Evaluation of the antibacterial effect of nickel oxide nanoparticles against bacteria involved in dental caries

Tooth decay is one of the most common diseases in the oral cavity and is one of the most widespread diseases in the human population. This study aimed to determine the antibacterial effect of nickel oxide nanoparticles against bacteria involved in tooth decay. In this study, the disk diffusion method was used to determine the antibiotic susceptibility and the microdilution broth method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Nanoparticles were also synthesized in two molecular size (A: 8.1 and B: 12 nm) by the sol-gel method. The MIC of the first nanoparticle for Streptococcus sanguinis and Streptococcus mutans was 31.25 and 125 μg/ml, respectively. The MIC of the second nanoparticle for S. sanguinis was 125 μg/ml. In the case of S. mutans up to a concentration of 500 μg/ml, no growth inhibition was observed. The results showed that nickel oxide nanoparticles have acceptable antibacterial properties against S. mutans and S. sanguinis, which can be used in dental materials to prevent dental caries. However, this requires the determination of cellular toxicity and its side effects in future studies.

Investigation of the parameters of the effective mixing design on bleeding asphalt and reducing the drivers’ safety in right lane of tropical roads

Distresses are integral parts of pavement that occur during the life of the road. Bitumen distress is known as one of the most important problems of Iran's roads, especially in tropical areas and transit routes with heavy axes; so, identifying the effective factors in creating the bleeding phenomenon is very necessary and important. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the parameters of the mixing design in creation of bleeding phenomenon and its severity. The collected data were then analyzed and grouped using Design Expert and SPSS software. The results show that all five parameters of optimal bitumen percent, bitumen percent in asphalt mixture, void percent of Marshall Sample, percent void and filler to bitumen ratio are effective on bitumen and its intensity. Among the mentioned parameters, two parameters of percent of bitumen compared to asphalt mixture and the void percent in the Marshall sample have a greater effect on the severity of the bleeding phenomenon

Efficient and Green Synthesis of Acridinedione Derivatives Using Highly Fe3O4@Polyaniline-SO3H as Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst

In the present investigation, an efficient heterogeneous catalyst system made of a polyaniline-derived polymer (Poly [anthranilic acid]-[N-(1′,3′-phenylenediamino) −3-butane sulfonate]) and iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) is presented. Firstly, this novel catalytic system (Fe3O4@Polyaniline-SO3H) has been fabricated via a convenience method and magnetized via an in situ process. The as-prepared solid acid catalyst was also carefully analyzed by Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). It has been suitably applied for the one-pot multicomponent synthesis of acridinediones as an important class of heterocyclic compounds. The first and foremost advantage of this catalytic system is that the (Fe3O4@Polyaniline-SO3H) is magnetically separated from the reaction mixture through their high paramagnetic behavior. The main attractive characteristics of the presented green protocol are very short reaction times, excellent yields, and the avoidance of hazardous or toxic reagents and solvents. Easy separation, high reusability, cost-effective and mild catalyst are important advantages of the new catalyst in comparison to other catalysts for the synthesis of acridinedione derivatives via one-pot four-component reaction

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of quinolones and cephalosporins resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli in the north Iran

Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacillus of the Enterobacterales order that is considered an opportunistic pathogen. One of the places they can enter is the urinary tract, which is called the Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strains and the infections that result from it are called urinary tract infection (UTI). The aims of this study was to obtain new information about the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of quinolones and cephalosporins resistant E. coli. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, all cases of urinary tract infections caused by E. coli isolates referred to Razi Hospital in Rasht, the North of Iran over a period of three years were evaluated. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were evaluated using disk diffusion method. The total number of E. coli bacteria isolated from urine samples of patients with UTIs from 2016 to 2018 was 1224 cases. Totally, 382 out of 612 tested E. coli isolates were ciprofloxacin resistant (62.4%). While, 251 out of 446 tested E. coli isolates were cephalosporins (56.3%). Among the tested isolated, 206 cases were resistant to both antibiotics (cephalosporin and ciprofloxacin), of which 71 (34.5%) were recovered from male and 135 (65.5%) from female samples. The highest antibiotic susceptibility to E. coli was related to amikacin (74.8%) and followed by nitrofurantoin (67.5%). The results showed an alarming rate of cephalosporin and ciprofloxacin resistance among E. coli causing UTI in our region. These findings suggest optimizing local stewardship programs and infection control policy.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a predictive biomarker for early diagnosis of depression: A narrative review

Depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, loss of interest, and decreased energy. Early diagnosis of depression can improve its negative impacts and be effective in its treatment. Previous studies have indicated that inflammation plays an important role in the initiation and development of depression, hence, various inflammatory biomarkers have been investigated for early diagnosis of depression, the most popular of which are blood biomarkers. The Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be more informative in the early diagnosis of depression than other widely used markers, such as other leukocyte characteristics or interleukins. Considering the importance of early diagnosis of depression and the role of NLR in early diagnosis of depression, our paper reviews the literature on NLR as a diagnostic biomarker of depression, which may be effective in its treatment. Various studies have shown that elevated NLR is associated with depression, suggesting that NLR may be a valuable, reproducible, easily accessible, and cost-effective method for the evaluation of depression and it may be used in outpatient clinic settings. Closer follow-up can be performed for these patients who have higher NLR levels. However, it seems that further studies on larger samples, taking into account important confounding factors, and assessing them together with other inflammatory markers are necessary to draw some conclusive statements