Long non-coding RNA SOX2OT: Expression signature, splicing patterns, and emerging roles in pluripotency and tumorigenesis

SOX2 overlapping transcript (SOX2OT) is a long non-coding RNA which harbors one of the major regulators of pluripotency, SOX2 gene, in its intronic region. SOX2OT gene is mapped to human chromosome 3q26.3 (Chr3q26.3) locus and is extended in a high conserved region of over 700 kb. Little is known about the exact role of SOX2OT; however, recent studies have demonstrated a positive role for it in transcription regulation of SOX2 gene. Similar to SOX2, SOX2OT is highly expressed in embryonic stem cells and down-regulated upon the induction of differentiation. SOX2OT is dynamically regulated during the embryogenesis of vertebrates, and delimited to the brain in adult mice and human. Recently, the disregulation of SOX2OT expression and its concomitant expression with SOX2 have become highlighted in some somatic cancers including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, and breast cancer. Interestingly, SOX2OT is differentially spliced into multiple mRNA-like transcripts in stem and cancer cells. In this review, we are describing the structural and functional features of SOX2OT, with an emphasis on its expression signature, its splicing patterns and its critical function in the regulation of SOX2 expression during development and tumorigenesis. © 2015 Shahryari, Saghaeian Jazi, Samaei and Mowla

Evaluation of bacteriological and chemical quality of dialysis water and fluid in Isfahan, central Iran

Background: Chemical and microbial quality of water used in hemodialysis play key roles in a number of dialysisrelated complications. In order to avoid the complications and to guarantee safety and health of patients therefore, vigorous control of water quality is essential. The objective of present study was to investigate the chemical and bacteriological characteristics of water used in dialysis centers of five hospitals in Isfahan, central Iran. Methods: A total of 30 water samples from the input of dialysis purification system and dialysis water were analyzed for chemical parameters. Heterotrophic plate count and endotoxin concentration of drinking water, dialysis water and dialysis fluid of 40 machines were also monitored over a 5-month period in 2011-2012. Results: Concentration of the determined chemicals (copper, zinc, sulfate, fluoride, chloramines and free chlorine) did not exceed the recommended concentration by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) exclude lead, nitrate, aluminum and calcium. Furthermore, the magnesium; cadmium and chromium concentration exceeded the maximum level in some centers. No contamination with heterotrophic bacteria was observed in all samples, while the AMMI standard for endotoxin level in dialysis fluid (<2 EU/ml) was achieved in 95 of samples. Conclusion: Dialysis water and fluid failed to meet the all chemical and bacteriological requirements for hemodialysis. To minimize the risk of contaminants for hemodialysis patients therefore, a water quality management program including monitoring, maintenance and development of water treatment system in hemodialysis centers is extremely important. In addition, an appropriate disinfection program is needed to guarantee better control of bacterial growth and biofilm formation. © 2016, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Catalytic Ozonation of Phenolic Wastewater: Identification and Toxicity of Intermediates

A new strategy in catalytic ozonation removal method for degradation and detoxification of phenol from industrial wastewater was investigated. Magnetic carbon nanocomposite, as a novel catalyst, was synthesized and then used in the catalytic ozonation process (COP) and the effects of operational conditions such as initial pH, reaction time, and initial concentration of phenol on the degradation efficiency and the toxicity assay have been investigated. The results showed that the highest catalytic potential was achieved at optimal neutral pH and the removal efficiency of phenol and COD is 98.5% and 69.8%, respectively. First-order modeling demonstrated that the reactions were dependent on the initial concentration of phenol, with kinetic constants varying from 0.038 min−1 ([phenol]o = 1500mg/L) to 1.273 min−1 ([phenol]o = 50mg/L). Bioassay analysis showed that phenol was highly toxic to Daphnia magna (LC50 96 h = 5.6mg/L). Comparison of toxicity units (TU) of row wastewater (36.01) and the treated effluent showed that TU value, after slightly increasing in the first steps of ozonation for construction of more toxic intermediates, severely reduced at the end of reaction (2.23).Thus, COP was able to effectively remove the toxicity of intermediates which were formed during the chemical oxidation of phenolic wastewaters

