Persian Gulf security arrangements, with special reference to Iran's foreign policy

The aim of this study is to provide a conceptual and analytical foundation for a discussion about the future shape of security arrangements in the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf is a regiion whose strategic and economic characteristics have strengthened its vital significance to all littoral states as well as the entire world's economy and political life. Its significant geopolitical situation, in addition to its dominant position as an energy source and gateway for global energy has caused this region to be a worthy rival to outside powers, particularly the West, while also being the most unstable and chaotic of any world region. Therefore the objective of this thesis has been to provide a security model for the Persian Gulf that address the need for a stable and peaceful structure of relationships which will provide security for all individual littoral states, as well as assuring the interests of the external powers. The thesis' hypothesis of cooperation as the only possible basis for a comprehensive strategy for peace and stability in this region has been substantiated by employing a variety of conceptual and analytical tools to understand the reasons for the failure of security models 'in the Persian Gulf and to confront the huge obstacles to a security system for this region. The relevance of this model is supported by the modem global political landscape, most especially the events that have occurred since the end of the 11 Cold War, in addition to various successful cooperation models that are to be found in other regions of the globe, e. g. the EU. This is assisted by the unprecedented opportunity for regional cooperation and the conditions for the creation of new security arrangements in the Persian Gulf and beyond that have been created since the downfall of Saddam's regime in 2003, which was one of the major elements of insecurity in this region. To this end, this study has analysed various security models in this significant geopolitical region in the world since 1962, with special reference to Iran's foreign policy. Particular reference has been made to Iran because of its geostrategic and geopolitical situation and as the hegemonic power in the Persian Gulf, which regardless its political regimes, it has great national and security concerns and plays a determinant role in peace and security of the region. With emphasis on dialogue as the best solution to the regional security problems in the Persian Gulf, this study has come up with a pyramid security model on the basis of the region's geopolitical realities which emphasisesth e need for domestic reforms as well as interaction and cooperation and a balance of interests between all regional and non-regional players

Multiple functions of microfluidic platforms: Characterization and applications in tissue engineering and diagnosis of cancer

Microfluidic system, or lab-on-a-chip, has grown explosively. This system has been used in research for the first time and then entered in the clinical section. Due to economic reasons, this technique has been used for screening of laboratory and clinical indices. The microfluidic system solves some difficulties accompanied by clinical and biological applications. In this review, the interpretation and analysis of some recent developments in microfluidic systems in biomedical applications with more emphasis on tissue engineering and cancer will be discussed. Moreover, we try to discuss the features and functions of microfluidic systems. © 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Identification and characterization of the localization and expression of CLIC4 under redox conditions in mammalian cells

Chloride intracellular ion channel-4 (CLIC4) is a member of the CLIC family of proteins which were originally identified as channels of intracellular membranes permeable to ion chloride ions. Its expression and localization to intracellular membrane is sensitive to oxidative stress. This sensitivity of CLIC4 is indicated with its physiological redox regulatory function either as an oxidoreductase enzyme or an ion channel in response to decrease the cellular glutathione level, ROS accumulation, and consequently non-native disulfide formation in the cells. The pathways for disulfide formation are well characterized. However, the understanding of redox state of CLIC4 and possibility to participate in reductive pathway to removing the non-native disulfide bond is still limited and whether CLIC4 as a membranebinding protein with oxidoreductase activity might be needed in the reduction pathway either in the cytosol or ER, are the questions we need to address. In this project the oxidative stress induced by TNF-α and CLIC4 in response to TNF-α can be re-localized to the ER from the cytosol. The ER is a host for disulfide formation within folding proteins entering the mammalian secretory pathway. The consequence of oxidative stress in the ER is the accumulation of misfolded and unfolded proteins. The mammalian cells have a family of oxidoreductase that is thought to be isomerised non-native disulfide bonds. This reductive catalytic activity of oxidoreductases is maintained via a reductive pathway. For CLIC4 to act as an oxidoreductase for performing isomerisation or reduction reactions, it must be preserved in a reduced position. Here, by mass spectrometry, using purified proteins and ER microsomal membrane following TNF-α induced oxidative stress, we illustrate CLIC4 is predominantly placed in a reduced state in the intact cells, demonstrating a reductive pathway is prepared in mammalian cells and CLIC4 can be involved with this pathway as an oxidoreductase through its either enzyme catalytic activity or ion channel activity. In this project, the glutathione has identified to be responsible for the reduction of CLIC4 during oxidative stress. Furthermore, when inhibitors of glutathione synthesis or reductase are added to the cells, CLIC4 is not reduced. The results demonstrate that glutathione plays a direct role in the isomerisation of disulfide bonds by maintaining CLIC4 in a reduced state. To confirm the reduction effect of GSH on CLIC4 and overall microsomal membrane protein in response to TNF-α, we have applied a cysteine-reactive tandem mass tag (Iodo-TMT) to differentially label cysteine residues and analyse the overall protein expression level and redox state into one-step analysis. The individually labeled samples have been pooled in differential combinations to create multiple six-plex samples to determine the effect of GSH on cysteine oxidation and overall protein expression in the microsomal membrane. The result highlights the redox status of CLIC4 under reduction of GSH was confirmed with MS/LC, and the TMT-labeling detected the redox state of the overall microsomal membrane proteins with respect to cysteine oxidation and protein expression. This study is important because CLIC4 as either a membrane binding protein or an ion channel can be considered as a mis-component in reductive pathway

