Nonordered dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles as promising platforms for advanced methods of diagnosis and therapies

Dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) are a new generation of porous materials that have gained great attention compared to other mesoporous silicas due to attractive properties, including straightforward synthesis methods, modular surface chemistry, high surface area, tunable pore size, chemical inertness, particle size distribution, excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high pore volume compared with conventional mesoporous materials. The last years have witnessed a blooming growth of the extensive utilization of DMSNs as an efficient platform in a broad spectrum of biomedical and industrial applications, such as catalysis, energy harvesting, biosensing, drug/gene delivery, imaging, theranostics, and tissue engineering. DMSNs are considered great candidates for nanomedicine applications due to their ease of surface functionalization for targeted and controlled therapeutic delivery, high therapeutic loading capacity, minimizing adverse effects, and enhancing biocompatibility. In this review, we will extensively detail state-of-the-art studies on recent advances in synthesis methods, structure, properties, and applications of DMSNs in the biomedical field with an emphasis on the different delivery routes, cargos, and targeting approaches and a wide range of therapeutic, diagnostic, tissue engineering, vaccination applications and challenges and future implications of DMSNs as cuttingedge technology in medicine

Nonordered dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles as promising platforms for advanced methods of diagnosis and therapies

Dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) are a new generation of porous materials that have gained great attention compared to other mesoporous silicas due to attractive properties, including straightforward synthesis methods, modular surface chemistry, high surface area, tunable pore size, chemical inertness, particle size distribution, excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high pore volume compared with conventional mesoporous materials. The last years have witnessed a blooming growth of the extensive utilization of DMSNs as an efficient platform in a broad spectrum of biomedical and industrial applications, such as catalysis, energy harvesting, biosensing, drug/gene delivery, imaging, theranostics, and tissue engineering. DMSNs are considered great candidates for nanomedicine applications due to their ease of surface functionalization for targeted and controlled therapeutic delivery, high therapeutic loading capacity, minimizing adverse effects, and enhancing biocompatibility. In this review, we will extensively detail state-of-the-art studies on recent advances in synthesis methods, structure, properties, and applications of DMSNs in the biomedical field with an emphasis on the different delivery routes, cargos, and targeting approaches and a wide range of therapeutic, diagnostic, tissue engineering, vaccination applications and challenges and future implications of DMSNs as cutting-edge technology in medicine

First record of psylliostachys spicata (Plumbaginaceae), confirmation of salvia pratensis (Lamiaceae) from Turkey, and taxonomic status of Salvia ertekinii

Psylliostachys spicata (Plumbaginaceae) is reported as a new genus record for Turkey; an amended species description is given. Bossier's record of Salvia pratensis (Lamiaceae) in Flora Orientalis is confirmed from Turkey. Additionally, the endemic Salvia ertekinii is reduced to a synonym of Salvia pinnata

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used traditionally in two villages of Hamedan, Iran

A notable amount of medicinal plants grow in Iran and local communities in different parts of the country have developed a deep knowledge of various uses of plants during their old history. Several ethnobotanical studies have been conducted by the Traditional Medicine and Material Medica Research Center (TMRC) to investigate the use of medicinal plants by local people. Some of these studies have been carried out in Kohgiluye va Boyer Ahmad, Azarbayjan-e-Sharghi and Golestan provinces. These ethnobotanical data have been collected by semi-structured interviews. In the present study, two villages of Hamedan province were investigated and eleven informants were interviewed. Our results have presented 45 traditionally used plant species, belonging to 23 plant families and 39 genera. Asteraceae and Fabaceae were the dominant locally used families. The plants were used both for medicinal and non-medicinal purposes and the most treated problems were digestive disorders and infections

