The Effects of Folic Acid Supplementation on Recurrence and Metabolic Status in Endometrial Hyperplasia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract: Background: Data on the effects of folic acid supplementation on clinical symptoms and metabolic profiles of patients with endometrial hyperplasia (EH) are limited. This investigation was performed to evaluate the effects of folic acid supplementation on clinical symptoms and metabolic status of patients with EH. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted among 60 women diagnosed with EH. Diagnosis of EH was made based on biopsy results. Participants were randomly allocated to 2 groups to take 5 mg/d folic acid supplements (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. Results: After the 12-week intervention, folic acid supplementation significantly decreased fasting plasma glucose (β -3.99 mg/ dL; 95% CI, -7.39, -0.59; P = 0.02), serum insulin levels (β -2.82 µIU/mL; 95% CI, -4.86, -0.77; P = 0.008), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (β -0.68; 95% CI, -1.20, -0.17; P = 0.009), triglycerides (β -16.47 mg/dL; 95% CI, -28.72, -4.22; P = 0.009) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol (β -3.29 mg/dL; 95% CI, -5.74, -0.84; P = 0.009), and significantly increased the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (β 0.01; 95% CI, 0.004, 0.03; P = 0.01) compared with the placebo. Additionally, folic acid intake resulted in a significant reduction in serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (β -0.36 mg/L; 95% CI, -0.52, -0.21; P < 0.001) compared with the placebo. Folic acid supplementation did not affect other metabolic parameters. Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that folic acid administration for 12 weeks to subjects with EH improved glycemic control, triglycerides, VLDL-cholesterol and hs-CRP levels, but did not influence recurrence and other metabolic profiles

Performance of epoxy resin polymer as self-healing cementitious materials agent in mortar

This research investigated the application of epoxy resin polymer as a self-healing strategy for improving the mechanical and durability properties of cement-based mortar. The epoxy resin was added to the concrete mix at various levels (5, 10, 15, and 20% of cement weight), and the effectiveness of healing was evaluated by microstructural analysis, compressive strength, and non-destructive (ultrasonic pulse velocity) tests. Dry and wet-dry conditions were considered for curing, and for generating artificial cracks, specimens at different curing ages (1 and 6 months) were subjected to compressive testing (50 and 80% of specimen’s ultimate compressive strength). The results indicated that the mechanical properties in the specimen prepared by 10% epoxy resin and cured under wet-dry conditions was higher compared to other specimens. The degree of damage and healing efficiency index of this particular mix design were significantly affected by the healing duration and cracking age. An optimized artificial neural network (ANN) combined with a firefly algorithm was developed to estimate these indexes over the self-healing process. Overall, it was concluded that the epoxy resin polymer has high potential as a mechanical properties self-healing agent in cement-based mortar

Developing an ANFIS-PSO model to predict mercury emissions in combustion flue gases

Accurate prediction of mercury content emitted from fossil-fueled power stations is of the utmost importance for environmental pollution assessment and hazard mitigation. In this paper, mercury content in the output gas of power stations’ boilers was predicted using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) method integrated with particle swarm optimization (PSO). The input parameters of the model included coal characteristics and the operational parameters of the boilers. The dataset was collected from 82 sample points in power plants and employed to educate and examine the proposed model. To evaluate the performance of the proposed hybrid model of the ANFIS-PSO, the statistical meter of MARE% was implemented, which resulted in 0.003266 and 0.013272 for training and testing, respectively. Furthermore, relative errors between the acquired data and predicted values were between −0.25% and 0.1%, which confirm the accuracy of the model to deal non-linearity and represent the dependency of flue gas mercury content into the specifications of coal and the boiler type

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells and their exosomes for restoration of spermatogenesis in non-obstructive azoospermia: a systemic review

Stem cells have been introduced as new promising therapeutic agents in treatment of degenerative diseases because of having high differentiation potential while maintaining the ability to self-replicate and retaining features of their source cells. Among different type of cell therapies, mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSC) therapy is being increasingly developed as a new way to treat structural defects that need to be repaired and regenerated. Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is a reproductive disease in men that causes infertility in 10% of infertile men. Based on in vitro studies, MSCs from different tissue sources have been differentiated into germ cells or gamete progenitor cells by simple methods in both male and female. On the other hand, the therapeutic effects of MSCs have been evaluated for the treatment of NOA animal models created by chemical or surgical compounds. The results of these studies confirmed successful allotransplantation or xenotransplantation of MSCs in the seminiferous tubules. As well, it has been reported that exosomes secreted by MSCs are able to induce the process of spermatogenesis in the testes of infertile animal models. Despite numerous advances in the treatment of reproductive diseases in men and women with the help of MSCs or their exosomes, no clinical trial has been terminated on the treatment of NOA. This systematic review attempts to investigate the possibility of MSC therapy for NOA in men

Development and characterization of a novel conductive polyaniline-g-polystyrene/Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite for the treatment of cancer

The goal of this study is to synthesize, characterize and investigate some physicochemical properties of conductive polyaniline-g-polystyrene/Fe 3 O 4 (Fe 3 O 4 /PSt-g-PANi) nanocomposites. For this purpose, initially, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were synthesized by a co-precipitation method. Then, the desired nanocomposite was synthesized in two steps. First, the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene was performed using an ATRP initiator attached to the surface of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles, followed by functionalization of the Fe 3 O 4 -PSt with amine groups (�NH 2 ). Second, surface oxidative graft copolymerization of aniline was accomplished using the �NH 2 moieties on the Fe 3 O 4 /PSt-NH 2 as the anchoring sites. The prepared materials were characterized by various instruments, including TEM, SEM, TGA, EDX, FT-IR, XRD and conductivity measurements. The results indicated that the synthesized conductive polymer/Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites had higher electrical conductivity and thermal resistance than those of the corresponding homopolymers. © 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Families’ roles in children’s literacy in the UK throughout the 20th century

This paper explores the changing roles of families in children’s developing literacy in the UK in the last century. It discusses how, during this time, understandings of reading and writing have evolved into the more nuanced notion of literacy. Further, in acknowledging changes in written communication practices, and shifting attitudes to reading and writ- ing, the paper sketches out how families have always played some part in the literacy of younger generations; though reading was frequently integral to the lives of many families throughout the past century, we consider in particular the more recent enhancement of children’s literacy through targeted family programmes. The paper considers policy implications for promoting young children’s literacy through work with families

Snow White in different guises: Interlingual and intercultural exchanges between grandparents and young children at home in East London

Grandparents play a significant role in childcare and one activity that frequently occurs within this context is story-reading. However, relatively little attention has been given to the potential part that grandparents can play in terms of language and literacy development of young children.This article reports on work investigating the interlingual and intercultural exchanges occurring in a home setting in East London. In particular, it focuses on how the traditional heritage pattern of story and rhyme reading by a grandmother of Bengali origin is fused with practices experienced by her six-year old grandchild.The data reveal not only the multiple worlds inhabited by the grandchild during story-reading but also the syncretism of these worlds on a number of levels.This article contributes to the small but growing body of investigation into the reading styles occurring within families from different cultural backgrounds