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Introduction: The Mechanism of laser therapy and also its safety are 2 important features of the application of different types of lasers in medicine. This study aims to investigate the critically affected genes after the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma patients. Methods: The gene expression profiles of 4 squamous cell carcinoma patients that were treated via chemoradiotherapy (CRT) plus the laser and 3 similar patients without laser exposure from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were downloaded and were screened to find critical genes via network analysis. The STRING database, Cytoscape software, and the Clue GO plug-in of Cytoscape software were used. Results: The genes HSX70 and NCC27 were determined as neighbors and HSPA1B, CLIC1, RAB13, PPIF, and LCE3D as hub genes. The over-expression of LCE3D was interpreted as the side effect of laser therapy. Apoptosis and the cell cycle were the dominant biological processes regulated by the HSP molecules in the laser-treated patients. Conclusion: The laser affected the main biological processes and simultaneously issued side effects

Bisphenol A (BPA), as a common industrial component, is generally consumed in the synthesis of polymeric materials. To gain a deeper understanding of the detrimental effects of BPA, BPA-induced microRNA (miRNA) alterations were investigated. A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases to evoke relevant published data up to August 10, 2019. We identified altered miRNAs that have been repeated in at least three studies. Moreover, miRNA homology analysis between human and nonhuman species was performed to determine the toxicity signatures of BPA in human exposure. In addition, to reflect the effects of environmental exposure levels of BPA, the study designs were categorized into two groups, including low and high doses according to the previous definitions. In total, 28 studies encountered our criteria and 17 miRNAs were identified that were differentially expressed in at least three independent studies. Upregulating miR-146a and downregulating miR-192, miR-134, miR-27b and miR-324 were found in three studies. MiR-122 and miR-29a were upregulated in four studies after BPA exposure, and miR-21 was upregulated in six studies. The results indicate that BPA at low-level exposures can also alter miRNA expression in response to toxicity. Finally, the miRNA-related pathways showed that BPA seriously can affect human health through various cell signaling pathways, which were predictable and consistent with existing studies. Overall, our findings suggest that further studies should be conducted to examine the role of miRNA level changes in human BPA exposure.

Age-related macular degeneration as one of the most common causes of worldwide vision loss needs a proper approach for treatment. Therein, cell therapy and regenerative medicine can hold a great promise to be an effective approach. Accordingly, some preclinical and clinical studies were conducted to search around the therapeutic influence of stem cells in Age-related macular degeneration models and subjects. Hereupon, the purpose of the current review is to discuss the mechanisms of age-related macular degeneration, appropriate animal models along with suitable dosage and route of stem cell administration for its treatment.

Introduction: Psychiatric disorders, especially anxiety, are considered extraintestinal manifestations of celiac disease (CD). Objective: This study aims to evaluate the level of anxiety in treated patients with CD in Iran. Methods: A total of 283 CD patients (190 female, 93 male) were enrolled in a study during 2016–2018 from 9 centers in Iran. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale questionnaire was completed. The anxiety index was calculated. Also, demographic data and the duration of treatment with a gluten-free diet (GFD) were recorded. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results: Anxiety symptoms were reported in 67.8% of patients. Female patients had a higher anxiety index than male patients. Duration of treatment with a GFD did not influence the anxiety index (17.3% were on a GFD for 2 years; p = 0.86). Conclusions: These results suggest that anxiety symptoms are common among patients, especially females, with CD in Iran and GFD duration has no effect on their improvement.

Rheumatoid arthritis as a common autoimmune inflammatory disorder with unknown etiology can affect 0.5-1% of adults in developed countries. It involves more than just the patient's joints and can be accompanied by several comorbidities and affect cardiovascular, pulmonary, and some other systems of the human body. Although cytokine-mediated pathways are mentioned to have a central role in RA pathogenesis, adaptive and innate immune systems and intracellular signaling pathways all have important roles in this process. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, and biological agents are some mentioned medications used for RA. They are accompanied by some adverse effects and treatment failures which elucidates the needing for novel and more powerful therapeutic approaches. Stem cell-based therapies and their beneficial effects on therapeutic processes of different diseases have been founded so far. They can be an alternative and promising therapeutic approach for RA, too; due to their effects on immune responses of the disease. This review, besides some explanations about RA characteristics, addresses the outcome of the stem cell-based therapies including mesenchymal stem cell transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for RA and explains their effects on the disease improvement.

A facile method was used for fabricating in-situ-polymerized shape memory polyurethane (PU) hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocomposite scaffolds through electrospinning. The chemical structure and hydrogen bonding index (HBI) content were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The crystalline morphology was analyzed by X-ray diffraction patterns. Differential scanning calorimetry was conducted to determine the glass transition temperature (Tg) and degree of crystallinity. The results revealed that HA nanoparticles provide significant reinforcement of PU. Furthermore, incorporation of HA nanoparticles improved the shape memory properties of nanocomposites. The effect of HA nanoparticles on PU/HA electrospun fiber diameter, porosity, mechanical, and shape memory properties were examined.

