Background: Polyoxometalates (POMs) are negatively charged metal-oxo clusters of early transition metal ions in high oxidation states (e.g., WVI, MoVI, VV). POMs are of interest in the fields of catalysis, electronics, magnetic materials and nanotechnology. Moreover, POMs were shown to exhibit biological activities in vitro and in vivo, such as antitumor, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic. Methods: The literature search for this peer-reviewed article was performed using PubMed and Scopus databases with the help of appropriate keywords. Results: This review gives a comprehensive overview of recent studies regarding biological activities of polyoxometalates, and their biomedical applications as promising anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, and anti-diabetic agents. Additionally, their putative mechanisms of action and molecular targets are particularly considered. Conclusion: Although a wide range of biological activities of Polyoxometalates (POMs) has been reported, they are to the best of our knowledge not close to a clinical trial or a final application in the treatment of diabetes or infectious and malignant diseases. Accordingly, further studies should be directed towards determining the mechanism of POM biological actions, which would enable fine-tuning at the molecular level, and consequently efficient action towards biological targets and as low toxicity as possible. Furthermore, biomedical studies should be performed on solutionstable POMs employing physiological conditions and concentrations.
Objectives To evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes in high compared to low-risk pregnancies complicated by SARS-COV-2 infection. Methods This was a multinational retrospective cohort study including women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-COV-2 from 76 centers from 25 different countries in Europe, United States, South America, Asia and Australia from 04 April 2020 till 28 October 2020. The primary outcome was a composite measure of maternal mortality and morbidity including admission to intensive care unit (ICU), use of mechanical ventilation, or death. Secondary outcome was a composite measure of adverse perinatal outcome, including miscarriage, fetal loss, neonatal (NND) and perinatal (PND) death, and admission to neonatal intensive care unit. All these outcomes were assessed in high-risk compared to low-risk pregnancies. Pregnancies were considered as high risk in case of either pre-existing chronic medical conditions pre-existing pregnancy or obstetric disorders occurring in pregnancy. Fisher-test and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results 887 singleton pregnancies tested positive to SARS-COV-2 at RT-PCR nasal and pharyngeal swab were included in the study. The risk of composite adverse maternal outcome was higher in high compared to low risk-pregnancies with an OR of 1.52 (95% CU 1.03-2.24; p= 0.035). Likewise, women carrying a high risk-pregnancies were also at higher risk of hospital admission (OR: 1.48, 95% CI 1.07-2.04; p= 0.002), presence of severe respiratory symptoms (OR: 2.13, 95% CI .41-3.21; p= 0.001), admission to ICU (OR: 2.63, 95% CI 1.42-4.88) and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR: 2.65, 95% CI 1.19- 5.94; p= .002). When exploring perinatal outcomes, high-risk pregnancies were also at high risk of adverse perinatal outcome with an OR 0f 1.78 (95% CI .15-2.72; p= 0.009). However, such association was mainly due to the higher incidence of miscarriage in high risk compared to low risk pregnancies (5.3% vs 1.6%, p= 0.008), while there was no difference as regard as the other explored outcomes between the two study groups. At logistic regression analysis, maternal age (OR: 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.22, p= 0.023) and the presence of a high-risk pregnancies (OR: 4.21, 95% CI 3.90-5.11, p<0.001) were independently associated with adverse maternal outcome. Conclusions High-risk pregnancies complicated by SARS-COV-2 infection are at higher risk of adverse maternal outcome compared to low-risk gestations.
Our study aimed to analyze the reliability, consistency, and temporal stability of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) in Serbian infants. Additionally, we aimed to present a percentile distribution of AIMS in the tested population. The prospective study included 60 infants that were divided into three age groups: 0–3 months, 4–7 months, and 8–14 months. The Serbian version of AIMS was tested by two raters on two different occasions (test/retest) with a five day period between tests. The observed inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)) was more than 0.75 for all AIMS scores, except for standing (ICC 0.655 = moderate) in the age group of 4–7 months on retest between raters. The observed intra-rater reliability (ICC) was more than 0.75 for all AIMS scores except standing (ICC 0.655 = moderate) in the age group 4–7 months in test–retest for Rater One, and for sitting (ICC 0.671 = moderate) and standing (ICC 0.725 = moderate) in the age group between 0–3 months on test–retest for Rater Two. The Serbian version of AIMS was shown to have high consistency and high reliability with good to high temporal stability. Thus, it can be used in the evaluation of infants’ motor development in Serbia.
Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on maternal and fetal perinatal parameters, as well to evaluate the influence of GDM on neonatal early motoric development. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, we evaluated 203 eligible participants that were admitted to obstetrics department for a labor. GDM was assessed by evaluation of maternal parameters, fetal parameters, as well its impact on infants early motoric development (Alberta Infant Motor Scale—AIMS). Results: Presence of GDM was significantly positively associated with: pre-pregnancy weight, obesity degree, weight at delivery, gestational weight gain (GWG), body mass index (BMI) at delivery, GWG and increased pre-pregnancy BMI, glucose levels in mother’s venous blood after the delivery, positive family history for cardiovascular disease, pregnancy-related hypertension, congenital thrombophilia, drug use in pregnancy, large for gestational age (LGA), mode of delivery (Cesarean section and instrumental delivery). Likewise, GDM association was detected for tested ultrasound parameters (biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), femoral length (FL)), length at birth, birth weight, newborn’s head circumference, newborn’s chest circumference, AIMS supination and pronation at three months, AIMS supination, pronation, sitting and standing at six months. Only Amniotic Fluid Index and AIMS supination at three months of infant’s age remained significantly associated in multivariate regression model. Conclusions: The presence of significant positive association of numerous tested parameters in our study on perinatal outcomes and early motoric development, points to the necessity of establishing appropriate clinical decision-making strategies for all pregnant woman at risk and emphasize the importance of providing adequate glycaemia control options and further regular follow ups during the pregnancy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.