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Evaluation of Liver Enzymes’ Level in Blood Serum of Crystal Addicts Introduction: Crystal or dimetamphetamine is one of the harmful substances which are imported to Iran in the last few years. Crystal is made of pure heroin. Its harmful effects are more than heroin. Addiction to crystal can produce psychological and organ damage. In order to find out which part of body could be affected, examination of enzymes is useful. Liver is one of the organs which can be infected by drug abuse. Liver function test can be used to show these harmful effects. The aim of the present study is to exanimate of the effects of crystal abuse on liver enzymes such as Aspartat transaminase, Alanine transaminase and Alkaline phosphatase in crystal abusers. Materials & Methods: The current study is a case-control and cross-sectional study on 105 crystal addicted as case group who had referred to addiction treatment center for the first time and 100 healthy people as control group. The activity of enzymes was measured by callorimetery-spectrophotometry method. Results were analyzed by T-test exam and SPSS-16 software. Results: results show that using crystal increases the level of AST, ALT and ALP and there is a significant relationship between crystal abuse and the level of ALP (p=0.027). In addition, there is a significant relationship between duration of crystal use and the level of ALP (p<0.05). Conclusion: comparing with AST and ALT levels, ALP level is more affected by crystal abuse.

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Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of changes in liver enzymes in the plasma of Epinephelus stoliczkae under the exposure of different concentrations of potassium dichromate during 21days in vitro.
Materials & Methods:200 pieces of Epinephelus stoliczkae with average total length 29.6±2.2cm and average total weight389.5±92.4g were caught from the Oman Sea. Three treatments of 3.6, 7.31 and 14.6mg/L chromium(three replications and one control) were selected to sub-lethal toxicity test. The fish were exposed to chromium for 21 days and at 0.5, 1, 7, 14 and 21 days after the start of the experiment to measure the levels of liver enzymes aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and alkaline Phosphatase(ALP), blood was obtained from tail stems of fish. The amount of enzymes was measured using photometric method and values ​​were expressed inU/L.
Results: The highest and lowest levels of liver enzymes in Epinephelus stoliczkae were: aspartate aminotransferase=198.16±6.21-298±10.28, alanine aminotransferase=38±2.56-81±2.19, alkanin phosphatase=118±4.21-177±2.7U/L.Over time, the amount of liver enzymes in different treatments increased compared to the control group and showed a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).For all three liver enzymes, the highest amount was recorded in the third treatment and 21 day and the lowest in the first treatment and time of 0.5 days.
Conclusion:In this experiment,liver enzymes increased in response to an increase of chromium concentration and duration of exposure, which could be due to damage the liver cells and release of liver enzymes into the plasma.In general, liver enzymes can be used as biomarkers of pollution in natural environments.
 

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of replacing phosphorus chemical fertilizer (triple superphosphate) with biofertilizers as an environmentally friendly approach.  In this study, Possibility of replacing Triple superphosphate fertilizer with phosphate solubilizing bacteria "Pseudomonas deceptionensis Persian10 strain" in 10 treatments with two bacterial factors (in two levels of inoculation and non-inoculation) and chemical fertilizer (in five levels 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the recommended amount of fertilizer in the pond) was examined in aquarium conditions. Treatments included: 1: 100% fertilizer + bacteria, 2: bacteria, 3: 25% fertilizer + bacteria, 4: 50% fertilizer + bacteria, 5: 75% fertilizer + bacteria, 6: 100% fertilizer, 7: 75% fertilizer, 8: 50% fertilizer, 9: 25% fertilizer, 10: control (without fertilizer and bacteria). Bacterial densities, soluble phosphorus, phosphatase and pH were measured on days 0, 2, 7, 12 and 17. The results showed that the phosphorus of all treatments had an increasing trend on different days and at the same time, an increase in the pH value and a decreasing trend was observed in the bacterial population and the amount of phosphatase enzyme. The highest amount of soluble phosphorus was observed in treatments 4 and 5. According to the obtained results, the application of 50% phosphate fertilizer + phosphate solubilizing bacteria can be recommended as a suitable ratio for the fertility of fish ponds and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers.

