Contribution of Lithologic and Anthropogenic Factors to Surface Soil Heavy Metals in Western Iran Using Multivariate Geostatistical Analyses

Heavy metals’ origin, accumulation, and distribution in soil have been the focus of much attention by many researchers. The objective of this study was to recognize the sources of heavy metals in surface soils in Hamadan Province in western Iran using multivariate geostatistical techniques. A total of 263 surface (0–10 cm) soil samples and 18 rock samples from major parent materials were collected. Cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) contents of the samples were determined. Selected soil physical and chemical characteristics were also measured. A multivariate geostatistical analysis was performed to identify the common source of heavy metals. The quantities of Co, Cr, and Ni were found to be associated with parent rocks, corresponding to the first factor termed the “lithologic component.” The second factor was mainly attributed to Cu, which also comprised the first and third factors, indicating a mixed source both from lithologic and anthropogenic inputs. Zn and Pb contents were related to the anthropogenic activities and comprised the third factor. A significant correlation was found between metals from the lithogenic sources and selected soil properties such as soil organic matter, clay, CEC, and carbonate, indicating an interaction among them. Generally, Zn and Pb showed a less significant correlation with soil properties.     

The alteration of PLCζ protein expression in unexplained infertile and asthenoteratozoospermic patients: A potential effect on sperm fertilization ability

Failed oocyte activation has been observed in unexplained infertile (UI) and asthenoteratozoospermic (AT) men. The deficiency of phospholipase C‐zeta (PLCζ) could be a possible reason for such failures and has not been studied yet. We investigated the expression and localization of PLCζ protein in the sperms of patients with UI and AT conditions. The relationships between PLCζ‐related parameters with male age, sperm characteristics, DNA integrity, and cellular maturity were assessed. Semen samples were collected from fertile (n = 40), UI (n = 40), and AT (n = 40) men. Subsequently, semen analysis, DNA fragmentation, hyaluronic acid‐binding ability, and PLCζ level along with its distribution were evaluated using computer‐assisted sperm analyzer, sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), hyaluronic acid‐binding assay (HBA), western blot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy, respectively. Unlike SCSA, the values of HBA, and PLCζ expression were significantly reduced in UI and AT patients compared to fertile men, whereas no significant differences were observed among the experimental groups in terms of PLCζ localization patterns. The regression analysis also showed that HBA is the only variable associated with PLCζ levels. Furthermore, the correlation of male age with PLCζ localization in postacrosomal, equatorial, and acrosomal+postacrosomal+equatorial (A+PA+E) patterns, as well as the relation of normal morphology, with the (A+PA+E) pattern, remained in the regression model. Our findings indicated that reduced PLCζ level along with the increased DNA fragmentation and impaired maturation may be possible etiologies of decreased fertilization in the studied subjects.     

Utilization of the human gamma-satellite insulator for the enhancement of anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Molecular Biology Reports - Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are widely employed as invaluable therapeutics for a vast number of human disorders. Several approaches have been introduced for the...     

Increasing the quality of services and resource utilization in vehicular cloud computing using best host selection methods

One of the technology for increasing the safety and welfare of humans in roads is Vehicular Cloud Computing (VCC). This technology can utilize cloud computing advantages in the Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET). VCC by utilizing modern equipment along with current vehicles, can play a significant role in the area of smart transportation systems. Given the potential of this technology, effective methods for managing existing resources and providing the expected service quality that is essential for such an environment are not yet available as it should. One of the most important barriers to providing such solutions seems to be resource constraints and very high dynamics in vehicles in VCC. In this article, based on virtualization and taking into account the environment with these features, we propose simple ways to manage resources better and improve the quality of service. We were able to achieve better results in simulation than previous methods by providing a flexible data structure to control the important data in the environment effectively. To illustrate the impact of the proposed methods, we compared them with some of the most important methods in this context, and we used SUMO 1.2.0 and MATLAB R2019a software to simulate them. Simulation results indicate that the proposed methods provide better results than previous methods in terms of resource efficiency, Quality of Service (QoS), and load balancing.

     

Serological tests for COVID-19: Potential opportunities

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel betacoronavirus, caused a pandemic leading to a standstill of nearly all global activities. There are some controversies on the production of specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies after the infection with SARS-CoV-2. This paper seeks to elaborate on the potential application of IgM and IgG antibodies and the viral antigens for the diagnosis and the course of the disease as well as the recurrence of positive nucleic acid tests after discharge.     