Autism spectrum disorders as a group of pediatric neurodevelopmental diseases is a crucial part of the worldwide disabilities which have influence in communication skills, social interactions, and ability to understand the concepts. The precise pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders due to the abundance of involved mechanisms is unknown. Some of these involved mechanisms are related to genetic factors, chronic neuro inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, hormonal imbalance, and environmental factors. Current main treatments for autisms are behavioral, nutritional and medical therapies, however there is not definitive treatment approach. Therein, more novel therapies are still required to improve the symptoms. Several preclinical and clinical evidence were shown that stem cell therapy is a potential treatment option for autism spectrum disorders individuals. Considering the significant factors which can affect the outcome of stem cell therapeutic effects including stem cell types, route and dosage of administration, and mechanism of activity along with selecting best animal models can be very important in performing clinical trials.

Recently, gene therapy as one of the most promising treatments can apply genes for incurable diseases treatment. In this context, vectors as gene delivery systems play a pivotal role in gene therapy procedure. Hereupon, viral vectors have been increasingly introduced as a hyper-efficient tools for gene therapy. Adenoviral vectors as one of the most common groups which are used in gene therapy have a high ability for humans. Indeed, they are not integrated into host genome. In other words, they can be adapted for direct transduction of recombinant proteins into targeted cells. Moreover, they have large packaging capacity and high levels of efficiency and expression. In accordance with translational pathways from the basic to the clinic, recombinant adenoviral vectors packaging must be managed under good manufacturing practice (GMP) principles before applying in clinical trials. Therein, in this chapter standard methods for manufacturing of GMP-compliant Adenoviral vectors for gene therapy have been introduced.

In this study, Urea-Formaldehyde (UF) capsules containing linseed oil were prepared via in-situ polymerization and then dispersed in epoxy coating with different capsule contents. An innovative method to maintain of capsules was proposed which enhance the durability and ease of dispersion in the coating. The capsules were synthesized with three different reactor mixing rates and its effects on the capsules morphology, thermal properties and size distribution, as well as on the state of dispersion in the epoxy coating and self-healing performance were surveyed. Synthesized capsules had trimodal distribution in the range of 3 nm to 238 μm and depending on the mixing rate; the average size of the capsules was changed. The core content of the capsules was between 59% and 96% which depends on stirrer speed. Fourirer transform infra-red (FTIR) spectra and thermal gravimetry analysis (TGA) thermograms confirmed that the linseed oil was successfully encapsulated in the UF shell. Capsules morphology, distribution and dispersion state of capsules in the self-healing coating were examined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy which verified that capsules have good dispersion and distribution in the epoxy coating. Healing of scratched coating was confirmed by optical microscope and salt spray test. The results of the salt-spray test revealed a proper corrosion resistance of self-healing coating compared to the coating without microcapsules.

Introduction Many genetic studies are conducted on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). however, a high-throughput examination of proteome profile of this severe disease has not been performed yet. Methods Here, the proteomic study of OCD patients' serum samples was conducted by the application of Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis (2DE) followed by Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-TOF). Results A total of 240 protein spots were detected and among them, five significant differentially expressed protein spots with the fold change of ≥1.5 were considered for further evaluations. These proteins include IGKC, GC, HPX, and two isoforms of HP. While IGKC and HP show down-regulation, GC and HPX indicate up-regulation. Moreover, a validation study of overall HP levels in patients' serum via nephelometric quantification confirmed the lower levels of this protein in the serum of OCD patients. Additionally, enrichment analysis and validation test revealed that inflammation is one of most dominant processes in OCD. Conclusion It is suggested that these candidate proteins and their underlying processes (especially, inflammation) may be linked to OCD pathophysiology and can promise a clinical use after extensive validation studies.

Background and objectives: Halitosis as a common dentistry ailment which has a prevalence of around 50% of the adult population. There are many dental formulations in traditional Persian pharmacy called “Gharagher”, “Mazmazeh”, “Sonoun”, etc for treatment of halitosis. In the present study, we have tried to describe the step by step modernization of traditional herbal advices for treatment of halitosis. Methods: Traditional Persian manuscripts were reviewed and dome herbs were selected for formulation of toothpaste. Qualitative and quantitative controls were performed on raw materials and toothpaste was formulated using the selected herbs. Pharmaceutical control tests including squeeze, centrifuge, conductivity, particle size, spreading, temperature related stability, and microbial limit tests were performed on the toothpastes. Results: A total of 31 medicinal plants from 24 plant families and 12 anti-halitosis “Sonoun”s possessing anti-halitosis related properties were found. Syzygium aromaticum, Pistacia atlantica var. mutica, and Punica granatum var. pleniflora were selected for the formulation. Results of quality contril assays were in the accepted range of pharmacopeias. GC-MS analysis showed 15 and 16 components in P. atlantica and S. aromaticum oils, respectively. GC-FID results showed 85.15% α-pinene in P. atlantica and 5.28% eugenol in S. aromaticum. ATR-IR spectrum was used for control of P. granatum flowers. The organoleptic properties, phase separation, particle size and microbial tests of formulations showed an accepted shelf life for performing clinical trials. The results proved a good texture property as well as desirable abrasive properties of the toothpaste. Post production quality control tests indicated the proper feature of final product after packaging. Conclusion: Such model would be a straight forward rout from traditional medical manuscripts toward clinic.

