The effects of cetuximab and cisplatin anti-cancer drugs on the mechanical properties of the lung cancerous cells using atomic force microscope.

Each anti-cancer drug has special effects on the target cells. One of the most important reasons to recommend an anti-cancer drug is related to the influences of it on the mechanical properties of the target cells. In this study, the effects of cetuximab and cisplatin anti-cancer drugs on the mechanical properties of A-549 and Calu-6 cells as the cancerous lung cells have been investigated. For both of the cells and anti-cancer drugs, MTT assessment has been used to define the convenient dosages for 24 and 48 h incubations based on IC50 concentration for the cell line viability. The mechanical specifications of the cells before and after treatment were obtained using nanoindentation by the JPK Instruments' NanoWizard3 atomic force microscope. The results show that cetuximab increases the stiffness of A-549 cell from 1225 to 3403 and 12 690 Pa for 24 and 48 h incubations. The influence of cetuximab on the Calu-6 shows that the elastic modulus after 24 and 48 h culture times increases about cisplatin anti-cancer drug, for A-549 cell indicates that the elastic modulus rises from 1225 to 1506 and 2375 Pa for 24 and 48 h, respectively. For Calu-6 cell, cisplatin has an important role to increase the stiffness of the cell. Applying cisplatin increases the elastic modulus from 33 to 682.8 Pa for 24 h and 1105 Pa after 48 h incubations.

Women in a safe and healthy urban environment: environmental top priorities for the women's presence in urban public spaces.

Today, in developing countries, women's need to be present in urban public spaces and the establishment of everyday social interactions seem to be ignored more than other groups. Therefore, the present study aims to achieve the environmental components related to women's presence in urban spaces and prioritize them. In this study, by scrutinizing the criteria obtained from the interviews, a questionnaire was prepared and randomly distributed among 256 women in the population. IBM SPSS has been used to analyze the data and explain the priorities. The results of the T-test show that security (T-value = 6.508 in T1 test), compatibility with behavioral patterns (T-value = 4.975 in T2 test), eventuality (T-value = 11.064 in T3 test), permeability (T-value = 10.220 in T4 test), attention to climate (T-value = 5.692 in T5 test), liberty (T-value = 11.184 in T6 test), collective memory (T-value = 7.367 in T7 test), variety (T-value = 1.816 in T8 test), complexity (T-value = 13.228 in T9 test), and identity (T-value of 18.905 in T10 test) are the most important criteria in motivating presence in urban public spaces, respectively. According to the results, among the individual characteristics of the respondents, the components of collective memory (r = 0.805), identity (r = 0.784), liberty (r = 0.703), and safety and security (r = 0.644) have had a positive correlation with the age of the respondents. The results of this study indicated that improving security (individual, social, and psychological) is the main environmental priority for women over 18 to be present in urban public spaces.

Dose-responses of zinc as zinc-methionine supplements on antioxidant status, hematological parameters, immune response and the expression of IL-4 and IL-6 genes of ewes in the hot season.

This study was implemented to evaluate the effects of different zinc doses as Zinc-Met supplement (Zinpro®) on the antioxidant status, blood immune cells, antibody titers, and the expression of IL-4 and IL-6 genes of ewes in the hot season. In a completely randomized design, 24 ewes were assigned to treatments as follow: 0, 15, 30 and 45 mg/kg zinc as Zinc-Met supplementation for 40 days in region with 40 °C and vaccinated against food-and-mouth disease as an immune challenge at day 30, and then blood samples were collected on day 40. Ewes were fed a basal diet containing 29.9 mg zinc/kg. The highest activity of the antioxidant enzyme and the lowest lipid peroxidation values were found in ewes receiving 30 and 45 mg/kg zinc following a linear trend. The highest lymphocytes count and antibody titers were found in ewes received 30 mg zinc/kg. There were no significant differences among treatments for the relative expression of genes. In overall, zinc supplementation non-significantly up-regulate interleukin-4 and down-regulate interleukin-6. It was concluded that zinc supplementation as Zinc-Met could enhance the antioxidant status and immune response of ewes under heat stress; supplementation of diet with 30 mg zinc/kg (300 mg/kg Zinpro®) appeared to be the most effective dose.

The effects of thymol, oxalic acid (Api-Bioxal) and hops extract (Nose-Go) on viability, the Nosema sp. spore load and the expression of vg and sod-1 genes in infected honey bees.

