Gene regulatory and gene editing tools and their applications for retinal diseases and neuroprotection: From proof-of-concept to clinical trial.

Gene editing and gene regulatory fields are continuously developing new and safer tools that move beyond the initial CRISPR/Cas9 technology. As more advanced applications are emerging, it becomes crucial to understand and establish more complex gene regulatory and editing tools for efficient gene therapy applications. Ophthalmology is one of the leading fields in gene therapy applications with more than 90 clinical trials and numerous proof-of-concept studies. The majority of clinical trials are gene replacement therapies that are ideal for monogenic diseases. Despite Luxturna's clinical success, there are still several limitations to gene replacement therapies including the size of the target gene, the choice of the promoter as well as the pathogenic alleles. Therefore, further attempts to employ novel gene regulatory and gene editing applications are crucial to targeting retinal diseases that have not been possible with the existing approaches. CRISPR-Cas9 technology opened up the door for corrective gene therapies with its gene editing properties. Advancements in CRISPR-Cas9-associated tools including base modifiers and prime editing already improved the efficiency and safety profile of base editing approaches. While base editing is a highly promising effort, gene regulatory approaches that do not interfere with genomic changes are also becoming available as safer alternatives. Antisense oligonucleotides are one of the most commonly used approaches for correcting splicing defects or eliminating mutant mRNA. More complex gene regulatory methodologies like artificial transcription factors are also another developing field that allows targeting haploinsufficiency conditions, functionally equivalent genes, and multiplex gene regulation. In this review, we summarized the novel gene editing and gene regulatory technologies and highlighted recent translational progress, potential applications, and limitations with a focus on retinal diseases

The Effect of Direct, Indirect, and Negotiated Feedback on the Tense/Aspect of EFL Learners in Writing

L2 written corrective feedback has been investigated from different perspectives in SLA research (e.g. Ahmadian & Tajabadi, 2015; Bitchener & Knoch, 2010; Ferris, 2006). Taking the cognitive and sociocultural paradigms into account, the aims of the current study are twofold: Firstly, it attempts to find if corrective feedback is effective in improving the linguistic accuracy of L2 learners' tense/aspect use in writing. Secondly, it tries to measure which feedback type (direct, indirect, and negotiated) has a more significant effect on the mentioned linguistic structures. Seventy-five pre-intermediate university EFL learners were selected and asked to participate in the study; they were randomly divided into direct, indirect, negotiated feedback groups, and a control group. During six-week sessions of providing feedback on tenses/aspects, the participants were required to write diary journals on their academic life. The direct and indirect groups received feedback on their diaries, having 10 minutes time in the class to observe the feedback. The negotiated feedback group received 10 minutes one-to-one contingent feedback on the errors. After comparing the four groups, the results showed that all the treatment groups did outperform the control group which indicated that feedback was effective. Moreover, the findings showed no significant difference among the feedback types. This implies that teachers can provide any of the feedback types for learners so far as tense/aspect errors are concerned in their writing

Sociocultural Theory in Practice: The Effect of Teacher, Class, and Peer Scaffolding on the Writing Development of EFL Learners

One of the influential concepts of sociocultural theory in language acquisition research is the zone of proximal development, which is an opportunity for language learners to develop their capacities. It is believed that the learner’s language development happens through scaffolding in language learning (Bruner, 1983). This study relies on the scaffolding technique to investigate the effect of three forms of scaffolding process, namely teacher, class, and peer scaffolding, on the writing development of EFL learners. To do this, an intact group sample of 30 participants was selected. The participants were doing their essay writing course in which 19 of them were in one class, assumed as the experimental group in the study, and 11 were in another, assumed as the control group. To maintain possible homogeneity of the participants, an Oxford Placement Test was administered to both groups. The experimental group practiced the techniques of teacher, class, and peer scaffolding in three consecutive sessions respectively, while the control group practiced three individual techniques. After analyzing the mean of the total scores in addition to inter-rater reliability, the multivariate tests, on the quantitative analysis, showed that the control group outperformed the experimental group. For further understanding of the reasons, on the qualitative analysis, the talks in the experimental group were analyzed. Finally, the findings of both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis are discussed.

