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ObjectiveMultiple sclerosis (MS) is known as a nerve tissue disorder, which causes demyelination of central nervoussystem (CNS) fibers. Cell-based treatment is a novel strategy for the treatment of demyelinating diseases such asMS. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have neuroprotective and neuroregenerative effects and pregnenolone as aneurosteroid has remarkable roles in neurogenesis. We intend to examine the impact of intraventricular transplantationof human ADSCs and systemic injection of pregnenolone on the remyelination of a rat model cuprizone-induceddemyelination.Materials and MethodsThis experimental study was performed on 36 male Wistar rats that received a regular dietand a cuprizone diet for 3 weeks for M.S. induction. Through lipoaspirate surgery, human-ADSCs (hADSCs) wereobtained from a patient. Six groups of rats (n=6): healthy, MS, sham, pregnenolone injection, ADSCs transplantation,and pregnenolone injection/ADSCs transplantation were included in this study. For assessment of remyelination,transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunohistochemistry staining, real-time reverse transcription-polymerasechain reaction (RT-PCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed.ResultsTEM outcomes revealed an increase in the thickness of the fibers myelin in the treatment groups (P

Gas flaring in the petrochemical industries is an important issue due to the significant economic value of the emitted gases and the detrimental effects on the environment and workers’ health through gas combustion. Iran has the second largest gas reservoir in the world, with an extensive facility for gas exploitation in the Persian Gulf, indicating its significant role in the environmental conditions of the Persian Gulf. Therefore, this investigation, for the first time, endeavored to evaluate the design of offshore flares and model the amount of produced radiation and noise in the South Pars gas platforms using Flaresim software. The field data were obtained from Phase 7 of the South Pars platform. The results indicated that the amount of radiation from the flare flame in the surrounding area and the receptor points was less than the American Petroleum Institute (API) standard 521 regarding the stack length of 305 ft. The estimated values were 286 (0.9021 kW/m2) and 283.9 btu/h/ft2 (0.8955 kW/m2) in the base-flare and helideck areas, respectively. Moreover, the noise level in the receptors was less than the standard of the Occupational Health Organization of Iran. The current investigation can provide a practical framework to assess the compatibility of flare systems with environmental standards towards achieving sustainable development.

An agile supply chain is capable of overcoming dynamic markets and environmental challenges. Therefore, the purpose of this applied descriptive-analytic research was to promote agility in project-based organizations’ supply chain. The research population consisted of a number of experienced experts at Khatam Al-Anbia construction sites from whom a purposeful clustered sample of experts from five sites were selected to participate in the study. The data collection instruments included three questionnaires the validity of which had been initially confirmed by 35 experts with acceptably high Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0/841, 0/810, and 0/792, respectively. The first questionnaire was employed in the initial phase of the study to identify effective components in agile supply chain and the second questionnaire was employed to identify the final criteria. Further analyses of the data through inferential statistics, SPSS and EXCEL software underscored five major factors and 28 components of agility of supply chain. Next, the data obtained from the third quesitonnaire were analyzed via Demetel Technique to determine the criteria relationships in agility model with Amos-18 software used for model fitting and path analysis. The selected components were categorized into four dimensions of competency, speed, and resilience and information technology. Having delineated the interrelationships among these dimensions and with agility, we obtained a supply chain agility model for Khatam al-Anbia construction site with good fit. The findings indicated resilience and information technology and their sub-components as the most effective components in agility with speed and aptness coming next.

Background: Corporation of Hyaluronic acid (HA) with PLGA is an effective way to potentially enhance chondrogenesis. The aim of this study was to use HA macroporous biodegradable poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) [PLGA] scaffold to enhance the attachment, proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes for cartilage tissue engineering and articular cartilage regeneration of human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) in the presence of avocado/soybean unsaponifible (ASU).Methods: The PLGA and PLGA/HA scaffolds were prepared and hADSCs were cultured separately on the scaffolds and 14 days after differentiation, chondrogenic genes in each scaffold evaluated using real time PCR and cell viability examined by (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.Results: The viability and proliferation of cells in-group of PLGA significantly decreased in comparison with the control (P=0.002) and PLGA/HA (P=0.013) groups.The expression of (SOX9), Aggrecan (AGG), and Collagen type II (Col II) genes was significantly higher in the PLGA and PLGA/HA groups compared to the control group (P≥0.05).The gene expression of SOX9 (P=0.003) and AGG (P=0.009) was significantly higher in the PLGA/HA groups compared to the PLGA group. The results of real time PCR showed that collagen type X (Col X) gene expression in the PLGA group, was significantly higher than the control and PLGA/HA groups (P=0.000).Conclusion: The corporation of HA with PLGA is an effective way to potentially enhance chondrogenesis and articular cartilage regeneration of hADSCs in the presence of avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASU).

Objective(s): Avocado/soybean unsaponifible (ASU) possesses properties including chondroprotective, anticatabolic, and anabolic. The goal behind this research was to detect the effect of ASU and TGF-β3 on the chondrogenesis of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) on poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA)/ hyaluronic acid (PLGA/HA) hybrid scaffold.Materials and Methods: First hADSCs were seeded in PLGA/Hyaluronic acid scaffold and cultured in chondrogenic media. These cells were assigned into 4 groups: control, TGFβ-3, ASU, and TGFβ-3+ASU. The viability was assessed separately by MTT. Real-time PCR was used to quantify the expression of chondrogenic specific genes [Sox9, collagen type II (ColII), Aggrecan (AGG)] and collagen type X (ColX). Moreover, Western blotting was employed to evaluate protein expression levels of collagens type II and X.Results: These findings indicated a significant increase in the proliferation and survival of hADSCs differentiated cells by ASU compared with the control group (P=0.008). Real-time PCR results revealed significant differences in the expression of AGG, SOX9, ColII, and ColX genes in the control group when compared with other groups (ASU, TGF-β3, and TGF-β3+ASU). ColII protein production significantly dropped in the TGF-β3 group in comparison with the TGF-β3+ASU group (0.000). The ColII (P=0.002) and ColX (P=0.002) protein production proved significantly higher in the TGF-β3+ASU group compared with the ASU group.Conclusion: Using the synergist form TGFβ-3, ASU induces chondrogenesis in hADSCs in PLGA/HA composite scaffold. This can be deduced with reduction of special markers of hyaline cartilage in comparison with ASU and decreased hypertrophic marker compared with TGF-β3.

Background and Objectives: organizational justice is employees’ perceptions of fairness and equity in their behaviors and relationships so this perception can be effective in responding to patients. Accordingly, this study aimed to decide the correlation between the dimensions of organizational justice and responsibility at affiliated hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study performed on 342 patients and staff with direct relation to patients. Niehoff and Moorman’s questionnaire and WHO standard questionnaire used to measure justice and responsibility. Data analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (t-test, ANOVA and Pearson) with SPSS software. Results: The mean and standard deviation of justice and responsibility was obtained 62.70±15.23 and 105.16 ± 18.75. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between justice dimensions and responsibility so that the weakest and strongest relationship was obtained between "distributive justice and Quality of Basic Amenities" and "interactional justice and dignity". In addition, there was no significant relationship between demographic variables and justice, and only type of insurance and academic degree had a significant relationship with responsibility. Conclusion: The results showed that the level of responsibility could be improved by improving employees' perceptions of justice. This will lead to a better vision of the hospital in the minds of patients, which will increase the ability to attract customers. Therefore, it is recommended to managers to enhance the responsibility by organizational justice, especially equity in resource distribution.

