Immunogenic cell death mediated TLR3/4-activated MSCs in U87 GBM cell line.

Background and aims: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive primary brain cancer with no promising curative therapies. It has been indicated that MSCs can interact with the tumour microenvironment (TME) through the secretion of soluble mediators regulating intercellular signalling within the TME. TLRs are a multigene family of pattern recognition receptors with evolutionarily conserved regions and are widely expressed in immune and other body cells. MSCs by TLRs can recognize conserved molecular components (DAPMPs and PAPMPs) and activate signalling pathways, which regulate immune and inflammatory responses. MSCs may exert immunomodulatory functions through interaction with their expressed toll-like receptors (TLRs) and exert a protective effect against tumour antigens. As an emerging approach, we aimed to monitor the U87 cell line growth, migration and death markers following specific TLR3/4-primed-MSCs-CMs treatment. Methods and results: We investigated the phenotypic and functional outcomes of primed-CMs and glioma cell line co-culture following short-term, low-dose TLR3/4 priming. The gene expression profile of target genes, including apoptotic markers and related genes, was analyzed by qRT-PCR. MicroRNA-Seq examined the miRNA expression patterns, and flow cytometry evaluated the cell viability and cycle stages. The results showed significant changes in apoptosis and likely necroptosis-related markers following TLR3/4-primed-MSCs-CMs exposure in the glioma cell line. Notably, we observed a considerable induction of selective pro-apoptotic markers and both the early and late stages of apoptosis in treated U87 cell lines. Additionally, the migration rate of glioma cells significantly decreased following MSCs-CM treatment. Conclusion: Our findings confirmed that the exposure of TLR3/4-activated-MSCs-CMs with glioma tumour cells possibly changes the immunogenicity of the tumour microenvironment and induces immunogenic programmed cell death. Our results can support the idea that TLR3/4-primed-MSCs can lead to innate immune-mediated cell death and modify tumour cell biology in invasive and metastatic cancers.

2D:4D-ratios among individuals with amphetamine use disorder, antisocial personality disorder and with both amphetamine use disorder and antisocial personality disorder.

BACKGROUND: There is sufficient evidence that the index-finger-to-ring-finger-ratio (2D:4D-ratio) is associated with testosterone and estrogen exposure during the fetal stage. More specifically, a lower 2D:4D-ratio (that is; a shorter index finger, compared to a longer ring finger) was associated with a prenatally higher testosterone and lower estrogen exposure during the first trimester of the fetal stage. At a behavioral level, among adults, a lower 2D:4D-ratio was associated with a higher competitive performance among both female and male professional athletes, and with personality traits such as higher scores for mental toughness, dark triad traits, and aggressive behavior, and internet use disorder. Here, we tested, if 2D:4D-ratios differed among three clinical samples of individuals with amphetamine use disorder (AUD), antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), or both AUD and ASPD (AUD + ASPD), and when compared to healthy controls. METHOD: The sample consisted of 44 individuals (mean age: 32.95 years; 22.7% females) diagnosed either with AUD (n = 25), ASPD (n = 10) or both AUD + ASPD (n = 9), and of 36 healthy controls (mean age: 23.28; 25% females). After a thorough clinical assessment, participants provided the scans of their right-hand palm to measure the lengths of their index finger and ring finger. Further, participants with AUD, ASPD and both AUD + ASPD completed a series of self-rating questionnaires on Dark Triad traits, narcissism sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, participants with AUD, ASPD, or AUD + ASPD showed statistically significantly lower 2D:4D-ratios. Participants with AUD + ASPD showed statistically significantly lowest 2D:4D-ratios, compared to participants with AUD and compared to healthy controls. For the clinical sample, a lower 2D:4D-ratio was associated with higher Dark Triad traits. 2D:4D-ratios were unrelated to narcissism sensitivity or intolerance of uncertainty. Higher scores for Dark Triad traits were associated with higher scores for narcissism sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to healthy controls, individuals with amphetamine use disorder and concomitant antisocial personality disorder (AUD + ASPD) appeared to have been exposed to particularly high prenatal testosterone and particularly low estrogen concentrations, which, at a behavioral level, might have led to a fast life history for immediate resource acquisition.

