Continuous monitoring of body temperature for objective detection of health and safety risks in construction sites: An analysis of the accuracy and comfort of off-the-shelf wearable sensors.

Recent studies have shown the potential of wearable sensors for objective detection of health and safety risks in construction workers through their collected physiological data. Body temperature, as the focus of the current study, is one of the most important physiological parameters that can help to detect various health and safety risks such as heat stress, physical fatigue, and infectious diseases. This study aims to assess the applicability and performance of off-the-shelf wearable sensor devices to monitor workers' body temperature in construction sites by evaluating the accuracy of temperature measurements as well as the comfort of the devices. A total of nine off-the-shelf wearable sensor devices available on the market were initially trialed in the laboratory, and three devices were shortlisted considering a set of selection criteria for further assessment. Over three weeks, the shortlisted wearable sensors were tested on 26 workers in two large construction sites in Australia. The reliability/validity of the selected wearable sensors in measuring body temperature was investigated using Bland-Altman analysis. Human factors were also investigated in terms of the comfort of the devices, their impact on workers' performance, and the acceptability of being worn for an extended period (i.e., 8 h or more). It was found that all selected devices measured body temperature with a bias of less than one indicating a slight difference in measurements compared to the reference hospital-grade thermometers. Two devices out of the three were also comfortable. The achieved results indicate that it is feasible to develop a continuous temperature monitoring platform using off-the-shelf wearable sensors to detect a range of significant health and safety risks in construction sites objectively. Considering the rapid advancements in manufacturing wearable sensors, future research can adopt a similar approach to include the newly introduced off-the-shelf temperature sensors and select the most appropriate device.

Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of pH-sensitive doxorubicin-loaded functionalized graphene oxide in osteosarcoma cells.

Introduction: Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most common drugs in cancer treatment. However, its partial solubility along with the high incidence of side effects remains a challenge to tackle. To address these issues, we designed a formulation based on graphene oxide (GO) and used it as an anticancer drug delivery system. Methods: The physical and chemical properties of the formulation were studied using FTIR, SEM, EDX, Mapping, and XRD. Release studies in the in vitro condition were used to evaluate the pH sensitivity of drug release from nanocarriers. Other in vitro studies, including uptake assay, MTT, and apoptosis assay were carried out on the osteosarcoma cell line. Results: in vitro release studies confirmed that the synthesized formulation provides a better payload release profile in acidic conditions, which is usually the case in the tumor site. On the OS cell line, the cytotoxicity of the DOX-loaded nanocarrier (IC50=0.293 µg/mL) and early apoptosis rate (33.80 % ) were higher in comparison to free DOX (IC50=0.472 µg/mL, and early apoptosis rate= 8.31 % ) after 48 hours. Conclusion: In summary, our results suggest a DOX-loaded graphene oxide carrier as a potential platform for targeting cancer cells.

An Ultrasensitive miRNA-Based Genosensor for Detection of MicroRNA 21 in Gastric Cancer Cells Based on Functional Signal Amplifier and Synthesized Perovskite-Graphene Oxide and AuNPs.

In the present research work, the state-of-art label-free electrochemical genosensing platform was developed based on the hybridization process in the presence of [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- as an efficient redox probe for sensitive recognition of the miRNA-21 in human gastric cell lines samples. To attain this aim, perovskite nanosheets were initially synthesized. Afterward, the obtained compound was combined with the graphene oxide resulting in an effective electrochemical modifier, which was dropped on the surface of the Au electrode. Then, AuNPs (Gold Nano Particles) have been electrochemically-immobilized on perovskite-graphene oxide/Au-modified electrode surface through the chronoamperometry (CA) technique. Finally, a self-assembling monolayer reaction of ss-capture RNA ensued by the thiol group at the end of the probe with AuNPs on the modified electrode surface. miRNA-21 has been cast on the Au electrode surface to apply the hybridization process. To find out the effectiveness of the synthesized modifier agent, the electrochemical behavior of the modified electrode has been analyzed through DPV (differential pulse voltammetry) and CV (cyclic voltammetry) techniques. The prepared biomarker-detection bioassay offers high sensitivity and specificity, good performance, and appropriate precision and accuracy for the highly-sensitive determination of miRNA-21. Different characterization methods have been used, such as XRD, Raman, EDS, and FE-SEM, for morphological characterization and investigation of particle size. Based on optimal conditions, the limit of detection and quantification have been acquired at 2.94 fM and 8.75 fM, respectively. Furthermore, it was possible to achieve a wide linear range which is between 10-14 and 10-7 for miRNA-21. Moreover, the selectivity of the proposed biosensing assay was investigated through its potential in the detection of one, two, and three-base mismatched sequences. Moreover, it was possible to investigate the repeatability and reproducibility of the related bio-assay. To evaluate the hybridization process, it is important that the planned biomarker detection bio-assay could be directly re-used and re-generated.

The importance of co-delivery of nanoparticle-siRNA and anticancer agents in cancer therapy.

