Mitigating Effect of Resveratrol on the Structural Changes of Mice Liver and Kidney Induced by Cadmium; A Stereological Study

Rafati, Ali,Hoseini, Leila,Babai, Ali,Noorafshan, Ali,Haghbin, Hossein,Karbalay-Doust, Saied The Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 2015 Preventive Nutrition and Food Science Vol.20 No.4

Exposure to cadmium (Cd) has harmful effects on the liver and kidney. Resveratrol (RES) is an herbal substance that functions as a protective mediator. This study aimed to investigate the effects of RES on the histology of liver and kidney in Cd-exposed mice. Male mice were divided into 4 groups daily receiving normal saline (1 mL normal saline/d), Cd (1 mg/kg/d), RES (20 mg/kg/d), and Cd plus RES, respectively. After 4 weeks, the liver and kidney components were evaluated using stereological methods. The total volume and number of hepatocytes, and volume of fibrous tissue were respectively increased by 34%, 58%, and a 3-fold in the Cd-exposed mice in comparison to the control animals (P<0.03). On the other hand, the volume of the main vasculature (sinusoids and central veins) was decreased by 36% in the Cd group compared to the control mice (P<0.03). Considering the kidney, the results showed a 3-fold increase in the total glomeruli volume and a 7-fold increase in fibrous tissue in the Cd-treated group compared to the control mice (P<0.03). After Cd treatment, a 32% reduction was observed in the volume and length of the proximal and distal convoluted tubules. RES-treatment alone did not induce any structural changes. In comparison to the Cd group, an increase in the normal components of the liver and kidney and a decrease in the formation of the fibrous and degenerated tissues were observed in the Cd+RES-treated mice (P<0.03).

Mitigating Effect of Resveratrol on the Structural Changes of Mice Liver and Kidney Induced by Cadmium

Ali Rafati,Leila Hoseini,Ali Babai,Ali Noorafshan,Hossein Haghbin,Saied Karbalay-Doust 한국식품영양과학회 2015 Preventive Nutrition and Food Science Vol.20 No.4

Exposure to cadmium (Cd) has harmful effects on the liver and kidney. Resveratrol (RES) is an herbal substance that functions as a protective mediator. This study aimed to investigate the effects of RES on the histology of liver and kidney in Cd-exposed mice. Male mice were divided into 4 groups daily receiving normal saline (1 mL normal saline/d), Cd (1 mg/kg/d), RES (20 mg/kg/d), and Cd plus RES, respectively. After 4 weeks, the liver and kidney components were evaluated using stereological methods. The total volume and number of hepatocytes, and volume of fibrous tissue were respectively increased by 34%, 58%, and a 3-fold in the Cd-exposed mice in comparison to the control animals (P<0.03). On the other hand, the volume of the main vasculature (sinusoids and central veins) was decreased by 36% in the Cd group compared to the control mice (P<0.03). Considering the kidney, the results showed a 3-fold increase in the total glomeruli volume and a 7-fold increase in fibrous tissue in the Cd-treated group compared to the control mice (P<0.03). After Cd treatment, a 32% reduction was observed in the volume and length of the proximal and distal convoluted tubules. RES-treatment alone did not induce any structural changes. In comparison to the Cd group, an increase in the normal components of the liver and kidney and a decrease in the formation of the fibrous and degenerated tissues were observed in the Cd+RES-treated mice (P<0.03).

Removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions by iron nano-particle resin Lewatit (FO36)

Lida Rafati,Amir Hossein Mahvi,Ramin Nabizadeh,Mohamad Hadi Dehghani 한국화학공학회 2012 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.29 No.4

Lewatit FO36 resin was covered with Fe (III) nano-particles, and it was used as a new way to eliminate phosphate. Column experiments were carried out in 11 stages in fixed bed columns with constant flow rate of 9 ml/min and the empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 2.1min. The adsorption capacity was calculated for different concentration of phosphate solutions. After resin was regenerated by using NaOH and NaCl solutions, the adsorption capacity of resin was computed for 6mg/L of phosphate, typically. The adsorption capacity of resin was checked again a typical concentration of phosphate. The adsorption capacity measurements of regenerated resin show that the concentration of phosphate reached to 1.6mg/g after an 8.5% decrease when the initial concentration of phosphate is 6 mg/L. Competition of anions with phosphate was analyzed using chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate and a combination of these anions. Finally the effect of resin in phosphate removal was studied for a typical real sample, and the data was analyzed using statistical software (SPSS 13). The statistical results indicated that Cl−, SO43−, HCO3− and combined competing anions did not have a strong influence on the phosphate removal efficiency.

