Combination of chemotherapy and c-MET inhibitors has synergistic effects in c-MET overexpressing pancreatic cancer cells.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains as one of the most lethal malignancies. c-MET is an important oncogenic kinase involved in PDAC progression. We determined the anticancer effect of c-MET inhibitors, crizotinib and cabozantinib, combined with chemotherapeutic agents, doxorubicin, oxaliplatin and gemcitabine, against different PDAC and a lung adenocarcinoma cell line expressing different levels of c-MET.

Prevalence of death anxiety and its related factors in the population of eastern Iran: a cross-sectional study in the era of COVID-19.

Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered widespread anxiety, including a significant rise in death anxiety. If unaddressed, death anxiety can lead to numerous mental and physical health issues. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of death anxiety and its associated factors in the population of eastern Iran.

Radiofrequency Enhancer to Recover Signal Dropouts in 7 Tesla Diffusion MRI.

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) allows for a non-invasive visualization and quantitative assessment of white matter architecture in the brain by characterizing restrictions on the random motion of water molecules. Ultra-high field MRI scanners, such as those operating at 7 Tesla (7T) or higher, can boost the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to improve dMRI compared with what is attainable at conventional field strengths such as 3T or 1.5T.

The role of hemoglobin A1c as a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after percutaneous coronary intervention: a case-cohort study.

Background: Few studies have investigated the potential predictive value of glycosylated hemoglobin A (HbA1c) and clinical outcomes in diabetic patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and the results of the reports have often been inconclusive and contradictory. We have organized a study to investigate the relationship between HbA1c and the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in diabetic patients after PCI.

Methods: This case-cohort study was conducted on 563 diabetic patients who underwent PCI.

Characterizing brain mechanics through 7 tesla magnetic resonance elastography.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive method for determining the mechanical response of tissues using applied harmonic deformation and motion-sensitive MRI. MRE studies of the human brain are typically performed at conventional field strengths, with a few attempts at the ultra-high field strength, 7T, reporting increased spatial resolution with partial brain coverage. Achieving high-resolution human brain scans using 7T MRE presents unique challenges of decreased octahedral shear strain-based signal-to-noise ratio (OSS-SNR) and lower shear wave motion sensitivity.

The potent osteo-inductive capacity of bioinspired brown seaweed-derived carbohydrate nanofibrous three-dimensional scaffolds.

This study aimed to investigate the osteo-inductive capacity of a fucoidan polysaccharide network derived from brown algae on human adipose-derived stem cells (HA-MSCs) for bone regeneration. The physiochemical properties of the scaffold including surface morphology, surface chemistry, hydrophilicity, mechanical stiffness, and porosity were thoroughly characterized. Both in vitro and in vivo measurements implied a superior cell viability, proliferation, adhesion, and osteo-inductive performance of obtained scaffolds compared to using specific osteogenic induction medium with increased irregular growth of calcium crystallites, which mimic the structure of natural bones.

Early Impact of Bevacizumab on the 99m Tc-HYNIC-PSMA-11 Uptake in a Case of Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly vascularized tumor with reported high prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression. On the other hand, bevacizumab as an antiangiogenesis drug is increasingly used in the treatment of GBM recurrence. We present a case of GBM recurrence with significant reduction of 99m Tc-HYNIC-PSMA-11 uptake in her tumor 1 week after administration of 2 doses of bevacizumab with 2 weeks' interval.

Development of a Recombinant Protein-Based Immunoassay for Detection of Antibodies Against Karolinska Institute and Washington University Polyomaviruses.

To develop polyomavirus VP1 recombinant protein-based immunoassay, the expression of two polyomavirus (Karolinska Institute Polyomavirus; KIPyV, and Washington University Polyomavirus; WUPyV) VP1s in insect cells was investigated using an improved baculovirus system (BacMagic). The reliability of the purified VP1 to serve as antigens in serological tests was confirmed by the establishment of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Two panels of serum samples were used, with Panel I comprising 60 sera (20 KIPyV-positive, 20 WUPyV-positive, and 20 negative) and Panel II consisting of 134 sera with unknown status.

Device modeling of high performance and eco-friendly based perovskite solar cell.

Developing environmentally friendly and highly efficient inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) encounters significant challenges, specifically the potential toxicity and degradation of thin films in hybrid organic-inorganic photovoltaics (PV). We employed theoretical design strategies that produce hysteresis-reduced, efficient, and stable PSCs based on composition and interface engineering. The devices include a mixed-organic-cation perovskite formamidinium methylammonium tin iodide ( ) as an absorber layer and zinc oxide (ZnO) together with a passivation film phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester ( ) as a double-electron transport layer (DETL).

Investigation of Neuropsychological Dysfunction Among Recovered Nurses: The COVID-19.

Objective: This investigation aimed to compare the neuropsychological dysfunctions of coronavirus (COVID-19)-recovered nurses to those of healthy nurses.