Comparison of the effect of liquid humic fertilizers on yield of maize genotypes in Ardabil region

In order to investigate the response of maize genotypes against the  application of two types of liquid humic fertilizers (derived from peat and  leonardite), an experiment was conducted as factorial based on completely  randomized block design with three replications. The main factor was included three conditions (application of peat based and leonardite based humic  fertilizer, without the application of humic fertilizer) whereas the sub-factor  included six maize genotypes. Results indicate that there was a significant  difference between experimental conditions in terms of grain yield at 1% and biological yield at 5% probability levels. Results from mean comparison  indicate that ZP677 had the highest (20.89 ton/ha) biological yield, whereas OS 499 had the lowest (16.93 ton/ha). Application of leonardite based liquid humic fertilizer proved to be more productive than the two other conditions. This humic fertilizer produced the highest values for biological yield (21.99 ton/ha) and grain yield (7.09 ton/ha).Key words: Maize, humic, fertilizer, yield

The role of autocorrect software use in learning English as a foreign language

Background and Objective:With the expansion of technology infrastructure and the increasing penetration of smartphones, the use of new technologies and applications among the general public, especially the younger generation, is increasing rapidly. The use of these applications not only increases social communication in the context of cyberspace, but also can accelerate and facilitate the process of homework and student projects from the beginning (resource search) to the end (report writing). Obviously, the use of new technologies requires the use of special skills and strategies for successful and beneficial interaction with virtual environments and technology. Research on information literacy provides a long list of skills needed by technology users in the 21st century to manage the challenges of using new technology tools. Definitely one of the basic and important skills that is needed when working with word processors is typing words quickly and correctly to enter data and receive appropriate feedback from the system or other users. The ability to type quickly and insert words correctly is essential in the use of cyberspace and the effective use of many applications, and not mastering how to enter information correctly can disrupt the process of installing or running applications. This study aimed at examining the role of autocorrect software use in learning English as a foreign language. Methods: 203 university students of General English courses participated in the study. Their use of autocorrect software was evaluated by Autocorrect Software Use Scale (ASUS). ASUS assesses autocorrect software use with respect to five components including the importance of spelling skills in learning English with autocorrect, students’ awareness of the way autocorrect works, its educational value, its error correction function, and its value in improving English spelling and writing skills. Achievement in learning English was assessed by both formative and summative evaluations in General English course. The data were analyzed by both descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation and regression methods). Findings: The results of correlation showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between learning English and ASUS and its four components; while the strongest correlations were related to factor 1, the importance of spelling skills in learning English (r= .215, p < .01) and factor 3, educational value of autocorrect software (r= .214, p < .01). The result of multiple regressions revealed that these factors function as the facilitator of learning English and can significantly predict more than 10% of its variance.   Conclusion: The present study showed that the attitude towards using automatic word correction software has a significant relationship with learning English as a foreign language. The importance of spelling skills and awareness of the educational value of software was one of the facilitating components of language learning, while the general language course focuses on vocabulary learning, reading, and learning techniques. It is suggested that research be conducted on the role of automated software in classes that focus more on oral skills. The role of these software programs in sending text messages via SMS or micro-blogs (such as Twitter) in language learning should also be examine   ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS  ©2019 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.  ====================================================================================