Stereological study of the effects of morphine consumption and abstinence on the number of the neurons and oligodendrocytes in medial prefrontal cortex of rats

Ali Rafati,Ali Noorafshan,Nihad Torabi 대한해부학회 2013 Anatomy & Cell Biology Vol.46 No.3

Quantitative studies to date on the effects of opioid consumption and abstinence on the nervous system using modern stereological methods have not received enough attention. In addition, they have yielded controversial results. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of morphine, with or without abstinence, on the neurons and oligodendrocytes of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in rats using quantitative stereological methods. The male rats were divided into four groups: the first (saline [SAL]) and second (morphine [MOR]) groups were treated with saline and an escalating dose of morphine (5-20 mg/kg) for 30 days, respectively; the third (SAL+abstinence [ABS]) and fourth (MOR+ABS) groups were treated in the same manner as the previous groups plus they had a 30-day abstinence period. The results showed that the volume of the MPFC and its subdivisions decreased by approximately 15% in the MOR group compared with that in the SAL group (P<0.05). In addition, the volume decreased by approximately 24% in the MOR+ABS group compared with that in the SAL+ABS group (P<0.05). The number of neurons in the MOR and MOR+ABS groups decreased by approximately 44% and 35%, respectively, compared with that in their corresponding control groups. Moreover, the number of the oligodendrocytes in the MOR and MOR+ABS groups decreased by approximately 41% and 37%, respectively. No significant difference was noted in the number of cells in the MOR and MOR+ABS groups. In conclusion, morphine consumption leads to a permanent reduction in the number of neurons and oligodendrocytes, and no additional neuron and oligodendrocyte loss occurs after abstinence.

Spatiotemporal association between weather and Covid-19 explored by machine learning

Abouzar Ramezani,Somayeh Rafati,Ali Asghar Alesheikh 대한공간정보학회 2023 Spatial Information Research Vol.31 No.5

The Covid-19 epidemic led to loss of the lives of many people in the world and had a very negative impact on the mental and physical health of humans. One of the effective ways to preventive strategies regarding is to study the impact of climatic parameters. This research introduces a new spatiotemporal methodology to explore the association between Covid-19 and hourly data of weather. This methodology developed based on machine learning using unsupervised clustering method. Six counties considered for finding association and the cities that have similar climatic temporal changes clustered and compared with cities that have similar number of Covid-19 cases. For this goal, a new model is developed for finding similarities between clusters, which indicates the association between weather and Covid-19. The result shows similarities are about 57% for wind speed, 63% for temperature, 63% for surface pressure, and 42% for elevation. Then result evaluated sing Kendall’s tau_b and Spearman’s rho which shows the proposed methodology has an acceptable result.

Epidemiological and Demographic Study of Patients with Mucormycosis and COVID-19

Nader Saki,Alireza Rafati Navaei,Ali Delirrooyfard,Mina Jahangiri,Roomina Bagheri 대한의진균학회 2023 대한의진균학회지 Vol.28 No.2

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with many bacterial and fungal diseases. Aspergillus and Candida have been reported as major pathogens resulting to comorbid infections in COVID-19 patients. Objective: Recent studies have shown a considerable burden of cases affected by mucormycosis after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection worldwide, and some underlying factors may contribute to this condition. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and demographic characteristics of mucormycosis patients after COVID-19 infection in the Ahvaz province of Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical epidemiological study was conducted on patients who developed mucormycosis following COVID-19 for a 6-month period in 2021. A checklist based on symptoms and possible risk factors was used to collect patient information. Results: The results showed that conjunctivitis, ophthalmalgia, facial swelling, feeling of pain or pressure in the face, and sinusitis were the most common clinical manifestations of patients with mucormycosis following COVID-19. Additionally, there was a significant association between corticosteroid and prophylactic antibiotic use, pain or pressure in the face, and ophthalmalgia with the outcome variables including alive or dead (p-values = 0.002, 0.011, 0.034, and 0.004, respectively). No statistically significant difference was found between the ages of the two groups (p-value = 0.495). Conclusion: The study findings revealed that the most common risk factors for mortality include diabetes, immune system defects, and use of prophylactic antibiotics or corticosteroids.

