Antimicrobial activities of Gold nanoparticles against Salmonella typhimurium

Background and aims: One of the major problems in hospitals is resistant pathogenic bacteria to antimicrobial substances. The problem of increased costs of treatment failure and mortality rates is increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of gold nanoparticles has been on Salmonella typhimurium. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed and Salmonella typhimurium bacteria were isolated from poultry. Gold nanoparticles for business were purchased. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of gold nanoparticles in different concentrations by dilution in the wells were determined on bacteria. Susceptibility to several antibiotics was evaluated by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Results: The result of gold nanoparticles showed the highest MIC (the minimum inhibitory concentration) was 100 ppm concentration that 6 strains of them were inhibited by this concentration. The lowest MIC was 50 ppm concentration that 1 strain of Salmonella was inhibited. The highest and lowest MBC value of extract was 200 and 100 ppm, respectively. Conclusions: The results showed that gold nanoparticles have good inhibitory effect on all studied bacteria

Optimization of phenanthrene contaminated soil washing using Response Surface Methodology

Background and Aims: Soil washing using surfactant is a promising technology for PAHs removal from soil transferring them into liquid phase. The performance of this process is influenced by several factors such as surfactant concentration, washing time, liquid:soil ratio (L/S) and the presence of natural organic matter, which in the present study was totally investigated using the nonionic surfactant Tween 80.Materials and Methods: Surfactant solution with three various concentrations of 500, 2750, 5000 mg/l, at liquid:soil ratios of 10, 20, 30 v/w (ml/g) containing three concentrations of 0, 10, 20 mg/l humic acid (asNOM) was added to phenanthrene contaminated soil samples. The samples were placed on a shaker for timeinterval of 2, 13 and 24 hours, then it was injected to HPLC for phenanthrene concentration analyze. This research was conducted on the basis of central composite design by using response surface method (RSM) in 29 experimental runs.Results: Maximum removal efficiency (77.35%) was achieved under the experimental conditions of 5000 mg/l surfactant concentration, 30 v/w liquid:soil ratio, absence of humic acid and 24 h washing time. Surfactant concentration with impact value of 82.03% was the most effective parameter in phenanthrene removal. L/S was also the other significant factor (P<0.0001), but humic acid and washing time were, statistically,insignificant. The interaction between surfactant concentration and L/S was significant too.Conclusion: Considering the conditions of Iran’s soils containing 3-6 percent organic matter and based on the suggestions of RSM with 95.10% desirability, the optimum conditions for washing high- phenanthrene soil (about 500 mg/kg) with minimum washing time of 2 hours were as 5000 mg/l surfactant concentration, 30 v/w (ml/g) liquid:soil ratio, and 2.1 mg/l humic acid concentration (6.30%).Key words: phenanthrene, soil washing, surfactant Tween 80, optimizatio

Modeling of carbon dioxide solubility in ionic liquids based on group method of data handling

Due to industrial development, the volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) is rapidly increasing.. Several techniques have been used to eliminate CO2 from the output gas mixtures. One of these methods is CO2 capturing by ionic liquids (ILs). Computational models for estimating the CO2 solubility in ILS is of utmost importance. In this research, a white box model in the form of a mathematical correlation using the largest data bank in literature is presented by the group method of data handling (GMDH). This research investigates the application of GMDH intelligent method as a powerful computational approach for predicting CO2 solubility in different ionic liquids with temperature lower and upper than 324 K. In this regard, 4726 data points including the solubility of CO2 in 60 ILs were used for model development Moreover, seven different ionic liquids were selected to perform the external test. To evaluate the validity and efficiency of the suggested model, regression analysis was implemented on the actual and estimated target values. As a result, a proper fit between the experimental and predicted data was obtained and presented by various figures and statistical parameters. It is also worth noting that the predicted negative values in the proposed models are considered zero. Also, the results of the established correlation were compared to other proposed models exist in the literature of ionic liquids. The terminal form of the models suggested by GMDH approach and obtained based on temperature are two simple mathematical correlations by exerting input parameters of temperature (T), pressure (P), critical temperature (Tc ), critical pressure (Pc ) and, acentric factor (ω) which does not suffer from the black box property of other neural network algorithms. The model suggested in this work, would be a promising one which can act as an efficient predictor for CO2 solubility estimation in ILs and is capable of being used in different industries

