iraj nabipour

Iron-deficiency anemia in older adults is often neglected. It can play an important role in the occurrence of frailty syndrome. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia and its association with frailty syndrome in older adults from Bushehr, south of Iran.

Iron-deficiency anemia in older adults is often neglected. It can play an important role in the occurrence of frailty syndrome. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia and its association with frailty syndrome in older adults from Bushehr, south of Iron-deficiency anemia in older adults is often neglected. It can play an important role in the occurrence of frailty syndrome. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia and its association with frailty syndrome in older adults from Bushehr, south of

Among participants, 50.51% were women and the rest were men. The prevalence of frailty syndrome was 18.53%, and 58.2% were pre-frail. The prevalence of anemia in frail people was 13.92%, while in non-frail people it was 8.11%. Multiple logistic regression results indicated a significant association between frailty syndrome and the factors of anemia, depression, age, walking speed, and hand grip strength (P<0.05).

Given the prevalence of anemia and frailty syndrome in older adults from Bushehr, and the significant association between anemia and frailty syndrome, it is essential to plan for prevention and effective interventions in this regard.

Regenerative medicine is an emerging multidisciplinary branch of science that addresses the replacement, engineering, and re-engineering of cells, tissues or organs in order to establish or restore their normal functions. According to the basic concepts of regenerative medicine, marine regenerative medicine (MRM), inspired by marine organisms, can be defined as following the regenerative medicine strategies to develop regenerative medicine products for clinical applications.

The common framework of the proposed convergence roadmap of the Albright Strategy Group, which consists of four steps, was used to develop the roadmap for the development of MRM in I.R. Iran. The first step is definition and scope of MRM; the second step shows the direction to MRM based on its structure and fundamental elements; the third step discloses the most competitive technologies in MRM; and the fourth step presents an investment summary and action plan for MRM in the I.R. Iran.

Five strategies may be considered for the development of MRM in I.R. Iran. 1. The establishment of a center of excellence for research in MRM in the south of Iran; 2. Networking and establishment of a common platform for MRM with the regenerative medicine community; 3. Establishing connections with industries and the world of business; 4. Educating and training the next generation of human resources to provide a critical national mass of workforce for MRM; 5. The development of biological models, tools and techniques of MRM.

Since research on marine stem cells, whole body regeneration (WBR) of marine organisms, application of advanced biomaterials, and the principles of regenerative pharmacology are fundamental pillars for MRM, these structural elements should be considered in the roadmap draft of MRM in I.R. Iran.

Razi is one of the greatest physicians in the history of medicine, and his book, Al-Hawi, is one of the most reliable medical resources. The structure of Al-Hawi is such that in each section, Razi expresses the opinion of his predecessors and contemporary physicians after mentioning the name of each physician and also expresses his first-hand experiences after the phrase “My View”. To date, ten original papers have explored the surgical points raised in Razi’s works; however, none of these studies have extensively reviewed the entire scientific approach of Razi to surgical sciences in Al-Hawi.

The source of the present library research was the original text of Al-Hawi compiled by Ehsan Moqaddas and its Persian translation by Mohammad Ibrahim Zaker. In this study, Razi’s views, which are discussed in the "My View" sections, were collected, and his ideas about the principles and knowledge of surgery were investigated.

A total of 48 topics in surgical sciences were found in Al-Hawi, most of which (23 out of 48) were in the therapeutic domain, and ophthalmic surgery was the most frequently-discussed topic (in 12 out of 48). In 26 (54%) of the cases, Razi addressed the topic independently, without discussing any opinions from his predecessors or contemporary physicians.

Not only did Razi have a comprehensive understanding of the position, precautions, necessary subtleties and contraindications of surgical measures, but also in various examples, he presented original ideas on diagnosis and treatment with regard to topics in surgery.

Sclerostin, a protein encoded by the SOST gene, is an important genetic risk factor for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. This study was conducted on the Iranian postmenopausal women, to investigate the association between this gene and the Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) as a novel index used for assessing osteoporosis.

The present study, conducted in 2024, was performed on 1071 women aged 60 years and older who participated in the Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program. The associations between seven independent Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) within the SOST gene and mean TBS of L1 to L4 were examined using the additive, dominant, and recessive models. Genetic risk scores (GRS) were calculated for each postmenopausal woman based on the coefficient regressions derived from the additive and dominant models. The relationship between the GRS quartiles and TBS was evaluated using a linear regression model.

