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The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has claimed millions of lives worldwide in the past two years. Fatalities among the elderly with underlying cardiovascular disease, lung disease, and diabetes have particularly been high. A bibliometrics analysis on author's keywords was carried out, and searched for possible links between various coronavirus studies over the past 50 years, and integrated them. We found keywords like immune system, immunity, nutrition, malnutrition, micronutrients, exercise, inflammation, and hyperinflammation were highly related to each other. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that the human immune system is a multilevel super complex system, which employs multiple strategies to contain microorganism infections and restore homeostasis. It was also found that the behavior of the immune system is not able to be described by a single immunological theory. However, one main strategy is "self-destroy and rebuild", which consists of a series of inflammatory responses: 1) active self-destruction of damaged/dysfunctional somatic cells; 2) removal of debris and cells; 3) rebuilding tissues. Thus, invading microorganisms' clearance could be only a passive bystander response to this destroy-rebuild process. Microbial infections could be self-limiting and promoted as an indispensable essential nutrition for the vast number of genes existing in the microorganisms. The transient nutrition surge resulting from the degradation of the self-destroyed cell debris coupled with the existing nutrition state in the patient may play an important role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Finally, a few possible coping strategies to mitigate COVID-19, including vaccination, are discussed., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

We aimed to compare in-hospital mortality (IHM) of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between male and females. We assessed the association of sex with IHM after AMI using simple and multivariate cox regression models. Results were presented as crude and adjusted hazard ratios along with their 95% confidence interval (HR; 95% CI). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed females had a higher risk of death than males after ST-elevation MI (STEMI) (adjusted HR [95% CI]: 1.64 [1.15-2.36]; p = 0.007). In subgroup analysis by age group, this significantly increased risk was only observed in 50- to 64-year-old females. There were no significant differences between genders after non-STEMI and unspecified MI. Women aged 50 to 64 years had higher IHM after STEMI than men.

Background: According to World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally. Although significant progress has been made in the diagnosis of CVDs, more investigation can be helpful. Therefore, this study aimed to predict the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) using data mining algorithms., Methods: The applied data were related to the admitted patients in Rajaei specialized cardiovascular hospital located in Tehran. At first, a literature review and interview with a cardiologist were conducted to understand MI. Then, data preparation (cleaning and normalizing the data) was performed. After all, different classification algorithms were applied in IBM SPSS Modeler (14.2) software on the prepared data; and, power of the applied algorithms and the importance of the risk factors in predicting the probability of getting involved with MI was calculated in the mentioned software., Results: This study was able to predict MI % 75.28 and 77.77% in terms of accuracy and sensitivity, respectively. The results also revealed that cigarette consumption, addiction, blood pressure, and cholesterol were the most important risk factors in predicting the probability of getting involved with MI, respectively., Conclusions: Predicting studies aim to support rather than replace clinical judgment. Our prediction models are not sufficiently accurate to supplant decision-making by physicians but have considerable tips about MI risk factors., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 International Journal of Preventive Medicine.)

Objective: A longer life expectancy increases the number of older adults who require long-term care. The presence of a caregiver at home prevents the placement of older adults in care facilities. Identifying the caregivers' viewpoints around the care clarifies key factors in providing quality care.This study aimed to assess barriers to home care from the perspective of Iranian informal caregivers of older adults., Design: This was a qualitative study with content analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted via telephone in Persian with informal caregivers of older adults using open-ended questions., Setting: Social and health organisations in southern Tehran, Iran., Participants: Seventeen informal caregivers were selected on purpose. Participants were eligible to participate in the study if they were 18 years or older, and had at least 1 month of care experience for a minimum of 6 hours per week., Results: Barriers to home care for older adults from informal caregivers' points of view were categorised into three domains: (1) Individual barriers include the physical, mental and social burden of care as well as personal characteristics of the caregiver; (2) interpersonal barriers include psychobehavioural characteristics of the older adult and misbehaviour of people around the caregiver and (3) care system barriers include inefficient institutional/organisational infrastructure, moral issues and inefficiency in public policy., Conclusions: Our study showed multiple individual, interpersonal and care system barriers to home care for older adults. Specific contextual challenges among Iranian caregivers, such as their attitudes and beliefs, as well as a lack of social and healthcare support for families, hindered the quality of care., Trial Registration Number: IRCT20201012048999N1., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

A poly (ionic liquid) (PIL) functionalized magnetic nanoparticles methodology was developed and utilized as an efficient adsorbent for the simultaneous extraction of cadmium, lead, and copper ions from water and fruit juice samples. The novel adsorbent was fabricated by grafting DABCO-based PIL onto silica-coated Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles via copper (0)-mediated reversible-deactivation radical polymerization. Different techniques properly characterized the developed nanoparticles. The central composite design was used to analyze the simultaneous effects of various parameters on the extraction efficiency. The detection limits for water samples ranged between 3.2 and 9.2 ng.L -1 , and fruit juice samples varied from 0.0103 to 0.1082 μg.kg -1 . The recovery ranged from 94.1 to 101.3% and 93.6 to 105.1% for water and fruit juice samples, respectively. The relive measurement uncertainty ranged from 7.7 to 13.6%. The proposed method is rapid, sensitive, environmentally friendly, and useful for monitoring the residues of heavy metal ions in water and fruit juice samples., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Pathogenicity of a bacterium is affected by the social characteristics of the population and environmental factors. The ability of biofilm formation among β-lactamase-producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) could facilitate the exchange of antibiotic-resistance genes, which resulted in widespread dissemination of antibacterial drug resistance. We investigated the prevalence of biofilm and β-lactamase producing UPECs among patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) in two cities with different demographics and climates in Iran. A total of 265 E. coli was isolated from patients with UTIs from two referral hospitals (n = 191) and two outpatient clinics (n = 74) in Isfahan and Zahedan, Iran. Production of curli and cellulose, and, biofilm formation was investigated using Congo red agar and microtiter plate methods, respectively. Biofilm producing (BFP) isolates (n = 107) were further characterized using rep-PCR, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)/AmpC phenotypic production. Isolates were also screened for the presence of carbapenemase, ESBL and AmpC genes using multiplex PCR.   High diversity was found among BFP strains in both cities, with 58% strains producing ESBL and 21% producing AmpC. ESBL (98%), AmpC (50%) and carbapenemase genes (40%) were identified in BFP strains with ESBL-positive phenotype, respectively. The prevalence of BFP strains, antibiotic resistance and β-lactamase genes in Zahedan, a low socioeconomic city with a warm climate, was significantly higher than that of Isfahan. High prevalence of biofilm and β-lactamase producing UPEC strains among strains from Zahedan suggests that socioeconomic status and environmental factors might have a role in pathogenicity of the strains.

