Optical dِِِِiscrimination of histamine and ethylenediamine in meat samples using a colorimetric affordable test strip (CATS): introducing a novel lab-on paper sensing strategy for low-cost ensuring food safety by rapid and accurate monitoring of biogenic amines.

Biogenic amines (BAs) are a group of organic compounds that are produced through the decarboxylation of amino acids by microorganisms. These compounds are commonly found in a variety of foods and are known to cause adverse health effects if consumed in high concentrations. Therefore, the development of sensitive and rapid detection methods for detection and determination of BAs is essential for ensuring food safety. In this study, a novel colorimetric affordable test strip (CATS) was developed for the colorimetric and naked-eye detection of two BAs of ethylenediamine (EDA) and histamine (HIS) in meat samples. Also, triangular silver nanoparticles (AgNPrs) were used as a diagnostic optical probe, and CATS used as a simple, environmentally friendly, inexpensive diagnostic substrate for on-site recognition of meat spoil. The AgNPrs-based optosensor demonstrated high sensitivity and selectivity towards EDA and HIS, allowing for the detection of low concentrations of the BAs in real food samples such as raw chicken and beef. The system presented a UV-vis technique for HIS and EDA analysis in the linear range of 0.1 µM to 0.01 mM, with an LLOQ of 0.1 µM, and 0.05 to 1 µM, with an LLOQ of 0.05 µM, respectively. Additionally, the performance of the designed CATS in the analysis of produced gases was evaluated, highlighting the potential of this simple and cost-effective strategy for the development of BAs diagnostic kits. This approach provides a simple and cost-effective method for detecting BAs in food, which could be beneficial for ensuring food safety and preventing the harmful effects associated with their consumption.

Effect of Combination Montelukast and Nasal Mometasone on Childhood Adenoid Hypertrophy.

Introduction: Adenoid hypertrophy is a common childhood disease; its standard treatment is adenoidectomy. The desire for medical management is increasing due to fewer complications and more convenience. The present study investigated the effect of adding oral montelukast to mometasone nasal spray in treating adenoid hypertrophy. Materials and Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at a referral teaching hospital (Tehran, Iran) from September 2020 to September 2021. Children aged 2 to 14 years with clinical and radiological findings of adenoid hypertrophy were enrolled. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: mometasone nasal spray with oral montelukast (case group) or mometasone with placebo (control group). Then, the clinical scores were compared before and two months after the intervention. Results: Ninety-six patients completed the study [62.5% male (n=60)]. Of these, 51 were in the case and 45 in the control group. The clinical score in each group decreased significantly after the intervention (P<0.001), but the decrease in clinical score in the case group was not significantly different from the control (p=0.576). Conclusion: The results showed that the combination therapy with mometasone and montelukast has the same efficacy as mometasone and placebo in treating adenoid hypertrophy. Adding montelukast to mometasone has no additional effect.

The Effect of Oral Montelukast in Controlling Asthma Attacks in Children: A Randomized Double-blind Placebo Control Study.

Oral Montelukast is recommended as maintenance therapy for persistent asthma, but there is controversy regarding its effectiveness in controlling asthma attacks. The present study was conducted to investigate the clinical efficacy of oral Montelukast for asthma attacks in children. This study was conducted as a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial on 80 children aged 1-14 years with asthma who were admitted to the emergency department of Bahrami Children's Hospital (Tehran, Iran) during one year. Patients were randomly divided into case and control groups. In addition to the standard asthma attack treatment, Montelukast was prescribed in the case group and placebo in the control group for one week. Patients were evaluated in terms of asthma attack severity score and oxygen saturation percentage (SpO2) in room air as primary outcomes 1, 4, 8, 24 and 48 hours after admission. In the first 48 hours, there was no significant difference in the score of asthma attack severity and SpO2 between the case and control groups. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of length of hospitalization or number of admissions to the intensive care unit. None of the patients were re-hospitalized after discharge. The results of this study showed that the use of Montelukast along with the standard treatment of asthma attacks in children has no added benefit.

