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Engineered PUF proteins: New flexible toolkits to target the replication of RNA viruses
Get PDFAim: The RNA recognition code of an RNA-binding protein known as Pumilio/FBF (PUF) protein was reprogrammed in order to provide binding to internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome. Materials & methods: The ability of the modified protein to repress IRES-dependent translation was analyzed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, cell viability assay, cell cytotoxicity assay and anti-HCV assay. Results: The modified protein was able to reduce reporter gene expression (>30) and HCV viral load (>98) and reduced HCV-induced cytotoxicity to the level observed in uninfected cells. Conclusion: Our results can set the stage for using modified PUFs for interfering with critical steps such as replication and translation in virus life cycle, especially RNA viruses. © 2021 Future Medicine Ltd
Clinical Manifestations of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in COVID-19 Patients: An Integrative Review
Get PDFAfter the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, its spread to other countries is rapidly increasing. In this integrative review, we report the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with COVID-19. For this purpose, available articles on gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with COVID-19, which were reported from China, were reviewed. All reviewed articles were searched from December 11, 2019, to June 20, 2020, based on specific key words. Related findings in these articles show that the main target of COVID-19 is lung tissue, as after the virus enters the body, it mainly causes respiratory symptoms in affected patients. But in addition to respiratory symptoms, it is possible that, over time, these patients present with other symptoms, the most obvious of which are gastrointestinal symptoms. It is well documented that diarrhea and vomiting are the most common gastrointestinal symptoms in COVID-19 patients. As part of this report, we also look at the incidence and frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms in COVID-19 patients in Iran. The results can be used by providers as a guideline for better management of gastrointestinal symptoms in these patients. © 2021 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved
Synthesis and characterization of electrospun cerium-doped bioactive glass/chitosan/polyethylene oxide composite scaffolds for tissue engineering applications
No full textIn this study, a series of electrospun chitosan/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibrous scaffolds containing different amount of cerium-doped bioactive glasses (Ce-BGs) have been fabricated and proposed for tissue engineering applications. On a biological level, higher 8Ce-BG content significantly improved cytocompatibility of the scaffolds. Moreover, results of fibroblast cell culture study showed that greater 8Ce-BG content could enhance cell attachment and cell expansion on fiber mesh. Characterization of the scaffolds revealed that increasing 8Ce-BG content caused bioactive glass nanoparticles to agglomerate at a higher rate. The SEM mapping revealed thorough dispersion of submicrometric clusters in all areas of the polymeric matrix. Contact angle measurements showed that increasing 8Ce-BG/CH ratio from 0 to 10 (wt.) improved wettability of the scaffold significantly. However, by increasing the ratio beyond 10 (wt.), the wettability values decreased gradually. In conclusion, it was found that increasing 8Ce-BG/CH weight ratio up to 40 (wt.) in the scaffold system was practical and useful for soft tissue engineering applications. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l
Endocrinology and metabolism research institute educational achievements on diabetes at a glance: conventional review and Scientometrics
No full textPurpose: Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute (EMRI) in 25th anniversary prompt to highlight the educational activities on capacity building and research in prevention and education of diabetes field. In recent decades, this academic institute arranges for opportunities to catch new ways to encounter non-communicable diseases especially diabetes to advantage both diabetes health care providers and people with diabetes. This review aims to overview the educational activities of EMRI on diabetes. Methods: In this conventional review and Scientometrics, the studies affiliated with EMRI on diabetes education were explored in Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and SID, without any restriction on time and language. All papers published up to 2020 were analyzed and visualized with the VOS viewer Software program. Results: Total number of 12 documents retrieved from various databases. Patient education, diabetes type 2, health, and self-care are the most frequent keywords in the published paper. Several perspectives of diabetes education have been addressed in two main categories include public and patient education and professional education. Conclusion: It is notable that, the national strategic planning to establish courses and produce materials and programs to empower health care providers and patients with diabetes and families. According to the strategic plan, further research and infrastructures are required for various aspects of diabetes prevention and education. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Design and fabrication of polycaprolactone/gelatin composite scaffolds for diaphragmatic muscle reconstruction
