Node formation mechanisms in acoustofluidic capillary bridges.

Using acoustofluidic channels formed by capillary bridges two models are developed to describe nodes formed by leaky and by evanescent waves. The liquid channel held between a microscope slide (waveguide) and a strip of polystyrene film (fluid guide) avoids solid-sidewall interactions. With this simplification, our experimental and numerical study showed that waves emitted from a single plane surface, interfere and form the nodes without any resonance in the fluid.

Maternal hyperandrogenism is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and overweight in adolescent and adult female offspring: a long-term population-based follow-up study.

Purpose: Adverse intrauterine environment may predispose offspring to cardio-metabolic dysfunction in later life. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of maternal hyperandrogenism (MH) on cardio-metabolic risk factors in female offspring in later life.

Methods: This prospective population-based study included 211 female offspring with MH and 757 female offspring without MH (controls).

The Associations Between Serum Concentrations of Irisin and Glucose-dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide with Body Mass Index Among Women with and Without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Background: The actions of adipocytokines may be a connective factor between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It is suggested that irisin, as recently described cytokine secreted by skeletal muscles and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) as an incretin hormone that induces cytokine expression, may play key roles in favoring obesity in these women.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and serum concentrations of irisin/GIP in women with and without PCOS in the linear and non-linear models.

Anthropometric Indices and Age at Natural Menopause: A 15-Year Follow-up Population-Based Study.

Background: Following menopause, the risk of many diseases is increased, and this situation may be due to changes in anthropometric indices (AI), while the association between adiposity and age at natural menopause (ANM) is not clear yet.

Objectives: This longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the ability of AI in predicting ANM.

Methods: For this purpose, a total of 3,876 women aged > 20 years old from participants of the Tehran lipid and glucose study (TLGS) met our eligibility criteria.

Safety and Efficacy of Graded Gradual Pneumatic Balloon Dilation in Idiopathic Achalasia Patients: A 24-Year Single-Center Experience.

Background: Pneumatic balloon dilation (PBD) is a first line treatment for idiopathic achalasia. Here we report the safety and efficacy of graded gradual PBD on short and long-term follow-up.

Methods: We evaluated 1370 idiopathic achalasia patients over a period of 24 years (1994-2018), prospectively.

To what extent does polycystic ovary syndrome influence the cut-off value of prolactin? Findings of a community-based study.

Purpose: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hyperprolactinemia are the most frequent endocrine disorders in women which share several common features. There are inconsistent results regarding the existence of a possible pathophysiological interplay between these endocrinopathies and the elevation of prolactin (PRL) in PCOS. The purpose of this study was to explore the upper reference limit of PRL in PCOS women.

Behavioral Prioritization Enhances Working Memory Precision and Neural Population Gain.

Humans allocate visual working memory (WM) resource according to behavioral relevance, resulting in more precise memories for more important items. Theoretically, items may be maintained by feature-tuned neural populations, where the relative gain of the populations encoding each item determines precision. To test this hypothesis, we compared the amplitudes of delay period activity in the different parts of retinotopic maps representing each of several WM items, predicting the amplitudes would track behavioral priority.

Exercise and Syzygium aromaticum reverse memory deficits, apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction of the hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common disease in the brain, is associated with cognitive and mitochondrial dysfunction. Emerging evidence suggests that endurance training and Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill and Perry (Myrtaceae) (commonly referred to as clove) are effective interventions to maintain oxidative balance and improve cognitive function.

Impact of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome on Silent Coronary Artery Disease and Cardiovascular Events; A Long-term Population-based Cohort Study.

Background: The existing data regarding the impact of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) on the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) are conflicting.

Aim: To explore the effect of PCOS status on the occurrence of silent coronary artery disease (CAD)/CVD.

Methods: A total of 1591 women without CVD at baseline, aged 18-45 years, including 356 PCOS patients (defined by the Rotterdam criteria) and 1235 eumenorrheic non-hirsute women without polycystic ovarian morphology (controls), were selected from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS).

Automated image segmentation method to analyse skeletal muscle cross section in exercise-induced regenerating myofibers.

Skeletal muscle is an adaptive tissue with the ability to regenerate in response to exercise training. Cross-sectional area (CSA) quantification, as a main parameter to assess muscle regeneration capability, is highly tedious and time-consuming, necessitating an accurate and automated approach to analysis. Although several excellent programs are available to automate analysis of muscle histology, they fail to efficiently and accurately measure CSA in regenerating myofibers in response to exercise training.

The lower expression of circulating miR-210 and elevated serum levels of HIF-1α in ischemic stroke; Possible markers for diagnosis and disease prediction.

Background: Stroke, either due to ischemia or hemorrhage, causes acute neurological damages to the brain. There is shortage of reliable biomarkers for ischemic stroke (IS), and we therefore investigated the serum concentrations of microRNA-210 (miR-210) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), as possible diagnostic and/or prognostic markers for IS.

Methods: Serum samples were acquired from 52 IS patients and their healthy counterparts at five time points: upon admission, 24 and 48 h after admission, upon discharge and 3 months later.

