A solid-state Li-air battery: computational studies of interfaces and relevance to discharge mechanism.

There is much interest in developing new energy storage systems to replace currently available ones that mainly work based on Li-ion intercalations. One attractive area is the Li-air battery for which most of the research has involved liquid electrolytes. There have been few studies on the use of a solid electrolyte in a Li-air battery. Recently, we reported the successful use of a solid-state electrolyte in a Li-air battery resulting in a Li2O product and potentially much higher energy density than in a Li-air battery based on either a Li2O2 or LiO2 product (Science, 2023, 379, 499). In this paper we discuss how the discharge mechanism involved in this solid-state Li-air battery differs from that of a Li-air battery with a liquid electrolyte. The solid-state mechanism is further explored with density functional studies of various interfaces involving the discharge product. We discuss the relevance of the results to the discharge mechanism in the solid-state Li-air battery.

Neurotrophin growth factors and their receptors as promising blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease: a gene expression analysis study.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifaceted neurological ailment affecting more than 50 million individuals globally, distinguished by a deterioration in memory and cognitive abilities. Investigating neurotrophin growth factors could offer significant contributions to understanding AD progression and prospective therapeutic interventions. METHODS AND RESULTS: The present investigation collected blood samples from 50 patients diagnosed with AD and 50 healthy individuals serving as controls. The mRNA expression levels of neurotrophin growth factors and their receptors were measured using quantitative PCR. A Bayesian regression model was used in the research to assess the relationship between gene expression levels and demographic characteristics such as age and gender. The correlations between variables were analyzed using Spearman correlation coefficients, and the diagnostic potential was assessed using a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve. NTRK2, TrkA, TrkC, and BDNF expression levels were found to be considerably lower (p-value < 0.05) in the blood samples of AD patients compared to the control group. The expression of BDNF exhibited the most substantial decrease in comparison to other neurotrophin growth factors. Correlation analysis indicates a statistically significant positive association between the genes. The ROC analysis showed that BDNF exhibited the greatest Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.76, accompanied by a sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 66%. TrkC, TrkA, and NTRK2 demonstrated considerable diagnostic potential in distinguishing between cases and controls. CONCLUSION: The observed decrease in the expression levels of NTRK2, TrkA, TrkC, and BDNF in AD patients, along with the identified associations between specific genes and their diagnostic capacity, indicate that these expressions have the potential to function as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of AD.

A lithium-oxygen battery with a long cycle life in an air-like atmosphere.

Lithium-air batteries are considered to be a potential alternative to lithium-ion batteries for transportation applications, owing to their high theoretical specific energy. So far, however, such systems have been largely restricted to pure oxygen environments (lithium-oxygen batteries) and have a limited cycle life owing to side reactions involving the cathode, anode and electrolyte. In the presence of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapour, these side reactions can become even more complex. Moreover, because of the need to store oxygen, the volumetric energy densities of lithium-oxygen systems may be too small for practical applications. Here we report a system comprising a lithium carbonate-based protected anode, a molybdenum disulfide cathode and an ionic liquid/dimethyl sulfoxide electrolyte that operates as a lithium-air battery in a simulated air atmosphere with a long cycle life of up to 700 cycles. We perform computational studies to provide insight into the operation of the system in this environment. This demonstration of a lithium-oxygen battery with a long cycle life in an air-like atmosphere is an important step towards the development of this field beyond lithium-ion technology, with a possibility to obtain much higher specific energy densities than for conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Salicylic acid foliar application meliorates Portulaca oleraceae L. growth responses under Pb and Ni over-availability while keeping reliable phytoremediation potential.

