Comparative Effect of Honey Bee Venom and Common Antifungal Agents on Candida albicans

Fungal infections, can cause various symptoms in different forms, and are associated with high morbidity and mortality in vulnerable groups. one of the most significant fungal infection is candidiasis which caused by Candida. In recent years, there has been growing worried about the challenging of fungal diseases treatment and unwanted consequence of synthetic antifungal drugs. This necessitates the searching for new classes of broad-spectrum anti-fungal drugs to bring pharmaceutical characteristics and more efficient treatments. Bee venom (BV) is an antimicrobial agent which has been widely used to treat various diseases. the aim of the current study was to examine the antifungal properties of honey bee venom on Candida albicans to compare it to some common antifungal drugs (ketoconazole and amphotericin B). to perform this assay, the standard strains of C. albicans (ATCC10231) was used for antimicrobial assessment, and Disc diffusion assay and the microbroth dilution method were used to evaluate the anti fungal activity of (BV). The result of this study showed that BV, amphotericin B and ketoconazole had inhibitory effects on C. albicans which MIC of the were measured to be 118.2, 3.3 and 2 respectively, furthermore, Comparison of BV and common antifungal drugs demonstrated that, amphotricin B and ketoconazole have a better effect on C. albicans

Penalized Regression Methods for Modelling Rare Events Data with Application to Occupational Injury Study

Occupational injuries are a serious public health concern for workers around the world. Among all occupational injuries reported to the Workers' Compensation Board of Saskatchewan (WCB-SK) from 2007-2016, 177 (0.06%) out of 280,704 injury claims were fatal. Although work-related injuries are relatively rare, they have tremendous impact on the workers, their family, as well as a company's overall productivity, hiring/training costs, and insurance premiums. To help inform prevention of fatal claims, this study identified factors that increase the probability of fatal injury claims in Saskatchewan. WCB Saskatchewan's administrative occupational injury claims data from 2007-2016 was used to extract fatal and non-fatal occupational events. Potential covariates included worker characteristics (age, gender, occupation) and incident characteristics (source of injury, cause of injury, part of body). Given the fatality being rare in this study, conventional logistic regression including multiple categorical covariates with over 40 parameters yielded biased parameter estimates. Penalized logistic regression methods, such as bias-correction method, i.e. Firth's method as well as the model selection methods, i.e., lasso and elastic net were compared to identify an optimal modelling strategy for calculating the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for probability of a WCB claim being fatal (vs. non-fatal). Based on the best-fitting model, i.e., Firth's logistic regression of the selected variables under the elastic net method, odds of a claim being fatal was 5.5 (95% CI: 2.77,12.46) times higher among men than women and was 6.59 (95% CI: 3.59,12.20) times higher for seniors aged 65-85 as compared with those who are aged 14-24. Odds of a claim being fatal among those who work in primary industry is 2.85 (95% CI: 1.07,9.39) higher than those working in social sciences. The odds of injury being fatal for machinery sources is 51 (95% CI: 10.38,505.38) times higher than chemical products as the source. Men workers are at higher risk of a claim being fatal (vs non-fatal). With respect to age, result of analysis showed that the middle-aged workers are at a lower risk, and the young workers are at a higher risk than middle aged workers. The risk of a claim being fatal increased sharply as age increased from 45 to 85. Primary industry sector and machinery have a disproportionate share of fatal claims. This knowledge can improve workplace safety by learning from past incidents, identifying significant risk factors, and implementing targeted prevention strategies. Through development of effective interventions, we hope to prevent fatal injuries in Saskatchewan

Comparison of antibacterial activity of essential oils of Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Mentha arvensis and Mentha piperita against Streptococcus mutans

