Morphological and biochemical variation of Ajuga chamaecistus Ging. ex Benth. in different habitats of Markazi province in the center of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants, such as Ajuga chamaecistus Ging. ex Benth. are a natural and available source of treatment for a wide range of diseases. The objective of the present study was to assess the morphological and biochemical variation of 70 accessions of this species collected from seven geographical areas of Markazi province in the center of Iran. RESULTS: The measured traits exhibited considerable variability across the populations. Positive correlations were observed between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content, as well as total flavonoid content. Principal component analysis showed six components explaining 72.15% of the total variance, and the PC1 explained 20.68% of the total variance. The Ward dendrogram based on morphological variables identified two main clusters. Morphological analysis of A. chamaecistus showed a high variation between qualitative and quantitative traits that help the breeders for selecting the desired genotypes. The accessions collected from the Robat-Mil area showed the highest values for the recorded morphological characteristics. Also, the populations of Robat-Mil, Hassanabad, and Khaneh-Miran were characterized by high values of total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity, which can be used in various industries, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the present results showed that the best place for the growth of A. chamaecistus with the production of significant contents of phenol and flavonoid is in Robat-Mil area.

Introduction of a new recombinant vaccine based on GRP78 for breast cancer immunotherapy and evaluation in a mouse model.

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies in women. Several treatment options are available today, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Immunotherapy, as a highly specific therapy, involves adaptive immune responses and immunological memory. In our present research, we used the recombinant C-terminal domain of the GRP78 (glucose- regulated protein 78) protein to induce an immune response and investigate its therapeutic impact in the 4T1 breast cancer model. Methods: BALB/c mice were immunized with the cGRP78 protein. The humoral immune response was assessed by ELISA. Then, BALB/c mice were injected subcutaneously with 1×106 4T1 tumor cells. Subsequently, tumor size and survival rate measurements, MTT, and cytokine assays were performed. Results: The animals receiving the cGRP78 vaccine showed significantly more favorable survival and slower tumor growth rates compared with unvaccinated tumor-bearing mice as the negative control mice. Circulating levels of tumoricidal cytokines such as IFNγ were higher, whereas tolerogenic cytokines such as IL-2, 6, and 10 either did not increase or had a decreasing trend in mice receiving cGRP78. Conclusion: cGRP78 vaccines generated potent immunotherapeutic effects in a breast cancer mouse model. This novel strategy of targeting the GRP78 protein can promote the development of cancer vaccines and immunotherapies for breast cancer malignancies.

A novel approach to enhance the performance of kallikrein 6 enzyme using Pichia pastoris GS115 as a host.

Background and purpose: Enzyme engineering is the process of raising enzyme efficiency and activity by altering amino acid sequences. Kallikrein 6 (KLK6) enzyme is a secreted serine protease involved in a variety of physiological and pathological activities. The increased expression of KLK6 plays a key role in various diseases. Instability and spontaneous activation and deactivation are major challenges in the study of this enzyme. This study aimed to create a stable pro-KLK6 enzyme by enzyme engineering, designing a specific cleavage site for enterokinase, and using Pichia pastoris GS115 as a host cell. Then, recombinant pro-KLK6 was used to introduce a novel inhibitor for it. Experimental approach: An engineered pro-KLK6 gene was cloned into the pPICZα A expression vector. Then, it was expressed in P. pastoris GS115 and purified by Ni-NTA chromatography. An inactive engineered pro-KLK6 gene was cleaved by enterokinase and converted to an active KLK6. The KLK6 enzyme activity and its kinetic parameters were measured using N-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE) substrates. Findings/Results: The secretory form of the pro-KLK6 was expressed at about 11 mg/L in P. pastoris (GS115). Before activation with enterokinase, pro-KLK6 was inactive and did not activate spontaneously. The kinetic parameters, including Km and Vmax, were estimated at 113.59 µM and 0.432 µM/s, respectively. Conclusion and implications: A stable pro-KLK6 enzyme was produced using P. pastoris (GS115) as the host cell and a specific cleavage site for enterokinase. Additionally, this study assessed the kinetic parameters of the KLK6 enzyme using the BAEE substrate for the first time.

