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Objective: The objective of this study was to assess whether Spen paralogue and orthologue C-terminal domaincontaining 1 (SPOCD1) gene expression could serve as a valuable prognostic and diagnostic biomarker in commoncancers, drawing from insights in recent literature. We sought to verify this concept by utilizing data sourced from TheCancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) alongside clinical samples.Materials and Methods: In this bioinformatics and experimental study, SPOCD1 RNA-seq data from 12 commoncancers were collected from TCGA Pan-Cancer Atlas using the R package "TCGA BIOLINKS" and normalized foranalysis. Various analytical tools, including receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Kaplan-Meier and Coxregressionanalyses, and pathway enrichment analysis via the molecular signatures database (MSigDB), were applied.Drug resistance/sensitivity correlations with SPOCD1 expression were explored using the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO) database. Clinical colorectal cancer (CRC) samples, including both colon and rectal malignant samples, werealso evaluated.Results: The results showed elevated SPOCD1 expression in most cancers (9/12), with notable prognostic valuein COAD, HNSC, KICH, and LIHC, and a correlation with poor prognosis in COAD for disease-free survival. ROCcurve analysis suggested SPOCD1 as a diagnostic biomarker in the majority of cases (7/12), although this patternwas inconsistent in clinical CRC samples. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed a strong correlation betweenSPOCD1 expression and critical molecular pathways. Unlike former results, we found that SPOCD1 upregulatedwhen interacting with PD-0325901. However, treating with Panobinostat led to downregulation. Both are as anticancerreagents.Conclusion: This study confirms the potential of SPOCD1 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in prevalentcancers. However, extensive clinical data, particularly for CRC, are required to validate its reliability. DifferentCOAD subtypes may exhibit varying correlations with SPOCD1 expression levels, underscoring the need for furtherinvestigation to fully understand its diagnostic and prognostic value.

BACKGROUND: Presently, some treatments such as neurofeedback therapy (NFT) have become of great importance in the treatment of psychological disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of NFT on attention and working memory, processing speed, and anxiety of dyslexic children. METHODS: This quasi-experimental research was conducted with an unbalanced control group, a pretest-posttest design, and follow-up. The statistical population was all dyslexic children of 7-10 years of age in Karaj, Iran, from December 2021 to January 2022. The participants included 45 dyslexic children who were randomly divided into 3 groups of 15 people. The first and second groups received cognitive rehabilitation and NFT, respectively, and the third group received no treatment (control group). NFT was presented in 15 sessions (30-minutes) in the experimental groups. The instruments included the Integrated Visual and Auditory (IVA) + PLUS, Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), Clinical Q Assessment, and the ‎Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS)‎. SPSS software was applied for data analysis. RESULTS: The findings showed that after NFT, the scores of the experimental group in all outcomes decreased in the posttest and follow-up phases (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the educational content of NFT can be used to increase attention, working memory, and processing speed, and reduce anxiety in dyslexic children. Therefore, it is suggested that the results of similar studies be applied in educational fields.

Introduction: Various pieces of evidence suggest an elevation in the levels of EGFR and HER2 in different cancers leading to the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation into the expression alterations of these two receptors in various cancers using in silico data. In addition, we investigated the therapeutic potential of lapatinib as an inhibitor of these receptors in various cancer types. Methods: RNAseq data for prevalent cancers were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). After initial preprocessing, expression changes of HER2, EGFR, and candidate genes—identified based on their association with EGFR and HER2 signaling pathways—were examined. Human protein atlas data were utilized to assess the protein expression of HER2 and EGFR. GSE129254 was employed to identify molecular pathways and candidate genes associated with lapatinib. The protein-protein interaction network was used to identify lapatinib-influenced hub genes. Clinical data for common cancers were used to investigate the correlation between the expression of candidate genes and patients' mortality rates by Cox regression test. Results: The findings clearly indicated a significant increase in the expression levels of HER2 and EGFR in cancers such as kidney, lung, breast, bladder, pancreas, head and neck, stomach, and endometrial, both at the mRNA and protein levels (p-value

Membrane transporters are proteins responsible for facilitating the movement of molecules within biological membranes. They play a vital role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by regulating the transport of nutrients, ions, and other molecules into and out of cells. Our aim is to identify biomarkers in colorectal cancer using membrane transporter proteins. We utilized COAD TCGA data for this purpose. Subsequently, we conducted differential gene analysis and feature selection using membrane transporter proteins. Furthermore, we identified two potential genes, including ANO7 and SLC38A4. To validate the expression profiles of ANO7 and SLC38A4, key genes in this context, RT-qPCR was employed on colorectal cancer samples and adjacent normal tissues. Additionally, utilizing GEPIA2, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and cBioPortal, we assessed the status of these genes in various cancers, examining their methylation and mutation patterns. In conclusion, we suggest that ANO7 and SLC38A4 serve as prognostic biomarkers in colorectal cancer.

