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Research in the metal oxide nanoparticles and nanotechnology field is growing. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used in the various products and industries. Regarding the probable toxicity of ZnO NPs on central nervous system (neurotoxicity), the current study was designed to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to ZnO NPs during pregnancy on depressive-like behaviors in mice offspring, using two validated animal models of depression. Thirty pregnant female mice were distributed into three groups (n = 10 for each group). The two experimental groups were injected subcutaneously at gestation day 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17 with 100 µl of ZnO NPs solution at doses of 0.5 and 1 mg/ml, respectively. The control group was treated with a similar subcutaneous injection of saline containing 0.05% Tween-80 as vehicle. Neurobehavioral tests including forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) were used to evaluate depressive-like behaviors in 3-week-old and 6-week-old male and female offspring (n = 10/group). The results of this study indicated that subcutaneous injection of ZnO NPs at 0.5 and 1 mg/ml dose dependently increased the immobility time in 3-week-old and 6-week-old mice in both the FST and TST (P < 0.05). Moreover, increasing age also significantly increased the duration of immobility in both the FST and TST (P < 0.05). In addition, sex differences were observed in behavioral responses, such as female mice were more immobile than male mice in both the FST and TST (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that the depressive-like effects of ZnO NPs may be due to its neurotoxic influences during neuronal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Metformin on ovulation and eventual clinical pregnancy in different phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Materials and methods: A total of 359 subjects who had proven PCOS according to Rotterdam criteria were prospectively selected. Patients' PCOS phenotypes were determined and recorded. All patients were younger than 35 years. Clinical and biochemical assays in all patients were initially obtained. Then patients were divided into two separate groups. One group received both 1,500 mg of Metformin and 1 mg of folic acid per day and the other group received only 1 mg of folic acid for a total of 2 months. Subsequently, all patients underwent ovulation stimulation with 5 mg of Letrozole per day for 5 days followed by an intra-uterine insemination. Finally, ovulation and pregnancy rates were evaluated for all four PCOS phenotypes. Effect of Metformin therapy was evaluated for each group and each phenotype. Results: The pregnancy rate in Metformin and non-Metformin groups were, respectively, as follows: in phenotype A (39.2 vs. 33.7 %, p = 0.270), phenotype B (43.8 vs. 20 %, p = 0.210), phenotype C (44 vs. 20 %, p = 0.064), and phenotype D (36.5 vs. 28.6 %, p = 0.279). Conclusion: Although there was a little improvement in ovulation and pregnancy rates among patients with B and C phenotypes, there was not a statistically significant difference between the two groups. Based on our study, Metformin therapy does not change the ovulation and pregnancy rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 131 traditional food product samples (57 cheese, 11 kashk, and 63 salted fish) were examined using a bioassay method for detection of Clostridium botulinum toxin. Standard monovalent antitoxins were used to determine the toxin types. C. botulinum toxins were detected in 4.58% of examined samples (3.51% of cheese samples and 6.36% of salted fish samples). Contamination with this toxin was not observed in kashk samples. C. botulinum types A & E were dominant in cheese and salted fish samples, respectively. The results indicate that some Iranian traditional foods (cheese and salted fish) are contaminated by different types of C. botulinum. Consumption of these traditional foods either raw or cooked may contribute to food-borne toxicity in Iranian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]