Reproductive biology of the Mugger Crocodile,Crocodylus palustris,in Iran (Reptilia: Crocodylidae)

A small population of Mugger crocodiles occurs in the southeastern part of Iran, in Sistan & Baluchestan Province, at the westernmost global range of the species. The peak nesting season is May and consequently the eggs hatch in July, but the nesting season can be extended. In four nests found in the wild, 24, 26, 21 and 13 eggs were counted. A 2.2 m long female, which fell in an overflow pond, laid 21 eggs on a concrete surface exposed to the air. A female kept in captivity laid 18 and 25 eggs in two consecutive years. The mean size for the eggs in the last three nests was calculated as 75.7 x 47.7 mm and 91.27 g in weight. The mean total length and weight for 19 hatchlings was 30.47 cm (29.2–33.9 cm) and 84.3 g (66.2 to 90.3 g) respectively. Based on the number of observed hatchlings compared with the clutch size, it seems that hatchlings have a high mortality rate in the early stages after hatching as a result of natural threats.     

Length–weight relationships of six freshwater cyprinid fishes of Iran

Length–weight relationships were estimated for six cyprinid species of Iran. One of these species is endemic to Iran and the L–W parameters for three of the species are given for the first time.     

Screening and Characterization of Several 2,2-Dicholoropropionic Acid–Degrading Bacteria Isolated from Marine Sediment of Danga Bay and East Coast of Singapore Island

Industries and agriculture activities extensively utilize halogenated compounds. These compounds were found to be toxic and pollute the environment. Thus, many studies have been done on microbial degradation of these chemicals. In this study, an attempt was made to isolate bacterial strains EK1–EK5 from marine sediments collected at Danga Bay and east coast of Singapore island. The 16S rRNA analysis suggested that the isolated bacteria had more than 96% sequence identity to the sequence in the database; therefore, they were designated as Bacillus sp., Rhodococcus sp., Lysinibacillus sp., Microbacterium sp., and Aminobacter sp. The results of molecular analysis were supported by biochemical and microscopic examinations. Bacterial isolates were able to grow slowly in minimal medium containing only 2,2-dichloropropionate as the sole carbon source. The cellular doubling times were 39.60 ± 0.1, 36.60 ± 0.2, 30.71 ± 0.1, 41.23 ± 0.1, and 36.70 ± 0.3 h for EK1, EK2, EK3, EK4, and EK5, respectively. In the future, it will be important to further investigate the presence of the dehalogenase gene in their genomic DNA for further characterization.     

Mannose-decorated hybrid nanoparticles for enhanced macrophage targeting

Our goal was to design nanocarriers that specifically target and deliver therapeutics to polarized macrophages. Mannose receptors are highly overexpressed on polarized macrophages. In this study, we constructed Pluronic® -F127 polymer and tannic acid (TA) based nanoparticles (F127-TA core nanoparticles) with varying mannose densities. The particle size of the optimized mannose-decorated F127-TA hybrid nanoparticles (MDNPs) was found to be ~ 265 nm with a negative zeta potential of ~ ? 4.5 mV. No significant changes in the size and zeta potentials of nanoparticles were observed, which demonstrated structural integrity and stability of the nanoformulation. Physicochemical characteristics of MDNPs were evaluated by FTIR and TGA and demonstrated the presence of mannose units on surface nanoparticles. A mannose-dependent cellular targeting and uptake of MDNPs was found in U937 macrophages. The uptake process was found to vary directly with time and volume of MDNPs nanoparticles. The uptake pattern is higher in M2 than M1. This behavior was also evident from the instantaneous and superior binding profile of M2 macrophage lysate protein with MDNPs over that of M1 macrophage lysate protein. These results demonstrated that an appropriate mannose ligand density was confirmed, suggesting efficient targeting of M2. Altogether, these data support that the MDNPs formulation could serve as a targeted therapeutic guide in the generation of nanomedicine to treat various conditions as an anti-inflammation therapy.     

2-NBDG, a Fluorescent Analogue of Glucose, as a Marker for Detecting Cell Electropermeabilization In Vitro

This study investigated whether molecules spontaneously transported inside cells, like glucose derivatives, can also be used as electropermeabilization markers. Uptake of a fluorescent deoxyglucose derivative (2-NBDG) by normal and electropermeabilized cells in culture was analyzed. 2-NBDG was added to DC-3F cell suspensions and cells, exposed or not to eight square-wave electric pulses of 100-μs duration and of appropriate field amplitude at a repetition frequency of 1 Hz or 5 kHz, were incubated at 37 °C. 2-NBDG uptake was temperature-, concentration- and time-dependent in cells submitted or not to the electric pulses. In spite of significant uptake of 2-NBDG mediated by GLUT transporters into nonpermeabilized cells, the electric pulses significantly increased about ten to hundred times the 2-NBDG uptake into the cells. The increase in the field amplitude from 900 to 1,500 V/cm resulted in a progressive increase of 2-NDBG. Our results show that under the conditions of in vivo exposure duration to FDG and the physiological concentration of d-glucose, electric pulses increased 2-NBDG uptake into electropermeabilized cells. Under our experimental conditions, the percentage of permeabilized cells within the population of cells exposed to electric pulses remained at the same level regardless of the pulse frequency used, 1 Hz or 5 kHz. The findings showed that glucose derivatives can also be used to detect electropermeabilized cells exposed to electric pulses.     

Do bright-light shock exposures during breaks reduce subjective sleepiness in night workers?

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Night work has many harmful effects on the health, efficiency and safety of workers. This study evaluates the effects of bright-light exposure (BL) on subjective...     

Biotransformation of monoterpenes by immobilized microalgae

This paper reports the biotransformation of carvone, limonene, β-pinene, thymol, and linalool using whole-cell-immobilized microalgal strains isolated from paddy fields of Iran. The strains was recognized by morphological characterization and assigned according to amplified 16S/18S rRNA genes by PCR. Ten unialgal strains including Chlorella, Oocystis, Chlamydomonas, and Synechococcus were immobilized in calcium alginate beads. After a 24-h incubation with substrates, characterization and identification of biotransformation products were done by GC/MS. None of the isolated immobilized microalgae converted β-pinene. In contrast, most of these strains biotransformed carvone and limonene to the related compounds. Some strains only reduced the C = C double bond to yield the dihydrocarvone isomers while others reduced the ketone to give the dihydrocarveol. The transformation ratio showed that Oocystis sp. MCCS 033 and Synechococcus sp. MCCS 035 produced dihydrocarvone isomers with the highest efficiency. Furthermore, limonene was converted into a mixture of five corresponding products and the maximum yield was 52.1% for carvone, the bioconverted product. Only one strain, Synechococcus sp. MCCS 034, oxidized thymol, and the product obtained from thymol was thymoquinone. Also, linalooloxide isomers and dihydrolinalool were obtained from linalool, and finally dihydrolinalool was the main product. These results showed a novel conversion pathway of linalool-forming dihydrolinalool.     

Join queries optimization in the distributed databases using a hybrid multi-objective algorithm

Cluster Computing - In the distributed database systems, the relations needed by a query can be kept in several locations. This process significantly increases potential corresponding Query...