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Objective(s): Most male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) experience infertility. It is well established that regular physical activity could alleviate diabetic infertility symptoms. This study was designed to determine the effect of voluntary exercise on sperm malformation. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control (C), diabetic (D), voluntary exercise (Ex), and diabetic-voluntary exercise (D-Ex) groups. Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg) followed by a high-fat diet for four weeks. Voluntary exercise was performed by placing the animals in the rotary wheel cages for ten weeks. Sperm malformations were analyzed. Moreover, the hypothalamic leptin, kisspeptin, kisspeptin receptors (KissR), as well as plasma LH, FSH, testosterone, and leptin levels were evaluated. Results: Results showed that induction of T2DM caused increased sperm malformation, plasma, and hypothalamic leptin as well as decreased hypothalamic kisspeptin, KissR, and plasma LH levels compared with the C group (P

Background: Acanthamoebae are a causative agent of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) in immunocompetent individuals. Since access to propamidine isethionate (Brolene®) as a first-line treatment has been limited in recent years, in the current study, we examined the effects of pentamidine isethionate against trophozoite and cyst forms of Acanthamoeba. Methods: This experimental study was conducted in the Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, during 2019-2020. Pentamidine isethionate at concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 µM were tested against trophozoites and cyst stages of T4 genotype, at 24- and 48-hour incubation period, and the viability was determined by trypan blue staining. In addition, the cytotoxic effect of the drug was examined in Vero cells using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results: The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of pentamidine isethionate on trophozoite after 24 and 48h were 97.4 µM and 60.99 µM. These results on cyst after 24 and 48h were 470 µM and 175.5 µM, respectively. In MTT assay, the drug showed an inhibitory effect on Vero cell growth with IC50 values of 115.4 µM and 87.42 µM after 24h and 48h, respectively. Conclusion: Pentamidine isethionate exhibited an inhibitory effect on trophozoite and cyst. Given that the trophozoicidal activity of the drug is in the safe dose, it could be suggested as an alternative in patients with AK; however, further investigation is needed in an animal model to confirm the data.

Background: Smoking rates are exceptionally high among adults experiencing homelessness (AEH). Research is needed to inform treatment approaches in this population. Methods: Participants (n=404) were adults who accessed an urban day shelter and reported current smoking. Participants completed surveys regarding their sociodemographic characteristics, tobacco and substance use, mental health, motivation to quit smoking (MTQS), and smoking cessation treatment preferences. Participant characteristics were described and compared by MTQS. Results: Participants who reported current smoking (N=404) were primarily male (74.8%); White (41.4%), Black (27.8%), or American Indian/Alaska Native (14.1%) race; and 10.7% Hispanic. Participants reported a mean age of 45.6 (SD=11.2) years, and they smoked an average of 12.6 (SD=9.4) cigarettes per day. Most participants reported moderate or high MTQS (57%) and were interested in receiving free cessation treatment (51%). Participants most frequently selected the following options as among the top 3 treatments that offered the best chance of quitting: Nicotine replacement therapy (25%), money/gift cards for quitting (17%), prescription medications (17%), and switching to e-cigarettes (16%). Craving (55%), stress/mood (40%), habit (39%), and being around other smokers (36%) were frequently identified as the most challenging aspects of quitting. Low MTQS was associated with White race, lack of religious participation, lack of health insurance, lower income, greater cigarettes smoked per day, and higher expired carbon monoxide. Higher MTQS was associated with sleeping unsheltered, cell phone ownership, higher health literacy, more years of smoking, and interest in free treatment. Discussion: Multi-level, multi-component interventions are needed to address tobacco disparities among AEH.

Background and Purpose: Given the important role of Malassezia spp. in skin diseasesand other associated infections in neonates, this study aimed to investigate the presenceand frequency of Malassezia spp. in the skin of neonates hospitalized in neonatalintensive care units and their mothers using culture and accurate molecular-basedmethods.Materials and Methods: In total, 205 samples were collected from 130 neonates (>4-day-old) and 75 mothers. Isolation of Malassezia spp. from the skin was performed usingLeeming-Notman agar and modified Dixon agar media. To compare the Malasseziamicroflora on the skin of the neonates and their mothers, a polymerase chain reactionsequencing method was performed for spp. identification of 92 isolates obtained fromneonates and their mothers. Moreover, possible associated risk factors for thecolonization of Malassezia spp. on the skin were recorded.Results: Cultures from 62.3% of neonates and 77.3% of mothers were positive forMalassezia spp. growth. Malassezia globosa was the most prevalent isolated spp. foundin the skin of the study population. It is noteworthy that a rare Malassezia spp.,Malassezia arunalokei, was isolated from the skin of one neonate. There was a 76%similarity between the mother-neonate isolate sequences results. The statistical analysisshowed that the type of feeding is a significant (P

