Insulin Resistance Associated Genes and miRNAs

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the result of resistance to insulin function along with inadequate insulin secretion, leading to a number of dysfunctions characterized by hyperglycemia, and it is associated with microvascular, macrovascular, and neuropathic complications. There is compelling evidence that the decline in both insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion has a genetic component. In addition, increasing evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) as key regulators of gene expression play significant roles in insulin production, secretion, and function that regulate the function of insulin-target tissues. The current review demonstrates the candidate genes and the related miRNAs involved in molecular pathogenesis of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus. In doing so, it provides an opportunity for more focused investigations that may identify the genes and miRNAs with a role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its treatment.     

Wound healing improvement by curcumin‐loaded electrospun nanofibers and BFP‐MSCs as a bioactive dressing

Wound healing, one of the most complex processes of the body involving the cooperation of several important biomolecules and pathways, is one of the major therapeutic and economic issues in regenerative medicine. The present study aimed to introduce a novel electrospun curcumin (Cur)‐incorporated chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/carbopol/polycaprolactone nanofibrous composite for concurrent delivery of the buccal fat pad‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BFP‐MSCs) and Cur to a full‐thickness wound on the mouse model. Scaffolds were characterized structurally using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence microscopy imaging and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and toxicity of the scaffolds was also evaluated after BFP‐MSC seeding by SEM imaging and 3‐(4,5 dimethyiazol‐2‐1)‐2‐5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Then, its influence on the wound‐healing process was investigated as a wound dressing for a full‐thickness skin defect in mouse model. Results demonstrated that the designed composite scaffolds have the capability for cell seeding and support their growth and proliferation. Macroscopic and histopathological characteristics were evaluated at the end of the 7 and 14 days after surgery, and their results showed that our designed scaffold groups accelerated the wound‐healing process compared with the control group. Among those, scaffold/Cur, scaffold/Cur/BFP‐MSC and scaffold/BFP‐MSC groups demonstrated more wound repair efficacy. These results indicated that the combined grafts can be used to improve the wound‐healing process, and therefore, the electrospun nanofibers presented in this study, Cur and BFP‐MSC together, were demonstrated to have promising potential for wound‐dressing applications.     

Heat transfer enhancement in a counter-flow sinusoidal parallel-plate heat exchanger partially filled with porous media using metal foam in the channels’ divergent sections

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This is a numerical study of heat transfer and flow in a counter-flow sinusoidal parallel-plate heat exchanger using metal foam in the channels’...     

Molecular dynamics simulation of ferronanofluid behavior in a nanochannel in the presence of constant and time-dependent magnetic fields

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - For the first time, double phosphates(V) Zn3Cr4(PO4)6 and Mg3Cr4(PO4)6 were synthesized by non-waste solid-state reaction, performed in the temperature...     

A Triple Pore Network Model (T-PNM) for Gas Flow Simulation in Fractured,Micro-porous and Meso-porous Media

Transport in Porous Media - In this study, a novel triple pore network model (T-PNM) is introduced which is composed of a single pore network model (PNM) coupled to fractures and micro-porosities....     

Study of Tangle on the Three Qubit Werner States by Using of Twirl Operation

International Journal of Theoretical Physics - In this paper we study the Tangle of three qubit Werner state using Twirl operation and association scheme. To do this, we introduce the invariants of...     

Synthesis of mesoporous functional hematite nanofibrous photoanodes by electrospinning

Iron(III) oxide (hematite, Fe₂O₃) nanofibers, as visible light‐induced photoanode for water oxidation reaction of a water splitting process, were fabricated through electrospinning method followed by calcination treatment. The prepared samples were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, and three‐electrode galvanostat/potentiostat for evaluating their photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties. The diameter of the as‐spun fibers is about 300 nm, and calcinated fibers have diameter less than 110 nm with mesoporous structure. Optimized multilayered electrospun α‐Fe₂O₃ nanostructure mats showed photocurrent density of 0.53 mA/cm² under dark and visible illumination conditions at voltage 1.23 V and constant intensity (900 mW/cm²). This photovoltaic performance of nanostructure mats makes it suitable choice for using in the PEC water splitting application as an efficient photoanode. This method, if combined with appropriate flexible conductive substrate, has the potential for producing flexible hematite solar fuel generators. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative Analysis of Holmium Ion by a Ho3+ Ion‐Selective Sensor Based on a Symmetric Thio‐Schiff's Base

A poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane sensor for holmium ions was fabricated based on N‐[(Z)‐1‐(2‐thienyl)‐ methylidene]‐N‐[4‐(4‐{[(Z)‐1‐(2‐thienyl)methylidene]amino} phenoxy)phenyl] amine (TPA) as a new ion carrier, acetophenon (AP) as plasticizing solvent mediator and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) as an anion excluder. The electrode shows a good selectivity towards Ho³⁺ ions respect to other inorganic cations, including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The constructed sensor displays a Nernstian behavior (19.5±0.3 mV/decade) over the concentration range of 1.0×10⁻⁶ to 1.0×10⁻² mol·L⁻¹ with the detection limit of the electrode being 4.6×10⁻⁷ mol·L⁻¹ and very short response time (ca. 5 s). It has a useful working pH range of 3.2–9.8 for at least 8 weeks. The electrode was successfully applied as an indicator electrode for the potentiometric titration of a Ho³⁺ solution with EDTA and holmium determination in some alloys. The proposed sensor accuracy was studied by the determination of Ho³⁺ in mixtures of three different ions.     

Crystal Structure and Mass-, Electronic-, Infrared Spectral Studies on Hexaaqua Ni(II) Bis(O-Tolylazo-Citrazinate) Hexahydrate Complex

A new crystalline octahedral hexaaqua Ni(II) bis(o-tolylazo-citrazinate)hexahydrate complex was synthesized. The analytical data proved the formation of 1:2 stoichiometry. An X-ray structure investigation has been carried out. The triclinic space group is p and the unit cell parameters are a = 585.5 pm, b = 993 pm, c = 1139.4 pm, α = 101.6°, β = 97.4°, γ = 102.4°. Evaluation of intensity data revealed the structure with an R-value of 0.03 (2316 observed independent reflections). The compound consists of hexaaqua nickel(2+) ions, univalent anions of the carboxylic acid and six additional water molecules per     

Synthesis and characterization of some nickel(II) Schiff bases complexes

Summary The reaction of nickel(II) salts with 2-picolyl- and 2,6-lutidyl-phenylketone benzoylhydrazone and theirp-nitro- andp-methoxy-derivatives were carried out and the compounds characterized on the basis of analytical and spectral data.