Prevalence & Impact of COVID-19 in Systemic Sclerosis Patients and Assessment of the Demographic & Clinical Features in Cases Associated with Worse Prognosis: Results of a Single Centre Registry.

Background: Our knowledge of the COVID-19 infection impact on systemic sclerosis (SSc) is scarce. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 infection and to determine the predictive factors of worse outcomes and death in SSc patients. Methods: In this cohort study all patients who attended our clinic between 20th February 2020 and 20th May 2021 were followed, and those with a history of COVID-19 infection completed the questionnaire. Results of para-clinical tests were extracted from the SSc database. The outcomes were classified as: alive vs. deceased and, mild vs. worse outcomes. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression models were applied. Results: Of the total 192 SSc patients studied, COVID-19 affected 12.5%; 6% experienced mild disease, 7% were hospitalized and 3% died. The worse outcome was associated with: older age [95%CI: 1.00-1.08], smoking [95%CI: 2.632-33.094], diabetes [95%CI: 1.462-29.654], digital pitting scars (DPS) [95%CI: 1.589-21.409], diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide [DLCO<70 [95%CI: 1.078-11.496], left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)<50% [95%CI: 1.080-38.651], systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP)>40 mmHg [95%CI: 1.332-17.434], pericardial effusion (PE) [95%CI: 1.778-39.206], and tendon friction rub [95%CI: 1.091-9.387]. Death was associated with male gender [95%CI: 1.54-88.04], hypertension [95%CI: 1.093-2.155], digital ulcers (DU) [95%CI: 0.976-18.34], low forced vital capacity (FVC) [95%CI: 0.03-0.81], and joint flexion contracture (JFC) [95%CI: 1.226-84.402]. Conclusion: Risk factors for the worse outcome in COVID-19 infected SSc patients included, older age, smoking, diabetes, DPS, DLCO<70, LVEF<50%, sPAP>40 mmHg, PE, and TFR. Death was associated with the male gender, hypertension, DU, low FVC, and JFC.

Effect of educational intervention based on PRECEDE model on lifestyle modification, self-management behaviors, and hypertension in diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate lifestyle and poor self-management in diabetic patients lead to many complications including hypertension and increased disease burden. Because of insufficient studies on Effect of educational interventions on lifestyle, self-management and hypertension in diabetic patients, the present study aimed to evaluate the Effect of educational intervention based on PRECEDE model on lifestyle, self-management, and hypertension of diabetic patients. METHODS: This clinical trial was conducted on 300 diabetic patients with hypertension. The patients were selected using simple random sampling and divided into 2 groups of intervention (150 people) and control (150 people). The intervention group was trained through ten 50-55 min sessions on lifestyle skills, self-management, and hypertension control based on the PRECEDE model. Before and after the intervention, lifestyle skills, self-management, and PRECED model constructs were evaluated using a standard questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software using t-test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Chi-Square tests (P < 0.05). RESULTS: In the intervention group, the mean score of different dimensions of lifestyle and self-management significantly increased from 110.45 ± 18.78 to 172.58 ± 186.66 and 64.33 ± 15.24 to 144.32 ± 15.82, respectively (P = 0.001). Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure also decreased from 148.5 ± 5.39 to 123.54 ± 5.32 and 95.41 ± 3.12 to 72.24 ± 3.06 (P < 0.001). Moreover, the mean score of all the PRECEDE model constructs significantly increased after the intervention. In the control group, the mean score of the PRECEDE model constructs, the dimensions of lifestyle, self-management, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not change significantly before and after the intervention (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: | Based on the study's results, the PRECEDE model was found to be a non-invasive, non-pharmacological, cost-effective method without any complication and as a complementary action along with other methods in the treatment of diabetic patients.

Reduction of lead toxicity effects and enhancing the glutathione reservoir in green beans through spraying sulfur and serine and glutamine amino acids.

