diff --git a/include/text.php b/include/text.php
index f1bc51232..04bbb6724 100644
--- a/include/text.php
+++ b/include/text.php
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ function perms2str($p) {
  */
 function load_view_file($s) {
 	global $lang, $a;
-	if (! isset($lang)) {
+	if (!isset($lang)) {
 		$lang = 'en';
 	}
 	$b = basename($s);
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ function get_intltext_template($s) {
 		$engine = "/smarty3";
 	}
 
-	if (! isset($lang)) {
+	if (!isset($lang)) {
 		$lang = 'en';
 	}
 
@@ -621,8 +621,8 @@ function logger($msg, $level = 0) {
 	$loglevel = intval(Config::get('system','loglevel'));
 
 	if (
-		! $debugging
-		|| ! $logfile
+		!$debugging
+		|| !$logfile
 		|| $level > $loglevel
 	) {
 		return;
@@ -689,7 +689,7 @@ function dlogger($msg, $level = 0) {
 	}
 
 	$logfile = Config::get('system', 'dlogfile');
-	if (! $logfile) {
+	if (!$logfile) {
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -1253,7 +1253,7 @@ function prepare_body(array &$item, $attach = false, $is_preview = false)
 	$s = $hook_data['html'];
 	unset($hook_data);
 
-	if (! $attach) {
+	if (!$attach) {
 		// Replace the blockquotes with quotes that are used in mails.
 		$mailquote = '<blockquote type="cite" class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">';
 		$s = str_replace(['<blockquote>', '<blockquote class="spoiler">', '<blockquote class="author">'], [$mailquote, $mailquote, $mailquote], $s);
@@ -1553,7 +1553,7 @@ function generate_user_guid() {
 		$x = q("SELECT `uid` FROM `user` WHERE `guid` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
 			dbesc($guid)
 		);
-		if (! DBM::is_result($x)) {
+		if (!DBM::is_result($x)) {
 			$found = false;
 		}
 	} while ($found == true);
@@ -1595,7 +1595,7 @@ function base64url_decode($s) {
  *  // Uncomment if you find you need it.
  *
  *	$l = strlen($s);
- *	if (! strpos($s,'=')) {
+ *	if (!strpos($s,'=')) {
  *		$m = $l % 4;
  *		if ($m == 2)
  *			$s .= '==';
@@ -1818,7 +1818,7 @@ function file_tag_update_pconfig($uid, $file_old, $file_new, $type = 'file') {
 		$check_new_tags = explode(",",file_tag_file_to_list($file_new,$type));
 
 		foreach ($check_new_tags as $tag) {
-			if (! stristr($saved,$lbracket . file_tag_encode($tag) . $rbracket)) {
+			if (!stristr($saved,$lbracket . file_tag_encode($tag) . $rbracket)) {
 				$new_tags[] = $tag;
 			}
 		}
@@ -1830,7 +1830,7 @@ function file_tag_update_pconfig($uid, $file_old, $file_new, $type = 'file') {
 		$check_deleted_tags = explode(",",file_tag_file_to_list($file_old,$type));
 
 		foreach ($check_deleted_tags as $tag) {
-			if (! stristr($file_new,$lbracket . file_tag_encode($tag) . $rbracket)) {
+			if (!stristr($file_new,$lbracket . file_tag_encode($tag) . $rbracket)) {
 				$deleted_tags[] = $tag;
 			}
 		}
@@ -1859,20 +1859,17 @@ function file_tag_update_pconfig($uid, $file_old, $file_new, $type = 'file') {
 	return true;
 }
 
-function file_tag_save_file($uid, $item, $file)
+function file_tag_save_file($uid, $item_id, $file)
 {
-	if (! intval($uid)) {
+	if (!intval($uid)) {
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	$r = q("SELECT `file` FROM `item` WHERE `id` = %d AND `uid` = %d LIMIT 1",
-		intval($item),
-		intval($uid)
-	);
-	if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
-		if (!stristr($r[0]['file'],'[' . file_tag_encode($file) . ']')) {
-			$fields = ['file' => $r[0]['file'] . '[' . file_tag_encode($file) . ']'];
-			Item::update($fields, ['id' => $item]);
+	$item = Item::selectFirst(['file'], ['id' => $item_id, 'uid' => $uid]);
+	if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
+		if (!stristr($item['file'],'[' . file_tag_encode($file) . ']')) {
+			$fields = ['file' => $item['file'] . '[' . file_tag_encode($file) . ']'];
+			Item::update($fields, ['id' => $item_id]);
 		}
 		$saved = PConfig::get($uid, 'system', 'filetags');
 		if (!strlen($saved) || !stristr($saved, '[' . file_tag_encode($file) . ']')) {
@@ -1883,9 +1880,9 @@ function file_tag_save_file($uid, $item, $file)
 	return true;
 }
 