Alginate-grafted polyaniline (Alg-g-PANI) microparticles were synthesized through the grafting of aniline onto functionalized Alg followed by double crosslinking by glutaraldehyde and calcium chloride. The performance of the developed microparticles as adsorbent in simultaneous removal of malachite green (MG) and congo red (CR) dyes were examined by the batch method. Experimental parameters, including adsorbent amount, pH, initial dyes concentrations, and contact time were optimized. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were employed to explore the equilibrium isotherm. As the Langmuir model results, the maximum adsorption capacities (Q m ) of microparticles for the MG and CR dyes were obtained as 578.3 and 409.6 mgg -1 , respectively. Adsorption kinetics for both dyes were well-fitted with the pseudo-second-order model that confirm the rate-limiting step might be the chemical adsorption. The adsorbent was regenerated via desorption process and was reusable five times without a substantial decrease in its adsorption efficacy in first three cycles. Adsorbent-dyes interactions were computationally evaluated using Gromacs package, and it was found that both MG and CR are able to interact strongly with the adsorbent. In accordance with experimental results, simulation data revealed that MG can be removed more efficiently than those of the CR. As the experimental results, we could conclude that the synthesized Alg-g-PANI microparticles can be used as a nature-inspired adsorbent for simultaneous removals of CR and MG dyes., 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 © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of death worldwide and the use of CRC screening tests can reduce the incidence and mortality of the disease by early detection. This study aims to review cost-effectiveness strategies in different ages and countries, systematically., Methods: We searched ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, PubMed and Embase for related studies between 2010 and 2020. Articles that reported costs per Quality-Adjusted Life Year or Life Year Gain and Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios to compare the cost-effectiveness of CRC screening strategies in the average-risk population were included in our study., Results: The search strategies identified 426 records and finally 48 articles were included in the systematic review based on included and excluded criteria. We identified seven strategies for CRC screening. Most of the strategies were performed in aged 50-75. These studies were reported by cost per Quality-Adjusted life year (QALY)/Life Year Gain (LYG) based on methods and perspectives and the ICER of comparison of two-by-two strategies., Conclusion: Most of the CRC screening strategies were cost-effective, but there was big heterogeneity between the cost-effectiveness analysis of CRC screening strategies because of different screening methods, perspectives and screening populations. So, it is important to consider this heterogeneity to compare the economic evaluation studies in this field., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: Clinical outcomes of infection by S. gallolyticus have not been investigated extensively. We aimed to determine the prevalence of S. gallolyticus in tumor specimens obtained from Iranian patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm the presence of S. gallolyticus in patients' tissue samples., Results: Of 176 patients, 65 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer whereas 111 did not have any colon disease. No correlation was found between age, colonization with S. gallolyticus, gender, or risk factors. Overall, 72 (40%) patients carried S. gallolyticus; only 29% of the patients without colorectal cancer were positive for S. gallolyticus. Diagnosis of colorectal cancer and presence of S. gallolyticus significantly correlated (P = 0.006; odds ratio = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.21-3.87). Among the patients with colorectal cancer, 39 (60%) were positive with S. gallolyticus (P = 0.006) whereas 33 of 111 (29.7%) control subjects were positive for S. gallolyticus (P > 0.05); thus, 70.3% of the control subjects were not infected with S. gallolyticus. We found a high prevalence of S. gallolyticus among an Iranian cohort of patients with colorectal cancer. Despite previous reports, we report a positive correlation between colorectal cancer and S. gallolyticus colonization., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Creating an environment for emotional and social well-being is an important responsibility of Health-Promoting and Child-Friendly Schools. Thus, the present study aimed to assess cultural adaptation and validation of the Persian version of the Psycho-Social Environment (PSE) Profile. The second purpose of this study was to survey the psycho-social environment of schools among a local sample of Iranian school staff., Methods: This study was conducted in two phases, including cultural adaptation and validation of a culturally adapted scale. The cultural adaptation process followed the procedure suggested by Beaton et al. Then, the culturally adapted scale was administered to a local sample of Iranian school staff including managers (21.9%), teachers (57.4%), support staff (4%), and other school staff (16.7%) in a cross-sectional study. The participants' mean age was 39.98 ± 8.11 years and they were mostly female (62.8%). The psychometric properties of the culturally adapted version of the questionnaire were tested using a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 265), and a test of internal consistency. Finally, the status of schools' psycho-social environment was assessed using descriptive and analytical statistics., Results: Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an overall good fit for the 7-factor profile (χ2/df: 1.906, PNFI: 0.62, TLI: 0.78, CFI: 0.79, RMSE: 0.059). The test of internal consistency showed an acceptable reliability (α = 0. 98)., Conclusions: The Persian version of the PSE profile was culturally adapted for use in Iranian schools. Certainly, this culturally adapted version of PSE profile could be useful to determine the school psycho-social environment and to make any changes that can promote a friendly school climate for all participants, and to enhance learning and development., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common musculoskeletal disorder that is associated with balance impairment. Recent studies have used balance exercises for improvement of balance and functional performance among knee OA patients. The purpose of this study was analyzing the effects of balance training in patients with knee OA. Methods: This review included clinical trials in which the effect of balance training on functional measures was assessed compared to other physiotherapy interventions or control groups in patients with knee OA. To this aim, Electronic databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, PEDro, CINAHL, and WOS) were searched from 1 January 1990 to 30 June 2021. Two independent reviewers selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of the studies. Results: Fifteen articles of clinical trials were eligible to include in this review. Most studies used patient-reported outcome measures, and some studies used performance-based functional outcome measures for the evaluation of functional outcomes. The findings of studies showed that physical function in knee OA patients could have clinical improvements significantly after receiving balance training. However, studies assessing the effect of balance training on muscle strength of the quadriceps and the hamstring had conflicting results. Also, the finding of studies showed that more significant improvement in postural stability and balance in the balance training group rather than the control group. Conclusion: The results of the current systematic review demonstrate balance exercises significantly improve balance and functionality in knee OA patients. However, the effect of balance training on muscle strength was not clearly revealed due to few studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2022 Iran University of Medical Sciences.)

