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In this study, the photocatalytic removal of Reactive Red 120 (RR120) dye was examined using zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce under UV irradiation. The synthesis of Zn-Ce nanoparticles incorporated with zeolite 13X was conducted through the co-precipitation method, and the features of the prepared nanocatalyst were analyzed using various techniques. The SEM and BET analyses indicated successful incorporation of ZnO-Ce oxides on the surface of zeolite 13X and a specific surface area of 359.39 m 2 /gm, respectively. Further, the average size of crystal grains was 28 nm. The response surface methodology (RSM) approach was employed to optimize operating parameters. The quadratic model suggested by the RSM approach, characterized by a high regression coefficient (R 2  = 0.9632), indicates a high level of reliability. Moreover, under optimal conditions (catalyst loading of 4 mg, pH of 3, H 2 O 2 amount of 0.2 mL, UV power of 25 W, and reaction time of 60 min), the highest RR120 dye removal percentage was 99.97%. Kinetic data indicated an increase in the reaction rate constant from 0.0631 to 0.1796 min -1 . The zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce photocatalyst exhibited excellent stability over 5 cycles, with only a 5.50% decrease in RR120 dye removal yield. This study demonstrates the promising potential of zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce nanoparticles for the removal of RR120 dye from aqueous suspension., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Objective: Most polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients have metabolic abnormalities in which insulin resistance (IR) plays a pivotal role. Cinnamon is a herbal medicine with insulinotropic properties. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effects of cinnamon on ovarian volume, androgenic profile, and metabolic and anthropometric parameters in women with PCOS., Materials and Methods: A single-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was carried out on 39 overweight / obese women with PCOS. For six months, subjects in the cinnamon (500 mg) (n=19) and placebo (n=20) groups were given three capsules daily. Before and after the intervention, the variables were assessed. The data was analyzed using the GraphPad Prism software., Results: After the intervention, the two intervention and control groups had significant differences in abdominal subcutaneous fat and ovarian volume, but they did not differ significantly in terms of body mass index (BMI). Also, after the intervention, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of lipid profile and the concentration of androgenic biomarkers of insulin resistance., Conclusion: Cinnamon supplementation improves ovarian volume and subcutaneous abdominal fat but has no effect on anthropometric parameters, lipid profile, insulin resistance, or androgen hormones., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

The objective was to investigate the embryo morphokinitics using a time-lapse monitoring (TLM) system and assessment of clinical outcomes following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with zona pellucida (ZP)-bound sperm selection and conventional methods. A total of 371 metaphase II (MII) oocytes from 50 ICSI cycles were studied. Sibling oocytes were randomly divided into control ( n = 199) and ZP-bound group ( n = 172). All resulting zygotes were cultured and monitored in the TLM system up to Day 3 after ICSI. Fertilization rate, early embryo development, and clinical outcomes were evaluated. No significant differences were found in fertilization rate, time-lapse qualitative and quantitative measures, pronuclear fading time (PNF) t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, and t7 (times of cleavage to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 cells), respectively. However, the t8 (time of cleavage to eight cells) and cc3 (duration of third cell cycle) revealed a significant difference between control and ZP-bound groups ( p < .05). A significant difference between the two groups ( p < .05) in the rates of Grade A embryos (according to Basile algorithm), chemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and implantation was observed. Sperm selection using biological materials, such as ZP, improved both embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes, despite not affecting the early embryo development and morphokinetic parameters up to t8. This prospective randomized sibling oocyte trial was registered in October 2020 to January 2022 (IRCT20200705048021N1)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

MiR-34b-5p has been reported as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for infertility. However, no gene targets regulating the mechanism of cation of this miRNA are known. In this study, using gene set enrichment analysis the Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Type 1 (ITPR1) gene was identified as the sole target for hsa-miR-34b-5p, and found significantly overexpressed in non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients. This finding was confirmed by qRT-PCR on fresh testicular tissues from NOA patients. Then, pathway enrichment analysis as well as the diagnostic value analysis of hsa-miR-34b-5p/ITPR1 indicated ITPR1 as a hub gene in the calcium (Ca 2+ )-apoptosis pathway, and a valuable predictive biomarker for NOA. Moreover, gene expression and histological assays showed the association of the effects of ITPR1's increased expression on spermatogenesis failure through induction of apoptosis in NOA patients. These data suggested that the hsa-miR-34b-5p/ITPR1 axis could serve as a potential regulatory predictive biomarker for human spermatogenesis through the Ca 2+ -apoptosis pathway cross-talk., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Captopril (CAP) is a safe, cost-effective, and environmentally organic compound that can be used as an effective organo-catalyst. Functional groups of captopril make it capable to attach to solid support and acting as promoters in organic transformations. In this work, captopril was attached to the surface of magnetic graphene nitride by employing a linker agent. The synthesized composite efficiently catalyzed two multicomponent reactions including the synthesis of 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrimidine and 2-amino-4H-chromene derivatives. A large library of functional targeted products was synthesized in mild reaction conditions. More importantly, this catalyst was stable and magnetically recycled and reused for at least five runs without losing catalytic activity., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

In this research, the photocatalytic removal of reactive blue 19 (RB19) dye is investigated employing zinc oxide/cerium (ZnO@Ce) nanoparticles decorated with biochar under LED irradiation. Synthesis of ZnO@Ce nanoparticles decorated with biochar was performed utilizing the co-precipitation procedure and, then, the texture and morphology of the fabricated nanocomposite were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques. Moreover, FE-SEM images demonstrate that ZnO-Ce nanoparticles were successfully decorated on the surface of biochar. The specific surface areas of biochar and biochar/ZnO-Ce were 519.75 and 636.52 m 2 /g, respectively. To achieve the maximum yield in the removal of RB19 dye, the effects of operating variables including dye concentration, LED lamp power, biochar@ZnO-Ce catalyst dose, pH and H 2 O 2 dose were explored. Besides, the maximum percentage of RB19 dye removal was 96.47% under optimal conditions, i.e. catalyst dosage of 100 mg, H 2 O 2 dosage of 1 mL, pH of 9, initial dye concentration of 5 ppm, LED power of 50 W, and reaction time of 140 min. Furthermore, the kinetic analysis reveals that the removal of RB19 dye follows the pseudo-first order kinetic model, with calculated values of a reaction rate constant of 0.045 min -1 and a correlation coefficient of R 2  = 0.99, respectively. Moreover, the reusability and recyclability of biochar@ZnO/Ce nanocatalyst was promising over five runs, with only a 6.08% decrease in RB19 dye removal efficiency. Therefore, it can be concluded that the biochar @ZnO/Ce photocatalyst can be promisingly applied for the removal of azo dyes in aqueous solutions., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Spermatozoa retrieved from the testis and epididymis are deprived of the beneficial effects of seminal fluid. Thus applying an artificial medium with normal seminal fluid characteristics, known as artificial seminal fluid (ASF), may provide an appropriate condition for improving some sperm parameters in azoospermia. The objective was to investigate the impact of in vitro exposure of testicular and epididymal spermatozoa to ASF on sperm quality. The study was conducted on testicular (n = 20) and epididymal (n = 20) sperm specimens obtained from azoospermic men. Each sample was divided into two equal parts: Part I) for processing and incubation with Ham's F10 medium; Part II) for processing and incubation with ASF., Results: After 2 h incubation, testicular sperm motility was significantly higher in ASF than in Ham's F10 medium. In comparison to 0 h, mitochondrial membrane potential levels of testicular spermatozoa were significantly higher after 2 h and 24 h in ASF and after 24 h in Ham's F10 medium. Furthermore, the data indicated significantly lower rates of epididymal spermatozoa with high MMP in both media after 24 h. There were no significant differences in the DNA fragmentation index of testicular and epididymal spermatozoa between ASF and Ham's F10 medium at different time points., Conclusion: The results demonstrated that in vitro incubation of testicular spermatozoa improved their motility more effectively than Ham's F10 medium in the short term (2 h), but had no effect on epididymal spermatozoa. Since the physiology of testicular spermatozoa is different from that of ejaculated spermatozoa, it seems that a special environment should be designed and used for each of them., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

