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Today, nanoparticles have promised a variety of applications in conjugation with biomolecules. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) possess promising potency in a wide range of biomedicine applications, and amyloid fibrils with well-known physicochemical stability and ability to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) have been highlighted with possible use in the design of high-yield materials. To exploit the dual properties of nano and bio components in biomedical applications, this research has focused on the development of a nanohybrid system through assembling SeNPs on lysozyme amyloid fibrils. Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques including UV-vis, Far-UV Circular Dichroism (CD) spectropolarimetry, Thioflavin T (ThT) assay, and Transmission Electron microscopy were used to characterize the formation of lysozyme amyloid fibrils, selenium nanoparticles, and their assemblies on the biotemplate. Antibacterial activity of the individual components, as well as the nanohybrid system, was determined against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using the minimum inhibitory concentration method. The nanohybrid system showed enhanced antibacterial activity upon the interaction of SeNPs with amyloid fibrils. Moreover, a study on the electronic behavior of the hybrid nanoscaffold by Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed improved conductivity. The results suggest that the combination of nanoparticles with amyloid fibrils paves the way for the development of versatile nanoscaffolds with improved properties in regenerative medicine.

Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between prenatal care and outcome of pregnancy. Method: This is a cross-sectional study on 210 pregnant women referring to Afzalipour Hospital for their labor, consisting of 140 women with adequate care and 70 with inadequate care. The outcome of pregnancy for mother and newborn was compared between the two groups. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 15. P value ≤ 0.05 was considered as significant and the power of statistical test was 80%. Findings: The findings indicate that the age of women with inadequate care was lower compared to those receiving adequate care (p = 0.003). Furthermore, women with inadequate care had lower education (p = 0.00007) and their prenatal care started in more advanced gestational ages (p = 0.0003). Neonates born to women with inadequate care tended to have lower birth weights (p = 0.05) and higher rates of admission to NICU (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that women with lower age and education received less prenatal care and adequate prenatal care results in better birth weights and decreased rate of admission in NICU.