A Case Report of Paraneoplastic Pemphigus Associated With Retroperitoneal Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is an autoimmune bullous disease associated with underlying neoplasms, both malignant and benign. The most constant clinical presentation of PNP is the presence of intractable stomatitis. Herein we present a 25-year-old male with a 3-month history of refractory stomatitis especially involving the lips and widespread vesiculobullous eruption on his trunk and extremities. The diagnosis of PNP was confirmed based on histological and serological results. Investigation for the underlying neoplasm revealed a retroperitoneal tumorous mass which was biopsied and diagnosed as the inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT). The tumor was surgically excised, and different treatment regimens were used to treat the mucocutaneous lesions. Skin lesions responded favorably to treatment, but oral stomatitis still persists which is the case in most PNP patients. This combination of PNP and IMT has rarely been reported in the literature. Treatment started with corticosteroid and rituximab then tumor excised

Mechanical behavior and collagen structure of degenerative mitral valve leaflets and a finite element model of primary mitral regurgitation

Degenerative mitral valve disease is the main cause of primary mitral regurgitation with two phenotypes: fibroelastic deficiency (FED) often with localized myxomatous degeneration and diffuse myxomatous degeneration or Barlow’s disease. Myxomatous degeneration disrupts the microstructure of the mitral valve leaflets, particularly the collagen fibers, which affects the mechanical behavior of the leaflets. The present study uses biaxial mechanical tests and second harmonic generation microscopy to examine the mechanical behavior of Barlow and FED tissue. Three tissue samples were harvested from a FED patient and one sample is from a Barlow patient. Then we use an appropriate constitutive model by excluding the collagen fibers under compression. Finally, we built an FE model based on the echocardiography of patients diagnosed with FED and Barlow and the characterized material model and collagen fiber orientation. The Barlow sample and the FED sample from the most affected segment showed different mechanical behavior and collagen structure compared to the other two FED samples. The FE model showed very good agreement with echocardiography with 2.02 ± 1.8 mm and 1.05 ± 0.79 mm point-to-mesh distance errors for Barlow and FED patients, respectively. It has also been shown that the exclusion of collagen fibers under compression provides versatility for the material model; it behaves stiff in the belly region, preventing excessive bulging, while it behaves very softly in the commissures to facilitate folding.publishedVersio

Carrier effect in development of rifampin loaded proliposome for pulmonary delivery: a quality by design study

