In fish, a complex set of mechanisms deal with environmental stresses including hypoxia. In order to probe the hypothesis that hypoxia-induced stress could be manifested in varieties of pathways, a model species, mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio), were chronically exposed to hypoxic condition (dissolved oxygen level: 1.80±0.6mg/l) for 21 days and subsequently allowed to recover under normoxic condition (dissolved oxygen level: 8.2±0.5mg/l) for 7 days. At the end of these exposure periods, an integrated approach was applied to evaluate several endpoints at different levels of biological organisation. These included determination of (i) oxidative damage to DNA in erythrocytes (using modified comet assay), (ii) lipid peroxidation in liver samples by measuring the malondialdehyde production using the 2-thiobarbituric acid [i.e. thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay] and (iii) histopathological changes in gills. In addition, transcriptional expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1α) and genes involved in the repair of oxidative damage to DNA (i.e. ogg1) and base excision repair (i.e. xrcc1) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in liver samples were also determined. The results suggested significantly enhanced expression of these genes in response to hypoxia compared to concurrent normoxic controls. While the expression of HIF-1α reverted to control values within 7 days exposure to normoxic condition (P < 0.05), the transcriptional expression of the two genes involved in DNA repair process remained significantly high under the recovery period, which complemented the induction of oxidative damage to DNA. Hypoxic groups showed significantly increased values for TBARS level (~2-fold) and histopathological changes in gill tissues compared to both normoxic and recovery groups. Overall, oxidative damage to DNA determined by modified comet assay reflected the observed biological responses in other tissues of the fish. Along with other parameters, this integrated experimental design further strengthens the applications of the comet assay as an important technique to assess stress-induced DNA damage in ecotoxicological studies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the UK Environmental Mutagen Society.
Mammography is at present one of the available method for early detection of masses or abnormalities which is related to breast cancer. The most common abnormalities that may indicate breast cancer are masses and calcifications. The challenge lies in early and accurate detection to overcome the development of breast cancer that affects more and more women throughout the world. Breast cancer is diagnosed at advanced stages with the help of the digital mammogram images. Masses appear in a mammogram as fine, granular clusters, which are often difficult to identify in a raw mammogram. The incidence of breast cancer in women has increased significantly in recent years.
This paper proposes a computer aided diagnostic system for the extracti
In this work, pure and Ag-doped nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different dopant concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt.%) by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique at room temperature. These films were annealed at temperature of 450 °C. The structural and optical properties of the prepared thin films were studied. It was found that annealing process has lead to increase the transmittance of the deposited films. Also, the transmittance was found to increase with doping concentration of silver in the deposited NiO films. The optical energy gap was decreased from 3.5 to 3.2 eV as the doping concentration was increased to 0.4 %.
Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel and a good substitution for the fossil fuel. However, the purity of this fuel is a major concern that challenges researchers. In this study, a calcium oxide based catalyst has been prepared from local waste eggshells by the calcination method and tested in production biodiesel. The eggshells were powdered and calcined at different temperatures (700, 750, 800, 850 and 900 °C) and periods of time (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 hr.). The effect of calcination temperature and calcination time on the structure and activity of the solid catalyst were examined by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Brunaure-Emmett-Teller (BET). The optimum catalyst performance was obtained at 900 °C
... Show MoreThis study is aimed to Green-synthesize and characterize Al NPs from Clove (Syzygium aromaticum
L.) buds plant extract and to investigate their effect on isolated and characterized Salmonella enterica growth.
S. aromaticum buds aqueous extract was prepared from local market clove, then mixed with Aluminum nitrate
Al(NO3)3. 9 H2O, 99.9% in ¼ ratio for green-synthesizing of Al NPs. Color change was a primary confirmation
of Al NPs biosynthesis. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were identified and characterized by AFM, SEM,
EDX and UV–Visible spectrophotometer. AFM data recorded 122nm particles size and the surface roughness
RMs) of the pure S. aromaticum buds aqueous extract recorded 17.5nm particles s
The extract of fig fruit has shown significant medical usefulness in various fields. The entrance of nanotechnology into the field of medicinal and pharmacology has shown remarkable advantages. Plants contain diverse molecules thatcan reduce metals, and provide a safe, eco-friendly approach for synthesizing nanoparticles. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been reported to possess an antimicrobial effect against some strains of bacteria and moulds. We have aimed to synthesize IONPs from fig fruit extract and investigate the influence of fig extract and IONPs in wound healing of mice. UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the IONPs that were produced
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