Mutual phase locking of a coupled laser diode-Gunn diode pair

Mutual phase locking has been achieved through series connection of a semiconductor laser and a Gunn diode oscillator. Experimental results obtained demonstrate a mutual interaction between the two oscillators which results in a short term Gunn diode oscillator stability and improved spectral purity of its output. We also observe a narrowing of laser pulses and an improvement in regularity

Variable frequency picosecond optical pulse generation from laser diodes by electrical feedback

High repetition rate picosecond optical pulse generation is achieved by providing electrical feedback (with and without external gain) to a self-pulsating laser diode. The feedback improves pulsation short-term stability (<25-kHz frequency jitter) and narrows the laser pulses (14 ps)

A monolithically integrated optical repeater

A monolithically integrated optical repeater has been fabricated on a single-crystal semi-insulating GaAs substrate. The repeater consists of an optical detector, an electronic amplifier, and a double heterostructure crowding effect laser. The repeater makes use of three metal semiconductor field effect transistors, one of which is used as the optical detector. With light from an external GaAlAs laser incident on the detector, an overall optical power gain of 10 dB from both laser facets was obtained

Effect of melatonin in reducing second-generation antipsychotic metabolic effects: A double blind controlled clinical trial

Introduction The use of second-generation atypical antipsychotics has an increasing role in the development of metabolic syndrome. However, these medications due to metabolic disorders can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and subsequently mortality as well as reduced adherence to treatment. The main objective of current study was to determine the ability of melatonin to reduce the metabolic effects of second-generation antipsychotics. Methods This double blind controlled clinical trial was conducted on 100 patients aged 18–64 years old were treated with the second-generation antipsychotics for the first time. The patients were divided randomly into two groups of 50. The case group received slow-release melatonin at a dose of 3 mg and the control group was given oral placebo at 8 p.m. Results The findings in melatonin group indicated significantly increase of HDL and decreased fasting blood sugar and systolic blood pressure, as well as had statistically significant increase in waist circumference, weight and BMI compared with placebo group. Conclusion According to the findings, it can be claimed that the addition of melatonin to atypical antipsychotics has led to a reduction in some of the metabolic effects of these drugs. In this study, HDL level was increased, and the mean systolic blood pressure and FBS were decreased in the melatonin group. Considering that these factors are contributing to cardiovascular disease as a leading cause of mortality in psychiatric patients, so the use of melatonin can reduce some of the medical effects of long-term treatment of atypical antipsychotics. © 2017 Diabetes Indi

Evaluation of the serum sex hormones levels and alkaline phosphatase activity in rats� testis after administering of berberine in experimental varicocele

Current study was aimed to investigate the protective effect of berberine (BB) on the serum gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), inhibin B (INHB), testosterone (T) and alkaline phosphatase (Alk-p) activity in the testis of experimental varicocele-induced animals. For the current objective, 30 mature-male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control (n = 6 rats), control-sham (n = 6 rats) and experimental groups (n = 18 rats). The animals in the experimental groups were undergone experimental varicocele and simple laparotomy was conducted in control-sham group. 60 days after varicocele (VCL) induction the experimental group subdivided into: non-treated VCL-induced and 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg BB-treated groups (intra-peritoneally). Following 60 days, the animals were euthanized and serum levels of testosterone and testicular activity of alkaline phosphatase were measured. Non-treated VCL-induced animals indicated a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in serum levels of T and INHB and a remarkable (P < 0.05) increase in GnRH, FSH, LH and Alk-p activity compared to control and control-sham groups. Insignificant changes were found between control and control-sham groups. Meanwhile, each BB administered group showed a remarkable (P < 0.05) increase in serum levels of T and INHB and a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in GnRH, FSH, LH and alkaline phosphatase activity in testis tissue. According to the current findings, BB by increasing serum levels of testosterone and INHB increases the testicular endocrine capacity and protects Leydig cell against inflammatory and oxidant injury of varicocele. In addition, BB by inhibiting GnRH, FSH, LH and alkaline phosphatase activity, regulate the levels of serum sex hormones in experimental varicocele and reduces varicocele-induced inflammatory reactions. © 2019, Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University

The protective effect of coenzyme Q10 and berberine on sperm parameters, with and without varicocelectomy in rats with surgically induced varicoceles