After adjusting for age and Body Mass Index (BMI), the associations between the rs2023794-C and TBS were significant in the additive (β = 0.03, P= 4.7×10-5, PFDR= 0.0003) and dominant (β = 0.032, P= 5×10-5, PFDR= 0.0003) models. The GRS derived from both additive and dominant models were related to TBS (P<0.05). For the additive model GRS, TBS showed an average increase of 0.022 score for the fourth quartile in comparison with the first quartile, adjusted for age, BMI, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and smoking status (P=0.001).

SOST gene is associated with TBS and may have implications for personalized medicine. Targeting sclerostin through SOST could offer a therapeutic approach in managing osteoporosis in high-risk postmenopausal women.

At first, education was the university’s only goal; nevertheless, scientific progress in the twentieth century added research to the universities’ missions. The industry sector’s knowledge-based technologies added a third mission to universities and brought the university into new fields. The fourth-generation universities provided a more comprehensive view by considering the four elements including university, industry, government, and civil society and the next generation (the fifth generation) of universities also considered the environment in addition to these four elements. The present study examined the optimal conditions and requirements for new-generation medical universities (third- to fifth-generation universities). This review study extracted 187 scientific documents from domestic and foreign databases and after screening, 56 documents were selected for the study. Finally, the propositions relevant to the objective of the study were extracted and categorized using content analysis. This study identified 17 optimal conditions for transitioning to new-generation universities. Moreover, 41 requirements were extracted and listed for achieving these conditions, each under its corresponding condition. New-generation universities are known as borderless and accountable universities. Thus, the communication and exchange of knowledge, capital, and value with institutions outside the university at the local, national, and international levels as well as accountability to the needs created at these levels are the main principles of new-generation universities. Given the unique structure of the Iranian health system and the infrastructure for communicating with society, by fulfilling other requirements, this structure can facilitate the transition to new-generation medical universities.

Planetary health is a concept that denotes the human health is connected with Earth’s natu-ral systems and they are not separable from each other. Planetary health indicates for the importance of Earth’s natural systems in terms of averted cases of disease and the potential harm that arises from human-caused perturbations of these systems.

In order to evaluate the perspective of medical students of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences about planetary health in relation to medical profession, the method of focus group discussion (FGD) was used. Four sessions of FGDs with participation of 21 medical student were de-signed. The level of their knowledge on climate change and its relationship with human health (the first goal), the scope of physicians’ duty in connection with planetary health, and how to introduce this duty to medical students (the second goal) were the keystones of the FDG sessions.

The medical students were thoroughly aware of climate change and its impacts on environment via the media and their personal experiments. They also had a high level of knowledge about the close relation of human-caused perturbations with human health. The majority of participants believed that the attention to bioenvironmental challenges should be among the ethical and organizational duty of the future physicians. The use of attractive and multimedia approaches in association with field work were emphasized to improve the level of medical students’ knowledge about topics of planetary health.

It is possible to integrate planetary health educations into the medical curricula by avoid-ance of traditional methods and turning to innovative and creative approaches in the format of interdisci-plinary and field works. Hence, the future physicians will attain a sufficient level of knowledge in order to combat with human-caused climate perturbations.

The current study assessed hepatoprotective effects of Sargassum boveanum (S. boveanum) in cholestatic rats. To induce cholestasis, bile duct ligation (BDL) was utilized. Five groups of Sprague-Dawley rats including Sham and four BDL groups were assigned to receive vehicle (BDL-V) or ethanolic extract of S. boveanum at 100 (BDL-SE 100), 200 (BDL-SE 200) and 500 (BDL-SE 500) mg/kg/day for seven days. BDL group receiving the vehicle (BDL-V) had substantially increased blood levels of alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total, and indirect bilirubin in comparison to the sham group. S. boveanum significantly decreased these variables compared to the BDL-V group. Hepatic malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level, and nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and TNF-α gene expression were higher in BDL-V rats compared to the sham group but these were reduced markedly in BDL groups receiving S. boveanum in comparison to the BDL-V group. BDL-V group had a significantly lower hepatic glutathione value, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and gene expression of SOD, GPx, Nrf2, HO-1 in comparison to the sham group. S. boveanum prevented the decrease of these variables. The histopathological assay showed marked bile ducts proliferation, portal inflammation, and hepatocellular damage in the BDL-V group and S. boveanum administration remarkably reduced hepatic injury. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis revealed that S. boveanum ethanolic extract contained 39 active compounds. S. boveanum treatment significantly ameliorated cholestatic hepatic injury via anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.

