Effect of alternating and direct currents on Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth in vitro

Eradication of pathogenic bacteria from important part of our life such as dental tools, foods and wounds is necessary. Based on the effect of natural selection, these bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. In some cases such as the section where burnt are treated in the hospital, we observe high rate of mortality as well as high numbers of resistant bacteria. In order to solve these problems, electrical stimulation (ES) is proposed. This has being shown to be an effective method. One of the reasons why it works could be due to the bacteria static property of electrical stimulation. So, more studies must be done so as to reach optimum voltage and currents. The test media were Muller-Hinton agar and eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar. In this research Pseudomonas aeruginosa which was isolated from patients wounds was examined with levels of alternating and direct current (AC and DC) electrical stimulation (1.5V, 3.5V, 5.5V and 10V) to see if these currents could inhibit P. aeruginosa growth in vitro. The experiment was performed in two forms: The first was carried out immediately while the second was carried out 19 h after being cultured. Different patterns of zone of inhibition were observed in the two forms of our research. AC current had low inhibitive effect on P. aeruginosas growth. Anode and cathode showed different zone of inhibition, in each of the forms and media. The maximum inhibition zone (22 mm) was observed around cathode in 3.5 V direct current which was immediately used in the media. Direct current significantly inhibits growth of P. aeruginosa. Based on other studies on different bacterial species, ES can be applied to sterilization and controlling of superficial infections like in burnt patients.Key words: Electrical stimulation, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, wound healing

Dietary administration of vitamin C and Lactobacillus rhamnosus in combination enhanced the growth and innate immune response of the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

The effects of dietary vitamin C and Lactobacillus rhamnosus on immunity and growth performance were investigated in Oncorhynchus mykiss. For this purpose, 480 rainbow trout (68±5g) were obtained from a local farm and acclimated to laboratory conditions for 10 days and then divided into four groups in three replicates. During 30 days, juvenile rainbow trout were fed diets supplemented with vitamin C (1g/kg) and L. rhamnosus (at 5 × 107 CFU/g) or a control diet. Biometry was done at day -30 and blood samples were taken by caudal vein after fish anesthesia with clove powder at day 0, 15, 30 and 45. Serum lysozyme activity, alternative complement activity and total plasma immunoglobulin level were assayed as innate immune response of rainbow trout. Results showed fish fed with vitamin c and L. rhamnosus (group 3) statistically could improve fish growth performance. Also lysozyme activity and alternative complement activity of serum significantly were higher in group three than other groups, but total plasma level of immunoglobulin only was higher than all groups at day 30. In conclusion dietary administration of vitamin C and L. rhamnosus in rainbow trout diet could enhance the growth and innate immune response, but these properties need further studies on the field applications

Surgical complications of hemolytic uremic syndrome: Single center experiences

Purpose: To determine the prevalence, outcome and prognostic factors in children with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) who underwent laparotomy. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 104 patients with HUS who presented to our center between 1986 and 2003 were reviewed retrospectively. Data were analyzed using Student�s t test for comparing means, Fisher�s exact test for frequencies and Pearson�s correlation for finding the correlations. Results: 78 of cases presented with vomiting and diarrhea. Seven out of 104 needed surgical exploration. The indications of surgery were acute abdomen, severe abdominal distention and the sign of peritonitis. The findings at laparotomy were intussusceptions, perforation (colon, ileum), gangrene of entire colon, rectosigmoidal tearing, duodenal obstruction and toxic megacolon. Pathological findings were transmural infarction in two cases in which staged surgical management was performed (cecostomy, resection, later anastomosis). Four out of seven patients died because of pulmonary failure, coma and multiple organ failure ( P 0.05) compared to those who did not need laparotomy. The patients requiring surgery were young ( 3 years), had high leukocyte count (20000 mm3 ) and low albumin level ( 3g/dl) ( P 0.05). Conclusion: Surgical complications of HUS are rare but are assorted with high mortality due to respiratory failure and multiple organ failure. Early decision of laparotomy associated with intensive care, including mechanical ventilation, adequate dialysis and ultrafiltration, are recommended

Effects of intravenous Semelil (ANGIPARS�) on diabetic foot ulcers healing: A multicenter clinical trial

Some diabetic foot ulcers, which are notoriously difficult to cure, are one of the most common health problems in diabetic patients .There are several surgical and medical options which already have been introduced for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, so some patient will require amputation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous Semelil (ANGIPARS�), a naive herbal extract to accelerate healing of diabetic foot ulcers. A multi-centric randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate intravenous Semelil for healing of diabetic foot ulcers. Sixteen diabetic patients were treated with intravenous Semelil, and nine other patients were treated with placebo as control group. Both groups were otherwise treated by wound debridement and irrigation with normal saline solution, systemic antibiotic therapy and daily wound dressing. Before and after intervention, the foot ulcer surface area was measured, by digital photography, mapping and planimetry. After 4 weeks, the mean foot ulcer surface area decreased from 479.93±379.75 mm2 to 198.93±143.75 mm2 in the intervention group (p = 0.000) and from 766.22±960.50 mm2 to 689.11±846.74 mm2 in the control group (p = 0.076). Average wound closure in the treatment group was significantly greater than placebo group (64 vs. 25, p= 0.015). This herbal extract by intravenous rout in combination with conventional therapy is more effective than conventional therapy by itself probably without side effect. However, further studies are required in the future to confirm these results in larger population