The efficacy of SA foliar use on Pb and Ni-induced stress tolerance and phytoremediation potential by Portulaca oleraceae L. were assayed as a factorial trial based on a completely randomized design with four repetitions. The factors included; SA foliar application (0 and 100 µM) and HMs application of Pb [0, 150, and 225 mg kg-1 soil Lead (II) nitrate] and Ni [0, 220, and 330 mg kg-1 soil Nickel (II) nitrate]. Plant height, stem diameter, shoot and root fresh and dry weight, photosynthetic pigments, total soluble proteins, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and some macro- and micro-elements contents were reduced facing the HMs stress, but SA foliar application ameliorated these traits. HMs stress increased malondialdehyde content, total antioxidant activity, total flavonoids, phenolics, and linolenic acid content, while SA foliar application declined the mentioned parameters. Moreover, shoot and root Pb and Ni content enhanced in the purslane plants supplemented by SA under the HMs stress. The results propose SA foliar application as a reliable methodology to recover purslane growth characters and fatty acid profiles in the soil contaminated with the HMs. The idea is that SA would be potentially effective in alleviating HMs contamination while keeping reasonable phytoremediation potential.

There is no information available in previous literature about the impact of Pb and Ni on the phytochemical profile of oil in purslane. Therefore, in this report, we evaluated the purslane plant's growth and physiological responses and its seed oil's components in response to SA foliar application under conditions of Pb and Ni over-availability. Additionally, we examined the role of SA treatment in improving phytoremediation of Pb and Ni.

The effect of maternal organic manganese supplementation on performance, immunological status, blood biochemical and antioxidant status of Afshari ewes and their newborn lambs in transition period.

It has been documented that adequate maternal manganese (Mn) status is vital for performance and health of ewes and their newborn lambs. However, required level and form of dietary Mn in ruminants are not well defined. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of maternal organic Mn supplementation on performance, immunological status, blood biochemical and antioxidant status of Afshari ewes and their newborn lambs in transition period. For this purpose, various organic Mn concentrations were utilized as a supplementary ingredient in formulating the diets of ewes. The ewes were randomly allocated into three groups, fed with 0, and 80 mg/kg organic Mn supplemented diet. At the end of the experiment, the parameters including the performance of newborn lambs, as well as biochemical factors, immune status and antioxidant status in ewes and their newborn lambs were evaluated. The results showed a significant increase in the plasma concentrations of Mn, glucose, insulin, thyroid hormones (T3 , T4 ) and enzymatic antioxidants (SOD, GPX , CAT) in ewes and their newborn lambs that were treated with maternal organic Mn. Moreover, inorganic Mn treatments, the concentration of IgG in newborn lamb's plasma, and colostrum of ewes increased. According to this research, organic Mn acts as a valuable and safe supplementary material that could be exploited for enhancing health of ewes and their newborn lambs.

An approach to the milestones of spine surgery in Persian traditional medicine.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis and treatment of spine disorders have been challenging for thousands of years in different nations and medical schools. Despite this long history, there are many information gaps in this regard. The current research deals with the milestones and progress of spine surgery from ancient times until now, emphasizing the innovations of sages in the Persian traditional medicine era. METHODS: The present study is based on searching original and library documents, data from databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct, and search engines such as Google Scholar. RESULTS: In Persian traditional medicine, Rhazes (865-925 AD) was the first sage who applied spine surgery based on the innovative knowledge of Galen (second century AD) and Paulus Aegineta (seventh century AD). Hally Abbas (tenth century AD), by suturing two separated bones during spine surgery, and Albucasis (936-1013 AD), by inventing, describing, and drawing the surgical instruments involved in surgeries in this area, and also using cauterization in the treatment of children's hunchback, were the innovators of new methods. CONCLUSION: The modern knowledge of spine surgery is based on intelligent experiences and prominent thoughts from thousands of years worldwide. However, sometimes, these key points have remained hidden. This issue necessitates investigating this science in different schools and territories for comparative studies, identifying the firsts in the prominent points of this field, preserving the identity of sages and nations, and preventing scientific plagiarism.

The History of Medieval Bladder Stone Surgery in Persia.

INTRODUCTION: People's understanding of bladder stones has a long history. Since around the 6th century BC, surgery has been selected as the most specialized and last treatment and has continuously evolved. Meanwhile, many missing links have sometimes been a turning point in bladder stone surgery. The efforts of Iranian medicine scholars in advancing this treatment method are part of the impressive ups and downs of this path, which is discussed in this research. METHODS: This review research is based on Persian medicine sources, such as Al-Hawi fi al-Tabb, The Kitab al-Tasrif, and Al-Qanun fi al-Tebb. It has also used reliable databases such as Pub Med, Scopus, and Elsevier, as well as search engines such as Google Scholar, with related keywords. RESULTS: Surgery as the last treatment method for bladder stones was first proposed in the Golden Age (800-1300AD) of Persian traditional medicine by Ali ibn Rabben Tabari (810-895 AD) and Rhazes (865-925 AD), who discussed it in more detail. Then Hally Abbas, Albucasis, and Avicenna completed and enriched it. Albucasis 's role is imposing due to his unique techniques in perineal cystolithotomy, forceps to extract bladder stones, and primary lithotrity until the 19th century. CONCLUSION: Examining the evolution and progress of bladder stone treatment shows the efforts of physicians in different medical schools. The brilliance of the sages of Persian Medicine, who invented seven different types of bladder stone surgery, improved the techniques of the predecessors and created a significant leap in the progress of this surgery.

Improvements in the biochemical responses and Pb and Ni phytoremediation of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia L.) plants through Funneliformis mosseae inoculation.

BACKGROUND: Heavy metals (HMs) phytoremediation is a well-recognized protocol to remove toxic elements from the soil. As known, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) enhance the plants' growth responses. The idea of the present study was to assay the response of lavender plants to HMs stress under AMF inoculation. We hypothesized that mycorrhiza will enhance the phytoremediation and simultaneously reduce the harmful effects of heavy HMs. So, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia L.) plants were inoculated with AMF (0 and 5 g Kg-1 soil) under Pb [150 and 225 mg kg-1 soil from Pb (NO3)2] and Ni [220 and 330 mg kg-1 soil from Ni (NO3)2] pollution, in the greenhouse conditions. The control treatment was plants not treated with AMF and HMs. Doing this, the root colonization, HMs uptake, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants pool, MDA, proline, total phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), anthocyanins, and essential oil (EO) components were evaluated. RESULTS: According to the findings, the AMF inoculation enhanced shoot and root Pb and Ni content, antioxidant enzymes activity, the total antioxidant activity by DPPH and FRAP methods, TPC, TFC, anthocyanins, and H2O2 content in the lavender plants subjected to Pb and Ni stress. Moreover, the highest (28.91%) and the least (15.81%) percentages of borneol were identified in the lavender plants subjected to AMF under 150 mg kg-1 of Pb and the control plants without AMF application, respectively. Furthermore, the top 1,8-cineole (12.75%) content was recorded in AMF-inoculated plants. CONCLUSIONS: The overall results verify that AMF inoculation can be a reliable methodology to enhance the phytoremediation of Pb and Ni by lavender plants while maintaining reliable growth potential. The treatments improved the main EO constituents content, especially under moderate HMs stress conditions. With more detailed studies, the results will be advisable for the extension section for the phytoremediation of polluted soils.

MiRNA-related metastasis in oral cancer: moving and shaking.

Across the world, oral cancer is a prevalent tumor. Over the years, both its mortality and incidence have grown. Oral cancer metastasis is a complex process involving cell invasion, migration, proliferation, and egress from cancer tissue either by lymphatic vessels or blood vessels. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential short non-coding RNAs, which can act either as tumor suppressors or as oncogenes to control cancer development. Cancer metastasis is a multi-step process, in which miRNAs can inhibit or stimulate metastasis at all stages, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion, and colonization, by targeting critical genes in these pathways. On the other hand, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), two different types of non-coding RNAs, can regulate cancer metastasis by affecting gene expression through cross-talk with miRNAs. We reviewed the scientific literature (Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed) for the period 2000-2023 to find reports concerning miRNAs and lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks, which control the spread of oral cancer cells by affecting invasion, migration, and metastasis. According to these reports, miRNAs are involved in the regulation of metastasis pathways either by directly or indirectly targeting genes associated with metastasis. Moreover, circRNAs and lncRNAs can induce or suppress oral cancer metastasis by acting as competing endogenous RNAs to inhibit the effect of miRNA suppression on specific mRNAs. Overall, non-coding RNAs (especially miRNAs) could help to create innovative therapeutic methods for the control of oral cancer metastases.

Interaction of lncRNAs with mTOR in colorectal cancer: a systematic review.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most widespread cancer and the fourth leading lethal disease among different societies. It is thought that CRC accounts for about 10% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases with high-rate mortality. lncRNAs, belonging to non-coding RNAs, are involved in varied cell bioactivities. Emerging data have confirmed a significant alteration in lncRNA transcription under anaplastic conditions. This systematic review aimed to assess the possible influence of abnormal mTOR-associated lncRNAs in the tumorigenesis of colorectal tissue. In this study, the PRISMA guideline was utilized based on the systematic investigation of published articles from seven databases. Of the 200 entries, 24 articles met inclusion criteria and were used for subsequent analyses. Of note, 23 lncRNAs were prioritized in association with the mTOR signaling pathway with up-regulation (79.16%) and down-regulation (20.84%) trends. Based on the obtained data, mTOR can be stimulated or inhibited during CRC by the alteration of several lncRNAs. Determining the dynamic activity of mTOR and relevant signaling pathways via lncRNAs can help us progress novel molecular therapeutics and medications.

Expression analysis of inhibitory B7 family members in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a global health problem due to its complexity, which frequently makes the development of treatment methods extremely difficult. Therefore, new methodologies are necessary to investigate the pathophysiology of AD and to treat AD. The interaction of immune modulation and neurodegeneration has added new dimensions in current knowledge of AD etiology and offers an attractive opportunity for the discovery of novel biomarkers and therapies. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, we compared the expression levels of inhibitory B7 family members (B7-1, B7-2, B7-H1, B7-DC, B7-H3, B7-H4, B7-H5, B7-H7, and ILDR2), as immune regulators, in the peripheral blood of late-onset AD (LOAD) patients (n = 50) and healthy individuals (n = 50). The levels of B7-2, B7-H4, ILDR2, and B7-DC expression were significantly higher in-patient blood samples than in control blood samples. Furthermore, we discovered a substantial positive correlation between all gene expression levels. In addition, the current study indicated that ILDR2, B7-H4, B7-2, and B7-DC might serve as diagnostic biomarkers to identify LOAD patients from healthy persons. The present work provides additional evidence for the significance of inhibitory B7 family members to the etiology of LOAD.

Cauterization's history in the Persian medicine school.

BACKGROUND: Cauterization has been used in various medical schools to prevent and treat diseases. Its application dates back to shortly after the invention of fire. Despite its long history, different aspects and the importance of cauterization in various medical schools have remained elusive. The present study addressed the milestones and progress of cauterization from ancient times to the present, emphasizing the innovations of the Persian medicine school. METHODS: The present study is based on searching in the library documents of famous Persian medicine scholars and data from databases such as Ovid, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar search engines. RESULTS: Persian Medicine scholars used various cauterization methods such as hot metals and corrosive drugs to stop bleeding, prevent the development and spread of infection, and treat hydrocephalus and rabies. Cauterization has been associated with considerations to prevent irreversible tissue damage and whether or not it is internal or external. CONCLUSION: Cauterization has been associated with different practical purposes. With evolutionary progress and the use of different techniques and tools throughout history, the tools such as Electrocautery or Galvanocautery are some manifestations of new applications of cauterization. Numerous studies have indicated the continuation of newer applications, indicating the inexhaustible human interest in this ancient technique.

The historical course of varicose vein surgery in the Persian medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Dawali (varicose veins) is the disease of chronic dilation of veins. The veins of the legs become dilated and blue due to excessive accumulation of blood. This disease and the effort to identify and treat it has a very long history. The condition may have first been described in the Ebers Papyrus more than 3500 years ago. The present study deals with the turning points and progress of varicose vein surgery since ancient times, emphasizing the innovations of the scholars of the Islamic period. METHODS: The present study is based on searching library documents and database data such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and search engines such as Google Scholar. In the end, the Prisma flow chart was drawn. RESULTS: Besides diagnosing different varicose veins (legs, thighs, abdomen, uterus, and testes), the scholars of the Islamic period were well-versed in their prevention, etiology, and treatment. In treating varicose veins, these physicians used methods such as cleansing, phlebotomy, compression, leech therapy, and surgery, and some of them were the founders of new treatments. CONCLUSION: The surgical treatment of varicose veins in the past was similar to modern surgical therapies. What distinguishes yesterday's varicose vein surgery from today's surgery is a more advanced tool. There is no denying the remarkable progress in using health principles, treatment techniques, and surgical instruments to facilitate surgery and reduce the disease's complications and recurrence. However, the treatment framework and foundation, such as phlebectomy and compression, were all invented and introduced in the distant past.

A lithium-oxygen battery based on lithium superoxide.

Batteries based on sodium superoxide and on potassium superoxide have recently been reported. However, there have been no reports of a battery based on lithium superoxide (LiO2), despite much research into the lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) battery because of its potential high energy density. Several studies of Li-O2 batteries have found evidence of LiO2 being formed as one component of the discharge product along with lithium peroxide (Li2O2). In addition, theoretical calculations have indicated that some forms of LiO2 may have a long lifetime. These studies also suggest that it might be possible to form LiO2 alone for use in a battery. However, solid LiO2 has been difficult to synthesize in pure form because it is thermodynamically unstable with respect to disproportionation, giving Li2O2 (refs 19, 20). Here we show that crystalline LiO2 can be stabilized in a Li-O2 battery by using a suitable graphene-based cathode. Various characterization techniques reveal no evidence for the presence of Li2O2. A novel templating growth mechanism involving the use of iridium nanoparticles on the cathode surface may be responsible for the growth of crystalline LiO2. Our results demonstrate that the LiO2 formed in the Li-O2 battery is stable enough for the battery to be repeatedly charged and discharged with a very low charge potential (about 3.2 volts). We anticipate that this discovery will lead to methods of synthesizing and stabilizing LiO2, which could open the way to high-energy-density batteries based on LiO2 as well as to other possible uses of this compound, such as oxygen storage.

Assessing the expression of two post-transcriptional BDNF regulators, TTP and miR-16 in the peripheral blood of patients with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe mental disorder with an unknown pathophysiology. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that has been associated with synapse plasticity, learning, and memory, as well as neurodevelopment and neuroprotection. The importance of neurodevelopmental and neurotoxicity-related components in the pathophysiology of SCZ has been highlighted in research on the neurobiology of this disease. The purpose of this research is to investigate the significant expression of two variables, tristetraprolin (TTP) and miR-16, which are known to be regulators of BDNF expression. Fifty Iranian Azeri SCZ patients were enrolled, and fifty healthy volunteers were age- and gender-matched as controls. A quantitative polymerase chain reaction measured the expression levels of the TTP and miR-16 in the peripheral blood (PB) of SCZ patients and healthy people. TTP expression levels in patients were higher than in controls, regardless of gender or age (posterior beta = 1.532, adjusted P-value = 0.012). TTP and miR-16 expression levels were found to be significantly correlated in both SCZ patients and healthy controls (r = 0.701, P < 0.001 and r = 0.777, P < 0.001, respectively). Due to the increased expression of TTP in SCZ and the existence of a significant correlation between TTP and miR-16, which helps to act on target mRNAs with AU-rich elements, this mechanism can be considered an influencing factor in SCZ.