Demographic, clinical, and laboratory factors associated with renal parenchymal injury in Iranian children with acute pyelonephritis.

BACKGROUND: The association between renal parenchyma changes on dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scans and demographic, clinical, and laboratory markers was assessed in pediatric patients with acute pyelonephritis. METHODS: A retrospective study of 67 Iranian babies and children aged 1-month to 12-year with APN was conducted between 2012 and 2018. The presence of renal parenchymal involvement (RPI) during APN was determined using technetium-99m DMSA during the first 2 weeks of hospitalization. The association of DMSA results with demographic data, clinical features (hospitalization stay, fever temperature and duration), and laboratory parameters such as pathogen type, and hematological factors (ESR, CRP, BUN, Cr, Hb, and WBC) was evaluated. RESULTS: 92.5% of children with an average age of 43.76 ± 5.2 months were girls. Twenty-four children (35.8%) did not have renal parenchymal injury (RPI), while 26 (38.8%) and 17 (25.4%) patients showed RPI in one and both kidneys, respectively. There was no significant association between RPI and mean ESR, CRP, BUN, and WBC. However, there were significant associations between RPI and higher mean levels of Cr, Hb, and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Low BMI and Hb levels and increased Cr levels might be indicative of the presence of RPI in children with APN.

Utilization of rGO-PEI-supported AgNPs for sensitive recognition of deltamethrin in human plasma samples: A new platform for the biomedical analysis of pesticides in human biofluids.

In this study, the rGO-PEI-AgNPs sensor was designed as a new effective platform to sensitive monitoring of deltamethrin in human plasma samples. For this purpose, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-supported polyethylenimine (PEI) was used as a suitable substrate for dispersion of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as amplification and catalytic element. Therefore, a novel interface (rGO-PEI-AgNPs) was prepared by the fully electrochemical method on the surface of glassy carbon electrodes. The engineered nano-sensor showed a wide dynamic range of 10 nM to 1 mM and low limit of quantification (LLOQ) as 10 nM in human plasma sample, which revealed excellent analytical performance for the recognition of deltamethrin with high sensitivity and reproducibility through differential pulse voltammetry and square wave voltammetry techniques. The results confirm that rGO-PEI-AgNPs as a novel biocompatible interface can provide appropriate, reliable, affordable, rapid, and user-friendly diagnostic tools in the detection of deltamethrin in human real samples.

A 10-year cross-sectional retrospective study on Kawasaki disease in Iranian children: incidence, clinical manifestations, complications, and treatment patterns.

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki disease (KD) as an acute, systemic vasculitis is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children under the age of 5 years. METHODS: A 10-year cross-sectional retrospective study was designed to assess 190 Iranian children with KD during 2008-2018. Demographic data, clinical and laboratory manifestations from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis, clinical signs and symptoms, and subsequent treatments were evaluated to predict hospitalization stay, complications, and response to treatment. RESULTS: Children with KD had a male-to-female ratio of 1.18:1 and an average age of 36 months. There was an insignificantly more incidence of KD in cold seasons. The most frequent symptoms were fever (92.6%), oral mucus membrane changes (75.8%), bilateral bulbar conjunctival injection (73.7%), polymorphous skin rash (73.2%), peripheral extremity changes (63.7%), and cervical lymphadenopathy (60.0%). The rate of gastrointestinal, cardiac, joint, and hepatic complications was determined to be 38.4, 27.9, 6.8, and 4.2%, respectively. 89.5% of patients received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) plus aspirin as the first line of treatment, while, 16.3% of them needed an extra second line of treatment. Significantly low serum sodium levels and high platelet counts were detected in KD patients with cardiac complications. Cardiac complications often were more encountered in patients who did not respond to the first line of treatment. Higher platelet count, lower serum sodium amount, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level were significantly associated with a need for an additive second line of treatment. A significant relationship between hospitalization stay and hemoglobin level was found. CONCLUSION: As most of the clinical manifestations and complications were following other reports released over the past few years, such data can be confidently used to diagnose KD in Iran. Seasonal incidence and a positive history of recent infection in a notable number of patients may provide clues to understand possible etiologies of KD. Laboratory markers can successfully contribute to health practitioners with the clinical judgment of the need for additional treatments, possible complications, and hospitalization duration.

