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Background: Lymphocytes proliferate considerably following appropriate stimulation in vitro. Autologous T cells are obtained from whole blood or tissue sites in relatively limited amounts. We need a method to expand these cells efficiently, study their functions and manipulate them to create appropriate cells for transferring to the patient with infection and cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine proliferation ability of two different stimulators on CD4+ lymphocytes. Methods: Lymphocytes were isolated from blood samples of healthy donors after removing adherent cells (monocytes).The efficacy of MACSiBead™ coated with anti-CD2, anti-CD3, anti-CD28 (anti-CD2/CD3/CD28) was compared with Phytohaemagglutinin A (PHA) on CD4+ lymphocytes proliferation using carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE) in cell culture media. The percentage of proliferating cells was analyzed using flow cytometry. Results: Both stimulators induced extensive proliferation of CD4+ lymphocytes but proliferation ability of PHA was higher compared to stimulation by anti-CD2/CD3/CD28 MACSiBead™. The proliferation rate of cells stimulated by PHA was 93.8% ± 3.37% whereas it was 85.2% ± 4.7% in cells stimulated by anti-CD2/CD3/CD28 MACSiBead™. Conclusions: Our results show that MACSiBead™ along with PHA can be used to obtain a large number of expanded CD4+ lymphocytes.

Effects of using n-3 HUFA-enriched Artemia and non-enriched Artemia as the starter food for growth and survival of rainbow trout larvae compared to commercial concentrated food were investigated in this study. The larvae with average weight of 92.9 mg were fed for 20 days with four food treatments included of commercial concentrated food, newly hatched Artemia, enriched Artemia, and mixture of enriched Artemia and concentrated food. At the end of experiment, the highest weight gain percentage was 104.4% in those larvae fed with enriched Artemia (p< 0.05). The highest survival rate was 96.5 % observed in larvae fed with mixture of enriched Artemia and commercial concentrated food (P

Using the effective continuum model, the electron energy spectrum of gated bilayer graphene with a step-like region of decoupled graphene layers at the edge of the sample is studied. Different types of coupled-decoupled interfaces are considered, i.e., zigzag (ZZ) and armchair junctions, which result in significant different propagating states. Two non-valley-polarized conducting edge states are observed for ZZ type, which are mainly located around the ZZ-ended graphene layers. Additionally, we investigated both BA-BA and BA-AB domain walls in the gated bilayer graphene within the continuum approximation. Unlike the BA-BA domain wall, which exhibits gapped insulating behaviour, the domain walls surrounded by different stackings of bilayer regions feature valley-polarized edge states. Our findings are consistent with other theoretical calculations, such as from the tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, and agree with experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schur's 1905 theorem posits that the maximum number of mutually commuting linearly independent complex matrices of order n is [n(squared)/4] + 1. Jacobson generated a simpler version of this theorem in 1944. He provided an extension from algebraically closed fields to arbitrary fields. A simpler proof of this theorem involves an induction on n. This new proof assumes that the theorem holds true for n - 1 and designates a commuting family of n x n matrices across F with over [n(squared)/4 + 1 linearly independent matrices.