-function file_tag_unsave_file($uid, $item, $file, $cat = false)
+function file_tag_unsave_file($uid, $item_id, $file, $cat = false)
 {
-	if (! intval($uid)) {
+	if (!intval($uid)) {
 		return false;
 	}
 
@@ -1897,16 +1894,13 @@ function file_tag_unsave_file($uid, $item, $file, $cat = false)
 		$termtype = TERM_FILE;
 	}
 
-	$r = q("SELECT `file` FROM `item` WHERE `id` = %d AND `uid` = %d LIMIT 1",
-		intval($item),
-		intval($uid)
-	);
-	if (! DBM::is_result($r)) {
+	$item = Item::selectFirst(['file'], ['id' => $item_id, 'uid' => $uid]);
+	if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	$fields = ['file' => str_replace($pattern,'',$r[0]['file'])];
-	Item::update($fields, ['id' => $item]);
+	$fields = ['file' => str_replace($pattern,'',$item['file'])];
+	Item::update($fields, ['id' => $item_id]);
 
 	$r = q("SELECT `oid` FROM `term` WHERE `term` = '%s' AND `otype` = %d AND `type` = %d AND `uid` = %d",
 		dbesc($file),
diff --git a/mod/starred.php b/mod/starred.php
index ce0c8fc09..78ba4ce61 100644
--- a/mod/starred.php
+++ b/mod/starred.php
@@ -11,32 +11,29 @@ function starred_init(App $a) {
 	$starred = 0;
 	$message_id = null;
 
-	if (! local_user()) {
+	if (!local_user()) {
 		killme();
 	}
 	if ($a->argc > 1) {
 		$message_id = intval($a->argv[1]);
 	}
-	if (! $message_id) {
+	if (!$message_id) {
 		killme();
 	}
 
-	$r = q("SELECT `starred` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `id` = %d LIMIT 1",
-		intval(local_user()),
-		intval($message_id)
-	);
-	if (! DBM::is_result($r)) {
+	$item = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), ['starred'], ['uid' => local_user(), 'id' => $message_id]);
+	if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 		killme();
 	}
 
-	if (! intval($r[0]['starred'])) {
+	if (!intval($item['starred'])) {
 		$starred = 1;
 	}
 
 	Item::update(['starred' => $starred], ['id' => $message_id]);
 
 	// See if we've been passed a return path to redirect to
-	$return_path = ((x($_REQUEST,'return')) ? $_REQUEST['return'] : '');
+	$return_path = (x($_REQUEST,'return') ? $_REQUEST['return'] : '');
 	if ($return_path) {
 		$rand = '_=' . time();
 		if (strpos($return_path, '?')) {
diff --git a/mod/tagger.php b/mod/tagger.php
index 400c7787f..626755263 100644
--- a/mod/tagger.php
+++ b/mod/tagger.php
@@ -175,23 +175,19 @@ EOT;
 	}
 
 	// if the original post is on this site, update it.
-
-	$r = q("SELECT `tag`,`id`,`uid` FROM `item` WHERE `origin`=1 AND `uri`='%s' LIMIT 1",
-		dbesc($item['uri'])
-	);
-
-	if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+	$original_item = Item::selectFirst(['tag','id','uid'], ['origin' => true, 'uri' => $item['uri']]);
+	if (DBM::is_result($original_item)) {
 		$x = q("SELECT `blocktags` FROM `user` WHERE `uid`=%d LIMIT 1",
-			intval($r[0]['uid'])
+			intval($original_item['uid'])
 		);
 		$t = q("SELECT COUNT(`tid`) AS `tcount` FROM `term` WHERE `oid`=%d AND `term`='%s'",
-			intval($r[0]['id']),
+			intval($original_item['id']),
 			dbesc($term)
 		);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($x) && !$x[0]['blocktags'] && $t[0]['tcount'] == 0){
 			q("INSERT INTO term (`oid`, `otype`, `type`, `term`, `url`, `uid`) VALUE (%d, %d, %d, '%s', '%s', %d)",
-				intval($r[0]['id']),
+				intval($original_item['id']),
 				$term_objtype,
 				TERM_HASHTAG,
 				dbesc($term),
diff --git a/src/Protocol/DFRN.php b/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
index 511cd0444..208eb112c 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
@@ -938,10 +938,10 @@ class DFRN
 
