علی نیاپور

Identifying and demarcating the masses and diagnosing the disease in breast tissue is a serious challenge in diagnosing this cancer. Mammography is currently the most common method to diagnose breast cancer, in which incorrectly identifying the masses can lead to misdiagnosis or sampling of breast tissue. In this study, using feature extraction in medical image processing, we tried to make a diagnosis with better accuracy than in the past.

Mammographic image features were extracted using the Harris feature extraction algorithm. Mammographic images were analyzed using Matlab2019a software and ideal outputs were obtained.

Mammographic images were pre-processed and Harris algorithm was applied. In the output of the proposed algorithm, the accuracy and speed of detection of the algorithm were higher in comparison to other routine methods.

The purpose of extracting the Harris property is to make the raw data more usable for future statistical processing. it is expected that in the future, feature extraction will be more accurate, and more details will be provided to the machine vision systems to identify objects in the image.

Noise reduction in medical images is important. Excessive distortion in medical images reduces the accuracy of diagnosis of various diseases or structures. Violet conversion and filtering are among the most widely used methods for reducing noise in medical images. The aim of this study was to compare noise reduction using filtration (low-pass, mid-pass, and high-pass filters) as well as violet conversion from MRI images.

In this study, using MATLAB software, noisy MRI data were entered into the program environment and each of the proposed algorithms including filtering (low-pass, mid-pass, and high-pass filters) as well as violet conversion were implemented separately on images. And the ideal output was obtained due to the nature of the noise.

The results obtained from the proposed violet and filtering methods were compared and analyzed. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of all filters used and the violet conversion displayed a value above 30 dB. Violet conversion for selected images has a higher SNR value, and in some images, this difference is more than 40 dB. According to the images and relative PSNR values, among all the studied methods, the best dehumidification is when the CWT method was used. In this case, the PSNR is high and there is the most similarity between the degenerate image and the original image.

High infiltration of glioma cells into the surrounding brain tissue is the cause of treatment failure in glioblastoma. Glioblastoma interactions with endothelial cells increase the migration of cancer cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tranexamic acid (TXA) on reducing the migration of glioblastoma and endothelial cells and the levels of metalloproteinases-2 and -9 (MMP-2/9) in co-culture conditions.

In this experimental study, cells prepared from Pasteur Institute were treated with different concentrations of TXA in mono-culture and co-culture. Cell survival was determined by MTT assay. The rate of migration was assessed by making grooves in the culture dishes and comparing the groove area at different time intervals in the control and treated groups with 6 and 24 mM TXA. The levels of MMP-2/9 enzymes in the control group and cells treated with 6 mM TXA were assessed by zymography.

Decreased survival of T98G and HUVECs cells was observed in mono- and co-culture from 60 mM TXA and above (p=0.0001). Groove area in HUVECs group treated with 6 and 24 mM TXA were 0.27±0.05 and 0.36±0.04 of initial groove area, respectively, which was significant compared to the control group (p=0.034, p=0.005). No difference in groove size was observed in T98G cells. In co-culture group, the groove size 36 hours after the start of the study in the control group was 0.12±0.01, which was significantly lower than T98G + HUVECs groups treated with 6 (0.28±0.06) and 24 (0.39±0.07) mM TXA (p=0.01 and p=0.002). TXA significantly reduced the levels of MMP-2 (p=0.0001) and MMP-9 (p=0.0001) in co-culture conditions.

The results showed that TXA could reduce the migration of glioblastoma and endothelial cells as well as the levels of MMP-2/9 in co-culture conditions.