Introduction: Health master plan is a tool designed to promote health and it is essential to define strategies, policies, and directions to health system programs. Therefore, the present study aimed to find obstacles to intersectoral planning and help it to implement. Methods: This was a qualitative and content analysis study (Mixed method). The study participants consisted of 12 managers and experts in planning involved in the development of the health master plan of Kerman and were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured and were analyzed using framework analysis method. The four criteria of “Credibility, Dependability, Confirmability, and transferability” were considered to increase the validity and reliability of the research. Results: Two themes are internal and external factors in the form of 8 sub-themes, including Stewardship, management commitment, Financing, training, information, policymaking, laws and regulations and intersectoral collaboration identified as obstacles to the implementation of intersectoral planning in health master plan of Kerman. Conclusion: Each plan, especially long-term and intersectoral planning, needs a set of collaboration, resources, legal requirements and most importantly, commitment to achieve its ultimate goal that, if this goal is related to the health of the community, the importance of the program’s implementation is doubled.

Background: Recently, cartilage tissue engineering is the best candidate for regeneration of cartilage defects. We evaluated the potential of fibrin and PLGA/fibrin scaffolds in providing a suitable environment for growth and chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) in the presence of icariin. Method: The Three-dimensional (3-D) PLGA scaffold was prepared using the solvent casting/salt leaching technique and the hybrid scaffold was fabricated by fibrin. hADSCs were isolated from human adipose tissue. 3-D PLGA/fibrin scaffolds were seeded with cultured hADSCs and analyzed 14 days later, Monolayer culture was used for the control group. The viabilities of cells in different groups were assessed by MTT. The expression of chondrogenic related genes, hypertrophic marker and Fibrotic marker were quantified by RT-PCR. Results:MTT results show that viability in the control group was significantly higher than those in the Fibrin and PLGA/Fibrin groups. Also viability in the PLGA/Fibrin group affected by icariin was higher than that in Fibrin group. The results of the real-time PCR showed that SOX9, Agg, Coll 2, and Coll 1 gene expression in the fibrin and PLGA/fibrin groups were significantly higher than those in the control group. Coll 10 gene expression in the fibrin group was higher in comparison to the control group but not significantly. type SOX9, Coll 2 and Coll 1 gene expression in the fibrin group was significantly lower compared to the PLGA/fibrin group. Conclusions: The study reveals that the corporation of PLGA with fibrin is an effective way to potentially enhance articular cartilage regeneration of hADSCs in the presence of icariin.

Background: Nowadays, Human adipocyte-derived stem cells (hADSCs) has been widely used in tissue engineering because of its unique features such as extraction from more sources, more easily and non-invasive extraction methods. In order to increase cell-cell interactions, similar to embryonic pre-cartilage condensation, the use of three dimensional (3D) high-density cell culture systems such as Pellet and Micromass that simulates optimal condensation in chondrogenesis in vivo is necessary. Also, these culture systems provide the proper diffusion of nutrients. Aggrecan is a proteoglycan and one of the important components of extracellular matrix of cartilage tissue that plays an important role in the organization of the extracellular matrix. The high concentrations of aggrecan produces the osmotic properties that is necessary to normal tissue function of cartilage. In current study, Aggrecan gene expression was investigated during chondrogenesis of hADSCs in two Pellet and Micromass culture systems. Methods: This experimental study was done in Department of Anatomical Sciences Department of Faculty Medical in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from April 2013 to January 2015. First, the abdominal adipose tissue was obtained from three patients after obtaining written consent during their liposuction surgeries. ADSCs were extracted by mechanical and enzymatic methods and were cultured in monolayer culture. Then, in order to induction of chondrogenic differentiation, 5×105 cells of third passage (P3) were transferred to three-dimensional culture systems Pellet and Micromass containing chondrogenic mediums in experimental groups of 7 and 14 days. The evaluation of aggrecan gene expression was performed by real-time PCR technique. Results: Gene expression analysis revealed that aggrecan was significantly increased in micromass culture at day 14 compared to Pellet culture at days 14 and 7 (P≤0.01). Also, aggrecan was significantly increased in Micromass culture at day 7 compared to Pellet culture at day 7 (P≤0.05). Conclusion: Due to higher expression of aggrecan gene in Micromass culture compared to Pellet culture, this system may be more efficient than Pellet culture in synthesis of aggrecan in chondrogenic differentiation of ADSCs.

Objective The presence of neurotrophic factors is critical for regeneration of neural lesions. Here, we transplanted combination of neurotrophic factor secreting cells (NTF-SCs) and human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) into a lysolecithin model of multiple sclerosis (MS) and determined the myelinization efficiency of these cells. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, 50 adult rats were randomly divided into five groups: control, lysolecithin, vehicle, hADSCs transplantation and NTF-SCs/ hADSCs co-transplantation group. Focal demyelization was induced by lysolecithin injection into the spinal cord. In order to assess motor functions, all rats were scored weekly with a standard experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis scoring scale before and after cell transplantation. Four weeks after cell transplantation, the extent of demyelination and remyelination were examined with Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining. Also, immunofluorescence method was used for evaluation of oligodendrocyte differentiation markers including; myelin basic protein (MBP) and Olig2 in the lesion area. Results Histological study show somewhat remyelinzation in cell transplantation groups related to others. In addition, the immunofluorescence results indicated that the MBP and Olig2 positive labeled cells were significantly higher in co-cell transplantation group than hADSCs group (P

Background and aims: Organizational justice has shown the perception of fairness and equality in the workplace by staff and responsibility is the ability of Health systems in response to peoplechr('39')s non-medical expectations. One of the important components in a health care system is hospitals and the increased responsibility of hospitals is one of the factors affecting the perception of justice. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between organizational justice and responsibility in hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study and the samples include 342 patients and employees of selected hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Organizational justice questionnaires and responsibility were used for data collection. Data were analyzed descriptively and Pearson Correlation Coefficient using SPSS. Results: The mean score of organizational justice of studied hospitals was 62.06 ± 15.17, and the mean score of responsibility was 104.12±19.20 that both of them were classified at the intermediate level. The result of Pearson Correlation Coefficient showed a direct significant relationship in all dimensions of organizational justice in compare with the dimension of responsibility (p

Objective(s): Neurotrophic factors secreting cells (NTS-SCs) may be a superior cell source for cell-based therapy in neurodegenerative diseases. NTS-SCs are able to secrete some neurotrophic Such as nerve growth factor and glia-derived neurotrophic factor. Our primary aim was to assess transplantation of neurotrophic factor secreting cells derived from human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) into the damaged spinal cord rats and determine the potential of these cells in remyelination. Materials and Methods: To this end, 40 adult male Wistar rats were categorized into four groups including; control, lysolecithin (Lysophosphatidylcholines or LPC), vehicle, and NTS-SCs transplan-tation. Local demyelination was induced using LPC injection into the lateral column of spinal cord. Seven days after the lysolecithin lesion, the cells transplantation was performed. The ultrastructure of myelinated fibers was examined with a transmission electron microscope to determine the extent of myelin destruction and remyelinization 4 weeks post cell transplantation. Moreover, the presence of oligodendrocyte in the lesion of spinal cord was assessed by immunohistochemistry procedure. Results: The results of current study indicated that in NTF-SCs transplantation group, the remyelination process and the mean of myelin sheath thickness as well as axonal diameters were significantly higher than other groups (P

One of the most important concerns in research organizations is to convert the research projects to production. In this research, after study the theoretical foundation of research with field surveys about exiting problems in the field of transfer technology to industry, explained management requirements for technology transfer from Research Organizations of Armed Forces to Defense Industries, including the definition of samples industrial research and implementation phases of a research project to investigate and discussed. Then according to the identified problems and comparative studies by considering of the type of technology transfer patterns of industrialized countries and Iran and the successful organizations of research, initial proposal pattern is proposed. The questionnaire is validated by using the opinions of 40 experts in the form of the questionnaire and analyzing the collected data by average and Binomial test methods. The Cornbrash's Alpha obtained for the model was 0.901. The final pattern is including of eight basic steps in the technology transfer process from armed forces research organizations to defense industries. Therefore this pattern is executable and applicable pattern based on local conditions of the country.

