Medical Laboratory Journal
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Jul-Aug 2016

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is considered as one of the most reliable biomarkers of cancer and other known prostate diseases. In the present study, solid phase sandwich immunoradiometric assay was used to measure the amount of PSA. In this type of measurement, a pair of anti-PSA antibodies on the solid phase and labeled with Iodine-125, participate in forming a complex with two different epitopes of PSA.
Variables such as irradiation level, modification of polymer surfaces by alcohol washing, different concentrations and volumes of antibody, incubation temperature and drying conditions that influence the direct coating process were optimized. Finally, the stability, accuracy and precision of the laboratory kit were evaluated by comparison with a foreign kit.
According to the obtained results, preliminary preparations such as irradiation, tube washing and specific temperature conditions are not required during the coating process. Drying by lyophilization method does not affect the quality of coating. Antibody concentration of 2.5 μg/ml and coating volume of 800 μl were determined as the optimum conditions for coating, which had good stability within a year. Alignment of results obtained from the domestic and foreign kits for accuracy of 30 samples from patients was confirmed by T-test (sig 2-tailed= 0.993 and 95% confidence interval). The short-term and long-term precision for three control ranges (low, medium, high) were less than 0.25 and 0.33 of allowable total error (TEa = 10%), respectively.
The produced domestic kit has acceptable precision according to the CLIA criteria.

Esophageal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in Iran. Studies on water, soil, grains, waste and sediments in Golestan Province have shown that the environmental concentrations of antimony and strontium are increased in areas with high incidence rate for cancer. The carcinogenic effects of strontium have been reported, but carcinogenicity of antimony is still unclear. Since there is not enough information regarding the relationship between the concentration of strontium and antimony and prevalence of esophageal cancer in the province, this study aimed to evaluate serum levels of these elements in patients with esophageal cancer using atomic absorption spectroscopy.
This study was performed on 30 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 30 healthy matched controls. After sampling, concentrations of strontium and antimony were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy.
Half of the esophageal cancer patients and control participants were male. The mean age of patients and controls was 66 ± 13 and 64 ± 8 years, respectively. The mean serum concentration of strontium in patients and controls was 24.18 ± 1.62 and 24.08 ± 1.46 μg/L, respectively. The mean serum concentration of antimony in patients and controls was 18.61 ± 1.48 and 18.98 ± 1.93 μg/L, respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed between the serum concentrations of the two elements in patients and controls.
There is no difference between serum levels of strontium and antimony in cancer patients and healthy controls, which could be due to tissue accumulation.

Nutritional factors and activation of inflammatory pathways are thought to be involved in pathogenesis of preeclampsia in pregnant women. The present study aimed to compare the serum levels of vitamin D and interleukin-6 in healthy pregnant women with those of preeclampsia ones.
This case-control study was performed on 120 healthy pregnant women and 120 women with preeclampsia referred to Imam Reza Hospital in Kermanshah. The serum levels of vitamin D and IL-6 were measured by ELISA method. The data was analyzed by SPSS software (version 20) using independent t-test, the P-value of There was no statistically significant difference between the mean level of vitamin D in the patients (37.64 ± 29.50 ng/ml) and the controls (40.06 ± 33.20 ng/ml). the serum level of IL-6 in patients with preeclampsia (21.71 ± 32.24 pg/ml) was significantly higher compared to that of control group (15.04 ± 28.6 pg/ml) (P Based on the findings of this study, inflammatory factors and cytokines such as IL-6 can be considered as risk factor for preeclampsia. However, more studies with larger sample sizes are required to further evaluate the association of vitamin D levels and risk of preeclampsia.

