Predicting microRNAs as Anti-viral Agents in SARS-CoV-2 Infection Based on the Bioinformatics Approach: A Systematic Review

Purpose: The beginning of 2020, the World health organization (WHO) declared severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Previous studies showed that microRNAs (miRNAs) are able to inhibit pathogenesis of DNA or RNA viruses by binding the genome. The purpose of the current study is an overview of the anti-viral role of cellular miRNAs against the COVID-19 infection. Methods: Our search was limited to all published original papers in the English language from 2019 to 2021 using several databases including PubMed, Google scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct. A manual search of references for included articled was also performed. Among 66 electronically searched citations, 17 papers met the inclusion criteria. Results: The presence of miRNAs during the COVID-19 infection, reported by several studies, predicts the possibility of using miRNAs as potential tools to eradicate the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In some studies, miRNAs have presented as a tool for targeting SARS-CoV-2 encoded genes which are essential in viral biogenesis, entrance, replication, and infection. Conclusion: The comparison of miRNA between SARS-CoV-2 with other human coronaviruses will help the better understanding of distinct clinical characteristics of them

The relationship between s100β and cerebral oximetry trend in patients undergoing CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass

Background: CABG is among the most common cardiac procedures often done as on pump surgery. There are however, there is always the risk for potential neurologic and neurocognitive insults in CABG. S100β is a biomarker for CNS damage. Cerebral oximetry using NIRS has been developed for CNS monitoring especially cardiac surgery. This study was designed to find the relationship between serum levels of s100β and cerebral oximetry in CABG patients.Methods: in an observational study, 44 adult 40-75 years patients entered the study for elective CABG. Serum levels of s100β were assessed at two times during CPB; i.e. just after aortic clamping and immediately after aortic declamping; while the results were compared with right and left cerebral oximetry readings (NIRS); however, NIRS was measured at baseline, during start of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), during aortic clamping, and finally at off-clamping the aorta. Repeated Measures ANCOVA (analysis of covariance), multiple linear regression models and Spearman correlation coefficient with scatter plot were used for data analysis. P value less than 0.05 considered significant.Results: no linear correlation between s100β and NIRS was found according to correlation coefficients. Only among the patients whose s100β was more than 10, the scatter plots demonstrated a positive linear relationship between s100β and right NIRS (spearman correlation coefficient= 0.792; P value=0.006).Conclusions: the study failed to demonstrate a relationship between on-CPB NIRS numbers and serum s100β in adult patients undergoing CABG during the bypass interval; further studies are suggested to evaluate potential predictive value of NIRS in brain ischemia

What is the best laboratory method for diagnosis of Herpes Simplex Virus in genital infections?

  Genital infection caused by Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is one of the most common health problems, worldwide. Several methods such as cell culture, serological and molecular methods have been used to detect this virus. Currently, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (Real time-PCR) technique is widely used due to its high sensitivity and specificity. Besides, Real time-PCR can be employed in the follow-up of therapeutic effects in HSV-infected person who is being treated with antiretroviral drugs. We conducted a review on traditional and current diagnostic methods with a focus on their limitations in the diagnosis of HSV infection

Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in North-East of Iran

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer, is a life-threatening disease worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and clinical features of HCC patients who referred to Omid hospital in Mashhad, northeast of Iran.Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional retrospective study, we reviewed the medical records of patients who referred to Omid hospital – a cancer research center– in Mashhad during 1991 to 2012. Medical records of 29 patients with primary liver cancer proven with biopsy, CT scan or MRI were analyzed in this study.Results: Of 25 eligible cases, 68% were men and the rest were women. The majority of HCC patients were in the 60-69 age group. Also, 44% of patients were found to be hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) positive.Conclusion: The age distribution and male preponderance of HCC patients observed in the present study in line with other conducted studies in Iran and other countries. Since this is a retrospective study, a comprehensive study with a larger sample size in a case-control study is needed to establish other HCC-related factors in our province

Lake Toba Tradisional Musik Festival (LTTMF) dalam Ruang Kreatif Penciptaan Karya Komposisi Musik