Visualization study of vortex induced vibration for a bluff body inspired by nature in order to increase energy harvesting

Aref Afsharfard,Mahdi Rafati Zarkak,Javad Abolfazli Esfehani,Kyung Chun Kim 한국가시화정보학회 2021 한국가시화정보학회 학술발표대회 논문집 Vol.2021 No.5

Original Articles : Causes of Visual Impairment among Patients Referred to a Visual Rehabilitation Clinic in Iran

( Alireza Ramezani ),( Maasome Pardis ),( Nasrin Rafati ),( Mohsen Kazemi Moghaddam ),( Marzieh Katibeh ),( Pooya Rostami ),( Mohammad Hossein Dehghan ),( Mohammad Ali Javadi ),( Zahra Rabbanikhah ) 대한안과학회 2012 Korean Journal of Ophthalmology Vol.26 No.2

Purpose: Epidemiologic evaluation and investigating the causes of visual impairment in any society is a matter of concern and has a direct effect on the country`s health care planning. In this study we describe causes of low vision and blindness in Iranian patients referred to rehabilitation clinics for taking vision aids. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, visual acuity was classified based on best-corrected visual acuity in the better eye according to the World Health Organization definition (blindness, visual acuity [VA]<20/400; severe visual impairment, VA<20/200-20/400; mild to moderate visual impairment, VA<20/60-20/200). The causes of blindness and low vision were determined using the 10th version of International Classification of Diseases based on the main cause in both eyes. To describe data, we used mean±SD and frequency. Results: The study included 432 patients, 65% male, with a mean age of 43.6±25.5 years (range, 3 to 92 years). Mild to moderate visual impairment, severe visual impairment and blindness were present in 122 (28.8%), 196 (46.4%) and 105 (24.8%) of the patients, respectively. The main causes of visual impairment were retinal and choroidal diseases (74.5%), optic nerve and optic tract diseases (9.8%), vitreous and globe disorders (5.3%), congenital cataract (3.1%), and glaucoma (2.6%). The distribution pattern of the causes was similar in all age subgroups. Conclusions: Diseases of the retina and choroid are the main cause of visual impairment among patients referred to an academic visual rehabilitation clinic in Iran.

Immunogenicity of EIT chimeric protein expressed in transplastomic tobacco plants towards development of an oral vaccine against Escherichia coli O157:H7

Karimi, Farrokh,Mousavi, Amir,Salmanian, Ali Hatef,Alizadeh, Houshang,Rafati, Sima 한국식물생명공학회 2013 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.7 No.4

Chloroplast genetic engineering offers an opportunity for high level expression and cost-effective recombinant protein production. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens causing hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and the life-threatening hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans worldwide. The occurrence of zoonotic E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in recent years has led to increased efforts in the development of safe and cost-effective immunogenic antigens against E. coli O157:H7. EspA and Tir/Intimin proteins are the important virulence factors which are encoded by the LEE locus of enterohemorrhagic E. coli. In this study, we hypothesized that the high level expression of the chimeric form of these effectors in chloroplasts and using tobacco transplastomic plants as an oral delivery system for the development of an edible-base vaccine would induce an immune response for the prevention of E. coli 0157:H7 attachment and colonization in animal model mice. The prokaryotic codonoptimized EIT protein was expressed in plastid genome via chloroplast transformation. Putative transplastomic plants were analyzed by PCR, and Southern blot analysis confirming chloroplast integration and homoplasmy in the T1 progeny. Immunoblotting and ELISA assays demonstrated that the EIT protein was expressed in chloroplasts and accumulated up to 1.4 % of total soluble protein in leaf tissue. In mice orally immunized with transplastomic tobacco plant leaves, high immunological responses (IgG and IgA specific antibodies) were detected in serum and feces. Finally, the challenging assay with E. coli O157:H7 in immunized mice showed reduced bacterial shedding.

In Vitro Infectivity Assessment by Drug Susceptibility Comparison of Recombinant Leishmania major Expressing Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein or EGFP-Luciferase Fused Genes with Wild-Type Parasite

Somayeh Sadeghi,Negar Seyed,Mohammad-Hossein Etemadzadeh,Saeid Abediankenari,Sima Rafati,Tahereh Taheri 대한기생충학열대의학회 2015 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.53 No.4