The biomedical significance of multifunctional nanobiomaterials: The key components for site-specific delivery of therapeutics

The emergence of nanotechnology has provided the possibilities to overcome the potential problems associated with the development of pharmaceuticals including the low solubility, non-specific cellular uptake or action, and rapid clearance. Regarding the biomaterials (BMs), huge efforts have been made for improving their multi-functionalities via incorporation of various nanomaterials (NMs). Nanocomposite hydrogels with suitable properties could exhibit a variety of beneficial effects in biomedicine particularly in the delivery of therapeutics or tissue engineering. NMs including the silica- or carbon-based ones are capable of integration into various BMs that might be due to their special compositions or properties such as the hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, magnetic or electrical characteristics, and responsiveness to various stimuli. This might provide multi-functional nanobiomaterials against a wide variety of disorders. Meanwhile, inappropriate distribution or penetration into the cells or tissues, bio-nano interface complexity, targeting ability loss, or any other unpredicted phenomena are the serious challenging issues. Computational simulations and models enable development of NMs with optimal characteristics and provide a deeper knowledge of NM interaction with biosystems. This review highlights the biomedical significance of the multifunctional NMs particularly those applied for the development of 2-D or 3-D BMs for a variety of applications including the site-specific delivery of therapeutics. The powerful impacts of the computational techniques on the design process of NMs, quantitation and prediction of protein corona formation, risk assessment, and individualized therapy for improved therapeutic outcomes have also been discussed.

Evaluation of machine learning algorithms for health and wellness applications: A tutorial

Research on decision support applications in healthcare, such as those related to diagnosis, prediction, treatment planning, etc., has seen strongly growing interest in recent years. This development is thanks to the increase in data availability as well as to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning research and access to computational resources. Highly promising research examples are published daily. However, at the same time, there are some unrealistic, often overly optimistic, expectations and assumptions with regard to the development, validation and acceptance of such methods. The healthcare application field introduces requirements and potential pitfalls that are not immediately obvious from the 'general data science' viewpoint. Reliable, objective, and generalisable validation and performance assessment of developed data-analysis methods is one particular pain-point. This may lead to unmet schedules and disappointments regarding true performance in real-life with as result poor uptake (or non-uptake) at the end-user side. It is the aim of this tutorial to provide practical guidance on how to assess performance reliably and efficiently and avoid common traps especially when dealing with application for health and wellness settings. Instead of giving a list of do's and don't s, this tutorial tries to build a better understanding behind these issues and presents both the most relevant performance evaluation criteria as well as approaches how to compute them. Along the way, we will indicate common mistakes and provide references discussing various topics more in-depth.

Retracted articles in the biomedical literature from Indian authors

The aim of the present study is to identify retracted articles in the biomedical literature (co) authored by Indian authors and to examine the features of retracted articles. The PubMed database was searched to find the retracted articles in order to reach the goal. The search yielded 508 records and retrieved for the detailed analysis of: authorships and collaboration type, funding information, who retracts? journals and impact factors, and reasons for retraction. The results show that most of the biomedical articles retracted were published after 2010 and common reasons are plagiarism and fake data for retraction. More than half of the retracted articles were co-authored within the institutions and there is no repeat offender. 25% of retracted articles were published in the top 15 journals and 33% were published in the non-impact factor journals. Average time from publication to retraction is calculated to 2.86 years and retractions due to fake data takes longest period among the reasons. Majority of the funded research was retracted due to fake data whereas it is plagiarism for non-funded.

Application and evaluation of knowledge graph embeddings in biomedical data

Linked data and bio-ontologies enabling knowledge representation, standardization, and dissemination are an integral part of developing biological and biomedical databases. That is, linked data and bio-ontologies are employed in databases to maintain data integrity, data organization, and to empower search capabilities. However, linked data and bio-ontologies are more recently being used to represent information as multi-relational heterogeneous graphs, "knowledge graphs". The reason being, entities and relations in the knowledge graph can be represented as embedding vectors in semantic space, and these embedding vectors have been used to predict relationships between entities. Such knowledge graph embedding methods provide a practical approach to data analytics and increase chances of building machine learning models with high prediction accuracy that can enhance decision support systems. Here, we present a comparative assessment and a standard benchmark for knowledge graph-based representation learning methods focused on the link prediction task for biological relations. We systematically investigated and compared state-of-the-art embedding methods based on the design settings used for training and evaluation. We further tested various strategies aimed at controlling the amount of information related to each relation in the knowledge graph and its effects on the final performance. We also assessed the quality of the knowledge graph features through clustering and visualization and employed several evaluation metrics to examine their uses and differences. Based on this systematic comparison and assessments, we identify and discuss the limitations of knowledge graph-based representation learning methods and suggest some guidelines for the development of more improved methods.

