Dark or Bright Half of the Moon: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experience of Iranian Heart Failure Patients Regarding their Quality of Life

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem in different societies and has numerous impacts on quality of life (QOL). AIM: The present study was carried out with the aim to explore the experience of HF patients regarding the negative effects of the disease on their QOL. METHODS: In this qualitative exploratory study data collection was performed through face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 19 patients with HF, who were selected through purposive sampling method from April to September 2017. Data analysis was carried out based on the framework analysis method. RESULTS: The negative consequences of HF on QOL emerged in the form of 6 main themes including symptoms, disease complications, cognitive impairment, psychological distress, functional limitations and economic problems. Most of the participants (14 out of 19) assessed their QOL as well or very well. CONCLUSION: The majority of the patients in this study, despite the many negative impacts of HF, had a high QOL that could indicate their satisfaction and effective coping with HF by creating a positive outlook and the perceived positive effects of the disease

Investigating the effects of IDO1, PTGS2, and TGF-β1 overexpression on immunomodulatory properties of hTERT-MSCs and their extracellular vesicles

The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is out of the question. Yet, recent drawbacks have resulted in a strategic shift towards the application of MSC-derived cell-free products such as extracellular vesicles (EVs). Recent reports revealed that functional properties of MSCs, including EV secretion patterns, correlate with microenvironmental cues. These findings highlight the urgent need for defining the optimal circumstances for EV preparation. Considering the limitations of primary cells, we employed immortalized cells as an alternative source to prepare therapeutically sufficient EV numbers. Herein, the effects of different conditional environments are explored on human TERT-immortalized MSCs (hTERT-MSCs). The latter were transduced to overexpress IDO1, PTGS2, and TGF-β1 transgenes either alone or in combination, and their immunomodulatory properties were analyzed thereafter. Likewise, EVs derived from these various MSCs were extensively characterized. hTERT-MSCs-IDO1 exerted superior inhibitory effects on lymphocytes, significantly more than hTERT-MSCs-IFN-γ. As such, IDO1 overexpression promoted the immunomodulatory properties of such enriched EVs. Considering the limitations of cell therapy like tumor formation and possible immune responses in the host, the results presented herein might be considered as a feasible model for the induction of immunomodulation in off-the-shelf and cell-free therapeutics, especially for autoimmune diseases. © 2021, The Author(s)

Genetic Insights from Consanguineous Cardiomyopathy Families.

Inherited cardiomyopathies are a prevalent cause of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Both hypertrophic (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are genetically heterogeneous and typically present with an autosomal dominant mode of transmission. Whole exome sequencing and autozygosity mapping was carried out in eight un-related probands from consanguineous Middle Eastern families presenting with HCM/DCM followed by bioinformatic and co-segregation analysis to predict the potential pathogenicity of candidate variants. We identified homozygous missense variants in TNNI3K, DSP, and RBCK1 linked with a dilated phenotype, in NRAP linked with a mixed phenotype of dilated/hypertrophic, and in KLHL24 linked with a mixed phenotype of dilated/hypertrophic and non-compaction features. Co-segregation analysis in family members confirmed autosomal recessive inheritance presenting in early childhood/early adulthood. Our findings add to the mutational spectrum of recessive cardiomyopathies, supporting inclusion of KLHL24, NRAP and RBCK1 as disease-causing genes. We also provide evidence for novel (recessive) modes of inheritance of a well-established gene TNNI3K and expand our knowledge of the clinical heterogeneity of cardiomyopathies. A greater understanding of the genetic causes of recessive cardiomyopathies has major implications for diagnosis and screening, particularly in underrepresented populations, such as those of the Middle East

Reflective learning and the development of leaders

Investment in leadership development programs continues to rise as organisations struggle to develop leaders at all levels. In this study personal reflections from 40 senior leaders completing an almost year-long leadership development program are analysed using an integrated series of content analysis techniques. In examining a corpus of over 50,000 words, the study presents evidence that the use of reflective learning activities has led to the formation of leadership wisdom: a necessary set of attitudes and values, cognitive skills and life experiences that enable individuals to lead in uncertain environments. The paper concludes that reflection is a cornerstone of successful leadership development programs, and adds value to the discourse on successful leadership