The Iranian blood pressure measurement campaign, 2019: study protocol and preliminary results

Purpose Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for premature mortality and morbidity in Iran. The objective of the Iranian blood pressure (BP) measurement campaign was to identify individuals with raised blood pressure and providing appropriate care and increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension. Methods The campaign was conducted in two phases. The first (communication) phase started on May 17th (International Hypertension Day). The second phase started on June 8th, 2019, and lasted up to July 7th during which, blood pressures were measured. The target population was Iranians aged >= 30 years. Participants voluntarily referred to health houses in rural and health posts and comprehensive health centers in urban areas in the setting of the Primary Health Care network. Additionally, over 13,700 temporary stations were set up in highly visited places in urban areas. Volunteer healthcare staff interviewed the participants, measured their BP, and provided them with lifestyle advice and knowledge of the risks and consequences of high blood pressure. They referred participants to physicians in case their BP was high. Participants immediately received a text message containing the relevant advice based on their measured BP and their past history. Results Blood pressure was measured for a total of 26,678,394 participants in the campaign. A total of 13,722,148 participants (51.4) were female. The mean age was 46 +/- 14.1 years. Among total participants, 15,012,693 adults (56.3) with no past history of hypertension had normal BP, 7,959,288 participants had BP in the prehypertension range (29.8), and finally, 3,706,413 participants (13.9) had either past medical history of hypertension, used medications, or had high BP measured in the campaign. Conclusion The campaign was feasible with the objective to increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension in Iran

The Iranian blood pressure measurement campaign, 2019: study protocol and preliminary results

Purpose Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for premature mortality and morbidity in Iran. The objective of the Iranian blood pressure (BP) measurement campaign was to identify individuals with raised blood pressure and providing appropriate care and increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension. Methods The campaign was conducted in two phases. The first (communication) phase started on May 17th (International Hypertension Day). The second phase started on June 8th, 2019, and lasted up to July 7th during which, blood pressures were measured. The target population was Iranians aged >= 30 years. Participants voluntarily referred to health houses in rural and health posts and comprehensive health centers in urban areas in the setting of the Primary Health Care network. Additionally, over 13,700 temporary stations were set up in highly visited places in urban areas. Volunteer healthcare staff interviewed the participants, measured their BP, and provided them with lifestyle advice and knowledge of the risks and consequences of high blood pressure. They referred participants to physicians in case their BP was high. Participants immediately received a text message containing the relevant advice based on their measured BP and their past history. Results Blood pressure was measured for a total of 26,678,394 participants in the campaign. A total of 13,722,148 participants (51.4%) were female. The mean age was 46 +/- 14.1 years. Among total participants, 15,012,693 adults (56.3%) with no past history of hypertension had normal BP, 7,959,288 participants had BP in the prehypertension range (29.8%), and finally, 3,706,413 participants (13.9%) had either past medical history of hypertension, used medications, or had high BP measured in the campaign. Conclusion The campaign was feasible with the objective to increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension in Iran

The Iranian blood pressure measurement campaign, 2019: study protocol and preliminary results

Purpose Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for premature mortality and morbidity in Iran. The objective of the Iranian blood pressure (BP) measurement campaign was to identify individuals with raised blood pressure and providing appropriate care and increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension. Methods The campaign was conducted in two phases. The first (communication) phase started on May 17th (International Hypertension Day). The second phase started on June 8th, 2019, and lasted up to July 7th during which, blood pressures were measured. The target population was Iranians aged >= 30 years. Participants voluntarily referred to health houses in rural and health posts and comprehensive health centers in urban areas in the setting of the Primary Health Care network. Additionally, over 13,700 temporary stations were set up in highly visited places in urban areas. Volunteer healthcare staff interviewed the participants, measured their BP, and provided them with lifestyle advice and knowledge of the risks and consequences of high blood pressure. They referred participants to physicians in case their BP was high. Participants immediately received a text message containing the relevant advice based on their measured BP and their past history. Results Blood pressure was measured for a total of 26,678,394 participants in the campaign. A total of 13,722,148 participants (51.4) were female. The mean age was 46 +/- 14.1 years. Among total participants, 15,012,693 adults (56.3) with no past history of hypertension had normal BP, 7,959,288 participants had BP in the prehypertension range (29.8), and finally, 3,706,413 participants (13.9) had either past medical history of hypertension, used medications, or had high BP measured in the campaign. Conclusion The campaign was feasible with the objective to increase the awareness among the public and policymakers of the importance of tackling hypertension in Iran