 		if (($item['parent'] != $item['id']) || ($item['parent-uri'] !== $item['uri']) || (($item['thr-parent'] !== '') && ($item['thr-parent'] !== $item['uri']))) {
 			$parent_item = (($item['thr-parent']) ? $item['thr-parent'] : $item['parent-uri']);
-			$parent = q("SELECT `guid`,`plink` FROM `item` WHERE `uri` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d", dbesc($parent_item), intval($item['uid']));
+			$parent = Item::selectFirst(['guid','plink'], ['uri' => $parent_item, 'uid' => $item['uid']]);
 			$attributes = ["ref" => $parent_item, "type" => "text/html",
-						"href" => $parent[0]['plink'],
-						"dfrn:diaspora_guid" => $parent[0]['guid']];
+						"href" => $parent['plink'],
+						"dfrn:diaspora_guid" => $parent['guid']];
 			XML::addElement($doc, $entry, "thr:in-reply-to", "", $attributes);
 		}
 
@@ -2161,13 +2161,8 @@ class DFRN
 
 			$is_a_remote_action = false;
 
-			$r = q(
-				"SELECT `item`.`parent-uri` FROM `item`
-				WHERE `item`.`uri` = '%s'
-				LIMIT 1",
-				dbesc($item["parent-uri"])
-			);
-			if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+			$parent = Item::selectFirst(['parent-uri'], ['uri' => $item["parent-uri"]]);
+			if (DBM::is_result($parent)) {
 				$r = q(
 					"SELECT `item`.`forum_mode`, `item`.`wall` FROM `item`
 					INNER JOIN `contact` ON `contact`.`id` = `item`.`contact-id`
@@ -2175,9 +2170,9 @@ class DFRN
 					AND `item`.`uid` = %d
 					$sql_extra
 					LIMIT 1",
-					dbesc($r[0]["parent-uri"]),
-					dbesc($r[0]["parent-uri"]),
-					dbesc($r[0]["parent-uri"]),
+					dbesc($parent["parent-uri"]),
+					dbesc($parent["parent-uri"]),
+					dbesc($parent["parent-uri"]),
 					intval($importer["importer_uid"])
 				);
 				if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
@@ -2318,25 +2313,15 @@ class DFRN
 				$item["gravity"] = GRAVITY_LIKE;
 				// only one like or dislike per person
 				// splitted into two queries for performance issues
-				$r = q(
-					"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `author-id` = %d AND `verb` = '%s' AND `parent-uri` = '%s' AND NOT `deleted` LIMIT 1",
-					intval($item["uid"]),
-					intval($item["author-id"]),
-					dbesc($item["verb"]),
-					dbesc($item["parent-uri"])
-				);
-				if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+				$condition = ['uid' => $item["uid"], 'author-id' => $item["author-id"],
+					'verb' => $item["verb"], 'parent-uri' => $item["parent-uri"]];
+				if (dba::exists('item', $condition)) {
 					return false;
 				}
 
-				$r = q(
-					"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `author-id` = %d AND `verb` = '%s' AND `thr-parent` = '%s' AND NOT `deleted` LIMIT 1",
-					intval($item["uid"]),
-					intval($item["author-id"]),
-					dbesc($item["verb"]),
-					dbesc($item["parent-uri"])
-				);
-				if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+				$condition = ['uid' => $item["uid"], 'author-id' => $item["author-id"],
+					'verb' => $item["verb"], 'thr-parent' => $item["parent-uri"]];
+				if (dba::exists('item', $condition)) {
 					return false;
 				}
 			} else {
@@ -2348,22 +2333,17 @@ class DFRN
 				$xt = XML::parseString($item["target"], false);
 
