Determination of Serum Survivin for Prognostic Role in Esophageal Cancer

Background & Aims: In the recent years, the considerable interest in survivin has significantly increased, because of its possible detection role in esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: Twenty eight patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer and thirty three healthy controls were assessed for the purpose of the study. From March 2015 until September 2017, the subjects who had esophageal cancer were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were from subjects enrolled in a prospective cohort undergoing annual esophageal cancer testing. The concentrations of serum survivin were determined using Elisa method. Results: Serum levels of survivin in the esophageal patient group increased compared to the healthy controls [164.06±55.03 (mean±SD) vs. 119.37±48.25, ng/L, P<0.04].Elevated serum survivin had positive correlation with clinical parameters. Conclusion: The positive association between elevated serum survivin and esophageal cancer status could be due to the fact that this protein involves in the development of esophageal cancer. Determination of serum survivin could differentiate normal and esophageal cancer subjects and lead to lower numbers of excessive esophageal biopsies

Free Vibration of Laminated Composite Plate with Shape Memory Alloy Fibers

Abstract In the present study, an analytical closed form solution for free vibration response of hybrid composite plate reinforced with shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers is derived. Recovery stresses generated during martensitic phase transformation are obtained based on one- dimensional Brinson's model. The mechanical properties of plate are assumed to be temperature dependent. Based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) the governing equations are obtained via Hamilton's principle. Ritz method is used to obtain the fundamental natural frequency of the plate for different temperatures. A detailed parametric analysis shows the strong influence of the volume fraction, pre-strain, orientation and location of SMA fibers as well as the aspect ratio of the plate on the fundamental natural frequency and the onset of the thermal buckling

Approximate solutions of large amplitude vibration of a string

<div><p>Abstract In the present study, the response of a flexible string with large amplitude transverse vibration is studied utilizing amplitude-frequency formulation, improved amplitude-frequency formulation and max-min approach. In order to verify the accuracy of these approaches, obtained results are compared with other methods such as variational approach method, variational iteration method, coupling Newton’s method with the harmonic balance method and Hamiltonian approach. It has been found that for this problem, while amplitude-frequency formulation and max-min approach give the same results, improved amplitude frequency formulation is not an appropriate choice.</p></div

Efectiveness of fungal bacterial biofertilizers on agrobiochemical attributes of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd.) under salinity stress

The efects of fungi and bacteria biofertilizers under salinity stress were studied on some morphological and physiological traits of quinoa. The experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The factors included NaCl (no salinity-150 mM NaCl and 300 mM NaCl), Trichoderma (no Trichoderma and Trichoderma), and bacterial biofertilizers (no biofertilizer-N biofertilizer and P biofertilizer). The highest shoot and root length and dry weight were observed in the treatment of no salinity+no Trichoderma+N biofertilizer. Salinity increased Na+and K+content and decreased K+/Na+ratio, whereas the application of Trichoderma alleviated the efect of salinity on these factors. Ca2+/Na+ and Mg2+/Na+ ratios were signifcantly decreased in high salinity level compared to the zero salinity level. The highest and lowest phenol content was observed in the treatments of 300 mM NaCl+Trichoderma+P biofertilizer and no salinity+no Trichoderma+N biofertilizer, respectively. Flavonoid content was higher in the treatments of no salinity+Trichoderma+N biofertilizer and no salinity+Trichoderma+P biofertilizer than in the other treatments, also The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that all phenolic and favonoid compounds exhibited the greatest increase in treatments of no salinity+Trichoderma+N biofertilizer and no salinity+Trichoderma+P biofertilizer, which is consistent with the signifcant increase in total favonoid content in these treatments. The results showed that using N biofertilizer can improve the growth and development of quinoa in saline soils

Biomimetic VEGF-loaded bilayer scaffold fabricated by 3D printing and electrospinning techniques for skin regeneration

Among the fabrication methods, 3D printing due to excellent accuracy, reproducibility and customizability as well as electrospinning due to the ability to mimic the extracellular matrix structure have received many attentions. Herein, we used the combination of both mentioned techniques to produce a biomimetic bilayer scaffold for skin tissue regeneration. The upper layer of the scaffold was made of 3D printed dextran-vascular endothelial growth factor (Dex-VEGF) to stimulate angiogenesis and cell migration, and the bottom layer was made of electrospun gelatin-keratin (Gel-Kr) nanofibers to induce cell attachment. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of the scaffolds were measured in the range of 0.26 – 0.33 MPa and 5.8 – 7.2 MPa, respectively. The investigations revealed that the release of VEGF lasted up to 7 days. The bilayer VEGF-loaded scaffold demonstrated the best cellular behaviour. Chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay confirmed the highest angiogenic potential in the presence of the bilayer VEGF-loaded scaffold. Also, based on in vivo animal studies and histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations, the highest wound healing rate was related to the bilayer VEGF-loaded scaffold within 14 days. The obtained promising results introduce the prepared bilayer scaffold as a perfect construct to accelerate wound healing