In this work, a new dendrimer modified magnetic graphene oxide (GO) was used as a substrate for electrodeposition of Au nanoparticles. The modified magnetic electrode was employed for sensitive measuring of As(III) ion as a well-established human carcinogen. The prepared electrochemical device exhibits excellent activity towards As(III) detection using the square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) protocol. At optimum conditions (deposition potential at -0.5 V for 100 s in 0.1 M acetate buffer with pH 5.0), a linear range from 1.0 to 125.0 μgL -1 with a low detection limit (calculated by S/N = 3) of 0.47 μg L -1 was obtained. In addition to the simplicity and sensitivity of the proposed sensor, its high selectivity against some major interfering agents, such as Cu(II) and Hg(II) makes it an appreciable sensing tool for the screening of As(III). In addition, the sensor revealed satisfactory results for detection of As(III) in different water samples, and the accuracy of obtained data were confirmed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) setup. Accounting for the high sensitivity, remarkable selectivity and good reproducibility, the established electrochemical strategy has great potential for analysis of As(III) in environmental matrices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

3d reconstruction of deformable objects in dynamic scenes forms the fundamental basis of many robotic applications. Existing mesh-based approaches compromise registration accuracy, and lose important details due to interpolation and smoothing. Additionally, existing non-rigid registration techniques struggle with unindexed points and disconnected manifolds. We propose a novel non-rigid registration framework for raw, unstructured, deformable point clouds purely based on geometric features. The global non-rigid deformation of an object is formulated as an aggregation of locally rigid transformations. The concept of locality is embodied in soft patches described by geometrical properties based on SHOT descriptor and its neighborhood. By considering the confidence score of pairwise association between soft patches of two scans (not necessarily consecutive), a computed similarity matrix serves as the seed to grow a correspondence graph which leverages rigidity terms defined in As-Rigid-As-Possible for pruning and optimization. Experiments on simulated and publicly available datasets demonstrate the capability of the proposed approach to cope with large deformations blended with numerous missing parts in the scan process., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Maleki, Falque, Vidal-Calleja and Alempijevic.)

Objectives: The first days of post-ovarian transplantation are critical periods, as the ischemic injury can diminish the success rate. In this study, the first day's events of ovarian transplantation in two dimensions of structure and ultrastructure following slow freezing and vitrification were assessed., Study Design: Ovarian tissues (OTs) from 10 cancerous patients were frozen in two methods of slow freezing and vitrification. Tissues were transplanted onto the CAM and then retrieved at 5 and 10 days of culture. Nine groups were assigned as follows; I-III; fresh, 5 and 10 days culture, IV-VI; vitrification, 5 and 10 days culture, and VII-IX; slow freezing, 5 and 10 days culture. Structural and ultra-structural studies were done to assess the tissue viability and integrity following CAM transplantation. Image J software was used to measure the amounts of fibrosis and necrosis., Results: The first sign of successful transplantation was found on day 3 post-transplantation. Vitrified tissues showed higher viability and transplantation rate compared to the slow frozen group (65% vs 57.5%) (p = 0.7). Tissue fibrosis and areas didn't increase significantly after cryopreservation using two methods (p > 0.05). The areas of fibrosis and necrosis and avian vessels increased significantly after 5 and 10 days of culture (p < 0.05). Large ultra-structural follicular deformities were noticed after 10 days of CAM transplantation. Better stromal ultrastructure features can be found after vitrified tissue culture. Also, the CAM transplantation technique had negative effects on the integrity of follicles, independent of the freezing procedure., Conclusion: Evaluation of early events of the ovarian post-transplantation is of amount importance, since the hypoxia during this period may accelerate follicular pool depletion, before the tissue stability. Vitrification can be considered a reliable alternative for slow freezing. CAM transplantation is a good technique for confirmation of tissue viability after warming but damaged the follicle ultrastructure in a short period., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, a composite of zinc tungsten oxide nanoparticles (W-ZnO NPs) has been synthesized via mixing Na 2 WO 4 and zinc acetate in water, followed by dropwise addition of NaOH. The synthesized W-ZnO NPs were characterized using measurement methods such as XRD, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis. Also, the results were compared with the pure synthesized ZnO and WO 3 NPs. Non-linear optical properties of the synthesized composite were measured using the Z-scan technique with a continuous wave Nd-Yag laser. The negative non-linear absorption coefficient of the components was obtained which indicates that the saturation absorption occurred in this composite. In comparison with pure ZnO NPs, non-linear absorption decreases which can be attributed to the negligible optical response of WO 3 structures. Also, the negative value of the close aperture Z-scan curve shows that the thermal lensing effect is the main reason for the third-order non-linear refraction., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Jalili, Koushki, Ehsanian, Tayebee and Maleki.)

Background: Smad4 regulates the expression of the genes required for heart homeostasis. Regarding the central role of microRNAs in cardiac biology, we investigated the expression of the three Smad4-targeting miRNAs, namely miR-18a-5p, miR-19a-3p, and miR-20a-5p, as well as Smad4 during differentiation of human endometrium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hEMSCs) into cardiomyocytes (CMs)., Methods: To evaluate mesenchymal phenotype and multi-lineage differentiation ability of hEMSCs, immunophenotyping by flow cytometry and differentiation into osteoblasts and adipocytes were performed, respectively. For transdifferentiation into CMs, hEMSCs were exposed to a cardiomyogenic medium composed of 5-aza and bFGF for 30 days. The comparison between transcriptional expression levels of Nkx2-5, GATA4, Smad4, TNNT2, TBX5, miR-18a-5p, miR-19a-3p, and miR-20a-5p by qRT-PCR, as well as protein levels of Nkx2-5, Smad4, and cTnT by immunofluorescence staining, was conducted in every 6 days., Results: In vitro , the mesenchymal stem cell phenotype of hEMSCs and their potency for differentiation into other MSCs were confirmed. Differentiated hEMSCs had morphological characteristics of CMs. The percentage of positive cells for Nkx2-5, Smad4, and cTnT proteins was increased following induction and culminated on the 24th day. Also, mRNA levels of Nkx2-5, GATA4, Smad4, TNNT2, and TBX5 exhibited the same trend. The expression of investigated miRNAs was significantly decreased sequentially. A significant negative correlation between expressions of Smad4 and investigated miRNAs was observed., Conclusion: Our results indicate that miR-18a-5p, miR-19a-3p, and miR-20a-5p are involved in the cardiac differentiation propensity of hEMSCs potentially by regulation of Smad levels. Although, more mechanistic experiments are required to confirm this idea., Competing Interests: None.