Cytosolic phospholipase A2α sustains pAKT,pERK and AR levels in PTEN-null/mutated prostate cancer cells

Constitutive phosphorylation of protein kinase B (AKT) is a common feature of cancer caused by genetic alteration in the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gene and is associated with poor prognosis. This study determined the role of cytosolic phospholipase A₂α (cPLA₂α) in AKT, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and androgen receptor (AR) signaling in PTEN-null/mutated prostate cancer cells. Doxycycline (Dox)-induced expression of cPLA₂α led to an increase in pAKT, pGSK3β and cyclin D1 levels in LNCaP cells that possess a PTEN frame-shift mutation. In contrast, silencing cPLA₂α expression with siRNA decreased pAKT, pGSK3β and cyclin D1 levels in both PC-3 (PTEN deletion) and LNCaP cells. Silencing of cPLA₂α decreased pERK and AR protein levels. The inhibitory effect of cPLA₂α siRNA on pAKT and AR protein levels was reduced by the addition of arachidonic acid (AA), whereas the stimulatory effect of AA on pAKT, pERK and AR levels was decreased by an inhibitor of 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid production. Pharmacological blockade of cPLA₂α with Efipladib reduced pAKT and AR levels with a concomitant inhibition of PC-3 and LNCaP cell proliferation. These results demonstrate an important role for cPLA₂α in sustaining AKT, ERK and AR signaling in PTEN-null/mutated prostate cancer cells and provide a potential molecular target for treating prostate cancer.     

Generalized Baum-Welch Algorithm Based on the Similarity between Sequences

The profile hidden Markov model (PHMM) is widely used to assign the protein sequences to their respective families. A major limitation of a PHMM is the assumption that given states the observations (amino acids) are independent. To overcome this limitation, the dependency between amino acids in a multiple sequence alignment (MSA) which is the representative of a PHMM can be appended to the PHMM. Due to the fact that with a MSA, the sequences of amino acids are biologically related, the one-by-one dependency between two amino acids can be considered. In other words, based on the MSA, the dependency between an amino acid and its corresponding amino acid located above can be combined with the PHMM. For this purpose, the new emission probability matrix which considers the one-by-one dependencies between amino acids is constructed. The parameters of a PHMM are of two types; transition and emission probabilities which are usually estimated using an EM algorithm called the Baum-Welch algorithm. We have generalized the Baum-Welch algorithm using similarity emission matrix constructed by integrating the new emission probability matrix with the common emission probability matrix. Then, the performance of similarity emission is discussed by applying it to the top twenty protein families in the Pfam database. We show that using the similarity emission in the Baum-Welch algorithm significantly outperforms the common Baum-Welch algorithm in the task of assigning protein sequences to protein families.     

Association between serum cell adhesion molecules with hs-CRP,uric acid and VEGF genetic polymorphisms in subjects with metabolic syndrome

Molecular Biology Reports - Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with a pro-inflammatory state and endothelial dysfunction that places subjects with MetS at a higher risk of atherosclerosis....     

Hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection in southern Iran from 2016 to 2019

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The treatment of HCV infection has become more complicated due to various genotypes and subtypes of HCV. The treatment of HCV has made significant advances with direct-acting antivirals. However, for the choice of medicine or the combination of drugs for hepatitis C, it is imperative to detect and discriminate the crucial HCV genotypes. The main objective of this study was to determine the pattern of circulating HCV genotypes in southern Iran, from 2016 until 2019. The other aim of the study was to determine possible associations of patients’ risk factors with HCV genotypes. A total of 803 serum samples were collected in 4 years (2016–2019) from patients with HCV antibody positive results. A total of 728 serum samples were HCV-RNA positive. The prevalence of HCV genotypes was detected using the genotype-specific RT-PCR test for serum samples obtained from 615 patients. The HCV genotype 1 (G1) was the most prevalent (48.8%) genotype in the area, with G1a, G1b, and mixed G1a/b representing 38.4%, 10.1%, and 0.3%, respectively. Genotype 3a was the next most prevalent (47.2%). Mixed genotypes 1a/3a were detected in 22 (3.6%) and finally G4 was found in 3 (0.5%) patients. The other HCV genotypes were not detected in any patient. Genotype 1 (1a and 1b alone, 1a/1b and 1a/3a coinfections) is the most prevalent HCV genotype in southern Iran. HCV G1 shows a significantly higher rate in people under 40 years old.