Congenital fusion of cervical vertebrae is a rare anomaly. In this condition, two fused vertebrae appear structurally and functionally as one. This anomaly may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Myelopathy, limitation in neck movement, muscular atrophy and regional sensory loss are examples of probable morbidity associated with this anomaly. Combination of genetic and environmental factors are involved in pathogenesis of this anomaly. Malformation of notochord, poor performance of retinoids, decreased local blood supply of spine and alteration in genes expression, especially members of Hox and Pax family genes are some of the proposed reasons of congenital fusion of cervical vertebrae. Diagnosis of this congenital anomaly in childhood seems to have an important role in prevention of probable secondary disorders in adulthood. We offer to clinicians that after performing careful physical tests and noticing the presence of signs and symptoms that mentioned in this paper, if a patient suspected to have congenital fusion of cervical vertebrae, genetic tests ought to be performed.

Introduction and Aims Iran is a disaster-prone country and this event will be an obstacle to economic and social development. Crisis management and readiness to deal with the crisis in different organizations is essential. The head of these organizations are hospitals, so the aim of this study was to assess the preparedness of Farabi Eye hospital deal with the crisis. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in Farabi Eye hospital affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2014. Data was collected using a checklist extracted from the book “Hospital Disaster Risk Assessment” which has 5 forms: 1) General information about the hospital 2) Identification of risks 3) Assessment of functional safety 4) Assessment of non-structural safety 5) Assessment of structural safety that completed as self-report and was analyzed using Excel software. Results Respectively, the most possibility hazards were geological hazards (earthquakes, landslides, and liquefaction), climatic hazards (hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat and cold, dust), biological/epidemic hazards (vermin infestation), and human-made hazards (fires, overloaded hospital). Conclusion According to high losses resulting from accidents, strategic planning of crisis management for health care centers and planning for cooperate health care centers together to deal with the crisis are necessary and it is suggested that training against the crisis is provided to staff of this center and to inform and their participant attraction take the necessary decisions and to be operational. * Corresponding Author: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Public Health. Email: Mahyaabbasi6964@gmail.com

Introduction and Aims Access to safe water in terms of physical, chemical and microbial parameters is one of the health care providers of community. Testing and analyzing are essential to understand the safety of potable water. The purpose of this study is investigating the chemical and physical quality of drinking water resources in cites of Bandar Torkaman, Bandar Gaz and Kordkoy. Material and Methods In this descriptive and crosses- sectional study, 43 samples of deep wells were collected from 3 cities during2006-2010 . 15 parameters analyzed according to standard methods, comparing to the WHO standards. Results The results revealed the parameters of EC 625,992,650 μmho/cm, TDS 273, 535,523 mg/l, Nitrate 9/7,10.9,9.9 mg/l, Sulfate 19, 25.6, 39.2 mg/l and Chloride 22, 182, 185 for Bandar Gaz, Bandar Torkaman and Kordkoy, respectively. Also, the average value of hardness in drinking water 185, 255 and 317 mg/l calcium carbonate for Bandar Gaz, Bandar Torkaman and Kordkoy, respectively. According to hardness of water quality Bandar Gaz and Bandar Torkaman, Kordkoy ranged between hard and very hard water group. Fluoride concentration ranged from 0.3 to 0.4 ppm, where 100% samples showed fluoride less than permissible limit. Conclusion According to results, the mean concentration of most physico -chemical parameters except fluoride concentration in Bandar Gaz, Bandar Torkaman and Kordkoy drinking water resources is within the Iran and WHO standard limitations. * Corresponding Author: Babol University of Medical Sciences, Department of Environmental Health Engineering. Email: Faraji_hosein@yahoo.com

In this study, we evaluated the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) alone or in combination with genistein (GEN) in p14 tumor suppressor gene and subsequent apoptosis of human ovarian carcinoma cells (OVCAR-3). The cells were treated with ATRA or GEN at concentrations of 50 and 25 μM respectively, either alone or in combination for 24 and 48 h. The cell viability was evaluated using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The percentage of cell apoptosis was determined using flow cytometry and p14 gene expression was measured using real time PCR. The MTT results showed that in both ATRA and GEN treated groups, the cell viabilityviability in group treated for 48 h was significantly lower than group treated for 24 h. The flow cytometry results showed that the percentage of apoptotic cells in groups that treated with ATRA and GEN in combination for 24 h and 48 h was significantly more than all other tested groups. The real time results showed that the mRNA level of p14 in cells treated with both drugs for 48 h was significantly higher than all other groups. In conclusion, we confirm that GEN in combination with ATRA is an effective strategy to up regulate the p14 tumor suppressor gene and induce cell apoptosis in OVCAR-3 cell line.

مقدمه: امروزه در سلول درمانی و مهندسی بافت، به سلول‌های بنیادی مزانشیمی توجه خاصی می‌شود و جهت رسیدن به تعداد سلول مورد نظر با ویژگی‌های مطلوب، دستیابی به شرایط مناسب کشت ضرورت دارد. از این رو، پژوهش حاضر با هدف مقایسه‌ی تأثیر پلاسمای غنی از پلاکت (PRP یا Platelet rich plasma) و سرم جنین گاوی (FBS یا Fetal bovine serum) بر تکثیر و بقای سلول‌های بنیادی مشتق از چربی (ADSCs یا Adipose derived stem cells) در داربست طبیعی فیبرین انجام شد. روش‌ها: نمونه‌های چربی از سه بیمار، طی جراحی لیپوساکشن به دست آمد. سلول‌های بنیادی از بافت چربی استخراج و کشت شد. سپس سلول‌های پاساژ سوم در داربست فیبرین و مدیوم حاوی PRP 10 درصد (گروه مورد) یا FBS 10 درصد (گروه شاهد) کشت داده شدند. میزان تکثیر و بقای سلول‌ها در روزهای چهارم و هشتم با روش MTT (diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay 5,2 (yl-2- dimethyl thiazol-4,5)3 و رنگ‌آمیزی با Trypan blue و درصد آپوپتوز سلولی با روش Flow cytometry با استفاده از کیت Annexinᴠ-FITC ارزیابی گردید. اطلاعات جمع‌آوری شد و با استفاده از آزمون t مستقل مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفت. یافته‌ها: در روزهای چهارم و هشتم میزان بقا و تکثیر و درصد سلول‌های زنده در گروه مورد نسبت به گروه شاهد به طور معنی‌داری بیشتر و میزان سلول‌ها در مرحله‌ی اولیه‌ی آپوپتوز در گروه مورد نسبت به گروه شاهد به طور معنی‌داری کمتر بود (010/0 > P). میزان سلول‌ها در مرحله‌ی نهایی آپوپتوز، در روز 8 به طور معنی‌داری در گروه مورد کمتر از گروه شاهد بود (001/0 > P). نتیجه‌گیری: تأثیر مثبت PRP بر روند بقا و تکثیر سلول‌های ADSCs در مقایسه با FBS قابل توجه است.

