Steroidal anti inflammatory drug betamethasone significantly alters level of striatal dopamine in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease

Many scientific efforts have been well done to investigate the effects of anti inflammatory agents on the degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson’s (PD) or Alzheimer’s disease and their affiliated sings. Previously we showed the effectiveness of steroids on rigidity of PD and in the study for further mechanistic investigation of that observation the microdialysis technique was employed to determine the striatal dopamine changes in parkinsonian rats after administration of betamethasone (0.12, 0.24 mg/kg) respectively. Our findings showed us the significant increase in the striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission (P<0.05) after administration of betamethasone comparing to the controls. These observations suggest a new mechanism for betamethasone on striatum dopaminergic neurotransmission leading us to gather further evidence about effectiveness of betamethasone in PD

Mathematical Modeling and Sensitivity Analysis on Cadmium Transport in Kaolinite under Direct Current Electric Field

Soil pollution is a challenging concern for environmentalists. Different remediation methods have been proposed to remediate polluted soils. Most of the existing methods cannot purify low permeable soils. Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) is an effective method which can remediate fine-grained soils. Understanding the physicochemical phenomena of the EKR is necessary to achieve efficient experimental framework. Therefore, the present study aims to introduce a theoretical and mathematical model for the EKR process. In the present model, different transport phenomena including ion migration, electroosmotic flow, and diffusion were considered. In addition, Chemical reactions such as adsorption/desorption, precipitation/dissolution, water autoionization reaction, and electrolysis reaction were considered. For modeling purpose, a set of partial differential and algebraic equations were used to model the remediation process. The implicit finite difference numerical model showed a good capability of simulating the EKR process. The sensitivity analysis on the retardation and tortuosity factors represented that the retardation factor had a considerable effect on the pH and cadmium concentration profiles. Although tortuosity factor did not have a significant impact on the pH profile, it had a non-negligible effect on the cadmium concentration profile

Formulation, Characterization and Optimization of Transferosomal Bovine Lactoferrin as a Novel Non-Invasive Topical Treatment for Genital Warts Caused by Human Papiluma Virus (HPV)

Introduction: Human papilloma virus (HPV) causes common warts, laryngeal papilloma and genital condylomata and might lead to development of cervical cancer. Lactoferrin (LF), a member of the transferrin family, is a bi-globular protein and has antiviral activity against HPV-16.  LF is an important player in the defense against pathogenic microorganisms and has also shown to have activity against several viruses including herpesvirus, adenovirus, rotavirus and poliovirus.  Bovine LF has been reported to be a more potent inhibitor of HPV entry than human LF. The goal of the present study was to formulate, evaluate and optimize transfersomal vesicles as a transdermal drug delivery system for the lactoferrin which assumed to be a suitable non-invasive transdermal delivery system for treatment of genital warts. Methods and Results: Transfersomes have been prepared by two methods of reverse phase evaporation and thin film hydration with different ratios of cholesterol: lecithin: DOTAP in the presence of SDS or Tween 80. The transferosomes were then evaluated regarding size, polydispersity and LF loading.  In vitro release studies in pH 5.3, stability evaluation in 4°c and 24°c and TEM imaging has been performed on optimized transferosomal lactoferrin. The optimized transferosomes were found to have 100 nm sizes with good PDI and encapsulation efficiency of 91% for lactoferrin as well as sustained release of lactoferrin during 24 hours. It was shown that unlike lactoferinn which should be stored in cold temperature, transferosomal lactoferrin would be stable in cool conditions. Conclusions: The elastic vesicular systems like transferosomes are one of the most controversial methods for transdermal delivery of active substances specially macromolecules and proteins. It was found that transferosomes would be ideal nano carriers with high loading efficiency and size uniformity as well as improving stability of lactoferrin. Further study is needed to investigate its efficacy in treatment of HPV caused genital warts and its viral inhibitory function

Effect of quercetin on methotrexate-induced hepatic and renal damages in male rats

