Ali-Reza Ahmadi

BACKGROUND: Anxiety has negative effects on mental and physical performance, quality of life, duration of hospitalization, and even on the treatment of patients with cancer. OBJECTIVES: Today acupressure is widely used to treat anxiety. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of acupressure on anxiety in patients with cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 85 patients hospitalized with 3 groups including acupressure group (n = 27), sham group (n = 28), and control group (n = 30) in the hematologic ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Hamadan, Iran, in 2013. The sampling permuted-block randomization with triple block was used. The anxiety of the patients in the experimental, sham, and control groups were measured with Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Then, real acupressure was performed in the experimental group and fake acupressure in the sham group, and only routine care was provided for the control group. Anxiety of the patients was also assessed at 5 and 10 days after the intervention. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by SPSS software using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc least significant difference (LSD) test. RESULTS: According to the findings, the mean level of anxiety before the intervention between groups were matched (P > 0.05). Acupressure had a significant influence on the anxiety in the experimental group at 5 (45.30 ± 7.14) and 10 days (43.48 ± 6.82) after the intervention (P < 0.05). However, it did not have a significant impact on their covert anxiety (45.48 ± 7.92 at 5(th) day vs 45.63 ± 8.08 at 10th day, P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the fake points regarding overt and covert anxiety of patients in the sham group (overt anxiety; 47.57 ± 7.85 at 5(th) day vs. 46.71 ± 7.32 at 10(th) day, P > 0.05) (covert anxiety; 47.96 ± 6.33 at 5(th) day vs. 46.89 ± 6.94 at 10(th) day, P > 0.05). Moreover, the routine care provided for the control group did not have any effect on the overt and covert anxiety of the patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Acupressure is recommended as a complementary therapy to reduce anxiety in patients with cancer because of its low cost, safety, and simplicity.

With the increasing world population, the use of lignocellulosic wastes for production of microbial protein as animal feed becomes a necessity of our time. In order to verify the most productive protein, the amount of protein and amino acid extracted from Single Cell Protein (SCP) needs to be determined by an effective method. In this study Microbial protein was produced by treatment of wheat straw with Pleurotus florida; with heat at 100 degrees C and NaOH 2% as substrate by solid state fermentation. Concentration of protein was 62.8% per 100 g of dried microbial protein. Then the extracted protein hydrolyzed with HCl 6 Normal for 48 h under 110 degrees C temperature condition. Then the amino acids analyzed by using A-200 Amino Nova analyzer. The results of this study indicated that the ratio of essential amino acids to total amino acids was 65.6%. The concentration of essnyial amino acids were: Lysine = 9.5, histidine = 19.8, threonine = 0.6, valine = 6.6, methionine = 2.1, isoleucine = 7.3, leucine = 6.8, phenylalanine = 4.3 and arginine = 8.3 g/100 g of extracted protein that indicated the obtained microbial protein can be a good or suitable substitute in the food program of animal feed.

The biological control strain Agrobacterium rhizogenes K84 is an effective agent in the control of Agrobacterium pathogens, the causative agents of crown gall disease. A number of factors are thought to play a role in the control process, including production of the specific agrocins 84 and 434, which differ in the spectra of pathogenic strains that they inhibit in vitro. A range of derivatives of strain K84 has been developed with every combination of the three resident plasmids, pAgK84, pAgK434, and pAtK84b, including a plasmid-free strain. These derivatives produced either both, one, or neither of the characterized agrocins 84 and 434 and were isolated by plasmid curing, conjugation, and Tn5 transposon mutagenesis. The ability of the derivative strains to inhibit gall formation on almond roots was compared to that of the wild-type K84 parent. Treatment with the plasmid-free derivative did not result in a significant level of control of an A. rhizogenes pathogen based on numbers or dry weight of galls formed on injured almond roots. The presence of plasmid pAgK84, pAgK434, or pAtK84b significantly enhanced the biological control efficacy of K84 derivatives, and the highest level of control was observed with strains harboring two or more plasmids. The results observed with strains deficient in agrocin 434 production suggest that this product may play an important role in the biological control of A. rhizogenes pathogens. The involvement of plasmid pAgK84b in biological control has not previously been reported. This study supports the conclusion that multiple factors are involved in the success of strain K84 as a biological control agent.

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment responsible for the red color of the flesh of many marine animals. There is an increasing interest in the use of astaxanthin in aquaculture, chemical, pharmaceutical, and alimentary industries. Phaffia rhodozyma has been identified as the best biological source of astaxanthin. Mutagenesis was carried out using different doses of gamma irradiation (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and 7.0 kGy), and 10 mutant colonies (Gam1-Gam10) were obtained. Highly pigmented mutant strains produced astaxanthin at approximately 15 887.5 µg/L dry mass of yeast, whereas the parental strain produced it at 1061.64 µg/g dry mass of yeast. In the thin-layer chromatography analysis, P. rhodozyma JH-82 and Gam1 mutant strain produced the same retention factor (R(f)) values, but Gam1 showed a higher astaxanthin content than JH-82.