Search

Introduction: Ultrasonography is a common tool for assessing muscle morphology. This study aims to investigate the intra-rater reliability of ultrasonography measurements of the masseter and lateral pterygoid muscles (LPM) in subjects with and without temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and to compare the measurements between the two groups. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 individuals (15 subjects with TMD and 15 subjects without TMD) participated in the study. Imaging of the masseter muscle at rest and contraction, in addition to LPM, was performed using sonography in 2 sessions with a 2-day interval and the thickness of these muscles was measured. To assess the reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(3, 3)), standard error of measurement, minimal detectable change, and limits of agreement were used. Additionally, for the between-group comparison of measurements, the independent sample t-test was used. The Cohen d was used to determine the size of the differences. Results: ICC(3, 3) for intra-rater reliability of masseter thickness in rest and clenched positions and LPM were 0.89, 0.80, and 0.86 in the asymptomatic group, and 0.88, 0.80, and 0.90 in the TMD group, respectively. The values of absolute reliability parameters, such as standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change were in a small range. Additionally, compared to the asymptomatic group, the TMD group had thicker masseter muscle in the rest position and the effect size revealed a large difference between the groups. No significant differences were found between the groups for the thickness of the masseter muscle in contraction position and LPM. Conclusion: The results of the intra-reliability study revealed that ultrasonography is a reliable method to measure the thickness of the masticatory muscles in TMD subjects and asymptomatic subjects. Additionally, TMDs can change the thickness of the masticatory muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): The mechanisms of rabies evasion and immunological interactions with the host defense have not been completely elucidated. Here, we evaluated the dynamic changes in the number of astrocytes, microglial and neuronal cells in the brain following intramuscular (IM) and intracerebral (IC) inoculations of street rabies virus (SRV). Materials and Methods: The SRV isolated from a jackal and CVS-11 were used to establish infection in NMRI-female mice. The number of astrocytes (by expression of GFAP), microglial (by Iba1), and neuronal cells (by MAP-2) in the brain following IM and IC inoculations of SRV were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and H & E staining 7 to 30 days post-infection. Results: Increased numbers of astrocytes and microglial cells in dead mice infected by SRV via both IC and IM routes were recorded. The number of neuronal cells in surviving mice was decreased only in IC-infected mice, while in the dead group, this number was decreased by both routes. The risk of death in SRV-infected mice was approximately 3 times higher than in the CVS-11 group. In IC-inoculated mice, viral dilution was the only influential factor in mortality, while the type of strain demonstrated a significant impact on the mortality rate in IM inoculations. Results: Increased numbers of astrocytes and microglial cells in dead mice infected by SRV via both IC and IM routes were recorded. The number of neuronal cells in surviving mice was decreased only in IC-infected mice, while in the dead group, this number was decreased by both routes. The risk of death in SRV-infected mice was approximately 3 times higher than in the CVS-11 group. In IC-inoculated mice, viral dilution was the only influential factor in mortality, while the type of strain demonstrated a significant impact on the mortality rate in IM inoculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misfolded proteins have enhanced formation of toxic oligomers and nonfunctional protein copies lead to recruiting wild‐type protein types. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a molecular chaperone generated by cells that are involved in many cellular functions through regulation of folding and/or localization of large multi‐protein complexes as well as client proteins. HSP90 can regulate a number of different cellular processes including cell proliferation, motility, angiogenesis, signal transduction, and adaptation to stress. HSP90 makes the mutated oncoproteins able to avoid misfolding and degradation and permits the malignant transformation. As a result, HSP90 is an important factor in several signaling pathways associated with tumorigenicity, therapy resistance, and inhibiting apoptosis. Clinically, the upregulation of HSP90 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is linked with advanced stages and inappropriate survival in cases suffering from this kind of cancer. The present review comprehensively assesses HSP90 functions and its possible usefulness as a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic option for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy is still one of the routine methods for cancer therapy, but due