Acid rain is one of the influential environmental factors in transport of heavy metals, including lead from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth and growing plants. Such situation can not only damage the growing plants but can also toxify the food chain, and endanger human life. In order to reduce stress damage due to lead, on green bean plant, the effect of spraying the plants by sulfur, also amino acids including serine and glutamine, was evaluated. A factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out using the green bean Sunray cultivar in 2020. Treatments include foliar application of lead at two levels (0.0 and 1 mmol) as lead acetate, foliar application of liquid sulfur at two levels (0.0 and 2 per thousand), and foliar application of amino acids at four levels (0.0, serine at 200 mg/L, glutamine at 200 mg/L, and co-application of serine and glutamine at the same concentrations) at pre-flowering stage. The results showed that leaf foliar uptake of most of the employed treatments resulted in reduction of leaf area index, leaf, stem and pods dry weight, stem diameter and height, pod yield, photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids, and relative leaf water content. However, grain protein content, hydrogen peroxide, and glutathione antioxidant activity significantly increased. Spraying of sulfur solution and serine and glutamine were effective in reducing the negative effects of lead stress, as it reduced the amount of hydrogen peroxide and grain protein and increased the reservoir of glutathione. These treatments also, compared to the pure lead treatment, significantly reduced lead accumulation in the pod, as the edible organ of green beans. This study results showed that foliar application of sulfur along with amino acids serine and glutamine reduced the lead toxicity effects through improving the physiological functions, and thus can increase the final yield and consequently human access to healthier food (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 Graphical abstract.

Magnesium Sulfate Improves Some Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis in Patients Suffering from One or Two Coronary Artery Diseases: A Double-blind Clinical Trial Study.

PURPOSE: Given the beneficial effect of MgSO4 on the cardiovascular system, this study was designed to investigate the effect of MgSO4 administration on suppressing some atherosclerotic risk factors in moderate coronary artery disease patients with one or two atherosclerotic vessels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial study, 64 patients with moderate coronary artery disease (55-69% stenosis) were selected according to angiography findings. Patients were divided into four groups including patients with one or two atherosclerotic vessels treated with MgSO4 (Mg-treated-VR1, Mg-treated-VR2, respectively), placebo treated patients with one or two atherosclerotic vessels (Control-VR1, Control-VR2, respectively). The patients received either placebo or MgSO4 supplement capsule containing 300 mg MgSO4 for six months on a daily basis. ESR, Ca/Mg ratio, urine Mg level, serum Mg, fibrinogen, homocysteine, uric acid, Na, K, Ca, CRP, T3, T4, TSH, BUN, and Cr concentrations were measured at baseline and every three months. RESULTS: Serum T3, Ca, K, homocysteine, CRP, and Mg concentrations were significantly improved in Mg-treated groups compared to placebo groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that despite the slight change in serum magnesium level, oral administration of MgSO4for six months could slightly reduce the serum levels of some inflammatory and vascular factors in moderate coronary artery disease patients.

Magnesium Sulfate Administration in Moderate Coronary Artery Disease Patients Improves Atherosclerotic Risk Factors: A Double-Blind Clinical Trial Study.

Magnesium (Mg) deficiency is known to promote vascular and cardiac dysfunctions such as atherosclerosis. This study investigated the effect of oral MgSO4 therapy to improve lipid profile and serum oxidized LDL level and its receptor (LOX1) in moderate coronary atherosclerotic patients. In this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial study, 64 patients with moderate coronary artery disease were selected according to angiography findings. Participants were divided into 2 groups including Mg-treated (n = 32) and placebo (n = 32) The patients received either placebo or MgSO4 supplement capsule, containing 300 mg MgSO4 for 6 months on a daily basis. Lipid profile, HbA1c, 2h postprandial (2hpp) blood glucose, fasting blood sugar, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), oxidized low-density lipoprotein, and lectin-like ox-LDL receptor 1 (LOX1) concentrations were measured at baseline and every 3 months. HbA1c, serum LOX1, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein concentrations were significantly lower in the Mg-treated group than the placebo group 3 months after MgSO4 administration. 2hpp, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, SGPT, SGOT levels, and HbA1c levels significantly improved in the Mg-treated group compared with the placebo-received group. Overall, the results of this study showed that magnesium treatment improved some of the major risk factors of atherosclerosis. According to the results of liver function tests (SGOT and SGPT), magnesium therapy seems to be safe in patients with moderate atherosclerotic plaque. Therefore, it is suggested that magnesium to be used along with other atherosclerosis control drugs.

