A heuristic evaluation of a pharmacy surveillance information system.

Introduction: The pharmacy surveillance information system (PSIS) is intended to manage the dispensing practice of under-controlled drugs and substances. We designed and developed a PSIS for the first time in a developing country. This study aimed to evaluate the usability of this system using a heuristic evaluation method before the pilot implementation in outpatient pharmacies.

Optical Image Sensors for Smart Analytical Chemiluminescence Biosensors.

Optical biosensors have emerged as a powerful tool in analytical biochemistry, offering high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of various biomolecules. This article explores the advancements in the integration of optical biosensors with microfluidic technologies, creating lab-on-a-chip (LOC) platforms that enable rapid, efficient, and miniaturized analysis at the point of need. These LOC platforms leverage optical phenomena such as chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence to achieve real-time detection and quantification of analytes, making them ideal for applications in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety.

A hierarchical deep learning approach for diagnosing impacted canine-induced root resorption via cone-beam computed tomography.

Objectives: Canine-induced root resorption (CIRR) is caused by impacted canines and CBCT images have shown to be more accurate in diagnosing CIRR than panoramic and periapical radiographs with the reported AUCs being 0.95, 0.49, and 0.

Optimization and miniaturization of SE-ECL for potential-resolved, multi-color, multi-analyte detection.

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a bioanalytical technique with numerous advantages, including the potential for high temporal and spatial resolution, a high signal-to-noise ratio, a broad dynamic range, and rapid measurement capabilities. To reduce the complexity of a multi-electrode approach, we use a single-electrode electrochemiluminescence (SE-ECL) configuration to achieve the simultaneous emission and detection of multiple colors for applications that require multiplexed detection of several analytes. This method exploits intrinsic differences in the electric potential applied along single electrodes built into electrochemical cells, enabling the achievement of distinct colors through selective excitation of ECL luminophores.

Exosomes biogenesis was increased in metformin-treated human ovary cancer cells; possibly to mediate resistance.

Background: Exosomes derived from tumor cells contribute to the pathogenesis of cancers. Metformin, the most usually used drug for type 2 diabetes, has been frequently investigated for anticancer effects. Here, we examined whether metformin affects exosomes signaling in human ovary cancer cells in vitro.

On-chip bioluminescence biosensor for the detection of microbial surface contamination.

Detection of microbial pathogens is important for food safety reasons, and for monitoring sanitation in laboratory environments and health care settings. Traditional detection methods such as culture-based and nucleic acid-based methods are time-consuming, laborious, and require expensive laboratory equipment. Recently, ATP-based bioluminescence methods were developed to assess surface contamination, with commercial products available.

Tumor immune escape: extracellular vesicles roles and therapeutics application.

Background: Immune escape, a process by which tumor cells evade immune surveillance, remains a challenge for cancer therapy. Tumor cells produce extracellular vesicles (EVs) that participate in immune escape by transferring bioactive molecules between cells. EVs refer to heterogeneous vesicles that participate in intercellular communication.

Mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes: novel carriers for nanoparticle to combat cancer.

Background: The advancement in novel cancer therapeutics brought a platform combining the properties of exosomes with nanoparticles to precision medicine. The novel therapeutic approach aim is cancer-targeted therapy. Exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs-Exo) exhibit unique properties in cancer therapies, which makes them an ideal tool for delivering therapeutic agents into tumor cells.

Identifying and prioritizing the key performance indicators for hospital management dashboard at a national level: Viewpoint of hospital managers.

Participation of main users in identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) for management dashboards contributes to their success. The aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the KPIs of hospital management dashboards from the viewpoint of hospital managers. This study was conducted on managers of public hospitals at a national level in Iran in 2020.

Artificial Intelligence for Detection of External Cervical Resorption Using Label-Efficient Self-Supervised Learning Method.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to leverage label-efficient self-supervised learning (SSL) to train a model that can detect ECR and differentiate it from caries.

Methods: Periapical (PA) radiographs of teeth with ECR defects were collected. Two board-certified endodontists reviewed PA radiographs and cone beam computed tomographic (CBCT) images independently to determine presence of ECR (ground truth).

Tumor cells-derived exosomal noncoding RNAs in cancer angiogenesis: Molecular mechanisms and prospective.

Exosomes, heterogeneous, membrane-bound nanoparticles that originated from eukaryotic cells, contribute to intracellular communication by transferring various biomolecules both on their surface and as internal cargo. One of the most significant current discussions on cancer progression is noncoding RNAs cargo of exosomes, which can regulate angiogenesis in tumor. A growing body of evidence shows that exosomes from tumor cells contain various microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and circular RNAs that can promote tumor progression by inducing angiogenesis.

The hydroalcoholic extract of Nasturtium officinale reduces oxidative stress markers and increases total antioxidant capacity in patients with asthma.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Asthma is a common chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the airways. One of the most devastating consequences of this inflammatory process is the production of reactive oxygen species responsible for oxidative stress. Nasturtium officinale commonly known as watercress has traditionally been applied in Iranian folk medicine to treat respiratory disorders and diseases mainly bronchitis and asthma.