to its poor specificity to the target site and a lot of side effects, it is not considered as a harmless approach for cancer therapy. For improving cancer-targeted drug delivery, in the present experiment, we synthesized chitosan-coated silica (SiO2@CS) nanoparticles and attached them to epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The functional amine groups of chitosan in SiO2@CS-EGCG nanoparticles (NPs) were attached to AS1411 aptamer electrostatically. Our developed nanoparticles showed spherical core-shell morphology with a size of around 100 nm in TEM images. Also, the internalization efficiency of SiO2@CS-EGCG-aptamer nanoparticles (51%) was higher than SiO2@CS-EGCG nanoparticles (29%) in the SKOV-3 cell line, which proved the successful recognition of nucleolin by attached AS1411 aptamer. Besides, DAPI staining and Annexin V analyses showed that SiO2@CS-EGCG-aptamer nanoparticles meritoriously improved the cytotoxic effect of the EGCG (with around 93% of cells showed late apoptosis). Additionally, cell cycle results showed that SiO2@CS-EGCG-aptamer nanoparticles resulted in a decrease in S and G2/M and increase G0/G1 and arrested cells in the G1 cell cycle. Moreover, the expression level of ERK2 and hTERT downregulated in SiO2@CS-EGCG-aptamer nanoparticles was treated SKOV-3 cells in comparison with the groups that were treated with free EGCG and SiO2@CS-EGCG. These results suggested that SiO2@CS-EGCG-aptamer had great potential for targeted delivery of different therapeutic agents like EGCG to the SKOV-3 cell line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan is one of the low toxic and natural polysaccharides which is obtained from deacetylation of chitin. Chitosan-based nanoparticles have good biodegradation and bio-distribution in the biological milieu, which have made it as one of the most attractive nanocarriers for delivering different therapeutic agents to the tumour cells especially ovarian cancer cell lines. Chitosan can covalently and non-covalently be modified and attached to different polymers and targeting moieties through its free amine groups and reach to the tumour site through passive and active targeting strategies. Ovarian cancer is one of the most common and resistant cancers with poor prognosis among women, which scientists are trying to prepare new methods for improving their treatments outcomes in past decades. In this article, we tried to take an overview on the recent developments in different modifications of chitosan-based nanoformulations, which are utilised for ovarian cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Due to the capabilities of the mobile application in the self-care of patients, the present study was conducted to design and evaluate a mobile-based self-care application for patients with liver cirrhosis. Background: Liver cirrhosis is a progressive and chronic disease that, if left untreated, leads to liver cancer and, finally, the death of the patient. Methods: This study was conducted in six phases, including determining and confirming the validity of the minimum data set and capabilities for the application, designing a conceptual and logical model and determining the technical capabilities, designing the application, evaluating the prototype usability in a laboratory environment by technical experts, evaluation of the application usability in a real environment by 30 patients with QUIS (Questionnaire of User Interface Satisfaction) questionnaire. Results: The designed application has capabilities such as calculating the patient's MELD score (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease), medication reminder, location in emergency, and conversation with the physician. The results showed that the patients evaluated the application with a score of 7.94 (out of 9 points) at a good level. Conclusion: The self-care application can help patients with liver cirrhosis and their families access the necessary information related to the special care of the patient at any time and place; it also helps better manage the patient's life, improve the quality of life, and monitor the patient. These applications can effectively manage chronic diseases by reducing the burden of referrals and costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Non-alcoholic Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) is a life-threatening condition, which is caused due to thiamine deficiency. We reported a case of non-alcoholic WE following gastrojejunostomy. Case presentation: A 31-year-old woman was admitted to our tertiary care center complaining about intractable nausea and vomiting following her gastrojejunostomy. She had undergone gastrojejunostomy because of gastric outlet obstruction after a suicide attempt with scale-remover. Two weeks after gastrojejunostomy, the altered mental status and confusion were reported and she also had a reduced range of motion, dysarthria, generalized muscle weakness, and vertical nystagmus. She gradually became uninterested in surroundings. WE was considered a differential diagnosis, which was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). High-dose intravenous thiamine administration was done for the patient and her symptoms were improved. We also reviewed the PubMed to evaluate studies on WE following gastrointestinal surgeries conducted through the last 10 years. Conclusion: WE is a rare presentation of gastrojejunostomy and it should be considered as differential diagnosis when patient had impaired mental status and other related WE symptoms following gastrojejunostomy. Early diagnosis and management of WE in the Emergency Department can reduce the mortality and morbidity of WE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to introduce and study Rényi and Tsallis entropy, conditional Tsallis entropy and Tsallis mutual information of D-posets on a state s. Several relations between the conditional entropies are derived. Finally we define Tsallis entropy of dynamical system on D-posets and a new version of Kolmogorove-Sinai Theorem has been proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce the concept of standard atomic decomposition in the setting of Hilbert C*-modules. In addition, a class of standard atomic decompositions for countably generated Hilbert C*-modules over the C*-algebra of all compact operators on some Hilbert space is discussed. We also demonstrate standard atomic decompositions are stable under small perturbations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cortical spreading depression (CSD) related diseases such as migraine, cerebrovascular diseases, and epilepsy have been associated with reactive astrocytosis, yet the mechanisms of these tissue changes remain unclear. CSD-induced inflammatory response has been proposed to play a role in some neurological disorders and thus may also contribute to reactive astrocytosis. Methods Using ex vivo brain slices and in vitro astrocytic cultures, we aimed to characterize CSD related changes in astrocytes and markers of inflammation by immunocyto- and immunohistochemistry. CSD was induced by application of KCl (3 mol/l) on neocortical tissues. The application of KCl was repeated weekly over the course of four weeks. Results CSD induced an increase in the mean number and volume of astrocytes in rat brain tissue when compared to controls, whereas no changes in neuronal numbers and volumes were seen. These cell-type specific changes, suggestive of reactive astrocytosis, were paralleled by an increased expression of protein markers indicative of astrocytes and neuroinflammation in ex vivo brain slices of animals undergoing CSD when compared to sham-treated controls. Cultured astrocytes showed an increased expression of the immune modulatory enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and an elevated expression of the pro-inflammatory markers, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα in addition to increased levels of toll like receptors (TLR3 and TLR4) and astrocytic markers after induction of CSD. Conclusion These findings indicate that CSD related reactive astrocytosis is linked to an upregulation of inflammatory markers. Targeting inflammation with already approved and available immunomodulatory treatments may thus represent a strategy to combat or ameliorate CSD-related disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Approaches for investigating health-promoting lifestyle generally focus on physical activity and regular diet. To explore the perspectives of Iranian elders regarding health, healthy eating and physical activity (PA) this study was conducted in 2012. Methods: Participants in this qualitative study were selected through purposeful sampling. Ten focus groups were conducted with 60 older adults in 3 elderly centers in Tehran. A moderator's guideline that consisted of general and specific questions was used. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysis was performed using conventional content analysis. Results: Participants explained their perspectives regarding health, healthy eating and PA in the following 5 categories: meaning of health was represented based on issues such as absence of pain and disorder, complete body wellbeing, staying away from hazards, complete individual satisfaction, experiencing positive events, effective communication, faithfulness and trust in God. The healthy eating category was featured by adequate eating, age balanced diet, refraining from under or over nutrition and sensible consumption of fruits and vegetables. The PA was described - according to the level of performing outdoor activities or household tasks. Expressions about the perceived benefits and barriers of healthy eating and PA were aligned the two remaining categories. Conclusions: Participants have referred to the association between both PA and dietary practices and health. Understanding how older people define physical activity and nutritional behavior and recognition of the most important perceived benefits and barriers that might contribute to have a healthy eating or adequate PA profile could procure insight into the type of interventions that are required to promote healthy lifestyle among Iranian older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of donated embryos has offered hope for infertile couples who have no other means to have children. In Iran, fertility centers use fertile