Enhancing oocyte competence in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome: A microfluidic study on the effects of follicular fluid meiosis-activating sterol in in vitro oocyte maturation.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a microfluidic culture system supplemented with follicular fluid meiosis-activating sterol (FF-MAS) on the maturation of immature oocytes in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: A total of 438 germinal vesicle oocytes from 163 PCOS patients were included. Oocytes were divided into five groups: (1) cultured in static drops without FF-MAS, (2) cultured in static drops with FF-MAS, (3) cultured in a microfluidic device without FF-MAS, (4) cultured in a microfluidic device with FF-MAS for the first 2 h, and (5) cultured in a microfluidic device with FF-MAS for 24 h.

The impact of an open-label design on human amniotic membranes vs. silver sulfadiazine dressings for second-degree burns: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Burn wounds require optimal medical management due to associated psycho-emotional and socioeconomic impacts and severe pain. The use of synthetic and biological dressings improves healing and reduces burn wound complications. The present study aimed to compare the outcomes of using human amniotic membrane (hAM) dressings and conventional silver sulfadiazine (SSDZ) ointment dressings in the management of second-degree burn wounds.

The relationship between serum vitamin D, testosterone, and oxidative stress levels in women with sexual dysfunction: A case-controlled study.

Objective: Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is highly prevalent and can result from hypovitaminosis D. Besides the role of vitamin D in normal bone development, studies showed it could reduce oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. This prospective study aims to evaluate the relationship between serum vitamin D, testosterone, and oxidative stress levels in women with FSD.

Assessment of Biomolecule Reactivity with Leachables.

Leachables in pharmaceutical products may react with biomolecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), for example, monoclonal antibodies (mAb), peptides, and ribonucleic acids (RNA), potentially compromising product safety and efficacy or impacting quality attributes. This investigation explored a series of models to screen extractables and leachables to assess their possible reactivity with biomolecules. These models were applied to collections of known leachables to identify functional and structural chemical classes likely to be flagged by these approaches.

On the role of surface morphology in impacting-freezing dynamics of supercooled droplets.

A thorough understanding of droplet impact and freezing is vital in preventing ice accretion on many outdoor devices. This simulation-based study investigated the effect of surface morphology on the impacting-freezing process of a supercooled droplet. Also, the variations of Weber number and supercooling temperature were studied numerically.

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.

High prevalence of OXA-48-like and NDM carbapenemases among carbapenem resistant of clinical origin from Iran.

Background And Objectives: is increasingly developing resistance to last-resort antibiotics such as carbapenems. This study aimed to investigate the dissemination of common carbapenemase encoding genes among 48 clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant (CRKP).

Materials And Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by broth dilution and disc diffusion methods.

Simulation and optimization of the impacts of metal-organic frameworks on the hydrogen adsorption using computational fluid dynamics and artificial neural networks.

One of the barriers to further commercialization of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is hydrogen storage. Conventional methods are based on pressurizing the hydrogen up to 700 bar. The focus of this study is to characterize the hydrogen storage capacity of hydrogen tanks filled with MOF-5 at low pressures.

The Potential of Cannabidiol for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in COVID-19.

COVID-19 disease manifests itself in a wide range of signs and symptoms, beginning with mild symptoms, such as fever, cough, and dyspnea, progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death in some cases. The cytokine storm, or an excess of cytokines released locally, is assumed to be the primary cause of ARDS and mortality in COVID-19 patients. To enhance the survival rate of COVID-19 patients, early management of the cytokine storm with immunomodulators is crucial.

Efficacy of Oral Mucoadhesive N-Acetylcysteine Tablets in Treatment of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of oral mucoadhesive N-acetylcysteine (NAC) tablets for treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Forty-nine patients with RAS were randomized to receive mucoadhesive NAC tablets (n=25) or placebo (n=24). Tablets were prescribed three times a day for 7 days in each group.

N-acetylcysteine as adjuvant therapy for hospitalized Covid-19 patients: A single-center prospective cohort study.

Background: Whilst over two years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic's emergence, the proper management of the disease remains challenging. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as a potentially effective therapeutic option has been suggested by studies, while the exact clinical role of this agent is yet to be evaluated.

Methods: This prospective case-control study was conducted in a major referral respiratory center in Tehran, Iran.

Comparative evaluation of the therapeutic strategies using a minimal model of luminal-A breast cancer.

Cellular behavior is heavily influenced by cellular interactions, which are often lost in conventional cell culture methods. As a result, in vitro cellular behavior may not accurately reflect in vivo conditions. Three-dimensional (3D) culture, on the other hand, is better suited for studying cellular behavior as it allows for more comprehensive cell communication.