Organic farming often has to deal with a scarcity of readily available nutrients, and this is in contrast to chemical farming which relies on soluble fertilisers. The present study was conducted to ascertain the effect of different combinations of organic manures, rice residues and biofertilisers in organic farming of wheat. The field experiments were carried out on the research farm of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Treatments consisted of a control (no fertiliser) and six fertiliser treatments, namely, farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), FYM + rice residue (RR), VC + RR, FYM + RR + biofertilisers (B), and VC + RR + B. FYM and VC were applied on nitrogen basis (60 kg ha-1), whereas RR was applied at 6 t ha-1. For biofertilisers, Azotobacter, cellulolytic culture (CC) and phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB) were used. The combinations of FYM + RR + B and VC + RR + B resulted in the highest increased growth and yield attributing characters of wheat and increased grain yield of wheat over the control by 81% and 89% (Year 1 & Year 2), and net return by 82% and 73%. These combinations were significantly superior to all other combinations for all the growth and yield parameters, yield, net profit and grain quality of wheat. The results of this study show that VC + RR + B was the most productive treatment, while FYM + RR + B was the most economical treatment with respect to increasing net profit. This was because of the higher price of vermicompost compared with FYM. Both of these combinations resulted in improved grain quality and nutrient uptake by grain. The present study thus indicates that a combination of FYM + RR + biofertilisers or VC + RR + biofertilisers hold promise for organic wheat farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Food Thought Suppression Inventory (FTSI) in overweight university students in Iran. Methods: A sample of 233 overweight students were recruited from five universities in Tehran. Participants were asked to complete the Persian versions of FTSI, Binge Eating Scale, Thought Control Questionnaire, Rumination Response Scale, and Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Sociodemographic characteristics of participants were also collected. Results: Validity of the Persian version of the FTSI was verified by the fitting indices of the proposed single-factor model of the main makers (χ² = 112.75, df = 90, p = 0.052, χ² / df = 1.25, goodness-of-fit index = 0.93, comparative fit index = 0.96, non-normed fitness index = 0.96, root mean score of error approximation = 0.032, and standardised root mean residual = 0.052). Internal consistency of the instrument was high, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.88. Conclusion: The Persian version of the FTSI is a valid and reliable tool for screening patients in obesity clinics and for evaluating treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly throughout the world and caused millions of deaths globally. Several vaccines have been developed to control the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce the burden it placed on public health. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of different vaccine platforms in inducing potent antibody responses. Moreover, the seroconversion rate and common side effects of vaccine platforms were evaluated., Methods: This meta-analysis included clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines that met the eligibility criteria. Electronic databases (including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) and Google Scholar search engine were searched for eligible studies. Regarding the methodological heterogeneity between the included studies, we selected a random-effects model. The geometric mean ratio (GMR) was chosen as the effect size for this meta-analysis., Results: Of the 1838 records identified through screening and after removing duplicate records, the full texts of 1076 records were assessed for eligibility. After the full-text assessment, 56 records were eligible and included in the study. Overall, vaccinated participants had a 150.8-fold increased rate of anti-spike IgG titres compared with the placebo group (GMR = 150.8; 95% CI, 95.9-237.1; I 2  = 100%). Moreover, vaccinated participants had a 37.3-fold increased rate of neutralising antibody titres compared with the placebo group (GMR = 37.3; 95% CI, 28.5-48.7; I 2  = 99%). The mRNA platform showed a higher rate of anti-spike IgG (GMR = 1263.5; 95% CI, 431.1-3702.8; I 2  = 99%), while neutralising antibody titres were higher in the subunit platform (GMR = 53.4; 95% CI, 32.8-87.1; I 2  = 99%) than in other platforms. Different vaccine platforms showed different rates of both anti-spike IgG and neutralising antibody titres with interesting results. The seroconversion rate of anti-spike IgG and neutralising antibody titres was more than 98% in the vaccinated participants., Conclusion: Inactivated and subunit vaccines produced a high percentage of neutralising antibodies and had a low common adverse reaction rate compared to other platforms. In this regard, subunit and inactivated vaccines can still be used as the main vaccine platforms for effectively controlling infections with high transmission rates., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Previously limited to highly symmetrical homoleptic triple-helical complexes [Er(Lk) 3 ] 3+ , where Lk are polyaromatic tridentate ligands, single-center molecular-based upconversion using linear optics and exploiting the excited-state absorption mechanism (ESA) greatly benefits from the design of stable and low-symmetrical [LkEr(hfa) 3 ] heteroleptic adducts (hfa - =hexafluoroacetylacetonate anion). Depending on (i) the extended