Stakeholder views of the practical and cultural barriers to epilepsy care in Uganda

OBJECTIVE

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent, treatable neurological diseases globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, people with epilepsy (PWE) frequently seek treatment from traditional or pastoral healers, who are more accessible than biomedical care providers. This often contributes to the substantial time delay in obtaining adequate biomedical care for these patients. In Uganda, the few biomedical providers who can treat epilepsy cannot meet the great need for epilepsy care. Additionally, patients are often hesitant to seek biomedical care, often preferring the easily accessible and trusted sociocultural treatment options. This study sought to elucidate the barriers to biomedical care for PWE as well as identify potential solutions to overcome these barriers from various stakeholder perspectives.

METHODS

This study used qualitative research methods. Semistructured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with four major stakeholder groups: PWE or family members of PWE, neurologists and psychiatrists, traditional healers, and pastoral healers. All interviews and focus group discussions that were in English were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Those that were not in English were translated live and audio recorded. A translator later translated the non-English portion of audio recording to ensure proper interpretation. Two independent coders coded the dataset and conducted an inter-rater reliability (IRR) assessment to ensure reliable coding of the data. Thematic analysis was then performed to discern themes from the data and compare nuances between each of the study design groups.

RESULTS

Participants discussed several different causes of epilepsy ranging from spiritual to biological causes, often incorporating elements of both. Commonly endorsed spiritual causes of epilepsy included witchcraft and ancestral spirits. Commonly endorsed biological causes included genetics, fever, malaria, and brain injury. For patients and families, beliefs about the cause of epilepsy often played a role in whom they chose to seek treatment from. Three major barriers to biomedical care were discussed: practical barriers, medical infrastructure barriers, and barriers related to stigma. Practical barriers related to issues such as transportation, cost of medical care, and distance to the nearest healthcare facility. Under medical infrastructure, drug stock-outs and lack of access to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were the most consistent problems stated among patients. Stigma was heavily discussed and brought up by nearly every participant. Additionally, three significant solutions to improving epilepsy care in Uganda were highlighted by participants: collaboration among treatment providers, community sensitization efforts to address stigma, and building medical infrastructure. Within building infrastructure, all participant types, except traditional healers, proposed the development of an epilepsy clinic designed to specifically treat epilepsy.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these findings, there are four critical interventions that should be considered for improving epilepsy care in Uganda: the creation of dedicated epilepsy clinics, infrastructure strengthening to address medication stock-outs, community outreach programs for sensitization, and collaboration between biomedical providers and traditional healers. This article is part of the Special Issue "The Intersection of Culture, Resources, and Disease: Epilepsy Care in Uganda".

Assessing the Organizational Climate for Translational Research with a New Survey Tool

Promoting translational research as a means to overcoming chasms in the translation of knowledge through successive fields of research from basic science to public health impacts and back is a central challenge for research managers and policymakers. Organizational leaders need to assess baseline conditions, identify areas needing improvement, and to judge the impact of specific initiatives to sustain or improve translational research practices at their institutions. Currently, there is a lack of such an assessment tool addressing the specific context of translational biomedical research. To close this gap, we have developed a new survey for assessing the organizational climate for translational research. This self-assessment tool measures employees' perceptions of translational research climate and underlying research practices in organizational environments and builds on the established Survey of Organizational Research Climate, assessing research integrity. Using this tool, we show that scientists at a large university hospital (Charité Berlin) perceive translation as a central and important component of their work. Importantly, local resources and direct support are main contributing factors for the practical implementation of translation into their own research practice. We identify and discuss potential leverage points for an improvement of research climate to foster successful translational research.