Lake Toba Traditional Musik Festival (LTTMF) merupakan sebuah program dalam mewujudkan pemajuan seni budaya dan pariwisata sekitaran danau Toba di Sumatera Utara dengan memperkuat ekosistem seni pertunjukan khususnya musik tradisi. Program ini digagas pada tahun 2021 oleh Ditjen Kebudayaan, Kemendikbudristek melalui Dit. Perfilman, Musik, dan Media serta UPT BPNB Aceh yang berkerjasama dengan Rumah Karya Indonesia. Dalam festival ini dua belas komposer musik tradisi telah mengaktualisasi karya mereka dalam bentukklip video, festival daring, serta perekaman lagu untuk kemudian ditayangkan dalam platform online. Lake Toba Musik Traditional Musik Festival (LTTMF) membuka ruang kolaboratif dengan 12 komposer di wilayah Nusantara memalui open call dan kurasi yang diharapkan dapat menjadi ruang ekpresi bermusik para seniman. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis proses kreatif penciptaan karya komposisi musik pada Lake Toba Musik Tradisional Festival (LTTMF). Hasil dari penelitian ini berupa catatan tahapan proses kreatif Lake Toba Tradisional Musik Festival yang berbasis riset yang ditenggarai oleh Rumah Karya Indonesia dalam bentuk kegiatan-kegiatan yang mengilhami karya musik diantaranya workshop dari seniman lokal Toba, kolaborasi permainan musik tradisi, FGD panitia, komposer dan kurator memahami hasil pengenalan musik tradisi serta penentuan konsep musik / ide musik yang akan diangkat menjadi pijakan dalam membuat karya musik oleh masing-masing komposer

Current approaches for detection of human T‐lymphotropic virus Type 1: a systematic review

Background: Human T-lymphotropic virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus that is endemic in some regions of the world. It is known to cause several diseases like adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Serology and molecular methods have been used to detect this virus. Of these, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is used as a primary screening method and this is usually followed by western blotting (WB) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods as confirmatory tests. We conducted a systematic review of the different techniques used in the diagnosis of HTLV-1 infection. Materials and Methods: Our search was limited to original papers in the English language from 2010 to 2018 using several databases including Pubmed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Iranmedex, and Scientific Information Database. A manual search of references provided in the included papers was also performed. Results: Of 101 electronically searched citations, 43 met the inclusion criteria. ELISA is commonly used for qualitative and screening detection, and WB and PCR techniques are used to confirm infection. Conclusion: Among all the reported methods for detection of HTLV-1, only serological and molecular tests are used as the most common technical assays for HTLV-1. The ELISA assay, without a confirmatory test, has several limitations and affect the accuracy of the results. Owing to the prevalence of HTLV-1 and limitations of the current detection methods, further evaluation of the accuracy of these methods is needed. There are new opportunities for applying novel technological advances in microfluidics, biosensors, and lab-on-a-chip systems to perform HTLV-1 diagnostics

A knockdown of the herpes simplex virus type-1 gene in all-in-one CRISPR vectors

Introduction. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a virus that causes serious human disease and establishes a long-term latent infection. The latent form of this virus has shown to be resistant to antiviral drugs. Clustered Regularly Interspace Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), is an important tool in genome engineering and composed of guide RNA (gRNA) and Cas9 nuclease that makes an RNA-protein complex to digest exclusive target sequences implementation of gRNA. Moreover, CRISPR-Cas9 system effectively suppresses HSV-1 infection by knockout of some viral genes. Materials and methods. To survey the efficacy of Cas9 system on HSV-1 genome destruction, we designed several guide RNAs (gRNAs) that all packaged in one vector. Additionally, we performed a one-step restriction using BamHI and Esp3I enzymes. Results. CRISPR/Cas9 system targeted against the gD gene of HSV-1 was transfected into HEK-AD cells that showed a significant reduction of HSV-1 infection by plaque assay and real-time PCR. Conclusion. The pCas-Guide-EF1a-GFP CRISPR vector can create a fast and efficient method for gRNA cloning by restriction enzymes (Esp3I (BsmBI) and BamHI). Therefore, the CRISPR/Cas9 system may be utilized for the screening of genes critical for the HSV-1 infection and developing new strategies for targeted therapy of viral infections caused by HSV-1

Targeting host calcium channels and viroporins: a promising strategy for SARS-CoV-2 therapy

Despite passing the pandemic phase of the COVID-19, researchers are still investigating various drugs. Previous evidence suggests that blocking the calcium channels may be a suitable treatment option. Ca2+ is required to enhance the fusion process of SARS-CoV-2. Also, some important inflammatory factors during SARS-CoV-2 infection are dependent on Ca2+ level. On the other hand, viroporins have emerged as attractive targets for antiviral therapy due to their essential role in viral replication and pathogenesis. By inhibiting the host calcium channels and viroporins, it is possible to limit the spread of infection. Therefore, calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and drugs targeting viroporins can be considered an effective option in the fight against SARS-CoV-2

A comparison of analytical methods for measuring concentrations of 25-hydroxy vitamin D in biological samples

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is the principal circulating metabolite of vitamin D. Several methods for measuring serum 25(OH)D have been reported. These methods include chromatographic methods (GC-MS, HPLC, and LC-MS), competitive protein-binding assay (CPBA), radioimmunoassay (RIA) and automated methods. In addition, biosensors have more recently been employed as potential candidates for routine analysis of 25(OH)D in serum. In this review, the common methods for quantification of 25(OH)D 2 and 25(OH)D 3 in biological samples, including the preparation of samples, are critically compared and discussed