Ethnobotanical study in the highland of Alvand and Tuyserkan, Iran

Background and objectives: Medicinal plants are widely used by people in the treatment of various diseases. These resources are usually regarded as part of cultural traditional knowledge. The aim of this study was to identify the information about the medicinal plants used by indigenous people of some regions of Hamedan province, Iran. Methods: The present ethnobotanical study was conducted in the Alvand mountainous area of Hamedan and Tuyserkan. Interviews were done in 27 villages and totally 53 informants were interviewed. Ethnobotanical indices like relative frequency of citation (RFC) and cultural importance index (CI) were calculated. Results: Our study reports 80 traditionally used plant species, belonging to 31 plant families. Asteraceae with 12 species was the most used family in this area. The most used parts were aerial parts (18.57%), leaves (21.42%), and flowers (17.14%), respectively. The most treated ailments were digestive problems. The highest number of ethnobotanical indices RFC and CI were observed in Stachys lavandulifolia   Vahl. and Thymus lancifolius  Celak., respectively. Conclusions: Hamedan provincepossesses considerable knowledge about medicinal plants for treating common health problems

Guanine-Based DNA Biosensor Amplified with Pt/SWCNTs Nanocomposite as Analytical Tool for Nanomolar Determination of Daunorubicin as an Anticancer Drug: A Docking/Experimental Investigation

Daunorubicin is a famous anthracycline anticancer chemotherapy drug with many side effects that is very important to measure in biological samples. A daunorubicin electrochemical biosensor was fabricated in this study using ds-DNA as the biorecognition element and glassy carbon electrode (GCE) amplified by Pt/SWCNTs as a sensor. The synthetization of Pt/SWCNTs was done by the polyol method, and their characterization was accomplished via XRD, EDS, and TEM methods. The results showed a diameter of about 5.0 nm for the Pt nanoparticle decorated at the surface of SWCNTs. The morphological and conductivity properties of Pt/SWCNTs/GCE were investigated by EIS and AFM methods, and the results confirmed that Pt/SWCNTs/GCE had a high surface area and high conductivity. ds-DNA/Pt/SWCNTs/GCE showed an oxidation signal relative to that of the guanine base at the potential of 847 mV and a positive shift after interaction with the daunorubicin anticancer drug. This point confirms the intercalation reaction between the guanine base in the ds-DNA structure and the drug that could be used as an analytical factor for the determination of daunorubicin. Furthermore, molecular docking study is used to predict the interaction site of daunorubicin with DNA. It is found that daunorubicin interacts with guanine bases of DNA via an intercalative mode. Kinetic investigation showed an association equilibrium constant (Ka) of about 5.044 � 103 M-1 between ds-DNA and daunorubicin. The differential pulse voltammetric results showed a linear dynamic range of 4.0 nM to 250.0 μM with a detection limit of 1.0 nM for determination of daunorubicin on the surface of ds-DNA/Pt/SWCNTs/GCE. Finally, ds-DNA/Pt/SWCNTs/GCE was successfully used for the determination of daunorubicin in injection samples with a recovery range of 98.27-10313. © 2021 American Chemical Society

Essays on the relations between European police forces and their stakeholders

In a dynamic world where societies and crimes are growing more complex, we see that police organisations increasingly reach out to stakeholders, and vice versa. In this thesis we try to learn more about stakeholder management in police organisations. On the one hand, we do this to attempt to close some gaps in the literature on stakeholder management in the policing sector. On the other hand, an elaborate study is desired from the practical perspective. As police forces and many individual officers cope with external parties on a daily basis, it is highly relevant to ask if they are doing it right, and if they could do it in ways that are more satisfactory for the stakeholders. Satisfying stakeholders is crucial for police and other public organisations alike, because their operations thrive on the legitimacy they receive from the citizenry. We approached the topic from several angles, looking both at strategic and operational stakeholder management. In our first study, we focus broadly on stakeholder management strategies that are employed towards different types of police stakeholders in Europe. In the second and third study we investigate the success factors of collaborations between the police and other public organisations in the Netherlands. Finally, in the fourth study, we provide a cautionary note concerning the potential biases in stakeholder perceptions of European police organisations