BackgroundWe previously reported that functional recovery of rats with spinal cord contusions can occur after acute transplantation of neural stem cells distal to the site of injury. To investigate the effects of timing of administration of human neural stem cell (hNSC) distal to the site of spinal cord injury on functional outcomes in an animal model.MethodsThirty-six adult female Long-Evans hooded rats were randomized into three experimental and three control groups with six animals in each group. The T10 level was exposed via posterior laminectomy, and a moderate spinal cord contusion was induced by the Multicenter Animal Spinal Cord Injury Study Impactor (MASCIS, W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Piscataway, NJ, USA). The animals received either an intrathecal injection of hNSCs or control media through a separate distal laminotomy immediately, one week or four weeks after the induced spinal cord injury. Observers were blinded to the interventions. Functional assessment was measured immediately after injury and weekly using the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating score.ResultsA statistically significant functional improvement was seen in all three time groups when compared to their controls (acute, mean 9.2 vs. 4.5, P=0.016; subacute, mean 11.1 vs. 6.8, P=0.042; chronic, mean 11.3 vs. 5.8, P=0.035). Although there was no significant difference in the final BBB scores comparing the groups that received hNSCs, the group which achieved the greatest improvement from the time of cell injection was the subacute group (+10.3) and was significantly greater than the chronic group (+5.1, P=0.02).ConclusionsThe distal intrathecal transplantation of hNSCs into the contused spinal cord of a rat led to significant functional recovery of the spinal cord when injected in the acute, subacute and chronic phases of spinal cord injury (SCI), although the greatest gains appeared to be in the subacute timing group.

The current study was undertaken to determine the concentration of lead, cadmium copper, and zinc (Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn) in three types of collected green leafy vegetables irrigated with contaminated water compared with those irrigated with the fresh water of Hamadan province, Iran using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) technique. Twenty samples of vegetables such as basil, leek, and lettuce irrigated with contaminated water, and twenty samples from five different adjacent areas irrigated with fresh water as control were analyzed to determine heavy metals (HMs). The highest mean concentration of Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn, regardless of the kind of vegetables irrigated with contaminated water, was 0.95, 0.32, 3.03, and 13.58 mg/kg fresh weight, respectively. Moreover, metals uptake differences by the vegetables were recognized to vegetable differences in tolerance to HMs. The human health risk assessment indicated that non-carcinogenic values of Pb and Cd were higher than the threshold value of 1, and ingestion was the main exposure pathway of HMs to both children and adults. It suggested that all receptors (especially basil and lettuce) in Hamadan province might have significant and acceptable non-carcinogenic risk because of exposure to Pb and Cd. The significant amount of these HMs in some plants may be due to agricultural uses for the irrigation of the vegetable lands of untreated sanitary and industrial wastewater. The findings revealed that vegetables imply the total health risk on local people, and regular monitoring of HMs is strongly recommended in this region.

Background and Aims: Fractures of the facial bones and jawbones could cause functional problems along with social and cosmetic problems. Various factors (including road accidents, assault, falling from height, sport injuries, and getting hit by a hard object) could cause these fractures. Collecting and reporting accurate epidemiologic data regarding the facial fractures are major steps toward planning preventive measures. The aim of this study was to collect the epidemiologic data regarding maxillofacial fractures in two referral centers (Shariati and Sina hospitals) in the city of Tehran. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional retrospective investigation. All the necessary data were collected from the patients’ files and analyzed using SPSS 25. Results: The present study pursued data of 454 trauma admitted patients in oral and maxillofacial surgery wards of Shariati and Sina hospitals in 1397 and 1398. These data showed that a number of 374 patients of all patients were men and the other 80 were women. The ratio of male patients to female patients was 4.5:1. In 290 of cases (64%), the fractures occurred as combined fractures and in 164 cases (36%), the fractures occurred as single fracture. These fractures happened mostly in the mandibular bone and in mandibular body, and the least of these fractures happened in Orbit. This study showed that there was a significant relation (with 95% confidence level) between the mandibular body fractures and mandibular angle fractures. This study also showed that there was another significant relation (with 95% confidence level) between the mandibular angle fractures and LeFort 2 fractures. In addition, this study also showed (by using k2 exam) a relation between the etiology of trauma and the number of fractures. Conclusion: This present study showed that the maxillofacial fractures happened mostly in men much more than women. If we put motorcycle accidents and car accidents in a group together called road accidents, the most common etiology of maxillofacial fractures is road accidents. The results showed that the most fractures happened in the age range of 15-25 year old.

