Essential organs, such as the heart and liver, contain a unique porous network that allows oxygen and nutrients to be exchanged, with distinct random to ordered regions displaying varying degrees of strength. A novel technique, referred to here as flow-induced lithography, was developed. This technique generates tunable anisotropic three-dimensional (3D) structures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultifunctional bio-adhesives with tunable mechanical properties are obtained by controlling the orientation of anisotropic particles in a blend of fast-curing hydrogel with an imposed capillary flow. The suspensions' microstructural evolution was monitored by the small-angle light scattering (SALS) method during flow up to the critical Péclet number (Pe≈1) necessary for particle orientation and hydrogel crosslinking. The multifunctional bio-adhesives were obtained by combining flow and UV light exposure for rapid photo-curing of PEGDA medium and freezing titania rods' ordered microstructures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuroinflammation was indicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous reports have also signified that spironolactone has anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the modulatory effects of spironolactone on neuroinflammation and memory loss in a rat model of AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotocatalytic membrane reactors (PMRs), coupling photocatalysts and membranes in a single system, have shown a considerable potential to reduce membrane fouling, which is one of the major drawbacks of using membranes to treat water and wastewater. In this study, the visible light-activated photocatalysts were incorporated into the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) casting solution to synthesize the photocatalytic composite membranes. The physicochemical properties and the morphology of the membranes and photocatalysts were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-visible DRS), photoluminescence (PL), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), porosimetry, and contact angle analyses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMemantine is an approved drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Autophagy, lysosome dysfunction, and sigma receptors have possible roles in the pathophysiology of AD. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the contribution of sigma receptors and lysosome inhibition to the neuroprotective effects of memantine against amyloid-beta (Aβ)-induced neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug Chem Toxicol
October 2018
Context: Myrtle (Myrtus communis L) has been used widely in traditional medicine for different respiratory disorders. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an inflammatory disease characterized by progressive loss of lung function with poor prognosis. The pathogenesis of disease has not been completely elucidated, but probably persistent epithelial damages are involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConsidering the side effects of current anti-inflammatory drugs, novel therapeutic agents are desired. We have succeeded in separating flavonoid-rich fractions with anti-inflammatory effect from fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A combination of the oils of sesame, hemp, wild pistachio, and walnut has been used for treatment of skin disorders, including wound burns, in some parts of Kerman, Iran. Evaluation of this remedy in the form of a pharmaceutical formulation in animal models can pave the way for its future application in wound burn healing in humans.
Objectives: This experimental study investigated the healing potential of a new formula (NF) based on folk medicine from Iran for the treatment of third degree burns in mice.
Background: Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and thereby induction of oxidative stress seem to be one of the major mediators of inflammatory adverse outcomes after renal transplantation. p22(phox) is a polymorphic subunit of NAD(P)H-oxidase that is critical for activation and stabilization of the enzyme. This enzyme is involved in the production of superoxide that triggers inflammatory injuries to the kidney.
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