High-voltage pulse generator based on sequentially charged MMC-SMs operating in a voltage-boost mode

Pulse forming networks and Marx generators are the classical rectangular waveform pulse generators (PGs). They are inflexible and their capacitors must be fully charged to the required voltage from 0V before delivering each high-voltage (HV) pulse. They are only able to generate unipolar pulses; if bipolar pulses are sought another generator fed from a negative supply voltage is added. Recently, several power electronics based PGs have been proposed. This paper presents an HV power electronics based PG, which is based on Half-Bridge Modular Multilevel Converter (HB-MMC) sub-modules (SMs) charged sequentially in a voltage boost mode. Each SM capacitor and main switch form a boost converter with the charging input supply and inductor. As a result, all SM capacitors are charged to a voltage greater than the input. During the discharging process the SM capacitors are connected in series, producing a rectangular HV pulse across the load. The proposed charging method allows a reduction in the converter footprint in comparison with recently proposed MMC sequentially charged PG topologies. Although only rectangular pulse waveforms are sought in this paper, a SM capacitor voltage balance method allows multilevel pulse generation. The viability of the proposed converter is confirmed by MATLAB/Simulink simulation and scaled-down experimentation

Etiological factors in primary hepatic B-cell lymphoma

Sixty-four cases of malignant lymphoma involving the liver were examined. Of these, 20 cases were histologically confirmed to be primary hepatic B-cell lymphoma. Twelve of these 20 cases were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and eight cases were mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Of the 12 cases of DLBCL, six were immunohistologically positive for CD10 and/or Bcl6 (indicating a germinal center phenotype), six were positive for Bcl2, and five were positive for CD25. Eight of the 12 DLBCL cases (66.7%) and two of the eight MALT lymphoma cases (25%) had serum anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies and HCV RNA. The incidence of HCV infection was significantly higher in the hepatic DLBCL cases than in systemic intravascular large B-cell cases with liver involvement (one of 11 cases, 9.1%) and T/NK-cell lymphoma cases (one of 19 cases, 5.3%) (p < 0.01 for both). Two hepatic DLBCL cases (16.7%) had rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate, and four MALT lymphoma cases (50%) had Sjögren’s syndrome, primary biliary cirrhosis, or autoimmune hepatitis; one case in each of these two groups was complicated by chronic HCV-seropositive hepatitis. Although primary hepatic lymphoma is rare, persistent inflammatory processes associated with HCV infection or autoimmune disease may play independent roles in the lymphomagenesis of hepatic B cells

Identification of novel miRNAs with potential role in Gastric Cancer diagnosis: In silico procedure

Gastric Cancer (GC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Due to the lack of enough symptoms in early stages, it is diagnosed in advanced stages in the majority of patients and causes great rate of mortality. Early recognition of GC significantly raises the lucks for successful treatment. Molecular mechanisms of GC are still poorly understood. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs which regulate gene expression in post-transcription levels. In cancer cells, miRNAs have been found to be severely dysregulated. Using high-throughput (HTP) technologies such as RNA- Seq, the effects of miRNAs on cancers can be investigated. In this study, we retrieved miRNAs obtained by HTP method from OncoLnc database. Consequently, retrieved miRNAs were compared in literature-based databases such as PubMed. As a result, two lists including experimentally validated and predicted miRNAs were provided. We found 28 predicted miRNAs that so far had not been experimentally validated in GC. In the following, further bioinformatics analyses were performed to obtain the expression profile of both validated and predicted miRNAs in tumor and normal tissues. Also, the role of predicted miRNAs in other cancers, and their possible targets in apoptosis, metastasis and angiogenesis retrieved from related databases. By recognizing the miRNAs involved in initiation and progression of GC, they may be considered as potential biomarkers in GC early diagnosis or targeted treatment and lead to novel therapeutic strategies. We introduce 28 predicted miRNAs involved in GC pathogenesis by in silico analysis. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

ASSESSING LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS OF VALI ASR HOSPITAL OF DAREHSHAHR CITY AGAINST DISASTERS IN 2017

Introduction: Not all hospitals in Iran have necessity preparation to cope with and reduce financial and moral losses from natural disasters and disaster-prone victims in the country. Evidence suggests that hospitals in Iran are not well prepared to deal with disasters. The aim of this study was to assess the readiness of Valiasr Hospital properness for disasters and disaster-prone events in Darehshahr city. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Valiasr Hospital, Darehshahr city in 2017. National Health Assessment Tool for assessing hospitals and health centers readiness for accidents and disasters was used to collect data for this study. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS version 18. Results: scores of 9 components: Command and Control11(61.10), Communication 10(37.04), Safety and Security 17(51.52), Triage 16(53.30), Surge Capacity 13(33.30), Continuity of Essential services 11(45.83), Human Resources 25(55.56), Logistics Management and Supply 17(56.67), and Post Disaster Recovery 12(44.40) were assessed. In general, average readiness of Valiasr hospital for natural disasters and disaster-prone events was 48.35. Conclusion: our result indicated that Valiasr's Hospital was only moderately prepared for natural disasters at Command and Control component. However, with the others eight component the hospital was not prepared enough to respond appropriately in crisis situations. Even though the city has been designated as disaster-prone zone, the results obtained shown hospitals lack of preparedness for disaster emergencies. Therefore, more planning and attention in this field is necessary

Microstructural analysis of rapidly solidified aluminium–nickel alloys

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