A Review of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice) Effects on Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a pathological condition characterized by diabetes with insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. A wide body of research is emerging on Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (licorice) as a traditional herb with various therapeutic effects. Animal and human studies have indicated that licorice affects blood glucose, blood lipid profile, and blood pressure. Licorice seems to be effective in hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia; however, it can increase blood pressure. In this study, we intend to explain its role in regard with metabolic syndrome.

Non-invasive bioassay of Cytokeratin Fragment 21.1 (Cyfra 21.1) protein in human saliva samples using immunoreaction method: An efficient platform for early-stage diagnosis of oral cancer based on biomedicine.

Oral cancer (OC) is considered as sixth most common cancer in the world. The challenge facing oral cancer is the lack of non-invasive, rapid, sensitive, accurate, and inexpensive screening and diagnosis methods. Given the increasing importance of prevention, prognosis, and early-stage diagnosis of cancer in improving of survival rate, the use of efficient diagnostic devices is essential. In this study, novel bioassay based on antigen and antibody immunocomplex was proposed for early stage diagnosis of OC. For the first time, an efficient immunosensor (Cys-GA-anti-Cyfra21.1-BSA-Cyfra21.1 antigen/AuE) was successfully designed and developed to the detection and determination of the Cyfra21.1 biomarker in unprocessed human saliva samples. The Au electrode was modified by Cysteamine (CysA) and Glutaraldehyde (GA) respectively via self-assembly as a substrate to immobilize the biological agents. The engineered immunosensor exhibit an excellent ability to detect and determine of Cyfra21.1 biomarker in low concentrations in unprocessed human saliva samples. Under the optimized operating conditions, the results demonstrate that the desired platform has a good sensitivity in the detecting of Cyfra21.1 with the low limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 2.5 ng/mL, which this evaluation was performed at a wide linear range of 2.5-50 ng/mL. The use of the CysA-GA nano-hybrid as extraordinary stable substrate and extensive platform to place recognition elements was investigated using various electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). In this study, the engineered biosensor was used to non-invasive detection of Cyfra21.1 in unprocessed human saliva sample. Based on results, CysA-GA-anti-Cyfra21.1 antibody-BSA- Cyfra21.1 antigen/AuE with significantly high current intensity can provide appropriate, reliable, affordable, quick, and user-friendly diagnostic device to monitoring oral abnormality by detection and determination of Cyfra21.1 biomarker in human real sample. Above all, the easy to prepared designed immunosensor can be an extremely promising candidate to specific and favorable for a vast range of clinical diagnosis of OC in near future.

Screening Heterotrophic Ammonia Removal and Aerobic Denitrifying Bacteria from Wastewater of Ammonia Production Units of a Petrochemical Industry.

Petrochemical wastewaters have high ammonium contents that can cause serious environmental pollutions. Among different treatment methods, biological ammonia removal using bacteria has been attracted more attention due to their environmental friendly and high efficiency. The aim of the present study was to isolate heterotrophic nitrogen removal and aerobic denitrifying bacteria from petrochemical wastewater to be used for bioremediation. Wastewater and sludge samples were prepared and their chemical parameters were analyzed. Bacterial isolation was done through enrichment in mineral salt medium and basal salt medium and identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The ability of isolates was evaluated at different concentrations of ammonia, nitrate, and carbon sources and at different time intervals. As a result, ten bacterial isolates were obtained that 5 strains were identified as heterotrophic nitrogen removal bacteria and 5 strains were able to do aerobic denitrification. From these, Pseudomonas guguanensis strain 4-n-1 with 93.2% ammonia removal during 24 h at 40 mg/L ammonium sulfate concentration and Pseudomonas guariconensis strain 5-d-1 with 89.2% denitrification during 24 h at 100 mg/L nitrate concentration were the best isolates. Finally, based on the efficiency of these isolates it can be concluded that effective ammonia removal can be achieved using these species as consortium and simultaneous heterotrophic nitrogen removal with aerobic denitrification is suitable method for efficient ammonium removal from petrochemical wastewater and reduction of ammonia concentration.

