Changes in the etiology of chronic liver disease by referral to a FibroScan center: Increasing prevalence of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Background and Aim: Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with a wide etiological spectrum. Fi-broScan (R) is used for follow-up of fibrosis and steatosis. This single -cen-ter study aims to review the distribution of indications by referral to Fi-broScan (R).Materials and Methods: Demographic characteristics, CLD etiolo-gies, and FibroScan (R) parameters of the patients who were referred to our tertiary care center between 2013 and 2021 were retrospectively evaluated.Results: Out of 9345 patients, 4946 (52.93%) were males, and the medi-an age was 48 [18-88] years. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was the most common indication (N=4768, 51.02%), followed by hepa-titis B (N=3194, 34.18%) and hepatitis C (N=707, 7.57%). Adjusting for age, sex, and CLD etiology, the results revealed that patients with old-er age (Odds ratio (OR)=2.908; confidence interval (CI)=2.597-3.256; p<0.001) and patients with hepatitis C (OR=2.582; CI=2.168-3.075; p<0.001), alcoholic liver disease (OR=2.019; CI=1.524-2.674, p<0.001), and autoimmune hepatitis (OR=2.138; CI=1.360-3.660, p<0.001) had increased odds of advanced liver fibrosis compared to NAFLD.Conclusion: NAFLD was the most common indication for referral to FibroScan (R)

Isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica Bacteriophage From Hospital Wastewater

Background: Yersiniosis is a common foodborne infection caused by Yersinia enterocolitica. This bacterium is frequently isolated from animals. Generally, bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that only infect bacteria, and are ubiquitous in the world including the intestinal tracts of animals and sewage. Today, due to the development of antibiotic resistance among bacteria, studies on phages have been considered as a controlling factor for bacterial infections. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and isolate Y. enterocolitica, the bacterium-specific phage, from raw sewage. Materials and Methods: Every 10 minutes, 6 samples each containing 30 mL raw wastewater were collected from the sewage treatment center of Vali-asr hospital, Tehran-Iran. Bacteriophage was isolated from sewage samples using Double-Layer Agar method. In addition, the samples were purified and the volume required for the isolation of bacteriophage was determined. Then, we investigated the sensitivity of the isolated bacteriophage to the temperature. Results: Lytic bacteriophages were isolated from the samples obtained from hospital sewage. This bacteriophage was largely active on Y. enterocolitica. It was active at 4, 22, 37, 40, 50, 60, and 70°C, however it became inactive at 80°C. Conclusion: The results showed that Y. enterocolitica specific bacteriophage could be isolated from hospital sewage samples

Metal–Organic Framework MIL-101(Cr) as an Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for Clean Synthesis of Benzoazoles

A metal–organic framework [MIL-101­(Cr)] was used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst in the synthesis of benzoazoles (benzimidazole, benzothiazole, and benzoxazole), and quantitative conversion of products were obtained under optimized reaction conditions. The catalyst could be simply extracted from the reaction mixture, providing an efficient and clean synthetic methodology for the synthesis of benzoazoles. The MIL-101­(Cr) catalyst could be reused without a remarkable decrease in its catalytic efficiency

MIL-125-based nanocarrier decorated with Palladium complex for targeted drug delivery

Abstract The aim of this work was to provide a novel approach to designing and synthesizing a nanocomposite with significant biocompatibility, biodegradability, and stability in biological microenvironments. Hence, the porous ultra-low-density materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), have been considered and the MIL-125(Ti) has been chosen due to its distinctive characteristics such as great biocompatibility and good biodegradability immobilized on the surface of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Based on the results, the presence of transition metal complexes next to the drug not only can reinforce the stability of the drug on the structure by preparing π–π interaction between ligands and the drug but also can enhance the efficiency of the drug by preventing the spontaneous release. The effect of utilizing transition metal complex beside drug (Doxorubicin (DOX)) on the drug loading, drug release, and antibacterial activity of prepared nanocomposites on the P. aeruginosa and S. aureus as a model bacterium has been investigated and the results revealed that this theory leads to increasing about 200% in antibacterial activity. In addition, uptake, the release of the drug, and relative cell viabilities (in vitro and in vivo) of prepared nanomaterials and biomaterials have been discussed. Based on collected data, the median size of prepared nanocomposites was 156.2 nm, and their biological stability in PBS and DMEM + 10% FBS was screened and revealed that after 2.880 min, the nanocomposite’s size reached 242.3 and 516 nm respectively. The MTT results demonstrated that immobilizing PdL beside DOX leads to an increase of more than 15% in the cell viability. It is noticeable that the AST:ALT result of prepared nanocomposite was under 1.5