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Objective: The ongoing outbreak of the respiratory disease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is currently presenting a major global health threat. This pandemic is unprecedented in recent human history. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between cycle quantitation (Cq) and laboratory parameters in COVID‐19 patients, aiming to determine if Cq levels can provide valuable insights into the COVID‐19 disease. Methods: This study involved 234 participants who were divided into case and control groups. Real‐time PCR tests were used to diagnose COVID‐19 cases in the study participants. Blood tests, including complete blood count, C‐reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D‐dimer, IgG, and IgM, were also conducted. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22 software. Results: The findings showed that COVID‐19‐positive cases had significantly higher levels of the neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR), D‐dimer, ESR, CRP, and LDH compared to normal cases. Additionally, the case group had significantly lower lymphocyte and platelet counts. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between Cq levels and lymphocyte count (r =.124, p =.014). Conversely, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between Cq levels and NLR (r = −.208, p =.017). Furthermore, the evaluation of hematological, inflammatory, and biochemical indexes in COVID‐19 patients using the receiver‐operating characteristics curve demonstrated statistically appropriate sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: Our outcomes indicated a significant association between Cq levels and PLR, NLR, D‐dimer, CRP, and ESR in COVID‐19 patients. Consequently, including the report of laboratory parameters alongside Cq values offers a promising prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, genome editing technologies like zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are being used in clinical trials and the treatment of diseases like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cancer. CRISPR stands out as one of the most advanced tools for genome editing due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. It can selectively modify specific locations in the genome, offering new possibilities for treating human diseases. The CRISPR system uses ribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid (RNA-DNA) recognition to combat infections, regulate gene expression, and treat cancer. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which uses T lymphocytes to eliminate cancer cells, can be improved by combining it with CRISPR technology. However, there are challenges in using CAR-T cells, including a lack of quantity and quality, exhaustion, neurotoxicity, cytokine release syndrome (CRS), B cell aplasia, tumor lysis syndrome, and anaphylaxis. Preclinical studies on CRISPR-edited CAR-T cells show promising results and targeting detrimental regulatory genes can enhance cancer treatment in the future. [Display omitted] • CRISPR technology has opened a new perspective in treating cancer by manipulating the genome. • Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are unique receptors designed to be functionally reprogrammed and targeted to a specific tumor antigen. • CAR-T cell therapy is a type of gene therapy in which lymphocyte eradicates cancer cells. • The production of CAR-T cells is one of the most critical applications of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of multidrug resistance in bacterial infections has limited the use of antibiotics. Helping the action of antibiotics is one of the needs of the day. Today, the biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is considered due to its safety and cost-effectiveness. In this study, we investigated the effect of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by Berberine plant extract against standard strains of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Utilized UV–Vis, FTIR, FESEM/EDX, XRD, DLS, and Zeta potential techniques to confirm the biosynthesis of NPs. Then, disk diffusion agar (DDA) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests were performed using common classes of standard antibiotics and AgNPs on the mentioned bacteria. The synergistic action between AgNPs and antibiotics was evaluated by the checkerboard method. First, we obtained the confirmation results of the biosynthesis of AgNPs. According to the DDA test, both standard bacterial strains were sensitive to NPs and had an inhibition zone. Also, the MIC values showed that AgNPs inhibit the growth of bacteria at lower concentrations than antibiotics. On the other hand, the results obtained from checkerboard monitoring showed that AgNPs, in combination with conventional antibiotics, have a synergistic effect. The advantage of this study was comparing the antibacterial effect of AgNPs alone and mixed with antibiotics. The antibacterial sensitivity tests indicated that the desired bacterial strains could not grow even in low concentrations of AgNPs. This property can be applied in future programs to solve the drug resistance of microorganisms in bacterial diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]