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Particle image velocimetry (PIV) data are a valuable asset in fluid mechanics. It is capable of visualizing flow structures even in complex physics scenarios, such as the flow at the exit of the rotor of a centrifugal fan. Machine learning is also a successful companion to PIV in order to increase data resolution or impute experimental gaps. While classical algorithms focus solely on replicating data using statistical metrics, the application of physics-informed neural networks (PINN) contributes to both data reconstruction and adherence to governing equations. The present study utilizes a convolutional physics-informed auto-encoder to reproduce planar PIV fields in the gappy regions while also satisfying the mass conservation equation. It proposes a novel approach that compromises experimental data reconstruction for compliance with physical restrictions. Simultaneously, it is aimed to ensure that the reconstruction error does not considerably deviate from the uncertainty band of the test data. A turbulence scale approximation is employed to set the relative weighting of the physical and data-driven terms in the loss function to ensure that both objectives are achieved. All steps are initially evaluated on a set of direct numerical simulation data to demonstrate the general capability of the network. Finally, examination of the PIV data indicates that the proposed PINN auto-encoder can enhance reconstruction accuracy by about 28% and 29% in terms of mass conservation residual and velocity statistics, respectively, at the expense of up to a 5% increase in the number of vectors with reconstruction error higher than the uncertainty band of the PIV test data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Obesity is a metabolic syndrome that leads to many chronic diseases worldwide. In this study, we investigate the antihyperlipidemic activities of chitosan nanoparticles (CH NPs) on silymarin (SIL) as a carrier in the drug delivery system that can improve some biochemical parameters and hormones in the model of hyperlipidemic rats receiving a high-fat diet (HFD). Materials and Methods: Physicochemical characterization of silymarin-loaded chitosannanoparticles (CH-SIL NPs) was done by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and drug loading efficiency (LE). Diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats were treated with SIL (15 mg/kg/day) and CH-SIL NPs(15 mg/kg/day) for twelve weeks orally daily. The body weight loss (BW), food consumption, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG) in serum, serum insulin, cortisol, testosterone, and brain neuropeptide Y (NPY), Y1 and Y5 receptor mRNA expression were analyzed. Results: A significant reduction in BW and food consumption from 417 ± 16 g and 33 ± 1.03 in group HFD to 338 ± 10 g and 17.33 ± 1.02 in group CHS+HFD was observed, respectively. This data revealed that CH-SIL NPs improved hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperglycemia, reduced serum cortisol, and down-regulated NPY and Y1R with a significant increase in HDL and testosterone hormones compared to the control group. Conclusion: The developed Sil-loaded CH NPs were good agents for improving efficacy. It is the first report of the proposed weight loss mechanism of SIL CH NPs, thereby providing information about the anti-hyperlipidemic and antihyperglycemic effects of silymarin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles, a natural food with proper effects against metabolic disorders in case of hyperlipidemia that may lead to obesity and up-regulation of brain NPY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar heat transfer fluid (HTF) plays a crucial role in the performance of parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC) and the energy systems integrated with them. In this study, a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) analysis is employed to prioritize the HTFs for three solar-driven multi-generation energy systems. These systems are based on a direct-fed organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and bottom-cycle arrangement of a double-effect absorption refrigeration cycle and a Kalina cycle system. The ORC configurations include simple, regenerative, and ORC integrated with an internal heat exchanger. The MADM analysis shows that the optimal HTF for all systems is Therminol 66 for which ORC based system demonstrates the best performance in both energy (80.17 %) and exergy (33.21 %) viewpoints. Additionally, this system exhibits the highest performance in terms of net present value (82.6 M$), dynamic payback period (2.19 years) and cost of energy (0.018 $/kWh). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combination of different power cycle scenarios is of prime importance in achieving maximum energy utilization from solar‐driven multigeneration systems. To fulfill such objective, the present article proposes a novel energy distribution system, leveraging a combination of direct‐fed organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and a bottom‐cycled arrangement of Kalina cycle system (KCS) and double‐effect absorption refrigeration cycle (DEARC) within a parabolic trough solar collector powered trigeneration system. The study explores three different ORC configurations: simple ORC; ORC equipped with internal heat exchanger (ORC‐IHE) and regenerative ORC (RORC). It is shown that although higher efficiencies are achievable from a larger portion of PTSC energy absorbed by the ORC, the ORC energy absorption is limited by ORC evaporator temperature differences, and there is unused energy that can be recovered by the KCS, based on the proposed energy system. The results indicate that the addition of bottoming KCS leads to a considerable increase in the exergy efficiency of ORC, ORC‐IHE and RORC‐based systems by 11.7%, 30.7% and 32.6%, respectively. The impact of different ORC configurations, key ORC parameters and various organic working fluids on the energetic/exergetic efficiencies is also examined to find the optimal configuration. In terms of overall energetic/exergetic efficiencies, the highest performance belongs to ORC (78.4%/30.4%) while the lowest energetic and exergetic efficiencies belong to ORC‐IHE and RORC, respectively (56.3% and 25.65%). On the basis of a comparative study with the available literature, these values are higher than what is already reported for similar solar‐driven multigeneration systems. Appropriate thermal match and lower exergy destruction in the KCS, and bottoming