Six catalysts MnL 1 -MnL 6 , containing two crown ether rings and their analogs supported on the MCM-41 heterogeneous substrate (MnL 1 @MCM41-MnL 5 @MCM41) were synthesized and characterized. A mixture of molecular oxygen, as an oxidant, and these catalysts were used for the epoxidation of styrene. As a general result, the supported catalysts showed better performance compared with the unsupported analogs. On the other hand, the supported species, in addition to recyclability, did not require an axial base and reducing agent., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Herein, polydopamine-coated Fe 3 O 4 spheres were synthesized using a very simple, easy, cost-effective, efficient, and fast method. First, magnetic nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 ) were synthesized and were followed by accommodating polydopamine on the surface of the prepared Fe 3 O 4 . The prepared polydopamine-coated Fe 3 O 4 spheres were utilized as a sorbent in magnetic solid phase extraction of gemfibrozil and warfarin (as the model analytes). The extracted model analytes were desorbed by a suitable organic solvent and were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Under optimized condition, the linearity of the method was in the range of 0.1-200.0 μg/L for the selected analytes in water. The limits of detection were calculated to be in the range of 0.026-0.055 μg/L for warfarin and gemfibrozil, respectively. The limits of quantification were calculated to be in the range of 0.089-0.185 μg/L. The inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviations were determined to be in the range of 1.4%-3.3% in three concentrations in order to calculate the method precision. Furthermore, the enrichment factors were found to be 78 and 81 for warfarin and gemfibrozil, respectively. Moreover, the calculated absolute recoveries were between 78% and 81%. The obtained recoveries indicated that the method was useful and applicable in complicated real samples., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Conventional sperm processing uses centrifugation has a negative effect on sperm parameters and DNA integrity. We designed and fabricated a novel microfluid device based on chemotaxis and thermotaxis, and compared it with the swim-up method. Twenty normal samples with high DNA fragmentation were included. Each sample was divided into four groups: Group 1, control, Group 2: sperm selection by thermotaxis, Group 3: sperm selection by chemotaxis, and Group 4: sperm selection with thermotaxis and chemotaxis. We used cumulus cells in a microfluid device to create chemotaxis, and, two warm stages to form a temperature gradient for thermotaxis. The spermatozoa were assessed based on the concentration, motility, and fine morphology using Motile Sperm Organelle Morphology Examination, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), acrosome reaction (AR), and sperm DNA fragmentation. Concentration (22.40 ± 5.39 vs. 66.50 ± 19.21; p < 0.001) and DNA fragmentation (12.30 ± 3.96% vs. 17.95 ± 2.89%; p < 0.001) after selection in the chemotaxis and thermotaxis microfluid device were significantly lower than control group. The progressive motility (93.75 ± 4.39% vs. 75.55 ± 5.86%, p < 0.001), normal morphology (15.45 ± 2.50% vs. 10.35 ± 3.36, p < 0.001), MMP (97.65 ± 1.81% vs. 94 ± 3.89%, p = 0.02), and AR status (79.20 ± 5.28% vs. 31.20 ± 5.24%, p < 0.001) in the chemotaxis and thermotaxis microfluid device were significantly increased compared to control group. According to these findings, spermatozoa that have penetrated the cumulus oophorus have better morphology and motility, as well as acrosome reactivity and DNA integrity., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Diagnosis is one of the main strategies to deal with infectious and deadly diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The global pandemic of COVID-19 has led to an immediate need to expand rapid diagnostic techniques. New isothermal-based methods are being developed for COVID-19 detection aiming to resolve the limitations related to the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method through immediate samples processing and minimizing false-negative or ambiguous results. Advances in nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAATs) can provide affordable and easy-to-use diagnostic platforms with high sensitivity and specificity in order to be available to the public as approved commercial kits., Aims: The development of point-of-care (POC) testing can assist in rapid clinical decision-making and mitigate burdens on health care facilities. Finally, we discussed the different diagnostic methods based on NAATs for COVID-19 in detail. Comparative parameters are addressed for all assays and Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA)-approved commercial tests are cited., Conclusions: Isothermal-coupled methods and LAMP-based molecular methods have been suggested as suitable portable tests with high diagnostic speed for use in POC testing., (© 2022 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Heterogeneous photocatalysts present a favourable procedure to realize green and eco-friendly organic reactions. We have demonstrated an SB-DABCO@eosin catalyst in a green one-pot multi-component protocol for the production of various chromeno[4,3- b ]chromenes via condensation of aromatic aldehydes and dimedone under the photo-redox catalyst bearing eosin Y using visible light. The synthesized nanocatalyst was characterized using various physicochemical techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, EDX, UV-vis, SEM, TGA and DRS. The significant advantages of the present methodology include excellent yield, cost-effectiveness, easy work-up, 100% atom economy, broad substrate scope, easy separation and efficient recycling. Furthermore, the evidence showed that the investigated condensation reaction proceeds via a radical mechanism, which proved the need for reactive species such as OH˙ and ˙O 2 - in the photocatalytic process. In addition to the improved handling and process control, the yield of products and the rate of reactions have increased considerably in the present strategy. Reproducibility studies also guarantee good reusability and stability of the nanocatalyst for at least five runs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

