In the present study, we developed a novel approach for functionalization of gelatin nanofibers using the plasma method for tissue engineering applications. For this purpose, tannic acid-crosslinked gelatin nanofibers were fabricated with electrospinning, followed by treatment with argon and argon–oxygen plasmas in a vacuum chamber. Samples were evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, contact angle (CA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The biological activity of plasma treated gelatin nanofibers were further investigated by using fibroblasts as cell models. SEM studies showed that the average diameter and the surface morphology of nanofibers did not change after plasma treatment. However, the mean surface roughness (RMS) of samples were increased due to plasma activation. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated several new bands on plasma treated fibers related to the plasma ionization of nanofibers. The CA test results stated that the surface of nanofibers became completely hydrophilic after argon–oxygen plasma treatment. Finally, increasing the polarity of crosslinked gelatin after plasma treatment resulted in an increase of the number of fibroblast cells. Overall, results expressed that our developed method could open new insights into the application of the plasma process for functionalization of biomedical scaffolds. Moreover, the cooperative interplay between gelatin biomaterials and argon/argon–oxygen plasmas discovered a key composition showing promising biocompatibility towards biological cells. Therefore, we strongly recommend plasma surface modification of nanofiber scaffolds as a pretreatment process for tissue engineering applications.

Background: Acute respiratory infection plays an important role in hospitalization of children in developing countries; detection of viral causes in such infections is very important. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common etiological agent of viral lower respiratory tract infection in children, and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is associated with both upper and lower respiratory tract infections among infants and children. Objectives: This study evaluated the frequency and seasonal prevalence of hMPV and RSV in hospitalized children under the age of five, who were admitted to Aliasghar children’s hospital of Iran University of Medical Sciences from March 2010 until March 2013. Patients and Methods: Nasopharyngeal or throat swabs from 158 hospitalized children with fever and respiratory distress were evaluated for RSV and hMPV RNA by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Results: Among the 158 children evaluated in this study, 49 individuals (31.1%) had RSV infection while nine individuals (5.7%) had hMPV infection. Five (55.5%) of the hMPV-infected children were male while four (44.5%) were female and 27 (55.2%) of the RSV-infected patients were females and 22 (44.8%) were males. The RSV infections were detected in mainly < one year old children and hMPV infections were detected mainly in > one year old children. Both RSV and hMPV infections had occurred mainly during winter and spring seasons. Conclusions: Respiratory syncytial virus was the major cause of acute respiratory infection in children under one-year of age while human metapneumovirus had a low prevalence in this group. The seasonal occurrence of both viruses was the same. Keywords: Human Metapneumovirus; Respiratory Syncytial Virus; Children, PCR

The human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) has a single-stranded RNA genome and expresses specific proteins that have oncogenic potential. Approximately 15 to 20 million people worldwide have been infected by this virus. Changes in protein or gene expression are the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) gene. The function and efficacy of signal transduction also lead to modified immune responses. The present study aimed to investigate the association of SNPs within TLR3 (rs3775291 and rs3775296) with susceptibility to HTLV-1 infection in Iranian asymptomatic blood donors. This study was performed on 100 HTLV-1-infected asymptomatic blood donors and 118 healthy blood donors. Genomic DNA from all participants was purified and then amplified using specific PCR primers. SNPs within TLR3 were evaluated using the restriction fragmentation length polymorphism technique, and the results were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22). The frequencies of the TLR3 (rs3775296) CC, CA, AA genotypes were 70%, 24%, and 6% in the patient group, and 50.8%, 44.9%, and 4.2% in the control group, respectively. There was a significant difference in the frequency distribution of TLR3 (rs3775296) genotypes and alleles, but not in the frequency distribution of TLR3 (rs3775291) genotypes between the patient and control groups. The TLR3 SNP rs3775296 was significantly associated with HTLV-1 infection and may be a protective factor against this viral infection.