Purpose: Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide life-threatening infection. The recommended anti-TB regimen contains oral administration of classical first-line drugs such as rifampin for 6-24 months which often leads to low patient compliance due to high adverse effects; therefore, lung localized pulmonary delivery of anti-TB agents may be a suitable alternative. Proliposomes free-flowing powders are well-known carriers for lung delivery since they can form liposomes by hydration. Liposomes are safe and useful carriers for lung delivery due to their phospholipid structure. Methods: Porous lactose and mannitol as proliposome carriers were prepared by spray drying technique using sucrose and citric acid as templating agents. Design Expert® software was used to develop forty formulations based on the porous and non-porous carriers, which were characterized with respect to their weight yield, density, and flowability. Rifampin-loaded hydrated liposomes were produced and evaluated for size, morphology, loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency. The optimized proliposomes in vitro release and aerosolization properties were evaluated. Solid-state analysis was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results: Porous lactose surface area was 80 folds higher than non-porous one, respectively. Optimized porous-based proliposome indicated the acceptable aerosolization properties, including mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 6.21 ± 0.36 μm and fine particle fraction (FPF) of 9.17 ± 0.18% with a fast rifampin release (80%) within one hour. DSC results proved that there was no change in the solid-state of rifampin during the production process. Conclusion: Hence, it seems; rifampin loaded inhalable proliposomes may be a suitable system for delivering liposomal rifampin into the lungs

Is a simplified Finite Element model of the gluteus region able to capture the mechanical response of the internal soft tissues under compression?

Internal soft tissue strains have been shown to be one of the main factors responsible for the onset of Pressure Ulcers and to be representative of its risk of development. However, the estimation of this parameter using Finite Element (FE) analysis in clinical setups is currently hindered by costly acquisition, reconstruction and computation times. Ultrasound (US) imaging is a promising candidate for the clinical assessment of both morphological and material parameters. Method: The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of a local FE model of the region beneath the ischium with a limited number of parameters to capture the internal response of the gluteus region predicted by a complete 3D FE model. 26 local FE models were developed, and their predictions were compared to those of the patient-specific reference FE models in sitting position. Findings: A high correlation was observed (R = 0.90, p-value < 0.01). A sensitivity analysis showed that the most influent parameters were the mechanical behaviour of the muscle tissues, the ischium morphology and the external mechanical loading. Interpretation: Given the progress of US for capturing both morphological and material parameters, these results are promising because they open up the possibility to use personalised simplified FE models for risk estimation in daily clinical routine.This work was supported by the Fondation de l'Avenir (grant number AP-RM-2016-030), by la Fondation des Arts et Métiers and the Fonds de dotation Clinatec. The authors are also grateful to the ParisTech BiomecAM chair program on subject-specific musculoskeletal modelling

A Case of Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis Induced by Aspirin Therapy

Linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) is a rare autoimmune blistering disease that may be triggered by some diseases and medications. For the latter one, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been identified as one of the potential causative agents to develop LABD. Here, a rare case of drug-induced LABD is introduced. A 13-month-old Iranian boy presented with a history of generalized blisters, displaying the classic "string of pearls" sign who was eventually diagnosed as a case of LABD. In his admission, he was diagnosed whit Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome and treated with aspirin. Some features like appearing the characteristic lesions one week following the administration of aspirin, rapid clearance of lesions after the withdrawal of the drug, and reappearance of new lesions after readministration of aspirin were highly suggestive of aspirin-induced LABD. To establish the diagnosis, we used the "Naranjo probability score" which determined the probable causative role of aspirin. The diagnosis was confirmed by showing the positive IgA deposition in the basement membrane zone in a direct immunofluorescence study of the skin biopsy. The child was treated with dapsone with dramatical response to the drug

CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over partially embedded Cu within Zn-Al oxide and the effect of indium

Developing effective catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol is an important step to improve the efficiency of a promising process for green synthesis of fuels and chemicals. Optimizing the Cu dispersion is often the main goal in preparing Cu/ZnO-based catalysts due to the strong dependence of the catalytic activity on the Cu surface area. However, the catalytic properties are also related to the nature of the Cu-ZnO interface. Herein, a series of hydrotalcite-derived Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. The preparation method results in partially embedded Cu particles within the Zn-Al oxide matrix. This microstructure exhibits significantly enhanced intrinsic activity and methanol selectivity. Loss of the interfacial area between Cu and Zn-Al mixed oxide phase due to sintering of Zn-Al matrix is identified as the main reason for deactivation of the HT-derived catalysts. The influence of In on Cu/ZnO-based catalysts is also investigated. It is found that In decreases the activity but increases the methanol selectivity and stabilizes the Cu particles and the Zn-Al mixed oxide phase. The lower activity of the In-containing catalysts is linked to the inhibition of Cu active sites by CuxIny species.publishedVersio