DISC1 gene polymorphisms and the risk of schizophrenia in an Iranian population: A preliminary study

Background: Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar illness are common psychological disorders with high heritability and variable phenotypes. The disrupted in schizophrenia 1 ( DISC1) gene, on chromosome 1q42, has an essential role in neurite outgrowth and cell signaling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs6675281, rs2255340, and rs2738864) with schizophrenia disorder. These three SNPs were chosen as they had been used in most of the previous studies. Methods: In a case-control study of Iranian population for the first time 778 blood samples were collected including, 402 schizophrenic patients and 376 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood using DNA extraction kit (BioFlux Co). The genotypes of rs6675281, rs2255340, and rs2738864 were detected by nested allele-specific multiplex polymersae chain reaction (PCR). Results: Our data revealed that the three SNPs are significantly associated with schizophrenia (rs2255349 C>T: confidence interval (CI), 2.115 to 3.268; P = 0.0000 OR: 2.629; rs2738864 C>T: CI, 1.538 to 2.339; P = 0.0000 OR: 1.897; rs6675281 C>T: CI, 2.788 to 4.662; P = 0.0009241 OR: 3.605). Through applying the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, we calculated the haplotype frequency, and finally performed haplotype analysis with Bonferroni correction and data preprocessing methods and the results showed rs66875281 to have the highest association. Discussion: Our findings primarily showed that DISC1 gene polymorphisms contribute to schizophrenia risk and have a significant association with this disorder among Iranian population. The strategy was found to be easy, rapid, specific, and consistent for the co-occurring detection of the DISC1 polymorphisms. We could finally confirm that the polymorphisms are related to schizophrenia studied in Iranian population.     

Harnessing Case Isolation and Ring Vaccination to Control Ebola

As a devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues, non-pharmaceutical control measures including contact tracing, quarantine, and case isolation are being implemented. In addition, public health agencies are scaling up efforts to test and deploy candidate vaccines. Given the experimental nature and limited initial supplies of vaccines, a mass vaccination campaign might not be feasible. However, ring vaccination of likely case contacts could provide an effective alternative in distributing the vaccine. To evaluate ring vaccination as a strategy for eliminating Ebola, we developed a pair approximation model of Ebola transmission, parameterized by confirmed incidence data from June 2014 to January 2015 in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Our results suggest that if a combined intervention of case isolation and ring vaccination had been initiated in the early fall of 2014, up to an additional 126 cases in Liberia and 560 cases in Sierra Leone could have been averted beyond case isolation alone. The marginal benefit of ring vaccination is predicted to be greatest in settings where there are more contacts per individual, greater clustering among individuals, when contact tracing has low efficacy or vaccination confers post-exposure protection. In such settings, ring vaccination can avert up to an additional 8% of Ebola cases. Accordingly, ring vaccination is predicted to offer a moderately beneficial supplement to ongoing non-pharmaceutical Ebola control efforts.     

Isolation of a singly oxo-bridged Fe(III) dinuclear complex: Synthesis, crystal structure, spectroscopic and magnetic studies

The μ-oxo dinuclear complex {Fe₂O(tptz)₂[N(CN)₂]₂(NO₃)₂} (1) (where tptz = 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine) has been synthesised and characterised by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-vis, cyclic voltammetry, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The iron centres have a pentagonal-bipyramidal geometry. The dimeric neutral complex exhibits typical Fe-μ-O bond lengths of 1.763(1) Å and a bridge angle of 180.00°. The Fe?Fe separation is 3.526(3) Å. The Mössbauer spectrum at room temperature consists of one quadrupole doublet with an isomer shift of 0.41 mm/s and a quadrupole splitting of 1.12 mm/s. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements have been measured in the temperature range 300-2 K, revealing an intramolecular antiferromagnetic coupling (J = −211.6 cm⁻¹).     

The efficacy of Liv-52 on liver cirrhotic patients: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled first approach.

Cirrhosis is the irreversible sequel of various disorders that damage liver cells permanently over time. Presently, the use of herbal medicines for prevention and control of chronic liver diseases is in the focus of attention for both the physicians and the patients; the reasons for such shift toward the use of herbals include the expensive cost of conventional drugs, adverse drug reactions, and their inefficacy. In the present study, the efficacy of herbal medicine Liv-52 (consisting of Mandur basma, Tamarix gallica and herbal extracts of Capparis spinosa, Cichorium intybus, Solanum nigrum, Terminalia arjuna and Achillea millefolium) on liver cirrhosis outcomes was compared with the placebo for 6 months in 36 cirrhotic patients referred to Tehran Hepatic Center. The outcome measures included child-pugh score, ascites, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total billirubin, albumin, prothrombin time, platelet and white blood cells counts. The indices were recorded in all patients before and after 6 months of drug or placebo treatment. The results demonstrated that the patients treated with Liv-52 for 6 months had significantly better child-pugh score, decreased ascites, decreased serum ALT and AST. In placebo administered patients all the clinical parameters recorded at beginning of the study were not significantly different than after 6 months. We conclude that Liv-52 possess hepatoprotective effect in cirrhotic patients. This protective effect of Liv-52 can be attributed to the diuretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and immunomodulating properties of the component herbs.     