Structural parameters of nanoparticles affecting their toxicity for biomedical applications: a review.

Rapidly growing interest in using nanoparticles (NPs) for biomedical applications has increased concerns about their safety and toxicity. In comparison with bulk materials, NPs are more chemically active and toxic due to the greater surface area and small size. Understanding the NPs' mechanism of toxicity, together with the factors influencing their behavior in biological environments, can help researchers to design NPs with reduced side effects and improved performance.

Empagliflozin Exhibits Hepatoprotective Effects Against Bile Duct Ligation-induced Liver Injury in Rats: A Combined Molecular Docking Approach to In Vivo Studies.

Background: Cholestatic liver damage is a chronic disease caused by dysfunction of the hepaticbiliary system. Oxidative stress and inflammation are essential factors in the pathogenesis of cholestasis. Thus, the current study was designed to examine the effect of empagliflozin on bile duct ligation-induced liver damage in rats.

mTOR-Mediated Regulation of Immune Responses in Cancer and Tumor Microenvironment.

The mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a downstream mediator in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathways, which plays a pivotal role in regulating numerous cellular functions including cell growth, proliferation, survival, and metabolism by integrating a variety of extracellular and intracellular signals in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Dysregulation of the mTOR pathway is frequently reported in many types of human tumors, and targeting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway has been considered an attractive potential therapeutic target in cancer. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling transduction pathway is important not only in the development and progression of cancers but also for its critical regulatory role in the tumor microenvironment.

SE-ECL on CMOS: a miniaturized electrochemiluminescence biosensor.

Biosensors exhibit high potential for the detection of analytes of interest at the point-of-need. Over the past two decades, the combination of novel biosensing systems - such as electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensors - and advances in microfluidic techniques has allowed the development of lab-on-a-chip devices with enhanced overall performance and simplified sample handling. However, recording data with conventional platforms requires advanced and complicated instruments, such as sensitive photodetectors coupled to microscopes, to capture the photons from the chemiluminescent reaction.

Management of pleural empyema in a 12-year-old obese patient with COVID-19: a pediatric case report.

Background: With the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, along with the development of new mutations of the virus and an increase in the number of cases among pediatrics, physicians should be aware and alerted on the atypical presentations of the disease, especially in less expected individuals.

Case Presentation: Here we present a 12-year-old obese boy (BMI = 37.5 kg/m) who presented with empyema, which was following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Copy Number Changes and Allele Distribution Patterns of Chromosome 21 in B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Chromosome 21 is the most affected chromosome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Many of its numerical and structural abnormalities define diagnostically and clinically important subgroups. To obtain an overview about their types and their approximate genetic subgroup-specific incidence and distribution, we performed cytogenetic, FISH and array analyses in a total of 578 ALL patients (including 26 with a constitutional trisomy 21).

Confidentiality of Information Stored on the Desktop of Computers in a Psychiatric Hospital: Before and After an Intervention.

The aim of this before-after study was to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention on the confidentiality status of unprotected information stored on computer desktop in a psychiatric hospital. All switched-on computer systems were inspected in 2017-2018 at the baseline and 7 months after placing an educational poster. The log-in conditions and files stored on the desktop were reviewed using a researcher-made checklist; moreover, users answered questions about the possible mechanism of deleting information stored on the desktop.

Iron oxide and gold bimetallic radiosensitizers for synchronous tumor chemoradiation therapy in 4T1 breast cancer murine model.

The development of highly integrated multifunctional nanomaterials with a superadditive therapeutic effect and good safety is an urgent but challenging task in cancer therapy research. The present study aims to design a nanoplatform that offers the opportunity to enhance antitumor activity while minimizing side effects. Given the Au-mediated X-ray radiation enhancement and the ability of Fe-based nanomaterials to create reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage, we anticipated that bimetallic Fe3O4-Au heterodimer would bring strong radiosensitizing capacity.

Protective and therapeutic effects of ethanolic extract of (watercress) and vitamin E against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Background And Purpose: Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic disease of the lungs caused by inflammation, species of reactive oxygen, and immune defects. Antioxidant properties of has been reported in some studies. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of ethanolic extract of (EENO) on bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis in rats.

Evaluating physicians' perspectives on the efficiency and effectiveness of the electronic prescribing system.

Background: The implementation of the electronic prescribing system follows certain objectives, and users' perspectives can contribute to understanding the efficiency and effectiveness of this system. This study aimed to evaluate physicians' perspectives on the efficiency and effectiveness of the electronic prescribing system.

Methods: This study was conducted on all physicians using the electronic prescribing system in clinics and hospitals affiliated with the treatment deputy of the Social Security Organization (SSO) in Sistan and Baluchistan Province in Iran.

Antibiotic prescribing in inpatient and outpatient settings in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis study.

Background: Antibiotic prescribing is common worldwide. There are several original studies about antibiotic prescribing in the healthcare setting of Iran reporting different levels of prescribing. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the prevalence of antibiotic prescribing in both inpatient and outpatient settings in Iran, an example of a developing country.