Archives of Advances in Biosciences

     Today, using new and renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels is greatly expanded. The solar cells are devices that convert solar energy to electrical energy. Solar cells based on organic materials, especially proteins, are one of these solar cells. For example, bacteriorhodopsin (bR) which is one of the membrane proteins in halobacterium salinarum could be used in solar cells and participate in the liberation and transfer of the electrons. In this study, the effort has been to add a chemical dye (N719) to protein and develop a new hybrid bR/Dye complex to increase efficiency of solar cells based on protein. The formed hybrid complex was tested by using of FTIR and other spectroscopy. Current and voltage of bacteriorhodopsin-based photocell was increased in new complex-based photocell. The results of AFM, FTIR and UV-Visible spectroscopy showed a smooth deposition of bR-Dye N719; stable complex of bR-Dye N719 was also formed.

One of the leading causes of death in the world are cardiovascular diseases, among which coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common one. It occurs as a result of narrowing of the arteries which supply blood to the heart due to a theroma plaque formation. This kind of heart disease can be considered as a multifactorial one as genetic and environmental factors are involved in its incidence. The already conducted studies have investigated the relationship between some of polymorphisms in different loci and CAD with the aim of on-time diagnosis of this disease, which may lead to its prevention and appropriate treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the association of tRNA Thr 15927 G → A mutation with the risk of CAD incidence to offer programs for early diagnosis and treatment of this disease in Iran. Fifty patients with CAD were included in the patient group, and fifty healthy participants were selected for the control group. 5mL of peripheral blood samples drawn from subjects in patient and control groups were collected in the tubes containing Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). After DNA extraction from blood with the employment of DNA extraction kit, its quality and quantity were measured using electrophoresis and NanoDrop devices, respectively. Then, the isolated DNA with the implementation of  amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS)  and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques was examined to determine and evaluate the target polymorphism in the intended locus. Sequencing method was also used to confirm the findings. To this end, 4 samples were randomly selected and sequenced.In the control group, 6 screened patients had the mutation while the others did not. Similar result was observed in the patient group. The findings of the present study reveal that there was not any significant relationship between tRNAThr 15927G → A mutation and risk of CAD incidence.

Noise is considered as one of the harmful factors at industrial environments. It affects human health in different aspects including harmful influences on auditory, vision, neurological and psychiatric systems, hormones, physiological and mental systems. Paying attention to the importance of hormonal effects on human body seems to possess crucial importance. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of noise exposure on variation of serum levels of glucose and cortisol at Syrian adult male mouse. 36 Syrian male adult mice were randomly categorized into two experiment and control groups. Garlic powder was added to the mice pelleted food meal (equal to 1% of their daily diet) to study its effect on the cortisol and glucose serum levels. The mice pelleted food contains starch, glucose, isolated soya protein, etc., which are the rich resources of A, C, B1, B2 and B6 vitamins. Streptozotocin (60mg/kg) was injected to the mice at experiment group which were under noise exposure with intensity of 90dB in frequency range of 700-5700Hz. Noise were generated using CoolEdit software and distributed to the fabricated box for 30 days (8h/d).  Fasting cortisol and glucose serum levels were measured for mice of both groups 24h after finishing the exposure period. Results indicated that the glucose serum level in non-diabetic and diabetic subjects under noise exposure had significant difference (p<0.002) with the subjects at control group. Also, cortisol level in non-diabetic and diabetic subjects under noise exposure indicated significant difference (p<0.002) with the subjects at control group. Exposure to noise with intensity of 90dB at frequency range of 700-5700Hz increases the glucose and cortisol serum levels.

       Ionization radiation caused to incidence of complications in the exposed organs. In prostate radiotherapy, rectum and bladder have been radiated unwantedly and indicated some complications during and after treatment. The purpose of present study is to consider and to compare clinical complications of rectum and bladder in custom block and MLC for 3- D conformal radiotherapy, in order to determine if both treatments differ with respect to creating radiation protection, subsequently in the incidence of complications. In this respect, 72 patients with prostate cancer classified into two arms, above 60 years without the history of previous radiotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery, were selected randomly in October 2014. In one arm, patients were treated with block 3- D conformal radiotherapy, and in second arm with MLC outbound technique for 3- D radiotherapy. Rectal and bladder clinical complications were recorded before, during (at the end of 10 treatment sessions), 3 and 6 months after treatment then compared based on tables (RTOG/ LENT).Obtained results showed that patients had a significant difference in such complications as urinary frequency after 10 treatment sessions, 3 months after treatment (p<0.02 and p<0.04, respectively)   Also, patients had a significant difference in regard to dysuria at the end of treatment (p<0.02). In both arms, patients had a significant difference in constipation after 30 sessions also at the end of treatment (p<0.02, p<0.02, respectively).In comparing different grades of complications based on RTOG/ LENT tables, it was not observed a significant difference between patients' complications in both arms.

