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.
High-quality academic publishing is built on rigorous peer review [...]
Education is the most powerful and important weapon in fighting poverty and unemployment because it provides students with new skills that appropriate the new market requirements and fair distribution of natural resources. It also transfers knowledge, skills, and ethics over generations. Education aims to create effective leaders who go under training and rehabilitation process, create a new human and instill faith, generate the creativity and innovation, and keep abreast with scientific process, updating curriculum, and finally, applying the technical education
Previous studies in Euro-American countries have shown that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection have increased levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms. While chronic hepatitis C virus infection has been reported in Arab countries such as Iraq, there is little studies about the neuropsychological burden associated with chronic hepatitis C among patients in the Arab region. The aim of the current study was to measure the prevalence and level of severity of depression, anxiety and stress among a sample of chronic hepatitis C patients in AL-Najaf province /Iraq. The current study was cross-sectional study carried out on (110) already diagnosed chronic viral hepatitis C patients who attended the Gastroenterology and Hepatology
... Show MoreChronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients display a highly variable clinical course, with progressive acquisition of drug resistance. We sought to identify aberrant epigenetic traits that are enriched following exposure to treatment that could impact patient response to therapy.
Epigenome-wide analysis of DNA methylation was performed for 20 patients at two timepoints during treatment. The prognostic significance of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) was assessed in independent cohorts of 139 and 1
Background: Propolis has received great interest because of its wide range antimicrobial activity. Propolis also called (bee glue) due to its collection by (Apismellifera) honeybees from various plants resinous substance. The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial effect of propolis extracts (aqueous and alcoholic) on anaerobic periodontal pathogen namely Aggregatibacteractinomycetemcomitans. Materials and Methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans wasisolated from pockets of systemically healthy patients aged between 35-55 years old suffering from chronic periodontitis with pocket depths of 5-6 mm, the bacteria cultured on special blood Agar plates solid media. Propolis was extracted by using water and alcohol.
... Show MoreBackground: Relapse of previously moved teeth, is major clinical problem in orthodontics with respect to the goals of successful treatment. This study investigated the effect of orthodontic relapse on the proliferation of fibroblast and epithelial rests of Malassez cells in periodontal ligament of rat molars. Materials and Methods: Sixteen ten-week- old male Wister rats were randomly divided into four groups composed of four animals each: Group I received no orthodontic force (control). In both Group II and Group III, uniform standardized expansive springs were used for moving the maxillary first molars buccally for periods of one and three weeks respectively. The spring initially generated an average expansive force of 20 g on each side.
... Show MoreBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, a respiratory syndrome. It causes inflammation and damages several organs in the body. miRNAs play a role in regulating the infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2. MicroRNA-155, a kind of microRNA linked to viral defences, can affect the immune responses during COVID-19. Objectives: Examination of the involvement of microRNA-155 in the development and severity of COVID-19, as well as finding the correlation between microRNA-155 and viral load (copies/mL) in severe cases of the disease. Materials and Method: A case-control research study was performed between October 2022 and June 2023. It included a cohort of 120 hospitalised individuals with severe cases of COVID-19, together with 115 individu
... Show MoreThe problem of research is the need to find out the obstacles and difficulties facing women in accessing leadership positions at the University of Baghdad from their point of view. The importance of research comes from the importance of women in the university and their vital role in the development of society. The research objectives summarized the most important obstacles facing women Access to the leadership positions in the university and the relative weight of these obstacles as well as trying to identify differences in their view of these obstacles according to the variables of specialization (scientific, human) and the scientific title (Professor, Assistant Professor, Teacher, Assistant Lecturer). They were (144) university female
... Show MoreNormally, bacteria exposed to antibiotics at sub minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) inside the host. Therefore, the current study aimed to comprehend the association among hemolysins, biofilm, as well as gentamicin resistance in local MRSA isolates. Around 35 Staphylococcus aureus locally isolated from different clinical specimens were employed in this study. Methicillin resistance was detected via cefoxitin disk diffusion and mecA amplification methods. MIC of gentamicin was estimated by broth microdilution method. Hemolysin genes involving hla, hlb, hld, and hlg were determined using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Microtiter plate method was employed for biofilm assessment in the presence and absence of gentamic
... Show More