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Knowledge of transport and degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is important in assessing PAH contamination of soils and water resources. The transport of naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene and phenanthrene was determined in a contaminated calcareous soil obtained from the Shadegan wetland (Khozestan, Iran) considering a column study in laboratory conditions. The PAHs were added to the top 5 cm of soils at 75 and 150 mg kg-1 and leachates were collected for 10 pore volumes. PAH concentrations in the leachate fractions and soils (0-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-20 cm depths) were determined using high pressure liquid chromatography. Results showed that naphthalene had the most mobility among the PAHs, and differences among the mobility of selected PAHs were related to their water solubility and structure. Mass balance demonstrated that among the selected PAHs, anthracene and naphthalene were the most and the least recalcitrant compounds, respectively. Hence, naphthalene could have the greatest potential to contaminate surface and ground waters which should be considered apparently.

Soil and sediments of the estuaries and wetlands in Northwest of Persian Gulf are recently polluted with different heavy metals because of municipal and industrial wastewaters. Therefore an urgent soil cleaning up and remediation program is vital in this region. Consequently, this study was initiated to screen two plant species (Festuca arundinacea and Cynodon dactylon) for hyperaccumulation of nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) as one of the candidate methods for cleaning-up soil and sediments of Shadegan wetland. Soil samples (0-30 cm) were collected from two sites in the wetland. The soil samples were treated with solutions of Ni and Pb separately which resulted into content of 50 and 100 mg kg-1 of metals in each soil. Thereafter, the plants were sown in the soils under greenhouse conditions and harvested after 10 weeks. Ni and Pb contents were measured in root and shoot of plants. Results showed that accumulation of Ni and Pb in tall fescue roots were significantly (P

The regional impact of abrupt glacial climate variability remains poorly constrained for arid southwestern Asia, particularly winter dynamics during Marine Isotope Stage 3, due to limited paleoarchives in the Middle East. Here, we present continuous speleothem records of δ18O and δ13C with robust chronologies for southwestern and central Iran, spanning ∼50–30 ka. Stable‐isotope signals in the two stalagmites are generally uncorrelated and do not exhibit a consistent response to Greenland stadials or interstadials; however, both show a positive δ18O excursion that coincides with Heinrich event 4. We explore the potential mechanisms for intermittent coupling of speleothem δ18O across Iran through isotope‐enabled atmospheric modeling outputs, from which we utilize the spatial δ18O gradient as a proxy for wintertime westerly versus southerly jet strength. Our results suggest that during Heinrich event 4 and several Greenland stadials, stronger westerly winds enhanced Mediterranean moisture contributions to both sites and reduced aridity in southern Iran. Plain Language Summary: Stalagmites are useful archives to reconstruct the climate of the past. In order to shed light on the past climate of western Asia and the response of this region to the rapid climate changes, here we present two stalagmites from central and southwestern Iran that span 50,000 to 30,000 yrs ago. Our findings suggest that during extreme cold events, the moisture originates mostly from the west, whereas out of these extraordinarily cold periods moisture comes mostly from the south. Key Points: Continuous high‐resolution speleothem record of climatic change in southwestern and central Iran between 50 and 30 kaDecoupled responses of stable‐isotope gradients in central and southern Iran to glacial climate variability, except during Heinrich event 4Decreased impact of southerly moisture sources and reinforced westerlies during extreme cold events [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mohammad Soleimani, Morteza Naderan Ocular Trauma and Emergency Department, Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranCorrespondence: Mohammad Soleimani; Morteza NaderanOcular Trauma and Emergency Department, Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1336616351, IranTel +98 912 1096496Email Soleimani_md@yahoo.com; morteza.naderan@yahoo.comAbstract: Ocular chemical burns are absolute ophthalmic emergencies and require immediate management to minimize devastating sequelae. Management of alkali and acid burns is started at the scene of the accident by copious irrigation. Treatment is directed at improving epithelial integrity and stromal stability, reduction of undue inflammation, and prevention or timely management of complications. To ascertain the best possible outcome, numerous biological medications and surgical interventions have been merged into conventional therapeutic regimens. These include autologous and umbilical cord serum preparations, platelet-rich plasma, amniotic membrane transplantation, limbal stem-cell transplantation, and anti-angiogenic agents.Keywords: ocular chemical burn, amniotic membrane transplantation, autologous serum, limbal stem cell transplantation