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and its associated factors in patients with COVID-19

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attaches to the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptors for penetrating cells. Because these receptors are extensively distributed in the intestine, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may cause gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is known to increase the expression of ACE-2 receptors in the GI tract. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of H. pylori infection and its associated factors in patients with COVID-19.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to December 2021. A total of 215 patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 infections using a real-time PCR test or a CT scan were included in the study. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test on serum samples was used to evaluate the presence of H. pylori.Results: All 215 positive patients for COVID-19 with a mean age of 59.72±17.23 were evaluated. Among them, 153 patients (71.2%) were H. pylori-positive. Moreover, H. pylori+/ COVID-19+ group showed higher mean age than H. pylori-/ COVID-19+ patients. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups of patients regarding their medical background, drug history, BMI, and disease severity. The prognosis of the patients was severely worse in the H. pylori+/ COVID-19+ than in H. pylori-/ COVID-19+ patients.Conclusion: Our study adds to the previous findings and provides evidence regarding the high prevalence of H. pylori in COVID-19 patients. These investigations could help us elucidate the relationship between H. pylori and respiratory system findings and better understand COVID-19

Comparison of the Efficiency of Two Taping Techniques in Reducing Thoracic Kyphosis among Girls Aged 18-30 Years

Background: Kyphosis means an abnormal increase in the curvature of the thoracic region of the vertebral column and refers to a situation where the thoracic kyphosis range is more than forty five degrees. Vertebral column taping seems to be one of the most effective ways of treating kyphosis. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effect of two taping techniques in reducing the degree of kyphosis in girls aged 18-30 years. Methods: Thirty-two volunteers were randomly assigned into two groups (n=19 per group) of V–shaped tape and I-shaped tape. Taping techniques were performed as follows by applying 50% tensile force: V–shaped tape: The tape started on both sides of the anterior of acromioclavicular joint and extended to the spinous process of T6 vertebra. I–shaped tape: The patient’s body was kept in a standing and straight state and then a longitudinal tape was applied from T1 to the deepest lumbar lordosis region. The measurements were carried out before, immediately, 24, and 48 hours after taping by a flexible ruler in a similar manner. Data analysis was performed using Friedman Test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Mann Whitney Test. Results: The results of this study showed a significant reduction in the degree of kyphosis in the case of the V-shaped tape 48 hours after taping. However, the degree of kyphosis decreased after 24 h (P=0.001) and 48 hours (P< 0001) in the I-shaped tape group. In addition, there was no significant difference between the two interventions in terms of decreasing the degree of kyphosis at any time interval except for 24 hours (P=0.043). Conclusion: Taping reduces the degree of kyphosis by creating mechanical support, creating proprioceptive feedback, affecting the proprioception, improving the function of spinal erectors, and improving the mental image of the body with kyphosis. It appears that the I-shaped tape positioning on the alignment of spinal erectors spine makes it more effective

Self-rated health and internet addiction in Iranian medical sciences students; prevalence, risk factors and complications

