ABSTRACT
Background: Staphylococcal protein A [SPA] is a cell wall component of Staphylococcus aureus that binds to different IgG subclasses of human and several animal species. This bacterial protein can be used as an antibody detector in various immunological assays or as an isolation reagent for the purification of antibody molecules via immuno-chromatography procedures
Objectives: Molecular cloning and expression of SPA followed by the purification and conjugation of the recombinant protein to peroxidase enzyme
Material and Methods: Encoding DNA fragment of SPA was amplified and inserted into a prokaryotic plasmid vector for the expression of recombinant SPA fused to a maltose binding protein [MBP]. The recombinant protein was purified using amylose resin column chromatography and conjugated to horseradish peroxidase [HRP] enzyme. Finally, the reactivity of the recombinant SPA was examined against human IgG molecules in ELISA
Results: The results indicated that the recombinant peroxidase-conjugated SPA has a good recognition capacity for human IgG molecules and it was able to produce significant OD values after reacting with human IgG molecules at a concentration up to 0.06 micro g.well[-1]
Conclusions: This recombinant protein can be very useful in all research laboratories and may decrease some of the expenses, e.g. those for preparing conjugated anti-antibodies
ABSTRACT
Sexual dysfunction is the most common disorder in women. According to the WHO, sexual education programs are considered as a need. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effect of educational program on sexual function in women with sexual dysfunction. This randomized trial, was conducted in 2013 on 90 married women by convenient sampling in Qazvin, central Iran. The demographic, Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI], and Beck's Depression Inventory [BDI] questionnaires were completed during structured interviews. After completing the sample size, subjects were divided randomly into two groups by using the table of random numbers [educational and control groups], then respectively received an educational intervention in the four sessions with one week interval and routine program offered by the center and following-up was done with refilling questionnaires 8 weeks after intervention. Sexual function improved after sex educational programs in all dimensions [sexual desire [P=0.006], sexual exciting [P=0.006], vaginal moisture [P=0.002], sexual satisfaction [P=0.011], and total score of sexual function [P=0.001]. Considering the importance role of sexual function in family strength, health, and development, it can be claimed that educational sex programs can help practitioners to improve sexual function of married women with sexual dysfunction
ABSTRACT
Sleep disorders are common complaints of women during pregnancy. These disorders are the result of physiological, hormonal, physical changes, affecting before, during, and right after pregnancy. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of pregnant women with sleep disorders in the second trimester. In this cross-sectional study, data was collected with continuous sampling method. A total of 100 pregnant women with sleep disturbances in their second trimesters were recruited in this study. The participant referred to two elected health centers in West Azerbaijan University of Medical Science [one and three numbers of health care centers] in order to get prenatal care in the city of Maku, West Azerbaijan, Iran. The data was gathered using the personal information forms and the questionnaires, prepared by the World Health Organization Quality of Life [WHOQOL: BREF]. To analyze the collected data, different statistical methods, like frequency tables, Pearson, Spearman and ANOVA were applied. The results indicate that the mean sleep quality is 8.62 +/- 2.81 in pregnant women with sleep disorders or poor quality of sleep in the second trimester. Quality of life [p
ABSTRACT
Considering the rising trend of tuberculosis [TB] and cigarette smoking, an evaluation of the clinical manifestations and drug resistance patterns in TB patients with regard to smoking status seemed beneficial. Clinical manifestations and drug resistance patterns were studied in 872 new pulmonary TB patients classified as non-smokers, ever-smokers, and passive smokers during 3 years at the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Ever-smokers were mostly male [p<0.001], Iranian [p<0.001], and drug and alcohol users [p<0.001]. They were found to have a longer patient delay [15.9 versus 8.7 and 6.3 days, p=0.008], shorter diagnostic delay [106.8 versus 132.6 and 156 days, p=0.01], greater weight loss [p=0.01], and higher sputum expectoration [p<0.001]. Notably, the degree of smear positivity was associated with smoking [p<0.001] in both univariate and multivariate analyses. No statistical significance was found for the aforementioned factors among non-smokers and passive smokers. Some of the clinical manifestations of TB are significantly different with regard to the patients' smoking status.The degree of sputum smear positivity for acid fast bacilli was higher and patient delay was longer in ever-smoker patients