The key issue in the treatment of solid tumors is the lack of efficient strategies for the targeted delivery and accumulation of therapeutic cargoes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Targeting approaches are designed for more efficient delivery of therapeutic agents to cancer cells while minimizing drug toxicity to normal cells and off-targeting effects, while maximizing the eradication of cancer cells. The highly complicated interrelationship between the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, and the physiological and pathological barriers that are required to cross, dictates the need for the success of targeting strategies. Dual targeting is an approach that uses both purely biological strategies and physicochemical responsive smart delivery strategies to increase the accumulation of nanoparticles within the TME and improve targeting efficiency towards cancer cells. In both approaches, either one single ligand is used for targeting a single receptor on different cells, or two different ligands for targeting two different receptors on the same or different cells. Smart delivery strategies are able to respond to triggers that are typical of specific disease sites, such as pH, certain specific enzymes, or redox conditions. These strategies are expected to lead to more precise targeting and better accumulation of nano-therapeutics. This review describes the classification and principles of dual targeting approaches and critically reviews the efficiency of dual targeting strategies, and the rationale behind the choice of ligands. We focus on new approaches for smart drug delivery in which synthetic and/or biological moieties are attached to nanoparticles by TME-specific responsive linkers and advanced camouflaged nanoparticles., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Anal abscess is considered as a relatively common compilation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. This study aimed to determine the risk factors of recurrent anal abscess in T2DM patients., Methods: In this 4-year retrospective cross-sectional study, T2DM patients hospitalized due to anal abscess in Shahid Modarres Hospital, Tehran, Iran from December 2016 to December 2020 were studied. The independent risk factors of disease recurrence were determined among demographic factors, underlying diseases, diabetes-related factors, clinical factors, laboratory parameters, abscess type, and culture using multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis., Results: 203 patients were enrolled in the study. 58 (28.6%) patients had at least one re-occurrence of anal abscess during four years. The recurrent episodes had occurred more frequently in the first year after the initial treatment (55.2%). The prevalence of comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, end stage renal disease, and peripheral vascular disease was significantly higher amongst patients with abscess recurrence. The patients with recurrent anal abscess had statically significant poor glycemic control (HbA1C > 7.5), decreased levels of Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (e-GFR), and higher C-reactive Protein (CRP) upon the first admission. Presence of metabolic syndrome, HbA1c > 7.5%, WBC > 11.0 ×10 9 /L, and CRP > 5 mg/l were amongst the independent risk factors of recurrence. HbA1c > 7.5% was the greatest independent risk factor of anal abscess recurrence (OR=2.68, 95% CI: 1.37-5.25; p < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of HbA1C, CRP, and WBC in predicting the risk of abscess recurrence was 0.81, 0.71, and 0.64, respectively., Conclusion: Th recurrence rate of anal abscess in this series was 28.6 %. It seems that in T2DM patients with uncontrolled diabetes who have metabolic syndrome and increased CRP and WBC in their routine tests, the probability of anal abscess reoccurrence is high., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest is declared by the authors of this study.

In the present research, we performed a combination of detailed computational and spectroscopic methods to determine the effect of crystalline nanocellulose (CNC) on the structure and dynamics of human lysozyme (hLyz). Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed static quenching as the major mechanism in forming a stable CNC-hLyz complex, and the binding was energetically favorable. The obtained values of the thermodynamic parameters (∆G, ∆H, and ∆S) proposed that the complex formation between the enzyme and cellulose nanocrystals is driven by electrostatic interactions, which were also confirmed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Additionally, the MD simulation analysis displays that the enzyme's structural elements and tertiary structure were primarily maintained, and only loops regions were affected in the presence of cellulose nanocrystals. At the same time, circular dichroism (CD) outcomes highlighted that higher cellulose nanocrystals concentration caused a reduction in the secondary structure of hLyz. Our observations proved that low cellulose nanocrystals concentrations have no considerable effect on the human lysozyme structure. The current research results provide a valuable opportunity to elucidate the molecular interactions between protein and nanocelluloses, guiding further investigations of CNC-based material for biomedical, pharmaceutical, and food industry applications., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: In this study, we aimed to develop new Lipo-niosomes based nanoparticles loaded with Amphotericin B (AmB) and Thymus Essential Oil (TEO) and test their effectiveness in the treatment of fungal-infected human adipose stem cells (hASCs)., Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, optimal formulation of AmB and TEO loaded lipo-niosome (based on lipid-surfactant thin-film hydration method) was chemically, and biologically characterized. Therefore, encapsulation capacity, drug release, size, and the survival rate of cells with different concentrations of free and encapsulated AmB/ TEO were evaluated using the MTT method, and its antifungal activity was compared with conventional AmB., Results: Lipo-Niosome containing Tween 60 surfactant: cholesterol: Dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC): Polyethylene glycol (PEG) with a ratio of 20:40:60:3 were chosen as optimal formulation. Lipo-Niosomes entrapment efficiency was 94.15%. The drug release rate after 24 hours was 52%, 54%, and 48% for Lipo-AmB, Lipo-TEO, and Lipo-AmB/TEO, respectively. Physical and chemical characteristics of the Lipo-Niosomes particles indicated size of 200 nm and a dispersion index of 0.32 with a Zeta potential of -24.56 mv. Furthermore, no chemical interaction between drugs and nano-carriers was observed. The cell viability of adipose mesenchymal stem cells exposed to 50 μg/ml of free AmB, free TEO, and free AmB/TEO was 13.4, 58, and 36.9%, respectively. Whereas the toxicity of the encapsulated formulas of these drugs was 48.9, 70.8, and 58.3% respectively. The toxicity of nanoparticles was very low (8.5%) at this concentration. Fluorescence microscopic images showed that the antifungal activity of Lipo-AmB/ TEO was significantly higher than free formulas of AmB, TEO, and AmB/TEO., Conclusion: In this study, we investigated the efficacy of the TEO/AmB combination, in both free and encapsulatedniosomal form, on the growth of fungal infected-hASCs. The results showed that the AmB/TEO-loaded Lipo-Niosomes can be suggested as a new efficient anti-fungal nano-system for patients treated with hASCs.

