Encapsulation of Vitamins Using Nanoliposome: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

Nowadays the importance of vitamins is clear for everyone. However, many patients are suffering from insufficient intake of vitamins. Incomplete intake of different vitamins from food sources due to their destruction during food processing or decrease in their bioavailability when mixing with other food materials, are factors resulting in vitamin deficiency in the body. Therefore, various lipid based nanocarriers such as nanoliposomes were developed to increase the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. Since the function of nanoliposomes containing vitamins on the body has a direct relationship with the quality of produced nanoliposomes, this review study was planned to investigate the several aspects of liposomal characteristics such as size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency on the quality of synthesized vitamin-loaded nanoliposomes.

Oral Lesions after COVID-19 Vaccination: Immune Mechanisms and Clinical Approach

Background and aim COVID-19 vaccination, although is a promising tool to overcome the pandemic, has side effects. There are increasing reports of oral lesions after COVID-19 vaccination. The aim of this review is to identify the occurrence of some oral lesions after COVID-19 vaccination, and highlight the underlying immune mechanisms involved. Materials and methods A narrative literature review was performed by searching electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science to investigate the oral lesions after COVID-19 vaccination. The inclusion criteria were original studies, including the case reports, case series, letter to the editor, and cross-sectional studies. The exclusion criteria included the studies which examined the oral lesions caused by COVID-19 infection. The information, including the number of participant(s) receiving vaccine, type of vaccine, dose number, side effect(s), time of onset following vaccination, healing time, treatment strategies for the existing lesions, and related mechanisms were then summarized in a data extraction sheet. Results and conclusions The results of this review showed that some vaccines had side effects with oral involvement such as pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, herpes zoster, lichen planus, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and Behçet's disease. Future research needs to elucidate the physiopathology of oral manifestations after the COVID-19 vaccination, and better understand the risk factors associated with such responses. Sometimes vaccine's side effects may be due to the nocebo effect, which means that the person expects some adverse events to occur following the vaccine administration.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study of Incidence Rate and Patients' Concerns.

BACKGROUND: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is imperative to focus on the concerns of patients with chronic diseases regarding the influence of such conditions and medications prescribed for this purpose on their susceptibility to COVID-19 and its severity. This study aimed to evaluate COVID-19 incidence rate, patients' concerns, sources of information, and medication compliance in a cohort of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 214 confirmed cases of IBD were followed up within 8 months up to December 20, 2020. In the confirmed cases of COVID-19, the interviews were repeated 3 months later to assess the post-COVID-19 symptoms and conditions. RESULTS: Among 214 patients with IBD, 113 cases (52.8%) were female, and 169 individuals (79%) were suffering from ulcerative colitis (UC). The mean±SD scores of commitment to standard preventive guidance on COVID-19 were 81.6±19. Moreover, 147 patients (69%) had further stated at least one critical apprehension. The main sources of their information on COVID-19 were physicians (n=89, 41.5%) and websites (n=71, 33.1%). In addition, 10 patients with IBD were diagnosed as confirmed cases of COVID-19, one of them expired due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). CONCLUSION: The incidence of COVID-19 in the cohort of the patients with IBD in this study was broadly comparable to the general reference population. Tight adherence to physical distancing, and if possible, encouragements of patients with IBD to do remote work along with the provision of virtual care to them cannot be overemphasized. Physicians and websites can also play crucial roles in providing accurate information to patients affected with IBD, especially in terms of reassurances for medication compliance.

Coronene Surface for Delivery of Favipiravir: Computational Approach

Delivery of pharmaceutical compounds has been always an important issue to be solved by appropriate methodologies. In this regard, coronene surface was investigated in this work for possible delivery of favipiravir (FAV) as a well-known drug for medication of COVID-19 pandemic. To this aim, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to explore surfaces of two representative carbon coronene (C) and boron nitride coronene (BN) models for adsorption of FAV drug. Consequently, complex formations of FAV@C and FAV@BN were examined using the computed molecular and atomic parameters. The results indicated that the FAV could interact with both of C and BN surfaces, but with better favorability of FAV@BN complex formation in comparison with FAV@C complex formation. Additionally, molecular orbitlas features indicated that the electronic behavior of FAV@BNC complex could be close to the original FAV in contrast with the results of FAV@CC complex. The evaluated diagrams of density of states (DOS) showed benefit of the employed models for sensor applications. The obtained features of quantum theory of atoms in molecule (QTAIM) affirmed formations interactions between substances and their strengths. Finally, FAV@BN complex was proposed as proper compound for further investigations of drug delivery processes.

