Sharif Digital Repository

Two seemingly unrelated, but fundamental challenges in evolutionary theory, are the evolution of costly signals and costly cooperative traits, both expected to reduce an individual’s fitness and diminish by natural selection. Here, by considering a well mixed population of individuals who produce signals and decide on their strategies in a game they play, based on the signals, we show that costly signals and costly cooperative strategies can co-evolve as a result of internal dynamics of the system. Costly signals evolve, despite their apparent cost, due to a favorable cooperative response they elicit. This favorable strategic response can be quantified in a fitness term which governs the... 

Being able to track objects that surround us is key for planning actions in dynamic environments. However, rigorous cognitive models for tracking of one or more objects are currently lacking. In this study, we asked human subjects to judge the time to contact (TTC) a finish line for one or two objects that became invisible shortly after moving. We showed that the pattern of subject responses had an error variance best explained by an inverse Gaussian distribution and consistent with the output of a biased drift-diffusion model. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the pattern of errors made when tracking two objects showed a level of dependence that was consistent with subjects using a single... 

Background/Objectives: Curcumin, a natural polyphenol compound in the spice turmeric, has been found to have potent anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activity. Curcumin may treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through its beneficial effects on biomarkers of oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation, which are considered as two feature of this disease. However, the effects of curcumin on NAFLD have been remained poorly understood. This investigation evaluated the effects of administrating curcumin on metabolic status in NAFLD patients. Subjects/Methods: Fifty-eight NAFLD patients participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel design of study. The subjects... 

It is now known that at least 10% of samples with pancreatic cancers (PC) contain a causative mutation in the known susceptibility genes, suggesting the importance of identifying cancer-associated genes that carry the causative mutations in high-risk individuals for early detection of PC. In this study, we develop a statistical pipeline using a new concept, called gene-motif, that utilizes both mutated genes and mutational processes to identify 4211 3-nucleotide PC-associated gene-motifs within 203 significantly mutated genes in PC. Using these gene-motifs as distinguishable features for pancreatic cancer subtyping results in identifying five PC subtypes with distinguishable phenotypes and... 

In United States (U.S.), government-funded organizations, such as NLDAC, reimburse travel and subsistence expenses incurred during living-organ donation process. However, in Iran, there is a non-governmental organization called Iranian Kidney Foundation (IKF) that funds the direct and indirect costs of donors through charitable donations and contributions from participants in the exchange program. In this article, for countries outside the U.S. that currently use an equality approach, we propose a potential new compensation-apportionment approach (equitable approach) for kidney-exchange chains and compare it with the currently available system (equality approach) in terms of the... 

miR-29b2 and miR-29c play a suppressive role in breast cancer progression. C1orf132 (also named MIR29B2CHG) is the host gene for generating both microRNAs. However, the region also expresses longer transcripts with unknown functions. We employed bioinformatics and experimental approaches to decipher C1orf132 expression and function in breast cancer tissues. We also used the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to excise a predicted C1orf132 distal promoter and followed the behavior of the edited cells by real-time PCR, flow cytometry, migration assay, and RNA-seq techniques. We observed that C1orf132 long transcript is significantly downregulated in triple-negative breast cancer. We also identified a... 

Background. Temporary artery clipping facilitates safe cerebral aneurysm management, besides a risk for cerebral ischemia. We developed an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the safe clipping time of temporary artery occlusion (TAO) during intracranial aneurysm surgery. Method. We devised a three-layer model to predict the safe clipping time for TAO. We considered age, the diameter of the right and left middle cerebral arteries (MCAs), the diameter of the right and left A1 segment of anterior cerebral arteries (ACAs), the diameter of the anterior communicating artery, mean velocity of flow at the right and left MCAs, and the mean velocity of flow at the right and left ACAs, as well... 

Background: cervical cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women worldwide and its management remains challenging and complex. As Cytochrome4Z1 (CYP4Z1) is overex-pressed in many tumours, its expression in cervical cancer is unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate CYP4Z1 expression in cervical cancers. Methods: CYP4Z1 expression was immunohistochemically assessed in 100 cases of cervical cancers along with ten normal cervix tissues, and the enzyme’s relationship to several clinicopathological features and survival was explored. Results: CYP4Z1 was strongly expressed in 55% of cervical cancer patients. Normal cervix samples were negative for CYP4Z1 expression.... 

Objective(s): This study aims to evaluate combined proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolic profiling approaches, for discriminating between mustard airway diseases (MADs) and healthy controls and for providing biochemical information on this disease. Materials and Methods: In the present study, analysis of serum samples collected from 17 MAD subjects and 12 healthy controls was performed using NMR. Of these subjects, 14 (8 patients and 6 controls) were analyzed by GC-MS. Then, their spectral profiles were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares regression discriminant... 