An efficient, cost-effective, and fast-synthesis method is presented in the current study to prepare magnetic nanoparticles covered by cheap and nitrogen-rich creatine. The hydrothermal method was used for the synthesis of the magnetic core. The prepared magnetic core was then covered by SiO 2 and subsequently functionalized using creatine. The prepared creatine@SiO 2 @Fe 3 O 4 was utilized as a sorbent in the magnetic solid-phase extraction of the selected antidepressants including escitalopram and chlordiazepoxide as the model drugs. The extracted drugs were desorbed by a suitable organic solvent and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with an ultraviolet detection system. The influence of different variables on the magnetic solid-phase extraction method was examined by the Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken designs for screening and optimization, respectively. Under the obtained optimum conditions, the linear ranges of the method were found to be in the range of 1-500 µg L -1 . The limits of detection and limits of quantification were in the range of 0.27-0.63 µg L -1 and 0.89-1.93 µg L -1 for the selected analytes, respectively. Furthermore, the enrichment factors were found to be 79.8 and 92.7 for chlordiazepoxide and escitalopram, respectively. The method was successfully employed for the analysis of selected drugs in urine samples., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Context: Mounting evidence from the literature suggests that different types of training interventions can be successful at improving several aspects of male reproductive function in both fertile and infertile populations., Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise training on male factor infertility and seminal markers of inflammation., Data Sources: We searched PubMed, CISCOM, Springer, Elsevier Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, PEDro, Ovid (Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO), Sport Discus, Orbis, CINAHL, Web of Science, ProQuest, and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that analyzed the impacts of selected types of exercise interventions on markers of male reproductive function and reproductive performance., Study Selection: A total of 336 records were identified, of which we included 7 trials reporting on 2641 fertile and infertile men in the systematic review and network meta-analysis., Level of Evidence: Level 1 (because this is a systematic review of RCTs)., Data Extraction: The data included the study design, participant characteristics, inclusion and exclusion, intervention characteristics, outcome measures, and the main results of the study., Results: The results of network meta-analysis showed that, compared with a nonintervention control group, the top-ranking interventions for pregnancy rate were for combined aerobic and resistance training (CET) (relative risk [RR] = 27.81), moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) (RR = 26.67), resistance training (RT) (RR = 12.54), high-intensity continuous training (HICT) (RR = 5.55), and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) (RR = 4.63). While the top-ranking interventions for live birth rate were for MICT (RR = 10.05), RT (RR = 4.92), HIIT (RR = 4.38), CET (RR = 2.20), and HICT (RR = 1.55). Also, with the following order of effectiveness, 5 training strategies were significantly better at improving semen quality parameters (CET > MICT > HICT > RT > HIIT), seminal markers of oxidative stress (CET > MICT > HIIT > HICT > RT), seminal markers of inflammation (CET > MICT > HIIT > RT > HICT), as well as measures of body composition and VO 2 max (CET > HICT > MICT > HIIT > RT)., Conclusion: The review recommends that the intervention with the highest probability of being the best approach out of all available options for improving the male factor infertility was for CET.

Neospora caninum is an economically significant parasite among livestock, particularly in dairy cattle herds, causing storm abortions. Vaccination seems necessary to limit the infection and its harsh consequences. This is the first steps towards developing a multiepitope vaccine candidate against N. caninum using in silico approaches. High-ranked mouse MHC-binding and shared linear B-cell epitopes from six proteins (SRS2, MIC3, MIC6, GRA1, IMP-1, and profilin) as well as IFN- γ -inducing epitopes (from SAG1) were predicted, screened, and connected together through appropriate linkers. Finally, RS-09 protein (TLR4 agonist) and histidine tag were added to N- and C-terminal of the vaccine sequence, yielding 486 residues in length. Physicochemical properties showed a stable (instability index: 27.23), highly soluble, antigenic (VaxiJen score: 0.9554), and nonallergenic candidate. Secondary structure of the multiepitope protein included 58.85% random coil, 20.99% extended strand, and 20.16% alpha helix. Also, the tertiary structure was predicted, and further analyses validated a stable interaction between the vaccine model and mouse TLR4 (binding score: -1261.6). Virtual simulation of immune profile demonstrated potently stimulated humoral (IgG+IgM) and cell-mediated (IFN- γ ) responses upon multiepitope vaccine injection. Altogether, a potentially immunogenic vaccine candidate was developed using several N. caninum proteins, with the capability to elicit IFN- γ upsurge and other components of cellular immunity, and can be used in prophylactic purposes against neosporosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Morteza Shams et al.)

Background: Total fertilization failure (TFF) is associated with essential mechanistic and cellular events., Objective: The present study is a comprehensive examination of detrimental effects with well-known assays for predicting TFF in conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles., Materials and Methods: Semen parameters of 90 men, including 60 cases who had experienced IVF/ICSI failure and a control group of 30 individuals, were evaluated. Sperm chromatin/DNA quality assessments were done by aniline blue, toluidine blue, chromomycin A3, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays. A lipid hydroperoxide (LPO) kit was used to measure the LPO, and JC1 staining was used to evaluate mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP)., Results: There were statistically significant differences found between the IVF, ICSI and control groups by the toluidine blue (p = 0.01), TUNEL (p = 0.02), and chromomycin A3 (p < 0.001) tests, but not by the aniline blue staining. Furthermore, there was a significant difference regarding LPO concentration and high MMP in cases of IVF fertilization failure compared to the control group (p = 0.04, p = 0.02, respectively). The logistic regression model showed that sperm viability was predictive for fertilization failure in the ICSI group. Sperm chromatin and DNA quality assays were not predictors for TFF in either group., Conclusion: Cellular events such as high DNA fragmentation damage, high levels of reactive oxygen species, and low MMP levels can cause TFF in IVF and ICSI programs. Diagnostic tests, especially in cases with previous fertilization failure, showed significant differences in sperm chromatin and DNA quality between groups but could not predict the risk of TFF., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Safari et al.)

Prevention of neosporosis is advantageous for cattle health and productivity. Previously, several vaccine candidates were nominated for vaccination against Neospora caninum . This study was premised on in silico evaluation of N. caninum IMP-1 in order to determine its physicochemical features and immunogenic epitopes. We employed a wide array of network-based tools for the prediction of antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, posttranslational modification (PTM) sites, physicochemical properties, transmembrane domains and signal peptide, secondary and tertiary structures, and intrinsically disordered regions. Also, prediction and screening of potential continuous B cell peptides and those epitopes having stringent affinity to couple with mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) receptors were accomplished. The protein had 393 residues with a molecular weight of 42.71 kDa, representing aliphatic index of 85.83 (thermotolerant) and GRAVY score of -0.447 (hydrophilic). There were 47 PTM sites without a signal peptide in the sequence. Secondary structure comprised mostly of extended strand and helices, followed by coils. The Ramachandran plot of the refined model showed 90.1%, 9.9%, 0.0%, and 0.0% residues in the favored, additional allowed, generously allowed, and disallowed regions, correspondingly. Additionally, various potential B cell (linear and conformational), CTL, and MHC binding epitopes were predicted for N. caninum IMP-1. The findings of the present study could be further directed for next-generation vaccine design against neosporosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Naser Nazari et al.)

Vaccination is a standout preventive measure to combat neosporosis among cattle herds. The present in silico study was done to evaluate the physicochemical properties and potent immunogenic epitopes of N. caninum SRS2 protein as a possible vaccine candidate. Web-based tools were used to predict physicochemical properties, antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, posttranslational modification (PTM) sites, transmembrane domains and signal peptide, and secondary and tertiary structures as well as intrinsically disordered regions, followed by identification and screening of potential linear and conformational B-cell epitopes and those peptides having affinity to bind mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL). The protein had 401 residues with a molecular weight of 42 kDa, representing aliphatic index of 69.35 (thermotolerant) and GRAVY score of -0.294 (hydrophilic). There were 53 PTM sites without a signal peptide in the sequence. Secondary structure comprised mostly by extended strand, followed by helices and coils. The Ramachandran plot of the refined model showed 90.2%, 8.8%, 0.5%, and 0.5% residues in the favored, additional allowed, generously allowed, and disallowed regions, correspondingly. Additionally, various potential B-cell (linear and conformational), CTL, and MHC-binding epitopes were predicted for N. caninum SRS2. These epitopes could be further utilized in the multiepitope vaccine constructs directed against neosporosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ali Asghari et al.)

