Comparison of the Antifungal Activity of Titanium Dioxide Based Nano-Silver Packaging and Conventional Polyethylene Packaging in Consumed Bread

Using titanium dioxide nano-silver packaging, which is antibacterial and resistance to the diffusion of gases such as oxygen, is increasing in food industry. Therefore, we compared the effect of titanium dioxide-based nano-silver packaging and conventional polyethylene packaging on the fungal flora of consuming bread in order to increase the shelf-life storage of consuming bread. One hundred forty four samples of 6 different types of loaf of bread were randomly obtained from 12 bakeries in District 2 of Tehran. The samples were packaged with 3%, 5% and 10% nano-coatings, and also conventional polyethylene coatings as the control group. The bacterial examination and monitoring of samples, according to the national standards of Iran, was carried out 3 times, on the days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 of the study period. This study showed that the film type and storage period were the main factors, which significantly influenced the fungal flora of bread. The lowest rate of various fungi growth (%14) was observed in the 10% nano-film, while the highest rate of various fungi growth (47%) was observed in the conventional polyethylene coating (P<0.001). With the increase of the storage period, the number of various fungi increased; however, this correlation was not similar in most of the breads and fungi types, and there were significant difference between them in this regard (P=0.001). According to the results of the present study, due to increasing population growth and in order to improve food security, the use of packages with nano-silver particles, which are based on titanium dioxide, prevails over the polyethylene packages. Therefore, using such packages is highly recommended in the bakery industry

In vitro effect of nanosilver toxicity on fibroblast and mesenchymal stem cell lines

Nanotechnology presents countless opportunities to develop new and improved consumer products for the benefit of the society . A most prominent nanoproduct is nanosilver. Nanosilver particles are generally smaller than 100 nm and contain 20–15,000 silver atoms. Despite the wide application of nanomaterials, there is a serious lack of information concerning their impact on human health. In the previous study we reported the cytotoxic of nanosilver on osteoblast G292 cancer cell line and the amount of IC50 determined as 3.42 µg/ml (Moaddab et al., Iran. Nano Lett., Vol. 1, No. 1, January 2011, pp. 11-16). The purpose of the present study is to assess the biological assay of nanosilver on two normal cell lines of fibroblast (HF2), and mesenchymal stem cells . The effect of nanosilver on these cells is evaluated by light microscopy, and by cell proliferation and standard cytotoxicity assays. The results demonstrate a concentration-dependent toxicity for the cells tested, and IC50 was determined as 6.33, and 6.68 µg/ml in mesenchymal stem cell, and fibroblast HF2, respectively. There is no significant difference between the 24 h and 48 h of cells exposure to nanosilver. The results show that Nano-Ag possesses low toxicity to normal cells and can display potential application in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy

The Staphylococcus aureus Exotoxin Recognition Using a Sensor Designed by Nanosilica and SEA genotyping by Multiplex PCR

Considering the ever increasing population and industrialization of the developmental trend of human life, we are no longer able to detect the toxins produced in food products using the traditional techniques. This is due to the fact that the isolation time for food products is not cost-effective, and even in most of the cases, the precision of practical techniques like bacterial cultivation and other techniques suffers from operator errors, or the errors of the mixtures used. Hence, with the advent of nanotechnology, the design of selective and smart sensors has turned into one of the greatest industrial revelations of the quality control of food products that, in few minutes time and with a very high precision, can identify the volume and toxicity of the bacteria. In this research, based on the bacterial antibody's connection to nanoparticles, a sensor was used. In this part of the research, as the basis for absorption for the recognition of bacterial toxin, medium sized silica nanoparticles of 10 nm in the form of solid powder were utilized with Notrino brand. Then the suspension produced from the agent-linked nanosilica, which was connected to the bacterial antibody, was positioned near the samples of distilled water, which were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus bacterial toxin with the density of  10-3 molar, so that in case any toxin exists in the sample, a connection between the toxin antigen and the antibody would be formed. Finally, the light absorption related to the connection of antigen to the particle-attached antibody was measured using spectrophotometry. The 23S rRNA gene that is conserved in all Staphylococcus spp. was used as the control. The accuracy of the test was monitored by using the serial dilution (l0-6) of overnight cell culture of Staphylococcus spp. bacteria (OD600: 0.02 = 107 cell). It showed that the sensitivity of PCR is 10 bacteria per ml of cells within few hours. The results indicated that the sensor detects up to 10-4molar density. Additionally, the sensitivity of the sensor was examined after 60 days; by the 56 day, it had confirmatory results, which started to decrease after this time. Comparison of practical nanobiosensory method with the conventional methods including culture and bio-technology methods (such as polymerase chain reaction) confirmed its accuracy, sensitiveness and uniqueness.  It also reduces the time from hours to 30 minutes