Role of capping agents in the application of nanoparticles in biomedicine and environmental remediation: recent trends and future prospects

Capping agents are of utmost importance as stabilizers that inhibit the over-growth of nanoparticles and prevent their aggregation/coagulation in colloidal synthesis. The capping ligands stabilize the interface where nanoparticles interact with their medium of preparation. Specific structural features of nanoparticles are attributed to capping on their surface. These stabilizing agents play a key role in altering the biological activities and environmental perspective. Stearic effects of capping agents adsorbed on the surface of nanoparticles are responsible for such changing physico-chemical and biological characteristics. Firstly, this novel review article introduces few frequently used capping agents in the fabrication of nanoparticles. Next, recent advancements in biomedicine and environmental remediation approaches of capped nanoparticles have been elaborated. Lastly, future directions of the huge impact of capping agents on the biological environment have been summarized.

Recent progress on developing of plasmon biosensing of tumor biomarkers: Efficient method towards early stage recognition of cancer

Cancer is the second most extended disease with an improved death rate over the past several time. Due to the restrictions of cancer analysis methods, the patient's real survival rate is unknown. Therefore, early stage diagnosis of cancer is crucial for its strong detection. Bio-analysis based on biomarkers may help to overcome the problem Biosensors with high sensitivity and specificity, low-cost, high analysis speed and minimum limit of detection are practical alternatives for laboratory tests. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is reaching a maturity level sufficient for their application in detection and determination cancer biomarkers in clinical samples. This review discusses main concepts and performance characteristics of SPR biosensor. Mainly, it focuses on newly emerged enhanced SPR biosensors towards high-throughput and ultrasensitive screening of cancer biomarkers such as PSA, α-fetoprotein, CEA, CA125, CA 15-3, HER2, ctDNA, ALCAM, hCG, VEGF, TNF, Interleukin, IFN-γ, CD24, CD44, Ferritin, COLIV using labeling processes with focusing on the future application in biomedical research and clinical diagnosis. This article reviews current status of the field, showcasing a series of early successes in the application of SPR for clinical bioanalysis of cancer related biomolecules and detailing a series of considerations regarding sensing schemes, exposing issues with analysis in biofluids, while providing an outlook of the challenges currently associated with plasmonic materials, bioreceptor selection, microfluidics, and validation of a clinical bioassay for applying SPR biosensors to clinical samples. Research opportunities are proposed to further advance the field and transition SPR biosensors from research proof-of-concept stage to actual clinical usage.

Light-driven nanomotors and micromotors: envisioning new analytical possibilities for bio-sensing

The aim of this conceptual review is to cover recent developments of light-propelled micromotors for analytical (bio)-sensing. Challenges of self-propelled light-driven micromotors in complex (biological) media and potential solutions from material aspects and propulsion mechanism to achieve final analytical detection for in vivo and in vitro applications will be comprehensively covered. Graphical abstract.

Publishing volumes in major databases related to Covid-19

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, induced a global pandemic for which an effective cure, either in the form of a drug or vaccine, has yet to be discovered. In the few brief months that the world has known Covid-19, there has been an unprecedented volume of papers published related to this disease, either in a bid to find solutions, or to discuss applied or related aspects. Data from Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science, and Elsevier’s Scopus, which do not index preprints, were assessed. Our estimates indicate that 23,634 unique documents, 9960 of which were in common to both databases, were published between January 1 and June 30, 2020. Publications include research articles, letters, editorials, notes and reviews. As one example, amongst the 21,542 documents in Scopus, 47.6% were research articles, 22.4% were letters, and the rest were reviews, editorials, notes and other. Based on both databases, the top three countries, ranked by volume of published papers, are the USA, China, and Italy while BMJ, Journal of Medical Virology and The Lancet published the largest number of Covid-19-related papers. This paper provides one snapshot of how the publishing landscape has evolved in the first six months of 2020 in response to this pandemic and discusses the risks associated with the speed of publications.

Astyanax surface and cave fish morphs

The small teleost fish Astyanax mexicanus has emerged as an outstanding model for studying many biological topics in the context of evolution. A major attribute is conspecific surface dwelling (surface fish) and blind cave dwelling (cavefish) morphs that can be raised in the laboratory and spawn large numbers of transparent and synchronously developing embryos. More than 30 cavefish populations have been discovered, mostly in northeastern Mexico, and some are thought to have evolved independently from surface fish ancestors, providing excellent models of parallel and convergent evolution. Cavefish have evolved eye and pigmentation regression, as well as modifications in brain morphology, behaviors, heart regenerative capacity, metabolic processes, and craniofacial organization. Thus, the Astyanax model provides researchers with natural "mutants" to study life in the challenging cave environment. The application of powerful genetic approaches based on hybridization between the two morphs and between the different cavefish populations are key advantages for deciphering the developmental and genetic mechanisms regulating trait evolution. QTL analysis has revealed the genetic architectures of gained and lost traits. In addition, some cavefish traits resemble human diseases, offering novel models for biomedical research. Astyanax research is supported by genome assemblies, transcriptomes, tissue and organ transplantation, gene manipulation and editing, and stable transgenesis, and benefits from a welcoming and interactive research community that conducts integrated community projects and sponsors the International Astyanax Meeting (AIM).