Pentavalent antimonials are the first-line drugs for treatment of leishmaniasis, which have multiple side effects such as drug toxicity. Moreover, parasite resistance to these drugs is rising around the world. Second-line drugs, including Amphotericin B and pantamidine have also side effects and expensive for patients. According to the cytotoxic effects of paraquat, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of paraquat on Leishmania major promastigotes and HUVECs viability. A number of 2.5×106 of Leishmania major promastigotes were treated in each well of 96 well plates with different concentrations of paraquat. Cells were incubated for 48 hours in 24 °C. MTT test was performed for evaluating paraquat impact on promastigotes. The absorbance was measured using a microplate reader at 570 nm.  The trypan blue staining assay was performed to evaluate the number of viable Leishmania major promastigotes following paraquat treatment. Furthermore, the effect of paraquat concentrations on HUVECs viability was evaluated under the cell culture condition. The results of the MTT test showed that increasing concentrations of paraquat could significantly reduce the viability and the number of Leishmania major promastigotes in comparison to control group (p<0.05). In this study, the IC50 for Leishmania major promastigotes was calculated as 272.46 µg/ml. Trypan blue results were in line with the finding of MTT assay. Moreover, we found that HUVECs were susceptible to paraquat (IC50=188.99 µg/ml). Paraquat has a strong inhibitory effect on Leishmania major promastigotes and human endothelial cells. Although more comprehensive studies on the effects of the topical use of paraquat on Leishmania major lesions in animal model and its side effects are necessary.

Progress in nanotechnology in the past decayed has created various opportunities for evaluation of biological effects such as anti-bacterial effects of nanoparticles. This study was aimed to examine synthesis and the antibacterial effect of Nano-Polyamidoamine-G5 (NPAMAM-G5) dendrimer on Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Shigella Dysenteriae and Bacillus Subtilis. NPAMAM-G5 dendrimers was synthesized by Tomalia’s divergent growth approach. The antibacterial effects of NPAMAM-G5 dendrimer were studied by disc diffusion and micro-dilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were determined according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to analyze morphology and size of NPAMAM-G5. Zone of inhibition in concentration 25μg/ml of NPAMAM-G5 dendrimers for Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Shigella Dysenteriae and Bacillus Subtilis were 27, 13, 30 and 18 mm, respectively. There was a significant difference regarding the zone of inhibition between gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria (p<0.05). Remarkably, the MIC for Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Shigella Dysenteriae was 2.5μg/ml and for Bacillus Subtilis was 25μg/ml. The MBC for Shigella Dysenteriae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 50 and 200 μg/ml, respectively and for Klebsiella Oxytoca and Bacillus Subtilis was100 μg/ml. It was found that NPAMAM-G5 particles had a spherical shape with a mean diameter size of 10 nm. According to the results, the NPAMAM-G5 dendrimer with end amine groups displayed a positive effect on the removal of standard strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Background and Treatment of leishmaniasis is getting complicated due to multiple side effects and drug resistance to first-line drugs. Agrostemma githago is a plant with anti-cancer and cytocidal effects, so, this study was conducted to evaluate the anti leishmanial effect of its extract on Leishmania major promastigotes by MTT assay and cell count. A total of 2.5×106 Leishmania major promastigotes in their stationary phase were plated to each well of the 96 well culture plates. Cells were then incubated with increasing concentrations of Agrostemma githago extract (0.05 – 2.4 mg/ml) for 48 hours at 25°C. Glucantim was used as standard control. Then, the supernatants were discarded and 50 µl of MTT were added for 3 hours. After centrifuge, the supernatants were replaced by 100 µl of DMSO. The plate was read by ELISA reader at 570 nm. Trypan blue staining was also performed to evaluate the effect of Agrostemma githago extract on Leishmania major promastigotes. MTT assay showed that increasing concentrations of Agrostemma extract could significantly reduce cell viability of Leishmania major promastigots in a dose dependent manner (p<0.05). IC50 of the Agrostemma and Glucantime were 0.365 and 71.01 mg/ml, respectively. Aqueous extract of Agrostemma githago was found to have stronger inhibitory effect than Glucantim on Leishmania major promastigots

