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Background/Objectives: Since the main characteristics of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are joint dysfunction caused by inflammation and serious pain, anti-inflammatory agents may alleviate the clinical symptoms in RA. Pomegranate juice is rich in polyphenolic compounds that possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to determine the beneficial effects of pomegranate extract (POMx) in RA patients. Subjects/Methods: A total of 55 RA patients were enrolled and randomly allocated to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=25). The intervention group received 2 capsules of 250 mg POMx and the control group 2 capsules of 250 mg cellulose per day for 8 weeks. At the beginning of the study and after 8 weeks, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28 were completed and serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), matrix metalloproteinases 3 (MMP3), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were analyzed using standard methods and compared between the two groups. Results: Compared with the placebo group, POMx supplement significantly reduced the score of DAS28 (P Conclusions: POMx alleviates disease activity and improves some blood biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in RA patients., Author(s): M Ghavipour [sup.1] , G Sotoudeh [sup.2] , E Tavakoli [sup.3] , K Mowla [sup.4] , J Hasanzadeh [sup.5] , Z Mazloom [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Community [...]

The sustained release potential of bioactive materials and drugs is a major requirement in the development of carriers for cancer treatment. In this study, Carboplatin (Crb) as a standard anticancer drug was loaded to immunoglobulin G nanoparticles (IgGNPs) in the absence (Crb@IgGNPs) and the presence of folic acid (FA), (Crb@FA.IgGNPs) as a targetable agent. Their physicochemical properties were characterized by various techniques. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique indicated that the average hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential values of Crb@IgGNPs and Crb@FA.IgGNPs were 831.23 ± 4.95 nm; (PDI: 0.98 ± 0.31), 397.47 ± 22.96 nm; (PDI: 0.78 ± 0.08) and -2.97 ± 1.17 mV, -7.06 ± 0.72 mV, respectively. The spherical shapes of the nanocarriers showed more particle size distribution in Crb@FA.IgGNPs are confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Fouriertransform infrared (FTIR) spectra of nanocarriers confirmed Crb loading onto IgGNPs and FA.IgGNPs. Afterward, In vitro release study of Crb and Crb@FA.IgGNPs was performed that demonstrated Crb was slowly released from FA.IgGNPs (about 61 h longer than only Crb) and the release mechanism was followed by a Korsmeyer-Peppas model with Fickian diffusion. Overall, it was observed that the novel designed drug carrier improved the drug release with the appropriate properties for clinical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of click chemistry as a smart and suitable method for the development of new heterogeneous catalysts is based on metal-organic frameworks as well as the production of organic compounds. The development of the click chemistry method can provide a new strategy to achieve superior properties of MOFs. Here, the two metals Co and Fe are used to create a bimetallic-organic framework. In the following, the click chemistry and postmodification method are well organized and an acidic heterogeneous porous catalyst is developed. This prepared catalyst was used as a highly efficient catalyst for the preparation of new spiro-oxindoles obtained through click chemistry with good to excellent yields (80-94%). This presented catalytic system can compete with the best reported catalytic systems. The findings showed that the presence of Co and Fe metals in the MOF, and the presence of the triazole ring on the catalyst, can increase the catalytic efficiencies. This study offers novel insights into the architecture of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), click chemistry, and biologically active compounds. Additionally, the research explores the antibacterial properties of the synthesized spiro-oxindoles and catalysts. The findings reveal significant antibacterial activities of the synthesized compounds against S. aureus , MRSA, and E. coli bacteria.