Ectoparasite infection of Carassius carassius in water resources of west Azerbaijan, Iran

Various parasite species were found in Carassius carassius including Diplostomum spathaceum, Dactylogyrus sp.,Gyrodactylus sp. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and Trichodinia sp . They were found in four rivers in West Azerbaijan Province (North-Western Iran) . A total of 207 live Carassius carassius from four rivers including Aras (72) Zariyneh (42) Nazlo (58) and Barandoz (35) were studied. Parasitological surveys were carried out on gills and external organs. The results showed that Diplostomum spathaceum (70.83%) Dactylogyrus sp. (38.88%) Gyrodactylus sp. ) 22.22%) Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (48.61%) Trichodinia sp. (8.33%) Chilodonella sp. (12.50%) and Argulus sp. (76.19%) were found in fish from Aras Rive so that the result showed, Spathaceum (63.79%) Dactylogyrus sp. (36.20%) Gyrodactylus sp. (25.86%) Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (44.82%) Trichodinia sp. (18.96%) Chilodonella sp. (12.06%) and Argulus sp. (6.89%). Argulus prevalence was greater in Barandoz River while Chilodonella in Zariyneh rud River . In Barandoz River, Diplostomum spathaceum (65.71%) Dactylogyrus sp. (37.14%) Gyrodactylus sp. (22.85%) Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (31.42%) Trichodinia sp. (25.71%) Chilodonella sp. (8.57%) and Argulus sp. (5.71%) were reported, respectively. Finally, in Zariyneh rud river, the followings have been reported: Diplostomum spathaceum (76.19%) Dactylogyrus sp. (21.42%) Gyrodactylus sp. (14.28%) Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (52.38%) Trichodinia sp. (23.80%) Chilodonella sp. (14.28%) and Argulus sp. (7.14%). It should be noted that prevalence , intensity and host parasite relationship will be discussed in details in this article

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Disease Severity in Children Infected With the Omicron Variant

SHORT SUMMARY: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection from the Omicron variant in children/adolescents is less severe than infection from the Delta variant. Those 6 to <18 years also have less severe disease than those <6 years old. BACKGROUND: There are limited data assessing coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity in children/adolescents infected with the Omicron variant. METHODS: We identified children and adolescents <18 years of age with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with Delta and propensity score-matched controls with Omicron variant infection from the National COVID-19 Database in Qatar. Primary outcome was disease severity, determined by hospital admission, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), or mechanical ventilation within 14 days of diagnosis, or death within 28 days. RESULTS: Among 1735 cases with Delta variant infection between 1 June and 6 November 2021, and 32 635 cases with Omicron variant infection between 1 January and 15 January 2022, who did not have prior infection and were not vaccinated, we identified 985 propensity score-matched pairs. Among those who were Delta infected, 84.2% had mild, 15.7% had moderate, and 0.1% had severe/critical disease. Among those who were Omicron infected, 97.8% had mild, 2.2% had moderate, and none had severe/critical disease (P < .001). Omicron variant infection (vs Delta) was associated with significantly lower odds of moderate or severe/critical disease (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], .07-.18). Those aged 6-11 and 12 to <18 years had lower odds of developing moderate or severe/critical disease compared with those younger than age 6 years (aOR, 0.47; 95% CI, .33-.66 for 6-11 year olds; aOR, 0.45; 95% CI, .21-.94 for 12 to <18 year olds). CONCLUSIONS: Omicron variant infection in children/adolescents is associated with less severe disease than Delta variant infection as measured by hospitalization rates and need for ICU care or mechanical ventilation. Those 6 to <18 years of age also have less severe disease than those <6 years old