Background: Changing in the sexual function is an important condition in women with gynecological cancers. A valid and reliable questionnaire is required to assess this condition. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Persian version of the Sexual-Vaginal Function Changes Questionnaire (SVQ) in women with gynecologic cancers., Methods: This methodological study with a psychometric design was conducted on 250 women with gynecologic cancers, who visited public and private medical centers in Tehran to receive follow-up services. Convenience sampling was conducted from April 2019 to May 2020. First, the Persian version of the Sexual Function-Vaginal Changes Questionnaire was developed and then, psychometric properties such as content validity, face validity, construct validity and criterion validity were assessed. Reliability of the instrument was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient., Results: Mean age of participants was 53.3 ± 11.8 and mean score of SVQ was 63.0 ± 9.1 in the possible range of 26-104. Content validity was tested through qualitative method and six items were revised as suggested by the expert panel. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.71 for the whole questionnaire and it was 0.93, 0.92, 0.89, 0.78, 0.88 and 0.78 for the 6 subscales, respectively, which shows the optimal internal consistency. Results of exploratory factor analysis revealed six factors as (1) intemacy and sexual interst, (2) arousal, (3) changes in intemacy and sexual interst after cancer, (4) vaginal changes after cancer, (5) vaginal bleeding during coitus, (6) and sexual worry and dissatisfaction after cancer. explained 70.09% of the variance observed. Criterion validity test of the questionnaire showed a significant correlation between the total SVQ scores and the total Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) scores as well as between SVQ dimensions and dimensions of FSFI (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: The findings from this study indicated that the Persian version of the SVQ is a valid and reliable instrument to assess sexual function-vaginal changes in women with gynecologic cancers., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by demyelination and neurodegenerative changes and associated with high levels of disability. This study aimed to investigate direct and indirect costs of illness of patients with MS in Isfahan using and comparing human-capital and friction-cost methods from a societal perspective., Methods: A total of 300 patients with MS of 2 main centers of the disease in Isfahan, the MS center of Ayatollah Kashani hospital and Isfahan MS center, were included. Patient's demographic characteristics, disease information, and annual social costs (2018-2019) were collected using data collection form. Both the human-capital and friction-cost methods were applied and compared with value indirect costs because of loss of productivity., Results: From the social perspective, the average annual total cost of MS disease was estimated to be 1 441 163 710 rials (34 313 US dollar [USD]) per patient using the human-capital approach and 1 434 832 004 rials (34 162 USD) with the use of friction-cost method, from which 1 428 668 396 rials (34 016 USD) was related to direct costs. The main direct costs were related to disease-modifying therapies and referring to other physicians and hospitals. The cost of loss of production was greater with human-capital approach in comparison with friction-cost method., Conclusions: The most prominent cost in MS disease is related to drug costs. The indirect costs were sensitive to the methods, applied in the study., (Copyright © 2021 ISPOR--The professional society for health economics and outcomes research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The metabolic benefits of time-restricted eating (TRE) in humans are statistically significant but not clinically relevant. Few data are available about the effects of TRE on the gut microbiota. We compared the effects of a TRE regimen (<12 h feeding; n = 25) with a time-unrestricted (TUE) regimen (>12 h feeding; n = 24), on the clinical and dietary variables and gut-microbiota composition in patients with obesity, who were subjected for 12 weeks to the same caloric restriction. Median weight loss was 4.0 kg and 2.2 kg in the TRE and TUE groups, respectively, with a between-group borderline difference (p = 0.049). No significant between-group difference was found in other dietary, anthropometric, or laboratory variables. There were no substantial between-group differences in alpha and beta diversity or gut-microbiota composition. The TRE group showed a significant increase in the frequency of Lachnospiraceae, Parasutterella, and Romboutsia at the study’s end. A TRE regimen induced small changes both in metabolic/dietary variables and in the gut-microbiota composition, with respect to the TUE. The microbial changes we have found were of uncertain clinical significance.