Introduction: Self-rated health is a brief measure for general health. It is a comprehensive and sensitive index for prediction of health in future. Due to the high internet usage in medical students, the current study designed to evaluate the self-rated health (SR H) in relationship with internet addiction risk factors in medical students. Methods: This cross sectional study conducted on 254 students of Qom University of Medical Sciences 2014. Participants selected by two stage sampling method including stratified and simple random sampling. The Young’s questionnaire of internet addiction and SR H question used for data collection. Chisquare, t-test, and logistic regression used in data analysis. Results: More than 79.9% of students reported their general health good and very good. The student’s mean score of general health was higher than the average. In addition, the prevalence of internet addiction was 28.7%. An inverse significant correlation observed between SR H and internet addiction score (r=-0.198, p=0.002). Using internet for Entertainment, using private Email and chat rooms were the most important predictors of affecting to internet addiction. Moreover, internet addiction is the most predictors of SR H and increased the odds of bad SR H. Conclusion: The good SR H of medical students was higher than general population but in health faculty’ students were lower than others. Due to the effect of internet addiction on SRH and increasing trend of internet use in medical students, as well as low age of participants, attention to psychological aspects and the job expectancy in future, can effective on increasing the good SRH

Comparison of Physical Fitness among Smoker and Non-Smoker Men

Background: It is well documented that cigarette smoking has negative impacts on body health, as well as social health, economy, culture, etc. Nowadays, there is a large body of evidence that smoking is the cause of numerous life-threatening diseases like cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases along with different kinds of cancer. The aim of this study was to compare the physical fitness of smokers and non smokers.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 64 non-sportsmen (34 non-smokers and 30 smokers) aging 19–27 years. Both groups were matched for age, weight, height and body mass index (BMI). The smokers used cigarettes at least 5 cigarettes a day for 2 years. None of them had a musculoskeletal disease. We used a questionnaire and physical fitness tests for data gathering. The tests were used to measure muscle strength, endurance, speed, agility and flexibility in both groups.Findings: The muscle strength was significantly different in smokers and non-smokers (P = 0.012). Moreover, smokers had less agility (P = 0.004) and speed (P = 0.008) than non-smokers. However, although smokers were weaker than non- smokers, the differences in muscle endurance (P = 0.066) and flexibility (P = 0.095) were not the statistically significant.Conclusion: According to these results, the smokers were less powerful than nonsmokers. In addition, physical activity skills in young smokers were decreased. Therefore, smoking will cause a gradual loss of physical strength and active personal and social power. Keywords: Tobacco, Physical fitness, Muscle

Nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice of Iranian households and primary health care staff: NUTRIKAP survey

The aim of this study is to determine knowledge, attitude and practice of Iranian households and health staff on nutrition at province level. The sampling method in NUTRIKAP survey for households in each province is singlestage cluster sampling and the size of clusters is equal. The sampling method for health staff in each province is stratified random sampling. Samples are selected from physicians, health experts, health technicians, nutritionists and health assistants (Behvarz). Overall, 14136 people in 57 clusters in each province and 480 health staff over the country participate in this survey. The necessary data will be gathered by the structured questionnaire and the interview with the eligible person in each household. Data gathering from health staff will be carried out by selfadministered questionnaire. The results of this study can help the bureau of community nutrition to provide the proper interventions to improve nutritional health of households

Association of levels of interleukin 17 and T-helper 17 count with symptom severity and etiology of chronic heart failure: a case-control study

Aim To assess the association between the levels of interleukin 17 (IL-17) and T-helper 17 count and symptom severity and etiology of chronic heart failure. Methods This single-center prospective case-control study, conducted from December 1, 2015 to January 1, 2017 in Tehran Heart Center, evaluated gene expression of IL-17, relative count of (CD4+IL17+) Th17 cells and CD4+ helper T-cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 42 patients with CHF and 42 matched controls. A multiple regression model assessed the predictors of peripheral IL-17 expression and Th17 count in patients with CHF. Results IL-17 expression was increased in patients with CHF, both at baseline and after stimulation. IL-17 and Th17 counts were higher in patients with advanced New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (class IV) than in controls and patients with class I. Th17 cell population expanded in patients with CHF, more prominently in patients with class IV than in controls and patients with class I, regardless of the ischemic or non-ischemic CHF origin. Multiple regression model showed that NYHA was the only meaningful predictor of IL-17 levels and Th17 count. Conclusion We demonstrated the lymphocytic origin of IL-17 production in advanced CHF and the ability of disease severity to predict IL-17 levels