Speaker Counting Based on a Novel Hive Shaped Nested Microphone Array by WPT and 2D Adaptive SRP Algorithms in Near-Field Scenarios.

Speech processing algorithms, especially sound source localization (SSL), speech enhancement, and speaker tracking are considered to be the main fields in this application. Most speech processing algorithms require knowing the number of speakers for real implementation. In this article, a novel method for estimating the number of speakers is proposed based on the hive shaped nested microphone array (HNMA) by wavelet packet transform (WPT) and 2D sub-band adaptive steered response power (SB-2DASRP) with phase transform (PHAT) and maximum likelihood (ML) filters, and, finally, the agglomerative classification and elbow criteria for obtaining the number of speakers in near-field scenarios. The proposed HNMA is presented for aliasing and imaging elimination and preparing the proper signals for the speaker counting method. In the following, the Blackman-Tukey spectral estimation method is selected for detecting the proper frequency components of the recorded signal. The WPT is considered for smart sub-band processing by focusing on the frequency bins of the speech signal. In addition, the SRP method is implemented in 2D format and adaptively by ML and PHAT filters on the sub-band signals. The SB-2DASRP peak positions are extracted on various time frames based on the standard deviation (SD) criteria, and the final number of speakers is estimated by unsupervised agglomerative clustering and elbow criteria. The proposed HNMA-SB-2DASRP method is compared with the frequency-domain magnitude squared coherence (FD-MSC), i-vector probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (i-vector PLDA), ambisonics features of the correlational recurrent neural network (AF-CRNN), and speaker counting by density-based classification and clustering decision (SC-DCCD) algorithms on noisy and reverberant environments, which represents the superiority of the proposed method for real implementation.

Misexpression of LINC01410, FOSL1, and MAFB in peripheral blood mononuclear cells associated with diabetic nephropathy.

AIMS: Currently, diabetic nephropathy (DN) is considered the leading cause of the end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, its specific molecular mechanism is still unclear, and there is still a lack of effective diagnostic and therapeutic methods. METHOD: A pathway was assumed after bioinformatics analysis of GEO datasets related to individuals with various levels of DN, LINC01410, MAFB, and FOSL1. Then, 46 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and different levels of albuminuria, and 12 individuals without diabetes, were selected. qPCR was performed to evaluate gene expression. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's -and linear trend tests were performed to analyze gene expression in different stages of the disease. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the correlation between LINC01410, FOSL1, and MAFB were analyzed. RESULTS: LINC01410, MAFB, and FOSL1 were selected based on bioinformatics analyses. The qPCR results showed that the expression of LINC01410 decreased, and FOSL1 and MAFB increased in micro-and macroalbuminuria groups compared to normoalbuminuria groups (P < 0.05). ROC curves demonstrated a significant diagnostic accuracy of LINC01410, MAFB, and FOSL1 between DN and participants with normoalbuminuria (P < 0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a positive association between the expressions of FOSL1 and MAFB (p = 0.01, r = 0.39). However, there was no correlation between LINC01410 with MAFB and FOSL1 (p = 0.23 and p = 0.21, respectively). CONCLUSION: Dysregulation of LINC01410, MAFB, and FOSL1 is related to DN. These results may provide new insights into the role of LINC01410, MAFB, and FOSL1 as potential biomarkers in DN.