The current study aimed to investigate the protective effects of coenzyme Q10 (Co Q10) and berberine (BB) with and without varicocelectomy on sperm parameters in postoperative varicocele rats. For the current purpose, a total of 60 mature male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control (n = 6 rats), control-sham (n = 6 rats), and experimental (n = 6 rats) groups. The animals in the experimental groups were undergone experimental varicocele, and simple laparotomy was performed in control-sham group. The experimental group was subdivided into the following groups 60 days after varicocele (VCL) induction: non-treated VCL-induced rats (n = 6 rats), VCL-induced rats administered 100 mg (kg per day) BB (n = 6 rats), VCL-induced rats administered Co Q10 75 mg (kg per day) (n = 6 rats), VCL-induced rats administered 100 mg (kg per day) BB + Co Q10 75 mg (kg per day) (n = 6 rats), varicocelectomy rats (n = 6 rats), varicocelectomy rats administered 100 mg (kg per day) BB (n = 6 rats), varicocelectomy rats administered Co Q10 75 mg (kg per day) (n = 6 rats), varicocelectomy rats administered 100 mg (kg per day) BB + Co Q10 75 mg (kg per day) (n = 6 rats). Following 60 days, the animals were euthanized and sperm parameters were evaluated. Non-treated VCL-induced animals indicated a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in sperm parameters and a significant (P < 0.05) increase in sperm DNA damage compared to control and control-sham groups. Insignificant changes were found between control and control-sham groups. Meanwhile, each treatment group showed a remarkable (P < 0.05) increase in sperm parameters as well as a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in sperm DNA damage. Based on current results, BB and Co Q10 alone and/or together could improve sperm parameters and reduce sperm DNA damage in varicocele-induced rats compared to control and control-sham groups. Varicocelectomy alone will improve sperm parameters, but this recovery will be greater when combined with Co Q10 and BB. © 2018, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Human leukocyte antigen class I (A, B) and class II (DRB1) allele and haplotype frequencies in Iranian patients with Buerger's disease

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I (HLA-A and HLA-B) and II (HLA-DRB1) allele and haplotype frequencies in a group of Iranian patients with Buerger's disease (BD) in comparison with a normal healthy control group. Methods: A total of 70 unrelated male patients and 100 healthy controls from Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, belonging to the same ethnic background, were enrolled in this case-control study. HLA-A, B, and DRB1 typing were performed by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP). Results: The results of this case-control study showed that the frequency of the HLA-A*03:01 (odds ratio (OR) = 2.88, P value (Pv) =.002), HLA-A*29:01 (OR = 15.31, Pv <.001), HLA-DRB1*04:02 (OR = 3.41, Pv <.001), and HLA-DRB1*16:01 (OR = 8.16, Pv <.001) was significantly higher in BD patients compared with healthy controls, whereas the frequency of the HLA-DRB1*01:01 (OR = 0.03, Pv <.001) was significantly lower in BD patients. The most frequent extended haplotypes in our patients were HLA-A*02:01-B*55:01-DRB1*04:03. Conclusion: This study is the first study evaluating an association between the HLA pattern and BD in the patients with BD from North West and North Iran. © 2020 The Authors. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease published by John Wiley & Sons Lt

Comparative characterization of mesenchymal stem cells from eGFP transgenic and non-transgenic mice

Abstract Background Adipose derived- and bone marrow-derived murine mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) may be used to study stem cell properties in an in vivo setting for the purposes of evaluating therapeutic strategies that may have clinical applications in the future. If these cells are to be used for transplantation, the question arises of how to track the administered cells. One solution to this problem is to transplant cells with an easily identifiable genetic marker such as enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP). This protein is fluorescent and therefore does not require a chemical substrate for identification and can be visualized in living cells. This study seeks to characterize and compare adipose derived- and bone marrow-derived stem cells from C57Bl/6 mice and eGFP transgenic C57Bl/6 mice. Results The expression of eGFP does not appear to affect the ability to differentiate along adipogenic or osteogenic lineages; however it appears that the tissue of origin can influence differentiation capabilities. The presence of eGFP had no effect on cell surface marker expression, and mMSCs derived from both bone marrow and adipose tissue had similar surface marker profiles. There were no significant differences between transgenic and non-transgenic mMSCs. Conclusion Murine adipose derived and bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells from non-transgenic and eGFP transgenic C57Bl/6 mice have very similar characterization profiles. The availability of mesenchymal stem cells stably expressing a genetic reporter has important applications for the advancement of stem cell research.</p

Studies on combination of oxaliplatin and dendrosomal nanocurcumin on proliferation, apoptosis induction, and long non-coding RNA expression in ovarian cancer cells

Drug resistance remains a major challenge in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer. Therefore, the development of new anticancer drugs is a clinical priority to develop more effective therapies. New approaches to improve clinical outcomes and limit the toxicity of anticancer drugs focus on chemoprevention. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of dendrosomal nanocurcumin (DNC) and oxaliplatin (Oxa) and their combination on cell death and apoptosis induction in human ovarian carcinoma cell lines analyzed by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The synergism effect of Oxa and DNC was analyzed using the equation derived from Chou and Talalay. In addition, real-time PCR was used to measure the effect of this combination on the expression levels of long non-coding RNAs with different expression in ovarian cancer and normal ovaries. Our data showed that the effect of DNC on cell death is more than curcumin alone in the same concentration. The greatest cell death effect was observed in combination of Oxa with DNC, while Oxa was added first, followed by DNC at 4 h interval (0/4 h). The findings indicated that DNC induced apoptosis significantly in both cell lines as compared to control groups; however, combination of both agents had no significant effect in apoptosis induction. In addition, combination of both agents significantly affects the relative expression of long non-coding RNAs investigated in the study as compared with mono therapy. © 2018, Springer Nature B.V