An insight into the potentials of carbon dots for in vitro live-cell imaging: recent progress, challenges, and prospects.

Carbon dots (CDs) are a strong alternative to conventional fluorescent probes for cell imaging due to their brightness, photostability, tunable fluorescence emission, low toxicity, inexpensive preparation, and chemical diversity. Improving the targeting efficiency by modulation of the surface functional groups and understanding the mechanisms of targeted imaging are the most challenging issues in cell imaging by CDs. Firstly, we briefly discuss important features of fluorescent CDs for live-cell imaging application in this review.

Vitamin E and selenium improve mesenchymal stem cell conditioned media immunomodulatory effects.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with immunoregulatory properties affect immune systems. Many studies showed that antioxidants such as vitamin E (Vit E) and selenium (Se) could improve stem cells survival. This study aims to investigate the effects of MSC conditioned media (CM) treated with Vit E and Se on immune cells.

The role of hypervalent iodine(iii) reagents in promoting alkoxylation of unactivated C(sp)-H bonds catalyzed by palladium(ii) complexes.

Although Pd(OAc)-catalysed alkoxylation of the C(sp)-H bonds mediated by hypervalent iodine(iii) reagents (ArIX) has been developed by several prominent researchers, there is no clear mechanism yet for such crucial transformations. In this study, we shed light on this important issue with the aid of the density functional theory (DFT) calculations for alkoxylation of butyramide derivatives. We found that the previously proposed mechanism in the literature is not consistent with the experimental observations and thus cannot be operating.

Investigation of Structural, Treatment, and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Along with the Challenges Caused by its Prevalence.

In late 2019, a report from China was published stating a disease with an unknown cause. After that, the outbreak of the COVID-19 caused a pandemic in the world. On March 11, 2020, the outbreak of this virus was reported in 100 countries.

Vulnerability mapping and risk analysis of sand and dust storms in Ahvaz, IRAN.

In this work, a sand and dust storm vulnerability mapping (SDS-VM) approach is developed to model the vulnerability of urban blocks to SDS using GIS spatial analysis and a range of geographical data. The SDS-VM was carried out in Ahvaz, IRAN, representing one of the most dust-polluted cities in West Asia. Here, vulnerability is defined as a function of three components: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the people in the city blocks to sand and dust storms.

Age, Period and Cohort Analysis of Smoking Prevalence in Iranian Population over a 25-Year Period.

Background: Current and daily smoking prevalence rates have been have investigated in several cross-sectional studies. However, analyses in terms of age-period-cohort (APC) have not been carried out. We assessed daily smoking dynamics over a 25-year period using the APC model.

Comparison of three sperm selection methods for ICSI-DGC, Cumulus column, and incubation with supernatant product of adipose tissue-derived adult stem cells: An experimental study.

Background: The examination of sperm parameters and sperm DNA integrity are necessary for male fertility expression. These parameters can be affected by method of sperm separation.

Objective: To measure the damage of each sperm separation method on the sperm parameters and sperm DNA integrity.

Association of Preoperative Hemoglobin A1c with In-hospital Mortality Following Valvular Heart Surgery.

Objective: To determine the association between the preoperative level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and in-hospital mortality in patients who underwent valvular heart surgery in our center in a retrospective cohort.

Methods: In this retrospective consecutive cohort study, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were referred to our center for elective valvular surgery were enrolled and followed up. The endpoint of this study was in-hospital mortality.

Chlorambucil-Chitosan Nano-Conjugate: An Efficient Agent Against Breast Cancer Targeted Therapy.

Background: Discovering new chemotherapy drugs and techniques with the least side effects is one of the most important and challenging issues in recent years worldwide. Chlorambucil is an anticancer drug that is still commonly used as a primary treatment in treating some cancers, but it can cause side effects.

Objective: In this study, we decided to use chitosan as a carrier to enhance the uptake of chlorambucil and reduce the toxicity of this drug.

Understanding epidemic data and statistics: A case study of COVID-19.

The 2019 novel-coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected 181 countries with approximately 1197405 confirmed cases (by 5th April). Understanding the transmission dynamics of the infection in each country which got affected on a daily basis and evaluating the effectiveness of control policies are critical for our further actions. To date, the statistics of COVID-19 reported cases show that more than 80% of infected are mild cases of disease, around 14% of infected have severe complications, and about 5% are categorized as critical disease victims.

A Novel Approach for a Sustainability Evaluation of Developing System Interchange: The Case Study of the Sheikhfazolah-Yadegar Interchange, Tehran, Iran.

To resolve environmental and social problems and traffic congestion, a sustainability evaluation of transportation infrastructure should be done for current and proposed situations. The aim of the present investigation is to evaluate the sustainability of infrastructure project on system interchange and assess their results with respect to sustainable development indicators. Based on interviews with experts, intensive observation, and development infrastructure related to the case study, six proposed scenarios are proposed to improve traffic condition of the Sheikhfazolah-Yadegar interchange in Tehran.

Chitosan grafted onto FeO@poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) as a new sorbent for detecting Imatinib mesylate in biosamples using UPLC-MS/MS.

FeO nanoparticles with chitosan grafted onto poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) copolymers are synthesized and showed dual sensitivity to temperature and pH. The nanoparticles were characterized by different techniques and two aspects of their applications were evaluated using Imatinib mesylate drug as a model. The first studied application of these nanoparticles was the extraction and pre-concentration of Imatinib mesylate from biological samples.

Polyvinyl alcohol/soy protein isolate nanofibrous patch for wound-healing applications.

