Maintaining health and sustainability of urban metabolism ecosystem in line with sustainable development: a case study of Qarchak, Iran

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the urban metabolism in line with sustainable development of Qarchak city, Iran. Methods: The present study was applied in terms of type and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The statistical population of the study included Qarchak city as one of the cities of Tehran province with a population of 231075 people based on 2016 census. It is located in the northwest of Varamin city. Information was collected through library studies, documents and databases were checked. After identifying the criteria, they were converted into quantitative indices and the indices were weighted and prioritized within the framework of AHP weight model. Data analysis was done with the Metabolic Outcomes Assessment (MIA) method. Results: The final score of the study area was 29.61, while the optimal status is 60.64. Therefore, the current status of the area compared to the optimal status, gained about 45% of the scores. It indicates that the metabolic status of the study area is poor. Also, according to experts, water criterion with a weight of 0.388 has the highest rank and air criterion with a weight of 0.075 has the lowest rank and importance. Also, the incompatibility coefficient is 0.09, which is acceptable. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, understanding the deep relationship between the city and the environment to solve urban and environmental problems, optimization of systems and multiple natural and human processes is essential that should be considered by public people and urban planners

The Effect of ZnO on the Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties of Aluminosilicate Dental Cements

In this study, the effect of the addition of various amounts of ZnO (0, 1, 2, and 3 wt. %) to aluminosilicate bioactive glass (BGs) network (SiO2-Al2O3- P2O5-CaF2-CaO-K2O-Na2O) on the mechanical properties of the fabricated glass ionomer cement (GIC) samples was studied. The GIC samples were fabricated by mixing the synthesized aluminosilicate BGs with Rivaself cure liquid. The synthesized aluminosilicate glass was characterized using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Besides, the mechanical properties of GICs were evaluated using Vickers microhardness and Diametral tensile strength (DTS) test. According to DTA analysis, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of aluminosilicate BGs was decreased from 575 to 525 °C. According to the results, the aluminosilicate BGs with an amorphous state (~90%) and the grain size of 36 μm were synthesized. Doping of the ZnO to glass network up to 3 wt. % could increase the amorphous phase up to 95% and decrease the grain size of the particles up to 28 μm. The microhardness and DTS of the GIC samples containing the aluminosilicate BGs were about 677 Hv and 8.5 MPa, respectively. Doping of ZnO to the glass network increased the mentioned values up to 816 Hv and 12.1 MPa, respectively

FIS1 Overexpression Is Correlated with Tumor Metastasis in Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Background Due to poor prognosis and treatment failure, gastric cancer (GC) is still regarded as one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide, demanding new molecular targets for therapeutic and diagnostic approaches. Therefore, the current study was aimed to investigate the expression levels of FIS1 gene involving in mitochondrial fission as a promising target in gastric tumor progression. Material and Methods A total of eighty clinical tissue samples including 40 gastric primary tumor samples and 40 paired marginal samples were prepared. Total RNA was extracted and reverse transcribed to complementary DNA. Then, FIS1 expression levels were quantified in GC samples compared to normal ones using q-PCR. Furthermore, the correlation between FIS1 expression and clinicopathological features of patients was evaluated. Results The obtained results illustrated that FIS1 is significantly (p = 0.0013) overexpressed in gastric tumors compared to noncancerous marginal tissues; indicating the possible role of FIS1 through gastric tumorigenesis. Further analysis showed that FIS1 upregulation was significantly (p = 0.0419) correlated with metastasis in patients. Also, ROC curve analysis estimated an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.7209 for FIS1 to discriminate cancer patients from healthy cases. Conclusion Taken together, our findings suggested FIS1 as a promising tumor marker where its overexpression predicts tumor metastasis of gastric cancer.Department of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Center, University Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranThis study was supported by a grant from research deputy of Department of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Center, University Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. This center was funder for the current study

Antioxidant effects of bioactive glasses (BGs) and their significance in tissue engineering strategies

Elevated levels of oxidative stress are usually observed following injuries, leading to impaired tissue repair due to oxidation-related chronic inflammation. Several attempts have been made to manage this unfavorable situation, and the use of biomaterials with antioxidant activity is showing great promise in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches. Bioactive glasses (BGs) are a versatile group of inorganic substances that exhibit an outstanding regenerative capacity for both hard and soft damaged tissues. The chemical composition of BGs provides a great opportunity for imparting specific biological activities to them. On this point, BGs may easily become antioxidant substances through simple physicochemical modifications. For example, particular antioxidant elements (mostly cerium (Ce)) can be added to the basic composition of the glasses. On the other hand, grafting natural antioxidant substances (e.g., polyphenols) on the BG surface is feasible for making antioxidant substitutes with promising results in vitro. Mesoporous BGs (MBGs) were demonstrated to have unique merits compared with melt-derived BGs since they make it possible to load antioxidants and deliver them to the desired locations. However, there are actually limited in vivo experimental studies on the capability of modified BGs for scavenging free radicals (e.g., reactive oxygen species (ROS)). Therefore, more research is required to determine the actual potential of BGs in decreasing oxidative stress and subsequently improving tissue repair and regeneration. The present work aims to highlight the potential of different types of BGs in modulating oxidative stress and subsequently improving tissue healing