Heat stress is an important and serious threat at work and is a particular concern in outdoor occupational environments. This study aims at comparing heat stress and heat strain at different outdoor groups, examining the protective and adaptive actions which were done by workers and also provi services to them by government or employer to reduce heat load. This cross–sectional study was conducted in the hottest days of the summer 2015 in Shabestar, Iran and 53 healthy men in nine occupational groups including concrete makers, porters, construction, waste site and road making workers, stonemasons, farmers, traffic officers, and street vendors participated. A set of physiological parameters, like heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature and etc., WBGT index details and some of the adaptive and protective parameters were measured and monitored simultaneously at different times of the day. The study finds that heat exposure in outdoor workplace is prevalent and WBGT TWA/TLV_ave is less than 1 in some groups like stonemasons, waste site workers, traffic officers and street vendors whereas in other studied occupations, it is more than 1.This matter is compounded by the fact that the provision of health services by employers or local government was limited, and almost all of the participants had poor or insufficient access levels to public health and welfare services. This study confirms the necessity of interventions by a range of factors, such as government plans, improvement of services in the prevention of heat stress, and planning training courses for outdoor workers to build their knowledge of heat stress.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system with various degrees of axonal damage. The TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand receptor (TRAIL-R) might be playing an important role in the pathogenesis of MS. The objective of our study was to evaluate the association of two common polymorphisms is located in the TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2 gene, in the pathogenesis of MS.

Methods: We genotyped two single nucleotide polymorphisms in particular regions with single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and Results obtained from the sequence of some samples, were analyzed using DNAMAN software. DNA was extracted from whole blood using the salting-out procedure. The distribution of genotype frequencies was analyzed using Pearson’s x² test. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.

Results: No Significant differences in SNP rs4872077 were found between the PRMS and PPMS groups and No association was found between the genotype status of the rs1001793 and rs4872077 polymorphisms and the age at onset, disease duration, EDSS.

Mental workload is one of the factors that influence individuals’ performance in the work environment as well as their efficiency and productivity. The present study aimed at examining the association between mental workload and general health among welders of Tehran Heavy Structuress Metal Company.This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016. The sample included 100 welders who were working in Tehran Heavy Structures Metal Company. Sampling was done through conducting a census. A demographic questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) mental workload questionnaire were used to collect data. The obtained data were fed into SPSS (version 22) and analyzed through Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, Kruscal Wallis Test, Pearson product moment correlation, and Mann-Whitney U Test.The results showed that the participating welders had an average age of 36.16±7.81, an average work experience of 9.65±5.83, and a BMI of 25.95±3.39 kg/m². The mean and standard deviation of the overall score of welders’ mental workload were 65.88±21.15. The cut-off scores for the total mental workload questionnaire and the subscales were respectively set at 23 and 6. The results demonstrated that 26% of the welders were suspected of mental disorder. Furthermore, the results of Pearson correlation indicated that there was no significant relationship between the overall score of NASA mental workload and that of general health (p-value>0.05).Welders’ mental workload is relatively high. Therefore, further research should be conducted in order to identify main risk factors that lead to mental and health disorder. Future studies should also be performed to present some solutions for te purpose of decreasing or preventing these side effects among welders as much as possible.

     Growing evidence suggests that serotonin plays an important role in learning and memory and all its receptors might be implicated in this process. The present study aimed at investigating and comparing the possible involvement of 5-HT₃ and 5-HT₄ receptor (R) agonists/antagonists upon consolidation of inhibitory avoidance memory in the pre-limbic (PL) area. Bilateral intra-PL microinjections of m-CPBG (m-Chlorophenylbiguanide hydrochloride: a selective 5-HT₃R agonist; 0.1 μg/rat), Y-25130 (a selective 5-HT₃R antagonist; 0.1 μg/rat), RS67333 (a potent and highly selective 5-HT₄R partial agonist; 0.5 μg/rat) and RS23597-190 (a selective 5-HT₄R antagonist; 0.5 μg/rat) were performed immediately after training. The step-through inhibitory avoidance (IA) task was used to memory assessment in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Our data revealed that the post-training intra-PL microinjection of m-CPBG relative to saline and Y-25130 decreased inhibitory avoidance memory consolidation in the PL area. On the contrary, RS67333 increased IA memory consolidation in comparison to saline and RS23597-190. In addition, there was also a significant difference between the effects of m-CPBG and RS67333 on IA memory consolidation in the PL area. M-CPBG induced reduction of IA memory consolidation, while RS67333 increased it. However, Y-25130 compared to RS23597-190 did not show any significant difference. All above interventions did not alter locomotor activity. This study indicated that local direct agonist activation of 5-HT₃Rs induced the reduction of IA memory consolidation, opposed to the local direct agonist activation of 5-HT₄Rs, which mediated enhancement of IA memory consolidation. It can be proposed that 5-HT₃Rs in comparison to 5-HT4Rs may be inversely involved in modulation of IA memory consolidation in the PL.