Pluripotent stem cells are essential cells because of their potential roles in regenerative medicine. In order to produce induced pluripotent stem cells from adult cells, we need to know more about the pluripotency genes. In this study, we analyzed the Ronin as one of the important pluripotency genes by Bioinformatics approaches. The Ronin is belonging to THAP supper family and sequence analysis shows that the THAP domain region in Ronin is highly conservative and the phylogenetic analysis shows that the Ronin is conserved from fish to mammals. Gene expression analysis shows that the expression of Ronin in differentiated tissues is negligible and there is a meaningful change during differentiation and embryo developments. In this article, we analyzed the human Ronin structure, evolutionary relations and its expression in distinct conditions. We are believed that this could be helpful to understanding the stemness procedure and could be a light for further researches.

Fully entangled morphology which is usually expected for polyethylene produced using Ziegler–Natta (ZN) catalyst is due to the presence of active sites crowded on catalyst’s support surface as well as within its volume. In this research, the feasibility of producing disentangled, more precisely less entangled, polyethylene using a heterogeneous ZN catalyst supported on magnesium chloride, TiCl4/MgCl2, is introduced. Polymerization was carried out at rather low temperature and pressure, and the nascent polymer was characterized to investigate its entanglement state. The rheological measurements, at small amplitude oscillating in the time sweep mode, exhibited a rather good modulus build-up, demonstrating the nascent polymer in its dis(less)-entangled state. Tape and film samples were prepared from the synthesized polyethylene below its melting point to keep the morphology untapped. The solid-state drawability test was performed on the samples at 100 °C showing its improved drawability. Thus, it could be concluded that the polyethylene synthesized at rather low temperature of 0 °C and longer polymerization time was in disentangled state. Furthermore, a rheometrical analysis in frequency mode was used to estimate the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the synthesized polyethylene qualitatively. From X-ray diffraction patterns the existence of a small amount of hexagonal phase in the nascent polymer could be detected, which may be due to the formation of extended chains during polymerization.

The foaming process involves three important steps: nucleation, bubble growth, and stability. In the present work, the foaming dynamics of styrene–methyl methacrylate (St-MMA) copolymer/ n-pentane batch foaming system was studied at nonpressurized condition using rapid temperature increasing method. Synthesized copolymers with different compositions were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis and rheological measurements. An in situ foaming observation apparatus was designed, and the foaming dynamics (nucleation and bubble growth behavior) was studied. Dissolved n-pentane contents in all synthesized copolymer compositions at saturation temperatures, near their glass transition temperatures, were determined. The effects of foaming temperature, copolymer composition, and n-pentane content on the foaming dynamics of St-MMA copolymer/ n-pentane system were investigated. The foaming results revealed that the nucleation rate was increased with the increasing foaming temperature, while two other aforementioned parameters were kept constant. The nucleation and bubble growth rate were decreased with increasing MMA units in copolymer composition and increased with dissolved n-pentane content increment in copolymer matrix.

Although data mining problems require a flat mining table as input, in many real-world applications analysts are interested in finding patterns in a relational database. To this end, new methods and software have been recently developed that automatically add attributes (or features) to a target table of a relational database which summarize information from all other tables. When attributes are automatically constructed by these methods, selecting the important attributes is particularly difficult, because a large number of the attributes are highly correlated. In this setting, attribute selection techniques such as the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (lasso), elastic net, and other machine learning methods tend to under-perform. In this paper, we introduce a novel attribute selection procedure, where after an initial screening step, we cluster the attributes into different groups and apply the group lasso to select both the true attributes groups and then the true attributes. The procedure is particularly suited to high dimensional data sets where the attributes are highly correlated. We test our procedure on several simulated data sets and a real-world data set from a marketing database. The results show that our proposed procedure obtains a higher predictive performance while selecting a much smaller set of attributes when compared to other state-of-the-art methods.

Context: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a multi-factorial disease with several genetic and environmental factors known to be associated with the disease. Tumor necrosis factoralpha (TNF-α) acts on fat cells associated with increased insulin resistance and obesity and its increase can be associated with the prevalence of T2DM. Previous studies on the relationship between 308 G/A polymorphism in TNF-α and T2DM were not conclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between 308 G/A polymorphism in TNF-α gene and T2DM using a systematic review and meta-analysis. Evidence Acquisitions: In this systematic review we searched all published studies about the association between TNF 308 G/A polymorphism and T2DM through databases such as Scopus, Science direct, PubMed and Google scholar. A fixed or random effect model was used on the basis of heterogeneity. The heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 index. We used STATA software (version 11.2) for data analysis. Results: In 22 selected papers, the total number of T2DM and control subject was 8485 and 8615, respectively. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals(CI) for the GG genotype polymorphism 308 G/A in total, Asian populations and whites (Caucasian) were estimated as OR=0.98 (95% CI: 0.96-1.00), OR=0.96 (95% CI: 0.93 to 0.99) and OR=1.00 (95% CI: 0.97 to 1.40). The Publication Bias/or heterogeneity was observed in this study. Conclusions: The present investigation have shown that 308 G/A polymorphism GG and GA genotypes in TNF-α gene cannot be considered as predictors of T2DM (P

