Effects of cinnamon on anthropometric indices and headache-related disability of patients with migraine: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: Increased body mass index (BMI) seems to be a risk factor for migraine attacks. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-obesity effects. This study aimed to assess the effects of cinnamon on anthropometric indices and headache-related disability of patients with migraine.

The Association of Dietary Inflammatory Index and Cognitive Function in Iranian Elders.

Background: Cognitive impairment is amongst the most substantial mental health problems in elderly people, and inflammation is an underlying mechanism for cognitive impairment. The dietary inflammatory index (DII®) reflects the overall inflammatory potential of individuals' diets. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between the DII and cognitive function among the Iranian old population.

Nucleic acid-responsive smart systems for controlled cargo delivery.

Stimulus-responsive delivery systems allow controlled, highly regulated, and efficient delivery of various cargos while minimizing side effects. Owing to the unique properties of nucleic acids, including the ability to adopt complex structures by base pairing, their easy synthesis, high specificity, shape memory, and configurability, they have been employed in autonomous molecular motors, logic circuits, reconfigurable nanoplatforms, and catalytic amplifiers. Moreover, the development of nucleic acid (NA)-responsive intelligent delivery vehicles is a rapidly growing field.

Comparing Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, Modified Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II and Poisoning Severity Score for Outcome Prediction of Pesticide Poisoned Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the severity of poisoning, various scoring systems, including Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS II), Modified APACHE II, and poisoning severity score (PSS) were used. In this study, we compared the predictive value of these scoring systems on the outcome of pesticide-poisoned patients.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of pesticide-poisoned patients (140 patients) who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Khorshid Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, between January 2015 and 2019.

Applications of Innovation Technologies for Personalized Cancer Medicine: Stem Cells and Gene-Editing Tools.

Personalized medicine is a new approach toward safer and even cheaper treatments with minimal side effects and toxicity. Planning a therapy based on individual properties causes an effective result in a patient's treatment, especially in a complex disease such as cancer. The benefits of personalized medicine include not only early diagnosis with high accuracy but also a more appropriate and effective therapeutic approach based on the unique clinical, genetic, and epigenetic features and biomarker profiles of a specific patient's disease.

Could artificial intelligence revolutionize the development of nanovectors for gene therapy and mRNA vaccines?

Gene therapy enables the introduction of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA into host cells, and is expected to revolutionize the treatment of a wide range of diseases. This growth has been further accelerated by the discovery of CRISPR/Cas technology, which allows accurate genomic editing in a broad range of cells and organisms . Despite many advances in gene delivery and the development of various viral and non-viral gene delivery vectors, the lack of highly efficient non-viral systems with low cellular toxicity remains a challenge.

Saponin and fluorine-modified polycation as a versatile gene delivery system.

Despite the development of many novel carriers for the delivery of various types of genetic material, the lack of a delivery system with high efficiency and low cytotoxicity is a major bottleneck. Herein, low molecular weight polyethylenimine (PEI) was functionalized with saponin residues using phenylboronic acid (PBA) as an ATP-responsive cross-linker, and a fluorinated side chain to construct PEI-PBA-SAP-F polycation as a highly efficient delivery vector. This vehicle could transfect small plasmid DNA (∼3 kb) with outstanding efficiency into various cells, including HEK 293T, NIH3T3, A549, PC12, MCF7 and HT-29, as well as robust transfection of a large plasmid (∼9 kb) into HEK 293T cells.

Histidine-enhanced gene delivery systems: The state of the art.

Gene therapy has emerged as a promising tool for treating different intractable diseases, particularly cancer or even viral diseases such as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). In this context, various non-viral gene carriers are being explored to transfer DNA or RNA sequences into target cells. Here, we review the applications of the naturally occurring amino acid histidine in the delivery of nucleic acids into cells.

Smart Strategies for Precise Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 in Genome Editing.

The emergence of CRISPR/Cas technology has enabled scientists to precisely edit genomic DNA sequences. This approach can be used to modulate gene expression for the treatment of genetic disorders and incurable diseases such as cancer. This potent genome-editing tool is based on a single guide RNA (sgRNA) strand that recognizes the targeted DNA, plus a Cas nuclease protein for binding and processing the target.

Polyethylenimine-Functionalized Carbon Dots for Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 Complexes.

Carbon dots (CDs) have become the focus of many studies due to their outstanding optical properties and good biocompatibility. We investigated their potential application to produce a smart and highly efficient yet nontoxic nanovector for gene delivery. This was achieved by conjugating PEI-functionalized CDs (synthesized by one-step microwave-assisted pyrolysis) with arginine-disulfide linkers to produce CD-PEI-Arg nanoparticles.

Smart arginine-equipped polycationic nanoparticles for p/CRISPR delivery into cells.

An efficient and safe delivery system for the transfection of CRISPR plasmid (p/CRISPR) into target cells can open new avenues for the treatment of various diseases. Herein, we design a novel nonvehicle by integrating an arginine-disulfide linker with low-molecular-weight PEI (PEI) for the delivery of p/CRISPR. These PEI-Arg nanoparticles facilitate the plasmid release and improve both membrane permeability and nuclear localization, thereby exhibiting higher transfection efficiency compared to native PEIin the delivery of nanocomplexes composed of PEI-Arg and p/CRISPR into conventional cells (HEK 293T).