مقدمه: آندومتریوم رحم نقش مهمی در روند لانه‌گزینی ایفا می‌کند. این لایه از رحم، در روند مراحل چرخه‌ی قاعدگی تحت تأثیر تغییرات قرار می‌‌گیرد. با توجه به تأثیر پذیری آندومتریوم از عوامل مهار کننده و تحریک کننده، هدف از این مطالعه مقایسه‌ی ضخامت آندومتریوم در موش‌های تحریک شده برای تخمک‌گذاری و به دنبال مصرف سیلدنافیل سیترات در مرحله‌ی قبل از لانه‌گزینی بلاستوسیست بود. روش‌ها: تعداد 30 موش ماده‌ی بالغ نژاد سوری با استفاده از روش نمونه‌گیری تصادفی در سه گروه شاهد، گنادوتروپین و گنادوتروپین + سیلدنافیل سیترات طراحی شدند. به دو گروه مورد، ابتدا به میزان IU 5/7 HMG (Human menopausal gonadotropin) و سپس به همین میزان HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) نیز تزریق شد. جهت انجام فرایند لقاح، هر دو موش ماده با یک موش نر در یک قفس قرار داده شدند. در گروه گنادوتروپین + سیلدنافیل سیترات، میزان mg/kg 3 سیلدنافیل سیترات به فواصل 24، 48 و 72 ساعت پس از تزریق HMG تزریق گردید. مدت 96 ساعت بعد، موش‌ها در همه‌ی گروه‌ها با استفاده از روش جابه‌جایی مهره‌های گردنی قربانی شدند. نمونه‌های رحمی آن‌ها تحت پاساژ بافتی قرار گرفت و برای مطالعه با میکروسکوپ نوری آماده شد. یافته‌ها: بر اساس بررسی با میکروسکوپ نوری و با استفاده از نرم‌افزار 2/3 Motic Image Plus، ضخامت آندومتریوم در گروه شاهد mµ 35/13 ± 05/358 و در گروه گنادوتروپین mµ 46/12 ± 84/389 بود که از نظر آماری تفاوت معنی‌داری مشاهده نشد. این ضخامت در گنادوتروپین + سیلدنافیل سیترات mµ 10/12 ± 81/316 بود که با گروه گنادوتروپین نیز تفاوت معنی‌داری نداشت. همچنین ضخامت آندومتریوم در بین تمامی گروه‌ها نیز تفاوت معنی‌داری نشان نداد. نتیجه‌گیری: استفاده از تحریک تخمدان و به دنبال آن استفاده از سیلدنافیل سیترات، نتوانست تغییر قابل توجهی در ضخامت آندومتریوم داشته باشد.

Objective(s): Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) can be engineered to express bone specific markers. The aim of this study is to evaluate repairing tibia in animal model with differentiated osteoblasts from autologous ADSCs in alginate scaffold. Materials and Methods: In this study, 6 canine’s ADSCs were encapsulated in alginate and differentiated into osteoblasts. Alkaline phosphatase assay (ALP) and RT-PCR method were applied to confirm the osteogenic induction. Then, encapsulated differentiated cells (group 1) and cell-free alginate (group 2) implanted in defected part of dog's tibia for 4 and 8 weeks. Regenerated tissues and compressive strength of samples were evaluated by histological and Immunohistochemical (IHC) methods and Tensometer Universal Machine. Results: Our results showed that ADSCs were differentiated into osteoblasts in vitro, and type I collagen and osteocalcin genes expression in differentiated osteoblasts was proved by RT-PCR. In group 2, ossification and thickness of trabecula were low compared to group 1, and in both groups woven bone was observed instead of control group's compact bone. Considering time, we found bone trabeculae regression and ossification reduction after 8 weeks compared with 4 weeks in group 2, but in group 1 bone formation was increased in 8 weeks. Presence of differentiated cells caused significantly more compressive strength in comparison with group 2 (P-value ≤0.05). Conclusion: This research showed that engineering bone from differentiated adipose-derived stem cells, encapsulated in alginate can repair tibia defects.

مقدمه: آندومتریوم انسان، بافتی پویا است که در طی چرخه‌ی قاعدگی تحت تأثیر هورمون‌های تخمدانی قرار می‌گیرد. این لایه مسؤول اصلی لانه‌گزینی موفق جنین می‌باشد. عوامل اصلی زیادی در این موفقیت تأثیرگذار هستند. یکی از مهم‌ترین عوامل آن، ضخامت آندومتریوم می‌باشد. هدف از این مطالعه، بررسی ضخامت آندومتریوم تحت تأثیر هورمون‌های تحریک کننده‌ی تخمک‌گذاری و پروژسترون بود. روش‌ها: در این مطالعه، تعداد 30 سر موش بالغ ماده از نژاد سوری بر اساس نمونه‌گیری تصادفی به سه گروه شاهد، گنادوتروپین و گنادوتروپین + پروژسترون تقسیم شدند. به هر دو گروه مورد، ابتدا HMG (Human menopausal gonadotropin) و سپس HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) به میزان I.U 5/7 تزریق شد. جهت انجام فرایند جفت‌گیری، هر دو موش ماده با یک موش نر در داخل یک قفس نگهداری شدند. به گروه گنادوتروپین + پروژسترون، میزان mg/kg 1 با فواصل 24، 48 و 72 ساعت پس از تزریق HMG، پروژسترون تزریق گردید. با گذشت 96 ساعت بعد، موش‌ها با استفاده از روش جابه‌جایی مهره‌های گردنی قربانی شده و نمونه‌های رحمی جهت پاساژ بافتی تهیه شد و با استفاده از نرم‌افزار 2/3Motic image plus ضخامت آندومتر اندازه‌گیری شد. یافته‌ها: بر اساس بررسی‌های انجام شده با میکروسکوپ نوری و استفاده از نرم‌افزار 2/3 Motic image plus، ضخامت آندومتریوم بر حسب mµ در گروه شاهد 35/15 ± 05/358، در گروه گنادوتروپین 46/12 ± 84/389 و در گروه گنادوتروپین + پروژسترون 03/13 ± 64/381 بود. تفاوت معنی‌داری بین گروه شاهد و گنادوتروپین و بین گروه شاهد و گروه گنادوتروپین + پروژسترون نیز مشاهده نشد. همچنین در مقایسه‌ی سه گروه با هم، ضخامت آندومتر در هر 3 گروه با هم تفاوت معنی‌داری را نشان نداد (050/0 > P). نتیجه‌گیری: القای تخمدان و به دنبال آن استفاده از پروژسترون نتوانست تغییر قابل توجهی در ضخامت آندومتریوم رحم موش‌های تحریک شده به وسیله‌ی هورمون‌های محرک تخمک‌گذاری ایجاد نماید.

Background: In recent decades, relation between reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration and semen quality was noted. Traditionally, saffron has been not only considered as a food additive but also as a medicinal herb, which has good antioxidant properties. Vitamin E is considered as a endogenous and supplementary antioxidant which can protects the cell. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protection influence of saffron and vitamin E on sperm DNA against acid. Methods: Thirty adult male Wistar rats randomly divided into 3 equal groups of saffron, vitamin E and controlwhich received saffron (100 mg/kg/day), vitamin E (100 mg/kg/day) and distilled water (0.5 cc/day), respectively. After 60 days, cauda epididymis dissected and sperm were used for analysis of sperm chromatin susceptibility to acid denaturation via acridine orange (AO) staining. Acridine orange staining was carried out with or without acid detergent incubation. Findings: Both, saffron and vitamin E, decreased sperm DNA damage against acid (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Saffron and vitamin E protect DNA against denaturation, probably because of their powerful antioxidant properties.