Increasing walking speed is accompanied by an increase of the mechanical power and work performed at the ankle joint despite the decrease of the intrinsic muscle force potential of the soleus (Sol) and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscles. In the present study, we measured Achilles tendon (AT) elongation and, based on an experimentally determined AT force–elongation relationship, quantified AT force at four walking speeds (slow 0.7 m.s−1, preferred 1.4 m.s−1, transition 2.0 m.s−1, and maximum 2.6 ± 0.3 m.s−1). Further, we investigated the mechanical power and work of the AT force at the ankle joint and, separately, the mechanical power and work of the monoarticular Sol at the ankle joint and the biarticular gastrocnemii at the ankle and knee joints. We found a 21% decrease in maximum AT force at the two higher speeds compared to the preferred; however, the net work of the AT force at the ankle joint (ATF work) increased as a function of walking speed. An earlier plantar flexion accompanied by an increased electromyographic activity of the Sol and GM muscles and a knee-to-ankle joint energy transfer via the biarticular gastrocnemii increased the net ATF mechanical work by 1.7 and 2.4-fold in the transition and maximum walking speed, respectively. Our findings provide first-time evidence for a different mechanistic participation of the monoarticular Sol muscle (i.e., increased contractile net work carried out) and the biarticular gastrocnemii (i.e., increased contribution of biarticular mechanisms) to the speed-related increase of net ATF work.

Global warming affected by human activities causes changes in the regime of rivers. Rivers are one of the most vital sources that supply fresh water. Therefore, management, planning, and proper use of rivers will be crucial for future climate change conditions. This study investigated the monitoring of hydrological drought in a future period to examine the impact of climate change on the discharging flow of the Zard River basin in Iran. Zard River is an important supplier of fresh and agricultural water in a vast area of Khuzestan province in Iran. A continuous rainfall-runoff model based on Soil Moisture Accounting (SMA) algorithm was applied to simulate the discharge flow under 10 scenarios (obtained from LARS-WG.6 software) of future climate change. Then, the Stream-flow Drought Index (SDI) and the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) were calculated for each climate change scenario for the future period (2041–2060). The results of the meteorological drought assessment showed that near normal and moderate droughts had higher proportions among other drought conditions. Moreover, the hydrological drought assessment showed the occurrence of two new droughts (severe and extreme) conditions for the future period (2041–2060) that has never happened in the past (1997–2016). HIGHLIGHTS Examining two RCPs to evaluate runoff and precipitation in the future.; Using of Soil Moisture Accounting (SMA) to compute excessive rainfall and rainfall-runoff modeling.; Evaluating the interaction between SDI and SPI drought indices.; Five AOGCMs under two RCPs were tested in the drought monitoring.; Extreme droughts will occur in the future in this region and will decrease the water security.;

Abstract The purpose of the current study was to assess in vivo Achilles tendon (AT) mechanical loading and strain energy during locomotion. We measured AT length considering its curve-path shape. Eleven participants walked at 1.4 m/s and ran at 2.5 m/s and 3.5 m/s on a treadmill. The AT length was defined as the distance between its origin at the gastrocnemius medialis myotendinous junction (MTJ) and the calcaneal insertion. The MTJ was tracked using ultrasonography and projected to the reconstructed skin surface to account for its misalignment. Skin-to-bone displacements were assessed during a passive rotation (5°/s) of the ankle joint. Force and strain energy of the AT during locomotion were calculated by fitting a quadratic function to the experimentally measured tendon force–length curve obtained from maximum voluntary isometric contractions. The maximum AT strain and force were affected by speed (p