PPARγ activation by pioglitazone enhances the anti-proliferative effects of doxorubicin on pro-monocytic THP-1 leukemia cells via inducing apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest.

Purpose: Doxorubicin (DOX) is a common chemotherapeutic agent, with toxic side effects, and chemoresistance. Combination chemotherapy is a successful approach to overcome these limitations. Here, we investigated the effects of pioglitazone (PGZ), a PPARγ agonist, and/or DOX on the viability, cell cycle, apoptosis on THP-1 cells and normal human monocytes (NHMs).

The Role of BiP and the IRE1α-XBP1 Axis in Rhabdomyosarcoma Pathology.

Background: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft-tissue sarcoma in children, and is associated with a poor prognosis in patients presenting with recurrent or metastatic disease. The unfolded protein response (UPR) plays pivotal roles in tumor development and resistance to therapy, including RMS.

Methods: In this study, we used immunohistochemistry and a tissue microarray (TMA) on human RMS and normal skeletal muscle to evaluate the expression of key UPR proteins (GRP78/BiP, IRE1α and cytosolic/nuclear XBP1 (spliced XBP1-sXBP1)) in the four main RMS subtypes: alveolar (ARMS), embryonal (ERMS), pleomorphic (PRMS) and sclerosing/spindle cell (SRMS) RMS.

The Potential Therapeutic Value of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer globally. Despite extensive preclinical and clinical studies, it is still among the leading causes of cancer-related death, and a need for new therapeutic options is required. The renin-angiotensin system plays an important role in regulating blood pressure and cell growth.

Early osteoimmunomodulatory effects of magnesium-calcium-zinc alloys.

Today, substantial attention is given to biomaterial strategies for bone regeneration, and among them, there is a growing interest in using immunomodulatory biomaterials. The ability of a biomaterial to induce neo vascularization and macrophage polarization is a major factor in defining its success. Magnesium (Mg)-based degradable alloys have attracted significant attention for bone regeneration owing to their biodegradability and potential for avoiding secondary removal surgeries.

Separation of circulating tumor cells from blood using dielectrophoretic DLD manipulation.

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) play a prominent role in early cancer detection. Emerging label-free techniques can be promising to CTC detection due to advantages in preserving cell integrity and minimal sample consumption. Deterministic Lateral Displacement (DLD) is a size-based label-free technique employing laminar flow for continuous sorting of suspended cells.

The localization of amyloid precursor protein to ependymal cilia in vertebrates and its role in ciliogenesis and brain development in zebrafish.

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is expressed in many tissues in human, mice and in zebrafish. In zebrafish, there are two orthologues, Appa and Appb. Interestingly, some cellular processes associated with APP overlap with cilia-mediated functions.

Aerobic, resistance and combined exercise training for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effect of aerobic, resistance and combined exercise training in patients with ALS.

Data Source: A comprehensive systematic search of CENTRAL, CINAHL, SPORTDiscuss, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest was performed from inception to February 2021.

Eligibility Criteria: The systematic review included all studies that examined the effect of exercise training in ALS patients.

Self-assembled magnetic polymeric micelles for delivery of quercetin: Toxicity evaluation on isolated rat liver mitochondria.

Multifunctional nanocarriers as a promising platform could provide numerous opportunities in the field of drug delivery. Drug carriers loaded with both magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and therapeutic agents would allow the combination of chemotherapy with the possibility of monitoring or controlling the distribution of the nano vehicles in the body which may improve the effectiveness of the therapy. Furthermore, by applying these strategies, triggering drug release and/or synergistic hyperthermia treatment are also reachable.

Surface Acoustic Waves to Control Droplet Impact onto Superhydrophobic and Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces.

Superhydrophobic coatings and slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) have shown their potentials in self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-erosion, and antibiofouling applications. Various studies have been done on controlling the droplet impact on such surfaces using passive methods such as modifying the lubricant layer thickness in SLIPS. Despite their effectiveness, passive methods lack on-demand control over the impact dynamics of droplets.

Recombinant immunotoxins development for HER2-based targeted cancer therapies.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of cancer biology introduces targeted therapy as a complementary method along with other conventional therapies. Recombinant immunotoxins are tumor specific antibodies that their recognizing fragment is utilized for delivering modified toxins into tumor cells. These molecules have been considered as a targeted strategy in the treatment of human cancers.

Effects of isolated maternal hypothyroxinemia on adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose: There are conflicting results about the effects of maternal hypothyroidism (IMH) on adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between IMH identified in the first trimester of gestation and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we used data from the Tehran Thyroid and Pregnancy study (TTPs).

Predicting soil nutrient contents using Landsat OLI satellite images in rain-fed agricultural lands, northwest of Iran.

Soil nutrients are the key factors in soil fertility, which have important roles in plant growth. Determining soil nutrient contents, including macro and micronutrients, is of crucial importance in agricultural productions. Conventional laboratory techniques for determining soil nutrients are expensive and time-consuming.