Circulatory long noncoding RNAs (circulatory-LNC-RNAs) as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cardiovascular diseases: Implications for cardiovascular diseases complications.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders with major global health consequences. The prevalence of CVDs continues to grow due to population-aging and lifestyle modifications. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) as key regulators of cell signaling pathways have gained attention in the occurrence and development of CVDs. Exosomal-lncRNAs (exos-lncRNAs) are emerging biomarkers due to their high sensitivity and specificity, stability, accuracy and accessibility in the biological fluids. Recently, circulatory and exos-based-lncRNAs are emerging and novel bio-tools in various pathogenic conditions. It is worth mentioning that dysregulation of these molecules has been found in different types of CVDs. In this regard, we aimed to discuss the knowledge gaps and suggest research priorities regarding circulatory and exos-lncRNAs as novel bio-tools and therapeutic targets for CVDs.

A New Internet of Things Hybrid VLC/RF System for m-Health in an Underground Mining Industry.

This paper proposes a new system based on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for the monitoring of Mobile Health (m-Health) of workers in the underground mining industry. The proposed architecture uses a hybrid model in data transmission. Visible Light Communication (VLC) is used for downlink because of its narrow coverage, which aids in worker positioning. Radio frequency (RF) communication technology is used to send data for primary vital signs in the uplink, which is more efficient in transmission and is a viable solution according to the problem raised. The results obtained in terms of coverage and transmission for the downlink and uplink links show the feasibility of implementing the proposed system.

A Novel and Adaptive Angle Diversity-Based Receiver for 6G Underground Mining VLC Systems.

Visible light communication (VLC) is considered an enabling technology for future 6G wireless systems. Among the many applications in which VLC systems are used, one of them is harsh environments such as Underground Mining (UM) tunnels. However, these environments are subject to degrading environmental and intrinsic challenges for optical links. Therefore, current research should focus on solutions to mitigate these problems and improve the performance of Underground Mining Visible Light Communication (UM-VLC) systems. In this context, this article presents a novel solution that involves an improvement to the Angle Diversity Receivers (ADRs) based on the adaptive orientation of the Photo-Diodes (PDs) in terms of the Received Signal Strength Ratio (RSSR) scheme. Specifically, this methodology is implemented in a hemidodecahedral ADR and evaluated in a simulated UM-VLC scenario. The performance of the proposed design is evaluated using metrics such as received power, user data rate, and bit error rate (BER). Furthermore, our approach is compared with state-of-the-art ADRs implemented with fixed PDs and with the Time of Arrival (ToA) reception method. An improvement of at least 60% in terms of the analyzed metrics compared to state-of-the-art solutions is obtained. Therefore, the numerical results demonstrate that the hemidodecahedral ADR, with adaptive orientation PDs, enhances the received optical signal. Furthermore, the proposed scheme improves the performance of the UM-VLC system due to its optimum adaptive angular positioning, which is completed according to the strongest optical received signal power. By improving the performance of the UM-VLC system, this novel method contributes to further consideration of VLC systems as potential and enabling technologies for future 6G deployments.

Circulating long noncoding RNAs as novel bio-tools: Focus on autoimmune diseases.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an emerging class of non-coding RNAs that do not encode proteins. These RNAs have various essential regulatory functions. Irregular expression of lncRNAs has been related to the pathological process of varied diseases, and are considered promising diagnostic biomarkers. LncRNAs can release into the circulation and be stable in body fluids as circulating lncRNAs. A subset of circulating lncRNAs that exist in exosomes are referred to as exosomal lncRNA molecules. These lncRNAs are highly stable and resist RNases. Exosomes have captured a great deal of attention due to their involvement in regulating communications between cells. In conditions of autoimmune disease, exosomes play critical roles in the pathological processes. In this context, circulating lncRNAs have been shown to modulate the immune response and indicated as prognosis and diagnostic biomarkers for autoimmune diseases. This review highlights the role of circulating lncRNAs (particularly exosomal) as diagnostic biomarkers for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and Sjögren's syndrome.

An Enhanced VLC Channel Model for Underground Mining Environments Considering a 3D Dust Particle Distribution Model.