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 In the current study, fish-isolated protein (FPI) was extracted by alkaline pH method from the wastes of the head and fins of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) and Iranian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) and its composition, functional and structural characteristics were investigated. The results showed that the extraction efficiency according to the wet weight, the protein recovery of FPI, and the dry matter recovery of FPI from the Siberian sturgeon was higher than that of Iranian sturgeon. The results showed 91-94% protein in FPI of two species. The results did not show any significant differences between the proximate analysis and TVB-N (P> 0.05). The water absorption capacity, foaming capacity, and stability of FPI were shown at 30, 50, and 50%, respectively. The whiteness and transparency index of the FPI extracted was low. The results of particle size and zeta potential (P< 0.05) showed that the size of FPI particles in both samples is about a micron and they have a negative charge, so they can be easily used in colloidal systems. FTIR spectroscopy in both samples showed all the absorption peaks related to the main bonds of the protein structure. In general, considering the large amount of sturgeon waste in processing, and the amount of protein, functional properties, and nutritional value of FPI extracted from two species of sturgeon, there is the possibility of using them in human food and sports supplements.

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An experiment was conducted to evaluate the extracted (ES) and mechanical (MS) soybean meals two levels 25% and 35% in broiler chicken feeding. Three hundred and fifty two one-day-old unsexed Lohman chickens were placed in four treatments by 4 replicates and 22 chickens in each in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. Feed intake was increased significantly in starter period by ES in comparison with MS. Feed conversion ratio was significantly improved when 25% of ES was replaced by fish meal compared with 35% of ES in starter period. Body weight was significantly higher by 25% ES replaced by fish meal in comparison with 25 and 35% MS in grower period. Metabolizable energy was declined in all options (AME, AMEn, TME and TMEn) in MS than ES. Significant depressing in jejunum length was observed by 35% in the two types of soybean meal compared with 25% mechanical soybean meal replaced by fish meal in 14 days. In more details, villous length was lower by mechanical soybean meal in comparison with ES. Alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity was significantly higher in 35% ES in comparison with 25% ES replaced by fish meal and 35% MS in 14 days. In contrast, alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity was reduced remarkably by 35% mechanical soybean meal compared with 25% extracted soybean meal replaced by fish meal in starter period. Urease activity in extracted soybean meal (0.07) was lower than mechanical soybean meal (0.22). The results of this study have shown better performance by extracted soybean meal compared with mechanical soybean meal. In spite of this, less expensively processed mechanical soybean meal (MS) at 25% level replaced by fish meal could be more economical in broiler chicken feeding.

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Objective: Biodegradable polycaprolactone/starch composites can be used for bone tissue engineering applications. The effect of the ratio of components on composite properties is of tremendous importance. Methods: Polycaprolactone/starch composite of 80/20 and 70/30 ratios were fabricated by dissolving them in chloroform followed by evaporation of the solvent. Results: The composites were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Their bioactivity was evaluated by studying the apatite formation ability after immersing the specimens in simulated body fluid. The results of compressive test on samples showed that the composite’s modulus and strength approximated that of human trabecular bone. Mass loss in distilled water and starch degradation rate in PBS was evaluated, which showed that the starch ratio was effective in composite degradation. MTT analysis and alkaline phosphatase levels showed that this composite had no toxicity and could increase G-299 cell line osteoblastic activities. Conclusion: The increase in cellular osteoblastic activities and the ability for apatite formation on the composite surface, in addition to the polycaprolactone/starch samples' mechanical properties shows their capability to be used as substitutes for bone. Because this composite degradation rate is controlled by changing the starch ratio, it has the potential for use in bone tissue engineering applications. Samples that have a 70/30 ratio are considered optimal due to their enhanced cellular response and better mechanical properties.