OBJECTIVE Keratoconus (KC) is an eye disorder in which the cornea is swollen, thinned and deformed. Despite extensive studies, the pathophysiological processes and genetic etiology of KC are unknown. The disease incidence is approximately 1 in 2,000, and it is the most common cause of corneal transplantation in the USA. Many genes are involved in the disease, but evidence suggests a major role ...

Ephedra prcera belonging to the family Ephedraceae is a poison and medicinal plant. The main aim of present study was to determine total phenolic content and antioxidant and antibacterial activities of ethanolic extract from the aerial parts of E. procera collected from a natural habitat in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province, Southwestern Iran. The total phenolic content of the extract by Folin-...

Mastitis is one of the common diseases of dairy cattle and an inflammatory response of the mammary glands tissue. Mastitis causes considerable loss to the dairy industry. Among several bacterial pathogens that can cause mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus is probably the most lethal agent because it causes chronic and deep infection in the mammary glands that is extremely difficult to be cured. The...

BACKGROUND The enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus is considered as one of the most important cause of food poisoning that manifests with gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and vomiting. Its complications usually occur when bacterial virulence genes are produced. The most important virulence factors are cell-associated components, exoenzymes, exotoxins, enterotoxins, and enterotoxin-like toxins. OB...

Hepatitis B (HB) disease occurs with high risk behaviors in the different communities. Aim of this study was to find out some of local customs in lifestyle that might be risk factors for transmitting this disease in order to design the educational programs and control it periodically in Chaharmahal VA Bakhtiari, Iran. This was a case-control study, carried out on patients with HB and the contro...

trypanosomes infect the blood of the vertebrate host, causing fever, weakness, and lethargy, which lead to weight loss and anemia; in some animals the disease is fatal unless treated and causes serious economic losses. considering the importance of what mentioned present study was conducted to detection of trypanosoma in healthy equids. 116 blood samples collected from lorestan, hamedan, chahar...

Prevalence, Antimicrobial Susceptibility, and Distribution of Virulence Genes Involved in Biofilm Formation Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolated from Shahrekord Medical Centers, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari, Iran

750 Mechanisms of gene regulation by endogenous and artificially introduced antisense RNA Wolfgang Nellen,* Martin Hi1debrandt.t Beatrice Mahal, Axel Mohrle,$ Petra Kroger, Markus Maniak,§ Rebecca Oberhauser, and May SadiqlJ Max-Planck-lnstitut f. Biochemie, 8033 Martinsried, Germany; ?Present address, lnstitut Pasteur, Paris, France; $Present address, ZMBH, Heidelberg, Germany: §Present addres...