Since the end of the twentieth century, the concept of emerging technologies and their science network and governance have been considered by academia, media and policy makers. The emerging technologies are “radically novel or disruptive and relatively fast-developing, but still nascent, scientific-technological developments that may have prominent economic, environment or social impacts”.

In focus group discussions with the presence of experts in science and technology (expert panel), their opinions about the emerging technologies were recorded. Subsequently, a list of these technologies that were determined by brain storming in the expert panel, was categorized in subsectors of the Roco and Bainbridge convergence foundational science and technology system (Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno-AI, in brief NBICA).

There is considerable opportunity in the emerging science and technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, telemedicine and digital health, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, synthetic biology, gene editing, neurotechnology, biosensors, 3D printing and robotics) for achieving scientific authority, promotion of justice and creation of social security. The majority of these emerging technologies were revealed to be converging technologies in nature. Therefore, they produce significant challenges in the biosafety and biosecurity domains.

There is a strategic opportunity in the convergence foundational science and technology system (NBICA). Wonderful advancements can be achieved in health sector, therapeutic and drug development, social security and justice with the help of these emerging technologies. Hence, a particular attention should be paid to approaches for achieving scientific authority in converging technologies.

Ethnopharmacology is a very diverse approach to drug discovery that involves the observation, description, and experimental study of native drugs and their biological activities based on botany, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and other disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, history, and linguistics that helps discovering of natural products with biological activity. The aim of this study was to identify medicinal plants that have a traditional use in the north and west of Dashtestan county, Bushehr in the north of Persian Gulf.

The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 25 local informants by face-to-face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated.

A total of 117 medicinal plants related to 63 families were identified in the north and west of Dashtestan region. Zataria multiflora, Cuminum cyminum, Aloe vera, Achillea eriophora DC, Matricario chamomilla, Echium amoenum, Trachyspermum copticum, Foeniculum vulgare, Plantago psyllium,
Fumaria parviflora and Nigella sativa had the highest cultural importance index. The highest medical uses were for gastrointestinal discomforts, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, pediatric problems, kidney and urinary tract diseases, OB & Gyn problems, psychiatric and neurological diseases, dermatologic and the metabolic disorders, respectively. The native people used some of these medicinal plants for some diseases which these usages were unique for this region. For example, they used Achillea eriophora DC for ulcers, abscesses, and carbuncles, Matricario chamomilla for fever and abdominal discomfort, Echium amoenum for promotion of labor pain, Plantago psyllium for purulent infections, Fumaria parviflora for neonatal jaundice and Nigella sativa for musculoskeletal pains.

There is a vast variety of medicinal plants in the north and west of Dashtestan region. Although most of the therapeutic applications of these plants in this area are the same as Iran’s traditional medicine, the people in this region use some of these plants for some diseases which these usages are unique for this region. Thus, investigation about these plants should be initiated to discover novel drugs for clinical applications.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has been revealed some pathogenic mechanisms which are indicating the role of virus in the pathogenesis of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. COVID-19 results in deterioration of glycemic control in diabetic patients and even in some cases developed new onset diabetes mellitus which are indicating the possible interfering role of SARS-CoV-2 in different metabolic pathways. Furthermore, during COVID-19 exacerbation of inactivated or de novo autoimmune diseases have been reported which indicate the causative role of virus in the stimulation of immune system and aggravation of autoimmune diseases through different mechanisms. In this report, a 31 year old male case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been introduced who developed flu like illness, generalized edema and renal failure following the administration of third dose of Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 (Sinopharm Beijing institute of Biological Products, China). During hospital course, proper therapeutic response was not achieved despite biopsy proven class IV lupus nephritis and standard therapy with methyl prednisolone and cyclophosphamide. He discharged with administration of routine hemodialysis thrice weekly. According to the course of disease, findings of biopsy and serologic tests, there were some challenging scenarios that are discussed in this report.

