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Sofiene Mansouri,1,2 Tareq Alhadidi,1 Marwa Ben Azouz2 1College of Applied Medical Sciences, Department of Biomedical Technology, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia; 2University of Tunis El Manar, Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis, Laboratory of Biophysics and Medical Technologies, Tunis 1009, TunisiaCorrespondence: Sofiene MansouriCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi ArabiaTel +966533791123Email s.mansouri@psau.edu.saIntroduction: Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. Existing detecting techniques are invasive. Electrical bioimpedance is a noninvasive technique and has a high diagnostic potential.Methods: An impedance value different from the normal can predict a physiological abnormality. The idea is to use a designed bioimpedance device to early detect breast cancer. A low-frequency current (1 kHz, 0.9 mA) is injected to each breast to measure the extracellular resistances. The resistances of the two breasts are then measured, and if there is a significant difference, warning is displayed. The performance was tested on a set of reference resistors, and the validation was done in vitro on (Na+Cl-) solutions and in vivo on a group of forty volunteer women.Results: The results confirm that the electrical conductivity of an ionic solution is proportional to its concentration. The concentration and the resistance are strongly correlated (correlation coefficient of 0.97). The accuracy and the repeatability of the measures were satisfactory. Early detection means that we can detect small extracellular concentration variations into the breast (from 0.6 g/l). In vivo measurements made it possible to set the threshold at 50 ohm. If the difference between the two measured breast resistances is greater than this threshold, we advise the patient to consult a doctor promptly.Conclusion: The difference between measured resistances of the right and left breast is a pertinent parameter to early detect the presence of a cancer. The lowest resistance value (RR or RL) can provide information on the breast affected by the cancer (right or left). Various improvements in the system are possible but already the results are encouraging. In the future, this system could be integrated into a bra.Keywords: biomedical engineering, breast cancer detection, electrical bioimpedance, FPGA Virtex-5 LX30, LabVIEW FPGA, NI PXI-7841R

Sanaz Mansouri,1,* Behzad Khansarinejad,2,* Ghasem Mosayebi,2 Aziz Eghbali,3 Mahdieh Mondanizadeh1,4 1Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran; 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran; 3Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran; 4Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Mahdieh MondanizadehDepartment of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, IranTel/Fax +98-8634173526Email m_mondanizadeh@yahoo.comBackground: T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive and malignant neoplasm that arises from the hematopoietic T-cell precursors. Inactivation of FBXW7 gene is frequently observed in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, suggesting a significant tumor-suppressive role for FBXW7 in the pathobiology of this leukemia. Considering the role of microRNAs in cell proliferation and regulation of apoptosis, the aim of this study was to identify novel oncogenic microRNAs that suppress FBXW7 in patients with T-ALL.Patients and Methods: The expression levels of two bioinformatically predicted microRNAs – miR-32 and miR-107 were compared in patients with T-ALL and a control group. A total of 80 plasma samples were subjected to RNA extraction, and the microRNA expression profiles were assessed by the RT-qPCR. The expression level of miR-103 was used as the endogenous reference for normalization of quantitative data.Results: The plasma levels of miR-32 and miR-107 in patients with T-ALL were significantly higher (5.65, P < 0.001) and lower (0.432, P = 0.002), respectively. On the other hand, the expression levels of FBXW7 gene were significantly downregulated by – 76.9 fold in T-ALL patients (P < 0.001). The results of the ROC curve analysis indicated that overexpression of miR-32 might be used to distinguish T-ALL patients with reasonable sensitivity and specificity.Conclusion: miR-32 is considered as a novel oncomir that targets FBXW7 and might have a role in the etiology or progression of T-ALL. Furthermore, miR-32 can potentially serve as a non-invasive biomarker for detection of T-ALL.Keywords: biomarker, FBXW7, T-ALL, microRNA

Samaneh Mansouri,1 Iraj Kazemi,2 Ahmad Reza Baghestani,3 Farid Zayeri,1 Fatemeh Nahidi,4 Nafiseh Gazerani4 1Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Statistics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran; 3Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Physiotherapy Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Background: Infantile colic viewed as a non-dangerous prevalent issue could lead to stress in parents and long-term negative consequences in ex-colicky children. Researchers have not been successful in finding a certain treatment for colic symptoms. Studies suggest completely different approaches as its treatment. Massage therapy as an alternative method in reducing colic symptoms has been recommended in several studies.Methods: A total of 100 colicky infants in a single blind study were randomly specified to two equal groups of intervention and control. Infants in the intervention group received massage for 15–20 minutes once during the day and once at night before sleep, while infants in the control group were rocked for 15–25 minutes when the symptoms of colic appeared. Parents recorded the details of the colic symptoms in a diary every day. All these outcomes were modeled simultaneously via a random-effects joint model.Results: Among 100 infants included in the analysis, 48% were female; 91% of all infants were breastfed and 54% of them were born via normal vaginal delivery. In general, the effect of massage therapy on colic symptoms was assessed using the joint model. Our findings illustrated that massaging colicky infants would substantially reduce colic symptoms and increase the sleep duration in babies compared with the rocking group (P

The research draws from four case studies to investigate the impact of using blogs within postgraduate education. The study explores how postgraduate business students engage with blogs, whether students' learning preferences correlate with their degree of contribution and how student participation relates with overall achievement. A mixed methods' approach is adopted using both qualitative and quantitative data. The findings indicate that blogs can contribute to students' collective and reflective learning, and emphasise the importance of active feedback from the lecturer. Challenges pertinent to using blogs include the choice of assessment strategies and understanding postgraduate students' goals and expectations. Statistical analyses revealed significant correlation between students' degree of contribution and their achievement. No significant correlation was observed between the degree of contribution and students' learning preferences.