This study aimed to identify prognostic factors in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (UM) that were associated with long-term survival in a real-world setting. A total of 94 patients with metastatic UM were included from German skin cancer centers and the German national skin cancer registry (ADOReg). Data were analyzed for the response to treatment, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS). Prognostic factors were explored with univariate Cox regression, log-rank, and χ2-tests. Identified factors were subsequently validated after the population was divided into two cohorts of short-term survival (< 2 years OS, cohort A, n = 50) and long-term survival (> 2 years OS, cohort B, n = 44). A poor ECOG performance status (hazard ratio [HR] 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-3.9) and elevated serum LDH (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0-3.8) were associated with a poor OS, whereas a good response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB, p < 0.001), radiation therapy (p < 0.001), or liver-directed treatments (p = 0.01) were associated with a prolonged OS. Long-term survivors (cohort B) showed a higher median number of organs affected by metastasis (p < 0.001), while patients with liver metastases only were more common in cohort A (40% vs. 9%; p = 0.002). A partial response to ICB was observed in 16% (12/73), being 21% (8/38) for combined ICB, 17% (1/6) for single CTLA4 inhibition, and 10% (3/29) for single PD1 inhibition. One complete response occurred in cohort B with combined ICB. We conclude that the response to ICB and the presence of extrahepatic disease were favorable prognostic factors for long-term survival., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: None.

Abstract: An ongoing outbreak of syphilis in Australia, first reported in the state of Queensland in 2011, has led to increasing cases of congenital syphilis, including several deaths. Here, we applied multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) on available Treponema pallidum PCR-positive samples from the state of Queensland from the beginning of the outbreak to July 2020. In total, 393 samples from 337 males and 56 females were genotyped. Of 36 different Treponema pallidum sequence types (ST) observed, the two most common STs, ST 1 (also reported to be a dominant strain in various other countries) and ST 100 (the latter differing from ST 1 by only one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based on the MLST scheme), together comprised 69% (271/393) of all samples, including the majority of samples in females (79%; 44/56). ST 1 was prevalent throughout the entire study period. Both strains remained the most common STs during the year 2020 where social distancing and other measures were implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both STs had high male-to-female ratios and included male rectal infections, therefore suggestive of occurrence primarily among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). Hence, bridging from MSM to heterosexual networks may potentially contribute to infections among females, but further studies are needed to confirm this. Overall, there was considerable diversity of Treponema pallidum genotypes observed throughout the study period, but the fact that two key strains accounted for the majority of infections, including among females, stresses the need for further investigations into the transmission of these strains, and potentially a need for targeted public health interventions to better control the spread of syphilis in Queensland., (© Commonwealth of Australia CC BY-NC-ND.)

Background: Elderly population in low- and middle-income countries is rapidly growing, which indicates an increase in the number of dependent people needing long-term care. Caring for the elderly is difficult and stressful and threatens physical and mental health of informal caregivers. We aim to design a web-based support group and assess its effectiveness on depression, anxiety, and stress among elderly informal caregivers., Methods: This is a protocol for a two-arm randomized controlled trial. A total of 160 informal elderly caregivers will be recruited from the southern area of Tehran. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to two intervention and control groups. The inclusion criteria include not receiving salary for caring, having primary responsibility for care, having smartphone/tablet/computer, being able to use the contents and web applications, having at least one month of experience in caring for the elderly, and having access to the Internet at least once weekly. The intervention will be implemented by giving an account access to the designed website. Depression, anxiety, and stress will be assessed using the DASS21 questionnaire at baseline, and at the end of third and sixth months., Discussion: Our findings can pave the way for improving the mental health of informal caregivers of the elderly through provision of web-based supportive services. This study stands as an opportunity to address the needs of caregivers and help them support each other in a novel way., Trial Registration: Iran Randomized Clinical Trial Center IRCT20201012048999N1 . Registered on 25 December 2020 (current status: ongoing). The World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set is in Additional file 1 PROTOCOL VERSION: Second version 2021-05-27., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The spin-photo current in single layer stanene and germanene under a linearly polarized light is theoretically investigated based on the tight-binding Hamiltonian combined with the nonequilibrium Green's function at room temperature. The results show that by considering the simultaneous effect of the linear illumination and a vertical external electric field without any magnetic exchange element, pure spin-photo current without charge current is generated in two-dimensional lattices with a large intrinsic spin-orbit coupling. The necessity of enhanced spin life-time for detection of spin polarization can be explained by spin-valley locking concept. Spin-valley locking arises in buckled two-dimensional materials as a result of the large spin-orbit coupling and electric-field reversible valley spin polarization. Equal absorption of the linearly illumination at both valleys with different spin polarization, leads to pure spin-photo current injection. In addition, an acceptable photoresponsivity has been reported in a broad range of photon energy. The numerical results indicate high quantum efficiency with a maximum of nearly 83% and 50% for stanene and germanene, respectively. This work may pave theoretical reference toward design of new spin-optoelectronic devices based on satanene and germanene junctions with high performance., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strains exhibit different levels of biofilm formation that help adhesion of the bacteria to uroepithelial cells. We investigated the genetic diversity and virulence-associated genes (VAGs) of biofilm-producing UPEC. A collection of 107 biofilm-producing (BFP) UPEC strains isolated from patients with UTI in Iran were divided into three groups of strong, moderate, and weak BFPs after a quantitative microtiter plate assay, and the involvement of curli and cellulose in adhesion of the strains to T24 cell line was confirmed by the construction of csgD and yedQ mutants of two representative UPEC strains. BFP strains were tested for their genetic diversity, phylogenetic