Aim: The current study investigated the prevalence and genotypes of Blastocystis sp. in individuals who referred to medical laboratories in Kermanshah, Iran., Background: Blastocystis sp . is a common intestinal protozoan found in humans and a wide range of animals, and it is involved in the development of gastrointestinal disorders., Methods: A total of 950 stool samples were examined using the standard formalin-ether concentration technique. All specimens were cultured in Robinson xenic medium. Subsequently, DNA extraction and PCR amplification of subtype specific sequence-tagged site (STS) were conducted., Results: Microscopic examination showed that 86 out of 950 samples (9.05%) were infected with Blastocystis sp. Subsequently, 33 of 86 positive samples were cultured and molecularly confirmed by conventional PCR, indicating six subtypes (ST1-ST6). Of note, ST3 (45.0%) was the predominant subtype, followed by ST1 (15.15%) and ST5 (12%)., Conclusion: Based on the current findings, ST3 was the most frequent subtype among all positive samples. Having a better understanding of Blastocystis sp. subtype distribution and risk factors would lead to improved preventive measures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (©2022 RIGLD, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases.)

Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) is an invasive surgery for achieving the spermatozoa in cases with azoospermia. In these patients, the number of retrieved spermatozoa is limited and the optimal cryo-storage is very critical for their fertility preservation. Therefore, single sperm vitrification has been introduced for preservation of low number of spermatozoa. The goal was to assess the efficacy of sperm freezing medium (SFM) and sucrose medium as cryoprotectants for single sperm vitrification in cases with severe oligozoospermia and azoospermia. A total of 20 ejaculates from severe oligozoospermia and 20 testicular samples from azoospermia were processed. Twenty-five sperm cells were collected using ICSI injection pipette and transferred to a cryoprotectant droplet placed on the Cryotech, then vitrified by plunging in liquid nitrogen. Sperm motility, viability, fine-morphology, mitochondrial activity and DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were assessed before and after vitrification. Sperm motility, viability and the percentage of cells with mitochondrial activity were significantly decreased after vitrification in both severe oligozoospermic and testicular samples in either cryoprotectants. However, the rates of post-warm sperm motility and the cells with mitochondrial activity increased significantly in sucrose medium in both severe oligozoospermic and testicular samples compared to SFM. In testicular samples, the DFI of spermatozoa vitrified in SFM was significantly higher than those vitrified with sucrose medium. Sperm motility, viability, mitochondrial activity, and DNA integrity were better preserved in sucrose medium than SFM after single cell vitrification. The presented method may be a useful candidate for successful freezing of individual sperm cells in clinical setting., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Treating cardiovascular diseases with cardiac stem cells (CSCs) is a valid treatment among various stem cell-based therapies. With supplying the physiological need for cardiovascular cells as their main function, under pathological circumstances, CSCs can also reproduce the myocardial cells. Although studies have identified many of CSCs' functions, our knowledge of molecular pathways that regulate these functions is not complete enough. Either physiological or pathological studies have shown, stem cells proliferation and differentiation could be regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). How miRNAs regulate CSC behavior is an interesting area of research that can help us study and control the function of these cells in vitro; an achievement that may be beneficial for patients with cardiovascular diseases. The secretome of stem and progenitor cells has been studied and it has been determined that exosomes are the main source of their secretion which are very small vesicles at the nanoscale and originate from endosomes, which are secreted into the extracellular space and act as key signaling organelles in intercellular communication. Mesenchymal stem cells, cardiac-derived progenitor cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes release exosomes that have been shown to have cardioprotective, immunomodulatory, and reparative effects. Herein, we summarize the regulation roles of miRNAs and exosomes in cardiac stem cells., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Aim: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the subtyped Blastocystis sp. isolated from humans in Iran., Background: Blastocystis sp. is an anaerobic intestinal protozoan that infects humans as well as domestic and wild animals, i.e. mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods., Methods: A comprehensive search for papers published before April 2022 was undertaken utilizing English and Persian databases. The following MeSH keywords were used in the electronic search: ( Blastocystis sp.) AND (molecular OR subtype) AND (prevalence OR epidemiology) AND Iran. The quality of the included studies was evaluated. Thereafter, a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence and odds ratios regarding the included studies., Results: A total of 32 studies comprised of five case-control studies and 27 cross-sectional studies met the eligibility criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of subtyped Blastocystis sp. in Iran was estimated to be 10% (95% confidence interval: 6 to 15%). Eight subtypes of Blastocystis sp. (ST1- ST7 and ST9) were identified in our study, of which ST3 was the most common subtype (0.04); 0.02-0.07). The difference in subtypes between two case and control groups in reported studies was not significant, but the odds ratio of infection by ST3 (0.98; 95% CI, 0.30 to 3.20) was higher in cases., Conclusion: The current systematic review showed that with the exception of ST8 and ST12, all human Blastocystis sp. subtypes reported in the world are found in different parts of Iran., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Histaminium tetrachlorozincate nanoparticles are prepared, characterized and applied as an effective and recoverable photocatalyst in the one-pot, green and multi-component synthesis of various chromenes by the reaction of dimedone and/or 1,3-cyclohexanedione, arylaldehyde and 4-hydroxycoumarin in high yields under solventless conditions at ambient temperature. This new catalyst is characterized by FT-IR, XRD, EDX, NMR, SEM and TEM techniques. The incorporation of histaminium ions into the framework of ZnCl 4 2- significantly affected the photocatalytic activity of tetrachlorozincate such that good reusability and recyclability are attained. Moreover, reactive species such as ˙O 2 - and hydroxyl radicals have proved to be active species in the presented photocatalytic reaction. In addition, the hot filtration test confirms enough stability of the photocatalyst and no significant leaching and destruction of the framework in the course of the reaction. The major advantages of the presented methodology include easy work-up, cost effectiveness, nontoxic nature, broad substrate scope, 100% atom economy, ease of separation, and environment friendly reaction conditions. Finally, the catalyst could be reused many times without significant loss of activity., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The chemical composition and physiological properties of seminal fluid (SF) affect sperm quality. The objective was to investigate the effects of in vitro exposure of artificial seminal fluid (ASF) and biological seminal fluid (SF) on sperm quality. Asthenozoospermic ejaculates (n = 20) were divided into two aliquots. The first aliquot was centrifuged for obtaining asthenozoospermic SF. The second aliquot was processed with density gradient centrifugation (DGC), and the pellet was diluted separately with following media: (a) ASF; (b) Ham's F10; (c) normozoospermic SF; and (d) asthenozoospermic SF. Sperm parameters and DNA status were assessed after DGC, as well as 2 and 24 hr after incubation. The data showed that sperm progressive motility, viability and DNA integrity were significantly higher in ASF than Ham's F10 medium immediately after DGC. At 2 and 24 hr, the progressive motility was significantly decreased in biological SF compared with ASF and Ham's F10. DNA fragmentation index (DFI) was significantly lower in normozoospermic SF than asthenozoospermic SF and Ham's F10 at time 2 hr. In conclusion, normal SF showed the protective role on sperm DNA structure. Moreover, ASF preserved sperm motility better than biological SF during 24 hr, despite being similar to normal SF regarding DNA integrity preservation in short time., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic and cosmopolitan infection. Although a few studies have evaluated the prevalence of Toxoplasma oocysts in the soil of public places, the present study was conducted to provide insights into environmental contamination levels and its potential transmission to humans on a global scale. A systematic search was conducted using bibliographic databases through 30 August 2020. A random effects model was utilized to estimate pooled prevalence with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analysis and meta-regressions were also performed on the geographical and environmental parameters. Finally, 22 articles, wherein 15 420 soil samples were examined, met the systematic review and meta-analysis requirements. The mean pooled prevalence of Toxoplasma oocysts was estimated at 16% (95% CI 10 to 26) in public places. The estimated prevalences in Europe, South America, Asia and North America were 23% (95% CI 4 to 65), 22% (95% CI 18 to 26), 15% (95% CI 0.06 to 33) and 8% (95% CI 0.00 to 97), respectively. An increasing trend was observed in the prevalence of Toxoplasma oocysts with increasing latitude (41-56°), decreasing longitude (0-40°) and increasing relative humidity (≥76%). Loop-mediated isothermal amplification and polymerase chain reaction methods revealed the highest and lowest prevalence rates, respectively, in the detection of Toxoplasma oocysts. Awareness of the health authorities and people about Toxoplasma prevalence in the soil of public places and its risk factors is of great importance to developing effective strategies to prevent infection., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)