This study was done to investigate the effects of thymol, fumagillin, oxalic acid (Api-Bioxal) and hops extract (Nose-Go) on Nosema sp. spore load, the expression of vitellogenin (vg) and superoxide-dismutase-1 (sod-1) genes and mortality of bees infected with N. ceranae. Five healthy colonies were assigned as the negative control, and 25 Nosema sp. infected colonies were assigned to five treatment groups including: the positive control: no additive to sirup; fumagillin 26.4 mg/L, thymol 0.1 g/L, Api-Bioxal 0.64 g/L and Nose-Go 5.0 g/L sirup. The reduction in the number of Nosema sp. spores in fumagillin, thymol, Api-Bioxal and Nose-Go compared to the positive control was 54, 25, 30 and 58%, respectively. Nosema sp. infection in all infected groups increased (p < .05) Escherichia coli population compared to the negative control. Nose-Go had a negative effect on lactobacillus population compared to other substances. Nosema sp. infection decreased vg and sod-1 genes expression in all infected groups compared to the negative control. Fumagillin and Nose-Go increased the expression of vg gene, and Nose-Go and thymol increased the expression of sod-1 gene than the positive control. Nose-Go has the potential to treat nosemosis if the necessary lactobacillus population is provided in the gut.

Inflammatory genes expression and calf responses to different dietary grains (steam flaked corn vs steam-rolled barley) and protein sources (pelleted soybean meal vs pelleted canola meal).

This study aimed to investigate the effects of grains, and protein sources in the starter diet on daily gain, pro- and anti-inflammatory genes expression, ruminal volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, and blood metabolites in the dairy calves. Forty Holstein calves were randomly assigned to treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with the factors of grain source (steam-flaked corn, CG vs. steam-rolled barley, BG) and pelleted protein source (soybean meal, SBM vs. canola meal, CM). The daily gain of calves who fed with SBM was higher than those fed with CM. Total VFA concentration in the rumen of calves fed with CG was greater than BG at day 35 (p < 0.05), and calves receiving SBM had higher total VFA concentration than calves fed with CM. The relative expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1ß genes were significantly decreased in the calves fed with BG and CM compared to calves fed with CG and SBM. Calves receiving the starter diet based on BG had the highest (p < 0.05) gene expression of interferon-γ. Feeding calves with SBM is recommended because it resulted in a greater daily gain than CM. Complete replacement of SBM with CM, and CG with BG is not recommended in dairy calves.

Effects of live and autolyzed yeast supplementation during transition period on ruminal fermentation, blood attributes, and immune response in dairy cows under heat stress condition.

This study was conducted to compare nutrient digestibility, performance and immune response of dairy cows received live and autolyzed yeast during the transition period in high ambient temperature. Cows (n = 25) were randomly divided and received a basal diet with or without live yeast or autolyzed yeast as on top three weeks pre-parturition until three weeks post-parturition. The Control group received a basal diet without yeast products; other groups received 0.5 g live yeast; 1.0 g live yeast; 10 g autolyzed yeast and 20 g/d/head autolyzed yeast. Live yeast resulted in higher nutrient digestibility compared with autolyzed yeast and the control. Methane production was the highest in autolyzed yeast and the lowest in live yeast. Average milk production was the highest in cows that received live yeast. The highest IgG level was for cows that received autolyzed yeast at a dose of 20 g/d/head. Live yeast had no significant effect, but autolyzed yeast increased the relative expression of γ-Interferon and interleukin-2 as compared with the control group. It was concluded that live yeast at a dose of 1.0 g/d/head could influence ruminal fermentation and milk production, but autolyzed yeast at a dose of 20 g/d/head could influence the immune response of dairy cows during the transition period and heat stress.

Hematological parameters, antioxidant status, and gene expression of γ-INF and IL-1ß in vaccinated lambs fed different type of lipids.

This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of vegetable oils as calcium salt on immune responses and the expression of immune-related genes in vaccinated lambs. Twenty-four lambs (35 kg body weight, 6 months old) were assigned to four treatments with six replicates in a completely randomized design for 40 days. Four concentrates were formulated in which the calcium salts of palm oil, canola oil, corn oil, and flaxseed oil were used. On day 30 of the experiment, lambs were vaccinated by a dose of foot-and-mouth disease virus. The blood samples were collected from jugular vein 10 days after vaccination. The level of malondialdehyde and the activity of liver enzymes were the highest in lambs receiving corn oil and the lowest in lambs receiving flaxseed oil. The highest lymphocytes and the lowest neutrophil percentages were observed in lambs receiving flaxseed oil. There was a significant difference among treatments for the relative genes expression. Flaxseed oil significantly upregulated interferon-γ and corn oil upregulated interleukin-1ß. The highest titer against foot-and-mouth disease virus was related to lambs receiving flaxseed oil, and the lowest titer was related to lambs that received corn oil. Flaxseed oil had more beneficial effects on immune response than other oils.

