Fluorescence in depth: integration of spectroscopy and imaging with Raman, IR, and CD for advanced research.

Fluorescence spectroscopy serves as a vital technique for studying the interaction between light and fluorescent molecules. It encompasses a range of methods, each presenting unique advantages and applications. This technique finds utility in various chemical studies. This review discusses Fluorescence spectroscopy, its branches such as Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TRFS) and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), and their integration with other spectroscopic methods, including Raman, Infrared (IR), and Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. By delving into these methods, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities and significance of fluorescence spectroscopy in scientific research, highlighting its diverse applications and the enhanced understanding it brings when combined with other spectroscopic methods. This review looks at each technique's unique features and applications. It discusses the prospects of their combined use in advancing scientific understanding and applications across various domains.

Cadmium neurotoxicity: Insights into behavioral effect and neurodegenerative diseases.

Cadmium (Cd) induced neurotoxicity has become a growing concern due to its potential adverse effects on the Central Nervous System. Cd is a Heavy Metal (HM) that is released into the environment, through several industrial processes. It poses a risk to the health of the community by polluting air, water, and soil. Cd builds up in the brain and other neural tissues, raising concerns about its effect on the nervous system due to its prolonged biological half-life. Cd can enter into the neurons, hence increasing the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in them and impairing their antioxidant defenses. Cd disrupts the Calcium (Ca2+) balance in neurons, affects the function of the mitochondria, and triggers cell death pathways. As a result of these pathways, the path to the development of many neurological diseases affected by environmental factors, especially Cd, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is facilitated. There are cognitive deficits associated with long exposure to Cd. Memory disorders are present in both animals and humans. Cd alters the brain's function and performance in critical periods. There are lifelong consequences of Cd exposure during critical brain development stages. The susceptibility to neurotoxic effects is increased by interactions with a variety of risk factors. Cd poses risks to neuronal function and behavior, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD) and AD as well as cognitive issues. This article offers a comprehensive overview of Cd-induced neurotoxicity, encompassing risk assessment, adverse effect levels, and illuminating intricate pathways.

Diagnostic applications and therapeutic option of Cascade CRISPR/Cas in the modulation of miRNA in diverse cancers: promises and obstacles.

The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas technology is a molecular tool specific to sequences for engineering genomes. Among diverse clusters of Cas proteins, the class 2/type II CRISPR/Cas9 system, despite several challenges, such as off-target effects, editing efficiency, and efficient delivery, has shown great promise for driver gene mutation discovery, high-throughput gene screening, epigenetic modulation, nucleic acid detection, disease modeling, and more importantly for therapeutic purposes. CRISPR-based clinical and experimental methods have applications across a wide range of areas, especially for cancer research and, possibly, anticancer therapy. On the other hand, given the influential role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulations of cellular division, carcinogenicity, tumorigenesis, migration/invasion, and angiogenesis in diverse normal and pathogenic cellular processes, in different stages of cancer, miRNAs are either oncogenes or tumor suppressors, according to what type of cancer they are involved in. Hence, these noncoding RNA molecules are conceivable biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic targets. Moreover, they are suggested to be adequate predictors for cancer prediction. Conclusive evidence proves that CRISPR/Cas system can be applied to target small non-coding RNAs. However, the majority of studies have highlighted the application of the CRISPR/Cas system for targeting protein-coding regions. In this review, we specifically discuss diverse applications of CRISPR-based tools for probing miRNA gene function and miRNA-based therapeutic involvement in different types of cancers.