The synthesis and application of glutathione-coated magnetic nanocomposite were introduced with the purpose of developing a stable, cheap, operationally convenient, simple, fast, sensitive, and selective device for the microextraction of diazepam and sertraline for the first time. The prepared glutathione@Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite was used as the sorbent in the form of magnetic solid-phase extraction. Afterward, the extracted analytes were desorbed by organic solvent and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection. Several influential variables such as desorption time, desorption volume, sample pH, extraction time, and sorbent amount were screened through Plackett-Burman design and then optimized via Box-Behnken design. The obtained results showed that the above-mentioned method enjoys a good linear range (0.2-500 μg/L) with the coefficient of determination higher than 0.9927, low limits of determination (0.07-0.24 μg/L), acceptable limits of quantification (0.22-0.93 μg/L), good enrichment factors (128 and 153), and good spiking recoveries (95-105%) for diazepam and sertraline under the obtained optimized condition. Analyzing the real samples results in the confirmation of the presented method and it can be applied for the analysis of various organic compounds in biological samples., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The existing evidence suggests that the human reproductive system may be potentially vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. However, little is known about the virus-host interaction of COVID-19 in sperm cells. We are the first to address the connection between changes in multiple seminal biomarkers and reproductive function in male patients recovering from COVID-19. In a prospective longitudinal cohort study, seminal ACE2 activity, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, apoptotic variables, and semen quality parameters were evaluated at 10-day intervals for a maximum follow-up time of 60 days among male patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 (n = 84) and healthy controls (CON; n = 105). At the baseline and the subsequent follow-ups, the COVID-19 group revealed significantly higher levels of seminal plasma ACE2 enzymatic activity, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TGF-β, TNF-α, IFN-α, IFN-γ, ROS, caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3 activity as well as lower levels of SOD activity than those in the CON group (P < 0.05). These perturbations tended to persist over time and were correlated with significant impairments in semen volume, progressive motility, sperm morphology, sperm concentration, and the number of spermatozoa. We provide the direct experimental evidence that the male reproductive system could be targeted and damaged by the COVID-19 infection. These findings go beyond our current understanding of the disease, suggesting that the reproductive function of the patients recovering from the disease should be precisely followed and evaluated to detect and avoid more serious reproductive problems in the future, as they may develop a transient state of male subfertility like those with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.

This current research is based on a bio-inspired procedure for the synthesis of biomolecule functionalized hybrid magnetic nanocomposite with the Fe 3 O 4 NPs at core and Pd NPs at outer shell. The central idea was the initial modification of magnetic NP by the phytochemicals from Fritillaria imperialis flower extract, which was further exploited in the green reduction of Pd 2+ ions into Pd NPs, in situ. The flower extract also acted as a capping agent for the obtained Pd/Fe 3 O 4 composite without the need of additional toxic reagents. The as-synthesized Fe 3 O 4 @Fritillaria/Pd nanocomposite was methodically characterized over different physicochemical measures like FT-IR, ICP-AES, FESEM, EDX, TEM, XPS and VSM analysis. Thereafter, its catalytic potential was evaluated in the reduction of various nitrobenzenes to arylamines applying hydrazine hydrate as reductant in ethanol/water (1:2) medium under mild conditions. Furthermore, the nanocatalyst was retrieved using a bar magnet and recycled several times without considerable leaching or loss of activity. This green, bio-inspired ligand-free protocol has remarkable advantages like environmental friendliness, high yields, easy workup and reusability of the catalyst.

Unintended cardiac fibroblast proliferation in many pathophysiological heart conditions, known as cardiac fibrosis, results in pooling of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in the heart muscle. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) as a pivotal cytokine/growth factor stimulates fibroblasts and hastens ECM production in injured tissues. The TGF-β receptor is a heterodimeric receptor complex on the plasma membrane, made up from TGF-β type I, as well as type II receptors, giving rise to Smad2 and Smad3 transcription factors phosphorylation upon canonical signaling. Phosphorylated Smad2, Smad3, and cytoplasmic Smad4 intercommunicate to transfer the signal to the nucleus, culminating in provoked gene transcription. Additionally, TGF-β receptor complex activation starts up non-canonical signaling that lead to the mitogen-stimulated protein kinase cascade activation, inducing p38, JNK1/2 (c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1/2), and ERK1/2 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2) signaling. TGF-β not only activates fibroblasts and stimulates them to differentiate into myofibroblasts, which produce ECM proteins, but also promotes fibroblast proliferation. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are important regulators of numerous pathways along with cellular procedures. MicroRNAs and circular long ncRNAs, combined with long ncRNAs, are capable of affecting TGF-β/Smad signaling, leading to cardiac fibrosis. More comprehensive knowledge based on these processes may bring about new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for different cardiac disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Saadat, Noureddini, Mahjoubin-Tehran, Nazemi, Shojaie, Aschner, Maleki, Abbasi-kolli, Rajabi Moghadam, Alani and Mirzaei.)