 				if ($xt->type == ACTIVITY_OBJ_NOTE) {
-					$r = q(
-						"SELECT `id`, `tag` FROM `item` WHERE `uri` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d LIMIT 1",
-						dbesc($xt->id),
-						intval($importer["importer_uid"])
-					);
-
-					if (!DBM::is_result($r)) {
+					$item_tag = Item::selectFirst(['id', 'tag'], ['uri' => $xt->id, 'uid' => $importer["importer_uid"]]);
+					if (!DBM::is_result($item_tag)) {
 						logger("Query failed to execute, no result returned in " . __FUNCTION__);
 						return false;
 					}
 
 					// extract tag, if not duplicate, add to parent item
 					if ($xo->content) {
-						if (!stristr($r[0]["tag"], trim($xo->content))) {
-							$tag = $r[0]["tag"] . (strlen($r[0]["tag"]) ? ',' : '') . '#[url=' . $xo->id . ']'. $xo->content . '[/url]';
-							Item::update(['tag' => $tag], ['id' => $r[0]["id"]]);
+						if (!stristr($item_tag["tag"], trim($xo->content))) {
+							$tag = $item_tag["tag"] . (strlen($item_tag["tag"]) ? ',' : '') . '#[url=' . $xo->id . ']'. $xo->content . '[/url]';
+							Item::update(['tag' => $tag], ['id' => $item_tag["id"]]);
 						}
 					}
 				}
diff --git a/src/Worker/OnePoll.php b/src/Worker/OnePoll.php
index e42612cd3..43526a372 100644
--- a/src/Worker/OnePoll.php
+++ b/src/Worker/OnePoll.php
@@ -438,12 +438,10 @@ class OnePoll
 										$refs_arr[$x] = "'" . Email::msgid2iri(str_replace(['<', '>', ' '],['', '', ''],dbesc($refs_arr[$x]))) . "'";
 									}
 								}
-								$qstr = implode(',', $refs_arr);
-								$r = q("SELECT `parent-uri` FROM `item` USE INDEX (`uid_uri`) WHERE `uri` IN ($qstr) AND `uid` = %d LIMIT 1",
-									intval($importer_uid)
-								);
-								if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
-									$datarray['parent-uri'] = $r[0]['parent-uri'];  // Set the parent as the top-level item
+								$condition = ['uri' => $refs_arr, 'uid' => $importer_uid];
+								$parent = Item::selectFirst(['parent-uri'], $condition);
+								if (DBM::is_result($parent)) {
+									$datarray['parent-uri'] = $parent['parent-uri'];  // Set the parent as the top-level item
 								}
 							}
 
@@ -472,12 +470,11 @@ class OnePoll
 
 							// If it seems to be a reply but a header couldn't be found take the last message with matching subject
 							if (empty($datarray['parent-uri']) && $reply) {
-								$r = q("SELECT `parent-uri` FROM `item` WHERE `title` = \"%s\" AND `uid` = %d AND `network` = '%s' ORDER BY `created` DESC LIMIT 1",
-									dbesc(protect_sprintf($datarray['title'])),
-									intval($importer_uid),
-									dbesc(NETWORK_MAIL));
-								if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
-									$datarray['parent-uri'] = $r[0]['parent-uri'];
+								$condition = ['title' => $datarray['title'], 'uid' => importer_uid, 'network' => NETWORK_MAIL];
+								$params = ['order' => ['created' => true]];
+								$parent = Item::selectFirst(['parent-uri'], $condition, $params);
+								if (DBM::is_result($parent)) {
+									$datarray['parent-uri'] = $parent['parent-uri'];
 								}
 							}
 
diff --git a/src/Worker/TagUpdate.php b/src/Worker/TagUpdate.php
index f6a141ad6..1ecc4b5e9 100644
--- a/src/Worker/TagUpdate.php
+++ b/src/Worker/TagUpdate.php
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class TagUpdate
 
 		dba::close($messages);
 
-		$messages = dba::p("SELECT `guid` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = 0");
+		$messages = dba::select('item', ['guid'], ['uid' => 0]);
 
 		logger('fetched messages: ' . dba::num_rows($messages));
 		while ($message = dba::fetch(messages)) {