Self-attention based recurrent convolutional neural network for disease prediction using healthcare data

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Nowadays computer-aided disease diagnosis from medical data through deep learning methods has become a wide area of research. Existing works of analyzing clinical text data in the medical domain, which substantiate useful information related to patients with disease in large quantity, benefits early-stage disease diagnosis. However, benefits of analysis not achieved well when the traditional rule-based and classical machine learning methods used; which are unable to handle the unstructured clinical text and only a single method is not able to handle all challenges related to the analysis of the unstructured text, Moreover, the contribution of all words in clinical text is not the same in the prediction of disease. Therefore, there is a need to develop a neural model which solve the above clinical application problems, is an interesting topic which needs to be explored.

METHODS

Thus considering the above problems, first, this paper present self-attention based recurrent convolutional neural network (RCNN) model using real-life clinical text data collected from a hospital in Wuhan, China. This model automatically learns high-level semantic features from clinical text by using bi-direction recurrent connection within convolution. Second, to deal with other clinical text challenges, we combine the ability of RCNN with the self-attention mechanism. Thus, self-attention gets the focus of the model on essential convolve features which have effective meaning in the clinical text by calculating the probability of each convolve feature through softmax.

RESULTS

The proposed model is evaluated on real-life hospital dataset and used measurement metrics as Accuracy and recall. Experiment results exhibit that the proposed model reaches up to accuracy 95.71%, which is better than many existing methods for cerebral infarction disease.

CONCLUSIONS

This article presented the self-attention based RCNN model by combining the RCNN with self-attention mechanism for prediction of cerebral infarction disease. The obtained results show that the presented model better predict the cerebral infarction disease risk compared to many existing methods. The same model can also be used for the prediction of other disease risks.

Hydroxyapatite as a biomaterial - a gift that keeps on giving

The synthetic analogue to biogenic apatite, hydroxyapatite (HA) has a number of physicochemical properties that make it an attractive candidate for diagnosis, treatment of disease and augmentation of biological tissues. Here we describe some of the recent studies on HA, which may provide bases for a number of new medical applications. The content of this review is divided to different medical application modes utilizing HA, including tissue engineering, medical implants, controlled drug delivery, gene therapies, cancer therapies and bioimaging. A number of advantages of HA over other biomaterials emerge from this discourse, including (i) biocompatibility, (ii) bioactivity, (iii) relatively simple synthesis protocols for the fabrication of nanoparticles with specific sizes and shapes, (iv) smart response to environmental stimuli, (v) facile functionalization and surface modification through noncovalent interactions, and (vi) the capacity for being simultaneously loaded with a wide range of therapeutic agents and switched to bioimaging modalities for uses in theranostics. A special section is dedicated to analysis of the safety of particulate HA as a component of parenterally administrable medications. It is concluded that despite the fact that many benefits come with the usage of HA, its deficiencies and potential side effects must be addressed before the translation to the clinical domain is pursued. Although HA has been known in the biomaterials world as the exemplar of safety, this safety proves to be the function of size, morphology, surface ligands and other structural and compositional parameters defining the particles. For this reason, each HA, especially when it comes in a novel structural form, must be treated anew from the safety research angle before being allowed to enter the clinical stage.

The trajectory of "medical cannabis" in Israel: Driving medicalization in different directions

BACKGROUND

Although researchers, laypersons and policymakers have been debating about the "medicalization of cannabis" for years, few have attempted to unpack this phrase and clarify what it actually means. The present qualitative research addresses this issue by tracing the trajectory of "medical cannabis" (MC) in Israel.

METHODS

This article draws on multiple sources, including in-depth interviews, parliamentary protocols, conference observations, policy documents, and media coverage.