π-electron delocalization, (ii) the flexibility and (iii) the heavy atom effect brought by the bound ligand Lk, the near-infrared (801 nm) to visible green (542 nm) upconversion quantum yield measured for [LkEr(hfa) 3 ] in solution at room temperature can be boosted by up to three orders of magnitude., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Although metal-containing organic polymers are becoming essential for modern applications in lighting, catalysis, and electronic devices, very little is known about their controlled metallic loading, which mainly limits their design to empirical mixing followed by characterization and often hampers rational developments. Focusing on the appealing optical and magnetic properties of 4f-block cations, the host-guest reactions leading to linear lanthanidopolymers already display some unexpected dependence of the binding-site affinities on the length of the organic polymer backbone: a drift usually, and erroneously, assigned to intersite cooperativity. Taking advantage of the parameters obtained for the stepwise thermodynamic loading of a series of rigid linear multi-tridentate organic receptors with increasing length, N = 1 (monomer L1), N = 2 (dimer L2), and N = 3 (trimer L3), with [Ln(hfa)3] containers in solution (Ln = trivalent lanthanide cations, hfa - = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-pentane-2,4-dione anion), it is demonstrated here that the site-binding model, based on the Potts-Ising approach, successfully predicts the binding properties of the novel soluble polymer P2 N made up of nine successive binding units . An in-depth examination of the photophysical properties of these lanthanidopolymers shows impressive UV→vis downshifting quantum yields for the europium-based red luminescence, which can be modulated by the length of the polymeric chain., (© 2023 The Authors. Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Antigen presentation using bacterial surface display systems, on one hand, has the benefits of bacterial carriers, including low-cost production and ease of manipulation. On the other hand, the bacteria can help in stimulating the immune system as an adjuvant. For example, using bacterial surface display technology, we developed a hepatitis C virus (HCV) multiple antigens displaying bacteria's surface and then turned it into a bacterial ghost., Methods: The HCV core and NS3 proteins' conserved epitopes were cloned into the AIDA gene plasmid as an auto transporter. The recombinant plasmid was then transformed into Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) Bl21 (DE3). Recombinant bacteria were then turned into a bacterial ghost, an empty cell envelope. Whole-cell ELISA, flow cytometry, and Western blot techniques were used for monitoring the expression of proteins on the surface of bacteria., Results: A fusion protein of HCV core-NS3-AIDA was successfully expressed on the E. coli Bl21 (DE3) surface and confirmed by western blotting, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), and flow cytometry detection techniques., Conclusion: The presence of HCV antigens on non-pathogen bacteria surfaces holds promise for developing safe and cost-benefit-accessible vaccines with optimal intrinsic adjuvant effects and exposure of heterologous antigens to the immune system., (Copyright© 2023 Avicenna Research Institute.)

The concept of preorganization is famous in coordination chemistry for having transformed flexible bidentate 2,2'-bipyridine scaffolds into rigid 1,10-phenanthroline platforms. The resulting boosted affinities for d-block cations has successfully paved the way for the design of a wealth of functional complexes, devices and materials for analysis and optics. Its extension toward terdentate homologues adapted for the selective complexation of f-block cations with larger coordination numbers remains more overlooked. The resulting rigidification of 2,6-bis(1-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)pyridine ligands (L1-L7) produces the highly preorganized and extended polyaromatic benzo[4',5']imidazo[1',2' : 1,2]pyrido[3,4-b]benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-h][1,7]naphthyridines (L8-L11) receptors, which offer some novel and rare opportunities for efficiently complexing trivalent lanthanides with polyaromatic soft terimine ligands. The crystal structures of the stable heteroleptic [LkLn(hfac) 3 ] adducts (Lk=L1, L8, L9; Ln=La, Eu, Gd, Er, Yb, Y; H-hfac=1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoropentane-2,4-dione) show a drastic decrease in the Ln-N bond valences upon replacement of the flexible ligand L1 with its preorganized counterparts L8 and L9. This points to a limited match between the preorganized cavity and the entering [Ln(hfac) 3 ] lanthanide containers. However, thermodynamic studies conducted in dichloromethane reach the opposite conclusion, with an improved affinity, by up to three orders of magnitude for catching Ln(hfac) 3 when L1 is replaced by the preorganized L8-L9 receptors. The key to the enigma lies in the removal of the energy penalty which accompanies the formation of flexible [L1Ln(hfac) 3 ] complexes in solution. This driving force overcomes the poor match between the preorganized terdentate N ∩ N ∩ N cavity in L8 and L9 and the size of trivalent lanthanides. As planned, the rigid, planar and extended π-conjugated system found in L8 and L9 shifts the ligand-centered absorption bands by about 5000 cm -1 toward lower energies, a crucial point if these stable [L8Ln(hfac) 3 ] and [L9Ln(hfac) 3 ] platforms have to be considered for the visible sensitization of luminescent lanthanides in metallopolymers., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and ficolin are the plasma phase