Abstract Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been proven to be one of the most powerful diagnostic tools for rare Mendelian disorders. Several studies on the clinical application of NGS in unselected cohorts of Middle Eastern patients have reported a high diagnostic yield of up to 48%, correlated with a high level of consanguinity in these populations. We evaluated the diagnostic utility of NGS-based testing across different clinical indications in 1436 patients from Iran, representing the first study of its kind in this highly consanguineous population. A total of 1075 exome sequencing and 361 targeted gene panel sequencing were performed over 8 years at a single clinical genetics laboratory, with the majority of cases tested as proband-only (91.6%). The overall diagnostic rate was 46.7%, ranging from 24% in patients with an abnormality of prenatal development to over 67% in patients with an abnormality of the skin. We identified 660 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, including 241 novel variants, associated with over 342 known genetic conditions. The highly consanguineous nature of this cohort led to the diagnosis of autosomal recessive disorders in the majority of patients (79.1%) and allowed us to determine the shared carrier status of couples for suspected recessive phenotypes in their deceased child(ren) when direct testing was not possible. We also highlight the observations of recessive inheritance of genes previously associated only with dominant disorders and provide an expanded genotype–phenotype spectrum for multiple less-characterized genes. We present the largest mutational spectrum of known Mendelian disease, including possible founder variants, throughout the Iranian population, which can serve as a unique resource for clinical genomic studies locally and beyond.

The introduction of non-native species causes a variety of negative ecological and economic-social impacts on aquatic ecosystems. One of the first studies conducted on these species was the study of their composition and abundance in recipient ecosystems. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution, composition, and abundance of non-native fishes in the lower Tigris basin in a fishing year from fall 2014 to summer 2015. To update and compare the information, the latest fishing situation in the fishing year 2022-2023 was also examined. In total, 31 species from 15 families, including eight non-native species were caught from the studied water bodies. According to the results, non-native species are widely spread to the most aquatic ecosystems of the studied area, among which tilapia, including the redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848) and the blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864) were the most abundant species. The redbelly tilapia showed the most distribution in the studied area. According to the local fishermen, the amount of catch in many areas of inland waters of Khuzestan province has decreased compared to 2014-2015, and their statements indicate that they are not satisfied with the state of fishing.

Background: Identifying protein interactions is one of the main challenges in the fields of biostructure and molecular biology. Despite extensive progress, the exact patterns of protein-protein interactions are still unknown. The main goal of this study is to computationally evaluate the interactions of fibronectin-1 in the extracellular matrix of decellularized trachea and integrins in adipose tissue stem cells in order to provide the most accurate possible visualization of these interactions and their role in biological processes. Methods: After decellularization of the sheep trachea through the detergent-enzyme method, histological evaluations and ultrastructure photography of the samples were done by scanning electron microscopy. Also, the simulations of fibronectin1 binding of extracellular matrix protein with integrin αvβ1 and α5β3 of stem cells derived from adipose tissue were investigated, and interaction energy analysis was applied to predict the structure of protein-protein complexes using the algorithms available in HDOCK and ClusPro servers. Results: The findings indicated the preservation of extracellular matrix components and scaffold ultrastructure. Also, in order to find the most favorable connection states in terms of energy, some of them were reported as stable interactions among the top types of connections. This insight provides a valuable understanding of cell-matrix adhesion, migration, and signaling, with potential implications for therapeutic development. Conclusion: The prepared scaffolds are ideal for engineering applications for which computational analysis and experimental data have been used for visualization of stable connection states with energy efficiency between fibronectin and integrin. Also, more studies on cell adhesion modeling in connection with tissue engineering science can provide a suitable field for the development of regenerative medicine in further studies.

Living with chronic pain imposes a significant emotional burden, diminishing a person's emotional and cognitive abilities. Consequently, this research aimed to compare the impact of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy(MBCT) on emotional cognitive regulation among chronic pain patients, with a two-month follow-up period. The clinical trial study was conducted in 2022 at the specialty and physiotherapy clinic of Imam Reza (AS) Hospital in Islamshahr City, Iran. Participants with chronic pain were selected through purposive accessible sampling and randomly assigned to three groups: ISTDP group, MBCT group, and a control group, each consisting of 15 individuals. To gather data, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) by Garnevsky et al. (2002) was employed. The results indicated that both ISTDP and MBCT led to improvements in cognitive-emotional regulation scores, including acceptance, rumination, positive refocusing, refocusing on planning, positive reappraisal, and catastrophizing (P

