• Advances in environmental research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.175-189
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• 2020

Municipal solid waste disposal is considered as one of the most important risks for environmental contamination which necessitates the development of strategies to reduce destructive consequences on the ecosystem as related especially to heavy metal accumulation. This study investigates heavy metal (i.e., As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) accumulation in the Tonekabon region, NW of Iran that is related to city waste disposal and evaluates the environmental impact in the Caspian Sea coastal region. For this purpose, after performing field studies and collecting 50 soil specimens from 5 sites of the study area, geochemical tests (i.e., inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence) were conducted on the soil specimens collected from the 5 sites (named as Sites A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5) and the results were used to estimate the pollution indices (i.e., geo-accumulation index, normalized enrichment factor, contamination factor, and pollution load index). The obtained indices were utilized to assess the eco-toxicological risk level in the landfill site which indicated that the city has been severely contaminated by Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. These levels have been developed along the stream towards the nearshore areas indicating uptake of soil degradation. The heavy metal contamination was classified to range from unpolluted to highly polluted, which indicated serious heavy metal pollution in the study area as related to municipal solid waste disposal in Tonekabon.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.186-192
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• 2022

Collagen is one of the most widely used biological materials in medical design. Collagen extracted from marine organisms can be a good biomaterial for tissue engineering applications due to its suitable properties. In this study, collagen is extracted from fish skin of Ctenopharyngodon Idella; then, the freeze drying method is used to design a porous scaffold. The scaffolds are modified with the chemical crosslinker N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethyl carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) to improve some of the overall properties. The extracted collagen samples are evaluated by various analyzes including cytotoxicity test, SDS-PAGE, FTIR, DSC, SEM, biodegradability and cell culture. The results of the SDS-PAGE study demonstrate well the protein patterns of the extracted collagen. The results show that cross-linking of collagen scaffold increases denaturation temperature and degradation time. The results of cytotoxicity show that the modified scaffolds have no toxicity. The cell adhesion study also shows that epithelial cells adhere well to the scaffold. Therefore, this method of chemical modification of collagen scaffold can improve the physical and biological properties. Overall, the modified collagen scaffold can be a promising candidate for tissue engineering applications.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.9.1-9.5
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• 2020

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the colon and rectum. The abnormal lesions in the digestive system caused by ulcerative colitis and intermittent colitis are of major clinical importance. MDM2 is a phospho-protein that functions as a ubiquitin ligase for p53. Recently, a T>G substitution in the promoter of the MDM2 gene (rs309) has been identified. In this case-control study, 174 ulcerative colitis biopsy samples and 82 control samples were collected from colonoscopy centers, hospitals, and clinics in Mazandaran and Gilan Provinces in Iran from October 2014 to May 2015. This MDM2 polymorphism was investigated in DNA samples (extracted from biopsy samples) by amplification-refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction. The mean age of patients with ulcerative colitis was 46.5 years (range, 28 to 69 years) and that of control individuals was 45.3 years (range, 26 to 71 years). Seventy-eight patients (44.82%) were men and 96 (55.18%) were women. The distribution of the TT, TG, and GG genotypes was 17.93%, 27.59%, and 34.48%, respectively, in the ulcerative colitis patients and 31.70%, 24.40%, and 43.90%, respectively, in the control individuals (odds ratio of GG for ulcerative colitis, 7.142; 95% confidence interval, 2.400 to 9.542; p = 0.001). It was found that a single-nucleotide polymorphism at rs309 in the MDM2 gene was associated with ulcerative colitis. A direct relationship was found between age and ulcerative colitis, while no relationship was found with sex. This finding is of note because the occurrence of intestinal inflammation and subsequent ulcers can precede the development of cancer.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.149-153
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• 2013

The chemical functionalization of carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) by creatinine (MWCNT-Amide) and latter modification with 2-aminobenzophenone for producing 1-methyl-9-phenyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-b]quinolin-2-amine (MWCNT-quino) have been investigated. All products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetric and cellular investigations. The interesting point is that MWCNT-quino can be homogeneously dispersed in dimethylformamide and to some extent in ethyl alcohol without sonication. Also, MTT assay was used to examine the behavior of cell proliferation after 48 h of cell culture experiments. Cellular results showed high toxicity of MWCNT-quino on the cancer cells. These functionalizations have been chosen due to active sites of carbonyl and methylene groups in MWCNT-Amide and the creating quinoline derivative on the MWCNTs for future application.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2008

The detection, characterization and use of quantitative traits loci, QTL, have significant potential to improve the efficiency of selective breeding of species. Therefore, a population with 59 advanced backcross lines($BC_2F_5$), derived from a cross between IR64 and Tarome molaei, were studied in Tonekabon Rice Research Station of Iran in order to map QTLs for panicle length, number of grain per panicle, and panicle grain sterility in rice. The parental screening wtih 235 SSR markers in agarose and polyacrylamide gels revealed 114 markers with clear polymorphic bands. To search for QTLs associated with panicle length, number of grain per panicle, and panicle grain sterility, we constructed a genetic linkage map using 114 microsatellite markers. Positive and negative transgressive segregations were observed in $BC_2F_5$ lines for all traits. Using multiple interval mapping(MIM), a total of 20 putative QTLs were detected, of which eight were for panicle length, three for number of grains, and nine for panicle grain sterility. The maximum number of QTLs were mapped on chromosomes 1 and 2 with eight QTLs. These QTL markers could possible be utilized for marker-assisted selection.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.1053-1056
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• 2013

Background: Leukemia and lymphoma demonstrate significantly incidence rates throughout the world and particularly in Iran they cause serious mortality and diagnosis and treatment expenditures for both families and the health system. Combined they account for about 11 percent of cancers in Mazandaran province, ranking number 2 in prevalent cancers. The purpose of this study was to provide a first general and specific description of leukemia and lymphoma in Mazandaran province. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive retrospective study, entire patient's data were reviewed which had confirmed diagnosis of leukemia and lymphoma with valid laboratory or pathology reports in the period 2001-2008. The data were collected by Babol health research site related to Tehran University of Medical Science. Incidence rates based on age groups, gender, city of residence and type of malignancy were calculated and analyzed. Results: In Mazandaran province, 1,146 cases of leukemia and lymphoma were encountered, 5.9 in 100,000 persons on average annually. The highest incidence rates were obtained at age of 70 or above (26.4) and the lowest at age of 0-9 (2.3).The incidence rates in males and females were 7.1 and 4.8 respectively with a ratio of 1.5. The highest incidence rate was in Babol (7.3) and the lowest was calculated in Neka and Tonekabon equally (1.5). According to the type of malignancy, non Hodgkin lymphoma, with 2.5/100,000 have the most incidence rate and myeloid leukemia with 1.8 had the lowest. Conclusions: The obtained findings indicate clear differences in incidence rates based on age, gender, residence, and type of malignancy. Therefore it's suggested that in addition to promote data collecting programs, research projects should be programmed to define leukemia and lymphoma risk factors in this province.