RESULTS

The analysis shows that while patients, growers, and certain physicians advocated for a more inclusive type of cannabis medicalization, other physicians and sick funds strove to curtail this medicalization; for its part, the Ministry of Health (MoH) attempted to find a pathway that would bridge their conflicting standpoints. In the first phase of medicalization patients' and regulators' trajectories coincided; however, they diverged in the second phase as regulators sought to transform MC into a standardized medication in line with the biomedical model. Patients and physicians criticized the new policy reform and highlighted some of its negative effects on patient care. The trajectories of patients and regulators then intersected in a way that led to some alterations in the MC trajectory.

CONCLUSION

This study enhances our understanding of how MC was, and is still being, incorporated into medicine in Israel. The study illuminates the plurality of meanings that have been assigned to the concept of medicalization and the contingent nature of MC. Additionally, this study sheds light on the under-investigated role of regulators as drivers of the medicalization of "solutions," and it shows how different engines of medicalization may drive the process in diverging directions.

Perceptions of plagiarism by biomedical researchers: an online survey in Europe and China

BACKGROUND

Plagiarism is considered as serious research misconduct, together with data fabrication and falsification. However, little is known about biomedical researchers' views on plagiarism. Moreover, it has been argued - based on limited empirical evidence - that perceptions of plagiarism depend on cultural and other determinants. The authors explored, by means of an online survey among 46 reputable universities in Europe and China, how plagiarism is perceived by biomedical researchers in both regions.

METHODS

We collected work e-mail addresses of biomedical researchers identified through the websites of 13 reputable universities in Europe and 33 reputable universities in China and invited them to participate in an online anonymous survey. Our questionnaire was designed to assess respondents' views about plagiarism by asking whether they considered specific practices as plagiarism. We analyzed if respondents in China and Europe responded differently, using logistic regression analysis with adjustments for demographic and other relevant factors.

RESULTS

The authors obtained valid responses from 204 researchers based in China (response rate 2.1%) and 826 researchers based in Europe (response rate 5.6%). Copying text from someone else's publication without crediting the source, using idea(s) from someone else's publication without crediting the source and republishing one's own work in another language without crediting the source were considered as plagiarism by 98, 67 and 64%, respectively. About one-third of the respondents reported to have been unsure whether they had been plagiarizing. Overall, the pattern of responses was similar among respondents based in Europe and China. Nevertheless, for some items significant differences did occur in disadvantage of Chinese respondents.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate that nearly all biomedical researchers understand (and disapprove of) the most obvious forms of plagiarism, but uncertainties and doubts were apparent for many aspects. And the minority of researchers who did not recognize some types of plagiarism as plagiarism was larger among China-based respondents than among Europe-based respondents. The authors conclude that biomedical researchers need clearer working definitions of plagiarism in order to deal with grey zones.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial applications of biopolymers: A review

Biopolymers have generated mounting interest among researchers and industrialists over the recent past. Rising consciousness on the use of eco-friendly materials as green alternatives for fossil-based biopolymers has shifted the research focus towards biopolymers. Advances in technologies have opened up new windows of opportunities to explore the potential of biopolymers. In this context, this review presents a critique on applications of biopolymers in relation to antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Some biopolymers are reported to contain inherent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, whereas, some biopolymers, which do not possess such inherent properties, are used as carriers for other biopolymers or additives having these properties. Modifications are often performed in order to improve the properties of biopolymers to suit them for different applications. This review aims at presenting an overview on recent advances in the use of biopolymers with special reference to their antioxidant and antimicrobial applications in various fields.

Pickering emulsions: Versatility of colloidal particles and recent applications

The versatility of colloidal particles endows the particle stabilized or Pickering emulsions with unique features and can potentially enable the fabrication of a wide variety of derived materials. We review the evolution and breakthroughs in the research on the use of colloidal particles for the stabilization of Pickering emulsions in recent years for the particle categories of inorganic particles, polymer-based particles, and food-grade particles. Moreover, based on the latest works, several emulsions stabilized by the featured particles and their derived functional materials, including enzyme immobilized emulsifiers for interfacial catalysis, 2D colloidal materials stabilized emulsions as templates for porous materials, and Pickering emulsions as adjuvant formulations, are also summarized. Finally, we point out the gaps in the current research on the applications of Pickering emulsions and suggest future directions for the design of particulate stabilizers and preparation methods for Pickering emulsions and their derived materials.

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We review the evolution and breakthroughs in the research on the use of colloidal particles for the stabilization of Pickering emulsions in recent years for the particle categories of inorganic particles, polymer-based particles, and food-grade particles.

