Efficacy of Nanosil and Listerine Antiseptics for Infection Control in Dental Unit Waterline

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the antibacterial efficacy of two antiseptic agents namely Nanosil and Listerine for controlling water contamination.Methods A In this experimental study, six dental units were divided into three groups of A, B, and C. First, sampling of the water from the turbines’ water ducts and the dental air-water sprays was performed early in the morning during two consecutive weeks on Saturdays (the first working day) and Wednesdays (the last working day). The samples were sent to a laboratory in sterile containers for bacterial colony counting. Next, group A and B units underwent decontamination once a week by Nanosil (1% hydrogen peroxide + silver ion) and Listerine, respectively. Group C was the control group. Afterwards, sampling was conducted again as in stage 1 to determine the bacterial colony count.Results The Wilcoxon test indicated a statistically significant difference in the mean bacterial count between the samples taken before and after decontamination in Nanosil and Listerine groups, and the mean bacterial count was lower in the Nanosil group than in the Listerine group (P<0.001). A statistically significant difference was also found in the mean bacterial count between samples taken on Saturdays and Wednesdays before decontamination, and the mean bacterial count was higher on Saturdays than on Wednesdays (P<0.001).Conclusion Both Listerine and Nanosil were effective in decreasing the microbial colony count in the dental unit water lines (DUWLs). The mean bacterial count was lower in the Nanosil group than in the Listerine group

Principle, application and challenges of development siRNA-based therapeutics against bacterial and viral infections: a comprehensive review

While significant progress has been made in understanding and applying gene silencing mechanisms and the treatment of human diseases, there have been still several obstacles in therapeutic use. For the first time, ONPATTRO, as the first small interfering RNA (siRNA) based drug was invented in 2018 for treatment of hTTR with polyneuropathy. Additionally, four other siRNA based drugs naming Givosiran, Inclisiran, Lumasiran, and Vutrisiran have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for clinical use by hitherto. In this review, we have discussed the key and promising advances in the development of siRNA-based drugs in preclinical and clinical stages, the impact of these molecules in bacterial and viral infection diseases, delivery system issues, the impact of administration methods, limitations of siRNA application and how to overcome them and a glimpse into future developments

Evaluation of the egg yolk enriched columbia agar for isolation of Helicobacter pylori from gastric biopsy specimens

زمینه و هدف: هلیکوباکتر پیلوری اولین باکتری سرطان زای شناخته شده و عامل بیماری های گاسترودئودنال متعددی است. هدف از این پژوهش ارزیابی محیط کشت غنی شده با تخم مرغ به منظور جداسازی هلیکوباکتر پیلوری از نمونه های بیوپسی گرفته شده از بیماران مبتلا به بیماری های گاسترودئودنال و مقایسه آن با تست اوره آز سریع بوده است. روش بررسی: این مطالعه مقطعی (توصیفی- تحلیلی) بر روی 192 بیمار مراجعه کننده به بخش آندوسکوپی بیمارستان امام خمینی کرمانشاه در سال1391 انجام شد. از هر بیمار دو نمونه بیوپسی از ناحیه آنتروم و دو نمونه بیوپسی از ناحیه کورپوس گرفته شد. نمونه های بیماران با استفاده از آزمون های تست اوره آز سریع و کشت در محیط انتخابی کلمبیا آگار غنی شده با تخم مرغ و حاوی آنتی بیوتیک مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. پس از کشت از رنگ آمیزی گرم و آزمایشات بیوشیمیایی به منظور تعیین هویت نهایی هلیکوباکتر پیلوری استفاده گردید. برای به دست آوردن حساسیت، ویژگی و کارآیی از نرم افزارهای kappa calculator و SPSS استفاده شد. یافته ها: از مجموع 192 نمونه بیوپسی گرفته شده 98 نمونه (10/51 درصد) در آزمون اوره آز سریع مثبت و 87 نمونه (31/45 درصد) به وسیله کشت مثبت شدند. حساسیت، ویژگی، ارزش اخباری مثبت و منفی روش کشت به ترتیب 5/76، 2/87 ، 2/86 و 0/78 درصد و کارایی این روش 0/81 درصد می باشد. نتیجه گیری: این مطالعه نشان می دهد که محیط کلمبیا آگار غنی شده با تخم مرغ به عنوان محیط کشت اختصاصی مناسب برای جداسازی هلیکوباکتر پیلوری می باشد. این محیط کشت دارای حساسیت، ویژگی و کارآیی بالایی است و از لحاظ هزینه مقرون به صرفه بوده و نیز از جهت تهیه کردن به راحتی در دسترس می باشد

Detection of Helicobacter pylori in Drinking Water by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification

Background: There should be a public environmental reservoir for Helicobacter pylori in the developing countries, such as Iran, due to their high infection rate of over 70%. Epidemiological findings revealed that water could be a possible source of H. pylori transmission. However, high prevalence of H. pylori in drinking water in Kermanshah, West of Iran, was detected in the authors' previously published study. The current study aims at designing a more accurate and rapid procedure to investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter species and cagA gene in drinking water samples in Kermanshah, from October to December 2012. Methods: In the current study, 60 tap water samples were obtained and specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeted cagA and 16s rRNA was performed. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) targeted ureC gene was developed to accurately detect H. pylori in water samples. Results: The prevalence of ureC by PCR, ureC by LAMP and 16s rRNA by PCR were 26.67%, 38%, and 61.67%, respectively. Among 24 samples (40%), 1 of the 2 tests was positive. The prevalence of cagA gene among ureC positive, 16s rRNA positive and all samples were 18.75%, 13.51%, and 10%, respectively. Conclusions: Helicobacter pylori contamination in drinking water was considerably higher using LAMP compared with PCR. It is noteworthy that some H. pylori positive samples were also positive for Caga