Objective(s): Multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered as a chronic type of an inflammatory disease characterized by loss of myelin of CNS. Recent evidence indicates that Interleukin 17 (IL-17)-producing T helper cells (Th17 cells) population are increased and regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are decreased in MS. Despite extensive research in understanding the mechanism of Th17 and Treg differentiation, the role of microRNAs in MS is not completely understood. Thereby, as a step closer, we analyzed the expression profile of miR-9-5p and miR-106a-5p, and protein level of retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-related orphan receptor C (RORC; Th17 master transcription factor) as direct target of miR-106a-5p... 

Background: Lumbosacral orthosis (LSO) is commonly used for the treatment of back pain. The clinical and mechanical effectiveness of this device has been repeatedly investigated in several studies; however, its sensorimotor effectiveness has been rarely considered. Regarding this, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of a non-extensible LSO on postural stability (as a construct of sensorimotor function) in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain (LBP). Methods: This preliminary study was conducted on 17 patients with nonspecific chronic LBP using a single-group quasi-experimental design. Postural stability was measured while the participants were placed in a... 

Objective(s): The molecular basis of “metabolically healthy obese” and “metabolically unhealthy non-obese” phenotypes is not fully understood. Our objective was to identify metabolite patterns differing in obese (metabolically healthy vs unhealthy (MHO vs MUHO)) and non-obese (metabolically healthy vs unhealthy (MHNO vs MUHNO)) individuals. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 86 subjects stratified into four groups using anthropometric and clinical measurements: MHO (21), MUHO (21), MHNO (22), and MUHNO (22). Serum metabolites were profiled using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Multivariate analysis was applied to uncover discriminant metabolites, and enrichment... 

This study aimed to synthesize methoxy polyethylene glycol propionaldehyde (mPEG20,000-ALD) for the preparation of PEGylated nanoliposomal cisplatin. Nanocarriers such as liposomes are developed for a wide range of drug delivery systems. PEG with high molecular weight (Mw) is used to coat the liposomes. In this study, simulated Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of mPEG-ALD were obtained using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and then compared with actual FTIR spectrum of mPEG20,000-ALD (Mw = 20 kDa). We found that the intensity of C = O stretching vibration at 1,700 cm-1 related to the carbonyl functional group of mPEG20,000-ALD was very weak. The results of DFT... 

The dopaminergic system, a spinal cord (SC) motor circuit regulator, is administrated by sexual hormones and evolutionary conserved in all vertebrates. Accordingly, we hypothesized that the dopamine receptor (DAR) expression pattern may be dissimilar in female and male zebrafish SC auto repair. We implemented an uncomplicated method to induce spinal cord injury (SCI) on fully reproductive adult zebrafish, in both genders. SCI was induced using a 28-gauge needle at 9th-10th vertebra without skin incision. Thereupon, lesioned SC was harvested for DAR gene expression analysis; zebrafish were tracked routinely for any improvement in swim distance, speed, and their roaming... 

Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the changes occurring in the thickness of deep trunk muscles, measured using ultrasound imaging, after 4 wks of lumbosacral orthosis use in conjunction with routine physical therapy. Design This parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 44 patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain, randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. Both groups received eight sessions of physical therapy twice per week for 4 wks. The experimental group wore nonextensible lumbosacral orthosis, in addition to undergoing routine physical therapy. The thickness of the transversus abdominis, obliquus internus, and lumbar multifidus... 

Background: Remote cardiac monitoring and screening have already become an integral telemedicine component. The wide usage of several different wireless electrocardiography (ECG) devices warrants a validation study on their accuracy and reliability. Methods: Totally, 300 inpatients with the Nabz Hooshmand-1 handheld ECG device and the GE MAC 1200 ECG system (as the reference) were studied to check the accuracy of the devices in 1 and 6-limb lead performance. Simultaneous 10-second resting ECGs were assessed for the most common ECG parameters in lead I. Afterward, 6-lead ECGs (limb leads), were performed immediately and studied for their morphologies. Results: Of the 300 patients, 297 had... 

Objective: To determine the motor-behavioral and neural correlates of putative functional common variants in the sodium-channel NaV1.8 encoding gene (SCN10A) in vivo in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: We recruited 161 patients with relapsing-onset MS and 94 demographically comparable healthy participants. All patients with MS underwent structural MRI and clinical examinations (Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] and Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite [MSFC]). Whole-brain voxel-wise and cerebellar volumetry were performed to assess differences in regional brain volumes between genotype groups. Resting-state fMRI was acquired from 62 patients with MS to evaluate... 

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for detailed and broad insights on global health trends and emerging challenges. GBD... 

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal... 

Background: The early repolarization pattern (ERP) has been considered a normal variant in electrocardiography (ECG) for a long time. Nevertheless, increasing evidence has demonstrated its association with adverse outcomes. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of ERP in the Iranian general population and demonstrate its clinical and ECG correlates. Methods: A cross sectional study, comprising 1424 consecutive healthy adult individuals, was conducted at two university based hospitals in Tehran, Iran in 2012-2013. The ERP prevalence, clinical characteristics and ECG morphology were investigated in volunteers. Results: ERP was present in 136 out of 1,424 people (9.6%)....