Publications by authors named "Alikhani Z"

A stable dimethyl(thiodimethyl)sulfonium tetrafluoroborate salt was employed for the electrophilic cyclization reaction of -alkynyl thioanisoles for the synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted benzo[]thiophenes. The reaction described herein works well with various substituted alkynes in excellent yields, and a valuable thiomethyl group was introduced with ease. The reaction utilizes moderate reaction conditions and ambient temperature while tolerating various functionalities.

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Background: Lately, the employment of nano-carriers has been known as an optimistic means of drug and vaccine delivery.

Objective: Nano vaccines are a novel tier of vaccines that can develop humoral and cellular immune responses and can be introduced as a practical and secure nano vaccine candidate for the prevention of diseases. The purpose of this study was to accomplish and use biodegradable nano-carriers for the synthesis of pentavalent vaccine and immunogenicity evaluation in the animal models.

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Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, a genetically inherited disease that results in fibrofatty replacement of normal cardiac myocytes, has been associated with sudden cardiac death in athletes. Long-term participation in endurance exercise hastens the development of both the arrhythmic and structural arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy phenotypes. We describe the unusual case of a 34-year-old, symptomatic, female endurance athlete who had arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in the presence of a structurally normal right ventricle.

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Background: It is hypothesized that the impacts of life events accumulate and can trigger and promote atherosclerosis in susceptible individuals. In the current study, the correlation of total life stressors during 1 year was investigated relative to coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: The study population consisted of 148 males and 152 females aged 35-76 years.

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Objective: This study aims to optimize coronary sinus (CS) computerized tomography (CT) imaging and evaluate its utility for preprocedural planning and intraoperative guidance by overlay of 3D reconstructed CS images on live fluoroscopy.

Background: Optimal CS lead placement for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) remains challenging. Preprocedural knowledge of CS anatomy can significantly affect procedural outcome.

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Background: Rotational angiography of the left atrium with 3-dimensional reconstruction (3DATG) is a new imaging tool to guide atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Its role as part of a complex imaging strategy with NavX has not yet been evaluated.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of using 3DATG fusion with NavX in guiding AF ablation.

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We have previously shown that diabetes significantly enhances apoptosis of osteoblastic cells in vivo and that the enhanced apoptosis contributes to diabetes impaired new bone formation. A potential mechanism is enhanced apoptosis stimulated by advanced glycation end products (AGEs). To investigate this further, an advanced glycation product, carboxymethyl lysine modified collagen (CML-collagen), was injected in vivo and stimulated a 5-fold increase in calvarial periosteal cell apoptosis compared to unmodified collagen.

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Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a potent pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic mediator that plays an important role in several normal and disease processes. TNF-induced cell death is one of the principal mechanisms by which cells are removed. Although TNF-mediated apoptosis has been the subject of intense investigation, the transcriptional mechanisms through which it promotes apoptosis are not well understood and, paradoxically, the archetypal TNF-induced nuclear factor NFkappaB is anti-apoptotic.

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Both aging and diabetes are characterized by the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Both exhibit other similarities including deficits in wound healing that are associated with higher rates of fibroblast apoptosis. In order to investigate a potential mechanism for enhanced fibroblast apoptosis in diabetes and aged individuals, experiments were carried out to determine whether the predominant advanced glycation end product in skin, N-epsilon-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML)-collagen, could induce fibroblast apoptosis.

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Apoptosis of matrix producing cells is common among many inflammatory diseases. The goal of the present study was to examine the apoptotic effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on fibroblastic cells in vivo and to investigate the role of different caspases in this process. This was accomplished in vivo by subcutaneous injection of TNF-alpha in mice.

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During periods of periodontal attachment loss, one of the most significant cellular changes is a decrease in the number of fibroblasts. We previously demonstrated that LPS induces apoptosis of fibroblastic cells in vivo, largely through TNF-alpha. We conducted in vivo experiments by subcutaneous inoculation of LPS in wild-type, TNFR1-/-R2-/-, TNFR1-/-, and TNFR2-/- mice to identify which TNF receptors are involved and the specific caspase pathway activated.

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Following Gram-negative bacterial infection there is a reduction in matrix-producing cells. The goal of the present study was to examine the apoptotic effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on fibroblastic cells and to investigate the role that the host response plays in this reaction. This was accomplished in vivo by subcutaneous inoculation of LPS in wild type and TNFR1(-/-)R2(-/-) mice.

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In this study the severity of aspirin-induced gastric mucosal damage was investigated in rats with obstructive cholestasis. Cholestasis was induced by ligation and resection of the bile duct under general anesthesia. Two weeks after operation, the rats were fasted for 24 hours.

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