In recent decades, earth’s sharp population growth followed by increasing demand for energy has turned the energy and its current and future sources into much debated issues. Given the well-known consequences of excessive reliance on fossil energy sources, this study is concentrated on wind-powered hydrogen production by desalination of sea water and then subjecting the product to electrolysis. For this purpose, a coastal city was selected from each Iranian coastal province, and then the wind energy generation potential in these cities was evaluated by Weibull distribution function. The amount of energy to be generated by three commercially available wind turbines and the amount of desalinated water and hydrogen to be produced in each area were then evaluated. The results showed that the port of Anzali on the coast of the Caspian Sea has an average annual wind power density of 327 w/m2, and thus enjoys the best wind energy generation potential among the studied coastal areas. The annual energy generation to be achieved by one EWT direct wind 52/900 turbine installed in this port was found to be 2315.53 MWh, which is equivalent to 1804 tons of net annual CO2 emission reduction. The total energy output of the said turbine could be used to produce 439,950.7 m3 of treated water or 35,973.49 kg of hydrogen a year. Thus, a wind farm containing 55 of these turbines could provide enough power to produce the hydrogen needed to fuel all private cars in Anzali.

Objective(s): As the most prevalent endocrine system malignancy, papillary thyroid carcinoma had a very fast rising incidence in recent years for unknown reasons besides the fact that the current methods in thyroid cancer diagnosis still hold some limitations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to improve the potential molecular markers for diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules to prevent unnecessary surgeries for benign tumors. Materials and Methods: In this study, 1H-NMR metabolomics platform was used to seek the discriminating serum metabolites in malignant papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) compared to benign multinodular goiter (MNG) and healthy subjects and also to better understand the disease mechanisms using bioinformatics analysis. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that PTC and MNG samples could be successfully discriminated in PCA and OPLS-DA score plots. Results: Significant metabolites that differentiated malignant and benign thyroid lesions included citrate, acetylcarnitine, glutamine, homoserine, glutathione, kynurenine, nicotinic acid, hippurate, tyrosine, tryptophan, β-alanine, and xanthine. The significant metabolites in the PTC group compared to healthy subjects also included scyllo- and myo-inositol, tryptophan, propionate, lactate, homocysteine, 3-methyl glutaric acid, asparagine, aspartate, choline, and acetamide. The metabolite sets enrichment analysis demonstrated that aspartate metabolism and urea cycle were the most important pathways in papillary thyroid cancer progression. Conclusion: The study results demonstrated that serum metabolic fingerprinting could serve as a viable method for differentiating various thyroid lesions and for proposing novel potential markers for thyroid cancers. Obviously, further studies are needed for the validation of the results.

Upgrading the internal combustion engine (ICE) driven cars to the electric vehicles (EVs) offers the opportunity to reduce the fossil fuel consumption, emission rates and total driving costs. However, the large scale utilization of the EVs introduces a stochastic load demand to the power grid. The effect of EVs charging demand on the distribution network operation should be investigated properly. This paper proposed a novel model to study the effects of power exchange between the grid and EVs on the power system demand profile, the operation stability index, and the reliability indices. To this end, the operation instability indices are introduced by the range and standard deviation of the load factor of the network components to evaluate the system stability. Further, the CAIFI, 1 SAIDI, 2 SAIFI, 3 and ASAI 4 reliability indices are calculated for various vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V) power level to estimate the impact of different level of power exchange on system reliability. We introduced an EV charging scheduling approach which considers the specification of Li-Ion battery and the limitations for increasing battery life. The power exchange profile for V2G is also calculated using the constant power method to discharge the energy at different levels for times which cars are parked at the workplace. Due to the stochastic nature of EVs, the minimal path method is used to compute the stability and reliability parameters and the backward–forward algorithm is used to load flow analysis. The proposed model is evaluated via modified IEEE 33-bus test system.

This study aims to determine the best location for the construction of a wind-solar hybrid plant in Fars, Iran. For this purpose, seven regions of the Fars province are studied in terms of four criteria of economic, social, and geological conditions as well as natural disasters. First, the most important factors, wind power and solar irradiation, are obtained by using the Weibull distribution function and the Angstrom–Prescott equation based on the long-term 3-hourly data pertaining to 2006–2015 collected from the Iran Meteorological Organization, respectively. The data analysis and ranking are performed with the fuzzy TOPSIS. The results show that Eghlid is the best option for the construction of a wind-solar plant. According to the obtained results, the cities of Firuzabad, Estahban, Safashahr, Bavanat, Izadkhast and Arsanjan hold the next ranks in terms of suitability for the construction of solar-wind hybrid plants.