Soy protein isolate (SPI), due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, abundance and being inexpensive, is a suitable polymer for medical applications. In this study, electrospun nanofibrous mats (ENMs) and casting films (CFs), comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/SPI, were prepared and compared. Both crosslinked ENMs and CFs physical, chemical, mechanical, and biological properties were investigated for wound-healing applications.

Forecasting interest rate volatility of the United Kingdom: evidence from over 150 years of data.

This study examines the very short, short, medium and long-term forecasting ability of different univariate GARCH models of United Kingdom (UK)'s interest rate volatility, using a long span monthly data from May 1836 to June 2018. The main results show the relevance of considering alternative error distributions to the normal distribution when estimating GARCH-type models. Thus, we obtain that the Asymmetric Power ARCH (A-PARCH) models with skew generalized error distribution are the most accurate models when forecasting UK interest rates, while for the short, medium and long-term term forecasting horizons, GARCH models with generalized error distribution for the error term are the most accurate models in forecasting UK's interest rates.

Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Based on Solidification of Floating Organic Drop with Central Composite Design for the Spectrofluorometric Determination of Naproxen.

A quick, simple and efficient method for extraction, preconcentration, and determination of naproxen in water and plasma specimens with acceptable recovery by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidified floating organic drop with spectrofluorimetry is presented. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency are optimized by the Central Composite Design. Moreover, under optimal conditions (120 μL 1-Undecanol with 1 mL Ethanol, pH = 3.

Carbon Dots Green Synthesis for Ultra-Trace Determination of Ceftriaxone Using Response Surface Methodology.

The present study sought to develop a facile and green synthetic approach for producing fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) from a natural biomass using aqueous extraction of carbonized blue crab shell. Spherical carbon dots (6.00 ± 3.

The combination of swimming and curcumin consumption may improve spatial memory recovery after binge ethanol drinking.

Helping the return of people with social disorders, including ethanol consumption, are important research topics in the field of biological sciences, and there are many uncertainties about the efficacy of drug interventions and exercise training. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects short-term combination of curcumin and swimming on the improvement of spatial memory. Male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were randomly assigned into ethanol or dextrose groups.

Host genetic factors and clinical parameters influencing the occult hepatitis C virus infection in patients on chronic hemodialysis: Is it still a controversial infection?

Aim: The presence of occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OCI) is still controversial, however, this infection cannot be ignored. Therefore, the current study aimed at assessing the OCI frequency in patients on chronic hemodialysis (CHD) and also evaluating the association between OCI incidence with clinical parameters and interferon lambda 3/4 (IFNL3/4) gene polymorphisms.

Methods: A total of 515 patients on CHD and HCV negative markers were selected.

Immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes on experimental type-1 autoimmune diabetes.

Exosomes derived from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) have immunomodulatory effects of T-cell inflammatory response and reduction of clinical symptoms on streptozotocin-induced of the type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Beside control group and untreated T1DM mice, a group of T1DM mice was treated with intraperitoneal injections of characterized exosomes derived from autologous AD-MSCs. Body weight and blood glucose levels were measured during the procedure.

Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Novel Sorbent for Dispersive Magnetic Solid-Phase Extraction of Triazine Herbicides in Aqueous Media.

In this study, a polythiophene/chitosan polymer and electrospinning polymer nanofibers as modifier compounds were used, and magnetic nanocomposites as a novel adsorbent were proposed, for the preconcentration of some triazines, including atrazine, ametryn, and terbutryn, in aqueous samples before GC. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic polymer nanofibers, and polythiophene magnetic nanocomposite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The separation of the target analytes from the aqueous solution containing the triazines and different magnetic nanocomposites were simply achieved by applying an external magnetic field.

Electrospun decyl-3-methylimidazolium mono bromate/polyamide nanofibers as solid-phase microextraction coating.

In the current study, electrospun-based ionic liquid (IL) doped polyamide (PA) nanofibers were prepared and used as the coating material of solid phase microextration device in the fiber geometry. Addition of IL, decyl-3-methylimidazolium mono bromate, increased the conductivity of the PA solution facilitating the electrospining process. The scanning electron microscopy images of decyl-3-methylimidazolium mono bromated/polyamide nanofibers showed the decreased diameter of the nanofibers in the range of 35-160nm compared to the PA nanofiber.

Composite Magnetic Nanoparticles (CuFe₂O₄) as a New Microsorbent for Extraction of Rhodamine B from Water Samples.

In this work, novel composite magnetic nanoparticles (CuFe2O4) were synthesized based on sol-gel combustion in the laboratory. Next, a simple production method was optimized for the preparation of the copper nanoferrites (CuFe2O4), which are stable in water, magnetically active, and have a high specific area used as sorbent material for organic dye extraction in water solution. CuFe2O4 nanopowders were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

The Effect of Licorice Protein Fractions on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Gastrointestinal Cancer Cell Lines.

Background: Several methods for the treatment of colon cancer have been introduced, but none of them are safe and effective. We planned to evaluate the inhibitory effect of protein extract of licorice root on HT-29 and CT26 cell lines proliferation and apoptosis.

Methods: Protein extract of licorice root was prepared in phosphate-buffered solution, and SDS-PAGE was used to isolate its fractions.

Identification of the immunogenic epitopes of the whole venom component of the Hemiscorpius lepturus scorpion using the phage display peptide library.

The venom of the Hemiscorpius lepturus scorpion contains mixtures of bioactive compounds that disturb biochemical and physiological functions of the victims. Hemiscorpius lepturus envenomation is recognized as a serious health concern in tropical regions. So far, there is no preventive procedure, and the main focus is on treatment of victims with an antiserum purified from hyper-immunized horses.