Cornual Polyps of the Fallopian Tube Are Associated with Endometriosis and Anovulation

Background. The relationship between tubal cornual polyps and endometriosis and ovulatory disorders in infertile women is unclear. Our objective was to determine such an association from our database and review the literature. Methods. Twenty-two infertile women with tubal cornual polyps were assessed for coexistence of oligoovulation/anovulation and endometriosis with stratification for polyp diameter (large: ≥5 mm diameter, small <5 mm diameter). Result(s). Oligoovulation/anovulation was more prevalent in women with large versus small tubal cornual polyps (P = 0.0048). Endometriosis was associated with both large and small polyps. Conclusion(s). This case series confirms the association of tubal cornual polyps with oligoovulation/anovulation and endometriosis in infertile women. This case series is limited by a lack of controls

PI3K/Akt inhibition and down-regulation of BCRP re-sensitize MCF7 breast cancer cell line to mitoxantrone chemotherapy

Objective(s): Multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells is a major obstacle to successful chemotherapy. Overexpression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is one of the major causes of MDR. In addition, it has been shown that PI3K/Akt signaling pathway involves in drug resistance. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of novel approaches including siRNA directed against BCRP and targeted therapy against PI3K/Akt signaling pathway using LY294002 (LY) to re-sensitize breast cancer MCF7 cell line to mitoxantrone (MTX) chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Anticancer effects of MTX, siRNA, and LY alone and in combination were evaluated in MCF7 cells using MTT cytotoxicity assay and flow cytometry analysis of cell cycle distribution and apoptosis induction. Results: MTT and apoptosis assays showed that both MTX and LY inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in MCF7 cells. Results indicated that inhibition of BCRP by siRNA or PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by LY significantly increased sensitivity of MCF7 cells to antiproliferation and apoptosis induction of MTX. Furthermore, MTX showed G2/M arrest, whereas LY induced G0/G1 arrest in cell cycle distribution of MCF7 cells. Combination of siRNA or LY with MTX chemotherapy significantly increased accumulation of MCF7 cells in the G2/M phase of cell cycle. Conclusion: Combination of MTX chemotherapy with BCRP siRNA and PI3K/Akt inhibition can overcome MDR in breast cancer cells. This study furthermore suggests that novel therapeutic approaches are needed to enhance anticancer effects of available drugs in breast cancer. © 2015, Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

A comparison of maladaptive early schemas and appearance schemas in obese and normal weight control subjects

The purpose of this study was to compare early maladaptive and appearance schemas in obse and and normal-weight subjects. Materials and Methods: The method of the study was causal- comparative and groups were included 30 obese (BMI�35) and 30 normal-weight adults (BMI<25). All participants completed Young Schema Questionnaire�Short Version (YSQ-S) and appearance schema Inventory (ASI) questionnaire. Results: Obse subjects showed significantly higher scores in compare to control group in self-sacrifice and emotional inhibition schemas. In addition, severity of appearance schemas in body- image vulnerability and self- investment subscales were significantly greater in obese subjects than in control group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that some early maladaptive and appearance schemas are associated with obesity and therefore, theoretical conceptualizations and psychological interventions should address the above thesis constructs. © 2015, Semnan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Learning to Learn in Collective Adaptive Systems: Mining Design Patterns for Data-driven Reasoning

Engineering collective adaptive systems (CAS) with learning capabilities is a challenging task due to their multidimensional and complex design space. Data-driven approaches for CAS design could introduce new insights enabling system engineers to manage the CAS complexity more cost-effectively at the design-phase. This paper introduces a systematic approach to reason about design choices and patterns of learning-based CAS. Using data from a systematic literature review, reasoning is performed with a novel application of data-driven methodologies such as clustering, multiple correspondence analysis and decision trees. The reasoning based on past experience as well as supporting novel and innovative design choices are demonstrated

Evidence of Improved Vascular Function in the Arteries of Trained but Not Untrained Limbs After Isolated Knee-Extension Training

