Better isolation, proliferation and differentiation of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells using human serum

Mesenchymal stem cells have many applications in medicine. Attention to the proliferation and differentiation of stem cell differentiation is an important issue. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of optimal isolation, proliferation, and differentiation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) using human serum. Human serum (HS) was obtained from the venous blood of eight healthy individuals. The rate of proliferation and differentiation of ADSCs and expression of surface markers was assessed by flow cytometry. Bone differentiation was assessed using Alizarin Red staining. Data were analyzed using statistical software. Over time, HS showed more proliferation than fetal bovine serum (FBS) -enriched cells (p <0.05). Differentiation of ADSCs cells ls in HS-enriched medium is faster and more pronounced than differentiation in the control group. The expression of surface markers in the medium containing HS was the same as the medium containing FBS where the expression levels of CD105 and CD95 were found to be positive and the expression of CD34 and CD45 was negative. Due to the better proliferation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal cells in the medium containing HS than FBS, it is suggested that human serum be used in future clinical studies. Also, HS is healthier, safer, more accessible, and more affordable than FBS

Algorithms for Problems in Voting and Scheduling

In this dissertation, we study the voting problem and the ranking problem in computational social choice, as well as a matching problem in a restricted graph. We present our results for these problems in two parts.Part I: Election, Ranking, and Heuristics. Voting is commonly used to reach consensus among a group of people. Voting models often deal with a set of voters, each of whom has a preference over a set of alternatives. Each voter submits a ranking of the alternatives, and the outcome is decided by a voting rule. Computational voting theory is an interdisciplinary research area which considers the computational problems that arise in voting. Selecting the winner(s) of an election is one such problem. The problem of computing the winner(s) using most voting rules is easy. However, there are a few rules for which this problem becomes computationally hard. In the first part of this thesis, we study two important voting and ranking rules under which computing the winner(s) is hard. The first voting procedure we study in this thesis is the Chamberlin-Courant system. The Chamberlin-Courant system is a proportional representation system that does not restrict candidates to have a minimum number of votes to be selected in an assembly. We consider domination analysis of a 2-Opt heuristic for the winner determination problem under the Chamberlin-Courant system. We show that the 2-Opt heuristic produces solutions no worse than the average solution in polynomial time. The next problem we consider in this dissertation is Linear Ordering Problem. Linear ordering problem is a classic optimization problem which can be used to model problems in graph theory, machine scheduling, and ranking. Relatively recently, there has been some success in using Mixed Integer Program (MIP) heuristic for NP-hard optimization problems. We report our experience with using a MIP heuristic for the problem. Part II: Matching.The first problem we consider in this part is the Linear Ordering Problem. We show how the linear program of this problem can be solved by using a primal-dual based combinatorial algorithm instead of the Simplex method. Next, we address the cyclical scheduling problem which is used to schedule shifts for workers in a factory. Given a set of n work periods, each worker is assigned a shift where he works for n-2 consecutive periods and takes off the remaining two periods. Thus, for n=7, a typical shift may be to work from Monday to Friday and take off Saturday and Sunday. Each shift may also have a cost associated with it. Furthermore, the factory requires that a given number of workers be available for each period (this requirement may vary from period to period). The objective is to assign a shift to each worker such that the daily requirement is fulfilled and the total cost of the shifts is minimized. We use the primal-dual method to solve the (n-2,n) cyclical scheduling problem by solving a series of b-matching problems on a cycle of n vertices

Effect of type of luting agents on stress distribution in the bone surrounding implants supporting a three-unit fixed dental prosthesis: 3D finite element analysis

Background: Osseointegration of dental implants is influenced by many biomechanical factors that may be related to stress distribution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of type of luting agent on stress distribution in the bone surrounding implants, which support a three-unit fixed dental prosthesis (FDP) using finite element (FE) analysis. Materials and Methods: A 3D FE model of a three-unit FDP was designed replacing the maxillary first molar with maxillary second premolar and second molar as the abutments using CATIA V5R18 software and analyzed with ABAQUS/CAE 6.6 version. The model was consisted of 465108 nodes and 86296 elements and the luting agent thickness was considered 25 μm. Three load conditions were applied on eight points in each functional cusp in horizontal (57.0 N), vertical (200.0 N) and oblique (400.0 N, θ = 120°) directions. Five different luting agents were evaluated. All materials were assumed to be linear elastic, homogeneous, time independent and isotropic. Results: For all luting agent types, the stress distribution pattern in the cortical bone, connectors, implant and abutment regions was almost uniform among the three loads. Furthermore, the maximum von Mises stress of the cortical bone was at the palatal side of second premolar. Likewise, the maximum von Mises stress in the connector region was in the top and bottom of this part. Conclusion: Luting agents transfer the load to cortical bone and different types of luting agents do not affect the pattern of load transfer

Stress Distribution in Luting Cement Layer in Implant Supported Fixed Partial Dentures Using Finite Element Analysis