couples as embryo donors, In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure will be discussed. We conclude that embryo-donation should be performed with frozen embryos thus preventing healthy donors from being harmed by fertility drugs. There must be guidelines for choosing the appropriate donor families. In countries where commercial egg donation is acceptable, fertile couples can be procured as embryo donors thus fulfilling the possible shortage of good quality embryos. Using frozen embryos seems to have less ethical, religious and legal problems when compared to the use of fertile embryo donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The footprint of Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) / ERbB4 in the pathophysiology of some neurological disorders and TRPV1 regulation has been indicated. The alterations in NRG1 and ErbB4 as well as the TRPV1 signaling pathway were investigated during the development of absence epilepsy in the genetic animal model of absence epilepsy. Methods: Male WAG/Rij and Wistar rats were divided into four experimental groups of two and six months of age. The protein levels of NRG1, ERbB4, and TRPV1 were measured in the somatosensory cortex and hippocampus. Results: The cortical protein levels of NRG1 and ErbB4 in the 6-month-old WAG/Rij rats were lower than in Wistar rats. Protein levels of TRPV1 were lower in two- and six-month-old WAG/Rij rats compared to age-matched Wistar rats. Hippocampal protein levels of NRG1 in 6-month-old WAG/Rij rats were lower than two-month-old WAG/Rij rats. Low levels of ErbB4 protein in two-month-old and high levels in six-month-old WAG/Rij rats were found compared to Wistar rats. Protein levels of TRPV1 were lower in the two-month-old and higher in the six-month-old WAG/Rij rats compared to age-matched Wistar rats. Furthermore, a high correlation between NRG1/ERbB4 and TRPV1 expressions in the cortex and hippocampus was indicated. The expression of NRG1/ERbB4 and TRPV1 followed a similar pattern during the life span of Wistar and WAG/Rij rats. Conclusion: Our findings indicated the potential role of the NRG1/ErbB4 pathway as well as TRPV1 in the pathogenesis of absence epilepsy. The regulatory effect of the ERbB4 receptor on the TRPV1 expression has been suggested following the similar pattern of expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This article examines the potential of using liquid biopsy with piRNAs to study cancer survival outcomes. While previous studies have explored the relationship between piRNA expression and cancer patient outcomes, a comprehensive investigation is still lacking. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature. Methods: We searched major online databases up to February 2024 to identify articles reporting on the role of piRNA in cancer patient survival outcomes. Our meta-analysis used a random-effects model to pool hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and assess the prognostic value of deregulated piRNA-823. For survival analysis, the Kaplan–Meier method and COX analysis were used. Results: Out of 6104 articles screened, 20 met our inclusion criteria. Our analysis revealed that dysregulated piRNA expression is associated with cancer patient survival outcomes. Specifically, our meta-analysis found that overexpression of piR-823 is significantly linked with poorer overall survival in patients with colorectal cancer and renal cell cancer (HR: 3.82, 95% CI = [1.81, 8.04], I2 = 70%). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that various piRNAs may play a role in cancer survival outcomes and that piRNA-823 in particular holds promise as a prognostic biomarker for multiple human cancers. Implications for cancer survivors: Our systematic review and meta-analysis of piRNA-823 has important implications for cancer survivors. Our findings suggest that piRNA-823 can be used as a prognostic biomarker for predicting cancer recurrence and survival rates. This information can help clinicians develop personalized treatment plans for cancer survivors, which can improve their quality of life and reduce the risk of recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. The present review was conducted to accumulate evidence on the relationship between cervicovaginal human papillomavirus infection and serum vitamin D status. Methods: Electronic databases including Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and PubMed were searched by different combinations of keywords related to "human papillomavirus" and "vitamin D", obtained from Mesh and Emtree with AND, and OR operators without any time restriction until December 24, 2022. Selection of articles was based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used for quality assessment. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist was applied for reporting. Results: In total, 276 citations were retrieved. After removing duplicates, and non-related articles, the full texts of 7 articles were reviewed including 11168 participants. Three studies reported that there was a positive relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cervicovaginal human papillomavirus while three studies did not. One study showed a significant positive association between higher vitamin D stores and short-term high-risk human papillomavirus persistence. Conclusions: The findings showed no firm evidence for any association between serum vitamin D level and cervicovaginal human papillomavirus infection, although the possible association could not be discarded. Further investigations are needed to reach sound evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor and a reply are presented in response to the article "Attitude of Male and Female Subjects towards Oocyte Donation in Shiraz," by Shapour Fereydouni and colleagues in the 2010 issue.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gut-derived incretin hormone, plays a pivotal role in glucose-induced insulin secretion. Currently, the role of incretin hormones in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis is not clearly defined. This study aimed to investigate circulating levels of GLP-1 in liver cirrhosis and its association with the severity of liver disease. A total of 80 participants including 39 patients with a definite diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and 41 healthy controls recruited in this cross-sectional study. Circulating levels of GLP-1 were determined using the ELISA method. The severity of liver cirrhosis was assessed according to the Child-Pugh, MELD (i), MELD-Na, MELD New, and UK end-stage liver disease score (UKELD) criteria. The mean age of patients and healthy subjects was 42.51 ± 12.80 and 42.07 ± 10.92 years, respectively (p value =.869). The mean MELD (i), MELD-Na, MELD New, UKELD, and Child-Pugh scores were 14.36 ± 4.26, 15.26 ± 4.81, 14.74 ± 4.66, 52.33 ± 3.82, and 7.28 ± 1.50, respectively. In this study, circulating levels of GLP-1 were statistically lower in cirrhotic patients compared with healthy controls (95.26 ± 17.15 vs 111.84 ± 38.14 pg/mL; p value =.017). Larger prospective studies are needed to explore the incretin effect in cirrhosis patients compared with healthy individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold intolerance has been defined as a set of symptoms including pain, tingling, numbness, chills, stiffness, weakness, swelling or skin color changes on exposure to cold. Cold intolerance may have a profound effect on health-related quality of life. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated primarily the prevalence of cold intolerance and secondly associated factors in the general population of Tabriz. Simple random sampling of individuals aged ≥ 18 was performed from the population covered by Emamieh health center under the supervision of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. A telephone interview was conducted with the participants by the general physician of that center. In participants with a positive response to each of two questions "I am oversensitive to cold" and "I experience pain or discomfort when exposed to cold" a Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) questionnaire was filled. We used a cut off value 50 for defining cold intolerance. Of the 353 person who received telephone calls, 322 answered questions. Cold related symptoms and cold intolerance were reported in 144 (44.7%) and 38 (11.1%) persons, respectively. Cold intolerance was significantly more common in females and people with comorbidities. Cold intolerance led to a decrease in quality of job in 27 (8.4%) and a change in job in 6 (1.9%) persons. In conclusion, cold intolerance is a common problem in the general population of Tabriz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutrophil extracellular trap (NETosis), the web-like structures induced by neutrophil death, is an important inflammatory mechanism of the immune system leading to reactive oxygen species production/coagulopathy, endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, and ischemia. NETosis exerts its role through different mechanisms such as triggering Toll-like receptors, inflammatory cytokines, platelet aggregation, neutrophil activation/infiltration, and vascular impairment. NETosis plays a key role in the prognosis of coronary artery disease, ischemic injury of kidney, lung, gastrointestinal tract and skeletal muscles. In this review, we explored the molecular mechanisms involved in NETosis, and ischemic/reperfusion injuries in body organs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies on gamma-irradiated influenza A virus (γ-Flu) have revealed its superior efficacy for inducing homologous and heterologous virus-specific immunity. However, many inactivated vaccines, notably in nasal delivery, require adjuvants to increase the quality and magnitude of vaccine responses. Methods: To illustrate the impacts of co-administration of the gamma-irradiated H1N1 vaccine with poly (I:C) and recombinant murine CCL21, either alone or in combination with each other, as adjuvants on the vaccine potency, mice were inoculated intranasally 3 times at one-week interval with γ-Flu alone or with any of the three adjuvant combinations and then challenged with a high lethal dose (10 LD50) of A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) influenza virus. Virus-specific humoral, mucosal, and