Vascular endothelial function is a strong marker of cardiovascular health and it refers to the ability of the body to maintain the homeostasis of vascular tone. The endothelial cells react to mechanical and chemical stimuli modulating the smooth muscle cells relaxation. The extent of the induced vasodilation depends on the magnitude of the stimulus. During exercise, the peripheral circulation is mostly controlled by the endothelial cells response that increases the peripheral blood flow in body districts involved but also not involved with exercise. However, whether vascular adaptations occur also in the brachial artery as a result of isolated leg extension muscles (KE) training is still an open question. Repetitive changes in blood flow occurring during exercise may act as vascular training for vessels supplying the active muscle bed as well as for the vessels of body districts not directly involved with exercise. This study sought to evaluate whether small muscle mass (KE) training would induce improvements in endothelial function not only in the vasculature of the lower limb (measured at the femoral artery level in the limb directly involved with training), but also in the upper limb (measured at the brachial artery level in the limb not directly involved with training) as an effect of repetitive increments in the peripheral blood flow during training sessions. Ten young healthy participants (five females, and five males; age: 23 \ub1 3 years; stature: 1.70 \ub1 0.11 m; body mass: 66 \ub1 11 kg; BMI: 23 \ub1 1 kg \ub7 m 122 ) underwent an 8-week KE training study. Maximum work rate (MWR), vascular function and peripheral blood flow were assessed pre- and post-KE training by KE ergometer, flow mediated dilatation (FMD) in the brachial artery (non-trained limb), and by passive limb movement (PLM) in femoral artery (trained limb), respectively. After 8 weeks of KE training, MWR and PLM increased by 44% (p = 0.015) and 153% (p = 0.003), respectively. Despite acute increase in brachial artery blood flow during exercise occurred (+25%; p &lt; 0.001), endothelial function did not change after training. Eight weeks of KE training improved endothelial cells response only in the lower limb (measured at the femoral artery level) directly involved with training, likely without affecting the endothelial response of the upper limb (measured at the brachial artery level) not involved with training

Probabilistic models to evaluate effectiveness of steel bridge weld fatigue retrofitting by peening

The purpose of this study was to evaluate, with two probabilistic analytical models, the effectiveness of several alternative fatigue management strategies for steel bridge welds. The investigated strategies employed, in various combinations, magnetic particle inspection, gouging and rewelding, and postweld treatment by peening. The analytical models included a probabilistic strain-based fracture mechanics model and a Markov chain model. For comparing the results obtained with the two models, the fatigue life was divided into a small, fixed number of condition states based on crack depth, similar to those often used by bridge management systems to model deterioration due to other processes, such as corrosion and road surface wear. The probabilistic strain-based fracture mechanics model was verified first by comparison with design S-N curves and test data for untreated welds. Next, the verified model was used to determine the probability that untreated and treated welds would be in each condition state in a given year; the probabilities were then used to calibrate transition probabilities for a much simpler Markov chain fatigue model. Then both models were used to simulate a number of fatigue management strategies. From the results of these simulations, the performance of the different strategies was compared, and the accuracy of the simpler Markov chain fatigue model was evaluated. In general, peening was more effective if preceded by inspection of the weld. The Markov chain fatigue model did a reasonable job of predicting the general trends and relative effectiveness of the different investigated strategies

PhD students, interculturality, reflexivity, community and internationalisation

Interviews with a small group of doctoral students at a British university indicate that the students feel that the programme provides an environment within which they develop interculturality through reflexive engagement with the PhD community and in some cases with the participants in their research. Significant here is that they are interpretivist, constructivist qualitative researchers within a larger university community of qualitative researchers where there is a shared reflexivity that is at the core of interculturality. They also bring with them existing cultural complexity with which to engage, build on, make reflexive sense of and resolve in this experience. This complexity which they all share make it difficult to consider them differently as 'international' or 'home' students, which are revealed as inappropriately divisive labels within an intercultural community. Where there are apparent issues with English as a second or other language among some of the students, it is realised that this represents a broader struggle, shared with all students, regarding self-expression in writing. These findings demand cultural belief in whatever backgrounds the students come from. This belief impacts on how we understand internationalisation and the nature of academic knowledge and process

The genetic background of Southern Iranian couples before marriage

Genetic service for couples plays an increasingly important role in diagnosis and risk management. This study investigated the status of consanguinity and the medical genetic history (effectiveness and coverage of medical genetic services) in couples residing in a city in southern Iran. We questioned couples who were referred to Behbahan Marital Counseling Center, Behbahan, Iran, during the period from January to November 2014, to obtain information on consanguinity, disease history, and previous referral to a medical genetics center. For the collected data was obtained descriptive statistics with STATA 11.0 software. A total of 500 couples were questioned. Mean age was 24.8 ± 5.2 years. Almost one quarter (23.4) of the couples were consanguineous. Consanguinity was almost twice as common in rural areas as in urban areas (33.9 vs. 19.2, p = 0.001). Only a few couples (~3.0) had ever been referred for genetic counseling. The main reason for previous genetic counseling was consanguinity (85.7). The majority of the participants (96.3) had never been tested for any genetic conditions. Our findings suggest that only a small proportion of couples in Khuzestan Province, Iran (Behbahan City) were receiving adequate genetics care. This may reflect the limited accessibility of such services, and inadequate awareness and education among the care providers. © 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston