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ABSTRACT: A dose-response assay in a central composite design platform was conducted to investigate the responses (performance, immunity, and meat quality) of quail chicks to dietary tryptophan (Trp), melatonin (MEL), and N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). A total of 1,275 quail chicks were randomly allotted to 85-floor pens consisting of 17 treatments with 5 replicates and 15 birds per each pen. Dietary MEL and DMG had a different effect on growth rate and interacted with dietary Trp and AFB1 during the first 4 wk of age, while their effect disappeared at the last week of the experiment. Dietary Trp and AFB1 were only significant on the gain of quail chick after d 28 of the assay. During the second and third weeks of age, the reduction in feed intake caused by AFB1 attenuated by dietary MEL and DMG and dietary Trp profoundly affects feed intake in the last 2 wk of the experiment. Dietary MEL and DMG were effective on feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the second and third weeks of age. AFB1 decreased breast meat yield (BMY) and thigh meat yield (TMY), but the inclusion of either MEL or DMG removed the adverse effects of AFB1. Dietary Trp increased BMY, but it did not affect TMY. Increasing dietary Trp linearly increased the Lactobacillus bacteria (LAB) population, and AFB1 negatively impacts the LAB population. The inclusion of dietary DMG removed that negative effect on LAB. Although AFB1 decreased the antibody production against SRBC-antigen, increasing dietary Trp in intoxicated quails increased the plasma antibody in SRBC-challenged birds. At low levels of dietary Trp (0.15–0.19%), the addition of DMG increased malondialdehyde (MDA) production while increasing Trp reversed this adverse situation. In conclusion, these supplements may interact with AFB1 in younger chicks, and dietary Trp and AFB1 have a significant impact on the growth performance of quail chicks during the fifth and sixth week of age.

3D printing has emerged as a revolutionary technique for producing products with specific shapes and mechanical properties tailored to various needs. Its ability to fabricate intricate structures and forms has garnered considerable attention, leading to numerous research efforts exploring its potential benefits in geotechnical applications. These endeavours highlight the possibilities of utilizing 3D printing technology to create innovative and customized materials for soil reinforcement, such as geosynthetics, and fibres, as well as replicating soil particles, physical models of soil structures, and drainage systems in geo-structures. Additionally, beyond its role in geotechnical engineering, the interaction between geo-structures (foundations, retaining walls, embankments, tunnels, piles, infrastructures, etc.) and the surrounding soil under different loading and environmental conditions is of paramount importance. The interface between these structures and the soil plays a critical role in load transfer and overall stability. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating the interface between soil and 3D printed components through direct shear testing. The experimental campaign aims to examine how different factors, including the type of 3D printing materials, material rigidity, and surface texture of the printed components, influence the shear behaviour of the soil-3D printing material interface. The findings suggest that Young’s modulus of the 3D printed materials plays a crucial role in determining the response of the soil-3D printed parts interface. Furthermore, an optimized design is proposed to achieve the desired shearing resistance at the interface. The insights gained from this investigation have practical implications for optimizing the design of 3D-printed components in geotechnical engineering applications.

This study aimed to investigate the prediction of death obsessionthrough religious orientation and neurotic personality type of femalenurses of Tehran hospitals.The method used in the study wascorrelation and multiple regression analysis. The population of thestudy included all female nurses of private hospitals in Tehran (Laleh,Dey, Apadana, Asia, Azadi, Tehran, KhatamolanbIya, and Fajr) in2012. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 and was examinedusing Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regressionanalysis. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that 30%of the variance death obsession is explained by death predictorvariables (extrinsic religious orientation and neurotic personalitytype). The relationship between extrinsic religious orientation withobsession death (p

Objective: Osteopontin (OPN), also known as SPP1 (secreted phosphoprotein) is a secreted protein present in bodily fluids and tissues. It is also a tumour-associated protein, and elevated OPN levels are associated with tumour formation, progression and metastasis. In cancer patients expression of OPN has been associated with poor prognosis in several tumor types including breast, lung, and colorectal cancers. Research has revealed a promising role for OPN as a cancer biomarker. OPN is subject to alternative splicing, as well as post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, glycosylation and proteolytic cleavage. Functional differences have been revealed for different isoforms and post-translational modifications. The pattern of isoform expression and post-translational modification is cell-type specific and may influence the potential role of OPN in malignancy and as a cancer biomarker. Tumor specific splice variants are being discovered at an increasing rate and their functions are also investigated in cancer progression. Materials and Methods: After culturing U87-MG cell line in proper medium, RNA extraction following by single strand cDNA synthesis has been performed. Multiple products of RT-PCR by specific primers for spp1 mRNA was isolated and cloned in pTZ57R/T vector for sequencing. Results: We found a novel transcription variant of spp1 gene in U87-MG cell line, experimentally. Our sequencing data revealed that this novel variant lacks a region that potentially is a binding site of some micro-RNAs. Conclusion: Our study revealed that this novel variant has same function with other variants of this gene but we assume that post-transcriptional control mechanisms for this variant are different from the other variants. Computational analysis reveals that shorter variant of spp1 gene has so many regions that are complementary with some micro-RNAs. Then shorter variant is more stable than longer one and has a significant association with cancer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most abundant modification to mRNAs. Loss-of-function studies of main m 6 A regulators have indicated the role of m 6 A in pre-mRNA splicing. Recent studies have reported the role of splicing in preventing m 6 A deposition. Understanding the interplay between m 6 A and mRNA splicing holds the potential to clarify the significance of these fundamental molecular mechanisms in cell development and function, thereby shedding light on their involvement in the pathogenesis of myriad diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There is no competing interest related to the submitted manuscript., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

RNA modifications are essential for the establishment of cellular identity. Although increasing evidence indicates that RNA modifications regulate the innate immune response, their role in monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and polarisation is unclear. While m 6 A has been widely studied, other RNA modifications, including 5 hmC, remain poorly characterised. We profiled m 6 A and 5 hmC epitranscriptomes, transcriptomes, translatomes and proteomes of monocytes and macrophages at rest and pro- and anti-inflammatory states. Transcriptome-wide mapping of m 6 A and 5 hmC reveals enrichment of m 6 A and/or 5 hmC on specific categories of transcripts essential for macrophage differentiation. Our analyses indicate that m 6 A and 5 hmC modifications are present in transcripts with critical functions in pro- and anti-inflammatory macrophages. Notably, we also discover the co-occurrence of m 6 A and 5 hmC on alternatively-spliced isoforms and/or opposing ends of the untranslated regions (UTR) of mRNAs with key roles in macrophage biology. In specific examples, RNA 5 hmC controls the decay of transcripts independently of m 6 A. This study provides (i) a comprehensive dataset to interrogate the role of RNA modifications in a plastic system (ii) a resource for exploring different layers of gene expression regulation in the context of human monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and polarisation, (iii) new insights into RNA modifications as central regulators of effector cells in innate immunity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This bioassay evaluated the bioavailability (RBV) of a novel nanoparticle of methionine (nano-Met) relative to DL-methionine (DL-Met), and estimated methionine requirements for both sources in starting broilers. Five supplemental levels (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25% of diet) of DL-Met or nano-Met were added to a basal diet containing 0.35% standardized ileal digestible (SID) methionine to create 11 experimental diets, including a basal diet and 10 experimental diets containing 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55, and 0.60% SID-Met, respectively. A total of 825 one-day-old male Ross 308 birds were randomly assigned to 11 treatments with 5 pen replicates and 15 birds each. Body weight gain (BWG), breast meat yield (BMY), and thigh meat yield (TMY) increased (P < 0.001) while feed conversion ratio (FCR) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in meat samples decreased (P < 0.001) with increasing dietary methionine. Based on the slope-ratio method, the RBV of nano-Met relative to DL-Met for BWG, FCR, and TMY were 102 (48-155%; R2 = 0.71), 134 (68-201%; R2 = 0.77), and 110% (27-193%; R2 = 0.55), respectively. Considering the statistical accuracy of the spline models, the estimated values of DL-Met for maximum BWG and nano-Met for maximum TMY were 0.578% and 0.561%, respectively, which were statistically higher than those recommended for commercial settings. The highest effect size of supplemental methionine was on MDA (ƞ2p = 0.924), followed by FCR (ƞ2p = 0.578), BMY (ƞ2p = 0.575), BWG (ƞ2p = 0.430), and TMY (ƞ2p = 0.332), suggesting the potent antioxidant properties of methionine. Our findings suggest that reducing the particle size of DL-Met to nanoparticles could be a promising strategy to enhance the efficiency of methionine supplementation in broilers, an idea that requires further investigation in future research., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ghazaghi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Proximal femur geometry is an important risk factor for diagnosing and predicting hip and femur injuries. Hence, the development of an automated approach for measuring these parameters could help physicians with the early identification of hip and femur ailments. This paper presents a technique that combines the active shape model (ASM) and deep learning methodologies. First, the femur boundary is extracted by a deep learning neural network. Then, the femur's anatomical landmarks are fitted to the extracted border using the ASM method. Finally, the geometric parameters of the proximal femur, including femur neck axis length (FNAL), femur head diameter (FHD), femur neck width (FNW), shaft width (SW), neck shaft angle (NSA), and alpha angle (AA), are calculated by measuring the distances and angles between the landmarks. The dataset of hip radiographic images consisted of 428 images, with 208 men and 220 women. These images were split into training and testing sets for analysis. The deep learning network and ASM were subsequently trained on the training dataset. In the testing dataset, the automatic measurement of FNAL, FHD, FNW, SW, NSA, and AA parameters resulted in mean errors of 1.19%, 1.46%, 2.28%, 2.43%, 1.95%, and 4.53%, respectively., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine.)

Background: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common musculoskeletal condition in young and active adults. Exercise therapy is an essential part of rehabilitation in people with PFPS (PwPFPS). Telerehabilitation is an innovative treatment approach that has been used in several musculoskeletal conditions. This study aims to investigate the non-inferiority of telerehabilitation through a smartphone application, the Vito App, compared to face-to-face physical therapy on reducing pain and improving physical function, quality of life, and psychological factors., Methods: This randomized controlled trial will include 60 PwPFPS. to a control group (face-to-face physical therapy) or an experimental group (telerehabilitation). The intervention for both groups consists of stretching, strengthening, balance, and functional exercises for 6 weeks and three sessions per week. The primary outcomes are pain intensity by visual analog scale (VAS), physical function by the Kujala questionnaire and functional tests including the bilateral squat, anteromedial lunge, and step down, and quality of life by the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaire quality of life subscale. Secondary outcomes are psychological factors such as anxiety and depression assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire, kinesiophobia assessed with the Tampa scale, and pain catastrophizing assessed with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Assessments will be held in 3 phases: pre-test (before the intervention), post-test (after the 6 weeks of intervention), and follow-up (1 month after the end of the intervention)., Discussion: We expect that both the control group and experimental group will show similar improvements in clinical and psychological outcome measures. If our hypothesis becomes true, PwPFPS can use telerehabilitation as a practical treatment approach. Telerehabilitation can also enhance accessibility to rehabilitation services for active adults and for people living in remote and rural areas., Trial Registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) IRCT20201112049361N1. Registered on 29 October 2022., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells have tremendous potentials for cancer treatment; however, various challenges impede their universal use. These restrictions include the poor function of T cells in tumor microenvironments, the shortage of tumor-specific antigens and, finally, the high cost and time-consuming process, as well as the poor scalability of the method. Creative gene-editing tools have addressed each of these limitations and introduced next generation products for cell therapy. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated endonuclease 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system has triggered a revolution in biology fields, as it has a great capacity for genetic manipulation., Method: In this review, we considered the latest development of CRISPR/Cas9 methods for the chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T)-based immunotherapy., Results: The ability of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate the universal CAR T cells and also potent T cells that are persistent against exhaustion and inhibition was explored., Conclusion: We explained CRISPR delivery methods, as well as addressing safety concerns related to the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system and their potential solutions., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Objective: Diagnosis of small airway disease on computed tomography (CT) scans is challenging in patients with a history of chemical warfare exposure. We developed a software package based on different methodologies to identify and quantify small airway disease in CT images. The primary aim was to identify the best automatic methodology for detecting small airway disease in CT scans of Iran-Iraq War victims of chemical warfare., Methods: This retrospective case-control study enrolled 46 patients with a history of chemical warfare exposure and 27 controls with inspiratory/expiratory (I/E) CT scans and spirometry tests. Image data were automatically segmented, and inspiratory images were registered into the expiratory images' frame using the locally developed software. Parametric response mapping (PRM) and air trapping index (ATI) mapping were performed on the CT images. Conventional QCT methods, including expiratory/inspiratory mean lung attenuation (E/I MLA) ratio, normal density E/I (ND E/I) MLA ratio, attenuation volume Index (AVI), %low attenuation areas (LAA) < -856 in exhale scans, and %LAA < -950 in inhale scans were also computed. QCT measurements were correlated with spirometry results and compared across the two study groups., Results: The correlation analysis showed a significant negative relationship between three air trapping (AT) measurements (PRM, ATI, and %LAA Exp  < -856) and spirometry parameters (Fev1, Fvc, Fev1/Fvc, and MMEF). Moreover, %LAA Exp  < -856 had the highest significant negative correlation with Fev1/Fvc (r = -0.643, P-value < 0.001). Three AT measurements demonstrated a significant difference between the study groups. The E/I ratio was also significantly different between the two groups (P-value < 0.001). Binary logistic regression models showed PRM Fsad , %LAA Exp  < -856, and ATI as significant and strong predictors of the study outcome. Optimal cut-points for PRM Fsad  = 19%, %LAA Exp  < -856 = 23%, and ATI = 27% were identified to classify the participants into two groups with high accuracy., Conclusion: QCT methods, including PRM, ATI, and %LAA Exp  < -856 can greatly advance the identification and quantification of SAD in chemical warfare victims. The results should be verified in well-designed prospective studies involving a large population., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The present study aimed to compare the effects of simultaneous cognitive and motor tasks on walking performance between individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) and healthy controls., Methods: A total of 20 patients with NSCLBP and 20 healthy controls participated in this study. They walked at their self-selected speed on a treadmill under 3 walking conditions in a randomized order: walking only, walking while performing a concurrent cognitive task, and walking while performing a concurrent motor task. Two-way repeated measure analysis of variance with additional post hoc comparison (Bonferroni test) was used to evaluate the effects of group and walking conditions on gait parameters., Results: The result showed a significant main effect of the group for swing time ( P = 0.012) and double support time ( P = 0.021) in those with NSCLBP compared with healthy controls. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the group and condition for cadence ( P = 0.004) and step width variability ( P = 0.016).Regarding stride length variability and stride time variability, the analysis indicated a significant effect of condition (P = 0.002 and P = 0.030, respectively). In both groups, no significant differences were observed in gait parameters between motor dual task and single walking ( P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Our findings indicated that those with NSCLBP adapted successfully to walking performance to maintain the performance of the concurrent cognitive task under the cognitive dual-task walking condition. Moreover, the present study observed no dual-task interference under the motor dual-task condition., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2023 Iran University of Medical Sciences.)

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common injuries among athletes that lead to postural control disorders. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of balance training with and without cognitive task and external focus of attention on postural control in individuals with ACL reconstruction. Sixty participants with ACL reconstruction, between the ages of 18 and 47 will be randomly allocated to three group's including routine balance training, balance training with external focus of attention. Patients will be assessed at the baseline, after receiving eight weeks of intervention, and four weeks later. A double-blinded design will be used. Center of pressure data acquired from a forceplate will be used to assess amount and velocity of sway, local dynamical stability, and global stability of upright balance. Also, dynamic balance will be assessed using Star Excursion balance test. The results of this research will be used to establish effectiveness of treatment strategies for postural control in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. The suggested interventions would be clinically applicable in the athlete with ACL injury.

Iron is a necessary biological element and one of the richest in the human body, but it can cause changes in cell function and activity control. Iron is involved in a wide range of oxidation - reduction activities. Whenever iron exceeds the cellular metabolic needs, its excess causes changes in the products of cellular respiration, such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl. The formation of these compounds causes cellular toxicity. Lack of control over reactive oxygen species causes damages to DNA, proteins, and lipids. Conversely, superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl are reactive oxygen species, using antioxidants, restoring DNA function, and controlling iron stores lead to natural conditions. Iron poisoning causes clinical manifestations in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, heart, kidneys, and hematopoietic system. When serum iron is elevated, serum iron concentrations, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and ferritin will also increase. Supportive care is provided by whole bowel irrigation (WBI), esophagogastroduodenoscopy is required to evaluate mucosal injury and remove undissolved iron tablets. The use of chelator agents such as deferoxamine mesylate, deferasirox, deferiprone, deferitrin are very effective in removing excess iron. Of course, the combined treatment of these chelators plays an important role in increasing iron excretion, and reducing side effects.

Background: Pronated foot is one of the most important factors that may lead to musculoskeletal injuries of the lower extremities. Among all treatments for this disorder, intrinsic foot muscles strengthening exercises (IFMSE) have an important role in management of the individuals with pronated foot. Although the effect of the IFMSE is well accepted in this population; however, their impacts on foot kinetic are yet to be clarified. The present study aims to identify the effects of the IFMSE on foot kinetic parameters in pronated foot individuals during forward jump landing., Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 20 asymptomatic male and female subjects (mean age of 22.65 ± 2.51 years) with pronated foot structures were selected by using a simple non-random sampling method. The ground reaction force (GRF), rate of loading (ROL), and the resultant vector of time to stabilization (RVTTS) were examined during a forward jump landing task by using a force plate before and after six weeks of the IFMSE., Result: The findings showed that the following parameters were not significantly change before and after of the IFMSE: GRF (1.97 ± 0.49 vs. 2.03 ± 0.54, P =0.667), ROL (.09 ±0.12 vs. 08 ±.12, P =.632), and RVTTS (2836.60 ± 1144.62 vs. 2644.35 ± 704.71, P =.479)., Conclusion: In the pronated feet subjects, the IFMSE alone was not capable of changing the kinetic parameters of the foot, or the duration of using these exercises. In this study, six weeks may not be enough to make changes the foot kinetic parameters and therefore these exercises should be used for a longer period of time., Competing Interests: There is no contradiction in the article. Code of Ethics: IR. AJUMS. 1396.1082., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.)

Introduction: The foot and ankle are a complex set of multiple joints with multiple degrees of freedom that play an important role in static and dynamic activities. The intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of this complex play a role in controlling the deformity of the arch; thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the intrinsic foot muscle-strengthening exercises on knee kinematic parameters in pronated foot subjects during forward jump landing., Methods: This interventional study was performed on students aged 20-30-years old with foot pronation in the School of Rehabilitation. In this study, the kinematic changes of the knee in the frontal, sagittal and transverse plane before and after 6 weeks of strengthening exercises of the intrinsic foot muscles during the forward jump-landing task were examined using a motion analyser. All data analysis was performed offline using a special software program in the MATLAB software environment., Results: Knee angle variables have a normal distribution before and after exercise. The ICC coefficient of all variables was calculated as between 0.44 and 0.71; therefore, the reproducibility of the variables under study in this study was considered moderate to good. The knee angle on the frontal plate was 2.54 ± 2.4 before the exercises and 2.49 ± 2.14 after the exercises, and there was no significant difference between them ( P = 0.21)., Conclusion: Plantar intrinsic foot muscle-strengthening exercises alone have no effect on the kinematic changes of the knee in people with foot pronation, or the duration of strengthening exercises should be increased during the day to see the effect of strengthening the intrinsic muscles among pronated foot subjects., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.)

Civil engineering assets and geo-structures continually deteriorate during their lifetime, particularly in harsh environments that may be contaminated with corrosive substances. However, efficient and constant structural health monitoring and accurate prediction of the service-life of these assets can help to ensure their safety, performance, and health conditions and enable proper maintenance and rehabilitation. Nowadays, many of the largest cities throughout the world are situated in coastal zones, leading to a dramatic increase in the construction of nearshore geo-structures/infrastructures which are vulnerable to corrosion attacks resulting from salinity contamination. Additionally, seawater intrusion can threaten the quality and the sustainability of fresh groundwater resources, which are a crucial resource in coastal areas. To address these issues, detection of salinity in soil utilizing a novel polymer optical fibre Bragg grating (POFBG) sensor was investigated in this research. Experiments were carried out at different soil water contents with different salinities to assess the sensor's response in a representative soil environment. The sensitivity of the POFBG sensor to salinity concentrations in water and soil environment is estimated as 58 ± 2 pm/%. The average standard error value in salinity is calculated as 0.43% for the samples with different soil water contents. The results demonstrate that the sensor is a promising and practical tool for the measurement and monitoring with high precision of salinity contamination in soil.

Background: Amongst the chemical warfare agents, blistering (vesicant) agents can be significant materials. The most important agent in this group is sulfur mustard (mustard gas) which is known as "King of chemical warfare (CW) agents ". Exposure to this agent, seriously causes damages in several organs, such as the eyes. This article reviews the ophthalmological aspects of sulfur mustard with reference of its management., Methods: A wide-ranging search in PubMed databases, Thomson Reuters and Scopus was done and different aspects of chemical properties of sulfur mustard, its mechanism of action and effects on eyes, clinical finding, diagnostic evaluation, initiate actions, pharmaceutical and surgical interventions was reported., Results: Sulfur mustard can alkylate DNA and RNA strands and break down structures of protein and lipid of cell membrane. This may impair cell energy production, and leads to cell death. Exposure to sulfur mustard, therefore, causes such problems for organs, including irreversible damage to the eyes., Conclusion: Understanding the mechanism of the sulfur mustard effect and the early training in prevention injuries will cause fewer complications and damage to organs, including the eyes. Washing the eyes with tap water or eyewash solutions, using mydriatic drops, anti- inflammatory drugs, matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors and antibiotics may help to the management of poisoning. Surgical interventions including tarsorrhaphy, amniotic membrane transplantation, stem cell transplantation and corneal transplantation could reduce the harm to the victims., Competing Interests: None of the authors have any proprietary interests or conflicts of interest related to this submission.

Background: Overlapping genes share same genomic regions in parallel (sense) or anti-parallel (anti-sense) orientations. These gene pairs seem to occur in all domains of life and are best known from viruses. However, the advantage and biological significance of overlapping genes is still unclear. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) analysis enabled us to uncover an overlapping gene pair in the human genome., Results: By using in silico analysis of previous experimental documentations, we reveal a new form of overlapping genes in the human genome, in which two genes found on opposite strands (Pou5f1 and Tcf19), share two exons and one intron enclosed, at the same positions, between OCT4B3 and TCF19-D splice variants., Conclusions: This new form of overlapping gene expands our previous perception of splicing events and may shed more light on the complexity of gene regulation in higher organisms. Additional such genes might be detected by ESTs analysis also of other organisms., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of people with low back pain (LBP) to modify the pattern of lumbopelvic rotation (LPR) when actively moving their lower limbs in sitting., Methods: In this repeated-measures study in 38 men with chronic mechanical LBP (mean age, 38.4 ± 10.6 years), the timing and magnitude of LPR were investigated before and during the contraction of abdominal muscles during active knee extension while sitting. The kinematic data were collected using a motion-capture system, and OpenSim software was used for data analysis. The time difference between the start of knee extension and the start of LPR was measured and then adjusted to the movement time of the knee. The maximum LPR angle was also measured., Results: Participants increased the time difference between the start of knee extension and the start of LPR when contracting the abdominal muscles ( P < .01). Before and during contraction of abdominal muscles, however, there were no differences in maximum LPR., Conclusion: People with LBP are able to modify early lumbopelvic motion during active lower limb movement while sitting. This may reduce the frequency of lumbopelvic motion during activities of daily living in sitting in these people., (© 2022 by National University of Health Sciences.)

Despite all the advances in the production of transgenic mice, the production efficiency of these animal models is still low. Given that the expression of developmental genes has a critical role in growth and development of embryo, we determined the expression pattern of pluripotency, trophectoderm and imprinting genes in the Rag1 (recombination-activating gene 1) knocked-out blastocysts resulting from microinjection of CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9) constructs into the zygote cytoplasm of C57bl6 mice. Following microinjection, the embryos were cultured and the gene expression of developed blastocysts and natural blastocysts (Sham and control groups) were evaluated using real-time PCR. The agarose gel to confirm the deletion in the Rag1 gene in Rag1 knocked-out blastocyst. Our results showed that the expression of trophectoderm genes (-TEAD-4 and Cdx2), pluripotency genes (Nanog and Oct-4) and imprinting gene (H19) in the Rag1 knocked-out group was significantly lower compared with the embryos obtained from Natural fertilization. According to these findings, manipulation, embryo culture and microinjection of CRISPR constructs into the zygote cytoplasm of mice led to reduced expression of imprinting, pluripotency and trophectoderm genes. Therefore, the Rag1 knocked-out embryos produced by the CRISPR/Cas9 system are of low quality, which reduces the chances of live birth in these animals and may cause various abnormalities in fetuses., (© 2021 The Authors Veterinary Medicine and Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The nano-sized particles enhance the exposed surface area of the active part of the catalyst, thereby increasing the contact between precursors and catalyst considerably. In this study, nano-SiO 2 /1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-en was synthesized, characterized and used as a heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the synthesis of tetrahydrobenzo[b]pyran derivatives. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller plot, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis were used to discern nano-SiO 2 /1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-en., Results: Tetrahydrobenzo[b]pyrans were synthesized by using nano-SiO 2 /1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-en via one-pot three-component condensation of malononitrile, aldehydes and dimedone in H 2 O/EtOH at 60 °C. The results indicate that tetrahydrobenzo[b]pyrans were synthesized in good to high yields and short reaction times., Conclusions: The fundamental privileges of this method are short reaction time, plain procedure, recyclability of catalyst and high yields of products.

Background: Currently, the efficient production of chimeric mice and their survival are still challenging. Recent researches have indicated that preimplantation embryo culture media and manipulation lead to abnormal methylation of histone in the H19/Igf2 promotor region and consequently alter their gene expression pattern. This investigation was designed to evaluate the relationship between the methylation state of histone H3 and H19/Igf2 expression in mice chimeric blastocysts., Methods: Mouse 129/Sv embryonic stem cells (mESCs) expressing the green fluorescent protein (mESCs-GFP) were injected into the perivitelline space of 2.5 days post-coitis (dpc) embryos (C57BL/6) using a micromanipulator. H3K4 and H3K9 methylation, and H19 and Igf2 expression was measured by immunocytochemistry and q-PCR, respectively, in blastocysts., Results: Histone H3 trimethylation in H3K4 and H3K9 in chimeric blastocysts was significantly less and greater, respectively (p< 0.05), than in controls. H19 expression was significantly less (p< 0.05), while Igf2 expression was less, but not significantly so, in chimeric than in control blastocysts., Conclusion: Our results showed, that the alteration ofH3K4me3 and H3K9me3 methylation, change H19/Igf2 expression in chimeric blastocysts.

Background: The CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system is a powerful and simple gene editing method. The format of the CRISPR components is one of the important factors in targeting efficiency. Compared to plasmid or mRNA (IVTs) format, using the CRISPR/Cas9 system as Cas9-crRNA-tracrRNA RNP format is more efficient and rapid, especially in minimizing some of the pitfalls of CRISPR-mediated gene editing. In addition to efficient in vivo applications of the CRISPR RNP format in a variety of cell types and organisms, another advantage of this approach is usability for in vitro applications in which the crRNAs in the tracrRNA-crRNA structure guides the Mg2+-dependent RNAdirected DNA endonuclease to introduce double-strand breaks at specific sites in DNA., Methods: Here, Cas9-crRNA-tracrRNA RNP system was used to test the designed crRNAs for in vitro DNA cleavage by Cas9 protein in RAG1, RAG2 and IL2RG genes., Results: The results of cleavage reveal theCas9-crRNA-tracrRNA RNP system is a rapid and efficient way to pre-validate the efficiency of CRISPR cleavage with crRNAs designed for RAG1, RAG2 and IL2RG genes., Conclusion: one step in vitro cleavage of DNA by CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex can be used to pre-validate the functionality and relative efficiency of CRISPR system for targeting genes.

Among the blistering (vesicant) chemical warfare agents (CWA), sulfur mustard is the most important since it is known as the "King of chemical warfare agents". The use of sulfur mustard has caused serious damages in several organs, especially the eyes, skin, respiratory, central and peripheral nervous systems after short and long term exposure, incapacitating and even killing people and troops. In this review, chemical properties, mechanism of actions and their effects on each organ, clinical manifestations, diagnostic evaluation of the actions triage, and treatment of injuries have been described., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Background: The Clustered, Regularly Interspaced, Short Palindromic Repeats (CRIS-PR) and CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system has been used as a powerful tool for genome engineering. In this study, the application of this system is reported for targeting Rag genes to produce mutant mouse NIH/3T3 cell line. The Rag 1 and Rag 2 genes are essential for generation of mature B and T lymphocytes. Disruption of Rag genes causes disease like Severe Combined Immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID). Here, the efficiency and specificity of CRISPR system were tested with highly active sgRNAs to generate novel mutations in the NIH/3T3 mouse cell line., Methods: Four single guide RNAs were designed to target sequences in the coding region of the Rag 1 and Rag 2 genes. Four sgRNA-CAS9 plasmids were tested to target Rag1 and Rag2 ., Results: Based on T7 endonuclease assay and sequencing analysis, the expression of sgRNAs targeting two sites in Rag 1 resulted in deletion of the intervening DNA fragment. The expression of sgRNAs with Cas9 targeting two sites in Rag 2 gene resulted in indel mutations at both sites. In this report, fragment deletion in Rag 1 gene was detected in about 50% of transfected cells., Conclusion: Therefore, CRISPR/Cas9 system can be highly efficient and specific when gRNAs are designed rationally and provides a powerful approach for genetic engineering of cells and model animals.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a rapid, simple, and often extremely efficient gene editing method. This method has been used in a variety of organisms and cell types over the past several years. However, using this technology for generating gene-edited animals involves a number of obstacles. One such obstacle is mosaicism, which is common in founder animals. This is especially the case when the CRISPR/Cas9 system is used in embryos. Here we review the pros and cons of mosaic mutations of gene-edited animals caused by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in embryos. Furthermore, we will discuss the mechanisms underlying mosaic mutations resulting from the CRISPR/Cas9 system, as well as the possible strategies for reducing mosaicism. By developing ways to overcome mosaic mutations when using CRISPR/Cas9, genotyping for germline gene disruptions should become more reliable. This achievement will pave the way for using the CRISPR technology in the research and clinical applications where mosaicism is an issue., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Recombination Activating Genes (RAG) mutated embryonic stem cells are (ES) cells which are unable to perform V (D) J recombination. These cells can be used for generation of immunodeficient mouse. Creating biallelic mutations by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing has emerged as a powerful technique to generate site-specific mutations in different sequences., Objectives: The main purposes of this study were to achieve complete knock-out of RAG1 gene by investigating the nature of mutations in mutant mESC and to generate RAG1 knock-out mESCs containing homozygous indels with the aim of creating desired and specific RAG-1 -/- mutant mouse in a shorter period of time., Materials and Methods: Here, we first utilized CRISPR/Cas9 system to target RAG1/RAG2 genes in NIH3T3 cells to test the activity and efficiency of our CRISPR system. Then we used the system for targeting RAG1 gene in mouse embryonic stem cell (mESCs) to generate knock-out embryonic stem cells. This method combined with highly active single guide RNA (sgRNA) is an efficient way to produce new RAG1-knockout mESCs in the selected regions of early coding DNA sequence, approximately between nucleotide c. 512-c. 513 and nucleotide c. 725-c. 726 of RAG1 coding sequence that had not been targeted previously., Results: CRISPR gene editing resulted in a multitude of engineered homozygous and compound heterozygous mutations, including both in-frame and out-of-frame indels in 92% of mES cell clones. Most of the mutations generated by CRISPR/Cas9 system were out-of-frame, resulting in a complete gene knockout. In addition, 59% of the mutant ES cell clones carried out-of-frame homozygous indel mutations. The RAG1-knockout mESC clones retained normal morphology and pluripotent gene expression., Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 system can efficiently create biallelic indels containing both homozygous and compound heterozygous RAG1 mutations in about 92% of the mutant mESC clones. The 59% of mutant ES cell clones carried out-of-frame homozygous indel mutations.

[Purpose] The objective of this cross sectional study was to investigate the validity of Functional Ambulation Category in evaluating functional balance and identifying the relationship between balance impairment and functional ambulation in individuals with chronic stroke. [Participants and Methods] A total of 31 chronic stroke patients with first ever ischemic middle cerebral artery strokes, with no cognitive deficits were recruited. Participants had a mean age of 54.84 (SD=7.05) years and a time after stroke of 22.74 (SD=27.13) months. Community ambulation was determined by Functional Ambulation Category and functional balance was assessed by Berg Balance Scale. [Results] The mean Berg Balance Scale and the Functional Ambulation Category scores were 47.38 (SD=7.54) and 3.8 (SD=0.79), respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that balance impairment and ambulatory function was significantly positively correlated with each other (r=0.80). [Conclusion] The results shows that the Functional Ambulation Category is a valid tool in evaluating functional balance and suggest that functional balance may be an important goal for rehabilitation to achieve improvement in walking ability in people with chronic stroke.

Background: Although previous studies have investigated postural adjustment mechanisms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), it seems that no study has yet investigated the relationship between anticipatory and compensatory postural adjustments (APAs and CPAs, respectively) and falls., Methods: Seventeen MS fallers, 17 MS nonfallers, and 15 controls were exposed to a series of expected and unexpected backward pull perturbations applied at the trunk level. The electrical activity of 12 leg and trunk muscles as well as center of pressure displacement were recorded., Results: The MS fallers had delayed muscle activity onsets compared with MS nonfallers and controls. In addition, a significantly lower level of muscle activity during APAs was detected in MS fallers compared with controls. Moreover, in the unexpected condition of perturbation, significantly smaller CPA was observed in MS fallers compared with controls. Both groups of patients with MS required more time to stabilize their center of pressure after both types of perturbations compared with controls., Conclusions: The inability to produce efficient APAs and CPAs during perturbations may explain the high rates of postural instability and falls in patients with MS. Findings from this study provide a background for the development of perturbation-based training programs aimed at balance improvement and fall prevention by restoring mechanisms underlying balance impairments., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

[Purpose] The objective of this research was to examine the impact of cognitive load on the flexion relaxation phenomenon (FRP) during trunk flexion and return from flexion task. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-two healthy subjects (18 males, 4 females) participated in the study. Each participant was exposed to 3 experimental conditions: no cognitive task, easy cognitive task and difficult cognitive task. Surface electromyography was used to measure lumbar erector spinae muscles activity level. Flexion relaxation ratio (FRR) was compared in order to assess the differences between the three experimental conditions during flexion and extension (FLX FRR and EXT FRR). [Results] The FRR was decreased with increase in cognitive difficulty; the difficult cognitive task was associated with significant lower value of FLX FRR in both sides. However, these changes were not significant in easy cognitive task. In addition, the EXT FRR was decreased in cognitive task conditions, but these results were not statistically significant except for difficult cognitive task condition in comparison to no cognitive task condition in left side. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that cognitive loading can affect FRP in healthy subjects.

Background: Impairment of cervical sensory input in patients with neck pain may disturb postural stability. The purpose of present study was to assess the dynamic postural stability of subjects with chronic neck pain compared to a matched control group. Methods: In this case-control study, 22 chronic non-specific neck pain and 22 healthy individuals participated. Postural stability was measured with Techno-body Prokin tilting platform. Subjects performed balance tests under two conditions: eyes open and closed. The parameters for assessment of postural stability were total stability index (TSI), anteroposterior stability index (APSI), mediolateral stability index (MLSI), and trunk deviation which demonstrated total trunk sway in medio-lateral and antero-posterior. We used a separate 2 (group) by 2 (postural difficulty) mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) for analysis of postural performance. Results: There were significant differences between the chronic neck pain and matched control groups in APSI, MLSI, and TSI, p<0.001 in both eyes opened and closed conditions. The trunk deviation was greater for non-specific neck pain in comparison to healthy subjects, p<0.05 in both conditions of eyes open and closed. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that patients with chronic neck pain have poorer postural control than healthy subjects. The findings suggest that clinicians take into account the importance of dynamic postural stability assessment in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain and consider the application of intervention programs for improvement of the dynamic balance.

OCT4 is a crucial transcription factor that maintains self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem and embryonic carcinoma cells. The human OCT4 gene can generate at least three variants (OCT4A, OCT4B, and OCTB1) via alternative splicing and alternative promoters. It has been previously reported that OCT4A is the main isoform, retaining stemness state in embryonic stem and embryonic carcinoma cells. There are several reports on the expression of OCT4A, OCT4B, and OCT4B1 in some cancers and tumor cells. The expression of OCT4 in cancer tissues and cell lines appeared to be highly controversial since it was believed that OCT4 is exclusively expressed in embryonic stem/embryonic carcinoma cells. Here, we are reporting the detection of a novel alternatively spliced variant of OCT4, OCT4B2, in several pluripotent and tumor cell lines. Moreover, the expression pattern of OCT4B2 in the course of neural differentiation of NT2 and NCCIT, embryonic carcinoma cells, was similar to that of OCT4A. OCT4B2 was highly expressed in undifferentiated cells; however, its expression was sharply downregulated upon induction of differentiation. Overexpression of OCT4B2 did not affect the distribution of cells in different cell-cycle phases of transfected cells, compared to the mock transfected cells. Interestingly, the expression of OCT4B2 transcript was elevated under the heat-shock induction. In conclusion, we are reporting a new variant of OCT4, which is expressed under different physiological conditions. The finding shed more light on complexity of OCT4 expression and functions.

Background: Compton-scattered photons transfer incorrect spatial information. These photons are detected in used photo-peak energy window. In this study, three scatter correction procedures including dual-energy window (DEW), three energy window (TEW), and new approach were evaluated, and then the best procedure based on simulation and clinical conditions introduced., Materials and Methods: In this study, simulation projections and three-dimensional nonuniform rational B-spline-based Cardiac-Torso phantoms were produced by GEANT4 application for emission tomography simulation code. For clinical study, 2-day stress/rest myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) protocol was performed with 99m Tc-sestamibi for 46 patients. Image quality parameters including contrast, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and relative noise of the background (RNB) were evaluated., Results: The simulation results showed that contrast values for DEW, TEW, and new approach were (0.45 ± 0.07, 0.5 ± 0.08, and 0.63 ± 0.09), SNR values (4.74 ± 0.94, 5.58 ± 1.08, and 6.56 ± 1.24), and RNB values (0.33 ± 0.06, 0.33 ± 0.07, and 0.33 ± 0.05), respectively. In clinical study, the contrast values for DEW, TEW, and new approach were 0.53 ± 0.03, 0.57 ± 0.07, and 0.62 ± 0.04 in rest MPI and were 0.52 ± 0.04, 0.57 ± 0.06, and 0.6 ± 0.05 in stress MPI, respectively. Moreover, for the rest images, the SNR values were 7.65 ± 1.9, 9.08 ± 2.2, and 10.2 ± 1.75 and for stress images were 7.76 ± 1.99, 9.12 ± 2.25, and 10.17 ± 2.04, respectively. Finally, RNB values for rest and stress images were 0.12 ± 0.03, 0.13 ± 0.03, and 0.13 ± 0.03, respectively., Conclusion: The simulation and the clinical studies showed that the new approach could be better performance than DEW, TEW methods, according to values of the contrast, and the SNR for scatter correction.