Underground Mining (UM) is a hostile industry that generally requires a wireless communication system as a cross-cutting axis for its optimal operation. Therefore, in the last five years, it has been shown that, in addition to radio-frequency-based communication links, wireless optical communications, such as Visible Light Communication (VLC), can be applied to UM environments. The application of VLC systems in underground mines, known as UM-VLC, must take into account the unique physical features of underground mines. Among the physical phenomena found in underground mines, the most important ones are the positioning of optical transmitters and receivers, irregular walls, shadowing, and a typical phenomenon found in tunnels known as scattering, which is caused by the atmosphere and dust particles. Consequently, it is necessary to use proper dust particle distribution models consistent with these scenarios to describe the scattering phenomenon in a coherent way in order to design realistic UM-VLC systems with better performance. Therefore, in this article, we present an in-depth study of the interaction of optical links with dust particles suspended in the UM environment and the atmosphere. In addition, we analytically derived a hemispherical 3D dust particle distribution model, along with its main statistical parameters. This analysis allows to develop a more realistic scattering channel component and presents an enhanced UM-VLC channel model. The performance of the proposed UM-VLC system is evaluated using computational numerical simulations following the IEEE 802.1.5.7 standard in terms of Channel Impulse Response (CIR), received power, Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR), Root Mean Square (RMS) delay spread, and Bit Error Rate (BER). The results demonstrate that the hemispherical dust particle distribution model is more accurate and realistic in terms of the metrics evaluated compared to other models found in the literature. Furthermore, the performance of the UM-VLC system is negatively affected when the number of dust particles suspended in the environment increases.

3D Multiple Sound Source Localization by Proposed T-Shaped Circular Distributed Microphone Arrays in Combination with GEVD and Adaptive GCC-PHAT/ML Algorithms.

Multiple simultaneous sound source localization (SSL) is one of the most important applications in the speech signal processing. The one-step algorithms with the advantage of low computational complexity (and low accuracy), and the two-step methods with high accuracy (and high computational complexity) are proposed for multiple SSL. In this article, a combination of one-step-based method based on the generalized eigenvalue decomposition (GEVD), and a two-step-based method based on the adaptive generalized cross-correlation (GCC) by using the phase transform/maximum likelihood (PHAT/ML) filters along with a novel T-shaped circular distributed microphone array (TCDMA) is proposed for 3D multiple simultaneous SSL. In addition, the low computational complexity advantage of the GCC algorithm is considered in combination with the high accuracy of the GEVD method by using the distributed microphone array to eliminate spatial aliasing and thus obtain more appropriate information. The proposed T-shaped circular distributed microphone array-based adaptive GEVD and GCC-PHAT/ML algorithms (TCDMA-AGGPM) is compared with hierarchical grid refinement (HiGRID), temporal extension of multiple response model of sparse Bayesian learning with spherical harmonic (SH) extension (SH-TMSBL), sound field morphological component analysis (SF-MCA), and time-frequency mixture weight Bayesian nonparametric acoustical holography beamforming (TF-MW-BNP-AHB) methods based on the mean absolute estimation error (MAEE) criteria in noisy and reverberant environments on simulated and real data. The superiority of the proposed method is presented by showing the high accuracy and low computational complexity for 3D multiple simultaneous SSL.

Effect of Hypnotism on the Severity of Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Quality of Life in Individuals With Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

The current study aimed to determine the effects of hypnotism on the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life in individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This trial study was conducted on 100 people with IBS in Shiraz, Iran. Hypnotism of participants was performed in 1-hour sessions for the intervention group at Weeks 4 and 6. A demographic characteristic questionnaire, Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, and IBS Quality of Life Index were used for data collection. The severity of gastrointestinal symptoms of participants in the intervention group significantly improved at 6 and 15 weeks after hypnotherapy. These individuals also had a significantly better quality of life after 15 weeks of hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy may be beneficial in reducing gastrointestinal symptoms and improving quality of life in individuals with IBS. Combining this method with medicinal treatments could be effective for patients and health systems. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 60(5), 55-62.].

Dual electrochemical sensing of spiked virus and SARS-CoV-2 using natural bed-receptor (MV-gal1).