MicroRNA-466 inhibits tumor growth and bone metastasis in prostate cancer by direct regulation of osteogenic transcription factor RUNX2.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key players in cancer progression and metastatic initiation yet their importance in regulating prostate cancer (PCa) metastasis to bone has begun to be appreciated. We employed multimodal strategy based on in-house PCa clinical samples, publicly available TCGA cohorts, a panel of cell lines, in silico analyses, and a series of in vitro and in vivo assays to investigate the role of miR-466 in PCa. Expression analyses revealed that miR-466 is under-expressed in PCa compared to normal tissues. Reconstitution of miR-466 in metastatic PCa cell lines impaired their oncogenic functions such as cell proliferation, migration/invasion and induced cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis compared to control miRNA. Conversely, attenuation of miR-466 in normal prostate cells induced tumorigenic characteristics. miR-466 suppressed PCa growth and metastasis through direct targeting of bone-related transcription factor RUNX2. Overexpression of miR-466 caused a marked downregulation of integrated network of RUNX2 target genes such as osteopontin, osteocalcin, ANGPTs, MMP11 including Fyn, pAkt, FAK and vimentin that are known to be involved in migration, invasion, angiogenesis, EMT and metastasis. Xenograft models indicate that miR-466 inhibits primary orthotopic tumor growth and spontaneous metastasis to bone. Receiver operating curve and Kaplan-Meier analyses show that miR-466 expression can discriminate between malignant and normal prostate tissues; and can predict biochemical relapse. In conclusion, our data strongly suggests miR-466-mediated attenuation of RUNX2 as a novel therapeutic approach to regulate PCa growth, particularly metastasis to bone. This study is the first report documenting the anti-bone metastatic role and clinical significance of miR-466 in prostate cancer

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Sargassusm angustifolium seaweed

In the mean time the performance of transit could be increased through identifying the barriares and effective elemnts of transit cargo attracting.It is the the purpose of the present paper to identify and select the most effective indicies in transit industry at ports. To do this, all of the possible factors and bottlenecks in a transit process are uncovered through library research, interviews and Delfi technics. Then they are categorised based on the three models of fish bone model, type of indices as well as quantity and qualities of indecies. In order to find out wheather each associated factors has an affect on the transit process or not, the binominal test is applied. To do this, a five point likert scale quationer form consist of 27 items was distributed among 16 transit experts. Analysis is done through SPSS softwere. The result indicates that factors such as advertising in shipping line attracting, 24 hourse a day, seven days a week services and having cargo-handling geras with high capacity are observed as non effective factors in transit industry while economic/ prices stability and effective multy modal connectivity at ports (road, railway , aviation..) are considered as effective factors in transit industry. Finnaly, along with the investigation of transit issues at north port of Iran, some identified indices such as port time, vessel throughput and berth throughput are scrutnized at Anzali port as a case study

Oncogenic microRNA-4534 regulates PTEN pathway in prostate cancer.

Prostate carcinogenesis involves alterations in several signaling pathways, the most prominent being the PI3K/AKT pathway. This pathway is constitutively active and drives prostate cancer (PCa) progression to advanced metastatic disease. PTEN, a critical tumor and metastasis suppressor gene negatively regulates cell survival, proliferation, migration and angiogenesis via the PI3K/Akt pathway. PTEN is mutated, downregulated/dysfunctional in many cancers and its dysregulation correlates with poor prognosis in PCa. Here, we demonstrate that microRNA-4534 (miR-4534) is overexpressed in PCa and show that miR-4534 is hypermethylated in normal tissues and cell lines compared to PCa tissues/cells. miR-4534 exerts its oncogenic effects partly by downregulating the tumor suppressor PTEN gene. Knockdown of miR-4534 impaired cell proliferation, migration/invasion and induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in PCa. Suppression of miR-4534 and its effects on tumor growth was confirmed in a xenograft mouse model. We performed parallel experiments in non-cancer RWPE1 cells by overexpessing miR-4534 followed by functional assays. Overexpression of miR-4534 induced pro-cancerous characteristics in this non-cancer cell line. Statistical analyses revealed that miR-4534 has potential to independently distinguish malignant from normal tissues and positively correlated with poor overall and PSA recurrence free survival. Taken together, our results show that depletion of miR-4534 in PCa induces a tumor suppressor phenotype partly through induction of PTEN. These results have important implications for identifying and defining the role of new PTEN regulators such as microRNAs in prostate tumorigenesis. Understanding aberrantly overexpressed miR-4534 and its downregulation of PTEN will provide mechanistic insight and therapeutic targets for PCa therapy