Aim: Identification of crucial genes and possible biomarkers which are involved in Barrett’s esophagus (BE) disease was aim of this study. Background: BE is diagnosed by endoscopy and biopsy and is characterized by esophageal columnar metaplastic epithelium. BE can convert into dysplasia that finally results cancer condition. Methods: Gene expression profiles of BE and normal gastric cardia which are characterized by GSE34619 and GPL6244 platform (1) were retrieved from gene expression omnibus (GEO). The significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed via protein-protein interaction network (PPI) analysis. The nodes of network were enriched via gene ontology (GO) to find biological terms. Action map of network elements was provided. Results: Among 250 top DEGs, 100 ones were included in PPI network and KIT, CFTR, IMPDH2, MYB, FLT1, ATP4A, and CPS1 were recognized as prominent genes related to BE. Seven amino acids including arginine, alanine, aspartate, glutamate, valine, leucine and isoleucine which are related to BE were highlighted. Conclusion: In conclusion five central DEGs; KIT, CFTR, IMPDH2, MYB, and FLT1 were proposed as possible biomarkers for BE. However, validation and more experimental information is require to finalize the findings.

Background: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most prevalent cause of memory impairment in the elderly population, but the diagnosis and treatment of the disease is still challenging. Lavender aqueous extract has recently been shown to have the potential in clearing Amyloid-beta plaques from AD rat hippocampus. To elucidate the therapeutic mechanisms of lavender, serum metabolic fingerprint of Aβ-induced rat Alzheimer’s models was investigated through nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Methods: For the establishment of rat Alzheimer’s models, 10 μg of Amyloid beta 1–42 was injected to male Wistar rats. The lavender aqueous extract was injected 20 days after the establishment of the models, once daily for 20 days. Serum samples were collected and metabolite fingerprints were obtained using 500 MHz 1H-NMR spectrometry, following multivariate statistical analyses. The resulted metabolites were then subjected to pathway analysis tools to reveal metabolic pathways affected by the lavender extract treatment. Results: Levels of 10 metabolite markers including alanine, glutamine, serine, isoleucine, valine, carnitine, isobutyrate, pantothenate, glucose and asparagine were reversed nearly to control values after treatment with lavender extract. The results revealed that the most significantly affected pathways during treatment with lavender extract belonged to carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, including pantothenate and CoA metabolism, glyoxilate and dicarboxylate metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism. Conclusion: As lavender extract reversed the direction of changes of some metabolites involved in AD pathogenesis, it was concluded that the extract might play a role in the disease improvement and serve as a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of AD. Moreover, the metabolites which were found in AD rats could serve as a potential marker panel for the disease; however, much further investigation and validation of the results is needed.

Introduction: Investigating the molecular mechanism of cellular response to light radiation has attracted many researchers’ attention. In the present study, the critically affected gene by 7.5 min blue light radiation in human keratinocytes was investigated via network analysis. Methods: Gene expression profiles of human keratinocytes exposed to 7.5 min blue light radiation plus controls were extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The significant dysregulated genes plus 100 first neighbors were investigated by Cytoscape software and its applications. The central nodes of the network based on four centrality parameters were determined and discussed. Results: Among 6 significant dysregulated genes, 4 individuals were recognized by the STRING database. The network was constructed by using the 4 queried genes and 100 first neighbors. EGR1, STAT1, and ISG15 were identified as central nodes; however, the prominent role of EGR1 was highlighted. Conclusion: EGR1 appeared as a critically affected gene after blue light irradiation. It seems that this upregulated gene is responsible for protecting human keratinocytes against stress and cancer. Therefore, the application of blue light may be accompanied by antistress effects in the human body.

There are different energy approaches around the world to the development of sustainable energy systems. In this regard, the role of governments, local governments, and people in the development and use of sustainable energy is remarkable. This research, concerning the present epistemic and normative differences, aims to investigate the societal debate on citizen inclusion, local and national attempts to develop clear procedures and guidelines in the transition to sustainable energy use in different countries. Existing theories, subjectivities, and policy implications for different countries are first carefully analyzed. Based on theories, evidence, and policy implications, the behavioural insights for sustainable energy use are then examined. The results show that national governments should never ignore the psychology and behaviour of people, especially in terms of economic behaviour, performance applicable and knowledge of local governments and people in sustainable energy development. Channels of communication between local, people, and national governments, can make a robust shared network and implement simple policies such as increasing their authority. They can also encourage and build capacity through the training, support, trust and knowledge capacity of local governments and people to move toward sustainable energy development. Therefore, focusing on government and maintaining national authority should be departed from any approaches that local government and the public should be constrained as minor actors in sustainable energy governance networks. This work demonstrates that local governments can develop sustainable energy. Moreover, national governments can overcome issues and further control sustainable energy public policy goals under difficult national political conditions.

Introduction: Radiotherapy as the first-line nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treatment provides different responses including radioresistant and radiosensitive states. In order to investigate the molecular basis of radioresistancy, protein-protein interaction network analysis of proteome data prior to therapy was performed. Methods: 20 dysregulated proteins of the patients who were radioresistant were extracted from the literature. Cytoscape and its plug-ins were used for the resistant network construction and its centrality analysis. Furthermore, ClueGO+ CluePedia application determined the most statistically significant biological processes (BP) related to the hubs. Results: Fourteen hubs were concluded and no differentially expressed protein (DEP) was among these agents. Among the hubs, albumin (ALB) and fibronectin (FN1) were the hub-bottlenecks, and the Serpin family was present. What is more, SERPIND1 was the highest degree-valued DEP in the network. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the central elements of the NPC network could be noteworthy for improving the radiotherapy outcome and overcoming its limitations. However, complementary studies are required for a better understanding of their major role.