Microplastics, as emerging and persistent pollutants, are ubiquitous in different environmental compartments and could be considered an ecological threat to wildlife and humans.

In the present review article, the existing studies on the presence of microplastics in water, sediments, and aquatic organisms of the Persian Gulf were reviewed with regard to different sampling techniques, samples preparation, and identification methods. 

The results indicated that the contributions of various countries to microplastics pollution of the Persian Gulf were different. The findings from the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf (especially for coastal sediments) showed higher pollution than its Arabian side. Blue and black fibers were the most predominant types of microplastics in the Persian Gulf. Based on the results, low density microplastics were more dominant in the water column, while high-density plastics were mostly found in sediments. The predominant types of microplastics in marine organisms were related to their habitats.

Microplastics contamination is a severe threat to the Persian Gulf’s environment. However, the lack of harmonized procedure for microplastics sampling, preparation, analysis, and report makes the comparison of different studies challenging. For instance, four studies reported the level of microplastics in seawater of the Persian Gulf with three different units. Hence, we suggest all studies use the same methodologies in the Persian Gulf to increase the comparability of the results.

Sarcopenia can be measured by a variety of indicators, and in many cases these indicators are quite positively correlated. With the aim of improving statistical model results, the objective of this study was to use multivariate methods to identify genetic variants affecting sarcopenia indices simultaneously.

GWAS analysis was performed based on data collected from 2426 Iranians aged 60 and over who were enrolled in the Bushehr Elderly Health program (BEH). DNA samples were collected from all subjects during this phase to measure prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors. To analyze BEH DNA samples, we used a combination of Multiphen test, which is a linear combination of phenotypes most associated with genotypes, and GATES, a gene-based association test that can handle millions of SNP results efficiently and that can assess gene-level statistical significance.

The upper and lower 50 kb of the IL10 gene are extracted from chromosome 1 at the position (206940947, 206945839). The next step was done to calculate P-values for SNPs in this gene of SMI and handgrip using Multiphen (joint model). In the Gates method, these P-values are used to calculate the overall P-value (0.046). Given the fact that this value is less than 5%, it is clear that this gene has been effective in preventing sarcopenia in the Iranian elderly population. The tutorial describes how Multiphen and Gates can be used to analyze sarcopenia, a multifactorial disease. In this study, the gene Il10 (P-value = 0.046) was analyzed as a risk gene for sarcopenia.

GWAS (Genome-wide association study) is a primary method for identifying genetic variants that influence the phenotype of a disease. Multi-phenotype analysis, which evaluates multiple phenotypes associated with the disease, can, however, identify additional genetic associations associated with the disease. An alternative to univariate GWAS, Multiphen tests the most related linear combinations of multifactorial diseases using a multi-phenotypic approach rather than univariate GWAS. The overall P-value of the selected gene is determined by using Gates, a gene-based analysis.

The rapid and increasing growth of technology in the artificial intelligence era and its impact on fundamentals changes in the development of science including biomedicine and health presents a need for the future studies in medical sciences. This project is striving to provide a desirable model based on authentic forecasting models in order to clarify the probable and uncertain futures of medicine and health in Iran, with their complexities. 

The Jay Ogilvy’s eight steps scenario planning and strategic forecasting was engaged in a five phases model including the identification approach (phase 1) for detection of paradigms in medicine; the extrapolation approach (phase 2) for detection of megatrends and key technologies in medicine and healthcare; the convergence approach (phase 3) for discovering of critical uncertainties and achieving to the logic of scenario; the creative approach (phase 4) for composition of the scenario and technology roadmap; the policy making approach (phase 5) for planning of strategies and tactics.