Background: Inclusion of anticancer drugs into biocompatible nanoparticulate carriers decreases the general toxicity and improves the efficacy of clinical treatments due to the reduction of soluble circulating free drugs., Methods: In addition, removal of emerging drug contaminants from wastewaters is a necessity that should be seriously attended. Boron nitride (BN) is a choice in drug delivery because of its many surprising properties. Here, boron nitride nanoparticles are prepared, characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) and used in the delivery of melphalan anti-cancer drug., Results: Then, density functional theory (DFT) calculations are carried out to study the adsorption of this drug on the surface of pure boron nitride fullerene via familiar hybrid functionals B3LYP and B3PW91. In addition, the polarizable continuum model (PCM) calculations show that BN is stable in water., Conclusion: Finally, the in vitro cellular toxicity and viability of BN nanoparticles was examined on ES-2 cancer cells. The inhibitory dose IC50 of the material confirmed acceptable cytotoxicity and nanoparticles affected the average growth of the ES-2 cancer cells., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Evaluation of sperm integrity may predict the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) outcomes. The aim was to evaluate the relationship between the sperm DNA fragmentation (sDNAf) with embryo morphology and morphokinetic using time-laps monitoring (TLM) and to select the best time points for normalisation in IVF setting. After evaluating the fertilisation and pronuclei (Z) scoring, 328 normally fertilised oocytes were assessed to time of pronuclei fading, time of 2 to 8 discrete cells (t2-t8) and abnormal cleavage patterns, such as multinucleation, direct cleavage, reverse cleavage and fragmentation. Sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) assay was used for assessment of prepared sperm chromatin status. SCD was categorised into 4 groups of <6.5, 6.5-10.7, 10.7-20.1 and >20.1. The finding showed significant differences in t6 (p = .012), t7 (p = .045), t8 (p = .013) and s1 (p = .001) between 4 SCD groups. When morphokinetic variables were normalised to tPNf, this difference was observed in t2 (p = .003) and t6 (p = .017). Subsequently, the percentage of top quality embryos and Z 1 scoring were dependent to the sDNAf rate. In conclusion, tPNf was the best reference time point in IVF cycles. Also, we found high sDNAf rate had no negative impact on embryo morphology and morphokinetics in conventional IVF., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Recently, visible light-driven organic photochemical synthesis has been a pioneering field of interest from academic and industrial associations due to its unique features of green and sustainable chemistry. Herein, WO 3 ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 was synthesized, characterized, and used as an efficient magnetic photocatalyst in the preparation of a range of 2-substituted benzimidazoles via the condensation of benzyl alcohol and o -phenylenediamine in ethanol at room temperature for the first time. The key feature of this work is focused on the in situ photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohols to benzaldehydes under atmospheric air and in the absence of any further oxidant. This new heterogeneous nanophotocatalyst was characterized via XRD, FT-IR, VSM and SEM. Short reaction time, cost-effectiveness, broad substrate scope, easy work-up by an external magnet, and excellent product yield are the major advantages of the present methodology. A number of effective experimental parameters were also fully investigated to clear broadness and generality of the protocol., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: Sperm quality is an important factor in assisted reproductive technology (ART) that affects the success rate of infertile couples treatment. In vitro incubation of sperm can influence its parameters and DNA integrity. The present study focused on the effect of different incubation temperatures sperm parameters on asthenoteratozoospermia semen prepared with density gradient centrifugation at different times., Methods: Twenty-seven samples were collected and prepared. Then, the suspension was divided into two parts. One part was incubated at room temperature (RT), and another was incubated at 37° C . Immediately and after 2 hr (2H) and 4 hr (4H), spermatozoa were evaluated regarding motility, viability, morphology, sperm protamine deficiency, chromatin and DNA fragmentation. Statistical analysis was performed using paired t-test and repeated measures. The p<0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Our results showed that following 2 and 4 hr of incubation at RT, sperm progressive motility and viability decreased significantly. Sperm DNA fragmentation increased significantly following 2 and 4 hr of incubation at RT and 37° C . The Trend analysis confirmed that there were no significant differences between sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation after different times at RT and 37° C ., Conclusion: Incubation of sperm at RT in comparison to 37° C didn't preserve sperm parameters and DNA efficiently. Therefore, IVF, ICSI and IUI procedure should be performed in the soonest possible time after sperm preparation., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright© 2020, Avicenna Research Institute.)

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a short-term (36 h) fasting period combined with an acute bout of exercise on markers of immune function and inflammation in healthy human subjects. Fourteen moderately trained male subjects (aged 19-39 yr) participated in a 36-h fasting trial (FA-T), followed by an acute bout of moderate exercise (60% V̇o 2max ). After 1 wk, the same subjects, as their own control, participated in a nonfasting trial (NFA-T) in which they performed an exercise trial of the same duration and intensity. Blood samples were taken before, immediately after, and 1 h after each exercise bout and analyzed for several immunological and metabolic markers. At baseline, fasting subjects showed lower levels of T cell apoptosis, lymphocyte-proliferative responses, IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), insulin, and leptin ( P < 0.05) as well as higher levels of neutrophil oxidative burst and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) than those in the NFA-T ( P < 0.05). After the exercise protocol, fasted subjects revealed higher T cell apoptosis, neutrophil oxidative burst, TBARS, TNFα, and MCP-1 levels as well as lower levels of lymphocyte-proliferative response, IL-6, insulin, and leptin than those in the NFA-T ( P < 0.05). Short-term fasting aggravates perturbations in markers of immune function, and inflammation was induced by an acute moderate-intensity exercise protocol.

Objective: The management of advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in the periocular region remains a clinical challenge. Vismodegib (Erivedge TM ) has been approved in 2013 by Health Canada for adult patients with "histologically confirmed metastatic BCC or locally advanced BCC inappropriate for surgery or radiation." An expert consensus was sought to create a standardised approach in the use of this novel treatment., Methods: Fourteen practicing oculoplastic surgeons across Canada were involved in formulating and reviewing guidelines until consensus was reached. A consultancy meeting was followed by further ratification of guidelines over email. Two voting surveys were performed of the group to objectively assess agreement over each statement within the guidelines. Ratification continued until at least two-thirds of the group agreed on every guideline statement., Results: The guidelines summarize 21 statements in a major and minor criteria format. A multidisciplinary team review is suggested for each patient with the involvement of recommended specialists. The internal survey revealed 100% agreement over 9 statements, 91.7% agreement over 8 statements, 83.3% agreement over 4 statements, and 2 statements had 66.7% and 58.7% agreement each. All statements with less than 91.7% agreement were surveyed again, and they were kept, modified, or removed on the basis of a consensus of over 66.7%., Conclusions: These guidelines serve to act as a framework for physicians considering vismodegib for the medical management of patients with advanced or metastatic periocular BCC. Future applications, including neoadjuvant uses of the drug, may become apparent through further research., (Copyright © 2019 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The stainless steel mesh, in the form of the disk, was coated with graphene oxide and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (GO-PDMS) by sol-gel technique. The coated stainless steel meshes are loaded in the mini-column as solid-phase extraction cartridge for the fast isolation and preconcentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from real water samples. The extracted PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, anthracene, benz[a]anthracene, fluorene, and pyrene) were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The operation parameters affecting the extraction efficiency including sample volume, desorption conditions, and ionic strength were investigated. At optimized conditions, the linearity of this method is obtained from 0.001 to 20 ng mL -1 with 0.2 to 1.0 pg mL -1 limit of detection. For 5 replicates at 3 spiking levels (0.1, 1, and 10 ng mL -1 ), the relative standard deviations between 4.0 and 6.3% were achieved. The absolute extraction recovery varied from 89.1 to 94.7%. The enrichment factors were in the range of 2227-2367. The method has been employed in the determination of PAHs in the real water samples including well water, tap water, river water, and wastewater. Relative recoveries are between 95.2 and 100.9%. Graphical abstractSchematic representation of the SPE procedure using the self-assembly SPE cartridge.