groups, and the presence of 15 VAGs. A significant decrease in adhesion of csgD and yedQ mutant strains confirmed the role of biofilm production in adhesion to uroepithelial cells. A high diversity was found among all three groups of strong (Di = 0.998), moderate (Di = 0.998), and weak (Di = 0.988) BFPs with majority of the strains belonging to phylogroups B2 (44.9%) and A (24.3%). Strong BFP strains carried significantly higher level papEF, hlyA, and iutA than other BFP groups. In contrast, the presence of fimH, focG, sfaS, set-1, and cvaC was more pronounced among weak BFP strains. There exists a high genetic diversity among the BFP strains with different VGA profiles. However, the high prevalence of phylogroup A among BFP strains suggests the fitness of commensal E. coli strains to cause UTI in this country., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Conjunctival melanoma is a rare type of ocular melanoma, which is prone to local recurrence and metastasis and can lead to patient death. Novel therapeutic strategies have revolutionized cutaneous melanoma management. The efficacy of these therapies in conjunctival melanoma, however, has not been evaluated in larger patient cohorts., Methods: In this multi-center retrospective cohort study with additional screening of the ADOREG database, data were collected from 34 patients with metastatic conjunctival melanoma who received targeted therapy (TT) (BRAF ± MEK inhibitors) or immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) (anti-PD-1 ± anti-CTLA4). In 15 cases, tissue was available for targeted next-generation-sequencing (611 genes) and RNA sequencing. Driver mutations, tumor mutational burden, copy number variations and inflammatory/IFNγ gene expression signatures were determined., Results: Genetic characterization identified frequent BRAF (46.7%, 7/15), NRAS (26.7%, 4/15), NF1 (20%, 3/15), and TERT promoter (46.7%, 7/15) mutations. UV associated C>T and CC>TT mutations were common. Median follow-up time after start of first TT or ICI therapy was 13.2 months. In 26 patients receiving first-line ICI, estimated one-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 42.0%, PFS and overall survival (OS) 6.2 and 18.0 months, respectively. First-line TT was given to 8 patients, estimated one-year PFS rate was 54.7%, median PFS and OS 12.6 and 29.1 months, respectively., Conclusions: Our findings support the role of UV irradiation in conjunctival melanoma and the genetic similarity with cutaneous melanoma. Conjunctival melanoma patients with advanced disease benefit from both targeted therapies (BRAF ± MEK inhibitors) and immune checkpoint inhibitors., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: GL has received travel support for congress participation: Sun Pharma. PJ declares no conflicts of interest. IM declares no conflicts of interest. AS declares no conflicts of interest. JCH receives a scientific grant from BMS, payments ad consultant from Pierre Fabre, MSD, Sunpharma and speaker honoraria from BMS, MSD, Roche, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, GSK, Amgen, Almirall. AF Advisory board: Pierre-Fabre, Roche, Novartis, BMS, MSD, travel support for congress participation: Pierre-Fabre, Roche, Novartis, BMS, honoraria for talks: Roche, Novartis, BMS, MSD, CeGaT, research funding: Stiftung Immunonkologie BMS. All outside the submitted work. JE declars no conflicts of interest. FM has received travel support or/and speaker's fees or/and advisor's honoraria by Novartis, Roche, BMS, MSD and Pierre Fabre and research funding from Novartis and Roche. LR declares no conflicts of interest. KCK has served as consultant or/and has received honoraria from Amgen, Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Pierre Fabre, and Novartis, and received travel support from Amgen, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, Pierre Fabre, Medac and Novartis. MZ has served as consultant or/and has received honoraria from Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Pierre Fabre, Novartis, Sanofi Genzyme and SUN Pharma. MS Consultancy, speaker fees or travel grants: BMS, MSD, Roche, Kyowa Kirin, Novartis, Sanofi Genzyme, Pierre Fabre, Sun Pharma, Immunocore. FR declares no conflicts of interest. AS declares no conflicts of interest. KS declares no conflicts of interest. FM served as consultant and/or has received honoraria from Novartis, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pierre Fabre, Sanofi Genzyme and travel support from Novartis, Sunpharma and Bristol-Myers Squibb, outside the submitted work. RG Honoraria for lectures (personally): Roche, BMS, MSD, Novartis, Amgen, Merck Serono, Almirall Hermal, SUN, Sanofi, Pierre-Fabre. Honoraria for advice (personally): BMS, Roche, Novartis, Almirall Hermal, MSD, Amgen, SUN, Sanofi, Pierre-Fabre, 4SC, Bayer, MerckSerono, Pfizer, Immunocore. Research grants (to institution): Novartis, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Merck-Serono, SUN Pharma, Sanofi, Almirall Hermal. Support for meeting participation: Roche, BMS, SUN, Merck-Serono, Pierre-Fabre. CP received honoraria (speaker honoraria or honoraria as a consultant) and travel support from: Novartis, BMS, Roche, Merck Serono, MSD, Celgene, AbbVie, SUNPHARMA, UCB, Allergy Therapeutics, Pierre Fabre, Kyowa Kirin and LEO. PT declares honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pierre-Fabre, CureVac, Merck Serono, Sanofi, Roche, Kyowa Kirin, Biofrontera, Almirall, and 4SC; travel support from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pierre-Fabre, outside the submitted work.BS is on the advisory board or has received honoraria from Almirall, Pfizer, Sanofi, Incyte, Novartis, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and MSD Sharp & Dohme, research funding from Novartis, Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb and MSD Sharp & Dohme and travel support from Novartis, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals, MSD Sharp & Dohme and Amgen, outside the submitted work. MS declares no conflict of interest. MH has been a member of advisory boards of Almirall Hermal, Sanofi-Aventis, MSD, 622 BMS, Novartis, and received speaker's honoraria from Galderma and Biofrontera. UL speaker fees: Roche, Novartis, Sanofi, MSD; consultancy: Roche, Sanofi, MSD, Novartis. AZ received travel support from Novartis, Sanofi Grenzyme, Sun Pharma, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, outside the submitted work. CM declares no conflicts of interest. SU declares research support from Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck Serono; speakers and advisory board honoraria from Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Merck Serono, Novartis and Roche, and travel support from Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Pierre Fabre. LZ served as consultant and/or has received honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pierre-Fabre, Sunpharma and Sanofi; Research funding to institution: Novartis; travel support from Merck Sharp & Dohme, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, Pierre-Fabre, Sanofi, Sunpharma and Novartis, outside the submitted work. EH declares no conflicts of interest. NB declares no conflicts of interest. DS D.S. Served as consultant, advisory board and/or speaker and has received honoraria from Amgen, Array, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Helsinn, Immunocore, InflarX, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Merck-Serono, Nektar, Novartis, OncoSec, Pfizer, Philogen, Regeneron, Replimune, Sandoz, Sanofi, Sunpharma, 