Cell-specific frequency as a new hallmark to early detection of cancer and efficient therapy: Recording of cancer voice as a new horizon.

Early detection is the most important strategy for controlling and management of cancer, which can significantly increase the survival rate by detecting disease in the early stages and rapid treating and preventing the progression of the disease. There are a number of methods to differentiate the normal and cancerous cells including pH changes, temperature change, variation in electrical properties and also preliminary evidence on specific frequency of some cancer cells which are reviewed in this work. The results obtained in cancer treatment using the amplitude-modulated electromagnetic fields indicate that each type of cell has a specific response to the emitted frequencies. Also, the results reveal that the recorded frequencies of prostate and breast cancers are lower compared to the normal cells associated with these tissues. There are more evidences for the existence of specific cell frequencies in the form of the response of each cell to its own specific frequency and the difference between normal and tumor cell frequency levels. Based on these evidences, it can be introduced as a hallmark with the ability to the distinction between normal and tumor cells for cancer detection. Our suggestion is to hear the voice of cancer, by designing and developing a non-invasive, biocompatible, affordable and miniaturized tools, such as nano-antennas and implantable biosensors that able to detect and record cell-specific frequencies. Designing transducers to convert the cell-specific frequency to a sound or other measurable signal will accomplish the job. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the cell-specific frequency measurement, which is derived from cell activity, is introduced as a biomarker for early detection of cancer. The development of studies aimed at expanding research and designing instruments for detection of the frequency with the goal of establishing a comparative library of cell-specific frequency for all cell types, especially non-communicable diseases such as cancer. The main goal of the project is to plan the idea of developing modern tools and hallmark for early detection of cancer as one of the most important global strategies for managing the disease by introducing new parameters with a high-accuracy and in proportion and direct relationship with the activity and functioning of the body, without any affecting exogenous interferer.

Dietary diversities score and anthropometric characteristics in Iranian elementary school children.

Dietary diversity scoring is a good method to assess quality of individual's diet. The study aimed to investigate the association between dietary diversity and body mass index among elementary school students in the south of Tehran, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on elementary school students, age range of 7-12 years old, in 2015. Data were collected using a personal information questionnaire and three 24-h recall questionnaires. Dietary diversity score was calculated from the number of food groups in these questionnaires. A total of 536 students, 258 (48.1%) female and 278 (51.9%) male, were recruited in the study. The mean age of the students was 9.43 ± 1.73 years. Seafood consumption was more frequent and beans was lower frequent in students at higher BMI (≥95th percentile) than the other children (34% vs 25% and 71% vs 83%, respectively, p<0.05). However, the statistical analysis failed to find significant relationships between children's body mass index (BMI) with consumption of diary, vegetable, fruits, protein, fat, and junk food intake. The association between children's BMI with seafood and beans consumption confirmed in multivariate analysis (OR= 1.50 and 0.52, respectively, p<0.05). The study finding showed that seafood and beans consumption may influence on elementary student BMI.

Cell intrinsic hallmarks (Frequency and Bioelectrical potential) sensitive nano-carriers for cancer therapy: A lost option in research.