It has been necessary to use methods that can detect the specificity of a virus during virus screening. In this study, we use a dual platform to identify any spiked virus and specific SARS-CoV-2 antigen, sequentially. We introduce a natural bed-receptor surface as Microparticle Vesicle-Galactins1 (MV-gal1) with the ability of glycan binding to screen every spiked virus. MV are the native vesicles which may have the gal-1 receptor. Gal-1 is the one of lectin receptor which can bind to glycan. After dropping the MV-gal1 on the SCPE/GNP, the sensor is turned on due to the increased electrochemical exchange with [Fe(CN)6]-3/-4 probe. Dropping the viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 cause to turn off the sensor with covering the sugar bond (early screening). Then, with the addition of Au/Antibody-SARS-CoV-2 on the MV-gal1@SARS-CoV-2 Antigen, the sensor is turned on again due to the electrochemical amplifier of AuNP (specific detection).For the first time, our sensor has the capacity of screening of any spike virus, and the specific detection of COVID-19 (LOD: 4.57 × 102 copies/mL) by using the natural bed-receptor and a specific antibody in the point of care test.

Individuals with Major Depressive Disorder Report High Scores of Insecure-Avoidant and Insecure-Anxious Attachment Styles, Dissociative Identity Symptoms, and Adult Traumatic Events.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) report more issues in social interaction compared to the general population. Moreover, dimensions of dissociation are considered dysfunctional strategies to cope with adverse life events. In this regard, current symptoms of MDD could be associated with traumatic events that occurred in childhood and in adult life. Given this background, the aim of the present study was to explore the associations between attachment styles as a proxy of quality of social interaction, dimensions of dissociation, and childhood and adult traumatic life events among individuals with MDD. METHOD: A total of 300 individuals with MDD (mean age: 31.31 years; 58.7% female) took part in this study. They completed a series of questionnaires on sociodemographic information, attachment styles, dimensions of dissociation, and childhood and adult traumatic life events. RESULTS: Prevalence rates for attachment styles were as follows: anxious/ambivalent attachment style-71.7%; avoidant/dependent attachment style-13%; secure/close attachment style-15.3%. Compared to the general population, the participants reported higher prevalence rates of insecure attachment styles. Current symptoms of dissociation were associated with adult but not childhood traumatic life events. An anxious attachment style was associated with higher scores of dissociation. CONCLUSION: Psychotherapeutic treatment of individuals with MDD should consider the individuals' challenging attachment styles and their risk of dissociation. While it is important to consider both adult and childhood traumatic events, in this research, more recent trauma occurring in adulthood was associated with current symptoms of dissociation.

Co-delivery of miRNA-15a and miRNA-16-1 using cationic PEGylated niosomes downregulates Bcl-2 and induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: Tumor suppressor miRNAs, miR-15a and miR-16-1, with high-specificity and oncogenic targeting of Bcl-2, can target tumor tissues. Disadvantages of the clinical application of free miRNAs include poor cellular uptake and instability in plasma, which can be partially improved by using nanocarriers to deliver anti-cancer agents to the tumor cell. METHOD: In this study, cationic niosomes were designed and optimized with the specific formulation. Then, the physical characteristics, the cytotoxicity, the impact of transfected miRNAs on the expression of the Bcl-2 gene, and the apoptosis rate of the different formulation into prostate cancer cell were determined. RESULTS: The optimum formulation containing tween-60: cholesterol: DOTAP: DSPE-PEG2000 at 70:30:25:5 demonstrated that the vesicle size and zeta potentials were 69.7 nm and + 14.83 mV, respectively. Additionally, noisome-loaded miRNAs had higher toxicity against cancer cells comparing with free forms. The transfection of PC3 cells with the combination therapy of nanocarriers loaded of two miRNAs led to a significant decrease in the expression of the Bcl-2 gene and increased the degree of cell death in PC3 cells compared with other treatment groups, and the synergistic effects of co-delivery of miR-15a and miR-16-1 on prostate cancer cells were shown. CONCLUSION: According to the results, it seems the designed niosomes containing miR-15a and miR-16-1 can target the Bcl-2 gene and provide a cheap, applicable, cost-effective, and safe drug delivery system against prostate cancer.