Background and Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has a broad set of molecules which is essential for neurogenesis. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are putatively neural crest cell-derived that can differentiate into neurons and glial cells under appropriate neurotrophic factors. The aim of this study was to induce differentiation of hDPSCs into neuroglial phenotypes using Retinoic acid (RA) and CSF.
The hDPSCs were isolated by mechanical enzymatic digestion from an impacted third molar and cultured. 2 × 105 cells were treated by 10-7 µM Retinoic acid (RA group) for 8 days, CSF (CSF group) for 8 days and pre-induced with RA for 4 days followed by inducing with CSF for 4 days (RC group). Nestin, βIII-tubulin and GFAP immunostaining were used for evaluating the differentiated cells. Axonal outgrowth was detected using Bielschowsky's silver impregnation method and Nissl bodies were stained in differentiated cells by Cresyl violet. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.16 applying One-way ANOVA and Chi-square test.
The morphology of differentiated cells in treated groups significantly changed after 3-5 days. The immunocytochemistry results showed that nestin, the neuroprogenitor marker, was observed in all groups. Whereas, a high percentage of nestin positive cells and ΒIII-tubulin, as mature neural markers, were seen at the pre-induction and induction stage, respectively. Nissl bodies were detected as dark-blue particles in the cytoplasm of treated cells.
The findings suggest that the RA as pre-inducer and CSF as inducer could be used for in vitro differentiation of neuroglial cells from hDPSCs.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common and lethal malignancies in the world. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been widely used to treat cancers, most notably for the acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) - as a differentiation inducer. Notch signaling plays important roles in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Aberrant activation of notch signaling pathway has been stated in different malignancies including gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the possible effects of ATRA on cellular viability, cell cycle shift and apoptosis induction of gastric MKN-45 cell line. Moreover, alterations of notch1 and hes1 gene expression profiles after ATRA treatment have been considered.
Human gastric carcinoma cells (MKN-45) were treated with increasing concentrations of ATRA (2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 µM). The viability of cells was determined with 3-(4, 5-dimethlthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Caspase-Glo 3/7 assay kit was applied to measure the apoptosis. Flow-cytometry was employed to distinguish cells in different phases of cell cycle. Expression profiles for the notch1 and hes1 genes were evaluated by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR).
MTT assay showed that ATRA could diminish MKN-45 cell line viability rate; the most effective dose was 10 µM. Concentrations higher than 10 µM of ATRA had no significant effect on reducing cancerous cell viability. Furthermore, ATRA treatment significantly amplified caspase3/7activation. Flow-cytometry analyses showed significant accumulation of cells in G1 phase of cell cycle in ATRA treated group in compare to control. Following treatment with ATRA, showed a significant reduction in notch1and hes1 genes profile expression.
According to our findings, ATRA could exert its cytotoxic effects on gastric cancer MKN-45 cell line through reducing cellular viability and inducing apoptosis. Remaining at G1 phase of cell cycle and reducing notch1 and hes1 gene expressions suggest the antiproliferative activity of ATRA

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are considered as a unique source of adult stem cells which are usually accessible with minimum ethical concerns. MSCs can be used in stem cell biology, different to other cells, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and future of cancer treatment researches. The aim of the present study was to isolate dental pulp derived stem cells (DPSCs), characterizing them with common techniques and determining neural crest gene s expression profile. After collecting the teeth, the pulp chamber exposed and the pulp tissue digested with collagenase IV. Dental pulp derived cells were resuspended and incubated in alpha modified minimum essential medium eagle (αMEM) supplemented with 15 % fetal bovine serum at 37°C temperature, 95% humidity and 5% CO2. The osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potentials for dental pulp derived cells were assessed in appropriate conditions. Flow-cytometry analyses were utilized to evaluate the percentage of CD90 and CD45 positive markers within isolated cells. The expression of p75ngfr, slug and sox10 genes was measured via RT-PCR. Dental pulp derived cells were appropriately attached to the culture vessels and showed high proliferation rate on culture medium. Cells could also differentiate to osteogenic and adipose cells; displayed by Alizarin red and Oil red staining. Higher percentage of pulp derived cells were CD90 positive, while the percentage of CD45 expression, as a marker of hematopoietic cells, was negligible. Furthermore, the RT-PCR also revealed the expression of p75ngfr, slug and sox10 in the MSCs isolated from the dental pulps. Dental pulp derived cell have the mesenchymal stem cells characteristics and at least a portion of them have neural crest origin and identity