Bioelectric potential and frequency parameters, unlike temperature and pH are not affected by environmental factors. Independence of these parameters and their dependence on cellular interactions eliminates interfering factors and increases the accuracy of direct drug delivery. To the best of our knowledge, both parameters of bioelectric potential and the frequency which is produced from cellular activity have not been used as a target for targeted drug delivery. Based on the available evidence, we propose that the frequency and bioelectricity from normal cells with tumor cells and tumors together demonstrate a good level of distinction in order to target proposed cell for drug delivery. Applying this feature as a means of distinguishing between normal and tumor cells and utilizing nanotechnology in the design and production of nano-carriers based on sensitivity to frequency or bioelectric potential and adjustable as alternatives for temperature and pH in purpose of targeted drug delivery with the maximum level of efficiency. Our proposed method of frequency/bioelectric potential-based drug delivery can significantly reduce damages and medication side effects to normal cell by improving drug delivery to tumor cells. It can be an important development in the prevention of expanding tumor cells and enhancement treatment of cancer.

Ultrasensitive bioassay of epitope of Mucin-16 protein (CA 125) in human plasma samples using a novel immunoassay based on silver conductive nano-ink: A new platform in early stage diagnosis of ovarian cancer and efficient management.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is known to be one of the most lethal malignancies associated with women disease. The CA-125 protein is a repetitive epitope of MUC-16, which plays key role in enhancing the proliferation of cancer cells and inhibiting anticancer immune responses. It is the most widely used biomarker for early stage diagnosis of OC. Also it is the only serum marker which currently used in clinical diagnosis. Monitoring of CA-125 protein in the serum sample is also valuable in evaluating the response of ovarian cancer to treatment. In this research, a novel immunoassay based on immobilization of CA-125 antibody on the biointerface of silver nanoparticles modified graphene quantum dots ink (Ag NPs-GQDs) was successfully designed to recognition of CA-125 protein in a human plasma sample. The supplied immunoassay presents the proper ability to detect and determine the amount of CA-125 biomarker in low concentrations of CA-125 biomarker. The proposed immunosensor was employed for the detection of CA-125 using differential pulse voltammetry (DPVs) and square wave voltammetry (SWVs) techniques. The proposed interface leads to enhancement of accessible surface area for immobilizing a high amount of anti-CA-125 antibody, increasing electrical conductivity, boosting stability, catalytic properties and biocompatibility. Under the optimized operating conditions, the low limit of quantitation (LLOQ) for the proposed immunosensor was recorded as 0.01 U/mL, which this evaluation was performed at highly linear range of 0.01-400 U/mL. The proposed immunoassay was successfully applied for the monitoring of CA-125 in unprocessed human plasma samples.

Non-invasive quantification of malondialdehyde biomarker in human exhaled breath condensate using self-assembled organic-inorganic nanohybrid: A new platform for early diagnosis of lung disease.

A novel electrochemical sensor was developed towards recognition of malondialdehyde (MDA) with modifying the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by self-assembled riboflavin-taurine (RFPT) as organic substrate and silver nanoparticle (Ag NPs) as inorganic nano-catalyst. Therefore, a novel biocompatible and anti-bacterial substrate were prepared for the construction of electrode. In proposed sensor, the RF-PT polymer film led to the emergence of electroactive and suitable substrate for the immobilization of Ag NPs. The use of the proposed nano-hybrid significantly amplified the electrochemical signals the redox behavior was investigated using various electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). It is the adaptation of the established RF-PT-Ag NPs organic-inorganic hybrid for a selective, robust, and generalizable sensing system that is the emphasis of this work. The results show that the proposed platform has a good sensitivity in the detecting of MDA with a low limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 0.59 ± 0.05 µM. In addition, the modified electrode reveals promising efficiency against MDA oxidation and its side-products destructive effects. For the first time, the engineered sensor was used to non-invasive determination MDA in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples without the need to extra sample preparation steps. The results show RF-PT-AgNPs as a novel biocompatible interface can provide appropriate, reliable, in-expensive, fast, and user-friendly diagnostic tools in the detection of MDA in human real samples.