Abstract Background Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is able to cause infections in immunocompromised patients, and the treatment of this opportunistic pathogen is complicated due to its virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, and the ability of the bacteria to produce biofilm. The main goals of this study were to assess the susceptibility of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) isolates to ethanol and EDTA, and evaluating the synergistic effect of these disinfectants, and also survey the effect of exposure to sub-inhibitory concentrations of ethanol and EDTA on the expression of biofilm-producing smf-1, rpfF genes. Results The results showed that EDTA significantly increased the effectiveness of the ethanol and have a synergistic effect. All of the 10 XDR isolates included in the current study harbored smf-1 and rpfF genes and produced biofilm. After exposure to MIC, sub-MIC, synergism, and sub-synergism of ethanol and EDTA, the expression of smf-1 and rpfF genes was repressed significantly. Conclusion In the current study, it was indicated that the expression of biofilm-producing genes was repressed when bacteria are exposed to different concentrations of ethanol and EDTA. Future studies should include more complex microbial communities residing in the hospitals, and more disinfectants use in hospitals. Expression of other virulence genes in different conditions is suggested.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: Salmonella enterica serovar Entritidis is an important pathogen in foodborne diseases and causes gastroenteritis. Several studies have investigated the genetic diversity of the strains of this bacterium. However, our knowledge of the discriminatory power of the molecular methods is limited. Methods: In total, 34 strains of S. enteritidis were isolated from food related to animals. Antibiotic resistance of the strains, antibiotic resistance genes, and biofilm formation capacity of the strains were evaluated. For the genetic analysis of the strains, PFGE was performed using AvrII restriction enzyme. Results: Among the tested antibiotics, cefuroxime, nalidixic acid, and ciprofloxacin showed the highest resistance rates (79.4%, 47%, and 44.2%, respectively). Only three antibiotic-resistance genes were identified in these strains (blaTEM: 67.6%, tetA: 9%, and sul2: 3%). In total, 91% of the strains were biofilm producers. Clustering of strains using AvrII for 26 samples with the same XbaI PFGE profile showed that these strains were in one clone and had high homogeneity. Conclusions: In conclusion, it is better to use a combination of several typing methods for typing strains that are genetically very close so that the results are reliable.

Objective(s): The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is high in patients with epilepsy using antiepileptic drugs (AED). Epilepsy, AED, or the type and duration of AED use , may contribute to higher CAD risk.In this study, myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) was compared between patients using carbamazepine and valproate.Method: Out of 73 patients receiving carbamazepine or valproate monotherapy for more than 2 years, visited at a tertiary referral clinic, 32 patients participated in a 2-day stress and rest phases MPI. For each phase, 15-25 mCi 99mTc-MIBI was injected, at peak exercise or by pharmacologic stimulation for the stress phase. SPECT with cardiac gating was done by a dual-head gamma camera and processed and quantified. Scans with at least one definite reversible hypo-perfusion segment were considered abnormal.Results: Seventeen patients received carbamazepine monotherapy and 15 valproates. Age and duration of AED use were similar between the groups. Two scans were abnormal (6.3%) both in valproate group (13.3%). Duration of AED use was higher in patients with abnormal scans. In patients receiving monotherapy >2 years, the frequency of abnormal MPI was similar between groups (P-value=0.12). In patients receiving monotherapy > 5 years, prevalence of abnormal MPI was higher in the valproate group (28.6% vs. 0.0%; P-value=0.042). Considering valproate subgroup, ischemic patients had higher duration of AED use, comparing with the normal patients (17.0±4.2 vs. 6.4±4.8, P-value=0.014).Conclusion: MPIs were abnormal in patients receiving valproate after 5 years compared to patients receiving carbamazepine. Long-term valproate use may increase the risk of CAD.

Background Conflicting evidence exists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth rates. We aimed to evaluate changes in PTB and stillbirth rates before and during the pandemic period and assess the potential effect modification of socioeconomic status (SES).Methods Using the linked administrative health databases from Manitoba, Canada, we conducted a cross-sectional study among all pregnant women, comparing 3.5 years pre-pandemic (1 October 2016 to 29 February 2020) to the first year of the pandemic (1 March 2020 to 31 March 2021). We used generalised linear models to assess the quarterly rates of PTB (

The present study was carried out to assess the risk of non-native Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in Iran. The common invasive risk assessment protocols of non-native species were examined according to specific criteria, and the invasive risk assessment of this species was applied based on the selected method and auxiliary tools of species distribution models. The Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) received the highest score for assessing the invasive risk of non-native fishes in the freshwaters of Iran. The results showed that the risk of the species in Iran is high, and its impacts are significant. The mean scores of the Basic Risk Assessment (BRA) and the total risk assessment (BRA+Climate Change Assessment) were obtained as 41.5 and 53.5, respectively, which are much higher than the threshold values of the model for Iran (i.e., 21). Also, according to the results of other protocols used, the species has a high risk. Overall, the Nile tilapia possess a high potential invasive risk in the country, and unfortunately, its control is complicated, costly and mostly impossible in the recipient ecosystems. Therefore, as the best management measure, preventing the introduction of this species should be considered.