Clinical characteristics of breast cancer patients admitted to academic surgical wards in Tehran, Iran: an analytical cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women. Knowledge of the clinical characteristics of BC in a population may be informative for disease prediction or diagnosis and for developing screening and diagnostic guidelines. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of female patients with BC who were admitted to academic surgical wards in Tehran, Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, demographic information and clinical characteristics of Iranian females with BC who had undergone breast surgery from 2017-2021 in four academic Breast Surgery Units were extracted from medical files and recorded via a pre-designed checklist. RESULTS: A total of 1476 patients with a mean age of 48.03 (± 11.46) years were enrolled. Among them, 10.4% were aged less than 35. In younger patients, Triple-negative and Her2-enriched subtypes of BC were significantly higher compared to older ones. Overall, 85.7% of tumors were invasive ductal carcinoma, 43.3% were grade 2, 41.4% were located in the UOQ, and 65.2% had presented with mass palpation. The mean pathologic tumor size was 28.94 mm, and the most common subtype was luminal B. CONCLUSIONS: Many characteristics of breast cancer in this study were similar to other countries and previous studies in Iran. However, a higher proportion of young BC compared with Western countries, and even with older studies in Iran, suggest a trend toward lower age for BC in recent years. These results indicate the need for preventive measures and screening in Iranian women at a younger age.

Exploring the influence of scheduled meetings on physiological indicators of hospitalized patients satisfaction facing acute myocardial infarction in the intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Satisfaction of patients is among the top priorities of health-care providers. Meeting with families is essential for patients who are admitted to various wards, although it has been restricted for many reasons such as its impact on physiologic indicators. This present research study aimed to exploring the influence of scheduled meetings on physiological indicators of hospitalized patients satisfaction facing acute myocardial infarction in the intensive care unit. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a nonrandomized clinical trial with a control group conducted in the cardiac care unit ward of Hamadan's Ekbatan Hospital. Sixty patients with acute myocardial infarction were chosen through convenient sampling and assigned to intervention (planned meeting) and control (routine meeting) groups in a nonrandomized manner. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire of patient satisfaction and the observatory checklist of physiologic indicators and then analyzed in IBM SPSS Statistics v23. RESULTS: The total mean score of satisfaction did not significantly differ between the two groups (P = 0.921). The satisfaction of patients for "the conduct of visitors" was significantly higher in the intervention group (P = 0.005). During the study, no meaningful difference was found between the two groups for physiologic indicators (P > 0.05), while these indicators, except for blood O2 saturation, were meaningfully increased in the control group during routine meetings (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Planned meetings did not promote total satisfaction of patients with meetings, but improved some aspects of satisfaction, such as the conduct of visitors. The planned meeting is recommended as an alternative for a routine meeting, as it did not affect the physiologic indicators of patients in the intervention group.

Outlook of therapeutic and diagnostic competency of nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: The newly emerged coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) continues to infect humans, and no completely efficient treatment has yet been found. Antibody therapy is one way to control infection caused by COVID-19, but the use of classical antibodies has many disadvantages. Heavy chain antibodies (HCAbs) are single-domain antibodies derived from the Camelidae family. The variable part of these antibodies (Nanobodies or VHH) has interesting properties such as small size, identify criptic epitopes, stability in harsh conditions, good tissue permeability and cost-effective production causing nanobodies have become a good candidate in the treatment and diagnosis of viral infections. METHODS: Totally 157 records (up to November 10, 2021), were recognized to be reviewed in this study. 62 studies were removed after first step screening due to their deviation from inclusion criteria. The remaining 95 studies were reviewed in details. After removing articles that were not in the study area, 45 remaining studies met the inclusion criteria and were qualified to be included in the systematic review. RESULTS: In this systematic review, the application of nanobodies in the treatment and detection of COVID-19 infection was reviewed. The results of this study showed that extensive and sufficient studies have been performed in the field of production of nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus and the obtained nanobodies have a great potential for use in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. CONCLUSION: According to the obtained results, it was found that nanobodies can be used effectively in the treatment and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Evaluation of the educational services quality from the viewpoint of postgraduate students at Kermanshah University of medical sciences in 2019.

BACKGROUND: At present, the SERVQUAL model is one of the most significant tools for measuring customers' expectations and perceptions in organizations. Determination of expectations and perceptions of students who are the main university customers from educational services can provide valuable information to the programmers to improve the condition of educational services. Therefore, this study aims to measure the quality of education services from the viewpoint of postgraduate students at Kermanshah Medical Sciences University using the SERVQUAL model in 2019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The population under the study consisted of 162 students at the postgraduate education section (Master's degree and Ph.D.) studying in the second semester of the academic year of 2019 at Kermanshah Medical Sciences University. The standard SERVQUAL questionnaire was used for data collection, which included five dimensions of the quality of educational services, and the random-stratified sampling method was employed. The data were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics software (version 23.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and descriptive and other statistical tests, including the Pearson correlation coefficient, and paired and independent t-tests were performed. RESULTS: Based on the students' perspective in the provision of service there was quality gap existed in all services, and the largest gap was in the reliability dimension (-0.37), and after that, empathy (-0.37), guaranty (0.27), and responsiveness (-0.24) dimensions, respectively, and the lowest one was in the tangible dimension (0.15). There was a statistically significant observed difference between the quality gap in different educational dimensions (P > 0.001). CONCLUSION: Research findings showed that students were not meeting their expectations from the presented educational services. Hence, holding a training workshop is suggested in the field of how to serve and enhance communication skills for employees and teachers.