cell-mediated immunity, as well as cytokine profiles in the spleen (IFN-γ, IL-12, and IL-4), and in the lung homogenates (IL-6 and IL-10) were measured by ELISA. The proliferative response of restimulated splenocytes was also determined by MTT assay. Results: The findings showed that the co-delivery of the γ-Flu vaccine and CCL21 or Poly (I:C) significantly increased the vaccine immunogenicity compared to the non-adjuvanted vaccine, associated with more potent protection following challenge infection. However, the mice given a combination of CCL21 with poly (I:C) had strong antibody- and cell-mediated immunity, which were considerably higher than responses of mice receiving the γ-Flu vaccine with each adjuvant separately. This combination also reduced inflammatory mediator levels (notably IL-10) in lung homogenate samples. Conclusions: The results indicate that adjuvantation with the CCL21 and poly (I:C) can successfully induce vigorous vaccine-mediated protection, suggesting a robust propensity for CCL21 plus poly (I:C) as a potent mucosal adjuvant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies on gamma-irradiated influenza A virus (γ-Flu) have revealed its superior efficacy for inducing homologous and heterologous virus-specific immunity. However, many inactivated vaccines, notably in nasal delivery, require adjuvants to increase the quality and magnitude of vaccine responses. Methods: To illustrate the impacts of co-administration of the gamma-irradiated H1N1 vaccine with poly (I:C) and recombinant murine CCL21, either alone or in combination with each other, as adjuvants on the vaccine potency, mice were inoculated intranasally 3 times at one-week interval with γ-Flu alone or with any of the three adjuvant combinations and then challenged with a high lethal dose (10 LD50) of A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) influenza virus. Virus-specific humoral, mucosal, and cell-mediated immunity, as well as cytokine profiles in the spleen (IFN-γ, IL-12, and IL-4), and in the lung homogenates (IL-6 and IL-10) were measured by ELISA. The proliferative response of restimulated splenocytes was also determined by MTT assay. Results: The findings showed that the co-delivery of the γ-Flu vaccine and CCL21 or Poly (I:C) significantly increased the vaccine immunogenicity compared to the non-adjuvanted vaccine, associated with more potent protection following challenge infection. However, the mice given a combination of CCL21 with poly (I:C) had strong antibody- and cell-mediated immunity, which were considerably higher than responses of mice receiving the γ-Flu vaccine with each adjuvant separately. This combination also reduced inflammatory mediator levels (notably IL-10) in lung homogenate samples. Conclusions: The results indicate that adjuvantation with the CCL21 and poly (I:C) can successfully induce vigorous vaccine-mediated protection, suggesting a robust propensity for CCL21 plus poly (I:C) as a potent mucosal adjuvant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: These days, obesity threatens the health for which one of the main interventions is calorie restriction (CR). Due to the difficulty of compliance with this treatment, CR mimetics such as resveratrol (RSV) have been considered. The present study compared the effects of RSV and CR on hypothalamic remodeling in a diet-switching experiment. Methods: C57BL/6 male mice received high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 weeks, subsequently their diet switched to chow diet, HFD + RSV, chow diet + RSV or CR diet for a further 6 weeks. Body weight, fat accumulation, hypothalamic apoptosis and expression of trophic factors as well as generation and fate specification of newborn cells in arcuate nucleus (ARC) were evaluated. Results: Switching diet to RSV-containing foods leading to weight and fat loss after 6 weeks. In addition, not only a significant reduction in apoptosis but also a considerable increase in production of newborn cells in ARC occurred following consumption of RSV-enriched diets. These were in line with augmentation of hypothalamic ciliary neurotrophic factor and leukemia inhibitory factor expression. Interestingly, RSV-containing diets changed the fate of newborn neurons toward generation of more proopiomelanocortin than neuropeptide Y neurons. The CR had effects similar to those of RSV-containing diets in the all-evaluated aspects besides neurogenesis in ARC. Conclusions: Although both RSV-containing and CR diets changed the fate of newborn neurons to create an anorexigenic architecture for ARC, newborn neurons were more available after switching to RSV-enriched diets. It can be consider as a promising mechanism for future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes a new accessible source of neuronal stem cells that can be used in Parkinson's disease cell transplant. The human olfactory bulb contains neural stem cells ( NSCs) that are responsible for neurogenesis in the brain and the replacement of damaged cellular components throughout life. NSCs are capable of differentiating into neuronal and glial cells. We isolated NSCs from the olfactory bulb of brain-death donors and differentiated them into