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We discuss recent emulsions stabilized by the featured particles and their derived functional materials, including enzyme immobilized emulsifiers for interfacial catalysis, 2D colloidal materials stabilized emulsions as templates for porous materials, and Pickering emulsions as adjuvant formulations.

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We point out the gaps in the current research on the applications of Pickering emulsions and suggest future directions for the design of particulate stabilizers and preparation methods for Pickering emulsions and their derived materials.

Main findings and advances in bioinformatics and biomedical engineering- IWBBIO 2018

In the current supplement, we are proud to present seventeen relevant contributions from the 6th International Work-Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (IWBBIO 2018), which was held during April 25-27, 2018 in Granada (Spain). These contributions have been chosen because of their quality and the importance of their findings.

Resolved and unresolved bioethical authenticity problems

Respect for autonomy is a central moral principle in bioethics. It is sometimes argued that authenticity, i.e., being "real," "genuine," "true to oneself," or similar, is crucial to a person's autonomy. Patients sometimes make what appears to be inauthentic decisions, such as when (decision-competent) anorexia nervosa patients refuse treatment to avoid gaining weight, despite that the risk of harm is very high. If such decisions are inauthentic, and therefore non-autonomous, it may be the case they should be overridden for paternalist reasons. However, it is not clear what justifies the judgment that someone or something is inauthentic. This article discusses one recent theory of what justifies judgments of inauthenticity. It is argued that the theory is seriously limited, as it only provides guidance in three out of nine identified cases. There are at least six authenticity-related problems to be solved, and autonomy theorists thus have reason to engage with the topic of authenticity in practical biomedicine.

Stimuli-responsive self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs): Structures, functions, and biomedical applications

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have received a significant amount of attention from the researchers. It is used as a nanomaterial for various applications due to its excellent physiochemical properties for the last few decades. Self-assembly is a phenomenon where autonomous reorganization of randomly oriented species occurs elegantly. Self-assembly is responsible for the formation of the hierarchical cholesteric structure of CNCs. This process is highly influenced by several factors, such as the surface chemistry of the nanoparticles, intermolecular forces, and the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. Various conventional experimental designs and molecular dynamics (MD) studies have been applied to determine the possible mechanism of self-assembly in CNCs. Different external factors, like pH, temperature, magnetic/electric fields, vacuum, also influence the self-assembly process in CNCs. Notably, better responses have been observed in CNCs-grafted polymer nanocomposites. These functionalized CNCs with stimuli-responsive self-assembly have immense practical applications in modern biotechnology and medicine. Herein, we have concisely discussed the mechanism of the self-assembled CNCs in the presence of different external factors such as pH, temperature, electric/magnetic fields, and their biomedical applications.

FLIR vs SEEK thermal cameras in biomedicine: comparative diagnosis through infrared thermography

BACKGROUND

In biomedicine, infrared thermography is the most promising technique among other conventional methods for revealing the differences in skin temperature, resulting from the irregular temperature dispersion, which is the significant signaling of diseases and disorders in human body. Given the process of detecting emitted thermal radiation of human body temperature by infrared imaging, we, in this study, present the current utility of thermal camera models namely FLIR and SEEK in biomedical applications as an extension of our previous article.

RESULTS

The most significant result is the differences between image qualities of the thermograms captured by thermal camera models. In other words, the image quality of the thermal images in FLIR One is higher than SEEK Compact PRO. However, the thermal images of FLIR One are noisier than SEEK Compact PRO since the thermal resolution of FLIR One is 160 × 120 while it is 320 × 240 in SEEK Compact PRO.

CONCLUSION

Detecting and revealing the inhomogeneous temperature distribution on the injured toe of the subject, we, in this paper, analyzed the imaging results of two different smartphone-based thermal camera models by making comparison among various thermograms. Utilizing the feasibility of the proposed method for faster and comparative diagnosis in biomedical problems is the main contribution of this study.