Dissociative Symptoms and Self-Reported Childhood and Current Trauma in Male Incarcerated People with Borderline Personality Disorder - Results from a Small Cross-Sectional Study in Iran.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that incarcerated people show higher rates of symptoms of psychopathology. In the present study, we assessed male Iranian incarcerated people with borderline personality disorders (BPD) and investigated the occurrence of past and current trauma and their associations with dissociative experiences. METHODS: A total of 69 male Iranian incarcerated people (mean age: 33.76 years) diagnosed with PBD completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, dissociative experiences, and past and current traumatic events. RESULTS: Participants reporting the occurrence of childhood trauma also reported the occurrence of adulthood trauma. Dissociation and adulthood trauma were associated in a U-shaped, non-linear fashion: Low and high adulthood trauma were associated with higher dissociation. Younger age, the presence of childhood trauma, and being single or divorced predicted adulthood trauma. CONCLUSION: The pattern of results suggests that both childhood and adulthood trauma are highly prevalent among male incarcerated people, while the association between adulthood trauma and dissociation appeared to be more complex. When treating male incarcerated people, a complex interplay between past and current traumas and dissociation should be considered.

Expression levels of circulatory mir-185-5p, vascular endothelial growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor target genes in endometriosis.

BACKGROUND: Using blood-based biomarkers such as microRNAs (miRNAs) may allow particularly effective and minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. Objective: We evaluated the differential expression of circulating miRNA-185-5p (miR-185-5p), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) target genes between endometriosis and healthy women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 25 women with a history of endometriosis (grad III-IV) diagnosed by laparoscopy as the case group and 25 women without endometriosis underwent laparoscopy for ovarian cysts or pelvic pain as the control group were enrolled in this case-control study. Blood samples were obtained, and total RNA was used for high-throughput small RNA sequencing, and this was confirmed by means of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: miRNA expression profiling using non-coding RNA sequencing revealed that one miRNA including miR-185-5p was significantly down-regulated in the case group compared with the controls. The qRT-PCR results showed significant downregulation of the expression level of miR-185-5p (p < 0.01) in the plasma of the case group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed the area of miR-185-5p under the ROC curve for endometriosis diagnosis was 0.919 (p < 0.001). The RT-PCR results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the expression of VEGF and PDGF mRNA of blood samples in the cases compared to the control group (PDGF, p = 0.09 and VEGF, p = 0.36). CONCLUSION: The low expression of miR-185-5p in the plasma of women with endometriosis could be employed as an important non-invasive biomarker for early detection and screening of endometriosis by blood samples.

The Past Victim, the Future Abuser.

BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma exerts a significant effect on psychological life of people. It is a ubiquitous phenomenon. We face a social epidemic with serious consequences that shatter the life of survivors. Victimization in early years of life entraps the individuals in the victim-rescuer-abuser triangle. Many perpetrators and criminals have had history of childhood abuse. The main objective of this study was the assessment of patients with a history of child abuse who behaved in abusive manner in adulthood. METHODS: By reviewing the files of 3694 patients referred to my outpatient private clinic, I tried to gather data to answer the questions related to this study including history of abuse, victimization, substance abuse, and the percent of patients who were involved in abusive behaviors in adulthood. RESULTS: In total, 1075 patients reported a history of some abuse during childhood (29.10%). Of them, 19.44% (total = 209, 78 men and 131 women) behaved as an abuser for most of their life. The prevalence of substance abuse in people with history of abuse was 36.6% compared to 28.36% in those without. The prevalence of acting as an abuser and perpetrator in adult life was 27.5%, 19.5%, 18.4% and 11.11% among the divorced, married, single and widowed respectively. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study showed that a significant number of patients with history of childhood abuse involved in abusive behavior and victimization of others in adulthood. Paying attention to this issue by mental health practitioners and policy makers can prevent the intergenerational transmission of abuse and development of a more peaceful society.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment using plasmonic nanoparticles irradiated by laser in a rat model.

