Drug nanocarrier agents based on starch-g-amino acids

Introduction: In the recent decades, starch has been modified using different methods for the various forms of applications. Some new starch derivatives were prepared through a simple and convenient method in the grafting of amino acids: L-alanine, L-leucine and L-phenyl alanine to starch. Methods: First, the amine groups of amino acids were protected using phthalic anhydride then the acidic side of amino acids were activated with chlorination using thionyl chloride, and the resultant acid chlorides were reacted with starch in aqueous media at room temperature. Results: Performing the various spectroscopy experiments on the obtained compounds showed that the new derivative of starch has been formed. The structure of all synthesized materials was determined and confirmed using common spectroscopy methods and their thermal behavior was examined using DSC experiment. Conclusion: New amino acid derivatives of starch and their nanocarriers successfully prepared through a simple and convenient method. The size of nanocarriers evaluated using DLS and TEM experiments. The spherical shape of particles shows that nanocarriers have been formed and the size of these particles are approximately 92, 137 and 97 nm. Performing the wettability test determined that all the resulted materials are soluble in water. Nanocarriers of the obtained modified starches were prepared using dialysis method and naproxen was utilized as a model drug molecule. The drug release dynamics in buffered solution were studied and investigation of the drug release mechanism showed that in case of L-alanine- and L-phenylalanine-modified starches, drug release followed the Fickian diffusion with a slight deviation

How to prevent workplace incivility?: Nurses' perspective

Background: Many articles have studied workplace incivility and its influence on outcomes, but very few have been conducted to assess how to prevent this issue. In this study, we aimed to determine how to prevent workplace incivility from the nurses' perspective. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study which was based on a conventional content analysis approach. Thirty four nurses (25 to 52 years old) from seven training hospitals in Tabriz, Iran were selected through purposive sampling. Thirty six semi-structured interviews and eight field notes were analyzed. Results: The data analysis revealed 417 codes, ten categories, three subthemes and one theme, that is, A Need for a Comprehensive Attempt. Attempt of organization, nurses, and public as subthemes are needed to prevent workplace incivility. Conclusions: The findings of the study indicated that a comprehensive and systematic attempt was needed to prevent incivility. Nurses should try to improve their skills; officials should try to show the real image and position of nurses and hospitals to the community

The relationship of ethical climate and nurses' job satisfaction in the operating room: A cross-sectional study

Background: The ethical climate of hospitals and job satisfaction are two main factors behind nurses' productivity. Yet, there is limited information about ethical climate and nurses' job satisfaction in the operating room (OR). Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship of ethical climate with nurses' job satisfaction in the OR. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 197 OR nurses. The Olson Hospital Ethical Climate Survey and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed by doing Spearman's rank correlation. Results: About half of the participants had a moderate job satisfaction and negative perceptions about the ethical climate of the OR. Ethical climate was significantly correlated with nurses' job satisfaction (r = 0.93, P Conclusion: There are some defects in the ethical climate of the ORs. Health policymakers need to devise strategies to improve both ethical climate and nurses' job satisfaction in the ORs

Harmine inhibits breast cancer cell migration and invasion by inducing the degradation of Twist1.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The majority of deaths (90%) in breast cancer patients is caused by invasion and metastasis-two features related to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Twist1 is a key transcription factor that promotes the EMT, which leads to cell migration, invasion, cancer metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Harmine is a beta-carboline alkaloid found in a variety of plants and was recently shown to be able to induce degradation of Twist Family BHLH Transcription Factor 1 (Twist1) in non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLC). In this study, we show that harmine can inhibit migration and invasion of both human and mouse breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Further study shows that this inhibition is most likely achieved by inducing a proteasome-dependent Twist1 degradation. At the concentrations tested, harmine did not affect the viability of cells significantly, suggesting that its inhibition of cancer cell migration and invasion is largely independent of its cytotoxicity, but due to its ability to affect regulators of EMT such as Twist1. This result may facilitate the development of strategies that target Twist1 to treat metastatic breast cancer, as Twist1 is expressed at a high level in metastatic breast cancer cells but not in normal cells