Ultrasensitive immunoassay of glycoprotein 125 (CA 125) in untreated human plasma samples using poly (CTAB­chitosan) doped with silver nanoparticles.

CA 125 is a Mucin glycoprotein and its concentration in human serum correlates with a woman's risk of developing ovarian cancer and also indicates response to therapy in diagnosed patients. Accurate detection of this large, complex protein in patient biofluids is of great clinical relevance. In this work, an innovative immunoassay for quantitation of CA 125 based on signal amplification strategy was proposed. In this work, Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled CA 125-antibody (anti-CA 125) was immobilized onto a green and biocompatible nanocomposite containing poly cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (P (CTAB) as conductive matrix, chitosan (CS) as biocompatible agent and sliver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) as signal amplification element. Therefore, a novel nanocomposite film based P (CTAB-CS) and Ag NPs was exploited to develop a highly sensitive immunosensor for detection of CA 125 protein. Importantly, Ag NPs prepared by electrodeposition method which lead to compact morphology. Fully electrochemical methodology was used to prepare a new transducer on a glassy carbon surface which provided a high surface area to immobilize a high amount of the anti-CA 125. The surface morphology of electrode was characterized by high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The immunosensor was employed for the detection of CA 125 using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPVs) techniques. Under optimized condition the calibration curve for CA 125 concentration by SWV and DPV was linear in 0.01-400 U/mL with lower limit of quantification of 0.001 U/mL. The method was successfully applied assay of the CA 125 in unprocessed human plasma samples.

Ultrasensitive immunoassay of tumor protein CA 15.3 in MCF-7 breast cancer cell lysates and unprocessed human plasma using gold nanoparticles doped on the structure of mesoporous silica.

Breast cancer is the most common threat in women worldwide. Increasing death rate of diagnosed cases is the main leading cause of designing specific immunoassay for tumor marker in breast cancer. Cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) is a tumor protein for many types of cancer, most notably breast cancer. Herein, we report a sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor based on signal amplification strategy of multiple nanocomposites to detection of CA 15-3 biomarker. The proposed immunosensor fabricated by reduced graphene oxide (rGO), poly-dopamine (PDA) and amino functionalized mesoporous silica (MCM-41-NH2) doped by gold nanoparticles composite on the glassy carbon electrode with a large surface area which was prepared a new platform to immobilization of primary antibodies and provide excellent conductivity. To further amplify the electrochemical signal, the trace tag on the foundation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is coated with MCM-41-NH2 nanocomposite through thionine linking, which provides more amino groups to capture more horseradish peroxidase-labeled antibodies (HPR-Ab2) and enhances the conductivity. Under optimal conditions, the developed immunosensor exhibits excellent analytical performance for the determination of CA 15-3 with a wide linear range from 0.002 to 125 U/mL and a low limit of quantification of 0.002 U/mL. Furthermore, satisfactory results are obtained for the determination of CA 15-3 in human plasma samples, indicating the potential of the immunoassay to be applied in clinical analysis.

Phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Artemisia marschalliana Sprengel aerial part extract and assessment of their antioxidant, anticancer, and antibacterial properties.

