The ultrastructure of lens capsule abnormalities in Alport's syndrome is reported. An anterior lens capsule from a 29-year-old patient with lenticonus who was affected by Alport's syndrome was obtained at the time of surgery. The histopathologic findings showed the thickness of the anterior lens capsule was decreased and there were many vertical capsular dehiscences localized at the inner part ...

in recent years the science of tissue engineering has emerged as a powerful tool for the development of a novel set of tissue replacement parts and technologies. recent advances in the fields of biomaterials, stem cell technologies, growth factor field and biomimetics have created a unique set of opportunities for investigators to fabricate lab-grown tissues from combination of extracellular ma...

the distribution of extracellular enzyme activities in particle-size fractions of sediments was investigated in a subtropical mangrove ecosystem. five enzymes involved in carbon (c), nitrogen (n), and phosphorus (p) cycling were analyzed in the sand, silt, and clay of sediments. among these fractions, the highest activities of phenol oxidase (pho), β-d glucosidase (glu), and n-acetyl-glucosimin...

the development of the eco friendly procedures makes nanoparticles as the rapidly growing field of nanotechnology. amongst, the silver nanoparticles have become prominent in the field of medicine to their peculiar antimicrobial properties. in the present study we suggest an eco friendly procedure of extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles with an average sizes of 5-50nm using an actinom...

PURPOSE To investigate the possible role of transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) in lens development and growth, the authors studied the influence of TGF beta, alone and in combination with fibroblast growth factor (FGF), on lens epithelial explants. METHODS Lens explants were prepared from both postnatal and adult rats, and changes during 5 days of culture with growth factor(s) were mo...

The poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid (PGA) capsule is one of the major virulence factors of Bacillus anthracis, which causes a highly lethal infection. The antiphagocytic PGA capsule disguises the bacilli from immune surveillance and allows unimpeded growth of bacilli in the host. Recently, efforts have been made to include PGA as a component of anthrax vaccine; however, the innate immune response of...

to study genetic diversity and drought tolerance in sesame genotypes, an experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2010-2011 was conducted at the agricultural research field, university of birjand under stress and non-stress conditions. the aim of this study was the testing of yield, tolerance index and bi-plot analysis. materials included genotypes birjand, kh...

Vibrio vulnificus expresses a number of potential virulence determinants that may contribute to its ability to cause a severe and rapidly disseminating septicemia in susceptible hosts. We have cloned and characterized two genes encoding products related to components of the type IV pilus biogenesis and general secretory (type II) pathways by complementation of a type IV peptidase/N-methyltransf...

Basement membrane has attracted less attention than the other components of connective tissue. But, like the other extracellular fibres and matrix materials, it can profoundly influence both the structure and function of advanced life forms. Usually taking the shape of thin, structureless cementing material between epithelial and connective tissue, basement membranes are widely distributed thro...

PURPOSE To investigate the role of anti-inflammatory TSG-6 in controlling MMP-1 and MMP-3, which have been shown to be upregulated in conjunctivochalasis (CCh). METHODS Immunostaining of TSG-6 was compared between normal and CCh conjunctiva and Tenon's capsule. Second cultures of normal and CCh fibroblasts were transfected with or without TSG-6 siRNA and then with or without the addition of T...