Introduction: Wound healing can have a very important impact on the patients’ quality of life. For its treatment, wound dressings have vital and effective uses. Indeed, the use of a proper wound dressing can improve the healing process and duration. Recently, wound dressings with unique properties have been prepared using natural hydrogels. In addition to the general wound characteristics, new generations of wound dressings, such as those lasting longer on the wound, can have specific properties such as transferring allogeneic cells to enhance the healing effect and speed up the healing process. The present study aimed to prepare a gelatin-based hydrogel and to characterize it for therapeutic purposes. Methods: In this experimental-laboratory study, a gelatin hydrogel was made using a microbial transglutaminase (mTG) enzyme. The prepared hydrogel was evaluated in terms of appearance, physical, and chemical properties. To investigate the biological properties of the hydrogel, cells were cultured on it and the toxicity of the hydrogel for the cells was investigated. The location of the cells on the hydrogel was imaged via an electron microscope. The absorption and reflectance characteristics of the hydrogel were recorded by optical spectroscopy. Data were collected and statistical analysis was performed. Results: The results showed that the mTG gelatin hydrogel had a uniform pore size and good physical, chemical, and mechanical properties for use in wound healing. Cell experiments showed evident cell proliferation and high viability. The results also revealed that the cells grew vigorously and adhered tightly to the hydrogel. Conclusion: The preparation of a gelatin hydrogel under GMP conditions can be considered in the healing of diabetic wounds and burns.

Bead-free electrospun polyurethane/graphene (PU-G) and polyurethane/reduced polycaprolactone-grafted graphene oxide (PU-GPCL) nanofiber mats were prepared for wound dressing application. The facilitated electron signal diffusion throughout the scaffolds boosted the proliferation, cell attachment, and cell viability of the 3T3 fibroblast cells on the PU-G and PU-GPCL nanofiber mats. The partial electrical conductivity induced in PU-G nanocomposites, due to the presence of G nanosheets, reduced the diameters of nanofibers compared to other samples. In addition, the lower tendency of G nanosheets to localize into the nanofibers decreased the mechanical properties of PU-G scaffolds which might restrict their practical applications. On the other hand, the localization of GPCL nanosheets into nanofibers, because of their high affinity with PU matrix, improved the mechanical properties of the PU-GPCL nanofiber mats. Considering the results of different analyses, including mechanical and MTT studies, it could be deduced that PU-GPCL electrospun nanofiber mat containing 1 wt% of GPCL nanosheets could be selected as the potential candidate for wound dressing application.

Introduction: One of the chemoradiotherapy (CRT) side effects is oral mucositis (OM). Since photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) is a public method for the repair process, in the present study the mechanism of PBMT in the prevention of OM is investigated via the bioinformatics approach. Methods: Six validated and significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with the prevention of OM in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients who had experienced CRT were extracted from the literature. After adding 50 neighbors from STRING, the network was constructed and analyzed. The results of the action map and network analysis were compared and discussed. Results: HLA gene family were identified as central nodes of the analyzed network. Based on action map finding, activation is prominent action and IRF9 was the potent activator. The role of the IRF gene family was highlighted by action map analysis. Conclusion: Regulation of the immune system by HLA and IRF genes family is a crucial factor in the prevention of OM in the studied patients.

One of the many barriers to decarbonization and decentralization of the energy sector in developing countries is the economic uncertainty. As such, this study scrutinizes economics of three grid-independent hybrid renewable-based systems proposed to co-generate electricity and heat for a small-scale load. Accordingly, the under-study systems are simulated and optimized with the aid of HOMER Pro software. Here, a 20-year average value of discount and inflation rates is deemed a benchmark case. The techno-economic-environmental and reliability results suggest a standalone solar/wind/electrolyzer/hydrogen-based fuel cell integrated with a hydrogen-based boiler system is the best alternative. Moreover, to ascertain the impact of economic uncertainty on optimal unit sizing of the nominated model, the fluctuations of the nominal discount rate and inflation, respectively, constitute within the range of 15–20% and 10–26%. The findings of economic uncertainty analysis imply that total net present cost (TNPC) fluctuates around the benchmark value symmetrically between $478,704 and $814,905. Levelized energy cost varies from an amount 69% less than the benchmark value up to two-fold of that. Furthermore, photovoltaic (PV) optimal size starts from a value 23% less than the benchmark case and rises up to 55% more. The corresponding figures for wind turbine (WT) are, respectively, 21% and 29%. Eventually, several practical policies are introduced to cope with economic uncertainty.

This study investigates the techno-economic feasibility of an off-grid integrated solar/wind/hydrokinetic plant to co-generate electricity and hydrogen for a remote micro-community. In addition to the techno-economic viability assessment of the proposed system via HOMER (hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources), a sensitivity analysis is conducted to ascertain the impact of ±10% fluctuations in wind speed, solar radiation, temperature, and water velocity on annual electric production, unmet electricity load, LCOE (levelized cost of electricity), and NPC (net present cost). For this, a far-off village with 15 households is selected as the case study. The results reveal that the NPC, LCOE, and LCOH (levelized cost of hydrogen) of the system are equal to $333,074, 0.1155 $/kWh, and 4.59 $/kg, respectively. Technical analysis indicates that the PV system with the rated capacity of 40 kW accounts for 43.7% of total electricity generation. This portion for the wind turbine and the hydrokinetic turbine with nominal capacities of 10 kW and 20 kW equates to 23.6% and 32.6%, respectively. Finally, the results of sensitivity assessment show that among the four variables only a +10% fluctuation in water velocity causes a 20% decline in NPC and LCOE.