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the urban population of Qatar: An analysis of antibody testing on a sample of 112,941 individuals

ABSTRACTBackgroundQatar has experienced a large SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Our first objective was to assess the proportion of the urban population that has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, by measuring the prevalence of detectable antibodies. Our second objective was to identify predictors for infection and for having higher antibody titers.MethodsResidual blood specimens from individuals receiving routine and other clinical care between May 12-September 9, 2020 were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Associations with seropositivity and higher antibody titers were identified through regression analyses. Probability weights were applied in deriving the epidemiological measures.ResultsWe tested 112,941 individuals (∼10% of Qatar’s urban population), of whom 51.6% were men and 66.0% were 20-49 years of age. Seropositivity was 13.3% (95% CI: 13.1-13.6%) and was significantly associated with sex, age, nationality, clinical-care type, and testing date. The proportion with higher antibody titers varied by age, nationality, clinical-care type, and testing date. There was a strong correlation between higher antibody titers and seroprevalence in each nationality, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.85 (95% CI: 0.47-0.96), suggesting that higher antibody titers may indicate repeated exposure to the virus. The percentage of antibody-positive persons with prior PCR-confirmed diagnosis was 47.1% (95% CI: 46.1-48.2%), severity rate was 3.9% (95% CI: 3.7-4.2%), criticality rate was 1.3% (95% CI: 1.1-1.4%), and fatality rate was 0.3% (95% CI: 0.2-0.3%).ConclusionsFewer than two in every 10 individuals in Qatar’s urban population had detectable antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 between May 12-September 9, 2020, suggesting that this population is still far from the herd immunity threshold and at risk from a subsequent epidemic wave.</jats:sec

Coping with living in the soil: the genome of the parthenogenetic springtail Folsomia candida

Molecular Technology and Informatics for Personalised Medicine and Healt

IMAGINE: A comprehensive view of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays

International audienceIn this white paper we introduce the IMAGINE Consortium and its scientific background, goals and structure. The purpose of the consortium is to coordinate and facilitate the efforts of a diverse group of researchers in the broad areas of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays, and our overarching goal is to develop more comprehensive insights into the structures and roles of interstellar magnetic fields and their interactions with cosmic rays within the context of Galactic astrophysics. The ongoing rapid development of observational and numerical facilities and techniques has resulted in a widely felt need to advance this subject to a qualitatively higher level of self-consistency, depth and rigour. This can only be achieved by the coordinated efforts of experts in diverse areas of astrophysics involved in observational, theoretical and numerical work. We present our view of the present status of this research area, identify its key unsolved problems and suggest a strategy that will underpin our work. The backbone of the consortium is the Interstellar MAGnetic field INference Engine, a publicly available Bayesian platform that employs robust statistical methods to explore the multi-dimensional likelihood space using any number of modular inputs. This tool will be used by the IMAGINE Consortium to develop an interpretation and modelling framework that provides the method, power and flexibility to interfuse information from a variety of observational, theoretical and numerical lines of evidence into a self-consistent and comprehensive picture of the thermal and non-thermal interstellar media. An important innovation is that a consistent understanding of the phenomena that are directly or indirectly influenced by the Galactic magnetic field, such as the deflection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays or extragalactic backgrounds, is made an integral part of the modelling. The IMAGINE Consortium, which is informal by nature and open to new participants, hereby presents a methodological framework for the modelling and understanding of Galactic magnetic fields that is available to all communities whose research relies on a state of the art solution to this problem