cycle arrangement of the DEARC are the main reasons for such enhanced performance. This research not only contributes valuable insights into efficient solar‐driven systems but also sets a new benchmark for performance metrics in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to evaluate the impact of key parameters of multi-generation systems on their performance characteristics in order to develop efficient systems. The present study conducts parametric analysis of a PTSC-driven trigeneration system with a novel energy distribution based on direct-fed ORC and bottom-cycled arrangement of double-effect absorption refrigeration cycle and Kalina cycle system. Three different ORC structures (simple, regenerative, and ORC integrated with intermediate heat exchanger - IHE) are proposed. Effect of key ORC parameters namely ORC evaporator pinch point temperature and pump inlet temperature is examined on the thermodynamic performance of systems. Decrease of pinch point temperature enhances overall efficiencies and heating power in all three configurations, and increases (decreases) the net electrical power for ORC and regenerative ORC (RORC) based systems. This also enhances the cooling power of the RORC based system, though it has no impact on the cooling power of the ORC and ORC-IHE based systems. Reduction of the ORC pump inlet temperature increases overall exergy efficiency in all hybrid systems and overall energy efficiency in the ORC and ORC-IHE based systems, whereas it slightly decreases for the RORC based system. Based on a comparative study, performance of the proposed systems is found to be higher than related solar-driven multi-generation systems in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal thermo-economic integration of renewable energy sources with multi-generation energy systems is a prime research topic today. The present study proposes a multi-criteria evaluation method of such integration, based on combined heating and power (CHP), and combined cooling and power (CCP) scenarios, for three different solar intensities. Three novel solar-driven tri-generation systems are selected. They include different organic Rankine cycle (ORC) architectures and a Kalina cycle system (KCS) and a double-effect absorption refrigeration cycle as bottoming cycles. Evaluation of the tri-generation systems, both with and without the KCS system, indicates a performance improvement of up to 23% in various thermoeconomic characteristics when the KCS system is present. Selection of the suitable tri-generation system for each condition and optimization of the working fluid are carried out based on a multi-attribute decision-making method. P-xylene is found as the optimal organic working fluid for ORC and ORC (ORC integrated with internal heat exchanger) based systems, and benzene for the regenerative ORC-based system in both CHP and CCP scenarios. Multi-criteria analysis shows that ORC-based system outperforms other systems with net outranking flow of 0.44 (0.39) for CHP (CCP) application. The optimal configuration gives 95.6 M$ and 1.99 years for net present value and dynamic payback period, and 83.03% and 34.55% for energy and exergy efficiencies, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cellular changes have been reported to play a role in the aging process of oocyte; however, few studies have been performed on the appropriate time and temperature for the storage. The main problem is the distance and time available for the transfer of oocytes to the laboratory, and protection of immature oocytes without reducing their ability to fertilize in vitro is very critical. The aim of this study was to compare the Embryo Holding (EH-Syngro) and HTCM-199 medium to store immature oocytes at room temperature without incubation. A total of 5268 oocytes were tested. The oocytes were stored at three temperature degrees including 4, 22 and 38 ° C for 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours. After spending the storage time, they were entered to the standard maturation environment and finally IVF was performed.There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of blastocyst production at storage of 6h. At 12 hours, oocyte maturation and blastocyst production in all groups were significantly lower than that of the standard group. EHT and HTCM-199 medium in our experiment showed that they can be useful for storing immature oocyte for up to 6 hours at room temperature and have no adverse effect on maturation of oocyte and blastocyst production, and most importantly do not need an incubator to transport the oocytes to the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although xylazine is widely used in domestic animals as a sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant, its side effects on the uterus prevent its utilization in pregnant animals or in embryo transfer. Although the effects of xylazine on increasing uterine contractions have been confirmed, no reliable report of fetal death due to xylazine administration has been published. Hyoscine is an anticholinergic medication that has antimuscarinic and antispasmodic effects in the uterine tissue of pregnant cattle during in vitro studies, therefore, we investigated if administration of xylazine in the last third of pregnancy could increase fetal death and if hyoscine could prevent its adverse effects. Twenty adult female rats, after mating with four adult male rats and confirming pregnancy, were randomly divided into two equal control and treatment groups. On the 18th day of pregnancy, the number of fetuses per rat was determined using ultrasonography. Rats in the treatment group received hyoscine (1 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for 3 days. Subsequently, all rats were administered xylazine (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for 3 days. On the 21st day of pregnancy, the number of living and dead fetuses was counted after laparotomy. Also, the weight and dimensions of the fetuses were measured. The results showed that although more fetuses lost their lives in the treatment group compared to the control group, the statistical difference in the percentage of fetal mortality in the two groups was not significant (p  0.05). In addition, the comparison of the mean weight, body length, and body width of living and dead fetuses in both groups showed that there was no statistically significant difference between these groups (p  0.05). It could be concluded that maternal xylazine intake in rats could cause about 18-25% of fetal mortality. However, the use of hyoscine to