Background: Swine species are an important source of meat production worldwide, except in Islamic countries where pig breeding and pork consumption are forbidden. Hence, they are often neglected in these regions. A considerable number of wild boars (Sus scrofa) inhabit Iranian territories, particularly in dense forests of north, west and southwest of the country, but our knowledge regarding their parasites is very limited., Objective: The lack of a comprehensive record in this connection encouraged us to review the whole works of literature in the country., Methods: The current review presents all the information about the parasitic diseases of wild boar in Iran extracted from articles available in both Persian and English databases until June 2017., Results: So far, 8 genera of protozoa (Toxoplasma, Balanthidium, Tritrichomonas, Blastocystis, Entamoeba, Iodamoeba, Chilomastix and Sarcocystis) and 20 helminth species, including four cestode species, two trematode species, thirteen nematode species as well as a single species of Acanthocephala have been described in Iranian wild boars., Conclusion: This review sheds light on the veterinary and public health aspects of the parasitic diseases of wild boars in the country and alerts authorities for future preventive measures., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The effects of 24 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on markers of male reproductive function in infertile patients were studied. Infertile men (n = 441) were randomized to exercise (EX, n = 221) or non-exercise (NON-EX, n = 220) group. Patients in the EX group performed an interval training (1:1 work:rest ratio) 3 times per week at 75-95% of maximal oxygen consumption, for 24 weeks (VO 2max ). Markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in the seminal plasma, as well as semen parameters, sperm DNA fragmentation and rates of pregnancy, were measured at baseline, on weeks 12, 24; and 7 and 30 days thereafter during the recovery period. The intervention resulted in decreased seminal levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) and markers of oxidative stress (ROS, MDA, and 8-isoprostane) (P < 0.05). The concentrations of seminal antioxidants were unaltered with HIIT intervention. These changes further coincide with promising developments in semen parameters, sperm DNA integrity and rates of pregnancy (P < 0.05). This may indicate that HIIT induced beneficial effects on markers of male reproductive function through decreased oxidative damage and proinflammatory status. Findings highlight the possibility that HIIT may be an effective intervention for male factor infertility and support the need for further human studies., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Interest in functionalized carbon nanotubes for many applications arises from a variety on the kind of modification atoms or molecules that are attached to it. Dopamine, the feel-good hormone, release by neurons and playing an important role in body systems. Abnormal dopamine levels cause nerve disorders such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia., Objectives: The aim of this study was the design and fabrication of electrochemical sensor based on MWCNTs and Pd nanoparticles for detection and determination of dopamine in biological samples., Methods: For this purpose, we report the synthesis of pramipexole-functionalized MWCNTs (pp-MWCNTs) for efficient capture of palladium nanoparticles and fabrication of Pd/pp-MWCNTs nanocomposite. Morphological and structural characteristics of the nanocomposites were characterized using various techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)., Results: This newly synthesized nanocomposite may have numerous applications in nanotechnology and sensing. We show that the synthesized nanocomposite reported here will be applicable for modifications of bare glassy carbon electrode (Pd/pp-MWCNTs/GCE) to sense of dopamine electrochemically. Two linear calibrations for dopamine are obtained over ranges of 0.01 to 10 μM and 10 to 200 μM with a detection limit of 1.4 nM. The Pd/pp-MWCNTs/GCE shows high stability and sensitivity, and an acceptable decrease of over-potential for the electrooxidation of dopamine that decreases interference in the analysis. The proposed Pd/pp-MWCNTs nanocomposite can be used as a voltammetric detector for dopamine monitoring in routine real sample analysis., Conclusions: The proposed sensor showed high sensitivity and selectivity in sensing dopamine in biological samples. Graphical abstract Preparation of Pd/pp-MWCNTs/GCE for detection of dopamine.

Emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is a major global concern. According to WHO, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a threatening pathogen resistant to a wide spectrum of antibiotics. Herein, to overcome drug resistance in MRSA, we successfully integrated traditional antibacterial methods but with a novel trick that included use of hen egg-white lysozyme's special aggregates generated by fibrillization. The minimum inhibitory concentration of oxacillin (Ox) for MRSA declined from 600 μM to <20 μM when using aggregates. Scanning and transition electron micrographs showed completely disrupted cells when treated with aggregated protein/Ox (20 μM). The assisting role of aggregates to induce antibiotic hypersensitivity was continuous and stable, but sub-inhibitory antibiotic concentration (20 μM) was required again after 8 h. Investigations regarding mechanism of antibiotic hypersensitivity revealed that aggregates were oligomers but not mature fibrils. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species levels rose significantly after treating bacteria with aggregated protein/Ox. Study of resistance mechanisms indicated that in response to wall structure alterations, mecA expression dropped significantly in the presence of aggregated protein/Ox (20 μM) relative to Ox (20 μM). This observation can be a breakthrough in finding alternatives where antibiotic dosage can be significantly reduced, thereby preventing emergence of new multidrug-resistant bacteria., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

MgZnO@SiO 2 -tetrazine nanoparticles were synthesized and their photocatalytic efficiency was demonstrated in the decomposition of ciprofloxacin and methylene blue (MB). This new heterogeneous nanocatalyst was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, UV-vis, DRS, FE-SEM, ICP, and CHN. Distinctive variables including photocatalyst dose, pH, and degradation time were investigated. Up to 95% photodegradation was gained under the optimum conditions (20 mg photocatalyst, 3.5 ppm MB, pH 9) by using MgZnO@SiO 2 -tetrazine nanoparticles after 20 min. An elementary kinetic study was carried out, and a pseudo-first-order kinetic with a reasonably high rate-constant (0.068 min -1 ) was derived for the MB decay. Photoluminescence (PL) studies confirmed that the photocatalytic activity of MgZnO@SiO 2 -tetrazine was almost consistent with the Taugh plots. Thus, it can be envisaged that the photocatalytic activity is closely related to the optical absorption. Furthermore, a photoreduction mechanism was suggested for the degradation process. Addition of scavengers and some mechanistic studies also revealed that O 2 ˙ - is the original radical accounting for the degradation of MB, considering this latter compound as a model type pollutant. Finally, efficacy of the present photocatalytic process was assessed in the degradation of ciprofloxacin as a model drug under the optimum reaction conditions., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)