3D printing of soft fluidic actuators with graded porosity.

New additive manufacturing methods are needed to realize more complex soft robots. One example is soft fluidic robotics, which exploits fluidic power and stiffness gradients. Porous structures are an interesting type for this approach, as they are flexible and allow for fluid transport. In this work, the infill foam (InFoam) method is proposed to print structures with graded porosity by liquid rope coiling (LRC). By exploiting LRC, the InFoam method could exploit the repeatable coiling patterns to print structures. To this end, only the characterization of the relationship between nozzle height and coil radius and the extruded length was necessary (at a fixed temperature). Then by adjusting the nozzle height and/or extrusion speed the porosity of the printed structure could be set. The InFoam method was demonstrated by printing porous structures using styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) with porosities ranging from 46% to 89%. In compression tests, the cubes showed large changes in compression modulus (more than 200 times), density (-89% compared to bulk), and energy dissipation. The InFoam method combined coiling and normal plotting to realize a large range of porosity gradients. This grading was exploited to realize rectangular structures with varying deformation patterns, which included twisting, contraction, and bending. Furthermore, the InFoam method was shown to be capable of programming the behavior of bending actuators by varying the porosity. Both the output force and stroke showed correlations similar to those of the cubes. Thus, the InFoam method can fabricate and program the mechanical behavior of a soft fluidic (porous) actuator by grading porosity.

Effect of palmitic, linoleic and α-linolenic acids on blood cells count and interleukin-4, 8 genes expression in lambs experimentally infected with foot and mouth disease virus.

The current research was conducted to study the effects of different saturated and poly-unsaturated fatty acid sources in diets on immune responses of lambs experimentally infected with foot and mouth disease virus. A total of fifteen Sangsari male lambs with an average body weight of 48 ± 2 kg and an average age of 8 ± 1 months were randomly allocated to one of three experimental treatments: (1) PalOil group received a calcium soap of palm oil fatty acids in the diet as source of palmitic acid (16:0), (2) SunOil group received a calcium soap of sunflower oil fatty acids in the diet as source of linoleic acid (n-6 18:2), and (3) LinOil group received a calcium soap of linseed oil fatty acids in the diet as source of α-linolenic acid (n-3 18:3). The greatestand the least expression of IL-4 mRNA were measured in SunOil and LinOil groups, respectively. Expression of IL-8 mRNA was greater in SunOil treatment when compared with PalOil and LinOil groups. In conclusion, the results of the study confirmed that inclusion of α-linolenic acid in virally infected lambs'diet results in lower expression of IL-4 and IL-8 mRNA.

Effects of enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast supplementation on blood attributes, antioxidant status and gene expression of cytokines in vaccinated dairy cows.

This study was done to assess the effects of hydrolyzed yeast on blood cells counts, antioxidant status and gene expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines of vaccinated dairy cows. Twenty Holstein lactating dairy cows were randomly divided into four groups received basal diet without (control) and with 10, 20 and 30 g/d/head of hydrolyzed yeast. Cows were vaccinated against foot and mouth disease virus at day 10 and blood samples were taken 10 days after. Cows received hydrolyzed yeast at doses of 20 and 30 g/d/head had the lowest and those in the control group had the highest malondialdehyde concentration. Cows received hydrolyzed yeast at dose of 20 g/d/head had the highest lymphocyte and the lowest neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio. IL-1ß and TNF-α downregulated and INF-γ up-regulated in cows received different doses of hydrolyzed yeast. The lowest expression of IL-1ß and TNF-α and the highest expression of INF-γ was for cows received hydrolyzed yeast at dose of 20 g/d/head. The highest titers against foot and mouth disease virus were for cows received hydrolyzed yeast at dose of 20 g/d/head and the lowest titer was for the control group. Supplementation of 20 g/d/head hydrolyzed yeast recommended in vaccinated cows.

Near Fermi Superatom State Stabilized by Surface State Resonances in a Multiporous Molecular Network.

Two-dimensional honeycomb molecular networks confine a substrate's surface electrons within their pores, providing an ideal playground to investigate the quantum electron scattering phenomena. Besides surface state confinement, laterally protruding organic states can collectively hybridize at the smallest pores into superatom molecular orbitals. Although both types of pore states could be simultaneously hosted within nanocavities, their coexistence and possible interaction are unexplored. Here, we show that these two types of pore states do coexist within the smallest nanocavities of a two-dimensional halogen-bonding multiporous network grown on Ag(111) studied using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, density functional theory calculations, and electron plane wave expansion simulations. We find that superatom molecular orbitals undergo an important stabilization when hybridizing with the confined surface state, following the significant lowering of its free-standing energy. These findings provide further control over the surface electronic structure exerted by two-dimensional nanoporous systems.