prevent fetal death induced by xylazine is not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the last decades, magnetic nanoparticles have been considered and are being studied for employment in tumor therapy and imaging. Also, alongside their utilization in the role of MRI contrast factors, investigations of targeting tumor cells with biomolecules like anticancer drugs, antibodies, and siRNA, the utility of magnetic nanoparticles is evaluated. This preliminary work aimed to investigate the effects of iron oxide NPs on embryo growth and development with an emphasis on brain morphology and teratogenic effects. Methods: After recognizing the air sac with candling, one hundred sixty fertile eggs of the Ross 308 broiler strains were divided into 8 groups (n=20). Group 1 (control) received 0.3 mL serum normal. Groups 2, 3, and 4 received iron oxide nanoparticles as maghemite with doses of 100, 250, and 500 ppm, respectively. Groups 5, 6, 7, and 8 received iron oxide NPs as magnetite with doses of 100, 250, 500, and 2500 ppm, respectively. Twenty days after injections, death day, chicken, brain, liver, heart, bursa of Fabricius, and spleen weights and teratogenic samples were recorded, and brain tissues from all chickens were collected for histological evaluations. Results: The results demonstrated that iron oxide NPs had teratogenic effects such as the lack of formation of abdominal wall muscles and exposing the heart out of the thorax. Also, alterations were observed in the weight ratio of the liver, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius in experimental groups compared to the control group. In the microscopic assessment of the brain tissue, hyperemia, neuronophagia, edema around vessels, necrosis, and vacuolation of neurons were noticeable. Conclusion: It can be concluded that iron oxide NPs affect the growth and development of embryos and can cross the BBB and penetrate the brain tissue by affecting brain morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article, performance of a glazed photovoltaic thermal system integrated with phase change materials (GPVT/PCM) is numerically examined based on both energy and exergy viewpoints. The effect of PCM volumetric fraction and environmental temperature on thermal and electrical characteristics of the system is evaluated. A three-dimensional model of the system is simulated transiently in the ANSYS Fluent 18.2 using pressure-based finite volume method and SIMPLE algorithm selected for coupling pressure and velocity components. Validity of the numerical results is confirmed based on available data. The results indicate that PCM melting is more likely far from the riser tube and absorption of thermal energy be the PCM is mostly effective for filling the PCM container by around 2/3 of the volume. Increase of the PCM volumetric fraction reduces the module temperature and enhances the electrical performance of the system in terms of both energy and exergy efficiencies, while it decreases the thermal efficiency. An opposite trend is experienced by increase of the environmental temperature in which the thermal efficiency enhances and the electrical efficiency declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large eddy simulation is based on decomposition of turbulent flow structures to large energy-containing scales and small subgrid-scale (SGS) structures. The present study analyzes the effect of removing high-energy modes of flow to find the optimal construction of SGS parameters using the a priori approach. The data belong to a shear layer flow measured by stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV). The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method is used to capture all energy modes of the acquired velocity field. The missing/erroneous data are reconstructed using the gappy POD method. Particularly, similarity and mixed models are used to evaluate the SGS parameters. The results of the mixed model are compared via the a priori approach, before and after removing the high-energy modes. For the present flow, it is found that removal of just the first POD mode (as a representative of the mean flow) leads to the best SGS reconstruction, and this results in one order of magnitude higher precision of the average SGS stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Mastitis is an important disease that affects dairy herds worldwide. The Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the causative pathogen for mastitis. This pathogen has the tendency to biofilm forming, and may happen to antibiotic resistance. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to characterize the biofilm formation of different genotypes and antibiotic resistance pattern of S. aureus isolated from the subclinical bovine mastitis in Tehran province. METHODS: The lactating dairy cows were screened for the subclinical mastitis. The isolates were identified by phenotypic method and the presence of the nuc gene. The biofilm forming and quantification was characterized using colorimetric assay. The S. aureus biofilm gene was evaluated using PCR assay. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was assessed using DAD method. The lowest antimicrobial concentration preventing the visible growth was construed by MIC50. The antibiotic susceptibility and MBECs for the bacteria embedded in the biofilms were determined by XTT method. RESULTS: The antimicrobials susceptibility test showed penicillin and ceftiofur to be less and more effective in vitro, respectively. The genotypic characterization showed that the highest and the lowest frequencies for icaD (75%) and fnbB (31.2%) genes, respectively. The biofilm formation was also characterized. The MBEC results for the bacterial biofilm showed resistance to ceftiofur in the biofilm state; however, these strains were susceptible to this agent in the planktonic state. CONCLUSIONS: The biofilm formation is a significant virulence factor that was detected at a high rate. It is antibiotic-resistant and responsible for the subclinical bovine mastitis that does not respond to the routine treatments. In order to control the infection achieve the effective treatment, and prevent the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it is necessary to isolate the causative agent and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstruction of flow field from real sparse data by a physics-oriented approach is a current challenge for fluid scientists in the AI community. The problem includes feature recognition and implementation of AI algorithms that link data to a