Selenium enhances the expression of miR-9, miR-124 and miR-29a during neural differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND: Selenium (Se) is a trace element that plays important role in antioxidant defense in the brain. Sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) is an inorganic salt of Se which has an antioxidant function. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Sodium selenite on the expression of important neuronal microRNAs during neural differentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs). METHODS: Mesenchymal stem cells were collected from rat bone marrow and cultured in the Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) medium. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay was conducted to determine the toxicity of Na2SeO3. For neural induction, BMSCs were divided into control, Na2SeO3 containing (10 ng/mL) and Na2SeO3 free groups and cultured in DMEM medium supplemented with Isobutyl-l-methylxanthine (IBMX), Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), B27, Retinoic acid, and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) for 14 days. At the end of the differentiation, immunostaining against Microtubule associated protein 2 (Map-2) and Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) proteins was performed. Also, the total RNA is extracted from control and neural differentiated cells using a special kit, and the expression of miR-9, miR-124, and miR-29a was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Increasing Na2SeO3 concentrations had increasing toxicity; therefore, the concentration of 10 ng/mL was used as a supplement during neural differentiation. Examination of the expression of Map-2 and ChAT proteins showed that Na2SeO3 increased the expression of them and consequently the neuronal differentiation of BMSCs. Na2SeO3 also significantly increased the expression of miR-9, miR-124, and miR-29a in BMSCs undergoing neuronal differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the protective effect of selenium on neural differentiation of stem cells may be mediated through neuron specific microRNAs. This result further highlights the importance of selenium supplementation in preventing neuronal diseases.

Nano-biotechnology, an applicable approach for sustainable future.

Nanotechnology is one of the most emerging fields of research within recent decades and is based upon the exploitation of nano-sized materials (e.g., nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanomembranes, nanowires, nanofibers and so on) in various operational fields. Nanomaterials have multiple advantages, including high stability, target selectivity, and plasticity. Diverse biotic (e.g., Capsid of viruses and algae) and abiotic (e.g., Carbon, silver, gold and etc.) materials can be utilized in the synthesis process of nanomaterials. "Nanobiotechnology" is the combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology disciplines. Nano-based approaches are developed to improve the traditional biotechnological methods and overcome their limitations, such as the side effects caused by conventional therapies. Several studies have reported that nanobiotechnology has remarkably enhanced the efficiency of various techniques, including drug delivery, water and soil remediation, and enzymatic processes. In this review, techniques that benefit the most from nano-biotechnological approaches, are categorized into four major fields: medical, industrial, agricultural, and environmental.

Comparing Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients with Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis with and without Completion Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the standard method for staging and treatment of axillary lymph nodes for early-stage breast cancer is sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), while axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is used in cases with palpable axillary lymph nodes or positive SLNB cases. The aim of this review was to compare overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and axillary recurrence in early-stage breast cancer patients underwent SLNB or SLNB and completion ALND. METHODS: The databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched using the key words of "breast cancer", "axillary lymph node dissection", and "sentinel lymph node dissection". In addition, other sources were searched for ongoing studies (i.e., clinicaltrials.gov). The clinical trials were evaluated based on the Jadad quality criteria, and cohort studies were evaluated according to the STROBE criteria. At the end of the search, the articles were screened independently by two reviewers to check their eligibility to be included in the study. Afterwards, the data were extracted independently by two researchers. RESULTS: After searching the databases, 169 papers were retrieved. However, after removing the duplicates and studying the titles and abstracts of these papers, only ten ones underwent further investigation. After reading full-text of each article, four studies were finalized. Following a manual search, 27 papers were entered into the study for the final evaluation, 11 of which were included in the meta-analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings showed no significant differences in OS, DFS, and axillary recurrence in early-stage breast cancer patients underwent SLNB or SLNB and completion ALND. CONCLUSION: The findings did not confirm that ALND improved OS, DFS, and axillary recurrence in patients who were clinically node-negative and positive SLNB.

Synthesis of Spiro1,4-Dihydropyridines: A Review.

The preparation of medicinally promising spiro1,4-dihydropyridines accompanied by their applications in biological and pharmaceutical activities is presented. Spiro1,4-dihydropyridines were synthesized using numerous reported methods including bronested acids such as p-TSA, AcOH, nano-ranged calix[4]arene tetracarboxylic acid, sulfamic acid, PEG-OSO3H, tetramethylguanidinium triflate; lewis acids including Zn(OTf)2, FeCl3, copper, alum, aluminosilicate nanoparticles, MnFe2O4 nanoparticles, manganese ferrite nanoparticles, BF3OEt2; under alkaline conditions such as Et3N and piperidine; ionic liquids such as [KAl(SO4)2·12H2O] and [Bmim]PF6, [MIM(CH2)4SO3H][HSO4]; and other miscellaneous procedures, for example, microwave-assisted catalyst and solvent-free conditions, using iodine, PEG-400, and NaCl.