of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and can activate complement through classical and lectin pathways, respectively, which may contribute to disease severity. This study aimed to investigate the association between PTX3 and ficolin with disease severity in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Seventy-three COVID-19 patients and 25 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The participants were divided into three groups as follows: 14 patients as the intensive care unit (ICU) group, 59 patients as the non-ICU group, and 25 subjects as the healthy control group. The serum levels of PTX3 and ficolin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Patients in ICU and non-ICU groups had significantly higher levels of PTX3 compared to the healthy control group (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0072, respectively). Patients in the ICU group also had an increased amount of PTX3 (1957 ± 1769 pg/ml) compared to non-ICU patients (1220 ± 1784 pg/ml). However, this difference was not significant. On the other hand, serum levels of ficolin were not different among the three groups. PTX3, as an acute phase protein, may contribute to disease severity. Its probable inflammatory role could result from the high activation of the complement system. On the other hand, it could be suggested that ficolin has no crucial role in the disease severity of COVID-19 patients., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background and Objective: Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the common manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affecting the quality of life of patients. Abnormality in the adaptive immune response, such as T cell response, plays the main role in the pathogenesis of SLE and LN. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of different subpopulations of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and effector T cells (Teff) in LN patients and compare them with SLE patients., Materials and Methods: A total of 48 participants were enrolled in this study and divided into 3 groups: (i) patients with SLE; (ii) patients with LN; and (iii) healthy controls (HCs). The frequencies of CD4 + CD25 ++ CD45RA - Foxp3 hi activated Tregs (aTregs), CD4 + CD25 + CD45RA + Foxp3 lo resting Tregs (rTregs), CD4 + CD25 + CD45RA - Foxp3 lo non-Tregs, CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 - Teff, and Tregs were analyzed in all subjects using a flow cytometer., Results: LN patients had a significantly increased frequency of aTregs and Tregs compared with SLE patients (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.50; 95% CI [-0.26, 1.25]; p > 0.05 and SMD = 0.60; 95% CI [-0.16, 1.36]; p > 0.05, respectively). Patients with LN had a significantly increased frequency of Teff compared with SLE patients (SMD = 0.49; 95% CI [-0.26, 1.24]; p > 0.05). However, an increased ratio of Tregs/Teff was observed in LN patients compared with SLE patients (SMD = -0.25; 95% CI [-0.97, 0.48]; p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Patients with LN showed immunoregulatory properties, in which both aTregs and Tregs had increased frequencies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The immune system response of transplant recipients is the main cause of allograft rejection; therefore, its suppression seems crucial. Nevertheless, immunosuppressive agents are largely ineffective against innate immune response. Innate immunity is immediately activated after transplantation and contribute to allograft inflammation and rejection. In this regard, understanding the mechanism of activation and targeting the components of innate immunity could improve allograft survival time. In this review, we discuss two scenarios in the innate immunity, i.e., danger and allogeneic signals in the context of both allogeneic and syngeneic graft. Moreover, the mechanisms of innate allorecognition (i.e., signal regulatory protein α-CD47 and paired immunoglobulin-like receptors-MHC I axis) are described, which can improve our clinical decisions to use a better therapeutic strategy.

Patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 are principally at risk of emerging superinfections, particularly those caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, in this retrospective cohort study, we investigated the presence of bacteria in endotracheal aspirate samples in severe COVID-19 patients under mechanical ventilation between 20 February 2020 and 21 September 2020 in Mazandaran Heart Center Hospital, Iran. Outcomes were compared between ICU patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (corona group) and those who suffer from other disease (non-corona group). Out of 38 subjects who met the diagnostic criteria for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in ICU, 22 and 16 patients in corona and non-corona groups, respectively, were enrolled in the study. Hospital length of stay in 27% of case in corona group was > 10 days. Also, SOFA score was > 10 in 64% and 25% of corona and non-corona groups, respectively ( P  < 0.05). Moreover, the number of death was significantly higher among corona patients (45%) than non-corona group (6%) in ICU ( P  < 0.05). Acinetobacter spp. were the most common bacteria in nine corona patients (41%) that were 100% resistant to amikacin, gentamycin, cefixime, and imipenem antibiotics. The prevalence of antibiotic resistance among pathogens isolated from patients with COVID-19 under mechanical ventilation in ICU highlighted the importance of preventing coinfections caused by this pathogen, suggesting an essential standardized approach to antibiotic stewardship in patients with COVID-19 for successful treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.)