Hosna Gomari,1 Mehdi Forouzandeh Moghadam,1 Masoud Soleimani,2 Mahlegha Ghavami,1 Shabanali Khodashenas31Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; 3Molecular and Cell Biology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IranBackground: Exosomes are natural nanovesicles with unique characteristics, such as long circulating half-life, the intrinsic ability to target tissues, biocompatibility, and minimal or no inherent systemic toxicity. Mesenchymal stem cells produce large amounts of exosomes with regenerative properties and more stability in human plasma. TUBO breast cancer cell lines overexpress rat HER2/neu protein.Methods: Targeted exosomes were isolated from transduced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Doxorubicin was encapsulated into exosomes by electroporation. Flow cytometry was used to assess the attachment of exosomes to the target cells. The in vitro cytotoxicity effect of targeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes on TUBO cells was determined using MTT assay. Selective delivery of doxorubicin to tumor tissues was analyzed by measuring the auto-fluorescence of doxorubicin by in vivo imaging system. Moreover, tumor growth inhibition and body weight were monitored following injection of free doxorubicin, and targeted and untargeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes in a TUBO breast cancer model. Finally, mouse tissues were examined for the presence of intrinsic fluorescence of doxorubicin.Results: Flow cytometry results revealed significant differences in binding of targeted exosomes to HER2-positive (46.05%) and HER2-negative (13.9%) cells. The results of MTT assay showed that cytotoxicity of targeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes was higher than free doxorubicin at 72 hours. Selective distribution of targeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes in the target tissues of the murine breast cancer model suggested specific delivery of doxorubicin by targeted exosomes, rather than untargeted exosomes. Free doxorubicin and untargeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes showed insignificant effects, whereas targeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes reduced the tumor growth rate.Conclusion: Herein, we report efficient delivery of targeted doxorubicin-loaded exosomes in vitro, corroborated with a significant reduction of murine breast cancer model tumor growth rate.Keywords: exosome, breast cancer, TUBO, targeted therapy, drug delivery

Maryam Hafizi,1,2 Masoud Soleimani,3 Sajad Noorian,4 Somayeh Kalanaky,2 Saideh Fakharzadeh,2 Nafiseh Tavakolpoor Saleh,5 Mohammad Hassan Nazaran,2,* Mohammad Esmaeil Akbari,1,*1Cancer Research Centre, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran; 3Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; 4Department of Statistics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Qom, Qom, Iran; 5Stem Cell Technology Research Center, Tehran, Iran*These authors contributed equally to this work.Background: Our previous findings showed that BCc1, a nanoparticle designed based on nanochelating technology, can be considered a new anti-cancer nanoparticle if confirmed by complementary studies.Goal: In the present study, we investigated the effects of the BCc1 nanoparticle alone on some gene expressions influencing the apoptosis pathway, and also the effect of the mixture of BCc1 nanoparticle and doxorubicin on survival.Method: Using an in vitro study, the effects of the BCc1 nanoparticle on Bax, Bcl2, p53, Caspase7 and p21 gene expressions were assessed after a 24-h treatment using real-time PCR in MCF-7 and MEFs; in addition, using an in vivo study, 4T1 tumor-bearing female Balb/c mice were treated with different doses of the BCc1 nanoparticle and doxorubicin alone and together and then their mean and median survival was evaluated.Result: The results showed that the BCc1 nanoparticle increased gene expressions of RB, p53, Caspase7, p21, and Bax and decreased gene expressions of Bcl2 in MCF-7 significantly, but no change was observed in MEFs expressions. The findings revealed that the BCc1 nanoparticle, when used orally, had the highest mean and median survival time. A mixture of a high dose of the BCc1 nanoparticle (1 mg/kg) and a low dose of doxorubicin (0.1 mg/kg) showed synergistic effects on enhanced life span, while doxorubicin dose was prescribed approximately 50 times less than the murine applicable dose (5 mg/kg).Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the BCc1 nanoparticle not only has the potential to become a novel nanomedicine for cancer therapy, but it can also provide the basis of a new medicine for cancer management when mixed with a lower applicable dose of doxorubicin.Keywords: BCc1 nanoparticle, cancer, doxorubicin, nanochelating technology, murine 4T1 tumor model

Akram Assali,1 Omid Akhavan,2 Fatemeh Mottaghitalab,1 Mohsen Adeli,3 Rassoul Dinarvand,1 Shayan Razzazan,4 Ehsan Arefian,5 Masoud Soleimani,6 Fatemeh Atyabi1 1Nanotechnology Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Physics, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran; 3Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie University Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 4Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran; 5Molecular Virology Lab, Department of Microbiology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; 6Hematology Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Introduction: MicroRNA-101 (miR-101) is an intense cancer suppressor with special algorithm to target a wide range of pathways and genes which indicates the ability to regulate apoptosis, cellular stress, metastasis, autophagy, and tumor growth. Silencing of some genes such as Stathmin1 with miR-101 can be interpreted as apoptotic accelerator and autophagy suppressor. It is hypothesized that hybrid microRNA (miRNA) delivery structures based on cationized graphene oxide (GO) could take superiority of targeting and photothermal therapy to suppress the cancer cells.Materials and methods: In this study, GO nanoplatforms were covalently decorated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly-L-arginine (P-L-Arg) that reduced the surface of GO and increased the near infrared absorption ~7.5-fold higher than nonreduced GO.Results: The prepared nanoplatform [GO-PEG-(P-L-Arg)] showed higher miRNA payload and greater internalization and facilitated endosomal scape into the cytoplasm in comparison with GO-PEG. Furthermore, applying P-L-Arg, as a targeting agent, greatly improved the selective transfection of nanoplatform in cancer cells (MCF7, MDA-MB-231) in comparison with immortalized breast cells and fibroblast primary cells. Treating cancer cells with GO-PEG-(P-L-Arg)/miR-101 and incorporating near infrared laser irradiation induced 68% apoptosis and suppressed Stathmin1 protein.Conclusion: The obtained results indicated that GO-PEG-(P-L-Arg) would be a suitable targeted delivery system of miR-101 transfection that could downregulate autophagy and conduct thermal stress to activate apoptotic cascades when combined with photothermal therapy. Keywords: miR-101, cationized graphene oxide, poly-L-arginine, apoptosis, autophagy, photothermal therapy

