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Background: There is inconsistent evidence indicating that serum Zn deficiency in pregnant women may adversely affect fetal growth. In order to survey this matter in Iran, a study was conducted with the aim of determining the association between serum Zn in pregnant women of Kashan and anthropometric factors of their neonates in 2008-2009. Materials and Methods: In this eross-secrional study, of all the pregnant women referring to Naghavi Polyclinic of Kashan University of Medical Sciences, 128 women and their neonates were selected. Serum Zn concentration in 6-9 month pregnant women and anthropometric factors of their neonates (weight, height, and head circumference) were measured. Then the relationship between the prevalence of Zn deficiency and the neonates’ anthropometric factors was reported. T-test and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results: Mean weight and height of the infants whose mothers had low serum Zn concentration (below normal) were 130.1g and 0.6 cm less than the infants whose mothers had high Zn concentrations. A significant positive correlation was found between birth size height of the neonates and serum Zn concentration of the mothers (P=0.02). Conclusion: The results suggest that maternal serum zinc level affects neonates’ height.

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Background: Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes, early-stage melanomas can be treated effectively with surgery alone, but more advanced cancers often incurable. The incidence of melanoma malignancy in most countries has risen faster than any other cancer types. It was the first time which we evaluated the cytotoxic effects of zno and Ag/zno nano-composites (NP) on melanoma cell line, A375, viability.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, A375 cell line was grown in RPMI-1640 supplemented with 10% FBS, penicillin/streptomycin (100 U/ml, 100 µg/ml) at 37◦C in 5% CO2, then the effects of different concentrations of zno and Ag/zno nano-composites on melanoma cell were evaluated by MTT, clonogenic survival assays, and acridine orange/ ethidium bromide staining.

Results: Herein, we demonstrated that Zno and Ag/zno nano-composites showed similar effects on cytotoxicity of melanoma cancer cells. In a dose dependent manner, a significant cytotoxicity was observed with increasing of zno and Ag/zno. The inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) values of the nano-composites for A375 cell line after 24 hrs were 7.24±1.55 and 15.93±1.73 µg/ml for zno and Ag/zno, respectively.

Conclusion: The results showed that zno and Ag/zno has ability to induce cytotoxicity in the human melanoma cancer cell line in lower micromolar concentrations. In conclusion, these findings may introduce a new view on the mode of action and possible application of new nano-composites in the cancer chemotherapy.