An overview of 2019 novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic: A review study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. It is now known as a pandemic and a global crisis due to rapid human-to-human transmission with the vast expansion that has affected almost all countries. The primary source of the disease is still unknown, but it is possible that the virus was transmitted through bat to an intermediate host and then to humans. The main and early symptoms of COVID-19 infection are fatigue, fever, dry cough, myalgia, and dyspnea. The incubation period of the disease is about 2-14 days, which is one of the important parameters for planning to prevent disease outbreak. PT-polymerase chain reaction test is used to diagnose the disease; chest computed tomography scan, chest X-ray, blood tests, and symptoms are also very helpful in diagnosing the disease. There is a strong emphasis on controlling infections and hand hygiene to prevent the transmission of the disease. There is not enough knowledge about this disease yet, and there are no specific vaccines or medications available to prevent and treat this disease. The current review study uses articles indexed on databases of Embase, Elsevier, PubMed, and World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and keywords of coronavirus, COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome and China.

A study of cardiopulmonary resuscitation literacy among the personnel of universities of medical sciences based in Kermanshah and Khuzestan provinces based on the latest 2015 cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is regarded as the most important skill of the medical staff who is required to be aware of the latest changes to the CPR guidelines so that they can take the most effective actions in the critical conditions of CPR. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the levels of CPR literacy among the personnel of universities of medical sciences based in Kermanshah and Khuzestan provinces based on the latest 2015 CPR guidelines in 2019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study, 525 subjects were selected as the sample population using the two-stage cluster sampling. For data collection, a researcher-made questionnaire was used, whose content validity and reliability were confirmed (r = 0.71). The study screened the data received and analyzed valid data set through the ttest and Spearman's correlation coefficient by incorporating SPSS Statistics software version 23.0. In addition, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The 2015 CPR literacy levels of the samples were as follows: excellent (85 subjects or 16.2%), good (404 subjects or 77%), and average (36 subjects or 6.9%). The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient revealed a weak and inverse relationship between the levels of CPR literacy and the age of samples (r = -0.092) and work experience (-0.029), which were statistically significant. In addition, the results of Mann-Whitney U-test demonstrated that the level of CPR literacy among the personnel of Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences exceeded that among the personnel of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that in retraining the nursing and paramedical personnel, CPR be carried out with more emphasis on the changes introduced in this guideline compared to that in 2010, including esophageal tracheal airway, reasons for the cessation of CPR, intraosseous infusion, and induced hypothermia.

A study of 0-14-year-old children's access to health centers in rural areas using a buffer model (a case study of villages based in Kermanshah province, Iran).

INTRODUCTION: Children are among the most vulnerable groups in society, whose health is of prominent significance. Moreover, as a group of clients with special needs in the health care system, they require special attention. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the 0-14-year-old children's access to health centers in rural areas of Kermanshah Province, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present cross-sectional study, both the latest published demographic statistics related to the Population and Housing Census, announced by the Statistical Center of Iran in 2011, and the information about the public and private hospitals in the province, collected by Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, were used as the basis for the analyses. In addition, given the importance of the spatial nature of the research, geographic information system was used for data analysis, and a buffer model was also applied. RESULTS: The results revealed that out of the total population of 0-14-year-old children residing in rural areas within 15,000 and 30,000-km radii of Kermanshah Province, 87.94% and 75.11% of girls versus 88.15% and 75.38% of boys lacked access to health centers, respectively. CONCLUSION: It was found out that the 0-14-year-old children's access to health centers was in poor condition in rural areas of Kermanshah Province, which would endanger the health of this age group.

Breastfeeding and its outcome in Women Receiving Epidural Analgesia for Childbirth.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is an important issue in postpartum period and critical to the infant's health, but childbirth interventions such as childbirth analgesia may affect the onset and duration of the process. This study aimed to determine the status of breastfeeding in women receiving epidural analgesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cohort study was conducted on 393 mothers in the postpartum period that had vaginal delivery with or without using epidural analgesia (with their own choice) between December 2017 and September 2018. After selecting the convenient samples, the researcher-made outcome breastfeeding checklists were completed in selected hospitals in Isfahan, Iran, Within 24 hours and 4 weeks after delivery. Data were analyzed using statistical methods (Independent t test, Mann-Whitney, ANCOVA, and Chi-square). The significance level of the tests was less than 0.05. RESULTS: According to the results, most of the subjects in the two groups began breastfeeding during the first hour after childbirth. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the beginning of breastfeeding while controlling the number of labors. There was no significant difference between the two groups in comparison to the type of milk given to the infant Within 24 hours after birth and 4 weeks after birth, either. There was no significant difference between the two groups in comparison to breastfeeding problems at either time. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, saying that there is no negative effect by epidural analgesia on the breastfeeding process, using this analgesia is recommended to promote natural childbirth.