Background and aims: Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases around the world and this problem is the result of variety of different bacteria. Streptococcus mutants is one of the most important bacteria which is related to this disease. Finding new effective antibacterial agents is an important area in bioscience for fighting and controlling bacterial infections. Essential oils are most important natural sources of antibacterial agents, particularly against drug-resistant bacteria. Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the antibacterial activity of three essential oils Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita and Foeniculum vulgare Mill against Streptococcus mutants. Disk diffusion method was carried out and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured. Results: The results showed that all three essential oils have antibacterial activity against S. mutants. With a constant concentration of 100 µg/µl, the efficiency of Mentha piperita and then Foeniculum vulgare Mill was higher than the efficiency of Mentha arvensis at all 3 given time points (24, 48 and 72 hours). The most effective MIC and MBC were related to Streptococcus mutants using Foeniculum vulgare essential oil which were equal to 8.4 and 14.9 µg/ml, respectively. MIC and MBC for Mentha piperita essential oil were measured 10.5 and 16.3 µg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: The Essential oils used in present study with different components showed antibacterial activity and therefore they can be used as new antibacterial substances

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of some herbal essential oils against Streptococcus mutans

Background and aims: One of the most common chronic diseases in the world is tooth decay. A variety of bacteria are involved in this disorder of which Streptococcus mutants is the most common. Essential oils are considered as new natural compounds for use in combating drug-resistant bacteria. This study was aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of some essential oils prepared from Eucalyptus caesia Benth, Cuminum cyminum L. and Satureja hortensis L. on S. mutants. Methods: In this study, essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation method. E. caesia Benth, C. cyminum L. and S. hortensis L. were characterized by using gas chromatography‒mass spectrophotometry (GC‒MS). Antibacterial activity indices including minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and zone of inhibition for the above essential oils against Streptococcus mutans were determined using broth macro-dilution and disk diffusion methods. Data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Results:Results showed that all three extracts had antibacterial activity against S. mutants. S. hortensis L. essential oil with the lowest MIC and MBC value (13.2 and 18.4 µg/ml, respectively) and the biggest inhibition zone showed the strongest antibacterial effect against S. mutants in all exposure times and at all concentrations, compared with two other essential oils. Furthermore, C. cyminum L. essential oil had higher anti-bacterial activity against S. mutant than E. caesia Benth essential oil. Conclusions:The essential oils used in the present study with different components showed antibacterial activity (especially S. hortensis L essential oil), and therefore they can be used as a new antibacterial substance. Keywords: Dental caries, Streptococcus mutans, Essential oils, Antimicrobial

Enhanced Bactericidal Activity of Silver Thin Films Deposited via Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

Silver thin films were deposited on SiO2-barrier-coated float glass, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass, Activ glass, and TiO2-coated float glass via AACVD using silver nitrate at 350 °C. The films were annealed at 600 °C and analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV/vis/near-IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. All the films were crystalline, and the silver was present in its elemental form and of nanometer dimension. The antibacterial activity of these samples was tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the dark and under UV light (365 nm). All Ag-deposited films reduced the numbers of E. coli by 99.9% within 6 h and the numbers of S. aureus by 99.9% within only 2 h. FTO/Ag reduced bacterial numbers of E. coli to below the detection limit after 60 min and caused a 99.9% reduction of S. aureus within only 15 min of UV irradiation. Activ/Ag reduced the numbers of S. aureus by 66.6% after 60 min and TiO2/Ag killed 99.9% of S. aureus within 60 min of UV exposure. More remarkably, we observed a 99.9% reduction in the numbers of E. coli within 6 h and the numbers of S. aureus within 4 h in the dark using our novel TiO2/Ag system