Biomimetic detoxifier Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. silver nanoparticles: innate green bullets for morbific pathogens and persistent pollutants

Silver nanoparticles were fabricated in the presence and absence of light with silver nitrate and aqueous extract of Prunus cerasifera leaf via facile and one-pot green method. P. cerasifera leaf extract reduced and stabilized the nanoparticles with phytometabolites expunging the need for addition of external reducing agents. Optimized silver nanoparticle syntheses was done with variations in leaf extract concentration, time, temperature, and molarity for deciphering the photocatalytic, antifungal, and antibacterial potential of synthesized nanoparticles. Optical, compositional, and morphological analyses of the synthesized nanoparticles were done by UV-visible spectrometry (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Formation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed firstly through UV-Vis by exhibition of peaks with 400-450 nm. FTIR confirmed the presence of major organic groups responsible for reduction of nanoparticles. AFM confirmed the spherical morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles with remarkable dispersion without any agglomeration. Phytochemical analysis for P. cerasifera leaf metabolites was done by GC-MS. Spherical nanoparticles having a size range of 57-144 nm were obtained with face-centered cubic crystals. The average crystallite size obtained from XRD spectra was 2.34 nm. Enhanced photocatalytic first-order kinetics were obtained for persistent organic pollutants, i.e., crystal violet, methylene blue, and malachite green (R² = 0.99, 0.99, 0.98) in less than 15 min. Biomedical and agricultural significance as an antibiotic drug and utilization as a fungicides substitute was explored against nine resistant microbes. Statistically significant variations were analyzed via one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis test and specific multi comparison tests. Active to highly active inhibition zones manifested the use of biogenic silver nanoparticles as potential candidate for applications in biological arenas and as environmental remediators.

Analysis of biomedical Spanish articles retracted between 1970 and 2018

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

To analyse articles retracted due to irregularities by authors helps to determine the state of scientific integrity of a discipline or country. The Retraction Watch (RW) database is the largest worldwide database on retracted articles. The objective was to determine the reasons for and features of retracted biomedical articles by Spanish authors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A search was conducted in the RW database of 7 types of scientific articles from 9 biomedicine disciplines -biology, genetics, medicine, microbiology, neurosciences, nutrition, dentistry, public health and toxicology-, with at least one author working in a Spanish centre, and published between 1970 and 2018. The features of the articles and the reasons for their retraction were recorded.

RESULTS

Of the 18,621 retracted articles, 217 (1%) were by Spanish authors; 155 (74%) were on biomedicine and the types of articles of interest. In most cases, there were several reasons for retracting an article. Research misconduct (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism) and duplication were involved in 25% and 35% of the cases, respectively. Twenty-two percent of the articles were retracted due to errors by the authors or the journals. A dentist retracted 18 articles -all from the same journal and in the same year, 2018-, which accounts for 12% of all retracted biomedicine articles.

CONCLUSION

The number of retracted biomedicine articles by Spanish authors is low. Research misconduct was a frequent reason, with a similar percentage of articles retracted due to honest errors.

Convergence Science to Transform Biomedicine: A Narrative Review

Recently convergence science was proposed and promoted in a large report from US National Science Foundation and Department of Commerce (NSF/DOC). The report was entitled "converging technologies for improving human performance. "It was dealing with converging of four technologies as: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information technology and Cognitive science (NBIC). The report has gained tremendous popularity throughout the academia and scientific world. On Dec 2015 in a monthly meeting of the department of basic science of Iran Academy of Medical Science, the report of NSF/DOC on NBIC has been discussed. A working group has been established for more discussion and application in Iran. Several seminars in this regard have been performed, and presently this technology has been started as pilot in some technical universities in Iran. After US National Research Council (NCR) in the year 2014 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on convergence in biomedicine, the concept opened a new gate to approach solving medical and health care problems; the convergence technology in biomedical sciences has become interested and gained great popularity among the working group of convergence science in academy of medical science. This technology can lead to advances in fighting chronic diseases such as cancer, dementia, psychiatric disorders, disease of aging and others. The following is summary of proposed discussions in several gathered groups of scientists in this field.

Nanozymes for medical biotechnology and its potential applications in biosensing and nanotherapeutics

Recent past years have witnessed the development of several artificial enzymes, using different materials to mimic natural enzymes with respect to their structure and functions. The nanozymes are nanomaterials possessing similar characteristics to the natural enzymes and have emerged recently as an innovative class of artificial enzymes. The nanozymes have got remarkable attention from the researchers and notable developments have been achieved owing to their unique properties compared with natural enzymes and classic artificial enzymes. In this regard, several nanomaterials have been scrutinized so far to mimic different natural enzymes for wider applications ranging from imaging, sensing, water treatment, pollutant removal, and therapeutics. The applications of nanozymes in biomedicine research are fast-growing and various nanozymes have been implicated in diagnostic medicine, targeted cancer therapy. Such abilities make them an appropriate alternative for the development of affordable, sustainable and safe diagnostic as well as therapeutic agents.