No full textDiaphragmatic wall defects caused by congenital disorders or disease remain a major challenge for physicians worldwide. Polymeric patches have been extensively explored within research laboratories and the clinic for soft tissue and diaphragm reconstruction. However, patch usage may be associated with allergic reaction, infection, granulation, and recurrence of the hernia. In this study, we designed and fabricated a porous scaffold using a combination of 3D printing and freeze-drying techniques. A 3D printed polycaprolactone (PCL) mesh was used to reinforcegelatin scaffolds, representing an advantage over previously reported examples since it provides mechanical strength and flexibility. In vitro studies showed that adherent cells were anchorage-dependent and grew as a monolayer attached to the scaffolds. Microscopic observations indicated better cell attachments for the scaffolds with higher gelatin content as compared with the PCL control samples. Tensile testing demonstrated the mechanical strength of samples was significantly greater than adult diaphragm tissue. The biocompatibility of the specimens was investigated in vivo using a subcutaneous implantation method in Bagg albino adult mice for 20 days, with the results indicating superior cellular behavior and attachment on scaffolds containing gelatin in comparison to pure PCL scaffolds, suggesting that the porous PCL/gelatin scaffolds have potential as biodegradable and flexible constructs for diaphragm reconstruction. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in coronavirus disease 2019 patients: the promising role of diuretic therapy in critically ill patients
Get PDFThe impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on diastolic function is less known. We describe a 46-year-old man with a history of mild hypertension who presented to the emergency department with fever, cough, and myalgia for 2 days. The patient was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. He was admitted and started on a combination of antiviral and antimicrobial therapy. He developed respiratory distress 2 days later, and O2 saturation declined. Blood tests showed an increased N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level, and echocardiography showed normal left ventricular ejection fraction and E/e� ratio of 16. Computed tomography scan showed interstitial pulmonary oedema and prominent peripheral pulmonary vascular markings. Given these findings, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was considered. Low-dose diuretic was started, and fluid administration was restricted, resulting in a decrease in NT-proBNP level, clinical and haemodynamic stabilization, and improved oxygenation. This case highlights the occurrence of HFpEF in coronavirus disease 2019. © 2021 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology
Recombinant production of a novel fusion protein: Listeriolysin o fragment fused to s1 subunit of pertussis toxin
Get PDFBackground: Some resources have suggested that genetically inactivated PTs bear a more protective effect than chemically inactivated products. This study aimed to produce new version of PT, by cloning an inactive PTS1 in a fusion form with N-terminal half of the LLO pore-forming toxin. Methods: Deposited pdb structure file of the PT was used to model an extra disulfide bond. Codon-optimized ORF of the PTS1 was used to make recombinant constructs of PTS1 and LLO-PTS1 in the pPSG-IBA35 vector. The recombinant PTS1 and LLO-PTS1 proteins were expressed in BL21 DE3 and SHuffle T7 strains of E. coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Cytotoxic effects of the recombinant proteins were examined in the MCF-7 cell line. Results: The purity of the products proved to be more than 85, and the efficiency of the disulfide bond formation in SHuffle T7 strain was higher than BL21 DE3 strain. No cytotoxicity of the recombinant proteins was observed in MCF-7 cells. Soluble recombinant PTS1 and LLO-PTS1 proteins were produced in SHuffle T7 strain of E. coli with high efficiency of disulfide bonds formation. Conclusion: The LLO-PTS1 with corrected disulfide bonds was successfully expressed in E. coli SHuffle T7 strain. Due to the safety for human cells, this chimeric molecule can be an option to prevent pertussis disease if its immunostimulatory effects would be confirmed in the future. © 2021, Pasteur Institute of Iran. All rights reserved
COVIDiag: a clinical CAD system to diagnose COVID-19 pneumonia based on CT findings