Abstract Background and purpose: Methotrexate as a chemotherapy drug causes chronic liver damage, infiltration of neutrophils, oxidative stress, and direct renal tubular damage. Quercetin is a flavonoid with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of quercetin on eliminating the liver and kidney toxicity of methotrexate. Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 32 rats were divided into 4 groups. Group I (control) was given regular diet. Group II received single-dose methotrexate. Group III received methotrexate + a single dose quercetin and the last group (positive control) received methotrexate + a single dose silymarin. After five days, blood samples were taken and the serum GOT, GPT, ALP, Cr, urea and antioxidant capacity of plasma were measured. Some parts of liver and kidney were removed to measure the liver and kidney SOD, MDA, catalase activity and histopathological studies. Results: Serum GOT, GPT, ALP, Cr, and liver and kidney MDA were significantly higher (P<0.05) in group II, compared with those of the control group. These parameters significantly decreased (P<0.05) in group III. Compared to the control group, antioxidant capacity of plasma, activity of the liver and kidney SOD, catalase and serum urea decreased significantly in group II (P<0.05). Administration of quercetin significantly increased these parameters (P<0.05) and decreased hepatic and renal lymphocyte infiltration. Conclusion: According to the results, administration of quercetin could have a protective role in preventing liver and renal toxicity induced by methotrexate which could be due to its antioxidant property

Mutation screening of GJB2 and GJB6 and genetic linkage study of three prevalent DFNB loci in Iranian families with autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss

Background and aim: The incidence of prelingual hearing loss (HL) is about 1 in 1000 neonates of which, more than 60% of cases are inherited. Non-syndromic HL (NSHL) is extremely heterogeneous: more than 100 loci have been identified. The most common form of NSHL is the autosomal recessive form (ARNSHL). Here, we have investigated CX26 (GJB2) and CX30 (GJB6) gene mutation and linkage analysis of 3 known loci in Iranian families. Methods: A cohort of 36 big ARNSHL pedigrees from 7 provinces of Iran was investigated. All of the families were examined for the presence of GJB2 and GJB6 (del D13S1830 and del D13S1854) mutations using direct sequencing and multiplex PCR, respectively. The negative mutations pedigrees for the above- mentioned mutations, were then tested for the linkage to the 3 known loci, including DFNB3(MYO7A), DFNB4(SLC26A4) and DFNB7/11(TMC1), using STR markers and conventional PCR and PAGE. Results: Six families had GJB2 mutations. No GJB6 mutation was found. Totally, 3 families showed linkage to DFNB4 and 1 family was linked to DFNB7/11. Conclusion: DFNB1 (GJB2) and DFNB4 are the main causes of ARNSHL in our study samples and GJB6 mutations are apparently absent in the Iranian populatio

Gd 3+

Designing a unique theranostic biocompatible, biodegradable, and cost-effective agent which is easy to be synthesized as a biohybrid material was the aim of this study. In this matter, asparagine attached to anionic linear globular dendrimer G2 (as a biocompatible, biodegradable, and cost-effective agent which is negatively charged nanosized and water soluble polymer that outweighs other traditionally used dendrimers) and finally contrast agent (Gd3+) was loaded (which made complexes) in synthesized asparagine-dendrimer. Observations revealed that, in addition to successful colon cancer and brain targeting, Gd3+-dendrimer-asparagine, the proposed theranostic agent, could increase T1 MR relaxation times, decrease T2 MR relaxation times significantly, and improve contrast of image as well as illustrating good cellular uptake based on florescent microscopy/flow cytometry and ICP-mass data. In addition to that, it increased tumor growth inhibition percentage (TGI%) significantly compared to FDA approved contrast agent, Magnevist. Totally, Gd3+-anionic linear globular dendrimer G2-asparagine could be introduced to the cancer imaging/therapy (theranostics) protocols after in vivo MR and fluorescent analysis and passing clinical trials. Hence, this nanotheranostic agent would be a promising candidate for brain drug delivery and imaging in the future

Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

This publication is the Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering from July 6-8, 2022. The EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering brings together international experts working on the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolution of challenges such as supporting multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways. &nbsp

Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

This publication is the Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering from July 6-8, 2022. The EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering brings together international experts working on the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolution of challenges such as supporting multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways. &nbsp