Strontium- and Cobalt-Doped Multicomponent Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses (MBGs) for Potential Use in Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) offer suitable platforms for drug/ion delivery in tissue engineering strategies. The main goal of this study was to prepare strontium (Sr)- and cobalt (Co)-doped MBGs; strontium is currently used in the treatment of osteoporosis, and cobalt is known to exhibit pro-angiogenic effects. Sr- and Co-doped mesoporous glasses were synthesized for the first time in a multicomponent silicate system via the sol–gel method by using P123 as a structure-directing agent. The glassy state of the Sr- and Co-doped materials was confirmed by XRD before immersion in SBF, while an apatite-like layer was detected onto the surface of samples post-immersion. The textural characteristics of MBGs were confirmed by nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. In vitro experiments including MTT assay, Alizarin red staining, and cell attachment and migration showed the cytocompatibility of all the samples as well as their positive effects on osteoblast-like cell line MG-63. Early experiments with human umbilical vein endothelial cells also suggested the potential of these MBGs in the context of angiogenesis. In conclusion, the prepared materials were bioactive, showed the ability to improve osteoblast cell function in vitro and could be considered as valuable delivery vehicles for therapeutics, like Co2+ and Sr2+ ions

Three-dimensionally printed polycaprolactone/multicomponent bioactive glass scaffolds for potential application in bone tissue engineering

Over the last years, three-dimensional (3D) printing has been successfully applied to produce suitable substitutes for treating bone defects. In this work, 3D printed composite scaffolds of polycaprolactone (PCL) and strontium (Sr)- and cobalt (Co)-doped multi-component melt-derived bioactive glasses (BGs) were prepared for bone tissue engineering strategies. For this purpose, 30% of as-prepared BG particles (size <38 μm) were incorporated into PCL, and then the obtained composite mix was introduced into a 3D printing machine to fabricate layer-by-layer porous structures with the size of 12 × 12 × 2 mm3

Functionalization and Surface Modifications of Bioactive Glasses (BGs): Tailoring of the Biological Response Working on the Outermost Surface Layer

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are routinely being used as potent materials for hard and soft tissue engineering applications; however, improving their biological activities through surface functionalization and modification has been underestimated so far. The surface characteristics of BGs are key factors in determining the success of any implanted BG-based material in vivo since they regulate the affinity and binding of different biological macromolecules and thereby the interactions between cells and the implant. Therefore, a number of strategies using chemical agents (e.g., glutaraldehyde, silanes) and physical methods (e.g., laser treatment) have been evaluated and applied to design properly, tailor, and improve the surface properties of BGs. All these approaches aim at enhancing the biological activities of BGs, including the induction of cell proliferation and subsequent osteogenesis, as well as the inhibition of bacterial growth and adhesion, thereby reducing infection. In this study, we present an overview of the currently used approaches of surface functionalization and modifications of BGs, along with discussing the biological outputs induced by these changes

Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles for Improved Cancer Theranostics

Beyond their well-known applications in bone tissue engineering, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAp NPs) have also been showing great promise for improved cancer therapy. The chemical structure of HAp NPs offers excellent possibilities for loading and delivering a broad range of anticancer drugs in a sustained, prolonged, and targeted manner and thus eliciting lower complications than conventional chemotherapeutic strategies. The incorporation of specific therapeutic elements into the basic composition of HAp NPs is another approach, alone or synergistically with drug release, to provide advanced anticancer effects such as the capability to inhibit the growth and metastasis of cancer cells through activating specific cell signaling pathways. HAp NPs can be easily converted to smart anticancer agents by applying different surface modification treatments to facilitate the targeting and killing of cancer cells without significant adverse effects on normal healthy cells. The applications in cancer diagnosis for magnetic and nuclear in vivo imaging are also promising as the detection of solid tumor cells is now achievable by utilizing superparamagnetic HAp NPs. The ongoing research emphasizes the use of HAp NPs in fabricating three-dimensional scaffolds for the treatment of cancerous tissues or organs, promoting the regeneration of healthy tissue after cancer detection and removal. This review provides a summary of HAp NP applications in cancer theranostics, highlighting the current limitations and the challenges ahead for this field to open new avenues for research

Osteogenic potential of magnesium (Mg)-doped multicomponent bioactive glass: in vitro and in vivo animal studies

The use of bioactive glasses (BGs) has been quite fruitful in hard tissue engineering due to the capability of these materials to bond to living bone. In this work, a melt-derived magnesium (Mg)-doped BG (composition: 45SiO2–3P2O5–26CaO–15Na2O–7MgO–4K2O (mol.%)) was synthesized for being used in bone reconstruction. The prepared BGs were then manufactured as three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds by using the sponge replica approach. The microstructure of the samples was assessed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the surface morphology was observed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The in vitro bioactivity and the release of osteo-stimulatory Mg2+ ions from the prepared samples were investigated over 7 days of incubation in simulated body fluids (SBF). In vitro cellular analyses revealed the compatibility of the Mg-doped BGs with human osteosarcoma cells (MG-63 cell line). Moreover, the Mg-doped BGs could induce bone nodule formation in vitro and improve the migratory ability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In vivo osteogenic capacity was further evaluated by implanting the BG-derived scaffolds into surgically-created critical-size bone defects in rats. Histological and immunohistological observations revealed an appropriate bone regeneration in the animals receiving the glass-based scaffolds after 12 weeks of surgery. In conclusion, our study indicates the effectiveness of the Mg-doped BGs in stimulating osteogenesis in both in vitro and in vivo conditions