Physical fitness and cardiovascular endurance status of iranian elite female taekwondo athletes

The present study aimed to determine the anthropometric indices and aerobic and cardiopulmonary capacity of Iranian elite female taekwondo athletes and also to investigate the relationship between the anthropometric indices and the cardiopulmonary capacity of this group of athletes at national and championship levels. For this purpose, 33 elite female taekwondo athletes (12 at national and 21 at championship levels) participated in this study. The body fat percentage was measured by body impedance analyzer, and cardiopulmonary evaluation was performed using an incremental exercise test. Mean height, BMI (body mass index), and the body fat percentage were determined as 169.86 ± 6.74 cm, 20.89 ± 2.57 kg.m-2, and 22.54 ± 5.44, respectively. The rates of VO2max and VO2@AT in the Cardiopulmonary Exercise testing (CPET) were 48.95 ± 7.11 mL/kg.min and 60.43 ± 6.43, respectively. Correlation results showed that VO2max was negatively correlated with the body fat percentage (r =-0.50, P = 0.003), BMI (r =-0.40 P = 0.02), and weight (r =-0.35, P = 0.044). Furthermore, it was found that the age factor was negatively correlated with HRMAX in CPET test (r =-0.46, P = 0.007) and exercise hours per week (r =-0.37, P = 0.031). The findings of this study revealed that the rate of VO2max, as the index of aerobic capacity among elite female taekwondo athletes, was about 50 mL/kg.min. Normal BMI, which was similar to that of the other taekwondo elites in the world, and an acceptable body fat percentage were reported in our study, while the body fat percentage was relatively higher than that of the other elite female taekwondo athletes in the world. © 2020, Author(s)

Evaluating Serum Levels of IL-33, IL-36, IL-37 and Gene Expression of IL-37 in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris

Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-33, IL-36 and IL-37 have been reported to be up-regulated in various T helper (Th)1/Th17 mediated autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. Although IL-33 and IL-36 expression are increased in skin lesions of patients with psoriasis, their serum levels in such patients have not yet been adequately studied. We aimed to evaluate serum level of IL-33, IL-36 and IL-37 cytokines and IL-37 gene expression in patients with autoimmune/inflammatory disease of psoriasis and to explore their correlation with disease severity. Such evaluation further clarifies disease pathogenesis and may be utilized in clinical practice. 47 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 47 healthy individuals were included. Serum IL-33, IL-36 and IL-37 levels were measured by Elisa and gene expression of IL-37 measured by real time PCR in all participants. The disease activity was assessed by the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI). Linear Correlation between interleukin measures and PASI score was calculated. Also sensitivity and specificity of such measurements were determined. Serum IL-36 and 37 levels in patients with psoriasis vulgaris were significantly higher than those in healthy controls and positively correlated with disease activity (PASI score). Serum IL-33 levels in patients were equal to those in healthy controls but positively correlated with disease activity. Serum IL-36 levels were significantly higher than serum IL-33 levels. Gene expression of IL-37 levels in patients were higher than healthy controls but was not correlated with disease activity. Serum IL-36 and IL-37 levels are generally increased in psoriasis vulgaris and correlated with disease severity. Therefore, serum IL-36 and IL-37 levels may be markers of treatment and diagnosis of psoriasis. Copyright© April 2018, Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. All rights reserved

Prevalence of Transfusion-transmitted Virus (TTV) infection and its association with renal posttransplantation complications in iran

Background: Transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) is a single-stranded DNA virus. Renal transplant patients have a higher risk of TTV infection. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of TTV and its correlation with post-renal transplantation complications in a population of Iranian patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 120 renal transplant recipients. TTV infection in the peripheral blood samples was detected by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (semi-nested PCR). Then, the relationship between TTV and renal post-transplant complications was examined. Results: 34.2 renal transplant recipients were positive for TTV. There was a significant correlation between the presence of TTV and diabetes, acute transplant rejection, and urinary tract infection. We did not find any direct correlation between the presence of TTV infection and hypertension, hyperlipidemia, respiratory tract infection, and cytomegalovirus infection. Conclusion: We found an increased rate of TTV infection in renal transplant recipients associated with post-transplantation complications. TTV may be an important risk factor for some post-renal transplantation complications. © 2018, Iranian Society for Organ Transplantation

Increased serum levels of TNF-α and decreased serum levels of IL-27 in patients with Parkinson disease and their correlation with disease severity