Objective(s):Osteoarthritis (OA) is globally one of the most common diseases from the middle age onwards. Cartilage is an avascular tissue therefore it cannot be repaired in the body. Conservative treatments have failed as a good remedy and cell therapy as a decisive cure is needed. One of the best and easily accessible cell sources for this purpose is adipose-derived stem cells which can be differentiated into chondrocytes by tissue engineering techniques. Chemical and physical inducers have a key role in stem cell – chondrocyte differentiation. We have tried to determine the role of electric fields (EF) in promoting this kind of chondrogenesis process. Materials and Methods: Human adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) were extracted from subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue during cesarean section. A high frequency (60 KHz) EF (20 mv/cm), as a physical inducer for chondrogenesis in a 3D micromass culture system of ADSCs was utilized. Also, MTT, ELISA, flow cytometry, and real-time PCR techniques were used for this study. Results: We found that using physical electric fields leads to chondrogenesis. Furthermore, results show that using both physical (EF) and chemical (TGFβ3) inducers simultaneously, has best outcomes in chondrogenesis, and expression of SOX9 andtype II collagen genes. It also causes significant decreased expression of type I and X collagen genes in pure EF group compared with control group. Conclusion:The EF was found as a proper effective inducer in chondrogenic differentiation of human ADSCs micromass culture.

Background: In recent years, adipose tissue, due to the stem cells contained within, has found a new special place in laboratory and clinical applications. These adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have the same characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Although bone marrow (BM) is not easily accessible and its procurements may be painful, most patients possess excess fat which can be obtained by less invasive methods; this makes adipose tissue ubiquitous, available and an ideal large-scale source for research on clinical applications. Methods: BMSCs and ADSCs were harvested from three healthy human and were characterized using flow-cytometry. After they were treated for neurosphere formation using basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, B 27 ; terminal differentiation was performed. In this study, we used immunocytochemistry, real time-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting techniques for detection and comparison of Nestin, microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) markers in human ADSCs and BMSCs. Results: Under appropriate conditions ADSCs can differentiate into neuron-like cells and express neural markers the same as BMSCs, also the expression of GFAP marker in differentiated cells derived from ADSCs was significantly lower than the cells derived from BMSCs (P < 0.05). While the expression of MAP-2 marker in both groups was the same. Conclusions: However, due to its advantages and according to our results based on the expression levels of GFAP and MAP-2, adipose tissue rather than BM could represent a more appropriate stem cell source for investigating the application of these cells in understanding the pathophysiology and in treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

In-time and accurate monitoring of land cover and land use are essential tools for countries to achieve sustainable food production. However, many developing countries are struggling to efficiently monitor land resources due to the lack of financial support and limited access to adequate technology. This study aims at offering a solution to fill in such a gap in developing countries, by developing a land cover solution that is free of costs. A fully automated framework for land cover mapping was developed using 10-m resolution open access satellite images and machine learning (ML) techniques for the African country of Lesotho. Sentinel-2 satellite images were accessed through Google Earth Engine (GEE) for initial processing and feature extraction at a national level. Also, Food and Agriculture Organization’s land cover of Lesotho (FAO LCL) data were used to train a support vector machine (SVM) and bagged trees (BT) classifiers. SVM successfully classified urban and agricultural lands with 62 and 67% accuracy, respectively. Also, BT could classify the two categories with 81 and 65% accuracy, correspondingly. The trained models could provide precise LC maps in minutes or hours. they can also be utilized as a viable solution for developing countries as an alternative to traditional geographic information system (GIS) methods, which are often labor intensive, require acquisition of very high-resolution commercial satellite imagery, time consuming and call for high budgets.

Objective(s): Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has recently emerged as a promising strategy in regenerative medicine due to its multiple endogenous growth factors. Little is known about the role of PRP as a promoter in chondrogenesis of human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs). The aim of this study was to determine whether PRP may be considered as a natural and easy achievable source of growth factors to promote the chondrogenic differentiation of hADSCs in Transwell culture. Materials and Methods : Biochemical, immunohistological and molecular assays were used to evaluate the effect of different concentrations (5%, 10%, and 15%) of PRP on chondrogenic differentiation of hADSCs in Transwell culture. Results : The cells in the presence of 10% PRP produced markedly higher amounts of GAG and DNA, in comparison to the control group. PRP also increased chondrogenic markers in these cells, such as sox-9, aggrecan and collagen type II. A high expression level of collagen type X as a hypertrophic marker was observed in cartilage produced by using either PRP or TGF-β1. Conclusion : Our findings indicate that autologous PRP at an optimum concentration had beneficial effects on differentiation of hADSCs in Transwell culture. Further, in vivo studies are necessary to fully define the clinical implications of PRP.

Background: Sirtuin1 is an enzyme that deacetylates histones and several non-histone proteins including P53 during the stress. P300 is a member of the histone acetyl transferase family and enzyme that acetylates histones. Hereby, this study describes the potency combination of Salermide as a Sirtuin1 inhibitor and cholera toxin B (CTB) as a P300 activator to induce apoptosis Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and MRC-5. Methods: Cells were cultured and treated with a combination of Salermide and CTB respectively at concentrations of 80.56 and 85.43 μmol/L based on inhibitory concentration 50 indexes at different times. The percentage of apoptotic cells were measured by flow cytometry. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to estimate the messenger ribonucleic acid expression of Sirtuin1 and P300 in cells. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and Bradford protein techniques were used to detect the endogenous levels of total and acetylated P53 protein generated in both cell lines. Results: Our findings indicated that the combination of two drugs could effectively induced apoptosis in MCF-7 significantly higher than MRC-5. We showed that expression of Sirtuin1 and P300 was dramatically down-regulated with increasing time by the combination of Salermide and CTB treatment in MCF-7, but not MRC-5. The acetylated and total P53 protein levels were increased more in MCF-7 than MRC-5 with incubated combination of drugs at different times. Combination of CTB and Salermide in 72 h through decreasing expression of Sirtuin1 and P300 genes induced acetylation of P53 protein and consequently showed the most apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, but it could be well-tolerated in MRC-5. Conclusion: Therefore, combination of drugs could be used as an anticancer agent.