dopaminergic neurons. The olfactory bulb tissues obtained were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/nutrient mixture F12, B27 supplemented with basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor and leukemia inhibitory factor. The NSCs and proliferation markers were assessed. The multipotentiality of olfactory bulb NSCs was demonstrated by their capacity to differentiate into neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. To generate dopaminergic neurons, olfactory bulb NSCs were differentiated in neurobasal medium, supplemented with B27, and treated with sonic hedgehog, fibroblast growth factor 8 and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor from the 7th to the 21st day, followed by detection of dopaminergic neuronal markers including tyrosine hydroxylase and aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase. The cells were expanded, established in continuous cell lines and differentiated into the two classical neuronal phenotypes. The percentage of co-positive cells (microtubule-associated protein 2 and tyrosine hydroxylase; aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase) in the treated cells was significantly higher than in the untreated cells. These results illustrate the existence of multipotent NSCs in the adult human olfactory bulb that are capable of differentiating toward putative dopaminergic neurons in the presence of trophic factors. Taken together, our data encourage further investigations of the possible use of olfactory bulb NSCs as a promising cell-based therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lung cancer cells have developed resistance to practically all types of chemotherapeutic treatments, and drug resistance is responsible for 80–90 percent of cancer-related fatalities. • Bioinformatics analysis is a useful and successful tool for predicting essential genes and pathways in various activities, including chemoresistance. • The findings presented that the expression of CEACAM1, DGKA, ARHGEF4, and THSD4 was altered following the induction of Cisplatin resistance in A549 cells. Lung cancer represents a significant global health issue and is among the central causes of mortality and morbidity around the world. Unfortunately, the majority of lung cancer patients acquire drug resistant to chemotherapy either intrinsically or acquired after Cisplatin treatment. It is indicated that increasing or decreasing the expression of particular genes can affect chemotherapeutic sensitivity or resistance. As a result, gaining a deeper knowledge of the changed expression of genes implicated in lung cancer drug resistance, as well as developing novel therapeutic techniques, are critical targets for continued advancement in lung cancer treatment. In the present study, we aimed to find key regulatory genes in the progression of Cisplatin resistance in A-549 lung cancer cells. In this regard, microarray dataset of Cisplatin-resistant and Cisplatin-sensitive was retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) with accession number of GSE108214. Then, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between sensitive and resistant lung cancer cells were obtained by using R software v4.0.2 and related packages. We recognized CEACAM1, DGKA, ARHGEF4, and THSD4 are involved in the drug resistance. Experimentally, Cisplatin-resistant A-549 cells were developed and analyzed by MTT assay. Besides, the expression of candidate genes were analyzed in these cells compared to Cisplatin-sensitive A-549 cells by qRT-PCR. The findings presented that the expression of CEACAM1 , DGKA , ARHGEF4 , and THSD4 was altered following the induction of Cisplatin resistance in A549 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 1993, Muller developed the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) which has been used widely in many studies and translated into several languages. The current study aimed to translate the PAI into Persian, assess the underlying structure of the PAI, and the appropriateness of the one-factor solution proposed by Muller. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited a total of 322 primi-gravidae in their 27th to 34th gestational weeks that referred to private and governmental prenatal clinics in Tehran, Iran. All participants completed the Persian versions of the PAI and a demographic questionnaire. Participants were re-tested 2 weeks after the initial testing. The following psychometric properties of the PAI were investigated: construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency reliability with Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability according to the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: The CFA results indicated that a single-factor model provided good fit to the data, which confirmed the original model by its developer. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for PAI was 0.856 and the test-retest reliability with ICC was 0.784. Considering the duration between marriage and pregnancy, women with low duration scored significantly higher than women with high duration on PAI (P=0.043). Conclusion: The Persian version of the PAI showed that one factor structure was adequate and could be used for measuring psychological affectionate attachment between Iranian mothers and their fetuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

