Current status of COVID-19 among hemodialysis patients in the East Azerbaijan Province of Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Management of vulnerable patients during the COVID-19 pandemic requires careful precautions. Hemodialysis patients constitute a large group of at-risk patients that not only suffer from a compromised immune system but also are at a higher risk due to frequent admission to healthcare units. Therefore, a better understanding on the pathogenesis and possible risk factors of COVID-19 in hemodialysis patients is of high importance. METHODS: A total of 670 maintained hemodialysis patients from all dialysis units of the East Azerbaijan Province of Iran, including 44 COVID-19 patients were included in the present study. Possible associations between the backgrounds of patients and the incidence of COVID-19 were assessed. Also, hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 were compared to 211 nonhemodialysis COVID-19 patients. FINDINGS: Chronic glomerulonephritis patients and those with blood group A demonstrated a higher incidence of COVID-19. On the other hand, patients with blood group AB+ and those with hypertension etiology of kidney failure demonstrated a lower incidence of COVID-19. Hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 had higher counts of polymorphonuclears (PMNs) in their peripheral blood compared to other COVID-19 patients. DISCUSSION: A better comprehension on the risk factors associated with COVID-19 in hemodialysis patients can improve our understanding on the pathogenesis of COVID-19 in different situations and help the enhancement of current therapeutics for COVID-19 in hemodialysis patients.

Comparison of CD4+ and CD8+ T- lymphocyte in Helicobacter pylori-negative functional dyspepsia.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is the most common gastrointestinal disorder with several symptoms such as stomach pain and abdominal bloating. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare CD4+ and CD8+ in the Helicobacter pylori-negative functional dyspepsia and control groups. METHODS: Sixty one patients (35 patients with stomach pain and 26 with abdominal bloating), and 30 controls were reviewed based on the quantity of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells isolated from gastric mucosa biopsy samples. The comparison between variables was analyzed with a chi-square or Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analyses. P<0.05 and odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval demonstrated statistical significance. RESULTS: A significant difference was observed between two-group patients and control group based on CD4+ and CD8+ presence, respectively (P=0.003, P=0.008). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between stomach pain-patients and control group with regard to CD4 count (P=0.01) and between abdominal bloating-patients and control group with regard to CD8 count (P=0.002). There was a decrease in both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in gastric mucosa in patients with FD with a significant reduction in the stomach pain-patients and abdominal bloating-patients in the number of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that the role of immunology in the absence of the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in the gastric mucosa may have a protective role against FD.

Enzyme Crystals and Hydrogel Composite Membranes as New Active Food Packaging Material.

The great antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of enzymes makes them prone to be used as active packaging materials to preserve food from contamination or degradation. Major drawbacks are connected to the use of enzymes freely dispersed in solution, due to reduced protein stability. The immobilization of enzymes on solid supports to create biocatalytic interfaces has instead been proven to increase their stability and efficiency. In this work, it is shown that enzymes crystallized on hydrogel composite membranes (HCMs) can exert an effective antimicrobial action, thus making the composite membrane and crystals biofilm a potential active substrate for food packaging applications. The antimicrobial hen egg white lysozyme is crystallized on the surface of the hydrogel layer of HCMs, and its activity is determined by measuring the decrease in absorbance of Micrococcus lysodeikticus culture incubated with the specimen. The overall catalytic efficiency of the antimicrobial HCMs increases by a factor of 2 compared to the pure enzyme dissolved in solution at the same quantity. Because the enzyme in crystalline form is present in higher concentration and purity than in the solution, both its overall catalytic efficiency and antimicrobial action increase. Moreover, the hydrogel environment allows a better protein stabilization and retention during crystals dissolution.

Bioinspired Synthesis of CaCO3 Superstructures through a Novel Hydrogel Composite Membranes Mineralization Platform: A Comprehensive View.

Hydrogel composite membranes (HCMs) are used as novel mineralization platforms for the bioinspired synthesis of CaCO3 superstructures. A comprehensive statistical analysis of the experimental results reveals quantitative relationships between crystallization conditions and crystal texture and a strong selectivity toward complex morphologies when monomers bearing carboxyl and hydroxyl groups are used together in the hydrogel layer synthesis in HCMs.