Background: Mental arithmetic analysis based on electroencephalogram (EEG) signals can help to understand some disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, arithmetic disorder, or autism spectrum disorder in which learning is difficult. Most mental computation detection and classification systems rely on the characteristics of a single channel, however, the understanding of the connections between EEG channels, which certainly contains valuable information, is still evolving. The methods presented in this paper are the result of a research project that introduces an alternative method for better and faster receipt of information from the EEG signals of individuals, which are generally complex and nonlinear., Methods: The EEGs of 66 healthy individuals were recorded in two rest modes and mental task a designed, with a sampling frequency of 500 Hz. To classify these two modes, we extracted features from our recordings to differentiate the EEG signals of these two groups in a single channel as well as combine possible channels. The new method that was proposed was the extraction of several geometric features from Poincaré design analysis, which used the necessary comparison t-test to determine brain differences, with a significance level of less than 0.05 in the state of mental calculations and facial rest. Also, an artificial neural network (ANN) has been used for automatic learning and diagnosis in the two mentioned modes., Results: The results of this paper show that by using a combination of geometric properties (sides, angles, shortest distance, slope, and coefficients of the third-degree equation) using selected channels (FP1, F7, C4, O1) can achieve 100 % accuracy. The sensitivity reached 100 %. As well as 100 % feature., Conclusions: With the help of mental calculation, it is possible to diagnose, treat, rehabilitate and rehabilitation people who have lost the function of a part of their brain due to a disease in this field (Tab. 6, Fig. 15, Ref. 45).

The adducts between luminescent lanthanide tris(β-diketonate)s and diimine or triimine ligands have been explored exhaustively for their exceptional photophysical properties. Their formation, stability, and structures in solution, together with the design of extended metallopolymers exploiting these building blocks, remain, however, elusive. The systematic peripheral substitution of tridentate 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine binding units ( L k = L1 - L5 ), taken as building blocks for linear oligomers and polymers, allows a fine-tuning of their affinity toward neutral [Ln(hfa) 3 ] (hfa = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) lanthanide containers in the [ L k Ln(hfa) 3 ] adducts. Two trends emerge with (i) an unusual pronounced thermodynamic selectivity for midrange lanthanides (Ln = Eu) and (ii) an intriguing influence of remote peripheral substitutions of the benzimidazole rings on the affinity of the tridentate unit for [Ln(hfa) 3 ]. These trends are amplified upon the connection of several tridentate binding units via their benzimidazole rings to give linear segmental dimers ( L6 ) and trimers ( L7 ), which are considered as models for programming linear Wolf-Type II metallopollymers. Modulation of the affinity between the terminal and central binding units in the linear multitridentate ligands deciphers the global decrease of metal-ligand binding strengths with an increase in the length of the receptors (monomer → dimer → trimer → polymer). Application of the site binding model shed light onto the origin of the variation of the thermodynamic affinities: a prerequisite for the programmed loading of a polymer backbone with luminescent lanthanide β-diketonates. Analysis of the crystal structures for these adducts reveals delicate correlations between the chemical bond lengths measured in the solid state (or bond valence parameters) and the metal-ligand affinities operating in solution.