Introduction: According to the results of previous studies confirm the advantages of group discussion than lecture method and the importance of deep learning, it was decided as part of PhD students studying Histology and results presented to the group discussion on learning to survive with compared to usual Methods: This study Was Carried out in Department of Anatomical Sciences on Ph.D. Students at the first semester of the academic year 90-89. Teaching in 8 sessions of the course Histology advanced was lecture and 8 the next meeting-style was discussion procedure. Assessment of learning through the end of semester exam was performed. At 3 months after the previous questions were used to examine the survival and continuity of learning materials. Data using the software SPSS. 12 analysis and comparison of mean scores using Kruskal-Wallis test was performed. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean scores between the two methods of presentation was statistically significant (P

Background: Plastination is an excellent technique which helps preserve biological specimens in a dry, odorless, and state. In this technique, water and fat are extracted from tissues and are replaced with curable polyester. Previously prepared plastinated sheets of human brain were fragile and heavy (standard method). The aim of this study was to prepare flexible and light plastinated sheets of human brains. Methods: Two intact human brains were prepared and fixed in 10% formalin for 3 months. After. They were sliced into 3 mm thickness sheets and were dehydrated by acetone in -250C for 4 weeks. Then, the slices were impregnated by P88 flexible polyester in the vacuum chamber. Finally, each slice was cast in an individual flat chamber consisting of 2 standard glass plates by P87 flexible polyester. The transparency, weight, flexibility, bubbling and Gross fragility of the prepared sheets were compared with those of the standard method. The transparency was measured by photometer machine. Their weight was assessed by digital scale; Gross fragility and bubbling were assessed by direct observation. Flexibility of samples was investigated by the degree of bending zero to 45, 45 to 90, 90 to 135 and 135 to 180 degrees of bending were scaled 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Finding: Average light passing, flexible sheets was 85%, while in standard method was 90%. The weights of flexible sheets were 200-400 gr, and in standard method were 600-800 gr. Bubbling and gross fragility were observed in standard method, while no bubbling and gross fragility were observed in flexible sheets. The average flexibility of flexible sheets was, while in standard method was 1. Conclusion: P87 polyester seems to provide lighter and more flexible brain sheets compared with the standard method.

Background:Cartilage damaged by trauma or degenerative arthritis has a limited capacity for regeneration most likely because of its avascularity and low cellularity. In this study, adipose–derived stem cells were cultured in chondrogenic medium supplemented isolated from adipose tissue then were induced for chondrogenesis with BMP-6 in pellet culture system. Methods: Human adipose tissues obtained from cesarean section and ADSCs were isolated and characterized by flowcytometry techniques for CD14, CD44, CD45, and CD90 markers. To induct of chondrogenesis ADSCs were cultured in pellet culture for 21 days in chondrogenic medium supplemented with BMP-6. Resulted constructs were investigated by histological, immunohistochemical and RT-PCR methods. Findingss: ADSCs were expressed CD44, CD90 and not CD14 or CD45. ADSCs chondrogenesis was occurred successfully. Stained-sections in H-E and alcian blue were showed chondrocytes in lacuna with sulfated proteoglycans extracellular matrix. Existence of collagen type-II and aggrecan was proved in constructs by immunohistochemical study. RT-PCR method was exhibited collagen type-II and aggrecan genes expression in differentiated cells. Conclusion: Human adipose-derived stem cells are excellent candidate for cartilage tissue engineering. In pellet culture ADSCs in presence of BMP-6 were induced for chondrogenesis. Key word: Chondrogenesis, Adipose-derived stem cells, Tissue engineering, Collagen type II, BMP-6, Pellet culture system.

Objective: To examine the efficiency of both the Zeta and density gradient centrifugation(DGC) methods for the selection of normal chromatin sperm by TUNEL, sperm chromatindispersion (SCD), acridine orange and chromomycin A3 (CMA3).Materials and Methods: The study was performed on 63 patients. Semen analysis was carriedout according to WHO criteria. Semen samples were divided into three equal portions.One portion was used as the control, the second portion was used for the Zeta method andthe third portion underwent DGC method.All portions were evaluated for sperm morphology (Diff Quick staining), protamine deficiency(CMA3) and DNA integrity (SCD, AO and TUNEL). Coefficients of correlation and studentst test were carried out using SPSS 11.5.Results: The mean percentage of abnormal sperm, protamine deficiency and DNA fragmentationin the Zeta and DGC methods were significantly decreased as compared to the controlgroup (p

Background The aim of present study is to evaluate the effect of PolyVinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) routinly used during ICSI procedure on sperm membrane integrity, and sperm chromatin status. Materials and methods This study was carried out on 21 semen samples from the infertile men referring to Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center. The processed semen samples were divided into two portions. One portion was added to Ham’s F10+ 10% PVP, and the other portion was added to Ham’s F10 as a control group. Hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST), SDS, and SDS+EDTA tests were carried out on the control and PVP groups at 15, 30, and 60min. Results The results show that sperm membrane integrity measured by HOST, and sperm chromatin stability measured by SDS test, reduces by increasing the exposure time to PVP. However, the ability of sperm chromatin undergoing decondensation (that has been assessed by SDS+EDTA), does not show any changes by increasing the exposure time to PVP. Conclusion The results of current study shows that reducing the exposure time of sperm to PVP may protect sperm membrane, and chromatin integrity.

Sperm DNA is known to contribute one half of the genomic material to the offspring. The integrity of sperm DNA is important in fertilization, embryonic and fetal development, and postnatal child well being. The nature has created multiple barriers that allow only the fittest sperm to reach and fertilize an oocyte. However, assisted reproductive techniques (ART), like IVF and ICSI, may allow sperms with abnormal genomic material to enter the oocyte with minimal effort. This article describes structure of sperm DNA and different mechanism involved in sperm chromatin anomalies and DNA damage. Furthermore, this study elaborates possible sperm selection methods that may improve the outcome of ART.

Introduction: Critical thinking has been always the subject of discussion by teachers and educational centers. Considering the extensive and serious approach to critical thinking, this study was performed to investigate the application of critical thinking by basic sciences students in facing scientific texts, in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this experimental study medical, dentistry and pharmacy students in 3 different groups, received scientific texts or exam questions related to their course which contained conceptual-logical mistakes. The number of mistakes identified by students was considered as a criterion for their use of critical thinking skills. Results: In facing mistakes of exam questions, the students didn’t use their critical thinking skills. But, concerning the mistakes in their texts, only 6.8 percent noticed some of the mistakes. Conclusion: Despite fostering different thinking skills as the most important goal of higher education in all universities of the world, the results of this study and other similar studies shows that in real situation, educational systems don’t have any program for fostering thinking skills. This issue is a big concern for the present and future university graduates.

Background: Human endometrium is a dynamic tissue during the menstrual cycle can be influenced by ovarian hormones. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the endometrium angiogenesis under the influence of human menopausal gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin (HMG and HCG) that stimulate ovulation and progesterone. Materials and Methods: In this study, thirty adult female mice were randomly divided into three groups as: control, gonadotropin and gonadotropin + progesterone. The mice in the other two groups except the control group received 7.5 IU HMG and later HCG. Subsequently, the mice were placed in a cage for mating. Gonadotropin + progesterone group was administered, 1 mg/mouse progesterone in 24, 48, and 72 h interval, after HMG injection. Ninety-six hours after HMG injection, animals were sacrificed, and their uterine specimens were prepared by immunohistochemistry technique for light microscopic studies, and statistical analysis was carried out. Results: Endometrium angiogenesis in control group showed that mean ± standard deviation was 24.15 ± 11.15, gonadotropin group was 62.50 ± 24.16, and gonadotropin + progesterone group was 41.85 ± 19.54. Significant difference between the control group and gonadotropin group and between the control group and gonadotropin + progesterone was observed. Statistically significant differences were observed in all groups in the endometrial angiogenesis (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Ovarian induction with gonadotropins and gonadotropins + progesterone could not change the morphometrically index of endometrial glandular epithelium in mice. Ovarian stimulation followed by progesterone injection could modify the angiogenesis of mice endometrium.