Background and Aim : Luting cements are necessarily used to increase retention and enhance the marginal seal of fixed partial dentures (FPDs) . In this study, the finite element method (FEM) was used to investigate the effect of different types of luting agents on stress distribution in the luting cement layer i n a three-unit implant-supported FPD .   Materials and Methods : A three-dimensional (3D) FE model of a FPD was designed from the maxillary second premolar to the second molar teeth using CATIA V5R18 software, and analyzed by ABAQUS/CAE version 6.6 software . Three load conditions were statically applied to eight points in each functional cusp in horizontal (57.0 N), vertical (200.0 N) and oblique (400.0 N, θ=120°) directions. Five luting agents including glass ionomer, zinc polycarboxylate, polymer-modified zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE), composite resin and zinc phosphate were evaluated .   Results : The stress distribution pattern in the luting cement layer was almost uniform in all luting cements. In addition, the maximum von Mises stress in the luting cement layer (39.96 MPa) was at the cervical one-third of the palatal side of the second premolar when oblique force was exerted on zinc phosphate cement . Moreover, the minimum von Mises stress in the luting cement layer (0.41 MPa) was at the lateral side of the coronal one-third when the horizontal force was applied to the Polymer-modified ZOE cement. Likewise, the luting cement layers in the premolar tooth showed greater von Mises stress than that in molar tooth .   Conclusion : The type of luting cement has no significant effect on the stress distribution pattern in the luting cement layer however, von Mises stress values were different in various types of luting agents. USE of zinc phosphate cement is associated with more limitations

Investigating the Relationship between the Expression Level of Membrane-Bound Mucin (MUC12) and Clinicopathological Characterization of Colorectal Cancer

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the world and has a high mortality rate. It is accepted that dysfunction in the expression of mucins are associated with the occurrence and development of CRC. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of MUC12 gene in colorectal cancer and their relationship with clinicopathological variables. &nbsp; Materials and Methods: This research was prospective case-control study. Tumors from CRC patients were collected from the Taleghani Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. &nbsp;RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were performed using the corresponding kits. The gene primer was designed and RT-PCR was used to evaluate gene expression. The t-test and ANOVA were used to examine the differences between the different groups. Data analysis was performed using Prism8 software. Data analysis was performed using Prism8 software. &nbsp; Results: The results of the present study showed that the expression of MUC12 (P=0.0012) gene in patients with colorectal cancer were significantly different from tumor margin samples. There were also associations between the expression of the studied gene and clinicopathological variables such as grade and stage of colorectal cancer tumor as well as the age of the patients. The area under the curves (AUC) for the MUC12 0.953 (95% CI 7565 to 0.9897, P=0.0003) was calculated by ROC analysis. &nbsp; Conclusion: It can be stated that malignant transformation of colorectal cells is accompanied by changes in the expression of membrane-bound MUC gene (MUC12) in colorectal cancer, which has a biomarker value for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer

The effect of silver nanoparticles on learning and memory in rodents: "a systematic review"

Abstract Background Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in medicine owing to their antiseptic activity and inducing cell death. Despite AgNPs' importance in nano-engineering and medical benefits, animal studies have shown silver toxicity can damage multiple organs such as the lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines, and brain. Several investigations revealed the correlation between Ag administration by different methods with impaired cognitive and behavioral abilities. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to conclude on the existing evidence of impairments in learning and memory that were changed in rodents exposed to AgNPs. Methods Main searches were retrieved in Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases from 1979 to 2022. Eligibility Criteria were applied to select and extract 15 articles among 892. Results Learning and memory abilities of rats and mice in screened studies were evaluated with MWM, NORT, PAL, T-maze, Y-maze, contextual fear conditioning, Radial Arm Maze and Carousel Maze test. Data have shown various sizes from 10 to 100 nm could affect the results of tests among animals exposed to AgNPs compared with control animals. However, in some treatments, results achieved from tests have not demonstrated significant differences between control and treated groups. Conclusion Studies have revealed that treatment with Ag-NPs of different sizes can impair learning and memory skills in rats and mice

Antileishmanial potentials of azacitidine and along with meglumine antimoniate on Leishmania major: In silico prediction and in vitro analysis.

This study aimed to investigate the in vitro and in silico antileishmanial activity of azacitidine (AZA) on Leishmania major promastigotes and amastigotes. The in silico method was used to evaluate the possibility of the interaction of AZA into the binding pocket of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a leading defensive oxidative metabolite. Following that, in vitro anti-promastigote, and anti-amastigote activity of AZA was determined using an MTT assay and a macrophage model, respectively. Cytotoxic effects of AZA and meglumine antimoniate (MA) were also assessed by MTT assay on murine macrophages. All experiments were performed in triplicate. The results showed that AZA interacted with Ser133, Gln134, and Lys13 amino acids of iNOS, and the molecular docking score was obtained at -241.053 kcal/mol. AZA in combination with MA significantly (P<0.001) inhibited the growth rate of nonclinical promastigote (IC50 247.6±7.3 μM) and 8.5-fold higher of clinical intramacrophage amastigote stage (29.8±5.3 μM), compared to the untreated group. A significant upsurge of Th1 subsets and transcription genes and a meaningful decline in Th2 cytokines subclasses at the equivalent concentrations of AZA and MA was observed (P<0.001). The apoptosis effect of AZA along with MA was significantly induced on L. major in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.001). The present study demonstrated that AZA possesses antileishmanial activity in in vitro and in silico models. However, AZA combined with MA was more effective than AZA alone in inhibiting the growth rate of promastigotes and amastigotes of L. major. This study indicates that AZA in combination with MA demonstrated a potent antileishmanial mechanism, promoting immune response and enhancing an immunomodulatory role toward the Th1 pathway. This experimental study is a basic study for applying more knowledge about the mechanisms of AZA along with MA in animal models in the future