Drying kinetics and colour change of lemon slices

The effect of microwave-convective heating on drying characteristics and colour change of lemon slices was investigated. The drying experiments were carried out at 180, 360, 540 and 720Wand at 22°C, with air velocity of 1ms-1. The values of effective moisture diffusivity were found to be in the range between 1.87 10-8 and 3.95 10-8 m2 s-1, and the activation energy was estimated to be 10.91 Wg-1. The drying data were fitted with six mathematical models available in the literature. The model describing drying kinetics of lemon slices in the best way was found. The colour change of the dried lemon slices was analysed and considered as a quality index affecting the drying quality of the product. The values of lightness/darkness, yellowness/blueness and hue angle increased, while the value of redness/greenness decreased with increasing microwave power

Energy aAnalysis and Kinetics of Mint Leaves Dehydration Using Vibro-Fluidized Bed Heat Pump Dryer

Fluidized bed dryers have not yet been used for drying products such as mint leaves. This could be due to high porosity and low mechanical resistance resulting in poor quality of fluidization. Applying vibration has been recommended to overcome problems such as channeling and defluidization, and hence improving the fluidization quality. In this research, a laboratory scale vibro-fluidized bed heat pump dryer was designed and constructed for drying mint leaves. The experiments were conducted at vibration frequency of 80 Hz and amplitude of 3 mm. The velocity and temperature of the inlet air was controlled by an automatic control system. Experiments were carried out at 40, 50 and 60 °C, and two methods: heat pump drying (HPD) and non-heat pump drying (NHPD). The results revealed that drying process primarily occurred in the falling rate period. Effective moisture diffusivity of the samples increased with increase in drying air temperature and varied from 4.26656×10-11 to 2.95872×10-10 m2 s-1 for the HPD method, and 3.71918×10-11 to 1.29196×10-10 m2 s-1 for the NHPD method and was within the reported range of 10-9 to 10-11 m2 s-1 for drying of food materials. The activation energy was determined to be 84 kJ mol-1 for the HPD and 54.34 kJ mol-1 for the NHPD, both have very good agreement with the results of other investigators. The coefficient of performance and specific moisture evaporation rate showed the acceptable performance of the heat pump system. Moreover, the energy consumption of the dryer for the NHPD method was more than the HPD method

Antigen-induced IL-10+ regulatory T cells are independent of CD25+ regulatory cells for their growth, differentiation and function

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of T cells with regulatory/suppressor properties in controlling autoimmune diseases. A number of different types of regulatory T cells have been described with the best characterized being the CD25(+) population. In addition, it has been shown that regulatory T cells can be induced by specific Ag administration. In this study, we investigate the relationship between peptide-induced, CD4(+) regulatory T cells and naturally occurring CD4(+)CD25(+) cells derived from the Tg4 TCR-transgenic mouse. Peptide-induced cells were FoxP3(−) and responded to Ag by secreting IL-10, whereas CD25(+) cells failed to secrete this cytokine. Both cell types were able to suppress the proliferation of naive lymphocytes in vitro although with distinct activation sensitivities. Depletion of CD25(+) cells did not affect the suppressive properties of peptide-induced regulators. Furthermore, peptide-induced regulatory/suppressor T cells could be generated in RAG(−/−), TCR-transgenic mice that do not spontaneously generate CD25(+) regulatory cells. These results demonstrate that these natural and induced regulatory cells fall into distinct subsets

IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF p53 AND BCL-2 PROTEINS IN ADVANCED ESOPHAGEAL CANCER PATIENTS

The current challenges in the management of esophageal cancer are to obtain a better understanding of underlying molecular alterations to provide new treatment options. We studied the p53 and Bcl-2 protein expression in esophageal carcinomas to correlate molecular alterations with clinicopathological findings. Tissue samples of 37 patients with advanced esophageal carcinoma were analyzed by immunohistochemical techniques. Positive immunostaining for p53 and Bcl-2 were observed in 67.6% and 43.6% of tumor samples, respectively. The prevalence of Bcl-2 overexpression was significantly greater in p53+ tumors ‎as compared with p53- tumors (P = 0.003). Unlike p53, positive Bcl-2 immunostaining correlated significantly with tumor type (P = 0.001) and histological differentiation (P = 0.007). Our data also showed that 35% of patients were positive for both proteins and 32.4% of patients were positive for p53 but negative for Bcl-2 expression. These results indicate two types of double gene alterations that obviously would affect tumor biology and response to chemotherapy. Therefore, it is advisable to determine expression profile of certain genes including p53 and Bcl-2 in tumor samples before selecting chemotherapy regimen