Methodology: The present research method was descriptive and causal-comparative, in which the statistical population consisted of nurses with a history of COVID disease and working in the COVID department of public hospitals in Isfahan city. The available method selected 30 nurses with a history of illness and compared them with 30 other nurses from the same hospitals.

Protective Effects of the Aqueous Extract of Plant against the Lethality and Histopathological Damage in Experimental Envenoming of Venom in Balb/c Mice.

Introduction: envenomation is a serious health problem in the southern provinces of Iran. The antiserum produced in Iran to counteract this scorpion venom is not entirely effective due to the risk of anaphylactic shock and other adverse effects.

Methods: Therefore, more efficient alternatives to treat patients deserve attention, and plants are extensively good candidates to be studied.

The Accuracy of the S100B Protein Biomarker in the Prognosis of Patients with Acute Spinal Cord Injury.

 The role of some biomarkers such as S100 beta (S100B) has been somewhat known in determining the severity of primary acute spinal cord injury (SCI), and today, it has been the basis of various relevant studies. Therefore, this study estimates the S100B level in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with spinal injuries.  This was a descriptive-analytic study.

Atom-resolved imaging with a silicon tip integrated into an on-chip scanning tunneling microscope.

Limited throughput is a shortcoming of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), particularly when used for atomically precise lithography. To address this issue, we have developed an on-chip STM based on Microelectromechanical-Systems (MEMS) technology. The device reported here has one degree of freedom, replacing the Z axis in a conventional STM.

Tumor-Induced Parkinsonism Due to a Large Meningioma Diagnosed by 99m Tc-TRODAT-1 SPECT/CT.

A 67-year-old woman complained of rest and postural tremors in her left upper extremity, associated with bradykinesia and gait disorder since 2 years ago, with no significant response to antiparkinsonism drugs. Dopamine transporter SPECT/CT revealed a remarkable area of 99m Tc-TRODAT-1 uptake in a huge tumoral lesion in the right frontotemporal region, compressing and dislocating the right striatum with evidence of significant midline shift. The patient underwent surgical resection with a diagnosis of meningioma on preoperative MRI and postoperative histology report, experiencing a marked recovery in symptoms after 1 month.

Evaluating the factors affecting clinical outcomes in critically ill COVID-19 unvaccinated patients admitted to the intensive care unit in a lower-middle-income country.

Background: COVID-19, the most destructive pandemic of this century, caused the highest mortality rate among ICU patients. The evaluation of these patients is insufficient in lower-middle-income countries with limited resources during pandemics. As a result, our primary goal was to examine the characteristics of patients at baseline as well as their survival outcomes, and propose mortality predictors for identifying and managing the most vulnerable patients more effectively and quickly.

Efficient three-dimensional (3D) human bone differentiation on quercetin-functionalized isotropic nano-architecture chitinous patterns of cockroach wings.

Developing cost-effective, biocompatible scaffolds with nano-structured surface that truthfully replicate the physico-(bio)chemical and structural properties of bone tissue's extracellular matrix (ECM) is still challenging. In this regard, surface functionalization of natural scaffolds to enhance capability of mimicking 3D niches of the bone tissue has been suggested as a solution. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the potential of chitin-based cockroach wings (CW) as a natural scaffold for bone tissue engineering.

Prevalence of Thromboembolic Events, Including Venous Thromboembolism and Arterial Thrombosis, in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Background: Many studies have evaluated thromboembolic events in COVID-19 patients, and most of them have reported a high estimation of the prevalence of such events. The present study sought to evaluate the prevalence of thromboembolic events in patients with COVID-19.

Methods: This study is a systematic review with meta-analysis that investigated thromboembolic events in patients with COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic to August 31, 2021.

The frequency of IgG anti-varicella and anti-rubella antibodies in female students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

Background: As infection with rubella and varicella-zoster viruses (VZV) can lead to congenital syndrome and its dangerous complications, assessing immunity to these congenital infections can represent the biological risk assessment related to their exposure in high-risk groups. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the frequency of IgG anti-varicella/rubella antibodies (Abs) in female students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Iran.

Patients And Methods: In this study, a total of 434 female students were included.

Time Series Modeling and Forecasting of Drug-Related Deaths in Iran (2014-2016).

Background: Investigating the temporal variations and forecasting the trends in drug-related deaths can help prevent health problems and develop intervention programs. The recent policy in Iran is strongly focused on deterring drug use and replacing illicit drugs with legal ones. This study aimed to investigate drug-related deaths in Iran in 2014-2016 and forecast the death toll by 2019.

Evaluation of the separate and combined effects of anodal tDCS over the M1 and F3 regions on pain relief in patients with type-2 diabetes suffering from neuropathic pain.

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is a common complication of chronic diabetes that negatively affects the routine functioning and sleep of patients. The present study aimed to investigate the separate and combined effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) regions on pain relief in patients with type-2 diabetes suffering from NP.

Methods: The statistical population of this double-blind randomized clinical trial consisted of all the members of the Bonab Diabetes Association in 2022 aged 45 to 65 years who were diagnosed with NP by a specialist.