POU domain proteins are an important family of transcription factors that regulates cell type-specific gene expression. One of the most crucial members of this family that maintains pluripotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells is POU5F1/OCT4. The OCT4 gene can generate several variants under different situations/cell types includes OCT4A that is the major factor sustains pluripotency in embryonic stem and embryonic carcinoma cells, and also OCT4B and OCT4B1, which are transcribed from a different potential promoter located in intron1 and are expressed in various tissues and cell types. In present study, during expression check of OCT4B1 in embryonic carcinoma cells (NT2), we discovered a novel OCT4 transcript for the first time and designated it as OCT4B4. This variant is expressed in various human pluripotent cells and its expression is down-regulated upon induction of differentiation. Moreover, knocking down of OCT4B4 by shRNA resulted in increased accumulation of transfected cells in G0/G1 phase compared to the mock-transfected control cells., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Alternative splicing is an important mechanism that regulates gene expression and function in human cells. OCT4 , a crucial pluripotency marker in embryonic stem/carcinoma cells generates several spliced variants in different cell types and cancers. The expression of OCT4 in cancers has been challenged in many studies. The existence of several OCT4 spliced variants and absence of specific discriminating primers is the main reason of this controversy. Therefore, using specific primers and discriminating OCT4 variants from each other might help to reduce these discrepancies in carcinogenesis and stem cell researches., Methods: 17 various human cancer, pluripotent and normal cells were cultured and their RNAs were extracted. Related cDNAs were synthesized and the expression pattern of OCT4 variants was investigated by RT-PCR assay. PCR products were cloned into pTZ57R/T vector and their authenticity was confirmed by DNA sequencing., Results: Expression pattern of OCT4 variants (OCT4A, OCT4B and OCT4B1) was analyzed by RT-PCR assay and the authenticity of PCR products was confirmed by DNA sequencing. A novel spliced variant of OCT4 was discovered and named as OCT4B3. This variant was very similar to OCT4B2 transcript except that 207-nt of exon 1b is lost. Moreover, the expression pattern of OCT4B3 variant was investigated in 17 human cell types, where its expression was only found in astrocytoma and bladder cancer cell types 1321N1 and 5637, respectively., Conclusion: OCT4 variants are differentially expressed in various human cancer cell lines. Moreover, a novel variant of OCT4 , OCT4B3, was detected in two human cancer cell lines of bladder carcinoma (5637) and brain astrocytoma (1321N1) for the first time.

Cadmium poisoning has been reported from many parts of the world. It is one of the global health problems that affect many organs and in some cases it can cause deaths annually. Long-term exposure to cadmium through air, water, soil, and food leads to cancer and organ system toxicity such as skeletal, urinary, reproductive, cardiovascular, central and peripheral nervous, and respiratory systems. Cadmium levels can be measured in the blood, urine, hair, nail and saliva samples. Patients with cadmium toxicity need gastrointestinal tract irrigation, supportive care, and chemical decontamination traditional-based chelation therapy with appropriate new chelating agents and nanoparticle-based antidotes. Furthermore it has been likewise recommended to determine the level of food contamination and suspicious areas, consider public education and awareness programs for the exposed people to prevent cadmium poisoning., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

In this study a semi-automated image-processing based method was designed in which the parameters such as intima-media thickness (IMT), resistive index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), dicrotic notch index (DNI), and mean wavelet entropy (MWE) were evaluated in B-mode and Doppler ultrasound in patients presenting with carotid artery atherosclerosis. In a cross-sectional design, 144 men were divided into four groups of control, mild, moderate and severe stenosis subjects. In all individuals, far wall IMT, RI, PI, DNI, and MWE of the left common carotid artery (CCA) were extracted using the proposed method. Our findings showed that the maximum far wall IMT, RI, PI, DNI in the CCA were significantly different in the patients with mild, moderate, and severe stenosis compared to control group (p-value < 0.05), however, there were no significant differences in MWE among the four groups (p-value > 0.05). The proposed method can help physicians to better identify patients at risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Background: The main goal of physiotherapy for patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) is to improve postural control and retain knee function. Therefore, clinicians need to use evaluative tools that assess postural changes during physiotherapy. To maximize the clinical utility of the results of these tools, the extracted measures should have appropriate psychometric properties of reliability, validity and responsiveness. No study has yet addressed responsiveness of postural measures in these patients. This study was designed to investigate the responsiveness and determine the minimal clinically important changes (MCIC) of static and dynamic postural measures in patients with (ACL-R) following physiotherapy., Methods: Static and dynamic postural measures were evaluated at first occasion and again after four weeks physiotherapy. The static measures consisted of center of pressure (COP) parameters while dynamic measures included the stability indices. Correlation analysis and ROC curve were applied for assessing the responsiveness., Results: The meanand SD velocity of COP had acceptable responsiveness in both conditions of standing on injured leg with open-eyes and on uninjured leg with closed-eyes, both with nocognitive task. For dynamic measures, stability indices in double-leg standing with closed-eyes with cognitive task condition attained acceptable responsiveness. MCICs for mean and SD velocity in anteroposterior and mediolateral directions were 0.28cm/s, 0.008cm/s, 0.02cm/s, respectively in standing on injured leg with open-eyes; and 0.14cm/s, 0.07cm/s, 0.06cm/s, respectively in uninjured leg with closed-eyes condition. Also, MCICs for anteroposterior, mediolateral and total stability indices were 0.51°, 0.37°, 0.34°, respectively in DCT condition., Conclusion: Our findings provide evidence for selection of appropriate static and dynamic postural measures for assessment of changes in these patients. MCICs for these measures were determined, which provide practical information for clinicians to make decision on clinical significance of changes in patients' status.