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes, early-stage melanomas can be treated effectively with surgery alone, but more advanced cancers often incurable. The incidence of melanoma malignancy in most countries has risen faster than any other cancer types. It was the first time which we evaluated the cytotoxic effects of zno and Ag/zno nano-composites (NP) on melanoma cell line, A375, viability. In this experimental study, A375 cell line was grown in RPMI-1640 supplemented with 10% FBS, penicillin/streptomycin (100 U/ml, 100 µg/ml) at 37◦C in 5% CO2, then the effects of different concentrations of zno and Ag/zno nano-composites on melanoma cell were evaluated by MTT, clonogenic survival assays, and acridine orange/ ethidium bromide staining. Herein, we demonstrated that Zno and Ag/zno nano-composites showed similar effects on cytotoxicity of melanoma cancer cells. In a dose dependent manner, a significant cytotoxicity was observed with increasing of zno and Ag/zno. The inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) values of the nano-composites for A375 cell line after 24 hrs were 7.24±1.55 and 15.93±1.73 µg/ml for zno and Ag/zno, respectively. The results showed that zno and Ag/zno has ability to induce cytotoxicity in the human melanoma cancer cell line in lower micromolar concentrations. In conclusion, these findings may introduce a new view on the mode of action and possible application of new nano-composites in the cancer chemotherapy.

5Student Research Committee، Isfahan University of Medical Sciences، Isfahan، Iran Spinal cord injury (SCI) has become an especially challenging target in experimental neuroscience. Approach into the spinal cord is the interface among all different types of spinal cord injury modeling. The lower thoracic spinal cord has generated special interest due to the lower limbs’ spinal pattern generator position and presence of relative scales for behavioral assessment. However، a clear method with which to approach the thoracic spinal cord has yet to be determined. A total of 20 animals were subjected to this study. Following induction of anesthesia، the 10th thoracic vertebra were positioned، and muscles were retracted. Using the high speed rotary، the vertebral lamina were carefully thinned. As a final point، the reduced lamina was meticulously removed away to expose underlying spinal cord. Loco motor behavioral test (BBB) was implemented before and after surgery procedure. This manuscript has presented the stepwise method to expose rat thoracic spinal cord. Whole procedure took less than an hour. Animals acquired complete BBB loco motor rating score before and after surgery; indicating the safety of procedure. This article introduces simple and practical approach for the rat lower thoracic spine. The anatomical orientation، anesthesia، postoperative management، and common problems are discussed.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) has a high incidence rate in the world. However، until recently، there has been no reliable treatment available for its sensory and motor complications. Utilization of stem cells has opened new insights for treatment of SCI. Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are multipotent، have high proliferative potential، and easily accessible. Here، we isolated HFSCs and transplanted them to Rats with spinal cord injury by compression model. HFSCs were isolated from the bulge area of Wistar rat whisker follicles. The SCI model was induced in 14 rats، and cultivated HFSCs were transplanted to the spinal cord lesion sites. Functional recovery was assessed by Basso–Beattie–Bresnahan (BBB) scale and muscular activity changes were evaluated with electromyography (EMG) 8 weeks following the transplantation. Behavioral assessments with BBB test showed that scores in transplanted animals were higher than the control group. Functional recovery in the transplanted group were better eight weeks after transplantation (p=0. 023) and BBB scores were 15. 64 ±0. 32 compared to 12. 8 ±0. 45 in the sham group. Moreover، the signal amplitude of the needle EMG records of the lower extremity muscles increased in transplanted rats. Our results show that transplantation of HFSCs to the site of SCI could be useful for repair and replacement of degenerated neuronal and glial cells.