4SC and travel support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Merck-Serono, Nektar, Novartis, Pierre Fabre, Sandoz, Sanofi, and 4SC, outside the submitted work. HW declares no conflicts of interest. EL served as consultant and/or has received honoraria from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Medac, Sanofi, Sunpharma and travel support from Medac, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pierre Fabre, Sunpharma and Novartis, outside the submitted work. KG declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Adolescents with intellectual disabilities are probably twice as many people without intellectual disabilities to be sexually abused by family members, caregivers, close relatives, and others in the community. Sex education and training are essential components of children's and teenagers' education and human rights, as well as a source of worry for parents and society. While the parents are thought to be the most accessible choice as sexual educators, they often do not fulfill this role. Therefore, professional teachers and trainers who have undergone sex education courses for mentally retarded adolescents are more reliable sources to provide the sexual information in terms of their educational role. This study aimed to determine the experiences of teachers, educators, and school counselor parents regarding the sexual and reproductive health of educable intellectually disabled adolescent girls., Methods: This was a qualitative content analysis study. 35 participants were selected via purposive sampling with maximum variation, and data were collected through in-depth individual interviews, focus group discussions and field notes, and analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis method simultaneously., Results: Three subcategories have emerged: "knowledge and professional experience of teachers, educators, and school counselors with how to educate and care for adolescent sexual health", "proficiency of teachers, educators, and school counselors in guiding families in solving their child's sexual problems", "attitude of teachers, educators, and school counselors towards sexual behaviors and sexual education of adolescents" which formed the main category of "teachers, educators, and school counselors' inefficiency in maintaining ID adolescent girls' sexual and reproductive health"., Conclusions: Teachers, educators, and school counselors encounter a variety of issues related to the sexual and reproductive health of intellectually impaired teenage females, as a consequence of the findings. As a result, efforts should be made to enhance knowledge and skill development, as well as the evolution of negative attitudes. Therefore, the teaching of sexual guidelines for teenagers with mental impairments should be included in the agenda of the country's educational policies. Teachers and educators should be taught by health experts via the holding of in-service training courses., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Metabolic syndrome is overwhelmingly increasing and is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disorder, so effective treatment strategies are considered high priority. This study aimed to determine the effects of synbiotic supplementation on metabolic factors in patients with metabolic syndrome., Methods: In this triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial, 108 participants were divided into two groups to receive synbiotic supplementation or placebo for 12 weeks. All participants were also educated about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and consuming low-calorie nutritious meals, along with dietary intake and physical activity monitoring. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, glycemic indices, lipid profile, hepatic enzymes, and hs-CRP were evaluated at the baseline and end of the trial., Results: Synbiotic supplementation significantly reduces fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels in the intervention group versus placebo group [-14.69 ± 15.11 mg/dl vs. -8.23 ± 7.90 mg/dl; p =0.007], but there was no difference between groups in other metabolic factors., Conclusions: These findings suggest that synbiotic supplementation while following a healthy lifestyle and nutrition improved FBG in patients with metabolic syndrome., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Fatemeh Rahimi et al.)

The sensitive and reliable detection of Hg 2+ and CN - as harsh environmental contaminants are of great importance. In view of this, a novel 'on-off-on' fluorescent probe based on nitrogen-rich silicon quantum dots (NR-SiQDs) has been designed for sensitive detection of Hg 2+ and CN - ions in aqueous medium. NR-SiQDs were synthesized using a facile, one-step, and environment friendly procedure in the presence of 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APTMS) and ascorbic acid (AA) as precursors, with l-asparagine as a nitrogen source for surface modification. The NR-SiQDs exhibited strong fluorescence emission at 450 nm with 42.34% quantum yield, satisfactory salt tolerance, and superior photostability and pH stability. The fluorescence emission was effectively quenched using Hg 2+ (turn-off) due to the formation of a nonfluorescent stable NR-SiQDs/Hg 2+ complex, whereas after the addition of cyanide ions (CN - ), Hg 2+ ions could be leached from the surface of the NR-SiQDs and the fluorescence emission intensity of the quenched NR-SiQDs fully recovered (turn-on) due to the formation of highly stable [Hg(CN) 4 ] 2- species. After optimizing the response conditions, the obtained limits of detection were found to be 53 nM and 0.46 μM for Hg 2+ and CN - , respectively. Finally, the NR-SiQD-based fluorescence probe was utilized to detect Hg 2+ and CN - ions in water samples and satisfactory results were obtained, suggesting its potential application for environmental monitoring., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Reasons underlying retractions of papers authored by the Iran-affiliated highly cited researchers (HCRs) have not been documented. Here, we report that 229 of the Iran-affiliated researchers were listed by the Clarivate Analytics as HCRs. We investigated the Retraction Watch Database and found that, in total, 51 papers authored by the Iran-affiliated HCRs were retracted from 2006 to 2019. Twenty-three of the 229 HCRs (10%) had at least one paper retracted. One of the listed HCRs had 22 papers retracted; 14 of the 23 (60.8%) had only one paper retracted. Among the 51 retracted papers, three had been authored by two female authors. Eight (16.8%) retracted papers had international co-authorships. The shortest and longest times from publication to retraction were 20 and 2610 (mean ± SD, 857 ± 616) days, respectively. Of the 51 papers, 43 (84%) had a single reason for retraction, whereas eight had multiple reasons. Among the 43 papers, 23 (53%) were retracted due to fake peer-review, eight (19%) were duplications, six (14%) had errors, four (9%) had plagiarism, and two (5%) were labelled as "limited or no information." Duplication of data, which is easily preventable, amounted to 27%. Any publishing oversight committed by an HCR may not be tolerated because they represent the stakeholders of the scientific literature and stand as role-models for other peer researchers. Future policies supporting the Iranian academia should radically change by implementation of educational and awareness programs on publishing ethics to reduce the rate of retractions in