In the first phase, it was revealed that the realm of medicine is under a huge disruption and the current medicine is going to systems medicine with precision medicine in its scope. In the second phase, it was clarified that the convergence of knowledge, technology and society (CKTS) is a megatrend that drives medical sciences to “deep medicine”. In the third phase, it was unfolded that CKTS and “deep medicine” including deep phenotyping of the patient using multiple omics technologies are cardinal key points that not realization of their goals in Iran would lead to a deep and critical gap in advanced and updated medicine and healthcare between Iran and the developed countries. In the fourth phase, four possible scenarios for the future of medicine and healthcare in Iran were described in which the ideal scenario would be flourishing of deep medicine along CKTS. In the fifth phase, three strategies were developed in order to realize the ideal scenario including 1/ the establishment of knowledge regions, mediated by universities; 2/ moving toward digital health and artificial intelligence; 3/ driving forces for precision medicine

The establishment of infrastructures and preparedness for realizing precision medicine and moving toward digital health and artificial intelligence are crucial strategies to achieve the ideal future of medicine in Iran. These important issues should be considered as national priorities by policy makers and programmers in the realm of medical sciences.

Enki/Ea, the God of wisdom and deep had a prominent role in incantations and healing rituals. He was the creature of apkallus (the seven sages). These seven sages were distributing the wisdom and power of Enki/Ea among people. Oannes (Adapa) was one of the apkallus who was a hybrid of gish-man with the Enki/Ea ‘s power in healing and wisdom. Hence, the Mesopotamian priests who imitated Oannes and resorted to him, dressed in the bodies of fish hanging from their back, complete with caudal and dorsal fines, presented over the patients’ beds for healing rituals. Sometimes, induction of emesis, enema, and fumigation were also used by them. The presence of the fish-man hybrid of Oannes (Adapa), as one of the seven sages in the carving of Kourosh’s palace in Pasargad indicates a powerful influence of the Mesopotamian medicine on
Achaemenid Empire.

A surprisingly large number of sea snail species are venomous. Cone snail venoms are produced in a lengthy tubular duct from a complex venom gland and form a cocktail of many toxins, particularly conotoxins which have high potency and specificity for their target specific receptors. They inhibit various channels, neuromuscular receptors or hormones of the victim, and interfere in the transmitted signals of the prey, or dissuade predators. Cone snails have an amazing ability to quickly convert between two different types of defense-evoked and predation-evoked venoms in response to defensive or predatory stimuli. Various conotoxins and conopeptides such as α-conotoxins, σ-conotoxins, ω-conotoxins, μ-conotoxins, ψ-conotoxins, τ-conotoxins, δ-conotoxins, κ-conotoxins and conkunitzins, conantokins, contryphans, Ac1 conotoxins, conoinsulins, granulin-like conotoxins from conoides; augerpeptides derived from the venom peptide family Terebridae; turripeptides from the venom peptide family Turridae; crassipeptides venom peptides from Crassispirids; clathurellipeptides from venomous micro-conoides Clathurellidae, and other toxins such as RFamide peptides and endogenous neuropeptide-like peptides such as conopressins, as well as contulakins have been found in cone snail venoms, which have demonstrated remarkable biological and pharmacological functions. Given the approval of some conotoxins, such as the analgesic medication ziconitide (Prialt®) in clinical trials as well as their biomedical potential, current research has focused on these toxins. The use of integrated venomics approaches has dramatically accelerated the detection of conotoxin sequences. It is anticipated that a better understanding and identification of conotoxins and other toxins derived from other sea snails will lead to their use for the treatment of diseases to which humans have succumbed.

 Sponges produce a wide range of toxins and secondary metabolites. The deadly poisons of some of them contain the strongest toxins known in nature and complex mixtures of bioactive compounds with different chemical structures. One of the aims of this systematic review study is to study the toxinology of sea sponges as well as toxins and bioactive compounds and their functional mechanisms.

To find studies on the toxicology of sea sponges and their bioactive compounds, in April 2021, the keywords of "toxinology, toxin, secondary metabolite, alkaloid, peptide, terpene, aromatic, steroid and lactone" along with the word "sponge" or "Porifra" were searched through the Google Scholar and Pubmed databases, from 2017 to 2021. After initial reviews based on the purpose of the study, 184 out of 211 articles were selected. The search for “Porifra” and the abovementioned compounds did not yield any results. Since the limited number of studies on sponge toxins were found in the initial search, the keywords "sponge and toxin" were re-searched between 1980 and 2021 in the Pubmed database, Scifinder (database of chemical compounds) and the Marin Lit Database (marine natural compounds research), and after omitting the duplicate articles, a total of 27 other related articles were selected and reviewed along with other selected articles.