In this research article, Zr-MOFs based copper complex as a novel heterogeneous and porous catalyst was designed and prepared. The structure of catalyst has verified by various techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, SEM, N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET), EDS, SEM-elemental mapping, TG and DTG analysis. UiO-66-NH 2 /TCT/2-amino-Py@Cu(OAc) 2 was used as an efficient catalyst in the synthesis of pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine-5-carbonitrile derivatives. The aromatization of titled molecules is performed via a cooperative vinylogous anomeric-based oxidation both under air and inert atmospheres. The unique properties of the presented method are short reaction time, high yield, reusability of catalyst, synthesis of desired product under mild and green condition., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Many patients in methadone treatment have difficulty achieving or maintaining drug abstinence, and many clinics have policies that lead to discharging these patients. We designed a pilot "Second Chance" (SC) program for patients scheduled to be discharged from other local methadone clinics to be transferred to our clinic., Aim: Determine whether SC patients' retention and opioid use is related to physical or mental health conditions, non-opioid substance use, or treatment features., Methods: From December 2012 to December 2014, this program enrolled 70 patients who were discharged from other clinics in the area; we were their last remaining option for methadone treatment. Unlike the clinic's standard policies, the treatment focus for SC patients was retention rather than abstinence. This program focused on connection to care (eg, psychiatric services) and enabled patients to continue receiving services despite ongoing substance use. Each patient was assessed at treatment entry and followed until June 2016 to evaluate outcomes., Results: SC patients receiving disability benefits (n = 37) vs. non-disabled (n = 33) had significantly ( P  < .05) higher rates of current DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric diagnosis (97% vs 70%), prescriptions for opioids (84% vs 55%) and benzodiazepines (65% vs 27%), and higher methadone doses at admission (58 vs 46 mg) but did not differ significantly in rates of 6-month or 1-year retention (77% and 56%, respectively) or all-drug use (39% positive urine drug screens). Methadone doses >65 mg predicted significantly longer retention and less opioid use, but these effects were not moderated by baseline characteristics., Conclusions: Patients in methadone treatment struggling to achieve abstinence may benefit from retention-oriented harm-reduction programs. Higher methadone doses can improve retention and opioid abstinence despite psychiatric comorbidities. Further work is needed to improve program implementation and outcomes in this complex population., Competing 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.)

Purpose: This study aimed to assess incidental abnormal findings in the paranasal sinuses and anatomical variations of the ostiomeatal complex (OMC) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans., Materials and Methods: MRI scans of 616 patients (mean age, 44.0±19.4 years) were evaluated. Prior to obtaining the MRI scans, a checklist of patients' clinical symptoms was filled out after obtaining their consent. The Lund-Mackay classification was used to assess the paranasal sinuses and OMC. The prevalence of abnormal findings and their associations with patients' age, sex, and subjective symptoms were analyzed by the chi-square test, independent-sample t-test, and analysis of variance. The level of significance was set at 0.05., Results: Abnormal findings in the paranasal sinuses were detected in 32.0% of patients, with a significantly higher prevalence in males ( P <0.05), but no significant association with age ( P >0.05). Epithelial thickening and retention cyst were the most common abnormal findings in the paranasal sinuses. According to the Lund-Mackay classification, 93% of the study population had normal sinuses (score<4). Concha bullosa and paradoxical concha were detected in 15.3% and 3.4%, respectively, with no significant association with the presence of septal deviation or Lund-Mackay classification ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: Considering the relatively high prevalence of abnormal findings in the paranasal sinuses, it appears that clinical symptoms alone are not sufficient to diagnose sinusitis. A more accurate strategy would be to assess radiographic images of the paranasal sinuses and use a classification system. Sinusitis should be suspected in patients receiving a high score in this classification., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None, (Copyright © 2022 by Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology.)

Pistachio is an economically valuable crop, and Iran is among the biggest producers, exporters, and consumers of this product in the world. During the growing season, pistachios are subjected to multiple sprayings with various pesticides, which result in the accumulation of their residues in nuts. These residues have raised concerns regarding consumers' health. In this research, uptake and dissipation kinetics of insecticides imidacloprid (IMI), thiacloprid (THI), thiamethoxam (THX), and abamectin (ABA) were investigated in pistachio nuts. Field experiments were conducted in a pistachio orchard. Pistachio trees were sprayed with the recommended dose of each insecticide formulation and water as the control. Samplings were performed for up to 49 days. Based on the results, pesticides uptake and dissipation kinetics were best fitted to first-order exponential growth (FOEG) and single first-order kinetic (SFOK) models, respectively. Variations in pesticides uptake/dissipation rates were mostly related to their water solubility, pK a , and log K ow . THX showed a higher uptake rate (0.16 ± 0.04) compared to IMI (0.10 ± 0.01) and THI (0.06 ± 0.01). The fastest dissipation rates were observed for IMI (0.04 ± 0.002 day -1 ) and THX (0.03 ± 0.001 day -1 ), while the slowest belonged to THI (0.02 ± 0.003 day -1 ). ABA residues were below the quantification limit (LOQ) throughout the experiment. Based on FOEG and SFOK model predictions, multiple sprayings with THI and THX resulted in final concentrations exceeding the maximum residue limit (MRL). Hazard quotients for all pesticides were <1, indicating no risk to humans via consumption of the pistachio nut., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Abstract: Myositis ossificans traumatica is a rare condition in which causes restriction of mandibular movement. In this entity, temporomandibular joint is depleted of any problems; although all the patients have the history of trauma to the mandible and the face. Myositis ossificans traumatica can involve other parts of the body like femoral region with higher incidence in compare to the maxillofacial area. Blunt trauma to the head and neck causes muscle contusion injury, hematoma formation in the injured muscles or nearby soft tissues. Calcification of hematoma and heterotopic bone formation in the muscle, soft tissue, or near bony structures causes progressive decrease in mouth opening. Surgical removal of calcified body has been the only and one method for treatment of this disorder but rate of recurrence is high in the literature. The authors want to introduce 2 new cases of myositis ossificans traumatica, and then discuss about etiology and different treatment modalities., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.)