Downregulation of miR-185 is a common pathogenic event in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome-related and idiopathic schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is known as a complicated mental disease with an unknown etiology. The microdeletion of 22q11.2 is the most potent genetic risk factor. Researchers are still trying to find which genes in the deletion region are linked to SCZ. MIR185, encoding microRNA (miR)-185, is present in the minimal 1.5 megabase deletion. Nonetheless, the miR-185 expression profile and its corresponding target genes in animal models and patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) imply that more study is required about miR-185 and its corresponding downstream pathways within idiopathic SCZ. The expression of hsa-miR-185-5p and its corresponding target gene, shisa family member 7 (SHISA7), sometimes called CKAMP59, were evaluated in the peripheral blood (PB) samples of Iranian Azeri patients with idiopathic SCZ and healthy subjects, matched by gender and age as control groups by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Fifty SCZ patients (male/female: 22/28, age (mean ± standard deviation (SD)): 35.9 ± 5.6) and 50 matched healthy controls (male/female: 23/27, age (mean ± SD): 34.7 ± 5.4) were enrolled. The expression of hsa-miR-185-5p in the PB samples from subjects with idiopathic SCZ was substantially lower than in that of control groups (posterior beta = -0.985, adjusted P-value < 0.0001). There was also a difference within the expression profile between female and male subgroups (posterior beta = -0.86, adjusted P-value = 0.046 and posterior beta = -1.015, adjusted P-value = 0.004, in turn). Nevertheless, no significant difference was present in the expression level of CKAMP59 between PB samples from patients and control groups (adjusted P-value > 0.999). The analysis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve suggested that hsa-miR-185-5p may correctly distinguish subjects with idiopathic SCZ from healthy people (the area under curve (AUC) value: 0.722). Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between the expression pattern of the abovementioned genes in patients with SCZ and healthy subjects (r = 0.870, P < 0.001 and r = 0.812, P < 0.001, respectively), indicating that this miR works as an enhancer. More research is needed to determine if the hsa-miR-185-5p has an enhancer activity. In summary, this is the first research to highlight the expression of the miR-185 and CKAMP59 genes in the PB from subjects with idiopathic SCZ. Our findings suggest that gene expression alterations mediated by miR-185 may play a role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic and 22q11.2DS SCZ. It is worth noting that, despite a substantial and clear relationship between CKAMP59 and hsa-miR-185-5p, indicating an interactive network, their involvement in the development of SCZ should be reconsidered based on the whole blood sample since the changed expression level of CKAMP59 was not significant. Further research with greater sample sizes and particular leukocyte subsets can greatly make these results stronger.

Comparison of hearing outcomes in stapedotomy with fat and Hyaluronic acid gel as a sealing material: a prospective double-blind randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: In the literature on stapes surgery, various materials have been used to seal the vestibulotomy. To date, there are only a few published randomized clinical trials with focus on hearing outcomes, using different sealing materials. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare hearing outcomes when using fat or Hyaluronic acid gel (HAG) to seal the stapedotomy. METHODS: The present double-blind, prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted on ears undergoing stapedotomy in Dasthgheib Hospital, a referral otology center in Southern Iran, and Dena private hospital, Shiraz Iran. A total of 150 primary stapedotomies were evaluated, and sealing material was fat in 77 ears and HAG in 73. RESULTS: 60 (77.9%) of the fat group ears and 63 (86.3%) of the HAG group ears obtained postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) within 20 dB, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.182). CONCLUSION: As a sealing material in stapedotomy, HAG is comparable with fat in terms of hearing outcomes. Therefore, HAG is recommended as a safe sealing material in stapedotomy.

Changes in the macroscopic morphology of hip muscles in low back pain.