Relationship Among Religious Orientation, Individual Attributes, and Presence of People in Urban Public Space.

The purpose of this paper is to study the rate of presence in an urban space and how it is related to people's intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations and individual attributes. For measuring religious orientation, the Allport's Scale of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation was used. The information was collected from 100 residents of Mashhad, an important religious city of Iran. Results show that internal and external religious orientations do not have a significant relationship with the presence of people in urban spaces. But there is a strong relationship between individual attributes (marital status, employment status, income level, and family relationships) and the presence of people in urban spaces. This research shows that designing with attention to environmental factors affecting mental states and attention to the presence of social strata with different income levels in urban spaces can have more impact on the presence of people in urban spaces.

Electron Transmission through Coordinating Atoms Embedded in Metal-Organic Nanoporous Networks.

On-surface metal-organic nanoporous networks generally refer to adatom coordinated molecular arrays, which are characterized by the presence of well-defined and regular nanopores. These periodic structures constructed using two types of components confine the surface electrons of the substrate within their nanocavities. However, the confining (or scattering) strength that individual building units exhibit is a priori unknown. Here, we study the modification of the substrate's surface electrons by the interaction with a Cu-coordinated TPyB metal-organic network formed on Cu(111) and disentangle the scattering potentials and confinement properties. By means of STM and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we find almost unperturbed free-electron-like states stemming from the rather weak electron confinement that yields significant coupling between adjacent pores. Electron plane wave expansion simulations match the superlattice induced experimental electronic structure, which features replicating bands and energy renormalization effects. Notably, the electrostatic potential landscape obtained from our ab initio calculations suggests that the molecules are the dominant scattering entities while the coordination metal atoms sandwiched between them act as leaky channels. These metal atom transmission conduits facilitate and enhance the coupling among quantum dots, which are prone to be exploited to engineer the electronic structure of surface electron gases.

Corneal biomechanical changes after trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in primary open-angle glaucoma and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the effect of trabeculectomy with mitomycin C on corneal biomechanical characteristics in PEXG and POAG patients. METHODS: In this prospective comparative case series study, 32 glaucoma patients of whom 17 patients were suffering from PEXG and 15 patients from POAG were enrolled. All patients underwent complete ocular examination, CCT using ultrasound pachymetry and corneal biomechanical study using ORA. The patients were hospitalized, and trabeculectomy surgery with mitomycin was done. Three months after surgery, patients were examined and ORA was obtained again. RESULTS: The mean CH in patients with PEXG was lower compared to patients with POAG (5.66 ± 1.13, 7.49 ± 0.88, respectively) before surgery, which had a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). CRF in patients with PEXG was significantly lower compared to patients with POAG (8.19 ± 1.48 vs. 9.35 ± 1.60, respectively) before surgery, with P = 0.049. CH remarkably increased and reached 6.69 ± 0.78 (P < 0.001) in the PEXG group after TBX + MMC surgery. CH increased in the POAG group after TBX + MIC surgery and reached 8.23 ± 1.09, which was statistically significant (P = 0.001). There was a significant relationship between CH and IOPg changes in both PEXG and POAG groups (P < 0.001 and P = 0.01, respectively). Although TBX + MMC surgery changed the amount of CH in PEXG and POAG groups, no significant difference was shown in the parameters between the two groups comparing the CH changes (P = 0.33). CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, the biomechanical characteristics of cornea, particularly CH, shows certain changes following surgery and is increased, reflecting the dynamic nature of these parameters. Our knowledge of the biomechanical changes after glaucoma surgery can help us better understand the pathophysiology of glaucoma diseases and make the right decisions for follow-up of the patients.

Quantifying the atomic-level mechanics of single long physisorbed molecular chains.

Individual in situ polymerized fluorene chains 10-100 nm long linked by C-C bonds are pulled vertically from an Au(111) substrate by the tip of a low-temperature atomic force microscope. The conformation of the selected chains is imaged before and after manipulation using scanning tunneling microscopy. The measured force gradient shows strong and periodic variations that correspond to the step-by-step detachment of individual fluorene repeat units. These variations persist at constant intensity until the entire polymer is completely removed from the surface. Calculations based on an extended Frenkel-Kontorova model reproduce the periodicity and magnitude of these features and allow us to relate them to the detachment force and desorption energy of the repeat units. The adsorbed part of the polymer slides easily along the surface during the pulling process, leading to only small oscillations as a result of the high stiffness of the fluorenes and of their length mismatch with respect to the substrate surface structure. A significant lateral force also is caused by the sequential detachment of individual units. The gained insight into the molecule-surface interactions during sliding and pulling should aid the design of mechanoresponsive nanosystems and devices.