Background: Vitamin D (VitD) deficiency is associated with several diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory infection, and so forth. In the field of transplantation (kidney transplantation), some studies reported that patients with VitD deficiency are of increased chance of acute rejection, but other studies did not show such a chance. On the other hand, since VitD is a modulatory factor and can reduce the inflammatory response, understanding the exact role of it in transplantation may contribute to tolerance condition in these patients., Methods: The electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, were searched for eligible studies. In general, 14 studies with a total of 4770 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Regarding the methodological heterogeneity, we selected a random-effects combination model. Moreover, OR was chosen as an effect size for this study., Results: After the combination of 14 studies, we showed that patients in the VitD-deficient group had an 82% increased chance of acute rejection compared with patients in the VitD-sufficient group, and this effect was significant (OR 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.29, 2.56]; I 2  = 52.3%). This result was significant, and, regarding the narrow CI, it can be a conclusive result. Study quality and gender variables were the main sources of inconsistent results in the primary studies. Moreover, using meta-regression, we showed that VitD deficiency (independent from the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of patients) increased the chance of acute rejection., Conclusion: The normal VitD status of patients a few days before and after transplantation can reduce the chance of acute rejection., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is very little knowledge about the immune responses, particularly cellular immunity to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of T helper (Th) cell subtypes, including Th1, Th17, and Treg cells, in moderate-to-severe and critical COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls. Twenty-nine moderate-to-severe and 13 critical patients confirmed for COVID-19, and 15 healthy subjects were included in this study. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-producing Th1 and interleukin-17A-producing Th17 and Treg cells in peripheral blood were measured with flow cytometry. The frequency of Th1 and Th17 was significantly decreased in critical patients compared to healthy subjects (aMD: -2.76 and - 2.34) and moderate-to-severe patients (aMD: -1.89 and - 1.89), respectively (p < 0.05). Differences were not significant between moderate-to-severe patients and healthy subjects for both Th1 (p = 0.358) and Th17 (p = 0.535), respectively. In contrast, significant difference was not observed between study subjects regarding the frequency of Treg cells. Patients with critical COVID-19 had a markedly lower Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg ratios compared with the controls and moderate-to-severe cases. Our study showed a dysregulated balance of Th1 and Th17 cells and its relation to the severity of COVID-19., (© 2021 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The most recently discovered interferon (IFN) family, type III IFNs or lambda IFNs (IFN-λs) are caused by viral infection and act in mucosal barriers, such as the respiratory tract. In this study, we assessed the serum levels of IFN-λs in new coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients. Sixty-four COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this study. All cases were divided into the intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU groups according to their symptoms. Fourteen samples of healthy controls were also included. The serum levels of IFN-λ1 and IFN-λ2 were analyzed by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The concentrations of IFN-λ1 and IFN-λ2 induced in the serum of non-ICU patients (836.7 ± 284.6 and 798.8 ± 301.5 pg/mL, respectively) were higher than found in ICU patients (81.57 ± 34.25 and 48.32 ± 28.13 pg/mL, respectively) ( P  = 0.004 and P  = 0.006, respectively) and healthy controls (85.57 ± 33.63 and 65.82 ± 21.26 pg/mL, respectively) ( P  = 0.03 and P  = 0.04, respectively). Meanwhile, no significant differences were found in the concentration of both cytokines between the ICU patients and healthy controls. We conclude that higher levels of IFN-λs are associated with decreased clinical manifestations in COVID-19 patients. These cytokines could be a promising therapeutic agent to avoid the overwhelming consequences of COVID-19.

Background: During viral infection, inhibitory receptors play a key role in regulating CD8 T-cell activity. The objective of this research was to investigate programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein-3 (TIM-3), and CD39 exhaustion markers in CD8 T cells of new coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients., Methods: A total of 44 patients with COVID-19 (17 subjects in a critical group and 27 patients in a non-critical group) and 14 healthy controls, who were admitted to Hospitals in Babol, were recruited to the study. In subjects' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), we compared the phenotype of CD8 T lymphocytes, expressing PD-1, TIM-3, or CD39, both alone and in various combinations., Results: The findings showed that the percentage of CD8 + cells was significantly lower in patients. Critical and non-critical patients were more likely than healthy controls to have an escalated frequency of CD8 + TIM-3 + , CD8 + CD39 + , and CD8 + TIM-3 + CD39 + cells. No significant differences were observed between all groups in the CD8 + PD-1 + cell counts. There was also no difference between three groups regarding the counts of CD8 + TIM-3 + PD-1 + , CD8 + PD-1 + CD39 + , and CD8 + TIM-3 + PD-1 + CD39 + cells. The counts of non-exhausted cells were significantly lower in critical and non-critical individuals compared to the healthy individuals' value., Conclusion: Patients, infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), altered exhausted CD8 T lymphocytes with CD39 and TIM-3 exhaustion markers, which may account the dysregulated immune response found in COVID-19., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression and are involved in the immune response. Excessive immune response to the gut microbiota plays a major role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). Regarding the role of miRNAs in immune response, this study aimed to investigate the contribution of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of CD. A total of 53 participants, including 23 CD patients and 30 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study. miRNAs, including miR-21, miR-29a, miR-29b, miR-31, miR-146a, miR-155, miR-181a, and miR-181c were evaluated via TaqMan MicroRNA Assays. Among the eight miRNAs, the amounts of miR-146a and miR-21 were significantly decreased in the CD patients relative to HC subjects. Moreover, we showed that there was a negative correlation between miR-146a and Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI), as well as a positive correlation of miR-21 and miR-29b with HBI. Under-expression of miR-146a and miR-21, which are critical for the regulatory function of regulatory T cells (Tregs), is remarkably associated with CD.