A Brief Overview of Potential Treatments for Viral Diseases Using Natural Plant Compounds: The Case of SARS-Cov

Review paper, jointly written by experts from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Iran), Federal University of Maranhão (Brazil), Central University of Punjab (India), Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity (Russia), De Montfort University (UK), University of Orléans (France) open access articleThe COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the more general global increase in viral diseases, has led researchers to look to the plant kingdom as a potential source for antiviral compounds. Since ancient times, herbal medicines have been extensively applied in the treatment and prevention of various infectious diseases in different traditional systems. The purpose of this review is to highlight the potential antiviral activity of plant compounds as effective and reliable agents against viral infections, especially by viruses from the coronavirus group. Various antiviral mechanisms shown by crude plant extracts and plant-derived bioactive compounds are discussed. The understanding of the action mechanisms of complex plant extract and isolated plant-derived compounds will help pave the way towards the combat of this life-threatening disease. Further, molecular docking studies, in silico analyses of extracted compounds, and future prospects are included. The in vitro production of antiviral chemical compounds from plants using molecular pharming is also considered. Notably, hairy root cultures represent a promising and sustainable way to obtain a range of biologically active compounds that may be applied in the development of novel antiviral agents

Three-Dimensional Impedance Tomographic Mapping of Metabolically Active Endolumen

Real-time detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic lesions, characterized by a high content of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-laden macrophages or foam cells, remains an unmet clinical need. While fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided revascularization in angiographically intermediate stenoses is utilized to assess hemodynamic significance, in vivo detection of oxLDL-rich plaques may provide a new paradigm for treating metabolically unstable lesions. Herein, we have demonstrated endoluminal mapping of lipid-laden lesions using 3-D electrical impedance spectroscopy-derived impedance tomography (EIT) in a pre-clinical swine model. We performed surgical banding of the right carotid arteries of Yucatan mini-pigs, followed by 16 weeks of high-fat diet, to promote the development of lipid-rich lesions. We implemented an intravascular sensor combining an FFR pressure transducer with a 6-point micro-electrode array for electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. 3-D EIT mapping was achieved using an EIS-based reconstruction algorithm. We demonstrated that EIT mapping corresponds to endoluminal histology for oxLDL-laden lesions. We further used computational models to theoretically predict and validate EIS measurements. Thus, our 3-D EIS-derived EIT provides in vivo detection of metabolically active plaques with the goal of guiding optimal intravascular intervention

Phenotypic and Genotypic Efflux Pumps in Resistance to Fluoroquinolones in E.coli Isolated from Inpatients in Kermanshah Hospitals in 2013

Abstract Background: Antibiotic resistance rates in E. coli are rapidly rising, especially with regard to fluoroquinolones. One of the mechanisms that lead to antibiotic resistance is efflux pumps. The aim of this study was phonotypic and genotypic analysis of efflux pump role in fluoroquinolones resistance of E. coli strains isolated from hospitalized patients in Kermanshah 2013. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 isolates of E. coli were collected from hospitalized patients from Kermanshah. All isolates were identified by standard biochemical tests. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined by disk diffusion method according to CLSI guidelines. The presence of Efflux pump genes was determined by a PCR method. Results: The rates of resistance to Ceftazidime, Nalidixic Acid, Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin, Ofloxacin, Gentamicin, and Tetracycline were 73%, 67%, 55%, 54%, 45%, 38%, and 24%, respectively. According to the results of PCR test, of 100 E. coli isolates, 99% of isolates were positive for acrA, 98% for acrB, 95% for acrE, 98% for acrF, 94% for mdfA, 96% for norE, and 96% for tolC. Conclusion: In Strains with positive gene acrA, acrB, acrA, acrB, tolC, mdfA, norE, the presence of efflux pump inhibitor reduced the amount of resistance to antibiotics. So, efflux pumps are important in antibiotic resistance

Reduction of UreB and CagA expression level by siRNA construct in Helicobacter pylori strain SS1

Abstract Background Two important virulence factors, urease and cagA, play an important role in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastric cancer. Aim of this study was to investigate the expression level and function of ureB and cagA using small interfering RNAs (siRNA). Methods SS1 strain of H. pylori was considered as host for natural transformation. siRNA designed for ureB and cagA genes were inserted in pGPU6/GFP/Neo siRNA plasmid vector to evaluate using phenotypic and genotypic approaches. Then, qPCR was performed for determining inhibition rate of ureB and cagA gene expression. Results The expression levels of siRNA-ureB and siRNA-cagA in the recombinant strain SS1 were reduced by about 5000 and 1000 fold, respectively, compared to the native H. pylori strain SS1. Also, preliminary evaluation of siRNA-ureB in vitro showed inhibition of urea enzyme activity. These data suggest that siRNA may be a powerful new tool for gene silencing in vitro, and for the development of RNAi-based anti-H. pylori therapies. Conclusion Our results show that targeting ureB and cagA genes with siRNA seems to be a new strategy to inhibit urease enzyme activity, reduce inflammation and colonization rate

Diagnostic accuracy of gold nanoparticle combined with molecular method for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis study

The importance of rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) has become greater than ever. Among biosensors as a rapid test, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) can play an important role in accelerating the diagnosis of TB. This systematic review and meta-analysis study were conducted to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of GNPs for the diagnosis of MTB. All cross sectional and case control studies as original article about rapid detection of MTB using GNPs combined with molecular methods published in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were selected, retrieved and appraised up to September 2021. The sensitivity and specificity of GNPs in different studies ranges from 83.7% to 100% for sensitivity and from 86.6% to 100% for specificity. The highest sensitivity and specificity of GNPs combined with molecular methods was related to the LAMP method. Therefore, GNPs are a simpler, low cost and more efficient way in the clinical diagnosis of TB