physical feature space in order to produce reconstructed data. The present article applies machine learning approach to study contribution of different flow-based features with practical fluid mechanics applications for reconstruction of the missing data of turbomachinery particle image velocimetry measurements. Support vector regression (SVR) and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) are selected as two robust regressors capable of modelling non-linear fluid flow phenomena. The proposed flow-based features are optimally scaled and filtered to extract the best configuration. In addition to conventional data-based validation of the regressors, a metric is proposed that reflects mass conservation law as an important requirement for a physical flow reproduction. For a velocity field including 25% of clustered missing data, the reconstruction accuracy achieved by SVR in terms of R 2-score is as high as 0.993 for the in-plane velocity vectors in comparison with that obtained by MLP which is up to 0.981. In terms of mass conservation metric, the SVR model by R 2-score up to 0.96 is considerably more accurate than the MLP estimator. For extremely sparse data with a gappiness of 75%, vector and contour plots from SVR and MLP were consistent with those of the original field. Comparison of the ML models outcome with the reconstruction made by six additional spatial interpolation methods indicates considerably higher performance of the SVR in terms of either the velocity-based or mass conservation based metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of magnesium sulfate in the prevention of fetal growth restriction due to the impaired uterine blood supply in the rat model.Methods: A total number of 24 female rats were used in this study. They were mated overnight and randomly divided into control and treatment groups. After anesthesia and incising abdominal midline in day 17 of gestation, the uterine artery was occluded by an atraumatic clamp for 60 min. The rats of the control group received normal saline after surgery and the rats of treatment group received magnesium sulfate subcutaneously. The laparotomy was repeated on day 21 of gestation, and the number of alive and dead fetuses was counted in each horn. The viability of fetuses was evaluated. The weight of the placenta and fetuses and the distance between the head and tail as well as back to the abdomen of the fetuses were also measured. Samples of the amniotic fluid (AF) were collected during both surgeries for biochemical analyses of the glucose, urea, lactate, and pyruvate levels by an AutoAnalyzer.Results: Among the total fetuses in ischemic horn, only 50% survived in the control group. Dead fetuses had less body consistency and had a dark color. In contrary, only 7.6% of the fetuses in the treatment group were absorbed and 92.4% were completely healthy and developed. Parameters related to placenta weight, fetus weight, fetus length, and fetus width had significant differences and those of the treatment group were higher. Glucose and lactate levels of the AF in the treatment group were significantly lower and urea level was significantly higher than the control group in day 21 of gestation. The changes in pyruvate levels were not significant.Conclusion: In conclusion, magnesium sulfate may counteract with the effects of temporary uterine ischemia in pregnant rats and prevent intrauterine growth restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Post-partum depression is has higher prevelance among other mental illness and herbal therapies are potential alternatives and adjuncts for its treatment. Hesperidin is the major flavonoid isolated from citrus fruits which has neuroprotective, antioxidant and antidepressant activity OBJECTIVES: We studied the effect of prepartum administration of Hesperidin on postpartum antidepressant- like effects in mice. METHODS: Twelve male and 40 female mice (28-30 gr) were randomly selected and after determination of the pregnancy using vaginal plaque, allocated into 4 experimental groups. Group 1 was kept as control and groups 2-4 were i.p. injected with hesperidne (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) on days of 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 of pregnancy. The control group received i.p. injection of the saline on the same days. Following postpartum, forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and open field tests were used to evaluate depressive-like antidepressant activity of hesperidin. Also, serum Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were determined. RESULTS: Based on findings, administration of the different levels of the hesperidin (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) at GD 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 significantly diminished immobility time (S) in TST and FST on postpartum mice in comparison to control group (P≤0.05). Pre-partum administration of hesperidin (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) had no effect on OFT (P>0.05). Administration of the hesperidin (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) during the GD significantly diminished MDA levels on postpartum compared to control group (P≤0.05). Also, pre-partum administration of the hesperidin (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) significantly increased SOD and GPx levels on postpartum mice in comparison to control group (P≤0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested pre-partum administration of hesperidin has antidepressant and antioxidant effect in postpartum mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to depict anatomical characteristics of the penis of he-dgehog. Seven sexually mature male European hedgehogs were used. Following anaesthesia, the animals were scarified with chloroform inhalation. Gross penile characteristics such as length and diameter were thoroughly explored and measu-red using digital callipers. Tissue samples stained with haematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome for microscopic analysis. The penis of the European hedgehog was composed of a pair of corpus cavernosum penis and the glans penis without corpus spongiosum penis. The urethra at the end of penis, protruded as urethral process, on both sides of which two black nail-like structures, could be observed. The lower part was rounded forming a blind sac (sacculus urethralis) with a me-dian split below the urethra. Microscopically, the penile bulb lacked the corpus spongiosum penis, but, corpus spongiosum glans was seen at the beginning of the free part. In the European hedgehog, entirely stratified squamous epithelium of penile urethra, absence of corpus spongiosum penis around the urethra and bilateral urethral glands are basically different compared with other mammals. This information is expected to contribute to comparative penile morphology as well as for testing phylogenic hypotheses and expanding knowledge about reproductive biology in this animal. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 293-300). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hedgehog tongue is a tactile and taste organ which carries out various functions. Detailed functional and morphological studies are required to clearly define the relationship of the hedgehog tongue with taste, food palatability, mastication and swallowing of food, as well as the production of sounds. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the morphological characteristics of the European hedgehog tongue and the lifestyle of this animal, as well as to compare findings with the results of studies on other vertebrates. Gross and micro-anatomical light and scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that the hedgehog tongue could be divided in three areas, namely the apex, body and root. A keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, which was smooth on the ventral surface but bore four types of papillae on the dorsal surface, lined the tongue. Three types of these papillae were found to have gustatory functions and to express their activity in close relation with the salivary glands. These simple conical filiform papillae were situated caudally and distributed one after the other without a break. The dome-shaped fungiform papillae on the apex, with the highest distribution rate on the apex edge, were small, but those on the body and root were large. The three circular vallate papillae were arranged in a triangular shape. The foliate papillae with a few tiny projections, found in a shallow furrow, were situated between the root and the body. Most of the nerve fibers observed in different sections of the tongue tissue were of the unmyelinated type, confirming that the main task of the hedgehog tongue was its gustatory function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persian squirrel (Sciurus anomalus) is a species of squirrels in the Middle East. There is little information about the anatomy and histology of various organs of this species. Moreover, there are no practical data about the accessory male sex glands of this species of squirrel. In this study the anatomical, histological and histochemical properties of the male reproductive system accessory glands of Persian Squirrel was evaluated. Eight adult male squirrels were anesthetized and euthanized. The pelvic area was dissected and the male reproductive system was separated. The accessory sex glands were investigated for gross anatomical aspect. Sampleswere fixed in formaldehyde for histological and histochemical studies. The coagulating glands, prostate and bulbourethral glands were observed at gross anatomical level. A single heartshape and compact prostate gland was situated on the dorsal side of pelvic urethra. Two small coagulating glands were observed on the cranio-dorsal side of prostate. Two large spiral shape bulbourethral glands were situated out of the pelvic cavity near the root of penis on both sides of anal area. Histologic studies revealed that all accessory sex glands were alveolar glands with cuboidal to columnar epithelium. The most positive reaction for PAS stain was observed in the trabeculae of glands. There was no positive reaction for lipids in glands stained with Oil red O and Sudan Black. Some anatomical differences were observed in the accessory sex glands of Persian Squirrel in comparison to other rodents, however the histology of glands was almost similar to other rodents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main purpose of this study was to instigate effect of tramadol administration on sperm characteristics on testicular ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Eighteen Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 3 experimental groups. (A) The control group had no received any medications, abdominal cavity was opened but no IR-induced. The IR group (B): abdominal cavity was opened, IR-induced without pre-medication. (C) Animal orally administrated with tramadol (40 mg/kg) for 1 week followed by testicular IR-induced. The time duration of IR was 60 minutes in all experimental groups. Then after 24 hours, the abdomen was opened, semen samples were collected from the caudal epididymis to determine epididymis weight, sperm mortality, mobility and sperm count. Results: According to the results, sperm mortality, mobility and sperm count significantly diminished in control group rats (group B) (P < 0.05). Pre-treatment with 40 mg/kg of tramadol for 1 week before the IR was able to diminish effect of ischemia on sperm mortality, mobility and sperm count in rat (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Perhaps tramadol has curative effect against testicular IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of magnesium sulfate on sperm characteristics in unilateral varicocele-induced male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 experimental groups. The control group (1) received no medications and surgery. The Sham group (2) had not received any medications; abdominal cavity was opened but no varicocele was induced. Varicocele group (3): abdominal cavity was opened, varicocele-induced and no medications were applied. In group 4 abdominal cavity was opened, varicocele-induced and animal received magnesium sulfate (25 mg/kg) for 6 weeks. The groups 5 and 6 were similar to group 4, except animals received 50 and 100 mg/kg of magnesium sulfate, respectively. At the end of the weeks 3 and 6, the abdomen was opened, semen samples were collected from the Caudal epididymis to determine epididymis weight, sperm mortality, mobility and sperm count. Results: According to the results, experimental unilateral varicocele significantly diminished sperm mortality, mobility and sperm count compared to control and sham group (P < 0.05). Administration of magnesium sulfate as a medication dose dependently (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) decreased sperm mortality and increased mobility and sperm count in experimental varicocele in rat compared to varicocele group at weeks 3 and 6 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, it seems, magnesium sulfate might improve sperm characteristics during varicocele. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viscous dissipation and its contribution to turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget are investigated in the asymmetric jet–wake flow of a forward-curved centrifugal turbomachine. Single-plane three-dimensional turbulent data are obtained using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV). Viscous dissipation is indirectly estimated from subgrid-scale (SGS) dissipation (SGS energy flux) by filtering velocity field using a top-hat filter. The filter scale should be within the inertial sub-range and this is ensured by spectral analysis of the measured field. Reduction of turbulent energy flux for smaller filter scales plus underestimation of viscous dissipation as compared with other TKE terms both suggest the presence of spectral shortcut. This bypass energy transfer (from intermediate scales towards dissipative scales) works in parallel with direct SGS energy transfer and affects the classical energy cascade. Analysis of TKE budget in the rotor exit region shows significant radial/circumferential variations in the contributing terms. These variations are mainly due to jet–wake–volute interactions, circumferential asymmetry of volute area and expansion of flow toward the fan outlet. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study uses stereoscopic particle image velocimetry in the rotor exit of a centrifugal turbomachine to analyse anisotropy and geometrical characteristics of tensorial flow quantities. The purpose is to identify dominant topologies of turbulence stress tensor and principal directions of flow structures. The misalignment between principal directions of strain and turbulence stress tensors is more evident in the jet–wake interaction regions and questions the eddy-viscosity models which assume an exact alignment between stress/strain eigenvectors. Anisotropy analysis based on the barycentric approach shows that the disk-like structure and/or the rod-like structure limiting states of turbulence are the most frequent topologies of turbulence stress. Additionally, planar straining is the dominant deformation characteristic in the measurement area. These anisotropic behaviours considerably attribute to the turbulence energy cascade. Conditional isolation of flow structures based on inter-scale energy flux shows that a larger extent of turbulence stress anisotropy results in a larger energy flux and therefore significantly affects the dynamics of turbulent flow structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a large family of proteins with different molecular weights and different intracellular localizations. These proteins such as Hsp70 and gp96 have a critical role in presentation of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I)-restricted antigens and induction of CD8+ T cells (TCD8+) responses. These surprising immunological characteristics of HSPs are now the basis for a number of clinical trials for cancer vaccination. We studied two tumor cell lines, i.e. erythroleukemia (K562) and human prostatic carcinoma (LNcap), in order to determine the best temperature that induces the optimized HSP induction. Methods: Each cell line was heated at 3 different temperatures (41, 42, and 43°C) for 1 hour and then incubated at 37°C for 3, 6, and 12 hours. HSP70 production and gp96 expression were determined through flow cytometry using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit and monoclonal anti gp96, respectively. Findings: Our results showed that the optimum temperature and incubation time for HSP70 and gp96 induction in K562 and LNcap were 43°C for 3 hours and 43°C for 12 hours, respectively. Conclusion: Our results revealed that the temperature and post-heating incubation period need to be optimized for each tumor cell line before using in HSP-based tumor vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frailty is one of the most important geriatric syndromes, which can be associated with increased risk for incident disability and hospitalization. Developing a real-time classification model of elderly frailty level could be beneficial for designing a clinical predictive assessment tool. Hence, the objective of this study was to predict the elderly frailty level utilizing the machine learning approach on skeleton data acquired from a Kinect sensor. Seven hundred and eighty-seven community elderly were recruited in this study. The Kinect data were acquired from the elderly performing different functional assessment exercises including: (1) 30-s arm curl; (2) 30-s chair sit-to-stand; (3) 2-min step; and (4) gait analysis tests. The proposed methodology was successfully validated by gender classification with accuracies up to 84 percent. Regarding frailty level evaluation and prediction, the results indicated that support vector classifier (SVC) and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) are the most successful estimators in prediction of the Fried's frailty level with median accuracies up to 97.5 percent. The high level of accuracy achieved with the proposed methodology indicates that ML modeling can identify the risk of frailty in elderly individuals based on evaluating the real-time skeletal movements using the Kinect sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Electroporation can be a highly efficient method for introducing the foreign genetic materials into the targeted cells for transient and/or permanent genetic modification. Considering the application of this technique as a very efficient method for drug, oligonucleotide, antibody and plasmid delivery for clinical applications and production of transgenic animals, the present study aimed to optimize the transfection efficiency of sheep testicular cells including spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) via electroporation. Materials and Methods: This study is an experimental research conducted in Biotechnology Research Center (Avicenna Research Institute, Tehran, Iran) from September 2013 to March 2014. Following isolation and propagation of one-month lamb testicular cells (SSCs and somatic testicular cells including; Sertoli, Leydig, and myoid cells), the effect of different electroporation parameters including total voltages (280, 320, and 350 V), burst durations (10, 8, and 5 milliseconds), burst modes (single or double) and addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were evaluated on transfection efficiency, viability rate and mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of sheep testicular