Background: Cold executive functions, working memory and cognitive flexibility are among the main cognitive functions that play a role in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Cognitive rehabilitation has been proposed as an efficacy and non-pharmacological treatment method in improving and promoting cognitive functions in a wide range of mental and behavioral disorders, but until now, the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation of inhibitory control on the cold executive functions of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has been less studied despite the importance and necessity of improving and strengthening these structures. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigating the efficacy of inhibitory control cognitive rehabilitation on cold executive functions such as working memory, cognitive flexibility in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Methods: The research design was semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up plan with a control group. The statistical population of the study included male and female students of 7-12 years of elementary school in Tehran in the academic year 2020-2021 who were suffering from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The statistical sample included 30 students who were selected by purposeful sampling, they were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The SNAP Questionnaire (SNAP-IV, Swanson, Nolan and Pelham, 1980), the Computerized Previous Multiple Stimulus Test (N-BACK, Kirchner, 1958) and the Wisconsin Computerized Test (WSCT, Grant & Berg, 1948) were used to collect information. For data analysis, mixed variance analysis method with repeated measurements and SPSS24 software were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that there is a difference in the performance of the experimental group and the control group in the components of active memory and cognitive flexibility (P

Unlike steam turbines, electricity production in gas turbines is inherently independent of freshwater consumption. However, the thermal efficiency of gas turbines decreases as the temperature of input air increases. As a result, many methods of cooling the inlet air require the use of fresh water. Moreover, when it comes to humid gas turbine technology, the practice of injecting steam or humid air into the turbine to improve its thermal efficiency and output power consumes a substantial amount of freshwater. Therefore, reducing the use of fresh water to enhance the output power and thermal efficiency of gas turbines can be a necessary option, especially in hot and dry regions. Alternatively, considering the significant amounts of waste heat in gas turbines, one solution to reduce fresh water consumption is to connect them to thermal desalination units. However, conventional thermal desalination is only practical for seawater desalination in coastal areas. Therefore, this study explores the possibility of linking a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) unit to a Steam-injected gas turbine (STIG), which can use high salinity water sources like reverse osmosis (RO) brine in inland regions. The freshwater generated by the DCMD is used to chill the input air to the compressor and produce steam injected within the turbine. Simulation results show that this connection can raise the net output power by [9 to 17.2] MW and thermal efficiency by [3.3 to 15.6] % for compressor pressure ratios between [5 to 30], when compared to a simple gas turbine.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) constitute a class of drugs that stimulate the immune system to fight cancer cells. However, they can also induce immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in various organs, including the kidneys. One of the infrequent irAEs associated with ICIs is sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that can impact multiple organs, such as the lungs, skin, and lymph nodes. Sarcoidosis is characterized by the formation of granulomas, clusters of immune cells that can potentially harm tissues. In some cases, ICIs can trigger kidney sarcoidosis, leading to impaired renal function. The mechanism through which ICIs initiate sarcoidosis is believed to involve activating T cells and cytokines that foster inflammation.

Background: On 30 January 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 as a public health emergency. In the present study, we compared the preventative and therapeutic strategies and the success rates of Iran and Switzerland during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. In addition, the official documents of developed countries and WHO from 1st February until 15th May 2020 were studied. Relevant documents were reviewed in detail, and vital data were extracted. Results: Both countries have restriction policies to reduce the infection rate in the prevention setting. These policies, such as the recommendation to all citizens to stay home unless necessary, army participation, and non-face-to-face counseling, were surveyed by similar techniques in both countries. Some policies were implemented in both countries with different protocols. These policies, including social distancing practices, smart distancing methods, business activities, border closures, border controls, and restrictions, travel restrictions, testing and screening for infection and fever, and decreased working hours, were performed in both countries. In the treatment setting, the therapeutic strategy used in Iran consisted of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine phosphate and anti-viral drugs. Switzerland followed the guidelines of the European countries. The infection rate, recovery rate, and death rate were 0.139%, 78.73%, and 5.91% in Iran, while these rates were 0.352%, 88.81%, and 6.15% in Switzerland, respectively. Conclusion: Due to the lack of special treatment for the disease, prevention must be considered the most important factor in policymaking. Importantly, observing social distance is the most effective method among the preventative strategies. The capacity of the health care systems to provide optimal services and facilities is an important factor for patients recovery.