Background: It was found that regulatory T cells (Tregs) importantly affect the maintenance of the kidney graft. However, Tregs are a heterogeneous population with less to more suppressive activity. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different subsets of Tregs, as well as their ratio to effector T cells (Teff), on kidney transplantation outcomes., Methods: A total of 58 participants were enrolled in this study and divided into four groups: (i) first kidney transplant recipients (stable 1); (ii) second kidney transplant recipients (stable 2); (iii) transplant recipients with acute rejection (AR); and (iv) healthy control subjects. By using flow cytometer, the frequencies of CD4 + CD25 ++ CD45RA - Foxp3 hi activated Tregs (aTregs), CD4 + CD25 + CD45RA + Foxp3 lo resting Tregs (rTregs), CD4 + CD25 + CD45RA - Foxp3 lo non-suppressive T cells, CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 - cells Teff, and total Tregs were analyzed in all subjects., Results: The frequency of aTregs (as well as the ratio of aTregs/Tregs) was significantly lower in the AR patients than the other three groups. In contrast to AR patients, stables 1 and 2 had a higher aTreg/Treg ratio than those in the control group. Although patients with AR had a significantly lower total Tregs than the other three groups, the balance of total Tregs and Teff was similar between patients with and without AR., Conclusion: Patients with AR had poorer immunoregulatory properties than those with normal graft functioning, as well as those in the control group. These reduced immunoregulatory properties in patients with AR could lead to graft rejection., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Soluble CD30 (sCD30) is considered to be a marker for the activated immune system in which T cells can damage the allograft. Some studies reported that post-transplant sCD30 can predict early acute rejection and can thereby be used as a biomarker to detect acute rejection. However, several other studies found no relation between post-transplant sCD30 and acute rejection. This meta-analysis study aims to answer this main question of whether sCD30 can help clinicians to monitor transplant recipients. The electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, the gray literature, and the key journals, were searched for observational studies from 1 January 1990 up to 30 April 2018. Eighteen studies, with a total of 1,453 patients, were included in this paper. With regard to the different measurement times, post-transplant sCD30 was separately analyzed and divided into five groups (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4 week, and 1 month post-transplant sCD30). All groups indicated a strong association between sCD30 and the acute rejection. The standardized mean difference (SMD) is 1.22 in 1 week, 0.77 in 2 week, 1.11 in 3 week, 1.27 in 4 week, and 0.71 in 1 month groups. The association between sCD30 and acute rejection was consistent across all the subgroup analyses. We found that post-transplant sCD30 had a strong association with acute kidney rejection. We also found that the deceased donors had more association with the high amount of sCD30 than living donors in patients with acute rejection. Finally, we realized that donor type was an important factor leading to the heterogeneous results in the primary studies., (Copyright © 2020 Mirzakhani, Shahbazi, Akbari, Dedinská, Nemati and Mohammadnia-Afrouzi.)

The binding of lanthanide containers [Ln(β-diketonate) 3 dig] [dig = 1-methoxy-2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethane] to aromatic tridentate N-donor ligands ( L ) in dichloromethane produces neutral nine-coordinate heteroleptic [ L Ln(β-diketonate) 3 ] complexes, the equilibrium reaction quotients of which vary with the total concentrations of the reacting partners. This problematic drift prevents the determination of both reliable thermodynamic stability constants and intrinsic host-guest affinities. The classical solution theory assigns this behavior to changes in the activity coefficients of the various partners in nonideal solutions, and a phenomenological approach attempts to quantitatively attribute this effect to some partition of the solvent molecules between bulk-innocent and contact-noninnocent contributors to the chemical potential. This assumption eventually predicts an empirical linear dependence of the equilibrium reaction quotient on the concentration of the formed [ L Ln(β-diketonate) 3 ] complexes, a trend experimentally supported in this contribution for various ligands L differing in lipophilicity and nuclearity and for lanthanide containers grafted with diverse β-diketonate coligands. Even if the origin of the latter linear dependence is still the subject of debate, this work demonstrates that this approach can be exploited by experimentalists for extracting reliable thermodynamic constants suitable for analyzing and comparing host-guest affinities in organic solvents.