Two new end-to-end single dicyanamide bridged Cu(II) complexes with Schiff base ligands: Structural, electrochemical and magnetic properties

The synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties of two different copper(II) complexes of formula [Cu(L¹)(dca)]_n · nClO₄ (1) and [Cu(L²)]₂(dca)(ClO₄) (2) [L¹ = N,N-dimethylethylene-N′-(pyridine-2-carbaldiiminato), HL² = N,N-dimethylethylene-N′-salicylaldiiminato, dca = dicyanamide anion] are described. Spectroscopic and electrochemical properties have also been discussed. A one-dimensional chain structure with single, symmetrical, μ_1,5-dca bridges is found in compound 1. The copper atom in 1 has a square pyramidal geometry. A tridentate Schiff base ligand, having NNN donor sites, and one nitrogen atom from dca occupy the basal plane. N(18) of a neighbouring unit occupies the apical site. The Schiff base used in compound 2 is a tridentate anion with NNO donor sites, which changes the structure in a dinuclear unit of copper atoms bridged by single end-to-end dicyanamide ion. The environment around copper in 2 is square planar. Magnetic susceptibility measurements for 1 and 2 reveal the occurrence of weak antiferromagnetic interaction through the dca ligand.     

Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Arthroplasty versus Arthrodesis for Single-Level Cervical Spondylosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective

To estimate the effectiveness of anterior cervical discectomy with arthroplasty (ACDA) compared to anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF) for patient-important outcomes for single-level cervical spondylosis.

Data sources

Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Register for Randomized Controlled Trials, BIOSIS and LILACS), archives of spine meetings and bibliographies of relevant articles.

Study selection

We included RCTs of ACDF versus ACDA in adult patients with single-level cervical spondylosis reporting at least one of the following outcomes: functionality, neurological success, neck pain, arm pain, quality of life, surgery for adjacent level degeneration (ALD), reoperation and dysphonia/dysphagia. We used no language restrictions. We performed title and abstract screening and full text screening independently and in duplicate.

Data synthesis

We used random-effects model to pool data using mean difference (MD) for continuous outcomes and relative risk (RR) for dichotomous outcomes. We used GRADE to evaluate the quality of evidence for each outcome.

Results

Of 2804 citations, 9 articles reporting on 9 trials (1778 participants) were eligible. ACDA is associated with a clinically significant lower incidence of neurologic failure (RR  = 0.53, 95% CI  = 0.37–0.75, p = 0.0004) and improvement in the Neck pain visual analogue scale (VAS) (MD  = 6.56, 95% CI  = 3.22–9.90, p = 0.0001; Minimal clinically important difference (MCID)  = 2.5. ACDA is associated with a statistically but not clinically significant improvement in Arm pain VAS and SF-36 physical component summary. ACDA is associated with non-statistically significant higher improvement in the Neck Disability Index Score and lower incidence of ALD requiring surgery, reoperation, and dysphagia/dysphonia.

Conclusions

There is no strong evidence to support the routine use of ACDA over ACDF in single-level cervical spondylosis. Current trials lack long-term data required to assess safety as well as surgery for ALD. We suggest that ACDA in patients with single level cervical spondylosis is an option although its benefits and indication over ACDF remain in question.     

Estimating number of clusters based on a general similarity matrix with application to microarray data

Many clustering methods require that the number of clusters believed present in a given data set be specified a priori, and a number of methods for estimating the number of clusters have been developed. However, the selection of the number of clusters is well recognized as a difficult and open problem and there is a need for methods which can shed light on specific aspects of the data. This paper adopts a model for clustering based on a specific structure for a similarity matrix. Publicly available gene expression data sets are analyzed to illustrate the method and the performance of our method is assessed by simulation.     

Inhibitory effect of methanol extract of Rosa damascena Mill. flowers on α-glucosidase activity and postprandial hyperglycemia in normal and diabetic rats

The effect of a methanol extract of Rosa damascena Mill. flowers was studied, in comparison to the α-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose, in normal and diabetic rats. The inhibition mode of this extract was examined by measuring enzyme activity in different concentrations of substrate for Lineweaver–Burk plot analysis. The results show that Rosa damascena extract has an intensive inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase. Its inhibition was found to be noncompetitive. Oral administration of this plant extract (100 to 1000 mg/kg body wt.) significantly decreased blood glucose after maltose loading in normal and diabetic rats in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that Rosa damascena might exert an anti-diabetic effect by suppressing carbohydrate absorption from the intestine and can reduce the postprandial glucose level.     

Risk of coronary artery stenosis in Iranian type 2 diabetics: is there a role for matrix metalloproteinase-3 gene (-1612 5A/6A) polymorphism?

Aim  

To investigate the association of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) polymorphism with susceptibility to coronary artery stenosis (CAS) and the number of diseased vessels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).