Objective: To investigate the effect of drought stress and organic fertilizer on German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) nutrient uptake, leaf chlorophyll content and os-motic adjustment under field conditions.
Methods: This experiment was carried out through a randomized complete block design with a split factorial arrangement of treatments in three replications. The main plots were subjected to the following irrigation treatments: irrigation after 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 mm evaporation from Class A pan. The sub-plots were treated with three vermi-compost doses (0, 5 and 10 t/ha).
Results: Although drought stress reduced the nutrient percentages in the shoots, appli-cation of vermicompost enhanced the nutrient percentages, particularly when the plants were subjected to moderate to severe drought stress conditions. Moreover, the results of this study showed that the interaction between irrigation treatments and vermicompost rates on leaf chlorophyll content was significant. Comparison between the combined treatments indicated that under normal irrigation and moderate drought stress conditions chamomile plants received 5 and 10 t/ha vermicompost showed significantly higher leaf chlorophyll content comparing to the control treatment.
Conclusions: Totally, organic fertilization by vermicompost could partly alleviate the effect of drought stress on chamomile by increasing N, P and K uptake and leaf soluble sugar, especially in stressed treatments.

OBJECTIVE: Azoospermia owing to testicular disorders is the most severe manifestation of male infertility. The main concern for patients with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) is the probability of successful sperm retrieval following testicular sperm extraction (TESE). Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine predictive factors correlated with sperm retrieval. METHODS: We assessed the testicular histopathological patterns, the choice of TESE surgical procedure, hormone levels, and chromosomal abnormalities in patients with NOA (n=170). The histopathology specimens were analyzed based on the histopathological patterns of hypospermatogenesis, maturation arrest, and Sertoli cell-only syndrome. RESULTS: The mean rate of sperm retrieval was 48.8%. The rate of sperm retrieval was significantly higher in the hypospermatogenesis group than in the other groups (p<0.001). There was a positive correlation between micro-TESE (vs. conventional TESE) and the sperm retrieval rate (odds ratio, 8.077; p<0.01). A logistic regression model demonstrated that high levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and small testicular volume were significantly associated with lower chances of successful sperm retrieval. CONCLUSION: Some parameters, including testicular histopathology patterns, FSH levels, testicular volume, and method of TESE surgery, may be able to predict the chances of obtaining spermatozoa in patients with NOA. However, despite the efficiency of some predictive models, the hope of retrieving any functioning spermatozoa may be sufficient to disregard predictive factors of the success of intracytoplasmic sperm injection in these patients.
Azoospermia* ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; Hope ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Methods ; Oligospermia ; Pathology ; Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm Retrieval* ; Spermatozoa*

In this study, an attempt was made to develop bi-functional constructs serving both as scaffolds and potential delivery systems for application in neural tissue engineering. The constructs were prepared in two steps. In the first step, the bulks of poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) in 1, 4-dioxane/water (87:13) were fabricated using liquid-liquid thermally induced phase separation technique. In the next step, the prepared bulks were coated with chitosan nanoparticles produced by two different techniques of ultrasonication and ionic gelation by grafting-coating technique. In ultrasonication technique, the chitosan solution (2 mg/mL) in acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer (90:10) was irradiated by an ultrasound generator at 20 kHz and power output of 750 W for 100 s. In ionic gelation technique, the tripolyphosphate in water solution (1 mg/mL) was added to the same chitosan solution. The physicochemical properties of the products were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform-Infrared, liquid displacement technique, contact angle measurement, compressive and tensile tests, as well as zeta potential and particle size analysis using dynamic light scattering. Moreover, the cell proliferation and attachment on the scaffolds were evaluated through human glioblastoma cell line (U-87 MG) and human neuroblastoma cell line [BE (2)-C] culture respectively. The results showed that the samples coated with chitosan nanoparticles prepared by ultrasonication possessed enhanced hydrophilicity, biodegradation and cytocompatibility compared with pure PLLA and PLLA coated with chitosan nanoparticles prepared by ionic gelation. This study suggests successful nanoparticles-scaffold systems which can act simultaneously as potential delivery systems and tissue engineering scaffolds.
Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Chitosan* ; Dynamic Light Scattering ; Glioblastoma ; Humans ; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Nanoparticles* ; Neuroblastoma ; Particle Size ; Tissue Engineering ; Ultrasonography ; Water

This is the first study demonstrating the efficacy of menstrual blood-derived stem cell (MenSC) transplantation via decellularized human amniotic membrane (DAM), for the promotion of skin excisional wound repair. The DAM was seeded with MenSCs at the density of 3 × 10⁴ cells/cm² and implanted onto a rat's 1.50 × 1.50 cm² full-thickness excisional wound defect. The results of wound closure and histopathological examinations demonstrated that the MenSC-seeded DAM could significantly improve the wound healing compared with DAM-treatment. All in all, our data indicated that the MenSCs can be a potential source for cell-based therapies to regenerate skin injuries.
Amnion* ; Humans* ; Skin ; Stem Cells ; Wound Healing ; Wounds and Injuries*

Objective To investigate the effect of drought stress and organic fertilizer on German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) nutrient uptake, leaf chlorophyll content and osmotic adjustment under field conditions. Methods This experiment was carried out through a randomized complete block design with a split factorial arrangement of treatments in three replications. The main plots were subjected to the following irrigation treatments: irrigation after 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 mm evaporation from Class A pan. The sub-plots were treated with three vermicompost doses (0, 5 and 10 t/ha). Results Although drought stress reduced the nutrient percentages in the shoots, application of vermicompost enhanced the nutrient percentages, particularly when the plants were subjected to moderate to severe drought stress conditions. Moreover, the results of this study showed that the interaction between irrigation treatments and vermicompost rates on leaf chlorophyll content was significant. Comparison between the combined treatments indicated that under normal irrigation and moderate drought stress conditions chamomile plants received 5 and 10 t/ha vermicompost showed significantly higher leaf chlorophyll content comparing to the control treatment. Conclusions Totally, organic fertilization by vermicompost could partly alleviate the effect of drought stress on chamomile by increasing N, P and K uptake and leaf soluble sugar, especially in stressed treatments.