Iran., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Millions have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The irrepressible propensity of the pandemic, which was highlighted by the outbreak of the Delta variant, should not be underestimated. The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant is thought to have originated from Africa. Sequences of the omicron variant show that it carries the highest number of point mutations detected in a betacoronavirus. High hospitalization numbers due to the Omicron variant has retriggered precautionary restrictions and border closures even in countries which have attained herd immunity by mass vaccinations. Surveillance systems for accurate screening of the Omicron variant are needed to guide implementation of hygiene principles and restrictions. Development of vaccines against the variants is important as the pandemic evolves. Whether Omicron is the last variant depends on the success of the local and global public-health strategies against SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: In this survey, a protocol-based Chemotherapy Prescription Decision Support System (CPDSS) was designed and evaluated to reduce medication errors in the chemotherapy process of children with ALL., Methods: The CPDSS algorithm was extracted by the software development team based on the protocol used by doctors to treat children with ALL. The ASP.Net MVC and SQL Server 2016 programming languages were used to develop the system. A 3-step evaluation (technical, retrospective, and user satisfaction) was performed on CPDSS designed at 2 children's hospitals in Tehran. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. At the technical evaluation step, users provided recommendations included in the system., Results: In the retrospective CPDSS evaluation step, 1281 prescribed doses of the drugs related to 30 patients were entered into the system. CPDSS detected 735 cases of protocol deviations and 57 (95%, CI = 1.25-2.55) errors in prescribed chemotherapy for children with ALL. In the user satisfaction evaluation, the users approved two dimensions of the user interface and functionality of the system., Conclusions: With the provision of alerts, the CPDSS can help increase compliance with chemotherapy protocols and decrease the chemotherapy prescribing errors that can improve patient safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Background: Recent case reports and small studies have reported activation of the magnet-sensitive switches in cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) by the new iPhone 12 series, initiating asynchronous pacing in pacemakers and suspension of antitachycardia therapies in implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs)., Objective: The purpose of this prospective single-center observational study was to quantify the risk of magnetic field interactions of the iPhone 12 with CIEDs., Methods: A representative model of each CIED series from all manufacturers was tested ex vivo. Incidence and minimum distance necessary for magnet mode triggering were analyzed in 164 CIED patients with either the front or the back of the phone facing the device. The magnetic field of the iPhone 12 was analyzed using a 3-axis Hall probe., Results: Ex vivo, magnetic interference occurred in 84.6% with the back compared to 46.2% with the front of the iPhone 12 facing the CIED. In vivo, activation of the magnet-sensitive switch occurred in 30 CIED patients (18.3%; 21 pacemaker, 9 ICD) when the iPhone 12 was placed in close proximity over the CIED pocket and the back of the phone was facing the skin. Multiple binary logistic regression analysis identified implantation depth (95% confidence interval 0.02-0.24) as an independent predictor of magnet-sensitive switch activation., Conclusion: Magnetic field interactions occur only in close proximity and with precise alignment of the iPhone 12 and CIEDs. It is important to advise CIED patients to not put the iPhone 12 directly on the skin above the CIED. Further recommendations are not necessary., (Copyright © 2021 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: Nurses' self-perception of their performance toward family members of patients is one of the most important issues in predicting family adaptive behaviors. This study analyzed the psychometric properties of the Persian version of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' perceptions questionnaire of self-performance with families of critically ill patients., Methods: Among 135 intensive care nurses, to determine face validity, 10 nurses were asked to comment on, comprehensibility, grammar, and writing of items. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity., Results: The intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.82 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.74. Exploratory factor analysis showed the first nine related factors have 65.22% variance., Conclusion: Persian version of ICU nurses' perceptions of self-performance with families of critically ill patients had good reliability and validity., (© Copyright 2022 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.)

A novel ratiometric fluorescent nanoprobe was designed for the sensitive determination of cyanide anion (CN - ) by the electrostatic attraction between positively charged silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) and negatively charged silver sulfide quantum dots (Ag 2 S QDs). The nanoprobe exhibited two well-resolved emission peaks at 446 nm and 540 nm under a single excitation wavelength (360 nm). In the presence of CN - , the fluorescence of Ag 2 S QDs at 540 nm was remarkably quenched, while the fluorescence of the Si NPs at 446 nm remained constant, establishing the desired conditions for ratiometric fluorescence detection. Under optimal conditions, the ratiometric fluorescence assay showed good linearity (R 2  = 0.9921) within the range 0.05-15 μM, and the limit of detection was calculated to be 56 nM (at an S/N ratio of 3). The proposed Ag 2 S QD/Si NP nanoprobe has been successfully used to determine CN - in water and sprouting potato samples with satisfactory recoveries in the range 97-110.5%., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase protein synthesized in the liver in response to inflammation, is one of the biomarkers used for the detection of several diseases. Sepsis and cardiovascular diseases are two of the most important diseases for which detection of CRP at very early stages in the clinical range can help avert serious consequences. Here, a CNT-based nanobiosensing system, which is portable and reproducible, is used for label-free, online detection of CRP. The system consists of an aptameric CNT-based field-effect transistor benefiting from a buried gate geometry with Al 2 O 3 as a high dielectric layer and can reflect the pro-cytokine concentration. Test results show that the device responds to CRP changes within 8 min, with a limit of detection as low as 150 pM (0.017 mg L -1 ). The device was found to have a linear behavior in the range of 0.43-42.86 nM (0.05-5 mg L -1 ). The selectivity of the device was tested with TNF-α, IL-6, and BSA, to which the nanosensing system showed no significant response compared with CRP. The device showed good stability for 14 days and was completely reproducible during this period. These findings indicate that the proposed portable system is a potential candidate for CRP measurements in the clinical range., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)