Efficacy of mRNA, adenoviral vector, and perfusion protein COVID-19 vaccines.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a devastating impact on global populations triggered by a highly infectious viral sickness, produced by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The third major cause of mortality in the United States, following heart disease and cancer in 2020, was undoubtedly COVID-19. The centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) and the world health organization (WHO) separately developed a categorization system for differentiating new strains of SARS-CoV-2 into variants of concern (VoCs) and variants of interest (VoIs) with the continuing development of various strains SARS-CoV-2. By December 2021, five of the SARS-CoV-2 VoCs were discovered from the onset of the pandemic depending on the latest epidemiologic report by the WHO: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529). Mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and n-terminal domain (NTD) have been found throughout all five identified VoCs. All strains other than the delta mutant are often found with the N501Y mutation situated on the RBD, resulting in higher binding between the spike protein and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, enhanced viral adhesion, and following the entrance to host cells. The introduction of these new strains of SRAS-CoV-2 is likely to overcome the remarkable achievements gained in restricting this viral disease to the point where it is presented with remarkable vaccine developments against COVID-19 and strong worldwide mass immunization initiatives. Throughout this literature review, the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines for managing and prohibiting SARS-CoV-2 strains is thoroughly described.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Burnout Among Healthcare Workers During COVID-19.

Burnout among healthcare personnel has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic's unique features. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide a complete assessment of the prevalence of burnout across various healthcare personnel. Until January 2021, systematic searches for English language papers were conducted using PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. Thirty observational studies were found after conducting systematic searches. The pooled overall prevalence of burnout was 52% [95% confidence interval (CI) 40-63%]. Pooled emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and lack of personal accomplishment (PA) were 51% (95% CI 42-61%), 52% (95% CI 39-65%), and 28% (95% CI 25-31%), respectively. This study demonstrated that nearly half of the healthcare workers experienced burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the studies that were included, non-frontline COVID-19 exposed healthcare personnel also experienced burnout. From high to lower middle-income countries, there was a gradient in the prevalence of total burnout, EE, and lack of PA. Further studies on burnout in low and lower-middle-income countries are suggested. A uniform diagnostic tool for the assessment of burnout is warranted.

Interactions between favipiravir and a BNC cage towards drug delivery applications.

Electronic structure analysis of bimolecular formation of favipiravir (Fav) and a representative model of boron-nitrogen-carbon (BNC) cage was performed in this work for providing more insightful information regarding the drug delivery purposes by the importance of Fav drug for medication of COVID-19. To achieve the purpose of this work, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to obtain the stabilized structures and corresponding molecular and atomic scale descriptors. Six models of BNC-Fav complexes were obtained reading the participation of different atomic positions of Fav to interactions with the BNC cage surface. The results yielded BNC-Fav2 at the highest strength and BNC-Fav4 at the lowest strength of bimolecular formations. Molecular orbital-related features and atomic scale quadrupole coping constants all revealed that BNC-Fav2 complex could be proposed for employing in drug delivery process by managing the loaded Fav contribution to future interactions.

The Interrelationship between Liver Function Test and the Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The outbreak of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has become a global public health challenge. Assessing the effect of COVID-19 on liver injury is of great importance. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to establish the characteristics of liver function tests in COVID-19 patients. Methods: A systematic search of publications from December 2019 up to April 2020 in Web of Science, Scopus, and Medline (via PubMed) databases was performed. Both cross-sectional and case series studies reporting an association between liver injury and COVID-19 infection were included. The data were analyzed using the STATA software (version 11.0) and the random-effects model for I2>50% was used to pool the results. Results: In this meta-analysis, 42 articles comprising a total of 6,557 COVID-19 patients were studied. The prevalence of increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels was 30% and 21% in non-severe patients and 38% and 48% in severe patients, respectively. Patients with severe COVID-19 infection were 4.22, 4.96, and 4.13 times more likely to have elevated AST, ALT, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, respectively. Conclusion: Elevation in liver function tests was higher in patients with severe than non-severe COVID-19 infection. Given the widespread use of drugs that increases the risk of hepatotoxicity, healthcare providers should be aware of changes in liver enzymes in COVID-19 patients. The inclusion of other studies from outside China could confirm the pattern of elevation in liver function tests in COVID-19 patients across the globe. Preprint of this article is available on medRxiv, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.20.20108357v1.

SARS-CoV-2: From the pathogenesis to potential anti-viral treatments.

INTRODUCTION: The world is witnessing the spread of one of the members of Coronaviruses (CoVs) family, called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the 21st century. Considering the short time spent after its prevalence, limited information is known about the effect of the virus mechanism on different organs of the body; meanwhile the lack of specific treatment and vaccine for this virus has exposed millions of people to a big challenge. AREAS COVERED: The review article aims to describe the general and particular characteristics of CoVs, their classification, genome structure, host cell infection, cytokine storm, anti-viral treatments, and inhibition of COVID-19-related ER-mitochondrial stress. In addition, it refers to drugs such as Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, darunavir, ribavirin, remdesivir, and favipiravir, which have undergone clinical trials for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. This analysis was derived from an extensive scientific literature search including Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar performed. EXPERT OPINION: The effectiveness rate and complications of these drugs can reveal new insights into the potential therapeutic goals for the disease. Moreover, lifestyle change can effectively prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.