cells. Results: The most transfection efficiency was obtained in 320 V/8 milliseconds/single burst group in transduction medium with and without DMSO. There was a significantly inverse correlation between transfection efficiency with application of both following parameters: addition of DMSO and double burst. After transfection, the highest and lowest viability rates of testicular cells were demonstrated in 320 V/8 milliseconds with transduction medium without DMSO and 350 V/5 milliseconds in medium containing DMSO. Addition of DMSO to transduction medium in all groups significantly decreased the viability rate. The comparison of gene expression indicated that Sertoli and SSCs had the most fluorescence intensity in 320 V/double burst/DMSO positive. However, myoid and Leydig cells showed the maximum expression in 320 V/single burst and/or 350 V/double burst/ DMSO positive. Conclusion: We optimized the electroporation method for transfection of sheep testicular cells and recommended the application of 320 V/8 milliseconds/single pulse/DMSO negative for transduction of plasmid vector into these cells. Among testicular cells, the most external gene expression was demonstrated in SSC population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease in women. Some plant compounds which have antioxidant properties, such as curcumin, may be useful for these patients when delivered orally or in vitro. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PCOS on oocyte quality and the effect of curcumin on in vitro fertilization of oocytes. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, Naval Medical Research Institute mice aged six to eight wk were used. Mice were divided into five experimental groups (control, experimental PCOS, curcumin 6, 12 and 24 μM). To induce experimental PCOS, estradiol valerate (100 mg/kg, IP) was injected. The total antioxidant capacity and production of malondialdehyde in ovarian tissue and blood serum were evaluated in all groups. Finally, 6, 12 and 24 μM of curcumin were added to the culture medium of the PCOS group oocytes and development in the different groups was evaluated. Results: A high percentage of oocytes for fertilization were not in good condition in terms of number and quality in the group of PCOS. The addition of curcumin to the embryo culture medium was associated with a higher percentage of fertilized oocytes, two-cells and blastocysts. This increase was significant at a concentration of 24 μM (p ≤0.01). Conclusion: Given that adding curcumin seemed to improve fetal growth and prevent the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals on the culture medium, it is recommended to add a certain concentration of curcumin under normal conditions without oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paclitaxel (PTX), a chemotherapeutic agent, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) have oxidative effects on testicular tissue. Objective: In this study, the effects of MSG administration on the exacerbation of testicular tissue alterations related to PTX treatment were evaluated. Materials and Methods: MSG (30 & 60 mg/kg i.p.) was administrated to six groups (n = 8/each) of adult mice before or after PTX treatment: control, PTX-treated, MSG30 + PTX, MSG60 + PTX, PTX + MSG30, and PTX + MSG60. Following the euthanizing, the body weight measurement, pituitary-testicular axis hormonal analysis and serum lipid peroxidation index assessment was prepared, testicular histomorphometry (tubular diameter and germinal epithelium height), immunohistochemistry of p53 was completed. Microscopic indices of spermatogenesis (tubular differentiation, spermiogenesis and repopulation indices) were studied. Results: Body weight was not changed significantly. The levels of testosterone (p = 0.0001), follicle stimulating hormone (p = 0.019), and luteinizing hormone (p = 0.08) were decreased while the level of lipid peroxidation index was increased (p = 0.208) in the treated groups. The histomorphometry indices (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.001, respectively), germ cells population (p < 0.05) and microscopic indices of spermatogenesis (p = 0.001, p = 0.005, p < 0.0001, respectively) were significantly reduced in all treated groups. The administration of MSG before PTX treatment induces more changes. The most positive reaction to p53 was observed in MSG30 or 60 + PTX groups compared to other groups. Conclusion: The administration of MSG could intensify testicular tissue alterations related to PTX chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the limited number of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), an efficient preservation protocol is one of the main criteria for successful application of these cells. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of cryopreservation of Ghezel ram spermatogonial stem cells co-cultured with Sertoli cells. After digestion of the testicular samples from two month old lambs, obtained cells were randomly divided into 5 groups (each with 4 replicates) as follow: 1) Co-cultured with fresh Sertoli cells for 10 days (Control group). 2,3) Immediately cryopreserved (for one month) and then co-culture with/without Sertoli cells for 10 days (F0S and F0NS, respectively). 4,5) Cultured for 14 days and then cryopreserved (for one month) and finally cultured with/without Sertoli cells for 10 days (F14S and F14NS, respectively). Viability and colonization of SSCs were evaluated. The survival rate of freeze-thawed testicular cells in different treatments were not significantly different. The number of colonies in F14S, F0NS and F14NS were significantly higher than those of the control in days 5 and 10 (P < 0.05). The highest diameters of the colonies were observed in the F0S and F14S groups (P < 0.05) and the lowest diameter belonged to F0NS and F14NS treatments (P < 0.05). This study indicated that freezing the sheep SSCs can be a suitable way for their long-term maintenance. The suitable method to freeze sheep SSCs is to culture them on the day of enzymatic digestion and it can be concluded that culturing them before freezing leads to decreased ability of colonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broilers are more vulnerable to high temperatures than mammals due to the feather cover, lack of sweat glands, fast growth and intensive breeding in commercial systems. Thermal stresses affect the function of various organs and change the expression profiles of hundreds of genes in the different tissues of broilers. Thermal manipulation (TM) during embryogenesis can increase