Anti-inflammatory ethosomal nanoformulation in combination with iontophoresis in chronic wound healing: An ex vivo study.

Prescription of anti-inflammatory drugs may be considered as a promising strategy in chronic wound healing where the inflammatory disturbance has delayed the healing process. It seems that hydrocortisone 17-butyrate (HB17) would be promising in the form of a nano-formulation to enhance drug delivery efficacy. In the present study, transdermal delivery of nano-HB17 in combination with iontophoresis was investigated ex vivo.

Synthesis and characterization of vitamin D-functionalized carbon dots for CRISPR/Cas9 delivery.

To develop a novel nanovector for the delivery of genetic fragments and CRISPR/Cas9 systems in particular. Vitamin D-functionalized carbon dots (D/CDs) fabricated using one-step microwave-aided methods were characterized by different microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay and flow cytometry were employed to determine the cell viability and transfection efficiency.

Highly Photoluminescent Nitrogen- and Zinc-Doped Carbon Dots for Efficient Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 and mRNA.

Safe and efficient delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 systems is still a challenge. Here we report the development of fluorescent nitrogen- and zinc-doped carbon dots (N-Zn-doped CDs) using one-step microwave-aided pyrolysis based on citric acid, branched PEI, and different zinc salts. These versatile nanovectors with a quantum yield of around 60% could not only transfect large CRISPR plasmids (∼9 kb) with higher efficiency (80%) compared to PEI and lipofectamine 2000 (Lipo 2K), but they also delivered mRNA into HEK 293T cells with the efficiency 20 times greater than and equal to that of PEI and Lipo 2K, respectively.

Nanotechnology against COVID-19: Immunization, diagnostic and therapeutic studies.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in early 2020 soon led to the global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since then, the clinical and scientific communities have been closely collaborating to develop effective strategies for controlling the ongoing pandemic. The game-changing fields of recent years, nanotechnology and nanomedicine have the potential to not only design new approaches, but also to improve existing methods for the fight against COVID-19.

The Relationship Between Antioxidants and Inflammation in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Introduction: Recent studies have identified Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as an inflammatory condition associated with immunological and oxidative responses. Therefore, it is necessary to examine these processes in these patients. The present study aimed at investigating the relationship between the dietary intake of antioxidants, Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity, and the serum levels of inflammatory factors in ADHD students.

Effect of cinnamon on migraine attacks and inflammatory markers: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Migraine is the most common type of primary headaches. Increased levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) and nitric oxide (NO) lead to inflammation and neurogenic pain. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.

The survey of quality of life, perceived stress, and its relationship with marital satisfaction in married women working at health centers.

Introduction: Employed women experience a wide range of stresses that will potentially impact on their quality of life, mental status, and marital satisfaction. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the above components in employed women.

Methods: The statistical population of this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was 124 married employed women of Khorramabad Health Center.

Dietary total antioxidant capacity and severity of stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Many studies suggest that dietary antioxidant can offer significant protection against stroke, heart failure, and coronary heart disease. However, there is no study that assessed the association between dietary TAC and severity of stenosis in patients with CVD.

Assessment of educational intervention in enhancing parenting self-efficacy in parents of primary school students.

Background And Aims: Parenting self-efficacy, which is one of the main determinants of effective and positive parental behavior, has been commonly defined as the parents' opinions and beliefs to develop their ability to affect their children in a way that raises their confidence development and adjustment. This study was performed to examine the effect of educational intervention on parenting self-efficacy in parents of primary school students.

Materials And Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 104 parents of primary school students in Khomeini Shahr city, Isfahan province of Iran, in 2017.

Life satisfaction, general self-efficacy, self-esteem, and communication skills in married women.

Introduction: Life satisfaction and its determinants in married women are essential for the development of proper preventive programs. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the communication skills, self-efficacy, and self-esteem with life satisfaction in married women.

Subjects And Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on married women who were selected by multistage random sampling, in Naien city health centers.

Photoluminescent functionalized carbon dots for CRISPR delivery: synthesis, optimization and cellular investigation.

Gene therapy using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat plasmids (pCRISPR) reduces mistakes in gene editing and prevents engendering integrational mutagenesis that has been seen in available genome engineering technologies. Developing an ideal and traceable nanocarrier, which can accurately and efficiently transfer this complex into the cytosol and which facilitates the journey towards the nucleus, is a fascinating area of research. Polyethylenimine (PEI) functionalized carbon dots (CD-PEI) were fabricated by one-step microwave assisted pyrolysis with an average size around 3 nm.

The relationship between media literacy and psychological well-being in adolescent girls in Semirom city.

Context: In recent years, the media have had very massive effects on individuals, especially children and adolescents. Hence, they should be able to use media rationally also be able to create digital, multimedia texts, and attain media literacy. Media literacy is a skill based on understanding and gives the audience the opportunity to use the media appropriately and critically.

A study of picture archiving and communication system adoption in one hospital: Applying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model.

Context: The advent of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) as medical image information system represent a major change of work pattern for radiologists and physicians and has proved to be a substantial challenge to the organization.

Aims: The study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the use of PACS through the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model.

Settings And Design: It was an applied and analytical study.