Background: Dietary intake of fat, salt and sugar is important for prevention of noncommunicable diseases; therefore, evaluation of these constituents in industrial packaged foods is necessary., Aims: To compare the levels of fat, salt and sugar in mayonnaise and salad dressings commercialized in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2017 and 2019, and to monitor compliance with standard limits., Methods: The levels of fat, salt and sugar in 12 mayonnaise and 47 salad dressing samples collected from an Iranian market were evaluated according to the Iranian Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) and compared between 2017 and 2019., Results: We determined compliance with ISIRI limits and other standard targets. The salt content of mayonnaise samples significantly decreased from 2.03 (standard deviation; 0.3) g/100 g in 2017 to 1.61 (0.12) g/100 g in 2019 (P = 0.031). Total sugar level of mayonnaise samples significantly decreased from 5.97 (1.14) g/100 g in 2017 to 3.63 (0.53) g/100 g in 2019 (P = 0.005). The total sugar level of salad dressings significantly decreased from 8.97 (2.34) g/100 g in 2017 to 1.58 (2.65) g/100 g in 2019 (P = 0.039). Compliance of mayonnaise and salad dressing fat contents with ISIRI limits increased from 42.9% and 84.6% in 2017 to 100% and 90.5% in 2019, respectively. None of the mayonnaise samples met the British Food Standards Agency salt target (maximum 1.25 g/100 g) in 2017 and 2019., Conclusions: Reformulation of these products for reduction of salt and sugar content is necessary., (Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2021. Open Access. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).)

Synthesis and processing of two- or three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been limited by solvent intractability and sluggish condensation kinetics. Here, we report on the electrochemical deposition of poly(5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)porphyrin)-covalent organic frameworks (POR-COFs) via formation of phenazine linkages. By adjusting the synthetic parameters, we demonstrate the rapid and bottom-up synthesis of COF dendrites. Both experiment and density functional theory underline the prominent role of pyridine, not only as a polymerization promoter but as a stabilizing sublattice, cocrystallizing with the framework. The crucial role of pyridine in dictating the structural properties of such a cocrystal (Py-POR-COF) is discussed. Also, a structure-to-function relationship for this class of materials, governing their electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media, is reported.

Desalination of oil-contaminated saline water using membrane distillation requires hydrophobic membranes with underwater superoleophobic surfaces. For designing such membranes, the chemistry and morphology of the interfacial domains in contact with the contaminated water need to be adjusted such that a stable water layer, adhering to the surface, prevents oil droplets from wetting the membrane. In this article, we present an approach that relies on the controlled functionalization of the surface of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes; we adjust the surface topography of the membranes and introduce chemical heterogeneity to them. We show that the morphology of the PVDF surface can be altered by adjusting the composition of the nonsolvent bath used for the phase inversion process. Also, we render the surface of the membranes hydrophilic by using an alkaline chemical bath solution. The membrane morphology and effectiveness of our chemical treatment were confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and zeta potential measurements. A stable underwater contact angle, higher than 150°, was observed for both canola oil (ρ ≈ 0.913 g cm -3 , γ ≈ 31.5 mN m -1 ) and hexane (ρ ≈ 0.655 g cm -3 , γ ≈ 18 mN m -1 ). We evaluated the performance of both pristine and functionalized membranes in a laboratory-scale direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) setup and desalinated a saline solution contaminated with 500 ppm canola oil. Our results show that oil does not wet the functionalized membrane during the desalination process. The average permeate flux and salt rejection values for the functionalized membranes were 45 ± 5 Lm -2 h -1 ( T feed = 70 °C, T distillate = 20 °C) and 99.99%, respectively.