heat tolerance in growing broilers. Small heat shock proteins (SHSPs) are a group of HSPs which participate in many cellular functions like response to different stressors. However, their role in the thermotolerance has not been fully elucidated. Ninety fertilized eggs were randomly divided into three groups (30 eggs/group; 10 eggs/replicate). Normal control (NC) eggs were incubated at 37.5 °C throughout the incubation period whereas heat stress (HS) and cold stress (CS) groups were kept at 41 °C and 33 °C from 15 to 17th day of incubation for 3 h each day, respectively. On day 20, samples from the cerebrums were harvested for histopathology and mRNA expression analyses of HSPB1, HSPB5, HSPB8, and HSPB9. There were no significant differences in survivability, defected embryos, hatchability, and body weight among treatments. TM had no major deleterious effects on the cerebral tissue except for mild degeneration in the HS group. HSPB1, HSPB5, HSPB8, and HSPB9 were expressed in the presence and absence of TM. All SHSP genes tested were downregulated in response to TM except for HSPB9 which was upregulated in the HS group. The highest change in gene expression due to TM observed for HSPB1. This study presents a broader understanding of mechanisms underlying response to TM in broilers. The results suggest that HSPB1, HSPB5, HSPB8, and HSPB9 are involved in thermotolerance in broilers and SHSPs could be involved in the gene expression profiling of TM. It may propose the use of nutritional supplements in the poultry industry to modulate SHSPs. • HSPB1, HSPB5, HSPB8, and HSPB9 are all expressed in both normal and thermal manipulated cerebrums. • The expression of investigated SHSPs in the cerebral tissue is responsive to TM at the late-term embryogenesis of chicken. • HSPB1 is the most responsive gene to the thermal manipulation at the late-term embryogenesis of chicken. • Thermal manipulation had no major deleterious effects on the cerebral tissue except for mild degeneration. • The brain may be protected against TM through SHSPs pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease in women. Some plant compounds which have antioxidant properties, such as curcumin, may be useful for these patients when delivered orally or in vitro., Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PCOS on oocyte quality and the effect of curcumin on in vitro fertilization of oocytes., Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, Naval Medical Research Institute mice aged six to eight wk were used. Mice were divided into five experimental groups (control, experimental PCOS, curcumin 6, 12 and 24 μM). To induce experimental PCOS, estradiol valerate (100 mg/kg, IP) was injected. The total antioxidant capacity and production of malondialdehyde in ovarian tissue and blood serum were evaluated in all groups. Finally, 6, 12 and 24 μM of curcumin were added to the culture medium of the PCOS group oocytes and development in the different groups was evaluated., Results: A high percentage of oocytes for fertilization were not in good condition in terms of number and quality in the group of PCOS. The addition of curcumin to the embryo culture medium was associated with a higher percentage of fertilized oocytes, two-cells and blastocysts. This increase was significant at a concentration of 24 μM (p ≤ 0.01)., Conclusion: Given that adding curcumin seemed to improve fetal growth and prevent the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals on the culture medium, it is recommended to add a certain concentration of curcumin under normal conditions without oxidative stress., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Bari et al.)

Purpose: To determine the effect of folic acid (FA) on experimental testicular ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in rats., Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups. The control group received physiologic saline orally. The sham-operated group received physiologic saline orally then exposed to midline laparotomy without clamping the IR. The I/R rats received oral gavage of the saline then subjected to 1h ischemia /24h reperfusion, period. In folic acid (2mg/kg+IR) rats received oral gavage of the FA (2mg/kg) then subjected to 1h I/24h R. groups 5-6 received FA (5 and 10 mg/kg), then subjected to 1 h I/24 h, respectively. At the end of the study, semen samples were collected for spermatozoa characteristics. The left testis was removed for histological analysis and superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) measurement., Results: Spermatozoa mobility, mortality (%) significantly decreased in I/R group (P<0.05). Dose dependent increase observed on spermatozoa mobility, mortality (%) using different levels of the FA (2, 5 and 10 mg/kg) treated rat (P<0.05). Tissue MDA levels significantly increased in I/R rat (P<0.05) while FA (2, 5 and 10mg/kg) in a dose dependent manner decreased I/R-induced MDA (P<0.05). Experimental I/R significantly decreased SOD and GPx activity (P<0.05). Administration of the FA (2, 5 and 10mg/kg) significantly increased tissue SOD and GPx activity in I/R rat (P<0.05). Seminiferous tubules degenerated and loss of spermatogenesis with few spermatocytes was observed in degenerated testis tubules in I/R rat. Orally administration of the FA (5 and 10 mg/kg) improved testis characteristics with few normal seminiferous tubules and spermatocyte in seminiferous tubules in experimental I/R-induced rat., Conclusion: The treatment of folic acid had a benefit effect against ischemia-reperfusion.

Purpose: To investigate the protective effect of metformin on testicular ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats., Methods: Eighteen adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups (n=6), as follows: Sham, I/R, and Metformin. 1-hour ischemia was induced by the left testicular artery and vein clipping followed by 7 days of reperfusion. Metformin (100 mg/kg) was administrated orally for 7 days via oral gavage after ischemic period. At the end of trial, the left testis was removed for histological analysis and oxidative stress measurement., Results: I/R reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and testicular Johnsen's scores accompanied by an elevation in malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels in comparison with the sham group (P < 0.05). Compared to I/R group, metformin restored testicular Johnsen's scores, SOD activity, MDA and MPO levels (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Metformin has a protective effect against I/R injury on the testis.