10–20% of symptomatic epilepsies are post-traumatic. We examined effect of LPS preconditioning on epileptogenesis after controlled cortical impact (CCI). LPS (0.01, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) was injected i.p. to rats 5 days before induction of CCI to parieto-temporal cortex. Kindling started 24 h after CCI by i.p. injection of 30 mg/kg of pentylenetetrazole every other day until manifestation of 3 consecutive generalized seizures. CCI injury accelerated the rate of kindled seizures acquisition. LPS (0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) prevented the acceleration of kindling. LPS preconditioning significantly decreased IL-1β and TNF-α over-expression and the number of damaged neurons in the hippocampus of traumatic rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction to: A formulated poly (I:C)/CCL21 as an effective mucosal adjuvant for gamma-irradiated influenza vaccine The author affiliation has been updated above and the original article [[1]] has been corrected. Ailar Sabbaghi and Masoud Malek have contributed equally to this work Correction to: Virol J (2021) 18:201 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-021-01672-3 Following publication of the original article [[1]], we have been informed that author Seyed Reza Mohebbi has been incorrectly affiliated. [Extracted from the article]

Background & objectives: As private hospitals and institutions increase drastically, the health care market has changed to a comparative market and thus many factors affect the selection of hospital by patients. The aim of this research was to recognize the factors affecting hospital selection decisions (governmental and private) from the patients' viewpoint in Iran. Method: This research is a descriptive-analytical study which has been done cross-sectionally. The Research population was comprised of patients hospitalized at Emam Reza Governmental Hospital and Shams Private Hospital of Tabriz, Iran. A total of 376 samples participated in research who were divided between two hospitals using proportional allocation method. Required data was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Chi-Square and T-Test statistical tests. Findings: Findings show that some factors including referring to hospital by ambulance, physicians' advice, family income, insurance type, hospital quality, employment of family members in hospitals, cost of services provided at hospital and information given to patients about their disease are the factors affecting the hospital selection decision by patients. Conclusions: Although various factors affect the governmental or private hospital selection, the high percentage of referring to Emam Reza governmental hospital and the pervasive role of physicians' advice in selection of hospital due to exclusiveness of physicians in educational-treatment centers, caused the patients not to practically have any roles in selecting their hospitals and thus the role of other factors in selecting hospital, was less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, more than 2 million babies have been born worldwide through assisted reproduction technologies. For many couples, there is no treatment except by involving a third party. Recently, embryo donation law has been approved by Iran's parliament and now it is legal in Iran. But there is a misunderstanding regarding the source of embryos: they can be obtained from surplus frozen embryos of infertile couples or embryos can be made from donated spermatozoa and eggs from fertile married couples. Here in this paper we discuss ethical, religious and legal aspects of these two procedures and present the advantages and disadvantages of them. Meanwhile, the new term 'both-gamete donation' was defined for the procedure that is practised here instead of 'embryo donation'. In conclusion we can say: (i) Iranian law means only embryo donation and covers only surplus embryos from other infertile couples and not both-gamete donation; (ii) as gamete donation is practised in Iran upon decrees of clergy leaders, we have no law or legislation against both-gamete donation; (iii) there are many ethical, legal and religious questions about both-gamete donation to be answered; (iv) ethical and religious questions are fewer concerning embryo donation compared with both-gamete donation; and (v) embryo sharing is a good way for donation of fresh embryos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myxoid liposarcoma is a soft tissue tumor in adults with rare cardiac involvement. We report a 50-year-old female with high grade round cell liposarcoma of the left knee with metastases to the right heart chambers. The tumor was located in the right atrium with extension to right ventricle. The Patient underwent radiotherapy after surgical resection and 12-month follow-up revealed no recurrent cardiac disease. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12148 (J Card Surg 2013;28:672-674) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]