Supplementation of freezing and thawing media with brain-derived neurotrophic factor protects human sperm from freeze-thaw-induced damage.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) supplementation to freezing and thawing media on frozen-thawed human sperm parameters. DESIGN: Laboratory study. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): Semen samples from 21 healthy fertile men. INTERVENTION(S): We measured reactive oxygen species (ROS) by flow cytometry using the probes dichlorofluorescin diacetate for intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and dihydroethidium for intracellular superoxide anion (O2-•), sperm plasma membrane integrity by flow cytometry, caspase-3 activity using ELISA, and AKT phosphorylation status using Western blot in sperm that was cryopreserved and thawed in media either supplemented with BDNF or without BDNF supplementation (control). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm motility, viability, ROS levels, caspase-3 activity and AKT phosphorylation. RESULT(S): The percentage of motile and viable sperm cells was significantly higher in BDNF-supplemented groups as compared with the nonsupplemented (control) group. There was a significant difference in AKT phosphorylation status between BDNF-supplemented groups and the control group. Moreover, the levels of intracellular H2O2 and caspase-3 activity were significantly lower in the sperm cells that were frozen and thawed in media supplemented with BDNF compared with in the control group. CONCLUSION(S): BDNF supplementation to sperm freezing or thawing media has protective effects against oxidative stress and apoptosis in frozen-thawed human spermatozoa and could improve sperm function, probably through the activation of AKT.

Imaging through plasmonic nanoparticles.

The optical properties of metallic nanoparticles with plasmon resonances have been studied extensively, typically by measuring the transmission of light, as a function of wavelength, through a nanoparticle suspension. One question that has not yet been addressed, however, is how an image is transmitted through such a suspension of absorber-scatterers, in other words, how the various spatial frequencies are attenuated as they pass through the nanoparticle host medium. Here, we examine how the optical properties of a suspension of plasmonic nanoparticles affect the transmitted image. We use two distinct ways to assess transmitted image quality: the structural similarity index (SSIM), a perceptual distortion metric based on the human visual system, and the modulation transfer function (MTF), which assesses the resolvable spatial frequencies. We show that perceived image quality, as well as spatial resolution, are both dependent on the scattering and absorption cross-sections of the constituent nanoparticles. Surprisingly, we observe a nonlinear dependence of image quality on optical density by varying optical path length and nanoparticle concentration. This work is a first step toward understanding the requirements for visualizing and resolving objects through media consisting of subwavelength absorber-scatterer structures, an approach that should also prove useful in the assessment of metamaterial or metasurface-based optical imaging systems.

Layer Engineering of 2D Semiconductor Junctions.

A new concept for junction fabrication by connecting multiple regions with varying layer thicknesses, based on the thickness dependence, is demonstrated. This type of junction is only possible in super-thin-layered 2D materials, and exhibits similar characteristics as p-n junctions. Rectification and photovoltaic effects are observed in chemically homogeneous MoSe2 junctions between domains of different thicknesses.

Pronounced Linewidth Narrowing of an Aluminum Nanoparticle Plasmon Resonance by Interaction with an Aluminum Metallic Film.

Aluminum nanocrystals and fabricated nanostructures are emerging as highly promising building blocks for plasmonics in the visible region of the spectrum. Even at the individual nanocrystal level, however, the localized plasmons supported by Al nanostructures possess a surprisingly broad spectral response. We have observed that when an Al nanocrystal is coupled to an underlying Al film, its dipolar plasmon resonance linewidth narrows remarkably and shows an enhanced scattering efficiency. This behavior is observable in other plasmonic metals, such as gold; however, it is far more dramatic in the aluminum nanoparticle-film system, reducing the dipolar plasmon linewidth by more than half. A substrate-mediated hybridization of the dipolar and quadrupolar plasmons of the nanoparticle reduces the radiative losses of the dipolar plasmon. While this is a general effect that applies to all metallic nanoparticle-film systems, this finding specifically provides a new mechanism for narrowing plasmon resonances in aluminum-based systems, quite possibly expanding the potential of Al-based plasmonics in real-world applications.

Ternary CuIn7Se11 : towards ultra-thin layered photodetectors and photovoltaic devices.