sperm motility mainly depends on aerobic glycolysis, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a key enzyme in the last step of this process. On the other hand, fructose is considered as the main energy source for sperm motility. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the LDH activity and fructose levels and their correlation with sperm motion parameters in normospermic and asthenozospermic males.
In this case-control study, 96 normospermic and 96 asthenozospermic males were enrolled. The semen samples were analyzed by computer assisted semen analysis to identify sperm motion parameters. Seminal plasma fructose levels were measured using Seliwanoff's test. LDH activity in the samples was evaluated using commercially available kits. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16).
The levels of LDH activity and fructose concentration were not different between the two groups. There was no correlation found between LDH activity and fructose concentration or sperm motility parameters. However, LDH was significantly correlated with sperm concentration in both groups.
Although LDH activity and fructose levels seem to be influenced by sperm motility, other factors such as sperm concentration and total sperm count can also affect their seminal plasma levels. Thus, when the sperm concentrations are equal in study groups, the level of these factors are expected to be equal.

Adipose tissue secrets various hormones including adiponectin, which is closely related to weight control and energy, balance. This study investigated the effects of resistance training on adiponectin, testosterone and cortisol levels in untrained men.
Forty untrained men (mean age of 23.8±2.66 years, mean weight of 67.43 ± 4.96 kg) were randomly and equally assigned into groups of upper extremity resistance training, lower extremity resistance training, combined resistance training, and control. The subjects performed eight weeks of weight training, three sessions per week (five sets of 60-85% one repetition maximum). Blood sampling was done prior to the start of the program, after the fourth week, and after the eight week. Alpha level was set to 0.05 for all statically analyses.
Repeated measures ANOVA showed that eight weeks of upper extremities training significantly decreased body fat percentage (p=0.002, 7.39%), and significantly increased adiponectin (p=0.000; 90.42%) and testosterone (p=0.002; 24.19%) levels. In the lower extremities training group, body fat percentage (p=0.006, 7.39%) decreased significantly, while adiponectin (p=0.012; 87.82%) and testosterone (p=0.000; 23.54%) levels increased significantly compared to the pretest. Eight weeks of combined training significantly increased BMI (p=0.006, 1.88%), muscle mass (p=0.007, 2.24%), and adiponectin (p=0.000, 91.56%) level. However, cortisol level decreased (p=0.017, 19.17%) after four weeks of training.
Upper and lower extremities resistance trainings significantly change testosterone levels. Different types of resistance training significantly increases serum adiponectin level and changes body composition, which are effective in prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Globally, about one third of the population has been infected with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and more than 400 million people have become chronically infected. Nearly, 20-25% of all carriers develop serious liver diseases such as cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). According to the World Health Organization, HBV infection causes more than one million deaths every year.
Co-infection with Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HBV is common, since both viruses have the same routes of transmission. Approximately 10 -15% of HIV-infected individuals develop chronic hepatitis B. The risk of liver diseases-related deaths is also higher in the co-infected patients. According to previous studies, mutation of the pre-core (PC) and basal-core promoter (BCP) regions may play an important role in development of HBV-related HCC and severe liver disease. The aim of this study was to investigate mutations in the BCP, PC and core regions of HBV in HIV-positive patients.
DNA was extracted using commercial kits to determine the BCP, PC/core mutations in 124 HIV/HBV co-infected patients (32.4% female and 67.6% male). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using specific primers. The positive PCR products were subjected to automated sequencing. Then, nucleotide sequences were aligned with the standard hepatitis B sequence [Gene bank, accession number: AB033559] for mutation detection and analysis.
In this study, three patients (8.1%) were HBeAg-positive and all of them were HBsAg-positive. The mean of CD4 cell count was 120 cells/mL. The mean age of the patients was 36.16 years. The important pathological mutations in HBV patients including 1752A (73%), 1773C (70.3%), 1753C (10.8%), 1896A (8.1%) and 1762T/1764A (2.7%) were detected in this study.
Identification of mutations in co-infected patients is of greater importance compared to mono-infected patients, because it can be useful for prediction of HCC-related mutations. Co-infection with HIV has important effects on the natural history of HBV infection, and creates different mutational patterns compared to mono-infected patients.

Antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains have become a problem in treatment of infections caused by S. aureus. This study aimed to evaluate antibiotic resistance in S. aureus isolates from raw milk and detect femA gene in these isolates, as a confirmatory test for identification of S. aureus species.
This cross-sectional study was performed on 110 raw milk samples. After culture in Cooked Meat broth, presence of S. aureus in grown colonies was confirmed in accordance with Iranian National Standard, No. 1194. Antibiotic resistance was then evaluated according to guidelines recommenced by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. FemA-specific polymerase chain reaction was performed on antibiotic-resistant strains using specific primers and standard strains to differentiate S. aureus from other species.
S. aureus were found in 43 (39.09%) of the 110 collected samples. Among these isolates, 79.07% and 76.75% were phenotypically resistant to penicillin and ceftazidime, respectively. In addition, the femA gene was detected in all isolates.
The results of this study show a high prevalence of resistance to penicillin and ceftazidime among S. aureus strains isolated from raw milk.

Hospital clothing and textiles have a great role in providing medical services to patients. Hospital services would not be possible without using these textiles. The aim of this study was to prepare non-woven polyester for use in medical textiles.
In this study, most important expected properties of hospital clothing were created on polyester fabrics via various stages of finishing using chemicals such as calcium chloride, sodium alginate, chitosan and nanoparticles of silver nitrate and aluminum oxide. Antibacterial (activity against Staphylococcus aureus), deodorizing and wicking properties of samples were evaluated using nano-biomaterials via standard tests.
The water absorption rate of nonwoven samples that were finished with chitosan significantly improved. The results also showed favorable level of antimicrobial activity caused by silver nitrate and chitosan. In addition, deodorizing activity was observed in all samples. However, silver nitrate-finished samples had higher deodorizing activity. The capillary action of all samples reduced after completion of all finishing procedures.
The results show that the use of chitosan and alginate along with nanoparticles of silver nitrate and aluminum oxide can be effective in achieving the desired properties of medical textiles.

Size of silver nanoparticles synthesized by ethanol and Bacillus lichenioformisis 20 nm and 15 nm, respectively. Nanoparticles can be used in treatment of several diseases. Chemical and biological methods have been used to synthesize silver nanoparticles. The aim of this study was to compare the size, shape and coating of silver nanoparticles synthesized by the chemical and biological methods.
Ethanol was used in the chemical reduction method and B. licheniformis was used in the biological method. Physical evaluation (salt test), absorbance measurement at 450 nm and imaging by transmission electron microscopy were performed to compare nanoparticles in terms of size, shape and coating.
Observed maroon color, maximum absorption at 400-450 nm range and electron microscopy images confirmed the presence of nanoparticles. The shape of nanoparticles synthesized by the two methods was spherical. However, biosynthesized nanoparticles were smaller and had protein coating.
Given the smaller size of biosynthesized nanoparticles and presence of coating confirmed by the electron microscopy images, biosynthesis is recommended because of enhanced nanoparticles properties and reduced toxicity.

Exercise training and supplementation have different effects on the immune system. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of ginger supplementation and endurance training on serum levels of Interleukin 1 alpha (IL1α) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) in untrained young women.
The study was performed on 32 untrained young women with mean age of 30±2 years from city of Abbas Abad, in 2014. The participants were randomly assigned into four groups of endurance training (E), endurance training and ginger supplementation (EG), ginger supplementation (G) and control (C). Endurance training was performed at 60-70% heart rate reserve for six weeks, three times a week, and for 60 minutes per session. Daily supplementation with 10 mg/Kg/day of ginger extract was carried out. T-test and ANOVA were used to evaluate the effect of independent variables, and make comparisons between the groups.
The mean level of IL-1α decreased significantly after the training period in the G and EG groups. There were significant differences between E and EG groups and EG and C groups. The results of intergroup comparison showed that the mean levels of TNFα decreased significantly after the training in the E, G and EG groups. There were significant differences between E and EG groups, E and G groups, EG and C groups, and G and C groups.
Ginger consumption and adaptation to endurance training can counteract the negative effects on immune function and stability of mast cell membrane.