Methamphetamine (Meth) is a neuro-stimulator substrate which might lead to neural cell death and the activation of several interconnected cellular pathways as well. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying Meth-induced neural cell death remained unclear yet. The current study aimed to assess the specific relationship between long-term Meth exposure and several endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, and apoptosis associated markers including C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), Tribbles homolog 3(Trib3), Nuclear protein 1(NUPR1), and Beclin-1 expression in postmortem human striatum. Therefore, the effects of long-term Meth exposure on autophagy and apoptosis in the striatum of postmortem users were evaluated and molecular, immunehistochemical, and histological examinations were performed on 10 control and 10 Meth-addicted brains. The level of CHOP, Trib3, NUPR1, and Beclin-1, Microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B(LC3), Caspase 3, and Autophagy protein 5 (ATG5) were measured by using qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Stereological neural cell counting, Hematoxylin and Eosin, Nissl and Tunel staining were also performed. Based on our findings, the expression level of CHOP, Trib3, NUPR1, and Beclin-1 in the striatum of Meth group were significantly higher than the control group. Besides, the neuronal cell death was substantially increased in the striatum based on data obtained from the Tunel assay and the stereological analysis. Long-term presence of Meth in the brain can induce ER stress and overexpression of NUPR1 which is associated with the upregulation of CHOP, a pro-apoptotic transcription factor. Moreover, an increase in Trib3 expression is implicated in CHOP-dependent autophagic cell death during Meth-induced ER stress accompanied by an increase in neuronal cell death in the striatum of the postmortem human brains. Beclin 1 expression was also upregulated which may due to the activation of autophagic mechanisms upon prolonged Meth exposure.

This study aimed to provide a mathematical model for the determination of optimal wind power price in the case of construction of new off-grid-connected wind power plants in different areas. The proposed model is based on nine features including construction cost, side costs (cost of replacement, maintenance, and repairs), pollution, electricity generation, profit, renewability level, green economy, rate of return on investment, and consumption. First, the inputs of the mathematical model were obtained by technical–economic feasibility evaluation of the study areas in the software Homer using the 10-year wind speed data (2006–2016). The optimal wind power prices were then determined in three different modes by solving the mathematical model with MATLAB. The modes considered in optimization were the construction of 1, 2, and 3 wind power plants in the study areas. Simulation of construction of wind power plants in each mode was conducted in the software Homer. The results showed that the optimal wind power price resulting from construction of 1, 2, and 3 are 0.159, 0.151, and 0.140 $ per kilowatt, respectively. The proposed mathematical model was found to have sufficient capability in determination of optimal wind power price.

We address the immobilization of single-site catalyst on the graphite oxide (GO) surface using methylaluminoxane. Ethylene polymerization was performed using the immobilized catalyst and the nanocomposite of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/GO with less entanglement density was obtained. It was observed that the drawability, mechanical and thermal properties of the produced polymer significantly are affected by the anchoring of polymer chains to the GO nanosheets. The orientation and location of crystalline lamellae and nanosheets were verified by microscopic techniques. Besides, X-ray analysis demonstrated the dispersion of GO within the UHMWPE phase and crystallinity of UHMWPE/GO nanocomposites enhanced during drawing process.

One of the main goals of Chromosome-Centric Human Proteome Project is to identify protein evidence for missing proteins (MPs). Here, we present a case study of the role of Y chromosome genes in organ development and how to overcome the challenges facing MPs identification by employing human pluripotent stem cell differentiation into cells of different organs yielding unprecedented biological insight into adult silenced proteins. Y chromosome is a male-specific sex chromosome which escapes meiotic recombination. From an evolutionary perspective, Y chromosome has preserved 3% of ancestral genes compared to 98% preservation of the X chromosome based on Ohno's law. Male specific region of Y chromosome (MSY) contains genes that contribute to central dogma and govern the expression of various targets throughout the genome. One of the most well-known functions of MSY genes is to decide the male-specific characteristics including sex, testis formation, and spermatogenesis, which are majorly formed by ampliconic gene families. Beyond its role in sex-specific gonad development, MSY genes in coexpression with their X counterparts, as single copy and broadly expressed genes, inhibit haplolethality and play a key role in embryogenesis. The role of X-Y related gene mutations in the development of hereditary syndromes suggests an essential contribution of sex chromosome genes to development. MSY genes, solely and independent of their X counterparts and/or in association with sex hormones, have a considerable impact on organ development. In this Review, we present major recent findings on the contribution of MSY genes to gonad formation, spermatogenesis, and the brain, heart, and kidney development and discuss how Y chromosome proteome project may exploit developmental biology to find missing proteins.