A few-layered ternary Cu-In-Se compound is synthesized, the photoconductivity is measured, and 2D photovoltaic devices are fabricated. Few-layered CuIn7 Se11 has a strong photoresponse and the potential to serve as the active medium in ultra-thin photovoltaic devices.

Substrate-mediated charge transfer plasmons in simple and complex nanoparticle clusters.

A conductive substrate can provide a simple and straightforward way to induce charge-transfer plasmon modes in Au nanoparticle clusters. For a simple dimer structure, a remarkably narrow charge transfer plasmon, which differs dramatically from the dipolar plasmon mode of the electrically isolated nanostructure, is clearly observed. For a more complex nonamer cluster that supports a strong Fano resonance on an insulating substrate, a mixed charge transfer-dipole mode is observed, where charge transfer is induced on the outer nanoparticles, establishing an opposing dipole on the intervening central particles, resulting in a strongly damped far field response.

Embedding plasmonic nanostructure diodes enhances hot electron emission.

When plasmonic nanostructures serve as the metallic counterpart of a metal-semiconductor Schottky interface, hot electrons due to plasmon decay are emitted across the Schottky barrier, generating measurable photocurrents in the semiconductor. When the plasmonic nanostructure is atop the semiconductor, only a small percentage of hot electrons are excited with a wavevector permitting transport across the Schottky barrier. Here we show that embedding plasmonic structures into the semiconductor substantially increases hot electron emission. Responsivities increase by 25× over planar diodes for embedding depths as small as 5 nm. The vertical Schottky barriers created by this geometry make the plasmon-induced hot electron process the dominant contributor to photocurrent in plasmonic nanostructure-diode-based devices.

Narrowband photodetection in the near-infrared with a plasmon-induced hot electron device.

In gratings, incident light can couple strongly to plasmons propagating through periodically spaced slits in a metal film, resulting in a strong, resonant absorption whose frequency is determined by the nanostructure periodicity. When a grating is patterned on a silicon substrate, the absorption response can be combined with plasmon-induced hot electron photocurrent generation. This yields a photodetector with a strongly resonant, narrowband photocurrent response in the infrared, limited at low frequencies by the Schottky barrier, not the bandgap of silicon. Here we report a grating-based hot electron device with significantly larger photocurrent responsivity than previously reported antenna-based geometries. The grating geometry also enables more than three times narrower spectral response than observed for nanoantenna-based devices. This approach opens up the possibility of plasmonic sensors with direct electrical readout, such as an on-chip surface plasmon resonance detector driven at a single wavelength.

The protective effect of vitamin E on locus coeruleus in early model of Parkinson's disease in rat: immunoreactivity evidence.

BACKGROUND: Free radical formation and oxidative stress might play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). In vitro data indicate that neuromelanin (NM) pigment is formed the excess cytosolic catecholamine that is not accumulated into synaptic vesicles via the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2). We designed this study to investigate the neuroprotective effects of vitamin E in the early model of PD. METHODS: Male rats (n = 40) with unbiased rotational behavior were randomly divided into five groups: sham operated group (SH, n = 8), vehicle-treated SH group (SH + V, n = 8), vitamin E-treated SH group (SH + E, n = 8), vehicle-treated lesion group (L + V, n = 8) and vitamin E-treated lesion group (L + E, n = 8). Unilateral intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine (12.5 microl) lesioned rats were treated intramuscularly with alpha-tocopherol acid succinate (24 I.U/kg, intramuscular [i.m.]) 1 h before surgery and three times per week for 2 month post-surgery. To evaluate the vitamin E pretreatment efficacy, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity and immunostaining intensity (ISI) for monoamine transporter 2 were used. RESULTS: TH immunohistochemical analyses showed a reduction of 20 percent in locus coeruleus (LC) cell number of vitamin E pretreated lesioned group but the cell number dropped to 60 percent in the lesioned group. The ISI of the cells was measured for VMAT2 in LC. Lesioned groups: 1) had the lowest VMAT2 ISI of all neurons; 2) There was an inverse relationship between VMAT2 ISI and NM pigment in the locus and 3) Neurons with the highest VMAT2 ISI also had high TH ISI. CONCLUSION: The data support the hypothesis that repeated i.m. administration of vitamin E exerts a protective effect on the LC neurons in the early model of PD.