FOLDED MYSTERY

The body of work in my thesis project titled Folded Mystery are the metaphors for how we exchange knowledge, how perception widens our perspective, and how observation deepens our understanding of the reality in which we live. I seek works of art that activate once the viewer is involved. Folded Mystery is about challenging viewers\u27 perception of multi-perception embodiment through 2D and 3D drawings, sculptural paintings, and installations that focus on the interaction of geometric abstract forms, colors, reflective objects and layering grid-like materials in space

Downregulation of Autophagy-related Genes in Macrophages from Patients with Behcet's Disease

Objective: Overwhelming inflammatory chemokines and cytokines characterize the immunological profile and inflammatory settings of Behcet disease (BD). The connection between autophagy-related genes (ATGs) and various perspectives of innate and adaptive immunobiology such as antigen presentation, immune tolerance, lymphocyte development and differentiation, cytokine signaling, and inflammation have been implicated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mRNA expression profile of ATGs in macrophages of patients with BD. Materials and Methods: Whole blood samples were obtained from 10 BD patients and 10 healthy controls. Monocytes were isolated from the blood samples and then differentiated to macrophages using macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). After total RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, quantitative analysis of ATGs including ATG5, ATG7, ATG12, LC3b, mTOR, RAPTOR, and RICTOR was conducted by SYBR Green master mix and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: mRNA expression of all ATGs was downregulated in macrophages of BD patients compared with healthy controls. It is worth to note that the downregulation of ATG12 and LC3b mRNAs in macrophages of BD patients was statistically significant in comparison to that of healthy control group (P = 0.007 and 0.021, respectively). Conclusion: Considering the role of autophagy in initiation of immune responses and then clearance of dead cells as well as its participation in the development and differentiation of immune cells, downregulation of ATGs in macrophages of BD patients may be involved in uncontrolled immune response and overproduction of inflammatory cytokines

The Efficacy of CBT and Psycho-Educational Therapy on Depression and HbA1C in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Clinical Trial Study

ABSTRACT: Diabetes mellitus type 2 is an endocrine disorder. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the risk of depression in diabetic patients is to 2 fold greater. The aim of the present study is evaluating the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psycho-educational therapy (PET) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. From 180 diabetic patients who referred to Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran, 60 patients were selected for clinical trial study and divided into three groups, including cognitive behavioral therapy, psycho-educational therapy and control. The degree of depression and amount of blood glucose were assessed using the Beck depression inventory-ǁ (BDI-ǁ) and HbA1C.The level of post treatment depression and HbA1C were significantly different among cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducational therapy and control groups (P = 0.0001). The Tukey test identified a statistically significant difference in post treatment depression between cognitive behavioral therapy and psycho-educational therapy groups (P = 0.000) and psycho-educational therapy and control groups (P = 0.0001). Besides, there was no significant difference in post treatment HbA1C between cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoeducational therapy groups (P = 0.433). However, the post-treatment HbA1C revealed a significant difference between control group and each of the CBT and PET groups (P = 0.000). The result of this study showed that the cognitive behavioral therapy was successful in treating the depression in patients with diabetes type 2

Curcumin reduces the expression of interleukin 1<b>β</b> and the production of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha by M1 macrophages from patients with Behcet's disease

<p><b>Objective:</b> Behcet's disease (BD) is an auto-inflammatory disorder. Curcumin as a bio-active agent has anti-inflammatory properties. Effects of curcumin on the pathogenesis of BD are still not clear. In this study, we investigated the effect of curcumin on the inflammatory cytokines expression and production in M1 macrophages from BD patients compared with healthy controls.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> Monocytes were collected from 10 healthy controls and 20 active BD patients, differentiated to macrophages by macrophage-colony stimulating factor for 7 d. Macrophages were then treated with interferon gamma, lipopolysaccharide, and curcumin (10 or 30 µg/ml) for 24 h. Analysis of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 mRNA expression and protein production was performed using SYBR Green qPCR and ELISA method.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Treatment with 30 µg/ml curcumin significantly down-regulated mRNA expression of IL-1β (<i>p <</i> .05) and protein production of IL-6 (<i>p</i> < .05) in M1 macrophages from BD patients but not in M1 macrophage from controls. Treatment with 30 µg/ml curcumin also significantly diminishes the protein production of TNFα in BD patients (<i>p</i> < .01) and healthy controls (<i>p</i> < .05) M1 macrophages.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> We demonstrated that curcumin can inhibit the expression and production of inflammatory cytokines in M1 macrophages from BD patients. Our results suggest that curcumin can modulate inflammatory signaling more specifically in macrophages from BD patients than healthy macrophages.</p