OBJECTIVE: In the current study we have stimulated the efficacy of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) by laser hyperthermia to achieve a less invasive method for tumor photothermal therapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: The levels of apoptosis on induced BPH in rats were assessed after treatment and revealed and recorded by various assayed. Moreover, the expression of caspases was considered to demonstrate the apoptotic pathways due to laser induced plasmonic NPs. RESULTS: In the Laser + NPs group prostate size of induced BPH decreased. Laser + NPs also decreased prostate specific antigen in comparison with the BPH groups. Furthermore, Laser + NPs attenuated BPH histopathologic indices in the rats. Laser + NPs induced apoptosis in prostatic epithelial cells via caspase-1 pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, the approach and findings from this study can be applied to introduce the laser irritated NPs method as a novel and less invasive therapy for patients suffering from BPH.

Interference Mitigation for Visible Light Communications in Underground Mines Using Angle Diversity Receivers.

This paper proposes two solutions based on angle diversity receivers (ADRs) to mitigate inter-cell interference (ICI) in underground mining visible light communication (VLC) systems, one of them is a novel approach. A realistic VLC system based on two underground mining scenarios, termed as mining roadway and mine working face, is developed and modeled. A channel model based on the direct component in line-of-sight (LoS) and reflections of non-line-of-sight (NLoS) links is considered, as well as thermal and shot noises. The design and mathematical models of a pyramid distribution and a new hemi-dodecahedral distribution are addressed in detail. The performances of these approaches, accompanied by signal combining schemes, are evaluated with the baseline of a single photo-diode in reception. Results show that the minimum lighting standards established in both scenarios are met. As expected, the root-mean-square delay spread decreases as the distance between the transmitters and receivers increases. Furthermore, the hemi-dodecahedron ADR in conjunction with the maximum ratio combining (MRC) scheme, presents the best performance in the evaluated VLC system, with a maximum user data rate of 250 Mbps in mining roadway and 120 Mbps in mine working face, received energy per bit/noise power of 32 dB and 23 dB, respectively, when the bit error rate corresponds to 10 - 4 , and finally, values of 120 dB in mining roadway and 118 dB in mine working face for signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio are observed in a cumulative distribution function.

Epidrug Modulated Expression of MiR--152 and MiR-148a Reverse Cisplatin Resistance in Ovarian Cancer Cells: An Experimental In-vitro Study.

Cisplatin is a common agent which is used to treat Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC), but cisplatin resistance is a major obstacle in successful treatment of ovarian cancer. Aberration in epigenetic changes play an important role in disregulation of gene expression. MiR-152 and miR-148a are frequently down-regulated in EOC due to promoter hyper-methylation. DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1), the main enzyme in maintenance of the pattern of DNA methylation, is one of the targets of miR-152 and miR-148a. Aberrantly up-regulation of DNMT1 is responsible for silencing of tumor suppressor genes in carcinogenesis. We hypothesized that re-expression of miR-152 and miR-148a and consequently down-regulation of DNMT1 may resensitize cancerous cells to chemotherapeutics agents. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of 5-azacytidine (5-Aza) and Trichostatin A on miR-152 and miR-148a expression in A2780CP ovarian cancer cell line. Optimal doses of 5-Azacitidine and TSA were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. A2780CP cell line was treated by each drugs, alone or in combination and the expression of miR-148a, miR-152 and DNMT1 was evaluated by Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). The results revealed that TSA and 5-Azacytidine are able to revive the expression of miR-148a and miR-152 genes and mediate growth inhibition of epithelial ovarian cancer cells. The present study suggests that re-expression of miR-148a and miR-152 by epigenetic therapy aiming to DNMT1 suppression might resensitize resistant ovarian tumors to conventional chemotherapy.