Hosna Gomari,1 Mehdi Forouzandeh Moghadam,1 Masoud Soleimani2 1Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Purpose: Exosomes are small 30–100 nm vesicles secreted by various cell types. They are released by most cell types, indicating their important role in physiological and pathological processes, including signaling pathways, cell-to-cell communication, tumor progression, and molecule transferring. As natural nanovesicles, exosomes can be a good candidate for drug delivery due to low immunogenicity and ability to enter tissues and even cross the blood–brain barrier. In an effort to improve the efficiency of exosomes for targeted drug delivery with minimal effect on normal cells, we expressed ligands against HER2+ cells. Methods: To purify exosomes, transduced mesenchymal stromal cells were cultured to reach 80% confluency. Next, the cells were cultured in serum-free media for 48 hours and the supernatant was harvested to purify exosomes. These exosomes were then labeled with PKH67 and added to BT-474, SKBR3 (HER2+), and MDA-MB231 (HER2-), cell lines and their binding to HER2+ was evaluated by flow cytometry. Exosomes were loaded with doxorubicin and quantified using intrinsic fluorescence of doxorubicin at 594 nm. Results: Targeted exosomes were preferably uptaken by HER2+ cells. Therefore, untargeted exosomes showed lower binding to HER2+ cells compared to their targeted counterparts. MTT assay was performed to analyze cytotoxic effect of exo-DOX (exosome encapsulated with doxorubicin). Efficiency of exo-DOX and free DOX (doxorubicin) delivery with different concentrations, to the BT-474 cell line, was compared, and no significant difference was observed. Conclusion: Our results imply that targeted exosomes are preferentially uptaken by HER2+ cells relative to HER2- cells and have the potential to be used as an efficient drug delivery system. Keywords: breast cancer, doxorubicin, HER2+, mesenchymal stem cell

A structure for refractive index sensing application in THz band is proposed and analyzed in this paper. This structure is comprised of a golden plasmonic metamaterial absorber in which water is used as a dielectric and a thin TOPAS layer-which does not have a significant effect on the performance of the sensor- is used for the separation of analyte and water. This structure has an absorption of 99.2% at resonance frequency of 2.8725 THz. Lateral absorption frequency shift occurs due to variation in the refractive index (RI) of the analyte. This structure can be used for refractive index measurement in the range of 1-1.4 with full-width half maximum (FWHM), sensitivity (S), the figure of merit (FoM), and quality factor (Q-factor) in the ranges of 0.01647 THz, 427-644 GHz per refractive index unit (RIU), 6.3-26.5 and 26.23-175.5, respectively. It is worth mentioning that for a limited refractive index range of 1.1 to 1.15, the values of FWHM, Q-factor, and FoM enhance to 0.0053327 THz, 516, and 90, respectively. The simplicity, compactness, and ease of fabrication due to the use of water as a dielectric along with appropriate refractive index sensitivity and FoM help this structure to be used in biological, medical, and environment sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel metamaterial absorber sensor has been proposed for refractive index measurement in the range of [1-2] for the THz frequency band. This structure is based on using a plasmonic coaxial resonator which is excited by an InSb cylinder. Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs) are excited on the surface of the InSb cylinder due to an inward plane wave and propagate downward toward the cavity and through it. Based on the radius and height of the InSb cylinder, the “high-absorption” and “highquality factor” sensing performance is introduced and analyzed. It is shown that nearly 98% absorption can be achieved for all the range of refractive index [1-2] at 1.8622 THz and in the case of “high-quality factor”, absorption reaches nearly 100% for the refractive index range of [1.5-2]. Also, by changing the radius and height of the cavity, absorption can be changed. Furthermore, sensitivity, quality factor, and figure of merit in the range of 166-672 GHz per refractive index unit (GHz/RIU), 69.1-118.7 and 10.2-29.7 is achievable, respectively. A wide range of refractive index measurements besides superior sensing performance made this structure a good candidate for sensing applications such as medical and biological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates, the elimination of methylene blue (MB) by adsorption on Black Titania (B-TiO2) in an aqueous solution in the dark room is investigated. Preparation of B-TiO2 was carried out via the reduction of white TiO2 by NaBH4 in a tube furnace under an inert gas atmosphere at 600°C. Characterization of the absorbent was carried out by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM mapping, photoluminescence, EDX analysis, Zeta potential, DLS, and FT-IR. The maximum adsorption capacity of B-TiO2 was found to be 88.65 mg g−1. The rate-limiting step was the intra-particle diffusion stage. The maximum adsorption was observed under the conditions: 26 mg of the B-TiO2 at pH 6 and MB concentration of 10 mg L−1. It was demonstrated that B-TiO2 might be recycled six times with very good adsorption results while keeping its high removal efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]