Some toxins and main compounds isolated from different sea sponges, including different chemical groups such as okadaic acid; terpene derivatives such as agelasine, oxofasciospongia, dysivillosins, and hipposponlachnins; peptides such as polytheonamides, soritesidines, and scleritodermins; many different alkaloid compounds include guanidine alkaloids such as monanchocidins, mycalins, crambescidins, unguiculins, netamines, zarzissine, hachijodines; Acridine alkaloids such as amphimedines; bromine and bromotyrosine alkaloids such as aplysinins; benzonaphthryidine derivatives such as aaptamines; imidazole derivatives such as nonamidines; indole derivatives such as fascaplysins, dragmacidins and topsentins; piperidine alkaloids such as saraines, madangamines, haliclonacyclamines, and arenosclerins; pyrimidine alkaloids such as lanesoic acid,  hyrtinadine, and variolins; pyridine alkaloids such as amphimedosides and pyrinadines; pyrrole and pyrroloiminoquinoline alkaloids such as makaluvamine, discorhabdins, tsitsikammamines and batzellines; pyrrole compounds such as hymenialdisines as well as quinoline alkaloids such as araguspongines, renieramycins, renierol and lihouidine; steroid compounds such as plakinamines; lactones such as thorectandrols, palauolol, koshikamides, petrosaspongias, latrunculins and other compounds with unique structure and biological effects.

There is a great variety of toxins and bioactive molecules in different species of sea sponges that offer a wide range of amazing pharmacological and biological activities.

During 2019, the number of patients suffering from cough, fever and reduction of WBC’s count increased. At the beginning, this mysterious illness was called “fever with unknown origin” but now, it is known as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The SARS-CoV-2 is one member of great family of coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are enveloped positive-stranded RNA viruses. The SARS-CoV-2 has some particular structures for infecting, reproducing and causing damage. The SARS-CoV-2 can bind angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE‐2) receptors and cause various difficulties for human. The SARS-CoV-2 can cause both serious and not-serious issues for mankind. Malayan pangolin and bat are the most suspicious candidate for being sources of the SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by various ways such as transmitting from infected human to healthy human and can make severe pneumonia, which can lead to death. The SARS-CoV-2 can infect different kind of people with different ages, races, and social and economic levels. The SARS‐CoV‐2 infection can cause various sorts of clinical manifestations like cough and fever and intensity of signs and symptoms depends on sufferer conditions. Clinicians use all of available documents and tests for diagnosing new cases and curing patients with high accuracy. At the present time, there is no particular way for treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. It seems that the best way for standing against the SARS-CoV-2 infection is preventing from it by social distancing and vaccination. This review tries to prepare an essential brief update about SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide. Since then, scientists have searched to find an effective treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this regard, several antiviral drugs are currently undergoing clinical trial studies to evaluate their safety and efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. Some of these drugs have been designed based on this fact that SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus and previous studies showed the efficacy of anti-RNA virus, single strand RNA inhibiting antisense RNAs (asRNAs), for silencing virus replication, in vitro. Exosomes can be suggested as a promising candidate to transfer the anti-SARS-CoV-2 asRNAs to human respiratory epithelium. Exosomes are secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and can be loaded by asRNAs of an anti-RNA virus. MSCs-secreted exosomes as a nano-cargo of asRNAs of anti-SARS-CoV-2 have other therapeutic potentials such as immunomodulatory effects of their cytokine contents, affinity to respiratory epithelial attachment, anti-fibrotic activity in lung, non-toxicity for normal cells, and not triggering an immune response. Moreover, inhalation of anti-SARS-CoV-2 asRNAs may stop SARS-CoV-2 replication. Producing specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 asRNAs by targeting the genome of virus and their delivery by MSCs exosomes are suggested and discussed. This approach will potentially shed light on gene therapy of the other human lung diseases via inhalational delivery using exosomes in future.

Ethnopharmacology, as a multidisciplinary approach for novel drug discovery, provides valuable data about medicinal plants in different cultures.The aim of this ethnopharmacological study was to identify medicinal plants in the Giskan mountain area.

The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 20 local nformants by face-to-face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated.