Natural killer (NK) cells play roles in viral clearance and early surveillance against malignant transformation, yet our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms controlling their development and functions remain incomplete. To reveal cell fate-determining pathways in NK cell progenitors (NKP), we utilized an unbiased approach and generated comprehensive gene expression profiles of NK cell progenitors. We found that the NK cell program was gradually established in the CLP to preNKP and preNKP to rNKP transitions. In line with FOXO1 and FOXO3 being co-expressed through the NK developmental trajectory, the loss of both perturbed the establishment of the NK cell program and caused stalling in both NK cell development and maturation. In addition, we found that the combined loss of FOXO1 and FOXO3 caused specific changes to the composition of the non-cytotoxic innate lymphoid cell (ILC) subsets in bone marrow, spleen, and thymus. By combining transcriptome and chromatin profiling, we revealed that FOXO TFs ensure proper NK cell development at various lineage-commitment stages through orchestrating distinct molecular mechanisms. Combined FOXO1 and FOXO3 deficiency in common and innate lymphoid cell progenitors resulted in reduced expression of genes associated with NK cell development including ETS-1 and their downstream target genes. Lastly, we found that FOXO1 and FOXO3 controlled the survival of committed NK cells via gene regulation of IL-15Rβ (CD122) on rNKPs and bone marrow NK cells. Overall, we revealed that FOXO1 and FOXO3 function in a coordinated manner to regulate essential developmental genes at multiple stages during murine NK cell and ILC lineage commitment.

The development of B cells relies on an intricate network of transcription factors critical for developmental progression and lineage commitment. In the B cell developmental trajectory, a temporal switch from predominant Foxo3 to Foxo1 expression occurs at the CLP stage. Utilizing VAV-iCre mediated conditional deletion, we found that the loss of FOXO3 impaired B cell development from LMPP down to B cell precursors, while the loss of FOXO1 impaired B cell commitment and resulted in a complete developmental block at the CD25 negative proB cell stage. Strikingly, the combined loss of FOXO1 and FOXO3 resulted in the failure to restrict the myeloid potential of CLPs and the complete loss of the B cell lineage. This is underpinned by the failure to enforce the early B-lineage gene regulatory circuitry upon a predominantly pre-established open chromatin landscape. Altogether, this demonstrates that FOXO3 and FOXO1 cooperatively govern early lineage restriction and initiation of B-lineage commitment in CLPs.

The purpose of this study is to identify the components of smart tourism industry in Iran through mixed method. In the qualitative section, in the qualitative section, the statistical population consisted of tourism industry managers. 13 depth interview was conducted. Data analysis was performed in the qualitative part by conventional qualitative content analysis method using MaxqDa software. In the quantitative section, the statistical population consisted of experts from travel agencies as well as tourists from these three cities. 390 respondents were selected by using Cochran formula and random sampling method Structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS) approach was used for data analysis.The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that all observable variables were significant and confirmed at the 0.05 level. The results identified four components: smart governance, socio-cultural empowerment, development of using new smart technologies and comprehensive smart tourism services.

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the news representation of JCPOA from the perspective of three mainstream media (Kayhan, E’temad, and Hamshahri) during 2015 to 2016. The method of the study was qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data by targeted sampling of 300 pieces of news related to “JCPOA” using SPSS. The results showed that despite the importance of “JCPOA”, this term has not frequently and conspicuously been used in the headlines of the above newspapers; and has only been mentioned in economic and political contexts, regardless of its various aspects. Although the impartiality of the media has been emphasized, the above newspapers have adopted a biased approach towards “JCPOA”. On the other hand, news coverage by the above newspapers and their approach to “JCPOA” has not usually been analytical but more inclined to hard news and informational rather than educational and guiding approach.

Background and Purpose: Culture-based identification methods have been the gold standard for the diagnosis of candidal onychomycosis. Molecular technologies, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, can provide an alternative for the rapid detection of Candida species. The present study was conducted to investigate a pan-Candida PCR assay based on the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF-1α) gene for the detection of the most prevalent pathogenic Candida species. Materials and Methods: For the purpose of the study, an optimized pan-Candida PCR primer pair was designed, and the target was amplified and sequenced. The analytical and clinical diagnostic performance of the designed primers was tested using 17 reference strains, 137 nail scrapings suspected of onychomycosis, and 10 healthy nail specimens. Results: The use of the universal pan-Candida primers designed on TEF-1α gene resulted in the successful amplification of a 270-base pair fragment in all Candida species tested, except for C. glabrata, and reacted neither with other fungi nor with E. coli. The sequence difference count matrix showed poor insertion/deletion differences (0-2 nt) among Candida species. Among 137 nail specimens, 35% (n=48), 30.7% (n=42), and 40.1% (n=55) of the samples were found to be positive by direct microscopy, culture, and pan-Candida PCR, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the PCR-based detection targeting the DNA TEF-1α gene is a rapid and simple procedure for the diagnosis of candidal onychomycosis directly from nail sample.