Traditional energy sources such as oil, coal and natural gas are economically feasible, but their immediate and indirect environmental consequences cannot be dismissed. These consequences underline the growing need for more effective use of alternative and clean sources of energy. Solar Water Heating (SWH) refers to the process of providing hot water with the help of solar energy. Given the high solar radiation potential in some parts of Iran, there is a strong potential for efficient utilization of solar water heaters in some parts of the country. Yazd is one of the provinces in central part of Iran with excellent solar radiation. The main objective of this study is to identify and prioritize the factors associated with the use of SWH systems in Yazd province. The required data is collected using questionnaire and then processed with SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis method. To conduct this study, first the factors and sub-components associate with the subject are extracted. Then, reliability and content validity of the questionnaire is confirmed using SPSS software, and then the questionnaire is distributed among population. The collected data is then subjected to factor analysis using SPSS. The suitability of data for factor analysis is investigated with KMO and Bartlett's sphericity tests and then components (factors) and subcomponents (items) are obtained with the help of Scree test. The results of analyses on the factors associated with the construction and operation of solar water heaters show that environmental issues have direct effect on the use of solar water heater and the effects of other factors are indirect. Also, according to the results, financial support of the government has the greatest effect on the use of solar water heater and is the most important issue in this regard.

Despite evidence for sex-specific cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology, the biological basis for this dimorphism remains to be explored. Apart from hormonal factors, gender-related characteristics may reside in the function of sex chromosomes during cardiac development. In this study, we investigated the differential expression of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) genes and their X counterparts during cardiac differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC). We observed alterations in mRNA and protein levels of TBL1Y, PCDH11Y, ZFY, KDM5D, USP9Y, RPS4Y1, DDX3Y, PRY, XKRY, BCORP1, RBMY, HSFY, and UTY, which accompanied changes in intracellular localization. Of them, the abundance of a Y chromosome missing protein, TBL1Y, showed a significant increase during differentiation while the expression level of its X counterpart decreased. Consistently, reducing TBL1Y cellular level using siRNA approach influenced cardiac differentiation by reducing its efficacy as well as increasing the probability of impaired contractions. TBL1Y knockdown may have negatively impacted cardiogenesis by CtBP stabilization. Furthermore, we presented compelling experimental evidence to distinguish TBL1Y from TBL1X, its highly similar X chromosome homologue, and proposed reclassification of TBL1Y as "found missing protein" (PE1). Our results demonstrated that MSY proteins may play an important role in cardiac development.

Due to the stochastic nature of renewable energy sources (RES) and electric vehicles (EV) load demand, large scale penetration of these resources in the power systems can stress the reliable network performance, such as reducing power quality, increasing power losses, and voltage deviations. These challenges must be minimized by optimal planning based on the variable output from RES to meet the additional demand caused by EV charging. In this paper, a novel method for optimal allocation and sizing of RES and EV charging stations simultaneously and managing vehicle charging process is provided. A multi-objective optimization problem is formulated to obtain objective variables in order to reduce power losses, voltage fluctuations, charging and demand supplying costs, and EV battery cost. In this optimization problem, the location and capacity of RES and EV charging stations are the optimization variables. Coefficients which are dependent on wind speed, solar radiation, and hourly peak demand ratio for the management of the EV charging pattern in off-peak load hours are introduced. Genetic Algorithm-Particle Swarm Optimization (GA-PSO) hybrid improved optimization algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem in five different scenarios. The performance of the proposed method on IEEE 33-bus system has been investigated to validate the effectiveness of the novel GA-PSO method to optimal sitting and sizing of RES and EV charging stations simultaneously.

Many advantages of renewable energies, especially wind energy, such as abundance, permanence, and lack of pollution has encouraged many industrialized and developing countries to focus more on these clean and economic sources of energy. Identifying a good location that is suitable for the construction of a wind farm is one of the important initial steps in harnessing wind energy which is assessed this study. The purpose of this study is to prioritize and rank 13 cities of Fars province in Iran, in terms of their suitability for the construction of a wind farm. Six important criteria were used to prioritize and rank the cities. Wind power density is the most important criterion among these criteria which is calculated by obtaining the 3-h wind speed data between 2004 and 2013. DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) method is used for prioritizing and ranking cities, and then AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process), and FTOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) methods are used to assess the validity of results. It is concluded that Izadkhast city is the suggested location for the construction of wind farm. The utilizing a wind-hydrogen energy conversion system will result in a substantial amount of hydrogen production (averagely 21.9 ton/year) when a 900 kW wind turbine is installed in this location.

A series of segmented polyurethane-ureas were synthesized, based on poly(e-caprolactone), hexamethylenediisocyanate, and different chain extenders. The effect of chain extender on physical, mechanical, and shape memory properties of the polyurethane-ureas was examined at constant hard-to–soft–segment molar ratio. Polyurethane-urea from piperazine showed higher degree of phase separation, mechanical characteristics, shape fixity, and shape recovery temperature than polyurethane-ureas from aliphatic chain extenders. Furthermore, the degree of phase separation was decreased by increasing of chain length of aliphatic chain extenders. This was attributed to the dissimilar compatibility and flexibility of the hard segments, resulting from different chain extenders.