A rapid phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using an extract from the aerial parts of Artemisia marschalliana Sprengel was investigated in this study. The synthesized AgNPs using A. marschalliana extract was analyzed by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and further characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, zeta potential, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Characteristic absorption bands of AgNPs were found near 430 nm in the UV-vis spectrum. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis of AgNPs in the energy range 2-4 keV confirmed the silver signal due to surface plasmon resonance. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results revealed that the AgNPs were mostly spherical with an average size ranging from 5 nm to 50 nm. The zeta potential value of -31 mV confirmed the stability of the AgNPs. AgNPs produced using the aqueous A. marschalliana extract might serve as a potent in vitro antioxidant, as revealed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl assay. The present study demonstrates the anticancer properties of phytosynthesized AgNPs against human gastric carcinoma AGS cells. AgNPs exerted a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the viability of cells. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used for the investigation of Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression in cancer and normal cell lines. Our findings show that the mRNA levels of pro-apoptotic Bax gene expression were significantly upregulated, while the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was declined in cells treated with AgNPs compared to normal cells. In addition, flow cytometric analysis showed that the number of early and late apoptotic AGS cells was significantly enhanced following treatment with AgNPs as compared to untreated cells. In addition, the AgNPs showed strong antibacterial properties against tested pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Based on the obtained data, we suggest that phytosynthesized AgNPs are good alternatives in the treatment of diseases because of the presence of bioactive agents.

Zero-static-power phase-change optical modulator.

This Letter presents an innovative design of an electro-optical modulator using germanium telluride (GeTe) phase change material with an integrated nano-heater. The refractive index and the electrical conductivity of GeTe significantly change as the GeTe goes though the crystallographic phase change. Amorphization and crystallization of GeTe is achieved using the Joule heating method by passing current through an array of metal gratings, where GeTe fills the slits between the metal lines. These metal slits also increase the contrast between the amorphous (on) and crystalline (off) phases of the modulator by having extraordinary transmission and reflection response based on interactions of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) with the incoming light. The modulator is designed for 1550 nm wavelength, where GeTe is transparent in the amorphous phase and provides high optical on/off contrast. The metal-insulator-metal (MIM) is designed in such a way to only support SPP excitation when GeTe is crystalline and slit resonance when it is amorphous to increase the modulation index. The modulator is stable in both phases with higher than 12 dB change in transmission with zero static power consumption at room temperature.

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis as a manifestation of Crohn disease.

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis is a rare extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn disease that has been described previously in 4 patients. We report a 23-year-old man with a history of Crohn disease since age 6 years who was admitted to the hospital for weight loss, fever, and bloody diarrhea in the midst of a recent flare up during the past 2 months. Investigations revealed anemia, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, high C-reactive protein level, and an elevated serum creatinine level. Histopathologic examination of tissue specimens obtained at renal biopsy demonstrated granulomatous interstitial nephritis. Crohn disease needs to be in the differential diagnosis of granulomatous interstitial nephritis and can be a manifestation of drug allergy or the Crohn disease itself.

The study of CD117 expression in glial tumors and its relationship with the tumor-type and grade.

BACKGROUND: CD117 is a thyrosin kinase receptor encoded by c-kit proto-oncogene. It is expressed during normal development in some tissues and also in a subset of neoplasia especially gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Treatment with thyrosin kinase inhibitors (e.g., Imatinib) is useful in CD117- positive GISTs. The goal of this study is to investigate the expression of CD117 in glial tumors as a potential diagnostic marker and target for therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: in this descriptive-analytical study, paraffin- embedded tissue blocks from 50 cases of glial tumors (various histological types and grades) were selected in a convenience sampling for the CD117 immunhistochemical study including expression of the marker, staining intensity, and percentage of the stained cells. The results were analyzed by Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS: CD117 expression was detected in about 76% of glial tumors but the frequency of the expression showed no statistically significant relationship with the tumor type (P = 0.829). Although CD117 immunoreactivity was more frequent in high-grade tumors (84%) compared to the low-grade ones (68%), no statistically significant relationship was found between the CD117 expression and grade of the tumor (P = 0.09). Staining intensity and percentage of stained cells in high-grade tumors were significantly more than in low-grade tumors (P values of 0.046 and 0.023, respectively). CONCLUSION: according to the statistically significant difference in the staining intensity and percentage of the stained cells between the low-grade and high-grade glial tumors, these two parameters may be useful for making distinction between various grades of these tumors. Moreover, according to the prominent expression of CD117 in high-grade gliomas, these tumors may be potential candidates for treatment with thyrosin kinase inhibitors.