Effects of different fat sources (saturated and unsaturated) on reproductive performance and biological indices of ewes during flushing period.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding different sources of fat during flushing period on the reproductive performance, lambing percent, and twin numbers of Afshari ewes. A total of 84 ewes (mean weight 48 ± 3 kg; age: 3-4 years) were divided into seven groups of 12 animals and received flushing-specific rations for 5 weeks. The control group just received a basic ration (non-flushing). Lipid sources were calcium salt of palm oil (CaP), pure palm oil (PO), calcium salt of flaxseed (CaFL), calcium salt of sunflower oil (CaSF), flaxseed oil (FLO), and sunflower oil (SFO). Estrous cycles were synchronized in all ewes using 14-day CIDRs followed by 400-IU PMSG injection at the time of CIDR removal. Fertility and lambing percent were higher in ewes fed with diets containing calcium salts of flaxseed and SFO, as compared to other treatments. Total number of lambs in flushing treatments was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.01). Serum cholesterol and progesterone levels were significantly greater in omega-3 (CaFL) and omega-6 (CaSF) treatments relative to other treatments (p < 0.01). It was concluded that supplementing the flushing diet with calcium salts of fatty acids (CSFA) increased blood metabolites and hormones related to reproductive performance; and improved fertility, lambing rate and ewes of CaFL treatment have the highest number of lambs (16 lambs) between different groups. Using saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, especially in their CSFA forms during flushing period, could improve the reproduction problems induced by progesterone deficiency, lack of durability of the fetus due to hormonal instability, and abortion control factors.

Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure in Persian patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is defined by recurrent apnea and hypopnea during sleep. The main treatment of OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Adherence to CPAP is challenging and depends on multiple factors. This study was designed to evaluate the compliance with CPAP in patients with OSA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective observational study including 106 patients with confirmed OSA by a standard polysomnography. We recorded CPAP usage hours after 7 and 90 days by a smart card. We compared the adherence of the patients with respect to body mass index (BMI), gender, smoking status, living area, and education level. RESULTS: Patients in the 18-45 years' age group had higher compliance in mean (standard deviation) daily use of CPAP (0.93 [0.40] h) compared to the other age groups (P < 0.001). Patients with BMI >35 had better compliance (1.13 [0.44]) than the other patients (P < 0.001). Furthermore, nonsmokers and highly educated patients had better compliance compared to the others (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Age, BMI, education, and smoking are important factors in adherence to CPAP in patients with OSA.

Organometallic Bonding in an Ullmann-Type On-Surface Chemical Reaction Studied by High-Resolution Atomic Force Microscopy.

The on-surface Ullmann-type chemical reaction synthesizes polymers by linking carbons of adjacent molecules on solid surfaces. Although an organometallic compound is recently identified as the reaction intermediate, little is known about the detailed structure of the bonded organometallic species and its influence on the molecule and the reaction. Herein atomic force microscopy at low temperature is used to study the reaction with 3,9-diiododinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-d]thiophene (I-DNT-VW), which is polymerized on Ag(111) in vacuum. Thermally sublimated I-DNT-VW picks up a Ag surface atom, forming a CAg bond at one end after removing an iodine. The CAg bond is usually short-lived, and a CAgC organometallic bond immediately forms with an adjacent molecule. The existence of the bonded Ag atoms strongly affects the bending angle and adsorption height of the molecular unit. Density functional theory calculations reveal the bending mechanism, which reveals that charge from the terminus of the molecule is transferred via the Ag atom into the organometallic bond and strengths the local adsorption to the substrate. Such deformations vanish when the Ag atoms are removed by annealing and CC bonds are established.

A fingerprint based metric for measuring similarities of crystalline structures.

Measuring similarities/dissimilarities between atomic structures is important for the exploration of potential energy landscapes. However, the cell vectors together with the coordinates of the atoms, which are generally used to describe periodic systems, are quantities not directly suitable as fingerprints to distinguish structures. Based on a characterization of the local environment of all atoms in a cell, we introduce crystal fingerprints that can be calculated easily and define configurational distances between crystalline structures that satisfy the mathematical properties of a metric. This distance between two configurations is a measure of their similarity/dissimilarity and it allows in particular to distinguish structures. The new method can be a useful tool within various energy landscape exploration schemes, such as minima hopping, random search, swarm intelligence algorithms, and high-throughput screenings.