A total of 126 medicinal plants belonging to 58 families were identified. Zataria multiflora, Achillea eriophora DC, Matricario chamomilla, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Pistacia Atlantica, Plantago psyllium, Teucirum polium, Scrophularia striata, Cichorium intybus, Foeniculum vulgare had the highest CI and FRC indices. The highest medical uses were for respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal discomforts, obstetrics and gynecology, general conditions (temprament and weakness), infectious diseases and  metabolic disorders.

There is a vast variety of medicinal plants in the Giskan mountain area. Although most of the therapeutic applications of these plants in this area are the same as Iran’s traditional medicine, the people in the Giskan mountain area use some of these plants for some diseases which are unique for this region. Thus, investigation about these plants should be initiated to discover novel drugs for clinical applications.

Sea hares of the Aplysia genus are among the mollusks of interest for various researchers to study their phylogeny, bioactive compounds and the nervous system. These mollusks are herbivorous and produce chemical compounds (ink) to defend themselves. The present study provided molecular identification of the Persian Gulf (Bushehr city) sea hare using 16s rRNA gene sequence.

Sampling was done in coastal waters of Bushehr (Bushehr Province, Iran). Total DNA was extracted using CTAB method and target DNA was amplified by 16sar-L and 16sbr-H universal primers. For phylogenetic analysis, both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian methods (by RAxML and Mr. Bayes programs, respectively) were used. For ML algorithm, 1000 bootstrap replicates were generated. In Bayesian approach, the program was implemented for 20 million generations and one tree for every 1000 generations was sampled.

Based on the obtained tree from ML method, Persian Gulf sea hare and Aplysia dactylomela were placed in a clade with 87% bootstrap and high posterior probability (PP=1). The obtained phylogenetic tree from Bayesian approach showed similar topology. The Persian Gulf sea hare with 95.8% bootstrap and PP=1 was again supported in the sister group of A. dactylomela.

The results from the molecular analysis of 16s rRNA gene sequence indicate probable existence of a new species of sea hare in the Persian Gulf region. In order to determine the exact position of the present species, the phylogenetic analysis of COI gene sequence and morphological characteristics are essentials.

Ethnopharmacology, as a multidisciplinary approach for novel drug discovery, provides valuable data about medicinal plants in different cultures. The aim of this ethnopharmacological study was to identify medicinal plants in the south of Dashtestan area in the north of the Persian Gulf.

The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 20 local nformants by face-to-face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated.

A total of 97 medicinal plants belonging to 51 families were identified. Zataria multiflora, Achillea eriophora DC, Matricario chamomilla, Nigella sativa, Foeniculum vulgare, Echium amoenum, Boswellia sp., Trachyspermum copticum, Astragulus fasciculifolius, and Zingiber officinale had the highest CI and FRC indices. The highest medical uses were for gastrointestinal discomforts, metabolic disorders, obstetrics and gynecology, and respiratory diseases.

There is a vast variety of medicinal plants in the south of Dashtestan area. Although most of the therapeutic applications of these plants in this area are the same as Iran’s traditional medicine, the people in the south of Dashtestan area use some of these plants for some diseases which are unique for this region. Thus, investigation about these plants should be initiated to discover novel drugs for clinical applications.

Ethnopharmacology is a very diverse approach to drug discovery that involves the observation, description, and experimental study of native drugs and their biological activities based on botany, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and other disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, history, and linguistics that helps discovering of  natural products with biological activity. The aim of this study was to identify medicinal plants that have a traditional use in the Tangestan region of Bushehr in the north of Persian Gulf.

The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 20 local informants by face to face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated.

A total of 109 medicinal plants belonging to 55 families were identified. Zataria multiflora, Descuraninia Sophia, Matricarria charmomilla, Achillea eriophora DC, Salvia mirzayanii, Plantago psyllium, Haplophyllum tuberculatum, Teucrium polium, Prunus amygdalus had the highest CI and FRC indices. The highest medical uses were for gastrointestinal problems, infectious diseases, gynecology and obstetrics, metabolic diseases, and skin problems.

There is a wide variety of medicinal plants in the Tangestan region of Bushehr province which are used for  various diseases that are consistent with the traditional medicine uses that are common in Iran and had been reported in the international medical literature. However, in this region, a number of plants are used to treat diseases that are specific to this region and research on these medicinal plants can be the
beginning of a way to discover new drugs in the therapeutic field.