Physical Inactivity, Inequalities, and Disparities Across Districts of Iran: A STEPs Survey-Based Analysis.

Background: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of physical inactivity in all districts of Iran and the disparities between subgroups defined by various measures.

Methods: Small area estimation method was employed to estimate the prevalence of physical inactivity in districts based on the remaining districts in which data on the level of physical inactivity were available. Various comparisons on the estimations were done based on socioeconomic, sex, and geographical stratifications to determine the disparities of physical inactivity among districts of Iran.

Global and regional quality of care index for prostate cancer: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study 1990-2019.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, with a significant burden on societies and healthcare providers. We aimed to develop a metric for PCa quality of care that could demonstrate the disease's status in different countries and regions (e.g.

12-Month clinical and radiographic outcomes of ViBone viable bone matrix in patients undergoing cervical and lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

Background: To investigate the clinical safety and efficacy of ViBone Viable Bone Matrix (VBM), a next generation cellular bone matrix allograft that comprises all three essential bone-forming components: osteogenic, osteoinductive, and osteoconductive factors, and is optimized to enhance cell viability and bone formation.

Methods: This was a multi-center, prospective, post-market study evaluating the safety and efficacy of ViBone VBM in patients undergoing 1-3 level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion or lumbar interbody fusion surgery. Patients were evaluated at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up clinically and radiographically.

Lightweight similarity checking for English literatures in mobile edge computing.

With the advent of information age, mobile devices have become one of the major convenient equipment that aids people's daily office activities such as academic research, one of whose major tasks is to check the repetition rate or similarity among different English literatures. Traditional literature similarity checking solutions in cloud paradigm often call for intensive computational cost and long waiting time. To tackle this issue, in this paper, we modify the traditional literature similarity checking solution in cloud paradigm to make it suitable for the light-weight mobile edge environment.

Efficacy of Valproic Acid Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection or Severity: A Pilot Study.

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether taking valproic acid (VPA) was protective against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection or severity in patients with epilepsy.

Methods: This was a questionnaire study of 150 people who were taking VPA in monotherapy or polytherapy (since the start of the pandemic or longer) and also 150 people who were not taking VPA (since the start of the pandemic), registered in our epilepsy database. The data compared rates of the seropositivity and severity of infection of COVID-19 between the 2 groups.

Regional burden of chronic kidney disease in North Africa and Middle East during 1990-2019; Results from Global Burden of Disease study 2019.

Objectives: Updating burden data of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases is essential for proper provision of healthcare by policymakers. We aimed to estimate the burden of CKD and its attributed burden in North Africa and Middle East region (NAME) during 1990-2019.

Methods: The CKD-related Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 estimates were extracted from Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) website.

Cancer patients and targeted therapy during COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive case series study.

To evaluate the effectiveness of targeted therapy on preventing or treating COVID-19, in this study, we want to share our experience about 14 patients (nine women, five men; average age, 59 years) who were treated with targeted therapy due to their underlying malignant disorders in our center.

Privacy-aware and Efficient Student Clustering for Sport Training with Hash in Cloud Environment.

With the wide adoption of health and sport concepts in human society, how to effectively analyze the personalized sports preferences of students based on past sports training records has become a crucial and emergent task with positive research significance. However, the past sports training records of students are often accumulated with time and stored in a central cloud platform and therefore, the data volume is too large to be processed with quick response. In addition, the past sports training records of students often contain certain sensitive information, which probably discloses partial user privacy if we cannot protect the data well.

Genomic features of in vitro selected mutants of Escherichia coli with decreased susceptibility to tigecycline.

Objectives: The increase in multidrug-resistant bacteria has reached an alarming rate globally, making it necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms mediating resistance in order to discover new therapeutics. Tigecycline (TGC) is a last-resort antimicrobial agent for the treatment of serious infections caused by extensively drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Methods: The TGC-resistant Escherichia coli mutants were obtained by exposing three different TGC-susceptible isolates belonging to ST131 (n = 2) and ST405 (n = 1) to increasing concentrations of TGC.

Protective effect of a nanofilled resin-based coating on wear resistance of glass ionomer cement restorative materials.

Background: The effect of nanofilled resin-based coating on the wear resistance of glass ionomer cements (GICs) is still controversial. This study aims to compare the wear resistance of four encapsulated GICs including two conventional and two resin-modified, and to evaluate the effect of G-Coat Plus on the wear resistance of GICs.

Methods: A total of 80 disk-shaped specimens were prepared from two CGICs (riva self cure (SDI) and Equia Forte Fil (GC) and two RM- GICs (Ketac Nano (3 M/ESPE) and Fuji II LC (GC).