Methods to functionalize gold nanoparticles with tandem-phosphorothioate DNA: role of physicochemical properties of the phosphorothioate backbone in DNA adsorption to gold nanoparticles.

Perception of the differences in the physicochemical properties of phosphorothioate DNA (PS-DNA) and phosphodiester DNA (PO-DNA) greatly aids in understanding the AuNP-DNA binding process. Replacing one non-bridging oxygen atom of the anionic phosphodiester backbone with a sulfur atom leads to a major change in the DNA adsorption mechanism of AuNPs. In this work, we investigated and compared salt-aging, low pH-assisted, and freeze-thaw methods for conjugating phosphorothioate-modified oligonucleotides to AuNPs.

Probing the mechanical properties of ORF3a protein, a transmembrane channel of SARS-CoV-2 virus: Molecular dynamics study.

SARS-CoV-2-encoded accessory protein ORF3a was found to be a conserved coronavirus protein that shows crucial roles in apoptosis in cells as well as in virus release and replications. To complete the knowledge and identify the unknown of this protein, further comprehensive research is needed to clarify the leading role of ORF3a in the functioning of the coronavirus. One of the efficient approaches to determining the functionality of this protein is to investigate the mechanical properties and study its structural dynamics in the presence of physical stimuli.

Hairpin-Spherical Nucleic Acids for Diagnosing COVID-19: a Simple Method to Generalize the Conventional PCR for Molecular Assays.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed during the first global wave of this infectious disease that mass diagnostic testing was necessary to more rapidly detect infection in patients and control the pandemic. Therefore, extra research efforts to develop reliable and more accessible techniques for disease diagnosis are of supreme importance. Here, a target-responsive assembly of gold nanoparticle-core hairpin-spherical nucleic acids (AuNP-core H-SNAs) was implemented to modify the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the "naked-eye" colorimetric detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA.

Conventional PCR assisted single-component assembly of spherical nucleic acids for simple colorimetric detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Continuous identification of suspected infectious cases is crucial to control the recent pandemic caused by the novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) technology cannot be implemented easily and in large scale in some communities due to lack of resources and infrastructures. Here, we report a simple colorimetric strategy derived from linker-based single-component assembly of gold nanoparticle-core spherical nucleic acids (AuNP-core SNAs) for visual detection of PCR products of SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) template.

A palindromic-based strategy for colorimetric detection of HIV-1 nucleic acid: Single-component assembly of gold nanoparticle-core spherical nucleic acids.

Gold nanoparticle-core spherical nucleic acids (AuNP core-SNAs), by virtue of the programmable nature of oligonucleotides, have yielded access to the innovative strategies for targeted biodiagnostics. Here, DNA-directed self-assembly of AuNP core-SNAs has been used to design a colorimetric method to sense HIV-1 viral nucleic acid. This strategy utilizes an oligonucleotide with sequence of 5'-untranslated region (5' UTR) of the HIV-1 RNA genome anchored on the surface of AuNPs and a complementary linker strand with a palindromic sequence tail.

Health-promoting behaviors in nursing students: is it related to self-efficacy for health practices and academic achievement?

Background Nursing students play a role in promotion of public health as health promoters and professional care providers. Therefore, health-promoting behaviors in nursing students and their self-efficacy for health practices are important in providing better services to patients and clients. With regard to the importance of these factors in the academic progress of students, this study was conducted to examine the level of health-promoting behaviors among nursing students and its relationship with self-efficacy for health practices and academic achievement.

Nurses' professional competency and organizational commitment: Is it important for human resource management?

Background: Professional competency is a fundamental concept in nursing, which has a direct relationship with quality improvement of patient care and public health. Organizational commitment as a kind of affective attachment or sense of loyalty to the organization is an effective factor for professional competency.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the nurses´ professional competency and their organizational commitment as well as the relationship between these two concepts.

Prediction of muscle activation for an eye movement with finite element modeling.

In this paper, a 3D finite element (FE) modeling is employed in order to predict extraocular muscles' activation and investigate force coordination in various motions of the eye orbit. A continuum constitutive hyperelastic model is employed for material description in dynamic modeling of the extraocular muscles (EOMs). Two significant features of this model are accurate mass modeling with FE method and stimulating EOMs for motion through muscle activation parameter.