According to global statistics, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Because of the heterogeneity of cancer, single-drug therapy has many limitations due to low efficacy. Therefore, combination therapy with two or more therapeutic agents is being arisen. One of the most important approaches in cancer therapy is the shot down of key genes involved in apoptotic processes and cell cycle. In this regard, siRNA is a good candidate, a highly attractive method to suppressing tumor growth and invasion. Combination therapy with siRNAs and chemotherapeutic agents can overcome the multidrug resistance and increase apoptosis. The efficient delivery of siRNA to the target cell/tissue/organ has been a challenge. To overcome these challenges, the presence of suitable delivery systems by using nanoparticles is interesting. In this review, we discuss the current challenges for successful RNA interference. Also, we suggested proper a strategy for delivering siRNA that can be useful in targeting therapy. Finally, the combination of a variety of anticancer drugs and siRNA through acceptable delivery systems and their effects on cell cycle and apoptosis will be evaluated.

Is vancomycine still a choice for chronic osteomyelitis empirical therapy in iran?

BACKGROUND: Pyogenic bacteria and especially Staphylococcus aurous (S. aurous) are the most common cause of chronic osteomyelitis. Not only treatment protocol of chronic osteomyelitis occasionally is amiss but also this malady responds to treatment difficultly. OBJECTIVES: This study investigates antibiotic resistance pattern of S. aurous isolated from Iranian patients who suffer from chronic osteomyelitis by two methods: disk diffusion (Kirby bauyer) and E-test (Epsilometer test) to find Vancomycin susceptibility and MIC (Minimum inhibitory concentration). PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and thirty one patients who suffer from chronic osteomyelitis which have been referred to both governmental and private hospitals at 2010 were tried out for culturing of osteomyelitis site (sites). Antibiotic susceptibility and MIC of isolated bacteria were investigated by Kirby bauyer and E-test respectively. RESULTS: Samples were collected from bone (73.4%), surrounding tissue (14.6%) and wound discharge (12%). S. aureus was isolated from 49.6% of the samples. According to disc diffusion, methicillin resistance S. aureus (MRSA) was 75% and Vancomycin resistance S. aurous (VRSA) was 0% and based on MIC, MRSA was 68.5% and VRSA was 0%. According to MIC experiments, maximum sensitivity was against to Vancomycin (90.2%) and ciprofloxacin (54.4%) respectively but based on disc diffusion, maximum sensitivity was against to Vancomycin (97.7%) and ciprofloxacin (43.2%), respectively (P = 0.001). E-test (9.8%) in comparison with Disc diffusion (2.3%) showed higher percent of intermediate susceptibility to Vancomycin (P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of antibiograms and MICs showed that Kirby bauyer technique especially for detection of VISA strains is not reliable comparison with E-test. Already VRSA strains have not detected in Iranian chronic osteomyelitis, Thus Vancomycin is the first choice for chronic osteomyelitis empirical therapy in Iran yet.

Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms predispose to cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The clinical spectrum of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is extremely variable. Studies in experimental leishmaniasis have revealed a role for TLR4 in control of infection. In the present study the associations between TLR4 mutations (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) with outcome of CL have been investigated. Genotyping for Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile was performed in patients with chronic (N = 22) and acute (N = 61) CL, asymptomatic (N = 45) and healthy leishmanin skin test negative individuals (N = 75). The results showed the frequency of the Asp299Gly genotype was increased in patients with chronic disease (OR 25.3, 95% CI 5.2-115.6, P < 0.001) and patients with acute disease (OR 8.03, 95% CI 1.7-37.7, P = 0.006) compared to LST negative subjects. Thr399Ileu genotype was significantly over represented among patients with chronic disease (27.3%, P < 0.001), patients with acute disease (13.1%, P = 0.016), and asymptomatic donors (15.6%, P = 0.008) in comparison with LST negative normal group (1.3%). Both variants were found together more frequently in patients with chronic disease compared to the patients with acute disease (P = 0.045), and asymptomatic donors (P = 0.045). The results provide evidence that polymorphisms of TLR4 gene may lead to the increased susceptibility to and severity of infection by Leishmania major. The concomitant carriage of both mutations increases the susceptibility of individuals to CL.

Lack of association of Toll-Like Receptor 2 Arg753Gln with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of Arg753Gln and Arg677Trp polymorphisms of TLR2 in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) compared to healthy controls. The polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and amplification refractory mutation system assay (ARMS-PCR). The results showed that the frequency of Arg753Gln genotype was 14.3% and 10.1% in CL patients and normal controls, respectively. No one in either group was homozygous for the mutation. There was no significant difference in the genotype frequency. In contrast to the results for Arg753Gln polymorphism, we did not detect any case with Arg677Trp polymorphism in either control or patient group. In conclusion the TLR2 mutations are found equally in CL patients and healthy subjects.

Completely displaced S-1/S-2 growth plate fracture in an adolescent: case report and review of literature.

In children, pelvic fractures are not common, and therefore, sacral fractures are a rare occurrence. Sacral fractures are often associated with neurologic deficit. Using radiographs alone may not be adequate to diagnose sacral fractures, and computed tomography scanning and/or magnetic resonance imaging may be needed. Treatment of the sacral fracture is often controversial and can range from nonoperative management to surgical intervention. This article presents a case report of completely displaced S-1/S-2 growth plate fracture. It also describes our diagnostic and treatment approach based on similar previously reported cases.