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Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome that represents the end stage of various cardiac diseases and is characterized by the inability of the heart to meet metabolic demands of the body. Many physiological systems are involved in this disease. In particular, the activation of the immune system has received considerable interest in the last decade. Evidence from both experimental and clinical trials indicates that inflammatory mediators are of importance in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic heart failure. Excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines induce contractile dysfunction, hypertrophy, and fibrosis and cell death in Cardiac myocyte. We examined the expression of IL-23 in PBMCs between CHF patients and healthy controls. In this report, we used real-time PCR assay to compare the relative expression of IL-23 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from CHF patients with various heart diseases (n=42, EF<45%, range of New York Heart Association (NYHA) 1 to 4) and matched healthy control subjects (n=42).We also determined the IL-23 concentrations of cell culture supernatant of PBMCs with ELISA. A total of 42 patients with CHF, with 42 age and sex-matched control group subjects were enrolled in the present study. The culture supernatant levels of IL-23 in PBMC of CHF patients were significantly higher (133.95±108.99 pg/mL) than in the control group (83.43±76.2 pg/mL) (P<0.05). The gene expression of IL-23 was also markedly upregulated in PBMC from CHF patients in comparison with the control group, but it was not statically significant 80. These results demonstrate that in patients with CHF and especially those with severe CHF, expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and levels of IL-23 cytokine is markedly increased in PBMC. These finding suggested that IL-23 may play an important role in the progression of CHF among these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, a new low-cost activated carbon was prepared from paper mill sludge in order to remove Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution. The effects of adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time, metal ion concentrations, and temperature on adsorption efficiency were studied by experimental tests. The maximum equilibrium uptake of Cr(VI) by the adsorbent was 23.18 mg g−1 at optimum pH = 4.0, contact time of 180 min, and temperature of 45℃. Analysis of equilibrium adsorption data in terms of several isotherm models revealed that Langmuir isotherm with respect to Freundlich isotherm indicates better agreement with the experimental data. The kinetics of Cr(VI) adsorption onto activated carbon was described with the pseudo-second-order model which indicates the dominance of chemisorption mechanism. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the Cr(VI) adsorption onto adsorbent was feasible in nature, spontaneous, and endothermic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TGF-β1 is known to promote cardiac remodeling and fibrosis during Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). In this study, an attempt was made to investigate expression of Transforming Growth Factor beta1 (TGF-β1) and relative expansion or contraction of regulatory T-cell (Tregs) population in peripheral blood of patients with Chronic Heart Failure (CHF). Methods: Real-time PCR assay was used to investigate expression and post-stimulation levels of TGF-β1 in cell culture supernatant of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) of 42 patients with CHF and 42 controls. Flow cytometry was used to identify relative counts of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs. Results: PBMCs in patients with CHF expressed higher levels of TGF-β1 compared to controls. Post-stimulation levels of TGF-β1 expression were significantly higher in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class IV patients compared to stage I patients. Tregs were significantly expanded in PBMC in CHF, while the CD4+ helper Tcells were unchanged. Treg expansion was more significant in NYHA functional class I patients compared to class IV patients. Conclusion: Expansion of Treg population in CHF provides an extrinsic source for TGF-β1 production to induce reactive fibrosis and cardiac remodeling. Relative decrease in Treg population at advanced stages of CHF is indicative of a loss of regulatory characteristics in these cells and unopposed proinflammatory milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TGF-β1 is known to promote cardiac remodeling and fibrosis during Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). In this study, an attempt was made to investigate expression of Transforming Growth Factor beta1 (TGF-β1) and relative expansion or contraction of regulatory T-cell (Tregs) population in peripheral blood of patients with Chronic Heart Failure (CHF)., Methods: Real-time PCR assay was used to investigate expression and post-stimulation levels of TGF-β1 in cell culture supernatant of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) of 42 patients with CHF and 42 controls. Flow cytometry was used to identify relative counts of CD4 + CD25 + FoxP3 + Tregs., Results: PBMCs in patients with CHF expressed higher levels of TGF-β1 compared to controls. Post-stimulation levels of TGF-β1 expression were significantly higher in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class IV patients compared to stage I patients. Tregs were significantly expanded in PBMC in CHF, while the CD4 + helper T-cells were unchanged. Treg expansion was more significant in NYHA functional class I patients compared to class IV patients., Conclusion: Expansion of Treg population in CHF provides an extrinsic source for TGF-β1 production to induce reactive fibrosis and cardiac remodeling. Relative decrease in Treg population at advanced stages of CHF is indicative of a loss of regulatory characteristics in these cells and unopposed proinflammatory milieu., (Copyright© 2020 Avicenna Research Institute.)

In the present work, mesoporosity is introduced into highly siliceous HZSM-5 zeolites (SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 = 400) by a two-step path including desilication using NaAlO 2 and TPAOH (tetrapropylammonium hydroxide) mixtures, followed by acid washing treatment. The physicochemical properties of conventional microporous HZSM-5 and all treated samples were characterized by ICP-OES, XRD, FE-SEM, BET and NH 3 -TPD methods. The catalytic performance of the HZSM-5 samples was determined in methanol to propylene conversion reaction at 460 °C and methanol WHSV of 0.9 h -1 using feed containing 50 wt% methanol in water. The results showed that the porosity of the desilicated samples has been mainly blocked by sodium aluminate derived deposits and silicon-containing debris. After a subsequent acid washing step with hydrochloric acid, the blocking species were removed which resulted in improving the mesoporosity generated in the desilication step. It was found that alkaline-acid treatment in a NaAlO 2 /TPAOH solution with TPAOH/(NaAlO 2 + TPAOH) = 0.4 followed by acid washing, leads to the formation of narrow and uniform mesoporosity without severely destroying the crystal structure. Also, it exhibits higher selectivities to propylene (37.7 vs. 30.7%) and total butylenes (21.2 vs. 16.1%), propylene to ethylene ratio (4.0 vs. 2.7), as well as total light olefins (68.4 vs. 57.9%) compared to the parent catalyst, while its selectivities to C 1 -C 4 alkanes (9.6 vs. 13.7%) and heavy hydrocarbons (13.8 vs. 28.4%) are relatively lower. The lifetime of the optimum alkaline-acid treated sample (640 h) showed a significant increase compared to that of the parent catalyst (425 h). The results exhibited that desilication process leads to a considerable mesoporosity development, while acid washing treatment mostly influences on the catalyst acidity. Therefore, the combination of the alkaline-acid treatment leads to hierarchical HZSM-5 catalyst formation with tailored pore architecture and surface acidic properties., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)