Cardiotoxicity Effects of Herbal Medicine, A Review Article

With the development of human's modern society more and more people tend to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Toxicological studies indicated that many herbal medicines have direct toxic effects on the circulatory system or cardiovascular system and cause harmful effects on the body. Cardiotoxicity or heart damage is a serious issue defined as heart electrophysiology dysfunction, affecting the cardiac structure, and muscle damage that arises from the drug or chemical poisoning agents, that may lead to heart failure. The aim of this review article is to provide various information about the potential adverse effects of herbal medicine on the cardiovascular system and introduce herbs that induced cardiac toxicity. To provide this review, all reported cases of cardiac toxicity induced by herbal medicines and natural products were collected through research articles and documents, and the most relevant articles, and books in various authentic search engines including Scopus, PubMed, SID (scientific information database), Science Direct and Google Scholar, from 1984 to April 2022 were searched, and selected herbs with therapeutic properties which induce toxic effects on the cardiovascular system are introduced. In this review, scientific data regarding cardiotoxicity showed that 16 herbs from 11 families may increase cardiac toxicity. Therefore, it's important to use herbal medicines and natural products under the guidance of medical professionals

Computational Prediction for the Binding Affinity of Interleukins 3 and 5 and GM- CSF to Cell Surface Receptors on Human Eosinophils

Abstract. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a 14.477 kD glycoprotein comprising 144 amino acids residues. The respective encoding gene is located on chromosome 5 in human. This protein stimulates proliferation and differentiation of macrophages. N-terminally seventeen amino acid residues are serving as a signal peptide while, the rest of 127 amino acids, known to have therapeutics application, is termed Molgramostim. Previous studies have revealed a high affinity of this protein for binding to a heterodimer receptor on surface of the cell. The respective receptor includes α and β chains which the β chain is similar to interleukins 3 and 5 receptors. Due to this similarity, interleukins 3 and 5 are capable to compete with GM-CSF in binding to the shared receptor. In the present study, to evaluate the binding affinity of interleukins 3 and 5 and GM-CSF to the same receptor, a computational prediction study carried out using Modeller, Hex and Molegro softwares. According to the results, interleukin 3 with -517.09 kJ/mole, interleukin 5 with -538.05 kJ/mole and GM-CSF with -606.17 kJ/mole energy could bind to the α and β chains of receptor. In the next step the two chains of the receptor were separated and the affinity of each protein to both chains was studied. Based on the results the binding affinity of all three considered proteins to α chain of the protein was weaker than the binding to β chain. The binding energy of interleukin 3, interleukin 5 and GM-CSF to β chain of receptors was -620.37 kJ/mole,-663.80 kJ/mole and -696.07 kJ/mole respectively. According to the results, interleukin 3 and interleukin 5 strongly compete with GM-CSF in binding to cell surface receptors on human eosinophils

The Antiviral Potential of Iranian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (IHP) on Herpes Simplex Viruses (HSV): A Review Article

Herpes Simplex Viruses (HSV) viruses are highly contagious that commonly cause dermatitis, encephalitis, meningitis and genitourinary infections and also can lead to cervical cancer. For treatment of HSV infections, several physical methods and antiviral drugs are introduced, antiviral medications can also prevent or reduce outbreaks. The use of herbal medicine with antiviral effects attracted worldwide attentions. The aim of this review article is to introduce the Iranian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (IHP) with antiviral potential against two HSV serotypes and help to evaluate and develop the new drugs from natural sources. To provide this review, relevant articles in some authentic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar and SID (scientific information database), from 1967 to April 2022 were collected, and selected botanicals from (IHP) with their scientific names and classifications and their outcome (CC50 and IC50) were introduced. In this review, scientific data regarding anti-herpetic activities of Iranian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (IHP) showed that 34 herbs from 17 families have antiviral potential to inhibit two HSV serotypes. According to families, Lamiaceae family has the highest percentage (29.41 %) of plants with antiviral activity against two HSV serotypes, also review of recent data showed that Salvia officinalis, Melissa officinalis, Securigera Securidaca, Hyssopus officinalis, Quercus brantii, Artemisia aucheri and Curcuma longa have remarkable antiviral activity against two HSV serotypes. Results of this review suggest that further research to identify and purify the bioactive compounds to determine the molecular mechanisms of action is needed