Get PDFObjectives: CT findings of COVID-19 look similar to other atypical and viral (non-COVID-19) pneumonia diseases. This study proposes a clinical computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system using CT features to automatically discriminate COVID-19 from non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients. Methods: Overall, 612 patients (306 COVID-19 and 306 non-COVID-19 pneumonia) were recruited. Twenty radiological features were extracted from CT images to evaluate the pattern, location, and distribution of lesions of patients in both groups. All significant CT features were fed in five classifiers namely decision tree, K-nearest neighbor, naïve Bayes, support vector machine, and ensemble to evaluate the best performing CAD system in classifying COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases. Results: Location and distribution pattern of involvement, number of the lesion, ground-glass opacity (GGO) and crazy-paving, consolidation, reticular, bronchial wall thickening, nodule, air bronchogram, cavity, pleural effusion, pleural thickening, and lymphadenopathy are the significant features to classify COVID-19 from non-COVID-19 groups. Our proposed CAD system obtained the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 0.965, 93.54, 90.32, and 91.94, respectively, using ensemble (COVIDiag) classifier. Conclusions: This study proposed a COVIDiag model obtained promising results using CT radiological routine features. It can be considered an adjunct tool by the radiologists during the current COVID-19 pandemic to make an accurate diagnosis. Key Points: � Location and distribution of involvement, number of lesions, GGO and crazy-paving, consolidation, reticular, bronchial wall thickening, nodule, air bronchogram, cavity, pleural effusion, pleural thickening, and lymphadenopathy are the significant features between COVID-19 from non-COVID-19 groups. � The proposed CAD system, COVIDiag, could diagnose COVID-19 pneumonia cases with an AUC of 0.965 (sensitivity = 93.54; specificity = 90.32; and accuracy = 91.94). � The AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy obtained by radiologist diagnosis are 0.879, 87.10, 88.71, and 87.90, respectively. © 2020, European Society of Radiology
Effect of aromatherapy with Damask rose on alleviating adults� acute pain severity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Get PDFBackground and purpose: Although recent studies have investigated the analgesic activity of Damask rose using aromatherapy in different painful conditions, the results are inconclusive. Hence, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the effect of aromatherapy with Damask rose on adults� acute pain. Material and methods: The online databases of MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, ISI web of science, Embase, ProQuest, CENTRAL, CINAHL, SID, and MagIran were searched up to August 10, 2020. The aim of this study was to find randomized controlled trials on the effect of aromatherapy with Damask rose in any form of administration (inhalation, vapor diffusion, and massage) on different types of acute pain in adults. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Moreover, the quality of the evidence was evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Random effects model was applied to pool data using Stata. Results: A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which only one was not included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis revealed that aromatherapy with Damask rose reduced the pain severity significantly (WMD: -2.12; 95 CI -2.85, -1.40; P < 0.001). Inhalation aromatherapy (WMD: -2.39; 95% CI -3.31, -1.48; P < 0.001) and aromatherapy massage (WMD: -1.16; 95% CI -1.57, -0.75; P < 0.001) also had significant effects on pain reduction. The quality of evidence was low. Conclusion: Aromatherapy with Damask rose had a favourable effect on reducing the severity of acute pain in adults. However, there is insuf�cient evidence for the clinical bene�ts of aromatherapy with Damask rose due to the low-quality evidence. Accordingly, more high quality randomized clinical trials are needed to make an evidence-based conclusion. © 2020 Elsevier Lt
Comparison of the tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test in detecting latent tuberculosis in health care workers in Iran
Get PDFOBJECTIVES: The tuberculin skin test (TST) and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (QFT) are used to identify latent tuberculosis infections (LTBIs). The aim of this study was to determine the agreement between these two tests among health care workers in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 177 tuberculosis (TB) laboratory staff and 67 non-TB staff. TST indurations of 10 mm or more were considered positive. The Student's t-test and the chi-square test were used to compare the mean score and proportion of variables between the TB laboratory staff and the non-TB laboratory staff. Kappa statistics were used to evaluate the agreement between these tests, and logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors associated with positive results for each test. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBIs according to both the QFT and the TST was 17 (95 confidence interval CI, 12% to 21%) and 16% (95% CI, 11% to 21%), respectively. The agreement between the QFT and the TST was 77.46%, with a kappa of 0.19 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.34). CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of LTBI based on the QFT and the TST was not significantly different, the kappa statistic was low between these two tests for the detection of LTBIs. © 2016, Korean Society of Epidemiolog