Although the widespread distribution of venomous marine worms around the world, the structural and toxinologcal studies of their toxins are still limited.This study was aimed to evaluate the toxicity of poisonous marine worms. Touching the cilium of Chloeia flava and Sipuncula marine worms cause painful inflammation of the skin. Many species of nemertines prey their victims by a flexible proboscis and dense mucus on the surface of the skin. They have recently been classified into three groups of the Palaeonmertea, Pilidiophora, and Hoplonemertea. Their toxins comprise the three main groups of peptides, pyridine alkaloids, and tetradotoxin and their derivatives. The nicotinoide amphiporine compound, anabaseine and its derivatives, Nemertelline, and anabasine are as alkaloid toxins. They are selectively stimulated the  nicotinic receptors, in particular the type of α-7 receptors. Nemerteans are produced a variety of peptide toxins.The hemolytic activity is the most prominent activity of the cerebratulus toxins A-I to A-IV. Cytotoxin A-III, by forming tetrameric forms in the membranes of many different cells, and creating large pores, makes them very permeable. The toxin inhibits the protein kinase C and the selective cationic sodium and calcium channels of the voltage-gate in the nervous and cardiovascular systems at low lytic concentrations. From four main proteins "Cerebratulus toxins- B-II to B-IV", the toxin B-II performed to be the most toxic compound.The assessment of the Lineus extract showed that they are actually more toxic than Cerebratulus extracts. The neurotoxins α- and β-nemertides, respectively, belong to the family of three and six kilodaltons. The nemertide α-1 is highly potent toxin against the VGSC. Dose-dependent injections have caused permanent paralysis to death. Many toxin genes have been predicted or discovered in the genomes and transcriptoms of nemerteans. The most prominent of the toxin genes were the Plancitoxin-1 sequence, Stichodactyla toxin peptide (Shk toxin), Se-Cephalotoxin, β pore-forming toxin aerolysin, and several neurotoxin-related sequences, such as delta-actitoxin-Amc1a, Perivitellin-2, Mu-theraphotoxin Hhn2a 4 and turripeptide Gsg9.2, different α-, β-nemertides (B-neurotoxins analogs), and Parborlysin. Most likely, the Parborlysins belong to the same family of cytotoxins AI-AIV. Study on these marine organism toxins can provide useful probes for examining receptors, ion channels, and even innate immunity mechanisms against infectious viruses, parasites, and other microbes.

The quintuple helix innovation model has been introduced by E.G. Carayannis and F.J. Campbell. The natural environments of society and the economy are major drivers of this innovation model. The third generation university (the convergence of government, industry and university), the fourth generation universities (the convergence of government, industry, university and civil society) and the fifth generation university (the convergence of government, industry, university, civil society and bio-environment) perform within Triple Helix, Quadruple Helix and Quintuple Helix models, respectively. According to the viewpoints of Carayannis and Campbell, the cardinal characteristics of the fifth generation university could be conceptualized as a knowledge-based innovation system which is sensitive to natural environment of society, produces knowledge within the mode 3 knowledge production framework, supports co-evolution and co-existence of different knowledge paradigms, shapes co-opetitive ecosystem for knowledge management and promotes knowledge democracy.

Very recently, Eric Topol, a physician-scientist, introduced his “deep medicine” theory in 2019. This theory has been originated from the last two decades advancements of systems medicine and digital medicine, science and technology convergence in biological fields and formation of the precision medicine. The transcendent medicine theory that has been derived from Sadr ad-Din Shirazi’s transcendent theosophy looks to medicine with a holistic view.

In extension of the theory of Transcendent medicine, we discussed paradigm shift in medicine with deep medicine theory and its three components were challenged via the viewpoints of transcendent medicine.

The body theosophy which has been derived from the transcendent medicine theory is the counterpart of “deep phenotyping” component of deep medicine. The speculative reason of Ibn-Sins’s science of soul which has been projected in transcendent medicine theory could be compare with “deep learning” component of deep medicine theory. With extraction of Ibn-Arabi’s concept of perfect man and its integration with transcendent medicine, the advanced model this theory could present “deep empathy”, the third component of deep medicine.

The transcendent medicine theory expresses all three components of deep medicine in a unique form. Hence, this theory could be used as a tool in the paradigm shift of modern medicine.