Low back pain is a major health issue affecting the lumbopelvic muscles. Morphological changes in hip muscles, such as alterations in the muscle cross-sectional area and muscle volume, may occur in patients with low back pain. This systematic review was conducted to investigate whether patients with low back pain have macroscopic changes in their hip muscle morphology compared with asymptomatic, healthy individuals, based on current evidence. The electronic databases of PubMed/Medline, Ovid, Scopus, Embase® , and Google Scholar were searched from the inception to August 31, 2018. We only included full texts of original studies regarding macroscopic morphological alterations, including atrophy and fat infiltration, in hip muscles of patients with low back pain compared with asymptomatic controls. The quality of the included studies was determined using an assessment tool based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The scale was modified for the purposes of this study. Sixteen comparative observational studies were found eligible to be included in this review. Eleven were classified as high quality and four as moderate quality. The morphological changes in the psoas major, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and piriformis muscles were assessed in the primary studies. All selected studies were considered B level of evidence studies. The strength of conclusions for the psoas major, gluteal, and piriformis muscles was moderate. The results revealed that there is substantial controversy about the morphological changes in hip muscles in patients with low back pain; however, the majority of high-quality studies concluded that atrophy of hip muscles is evident in patients with low back pain. The psoas major muscle was the most commonly investigated hip muscle for morphological changes. Major methodological limitations of the included studies were identified and discussed. The present systematic review does not include a formal meta-analysis because of very significant differences in the primary studies in terms of study populations and methodologies. Finally, in clinical practice, it is recommended that physical therapists develop exercise programs to improve hip muscle function in patients with low back pain.

Protective effect of curcumin on busulfan-induced renal toxicity in male rats.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of curcumin in an experimental model of busulfan-induced renal toxicity with emphasis on importance of histological alterations. METHODS: In this study, we utilized 32 adult male Wistar rats (250 ± 10 g). All the animals were divided into four experimental groups randomly: (I) Control; (II) Busulfan (40 mg/kg); (III) Olive oil; and (IV) Curcumin (80 mg/kg/day). Finally, the rats were euthanized and kidney tissues were taken for histopathology experiments, serum BUN, and creatinine level, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and glutathione disulfide (GSH) activity. RESULTS: Our result showed that the reduction in body weight and kidney weight in busulfan groups in comparison with the control and curcumin groups. The result in this study also showed that the reduction in BUN, creatinine, and ROS production in curcumin groups in comparison with the busulfan group together with an increasing of GSH activity compared to busulfan induced rats. CONCLUSION: Our results of this study indicated that that the reduction in body weight, kidney weight, total volume of kidney, total length of nephron tubules, and numerical density of glomeruli and nephron tubules in busulfan groups in comparison with the control and curcumin groups However, curcumin can be an alternative choice for therapeutically and research purposes in the disturbing kidney after treatment with busulfan.

In Situ Formed Ir3Li Nanoparticles as Active Cathode Material in Li-Oxygen Batteries.

Lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries are a promising class of rechargeable Li batteries with a potentially very high achievable energy density. One of the major challenges for Li-O2 batteries is the high charge overpotential, which results in a low energy efficiency. In this work size-selected subnanometer Ir clusters are used to investigate cathode materials that can help control lithium superoxide formation during discharge, which has good electronic conductivity needed for low charge potentials. It is found that Ir particles can lead to lithium superoxide formation as the discharge product with Ir particle sizes of ∼1.5 nm giving the lowest charge potentials. During discharge these 1.5 nm Ir nanoparticles surprisingly evolve to larger ones while incorporating Li to form core-shell structures with Ir3Li shells, which probably act as templates for growth of lithium superoxide during discharge. Various characterization techniques including DEMS, Raman, titration, and HRTEM are used to characterize the LiO2 discharge product and the evolution of the Ir nanoparticles. Density functional calculations are used to provide insight into the mechanism for formation of the core-shell Ir3Li particles. The in situ formed Ir3Li core-shell nanoparticles discovered here provide a new direction for active cathode materials that can reduce charge overpotentials in Li-O2 batteries.