showed weak staining, while smooth muscle had no reactivity. In penile tissue, urethral epithelium and smooth muscle cells were weakly positive while capillary endothelial cells showed moderate reactivity. Conclusion: This study shows that HCA2 receptors are present in different parts of male rats' urinary tract. Distribution of these receptors is dependent to cell type and location in the urinary tract. The findings pave the road for future studies on possible role of these receptors in urinary system

<em>Zataria multiflora</em> Boiss. essential oil against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats by antioxidant properties and increase in nitric oxide production

Introduction: The present study investigated protective effect of Zataria multiflora essential oil on ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats along with its possible mechanism(s).Methods: Eighty male adult rats were randomly allocated into 8 groups as follows: 1: negative control (NC); 2, 3 and 4: positive control (PC, distilled water), vehicle control (VC, corn oil) and comparative control (CC, omeprazole 20 mg/kg in distilled water), respectively; 5, 6, 7 and 8: treated with 100, 200, 400 and 800 &mu;L/kg Z. multiflora essential oil. After 1 hour, gastric ulcer was induced by 4 mL/kg 75 ethanol orally to rats of groups 2-8. One hour later, blood samples were collected and then all rats were sacrificed and their stomachs were immediately removed.Results: In PC and VC groups severe lesions were observed in stomachs where mucosal lesions in CC group as well as groups treated with Z. multiflora essential oil (especially higher doses) were very mild with regard to ulcer area and number. No significant difference was observed in mucosal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and serum tumor necrosis factor-&alpha; (TNF-&alpha;) level among groups, gastric mucosal nitric oxide (NO) content was significantly higher in rats treated with Z. multiflora essential oil at 200, 400 and 800 &mu;L/kg as compared to PC group. Rats in CC, Z. multiflora 400 and Z. multiflora 800 groups showed higher mucosal total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as compared to PC group.Conclusion: Z. multiflora essential oil has a gastro-protective effect against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats which is probably due to its antioxidant and NO production enhancing effect

In vitro evaluation of antiviral activity of essential oil from <em>Zataria multiflora</em> Boiss. against Newcastle disease virus

Introduction: The study aimed to investigate the antiviral activity of Zataria multiflora (ZM) essential oil against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) on Vero cells. Methods: The cytotoxicity of ZM essential oil was evaluated by MTT assay. Cells were infected with 100 TCID50 of a field isolate of virulent NDV (JF820294.1). ZM essential oil at concentrations of 1/5000, 1/25 000, 1/125 000 or 1/625 000 was added at different times of infection: 60 minutes pre infection, simultaneously and 60 minutes post infection. Cells were evaluated morphologically. The TCID50, neutralizing index (NI) and HA titer were determined. Results: Cells treated with ZM essential oil in all concentrations 1 hour before or after infection, showed CPE similar to control virus cells. In simultaneous use, cells treated with 1/5000 concentration of the essential oil, remained morphologically normal. TCID50 values of all treatments were very close to that of control virus except for simultaneous administration at concentration of 1/5000 which was about 1000 folds lower. Virus titer in different treatments was exactly the same as control virus titer in Haemagglutination (HA) test. Conclusion: ZM essential oil has some antiviral activity on NDV in vitro, which is possibly by destruction of virus infectivity or inhibition of early phases of viral proliferation cycle.</p

Status of soluble ST2 levels in serum of HTLV-1 infected individuals

ST2 is a member of IL-1 receptor family expressed on Th2 cells and regulates Th2 responces. The gene of ST2 encodes soluble ST2 (sST2) and the transmembrane ST2 (ST2L) isoforms through alternative mRNA splicing. The discovery of IL33/ ST2 signaling pathway, has drawn a great scientific attention to this system. sST2 has been shown to be an indacating factor in various infl ammatory conditions. This study aims to evaluate serum sST2 levels in HTLV-1 infected patients. This study included 49 HTLV-1 seropositive cases of which 14 were sympthomatic. Controls consisted of 30 healthy volunteers. sST2 level was measured using a quantitative ELISA assay and the results of the study groups were compared. Corroborating the previous reports, sST2 was lower in females (P = 0.003). The sST2 levels was slightly increased in HTLV-1 patients, though such increase was not statistically significant (P = 0.91), in addition sST2 level did not correlate significantly to the disease duration (P = 0.78). Despite some other chronic viral infection, HTLV-1 seems not to induce high serum sST2. However owing to relatively high normal variation of sST2 levels and rather small sample size, we stongly recommend further reseach with preferably larger sample size to evalute sST2 in HTLV-1 infected patients

Formulation and testing of biodegradable polymeric coating on zinc wires in cardiovascular stent application

Biodegradable and biocompatible poly (L-lactic-acid) (PLLA) coating was applied on a modified zinc (Zn) substrate by dip coating, with the intent to delay the bio-corrosion and slow the degradation rate of zinc substrate. 3-(Trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (MPS) was used for modification of the zinc substrate for promoting the adhesion between the metallic substrate and the polymer coating. It is hypothesized that the delay in Zn biodegradation could be useful in the first several weeks to prevent the early loss of mechanical integrity of the endovascular stent and to improve the healing process of the diseased vascular site. The PLLA coating was used in this study because of its biodegradability, favorable degradation rate, hydrophobicity and favorable mechanical properties. Static immersion, electrochemical and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) tests were used to investigate the degradation behavior of a polymer coated modified Zn substrate. Two uniform polymer layers with thickness of 1 and 3 µm were coated on the Zn substrate. The potentiodynamic polarization test indicated that the 1 µm polymer coated specimen has higher corrosion potentials (Ecorr) and lower corrosion cur rents (icorr) in the simulated body fluid (SBF) compared to the uncoated Zn. AC impedance measurement in EIS test also demonstrated a significant improvement in the impedance and polarization resistance of the coated Zn substrate. However, after 10 days of immersion in the SBF, the impedance reduced drastically which is indicative of a coating degradation and penetration of the electrolyte to the zinc substrate. Immersion degradation studies showed that the cross-sectional area (CSA) reduction and penetration rate (PR) for polymer coated samples are 5 times smaller than for uncoated samples after 14 days of immersion in SBF solution. Results of the ICP method indicated an increase in the release of the Zn2+ to the solution for the uncoated Zn, while the 1 µm PLLA coated sample demonstrated much slower release rate of Zn2+ and the concentration of Zn ion during the 14 days’ immersion in SBF was almost the same. In in vivo studies, the polymer-coated Zn and uncoated Zn samples were implanted into the abdominal aorta of the rats and then directed into the lumen. The explants were extracted after 0.5 to 6 months. The results of in vivo study indicated that the uncoated samples have approximately two times higher CSA reduction and PR in comparison to the coated samples during first 4.5 months. After 4.5 months, the CSA reduction and PR increased significantly. However, the histological analysis of the biological tissue surrounding samples showed a reduction in biocompatibility of the polymer coated samples indicated by increasing cell toxicity and neointimal hyperplasia