Background: Since when the cartilage damage (e.g., with the osteoarthritis) it could not be repaired in the body, hence for its reconstruction needs cell therapy. For this purpose, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) is one of the best cell sources because by the tissue engineering techniques it can be differentiated into chondrocytes. Chemical and physical inducers is required order to stem cells to chondrocytes differentiating. We have decided to define the role of electric field (EF) in inducing chondrogenesis process. Materials and Methods: A low frequency EF applied the ADSCs as a physical inducer for chondrogenesis in a 3D micromass culture system which ADSCs were extracted from subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue. Also enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium, real time polymerase chain reaction and flowcytometry techniques were used for this study. Results: We found that the 20 minutes application of 1 kHz, 20 mv/cm EF leads to chondrogenesis in ADSCs. Although our results suggest that application of physical (EF) and chemical (transforming growth factor-β3) inducers at the same time, have best results in expression of collagen type II and SOX9genes. It is also seen EF makes significant decreased expression of collagens type I and X genes. Conclusion: The low frequency EF can be a good motivator to promote chondrogenic differentiation of human ADSCs.

Cotransplantation of neural progenitors (NPs) with Schwann cells (SCs) might be a way to overcome low rate of neuronal differentiation of NPs following transplantation in spinal cord injury (SCI) and the improvement of locomotor recovery. In this study, we initially generated NPs from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and investigated their potential for neuronal differentiation and functional recovery when cocultured with SCs in vitro and cotransplanted in a rat acute model of contused SCI. Cocultivation results revealed that the presence of SCs provided a consistent status for hESC-NPs and recharged their neural differentiation toward a predominantly neuronal fate. Following transplantation, a significant functional recovery was observed in all engrafted groups (NPs, SCs, NPs + SCs) relative to the vehicle and control groups. We also observed that animals receiving cotransplants established a better state as assessed with the BBB functional test. Immunohistofluorescence evaluation 5 weeks after transplantation showed invigorated neuronal differentiation and limited proliferation in the cotransplanted group when compared to the individual hESC-NP-grafted group. These findings have demonstrated that the cotransplantation of SCs with hESC-NPs could offer a synergistic effect, promoting neuronal differentiation and functional recovery.

Background: Cartilage damages and diseases such as osteoarthritis are rather worldwide problems of many people. In addition, articular cartilage has a limited ability to repair. Current treatment methods for cartilage tissue injuries lead to formation of fibrous tissue, apoptosis, and further cartilage degeneration. Therefore, engineering of cartilage tissue with adult stem cells is considered necessary. This study aimed to investigate the effect of TGF-β3 and BMP-6 growth factors on chondrogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells in alginate scaffold. Methods: Stem cells were isolated from human subcutaneous adipose tissue with collagenase enzyme digestion. The isolated cells were treated with chondrogenic medium supplemented with TGF-β3 and BMP-6 on alginate scaffold then harvested after 3 weeks. Histological, immunohistochemical and RT-PCR methods were performed for assessment of cartilage–specific markers. Findings: Our results revealed that chondrogenesis of ADSCs on alginate scaffold induced by TGF-β3 and BMP-6 growth factors. Immunohistochemical method was shown deposition of typical cartilage extracellular matrix components such as type II collagen and aggrecan in constructs. RT-PCR analysis of cartilage-specific genes, also confirmed the induction of the chondrocytic phenotype upon stimulation with TGF-β3 and BMP-6. Also, TGF-β3 and BMP-6 together increased the expression of aggrecan gene in compare with one growth factor alone. Conclusion: It can be concluded that TGF-β3 and BMP-6 promote chondrogenesis of ADSCs in 3-D culture and the use of both growth factors together increase the expression of aggrecan gene in compare with one growth factor alone. Key words: Adipose-derived stem cells, Alginate, Tissue engineering of cartilage, BMP-6, TGF-β3.

Background: Anatomists had been searching to find methods for preserving soft human tissues and produce natural samples with durable, dry, odorless, and portable in briefcase properties. Plastination is a modern method for preparing such tissue samples. In plastination, water and fat are extracted from tissues and replaced with a dissolver fluid, which in its turn is replaced with a special kind of polyester. Usually, the organs like hearts, lungs, kidneys, striated muscles, vessels, nerves, connective tissue, etc, which are treated with formalin, loss their beautiful color and take a dull appearance after fixation. Tissue staining with natural dyes is one method for somehow preserving tissue natural color and increasing its appearance activity to prepare better samples in terms of appearance and suitable clearance of different parts (valves, muscles, trabeculae…). Also, we have to prepare non fragile samples. Methods: At first, some visceral organs (sheep hearts) were prepared and fixed by formalin 5% for 4 to 10 days. Then they were dissected for anatomic details and were put in a chemical dye called eosin and natural dye called ronnas. After dehydration by acetone in -25 °C and defeating with acetone in +30 °C, samples were put in the vacuum chamber to replace acetone instead of polymer under the vacuum pressure; finally the samples were cured with the ultra violate wave. Findings: We found that after fixation and before plastination staining of organs with eosin and ronnas resulted in beautiful appearance of tissues. Conclusion: Staining of organs resulted in beautiful appearance of tissues which are effective in increasing the attractively of teaching and learning anatomy. Also, it has affection in the raising appearance quality and has positive impression in the quality of education. Keywords: Plastination, Natural dye, Industrial dye, Polyester.

Introduction Atherosclerosis is a disease which begins during childhood. Oxidation of lipoproteins is an important factor implicated in atherosclerosis. Vitamin C decreases blood serum lipids and may inhibit atherosclerosis. This study was designed to observe the effect of ascorbic acid on blood serum lipids in male rabbits fed high-cholesterol diet. Methods Twenty white male rabbits were weighed (mean weight = 950 g) and blood serum samples were taken for analysis of serum cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TG, and VLDL. They were randomly divided into two groups. For 40 days, group 1 (n=10) was given high-cholesterol (1%) diet, and group 2 (n=10) was fed high-cholesterol diet with ascorbic acid (100 mg/kg). Both groups were then weighed and blood samples were taken for analysis of serum cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TG, and VLDL. Results Significant differences in cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TG, and VLDL were seen between the two groups (P

Neurotrophins are small molecules of polypeptides, which include nerve growth factor (NGF) family, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family ligands, and neuropoietic cytokines. These factors have an important role in neural regeneration, remyelination, and regulating the development of the peripheral and central nervous systems (PNS and CNS, respectively) by intracellular signaling through specific receptors. It has been suggested that the pathogenesis of human neurodegenerative disorders may be due to an alteration in the neurotrophic factors and their receptors. The use of neurotrophic factors as therapeutic agents is a novel strategy for restoring and maintaining neuronal function during neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Innate and adaptive immune responses contribute to pathology of neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, autoimmune and mesenchymal stem cells, by the release of neurotrophic factors, have the ability to protect neuronal population and can efficiently suppress the formation of new lesions. So, these cells may be an alternative source for delivering neurotrophic factors into the CNS.

Background: The scope of this study was to preserve whole detailed structure of dissected and decalcified bones, taken from used cadavers, by a new plastination technique. Materials and Methods: Specimens we used in this study were sheep femurs and human bones including pelvis, femur, tibia, and fibula. Bones, at first, fixed with 5% formalin and were decalcified with 5% nitric acid, and then were fixed again and washed under the tap water. The resulted flexible bones were dehydrated in -25΀C acetone and degreased them in +25΀C acetone. Then, the experimental and control specimen were placed in the vacuum chamber for forced impregnation with our new flexible unsaturated polyester resin (UP 89 method) and silicon resin (S 10 method), respectively. Finally, the strength and flexibility of plastinated decalcified specimens were investigated by tensometer, and the weight diversity was measured by digital balance. Results: Plastinated bones prepared by this technique were found to be dried, non-fragile, durable, odorless, non-greasy, and demonstrating all detailed structures of the bones. Tensile and weight tests results indicated that plastinated decalcified femurs have owned higher flexibility and strength but lesser weight than plastinated undecalcified femurs. The characteristics of both experimental and control groups of plastinated decalcified specimens were found to have no significant difference. Conclusions: Our synthesized resin found to be much more economical than conventional plastination method. In more details, properties of these new products were the same as, S 10 method, from points of strength, flexibility and weight, but, since the money cost for producing them was about one fifth that of S 10 method.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), an autologous derivative of whole blood, has been recently used in surgical treatment. PRP contains growth factors including transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and also bioactive proteins that influence the healing of tendon, ligament, muscle, and bone. This article describes the current clinical applications of PRP in chondrogenesis. This study reviews and evaluates the studies that have been published in the field of chondrogenesis. All aspects of using PRP in chondrogenesis are reviewed.