Abstract Objectives: Immunological basis of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer and Parkinson disease (PD) has some important roles in their pathogenesis. There are conflicting studies to serum level of TNF-α in PD. Also, according to our finding there is no report evaluating serum level of IL-27 in PD. This study correlates the serum level of those factors with severity of PD. Patients and methods: In this case-control study, 83 patients with PD and 83 healthy volunteers were enrolled. The diagnosis was fulfilled in accordance with clinical diagnostic criteria of the UK Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank by two neurologists. The modified Hoehn and Yahr (H and Y) scale was used to evaluate the severity of PD. Serum levels of TNF-α and IL-27 were measured by Elisa. Correlation of H and Y scale with serum levels of these cytokines was evaluated. Results: The serum levels of TNF-α were increased and serum levels of IL-27 were decreased in patients with PD compared to those in healthy subjects (P < 0.0001). There was a significant correlation between serum levels of TNF-α and IL-27 with H and Y scale. Conclusion: Our study showed that the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-27 may be important prognostic biomarkers of PD. Keywords TNF-α IL-27 Parkinson disease H and

Deep and shallow electronic states associated to doping, contamination and intrinsic defects in ε-Ga2O3 epilayers

Deep and shallow electronic states in undoped and Si-doped ε-Ga2O3 epilayers grown by MOVPE on c-oriented Al2O3 were investigated by cathodoluminescence, optical absorption, photocurrent spectroscopy, transport measurements, and electron-paramagnetic-resonance. Nominally undoped films were highly resistive, with a room temperature resistivity varying in the range 107- 1013 Ωcm depending on the carrier gas used during growth. Films grown with He carrier were generally more resistive than those grown with H2 carrier and exhibited a Fermi level located at about 0.8 eV below the conduction band edge, which tends to shift deeper with temperature. This can tentatively be attributed to the combined action of deep donors (probably carbon impurities and oxygen vacancies) and deep acceptors (Ga vacancies and related complexes), which compensate residual shallow donors. There are strong experimental hints that nitrogen also behaves as deep acceptor. Room temperature resistivity as low as 0.42 Ωcm and electron concentrations around 1018 cm−3 were obtained by silicon doping. Si was confirmed to act as shallow donor with sufficiently high solubility. A variable range hopping conduction was observed in a wide temperature interval in the n-type layers, and compensation by native acceptors also plays a major role on conduction mechanisms. Previous evaluations of curvature and anisotropy of the conduction band are confirmed, which allows for the estimation of the electron effective mass. The present experimental data are discussed considering the theoretical predictions for point defect formation in the ε-polymorph as well as literature data on extrinsic and intrinsic defects in β-Ga2O3

Corticosteroids or platelet-rich plasma injections for rotator cuff tendinopathy: a randomized clinical trial study

Background: Studies evaluating the role of both corticosteroids and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of rotator cuff (RC) tendinopathies have been contradicting. We compared structural and clinical changes in RC muscles after corticosteroids and PRP injections. Methods: This is a randomized double-blind clinical trial. All individuals with diagnosis of RC tendinitis during 2014�2017 were considered. Individuals were randomly allocated to either receive PRP or corticosteroids. Overall, 3cc of PRP was injected within the subacromial joint and another 3cc was injected at the site of the tendon tear, under the guide of sonography. For the corticosteroid group, 1cc of Depo-medrol 40mg and 1cc of lidocaine (2) was injected within the subacromial joint. Results: Overall, 58 patients entered the study. Comparison of pain, range of motion (ROM), Western Ontario RC (WORC), Disability of Arm-Hand-Shoulder (DASH) scores, and supraspinatus thickness showed significant improvement during follow-ups in both groups (p<0.05). During 3 months of follow-up, pain improvement was significantly better within the PRP group during (from 6.66±2.26 to 3.08±2.14 and 5.53±1.80 to 3.88±1.99, respectively; p=0.023). Regarding ROM, the PRP group had significant improvement in adduction (20.50°±8.23° to 28°±3.61° and 23.21°±7.09° to 28.46°±4.18° for the PRP and corticosteroid groups, respectively; p=0.011) and external rotation (59.66°±23.81° to 76.66°±18.30° and 57.14°±24.69° to 65.57°±26.39°, for the PRP and corticosteroid groups, respectively; p=0.036) compared to the corticosteroid group. Conclusion: We found that PRP renders similar results to that of corticosteroids in most clinical aspects among patients with RC tendinopathies; however, pain and ROM may show more significant improvement with the use of PRP. Considering that the use of corticosteroids may be contraindicated in some patients and may be associated with the risk of tendon rupture, we suggest the use of PRP in place of corticosteroid-based injections among patients with RC tendinopathy. Trial registration: Clinical trial registration code: IRCT201302174251N9 © 2021, The Author(s)

Allograft or autograft in skeletally immature anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A prospective evaluation using both partial and complete transphyseal techniques

Objective: We compared autografts and allograft using partial and complete transphyseal anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction techniques among skeletally immature individuals. Methods: Male and females younger than 18 and 16 years old, respectively, diagnosed with ACL tear from April 2006 to March 2012 entered the study. One group had four-strand hamstring autograft, and the other had tibialis posterior allograft reconstruction. Those who had allografts either had hyper-laxity or recurvatum. Results: Achieved mean (± SD) 2000 International Knee Documentation Committee subjective score was not statistically different (P = 0.385) between allograft (n = 13) (84.3 ± 3.2) and autograft groups (n = 18) (85.6 ± 4.4). Mean Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) subscale Knee-Related Quality of Life at 2 years was 78.0 ± 7.2 and 75 ± 7.4 for allograft and autograft groups, respectively (p = 0.261). Mean 2-year KOOS subscale Sports and Recreation was 82.1 ± 5.8 and 84.8 ± 6.6 for allograft and autograft groups, respectively (p = 0.244). No patient reported instability, giving way, or locking of the knee. Pivot shift test was negative in all patients; however, a minor positive Lachman test was found in six cases (46) within the allograft group and seven cases (39) in the autograft group. One postoperative septic arthritis was documented in the autograft group. Conclusion: Considering existing concern that joint laxity and recurvatum are among the precursors of non-contact ACL injury in adolescents, bone-patellar-bone autografts are not applicable in this age group because of the open physis; furthermore, considering that hamstring autografts are insufficient (size thickness and stretchability), we recommend soft tissue allografts for ACL reconstruction in skeletally immature patients. © 2019 The Author(s)

Posterior Association Networks and Functional Modules Inferred from Rich Phenotypes of Gene Perturbations

Combinatorial gene perturbations provide rich information for a systematic exploration of genetic interactions. Despite successful applications to bacteria and yeast, the scalability of this approach remains a major challenge for higher organisms such as humans. Here, we report a novel experimental and computational framework to efficiently address this challenge by limiting the ‘search space’ for important genetic interactions. We propose to integrate rich phenotypes of multiple single gene perturbations to robustly predict functional modules, which can subsequently be subjected to further experimental investigations such as combinatorial gene silencing. We present posterior association networks (PANs) to predict functional interactions between genes estimated using a Bayesian mixture modelling approach. The major advantage of this approach over conventional hypothesis tests is that prior knowledge can be incorporated to enhance predictive power. We demonstrate in a simulation study and on biological data, that integrating complementary information greatly improves prediction accuracy. To search for significant modules, we perform hierarchical clustering with multiscale bootstrap resampling. We demonstrate the power of the proposed methodologies in applications to Ewing's sarcoma and human adult stem cells using publicly available and custom generated data, respectively. In the former application, we identify a gene module including many confirmed and highly promising therapeutic targets. Genes in the module are also significantly overrepresented in signalling pathways that are known to be critical for proliferation of Ewing's sarcoma cells. In the latter application, we predict a functional network of chromatin factors controlling epidermal stem cell fate. Further examinations using ChIP-seq, ChIP-qPCR and RT-qPCR reveal that the basis of their genetic interactions may arise from transcriptional cross regulation. A Bioconductor package implementing PAN is freely available online at http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/PANR.html

A redox state-dictated signalling pathway deciphers the malignant cell specificity of CD40-mediated apoptosis

CD40, a member of the tumour necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily, has the capacity to cause extensive apoptosis in carcinoma cells, while sparing normal epithelial cells. Yet, apoptosis is only achieved by membrane-presented CD40 ligand (mCD40L), as soluble receptor agonists are but weakly pro-apoptotic. Here, for the first time we have identified the precise signalling cascade underpinning mCD40L-mediated death as involving sequential TRAF3 stabilisation, ASK1 phosphorylation, MKK4 (but not MKK7) activation and JNK/AP-1 induction, leading to a Bak- and Bax-dependent mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. TRAF3 is central in the activation of the NADPH oxidase (Nox)-2 component p40phox and the elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is essential in apoptosis. Strikingly, CD40 activation resulted in down-regulation of Thioredoxin (Trx)-1 to permit ASK1 activation and apoptosis. Although soluble receptor agonist alone could not induce death, combinatorial treatment incorporating soluble CD40 agonist and pharmacological inhibition of Trx-1 was functionally equivalent to the signal triggered by mCD40L. Finally, we demonstrate using normal, ‘para-malignant’ and tumour-derived cells that progression to malignant transformation is associated with increase in oxidative stress in epithelial cells, which coincides with increased susceptibility to CD40 killing, while in normal cells CD40 signalling is cytoprotective. Our studies have revealed the molecular nature of the tumour specificity of CD40 signalling and explained the differences in pro-apoptotic potential between soluble and membrane-bound CD40 agonists. Equally importantly, by exploiting a unique epithelial culture system that allowed us to monitor alterations in the redox-state of epithelial cells at different stages of malignant transformation, our study reveals how pro-apoptotic signals can elevate ROS past a previously hypothesised ‘lethal pro-apoptotic threshold’ to induce death; an observation that is both of fundamental importance and carries implications for cancer therap