This study sets out to develop a questionnaire on willingness to communicate (WTC) orally specific to English as a Foreign Language setting. It also aims to investigate the effect of three independent variables of interlocutor, age and gender on the same construct of WTC orally. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in three dimensions to WTC, namely WTC with teacher, with classmate, and stranger. Also Cronbach's alpha of .86 indicated a high internal consistency. Mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance was used to assess the impact of interlocutors, age and gender on participants' WTC across the three WTC subscale scores. The results showed no interaction effect between any of pairs of variables but the main effect of interlocutor on WTC orally. The results are discussed in the context of language teaching and some pedagogical implications are suggested.

Objective: Studying suicide can be of assistance to prepare the ground for the adoption of effective preventative measures. In the present study, our aim was an in-depth review of suicide epidemiology in the city of Sari, in the northern part of Iran. Our focus was on geo-demographic and other risk factors affecting the frequency of suicide in order to demonstrate populations with greater risk of suicide for future preventive and protective measures., Method: In a prospective study, during a one year period, a descriptive semi-structured questionnaire was used to conduct interviews with subjects who attempted suicide and referred to one of the four major trauma and emergency centers in the city of Sari, or with the relatives of those who completed their attempt. Convenience sampling method was used. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS-20 software. Multivariate tests were based on χ(2) values. Logistic regression was performed estimating the effect of risk -factors., Results: In this study, 228 suicide attempters were enrolled; of whom, 78.5% were female; 28.5% of all the attempts resulted in death. The odds of suicide completion were significantly increased in the following cases: married status (OR: 3.49; 95% CI 2.82,4.53), illiteracy (OR:2.71;95%CI 2.10,3.64), presence of comorbid physical illness (OR:2.22;95%CI 1.64,3.21), history of previous suicide attempt (OR:2.03; 95%CI 1.56,2.81), and age over 50 (OR: 2.01, 95% CI 1.14,3.05). Suicide outcome estimated worst in the married illiterate attempters. The leading method of use was suicide by burn (SBB)., Conclusion: The variety observed in the regional distribution of suicide risk factors calls for more non-discriminatory attention and adoption of precautionary, preventative and protective measures for each section of the society accordingly.

It is attempted to present an efficient and free derivative class of Steffensen-like methods for solving nonlinear equations. To this end, firstly, we construct an optimal eighth-order three-step uniparameter without memory of iterative methods. Then the self-accelerator parameter is estimated using Newton's interpolation in such a way that it improves its convergence order from 8 to 12 without any extra function evaluation. Therefore, its efficiency index is increased from 8(1/4) to 12(1/4) which is the main feature of this class. To show applicability of the proposed methods, some numerical illustrations are presented.

In the title compound, [V(C(7)H(3)NO(4))O(C(10)H(8)N(2))]·C(2)H(5)OH, the V(IV) atom exhibits a distorted octa-hedral coordination environment formed by two pyridyl N atoms of 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), the vanadyl O atom, and two carboxyl-ate O atoms and one pyridyl N atom of the tridentate pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate (pydc(2-)) ligand. The pyridyl N atom of the pydc(2-) anion and one pyridyl N atom of bpy occupy the axial positions. O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the ethanol solvent mol-ecule as donor and a carboxyl-ate O atom as acceptor atoms, as well as C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, together with π-π stacking inter-actions between adjacent aromatic rings (average centroid-centroid distance = 3.577 Å), seem to be effective in the stabilization of the crystal packing, resulting in the formation of a three-dimensional structure.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare outcome of bone marrow transplant with peripheral blood stem cell transplant in class 3 thalassemic patients., Materials and Methods: Respectively, 32 and 20 class 3 thalassemic patients received bone marrow transplant and peripheral blood stem cell transplant from human leukocyte antigen identical sibling donors. Conditioning regimen consisted of busulfan (16 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (160 mg/kg) followed by cyclosporine and methotrexate as graft-versus-host disease prophylaxes., Results: Median time to absolute neutrophil count was significantly shorter in the peripheral blood stem cell transplant group (12 vs 23 days); however, there was no significant difference regarding platelet recovery between the 2 groups (20 vs 28 days). Acute graft-versus-host disease occurred in 47% of patients. Chronic graft-versus-host disease developed in 28% of patients which was significantly higher in the peripheral blood stem cell transplant group (P = .06). During 50 months follow-up, thalassemia recurrence, overall survival, and thalassemia-free survival were 17%, 80%, and 65%, respectively, and there were no significant differences between the 2 groups., Conclusions: These results showed that stem cell transplant is an effective treatment in class 3 thalassemic patients with the outcome relatively similar to bone marrow transplant. Although engraftment time is shorter in peripheral blood stem cell transplant method, it is associated with higher rate of chronic graft-versus-host disease.