Background: Male factor has been considered as a 50% of infertility causes. One of the reasons for poor semen quality is oxidative stress. Saffron and vitamin E as antioxidant agent can be involved in free radical scavenging and improvement of semen quality. Materials and Methods: We divided 30 adult male Wistar rats into saffron (n = 10), vitamin E (n = 10) and control (n = 10) groups randomly. Saffron (100 mg/kg/day), vitamin E (100 mg/kg/day), and distilled water (0.5 ml/day) were fed by gavage to the animals for 60 consecutive days in aforementioned groups. After cervical dislocation, both testes and left epididymis of each animal were removed and the cauda epididymal spermatozoa were aspirated for analysis of sperm parameters. Sperm membrane integrity was assessed by hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST). In different groups, seminiferous tubule histological assessments were done after Hematoxylin -Eosin staining. Results: The mean percentage of HOST positive sperm was increased in vitamin E and saffron groups as compared to control group. As we can see there was a significant difference among control and experimental groups (P < 0.001); also a significant difference was obtained between vitamin E and saffron groups (P = 0.002). The evaluation of seminiferous tubules has shown no significant differences among groups. Conclusions: The present data suggest that saffron had superior antioxidant properties which can improve sperm parameters and membrane integrity so it can lead to develop fertility potential.

BACKGROUND: Finding factors that can increase neurogenesis are of great importance. To find these factors, it seems that neural stem cells culture is an ideal method. To analyze the effect of different factors in a limited period of time and with the least cost, finding an easier and more efficient method than normal manual counting method is needed. The aim of this study was using flow cytometry as an alternative method to evaluate neural stem cells neurogenesis. METHODS: Neural stem cells from E14 mouse brain have been differentiated in a one- step and a two -step methods. After performing immunohistochemistry for neuronal and astrocytic markers, manual and flow cytometry methods have been compared in determining the percentage of neurons and astrocytes. Then, the percentage of neurons and astrocytes generated in two different differentiation methods has been compared using flow cytometry. FINDINGS: Our findings showed that there wasn't any statistical difference between manual and flow cytometry methods in determining the percentage of neurons and astrocytes. Comparing differentiation methods by flow cytometry, showed that the percentage of both neurons and astrocytes were significantly different in theses two methods (p

Background: Hyaline cartilage tissue of joints is susceptible to injuries due to avascularity. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used for cartilage tissue engineering. Among MSCs, adipose stem cells (ASCs) are attractive because of accessibility, their large number, and rapid growth. Common in vitro protocols successfully induce chondrogenic differentiation by expression of multiple cartilage-specific molecules. However, transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) promotes chondrogenesis to terminal stages. Despite much attention being given to the influences of biochemical factors on chondrogenesis of MSCs, few studies have examined the chondrogenic effect of mechanical factors such as ultrasound as a feasible tool. Materials and Methods: In this study, we focused on inducing chondrogenesis in the early stages of differentiation by using low-intensity ultrasound (LIUS). Four groups of ASC pellets (control, ultrasound, TGFβ, and ultrasound/TGF) were cultured under chondrogenic (10 ng/ml of TGFβ3) and ultrasound conditions (200 mW/cm 2 , 10 min/day). After 2 weeks, differentiation was evaluated by histology, quantitative gene expression analysis, and immunohistochemistry. Results: Our data demonstrated that ultrasound differentiated pellets showed increased expression of early chondrogenesis marker, Col2A, than those in TGFβ groups (P < 0.001), and Col2B and Col10 expression were more prominent in TGFβ groups. Immunostaining of sections showed Col2 fibrils around lacuna in LIUS and TGFβ treated groups. Conclusion: Using LIUS resulted in early chondrogenesis in comparison with terminally differentiated chondrocytes by TGFβ. Therefore, LIUS might provide an applicable, safe, efficient, and cheap tool for chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs in cartilage tissue engineering.

Background: P300 is a member of the mammalian histone acetyl transferase (HAT) family, an enzyme that acetylates histones and several non-histone proteins including P53 (the most important tumor suppressor gene) during stress, which plays an important role in the apoptosis of tumor cells. Hereby, this study describes the potency of CTB (Cholera Toxin B subunit) as a P300 activator to induce apoptosis in a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and a lung fibroblast cell line (MRC-5) as a non-tumorigenic control sample. Materials and Methods: MCF-7 and MRC-5 were cultured in RPMI-1640 and treated with or without CTB at a concentration of 85.43 μmol/L, based on half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) index at different times (24, 48 and 72 h). The percentage of apoptotic cells were measured by flow cytometry. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was performed to estimate the mRNA expression of P300 in MCF-7 and MRC-5 with CTB at different times. ELISA and Bradford protein techniques were used to detect levels of total and acetylated P53 protein generated in MCF-7 and MRC-5. Results: Our findings indicated that CTB could effectively induce apoptosis in MCF-7 significantly higher than MRC-5. We showed that expression of P300 was up-regulated by increasing time of CTB treatment in MCF-7 but not in MRC-5 and the acetylated and total P53 protein levels were increased more in MCF-7 cells than MRC-5. Conclusion: CTB could induce acetylation of P53 protein through increasing expression of P300 and consequently induce the significant cell death in MCF-7 but it could be well tolerated in MRC-5. Therefore, CTB could be used as an anti-cancer agent.

Background: Schwann cells (SCs) can provide a suitable option for treatment not only diseases of peripheral nervous system (PNS), but also diseases of central nervous system (CNS). It is difficult to obtain sufficient large number of SCs for clinical purpose because of their restricted mitotic activity, and by sacrificing one or more functioning nerves with the consequence of loss of sensation. So, providing an alternative source for transplantation is desired. The aim of this study was isolation, characterization of human adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs), and transdifferentiation into Schwann-cells. Materials and Methods: After isolation of ADSCs by mechanical and enzymatic digestion of adipose samples, characterization human ADSCs using flow cytometry was carried out. Human ADSCs were sequentially treated with various factors for neurosphere formation and terminal differentiation into Schwann-like cells. We used Schwann cell markers, GFAP and S100 to confirm the effectiveness of the differentiation of human ADSCs using Immunostaining and real time RT-PCR techniques. Results: Flow cytometry analysis of ADSC showed isolated stem cells were positive for CD90 and CD44 markers of mesenchymal stem cells, but for CD45 and CD34 markers were negative. Dual immunofluorescence staining and real time RT-PCR analysis for GFAP and S100 markers were revealed that approximately 90% of differentiated cells expressed co-markers. Conclusion: We indicated that human ADSCs have a suitable option to induce Schwann-like cells for autologous transplantation, offer promise for treatment in demyelinating diseases.