The effect of religious-spiritual support on childbirth self-efficacy.

BACKGROUND: Childbirth self-efficacy is one of the most important factors causing a shift in mothers do vaginal delivery. If the mother feels that she can cope well with stress, will be protected from the harmful effects of stress on your health. Self-efficacy contained individual's assessment of her ability to deal with stressful situations. Strengthen the spiritual beliefs of the patient causes her to be a good result every situation even incurable condition. This study aimed to determine the effect of religious-spiritual support on childbirth self-efficacy in primiparous women. METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental study carried on seventy primiparous women; participants were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. The intervention group received the e-learning package based on religious-spiritual content. Self-efficacy questionnaire by both groups before and 4 weeks after it was completed. Collected data were entered into SPSS version 11 descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and paired t-test which were used for analysis of data. The significant level was considered <0.05. RESULTS: The results showed that the mean self-efficacy score before and after intervention in case group was 105.2 (27.01) and 110.12 (21.2), respectively, and in control group; 111.2 (23.12) and 116.9 (24.43). Paired t-test in two groups was significant (P = 0.042, P = 0.045) but independent t-test showed no significant difference in scores of childbirth self-efficacy before and after intervention in two groups (P = 0.061). CONCLUSION: In prenatal periods, religious-spiritual support through electronic package method can increase childbirth self-efficacy, so the planning and establishment of this training are recommended as an effective training.

PlGF Knockdown Decreases Tumorigenicity and Stemness Properties of Spheroid Body Cells Derived from Gastric Cancer Cells.

Placental growth factor (PlGF) a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor family regulates some cell processes such as survival, growth of vascular endothelial cells, invasiveness, and also involves in pathological angiogenesis and metastasis in most cancers. Cancer stem cells are believed to be the main reason for the tumor relapse and resistance to therapy. These cells have various characteristics as same as normal tissue-specific adult stem cells including self-renewability and potent to differentiate into various cell types. However, the function of PlGF in gastric cancer stem cells is not well understood. We have investigated the effect of PlGF knockdown on the tumorigenicity and stem cell properties of spheroid body cells derived from two human gastric cancer cell lines. In this study, we isolated spheroid body cells which have stemness properties from MKN-45 and AGS without using growth factors. Validation of spheroid body cells was confirmed by various methods. Then the effects of PlGF knockdown were investigated on in vitro tumorigenicity, differentiation, migration, angiogenesis, and transcription levels of stemness markers of spheroid body cells. Our findings indicated that isolation of spheroid body cells from MKN-45 and AGS cells without using growth factors is an easy and inexpensive method to isolate cancer stem cells and knockdown of PlGF in spheroid body cells reduced in vitro tumorigenicity and stemness properties of spheroid body cells such as Self-renewal ability, colony forming, migratory, and MMPs activities and decreased ability to differentiation and angiogenesis. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 851-859, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PlGF knockdown inhibited tumor survival and migration in gastric cancer cell via PI3K/Akt and p38MAPK pathways.

The molecular signalling of placental growth factor (PlGF), a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor family, was not uncovered in human adenocarcinoma gastric cell line (AGS). The purpose of this study was to examine the inhibitory effects of PlGF knockdown on cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and PI3K pathways in human adenocarcinoma gastric cell line (AGS). To study PlGF knockdown effect, AGS cells were treated with 40 pmol of small interfering RNA (siRNA) related to PlGF gene and also a scrambled siRNA as control. Trypan Blue and Anexin V staining of AGS cells treated with PlGF-specific siRNA showed induction of apoptosis. Wound healing assay and zymography indicated that cellular migration and matrix metalloproteinases activities were reduced in response to PlGF knockdown. Phosphorylation of Akt and p38MAPK was reduced in AGS cells treated with PlGF-specific siRNA. PlGF knockdown decreased transcripts of PI3K, Akt, p38MAPK, PCNA, Caspase-3, OCT3/OCT4 and CD44, but elevated p53 and SOX2 transcripts. Our results indicated that PlGF knockdown decreased migration and induced apoptosis through PI3K/Akt1 and p38MAPK signal transduction in AGS cells.