Gram-positive cocci contamination in dental unit water lines at Kerman dental school during 2015

Background: Because of its role in the incidence of serious microbial infections, the contamination of dental unit water lines is concerned. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacterial contamination of dental unit water lines to gram-positive cocci at Kerman. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Environmental Health Engineering Research Center of Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) during 2015. Randomly 4 units among each of the departments of Dental School of KUMS (Pediatrics, Orthodontics, Oral surgery, Maxillofacial and Oral medicine) were selected. Samples were transported to the laboratory in sterile containers. Results: No contamination to gram-positive cocci in drinking water samples were reported. Among the water samples taken from Dental School the highest bacterial count was for the Oral medicine department (the cup filler unit 26/25 cfu/mL and 32/18 cfu/mL and the lowest bacterial count was for Oral surgery, Maxillofacial departments parts exposed to the weather unit 23/25 (cfu/mL) and 24/43 (cfu/mL). Conclusion: The prevalence of gram positive cocci in dental units of the departments was high. The dentists should care to the presence of microorganisms and take preventive measures to reduce the risk of infection among the department staff and patients

Fluoride removal from aqueous solution by pumice: case study on Kuhbonan water

The fluoride removal from synthetic water by pumice was studied at batch experiments in this study. The effect of pH, contact time, fluoride concentration and adsorbent dose on the fluoride sequestration was investigated. The optimum conditions were studied on Kuhbonan water as a case study. The results showed that with increasing of the absorbent amount; contact time and pH improve the efficiency of fluoride removal. The maximum fluoride uptake was obtained in pH and contact time 7.0 and 180 min, respectively. Also, with increasing initial concentration of fluoride in water, the efficiency of fluoride removal decreased. The obtained results in this study were matched with freundlich isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic. The maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) and constant rate were found 0.31 (mg/g) and 0.21 (mg/g.min), respectively. This study also showed that in the optimum conditions, the fluoride removal efficiency from Kuhbonan water by 2.8 mg/L fluoride was 74.64%. Eventually, pumice is recommended as a suitable and low cost absorbent to fluoride removal from aqueous solutions.Key words: Adsorption, Freundlich isotherm, Langmuir isotherm, Kuhbonan water

Comparison of polyaluminum silicate chloride and electrocoagulation process, in natural organic matter removal from surface water in ghochan, Iran

Removal of Natural Organic Matter (NOM)is one of the most important objectives of water treatment plants but reducing these pollutants either present in water as dissolved or suspended form is not as efficient as is required in conventional treatment plants. The purpose of this study was comparison performance of composite polyaluminum silicate chloride (PASiC) and electrocoagulation (EC) process by aluminum electrodes in NOM removal from raw surface water.Удаление природных органических веществ (ПОВ) является одной из наиболее важных задач при очистке поверхностных вод. Однако удаление ПОВ, находящихся в растворенной форме или в виде суспензий, не настолько эффективно, как это требуется при работе водоочистных сооружений. Изучено влияние мутности, общего органического углерода (ООУ), адсорбции ПОВ при длине волны 254 нм (УФ254 нм), ХПК, щелочности в процессе электрокоагуляции и при использовании композитного четыреххлористого кремния полиалюминия (КЧКП).Видалення природних органічних речовин (ПОР) є одним з найбільш важливих завдань при очищенні поверхневих вод. Проте видалення ПОР, що знаходяться в розчиненій формі або у вигляді суспензій, не настільки ефективно, як це потрібно при роботі водоочисних споруд. Вивчений вплив каламутності, загального органічного вуглецю (ЗОУ), адсорбції ПОР при довжині хвилі 254 нм (УФ254 нм), ХПК, лужності в процесі електрокоагуляції і при використанні композитного чотирьоххлорістого кремнію поліалюмінію (КЧКП)

Insights into role of microRNAs in cardiac development, cardiac diseases, and developing novel therapies

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a subfamily of small noncoding RNAs that play a variety of roles in regulating gene expression in nearly all organisms. They affect different biological pathways by posttranscriptionally regulating mRNAs. Aside from miRNAs' role in maintaining cellular homeostasis, their perturbation is related to several pathologic states and diseases. Cardiovascular disorders are considered some of the most mortal multifactorial diseases that are caused by the deregulation of network of genes and effects of environmental factors. In this review, we discuss the role of miRNAs in cardiac homeostasis and malfunctions. We reviewed published research on association and role of miRNAs in cardiac development and diseases and investigated the possible links between regulatory miRNAs and different cardiac disorders. Research shows that manipulating miRNAs expression affects the integrity and functionality of the cardiovascular system. Moreover, deregulation of miRNAs, is observed in many cardiac diseases. These findings intensify the pivotal role of miRNAs in the development and specific pathological disorders of the cardiovascular system. In this review, we summarized the latest findings on the involvement of miRNAs in cardiac development, and continued by their role in congenital heart diseases and rheumatic heart disease, which are some of the leading causes of infant death and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Considering the significance of miRNAs in cardiac homeostasis and malfunctions, they are considered as promising therapeutic targets in cardiovascular diseases. © 2020 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

lncRNA PSORS1C3 is regulated by glucocorticoids and fine-tunes OCT4 expression in non-pluripotent cells

OCT4 is a transcription factor known for its regulatory roles in stemness, tumorigenesis and stress response. Considering its versatile functions, expression of OCT4 is regulated at different levels. PSORS1C3, a long non-coding RNA overlapped with OCT4, has a putative association with immune mediated diseases; however, its exact functions remained to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated that PSORS1C3 is regulated by glucocorticoids (GC), has two endogenously active promoters, promoter 0 and 1, and two sets of transcripts, short and long variants. According to our findings, PSORS1C3 promoters behaved differently during neural differentiation of NT2 cells and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation. In both processes the expression pattern of short variants differed from that of long variants and was similar to OCT4 expression. Furthermore, our data revealed that PSORS1C3�s promoter 0 could act as an enhancer for OCT4 in non-pluripotent cells, where its deletion caused a significant decrease in OCT4 expression. Meanwhile, during GR activation promoter 0 functioned as a negative regulator and alleviated transcription induction of OCT4 after GC treatment. Altogether, our work clarified the structure and regulation of PSORS1C3, explained its relation to immune-related disease through GR signaling and introduced it as a novel fine-tuner of OCT4 expression in non-pluripotent cells. © 2019, The Author(s)

Optimization of photochemical decomposition acetamiprid pesticide from aqueous solutions and effluent toxicity assessment by Pseudomonas aeruginosa BCRC using response surface methodology

Contamination of water resources by acetamiprid pesticide is considered one of the main environmental problems. The aim of this study was the optimization of acetamiprid removal from aqueous solutions by TiO2/Fe3O4/SiO2 nanocomposite using the response surface methodology (RSM) with toxicity assessment by Pseudomonas aeruginosa BCRC. To obtain the optimum condition for acetamiprid degradation using RSM and central composite design (CCD). The magnetic TiO2/Fe3O4/SiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized using co-precipitation and sol�gel methods. The surface morphology of the nanocomposite and magnetic properties of the as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterised by scanning electron microscope and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. In this study, toxicity assessment tests have been carried out by determining the activity of dehydrogenase enzyme reducing Resazurin (RR) and colony forming unit (CFU) methods. According to CCD, quadratic optimal model with R2 = 0.99 was used. By analysis of variance, the most effective values of each factor were determined in each experiment. According to the results, the most optimal conditions for removal efficiency of acetamiprid (pH = 7.5, contact time = 65 min, and dose of nanoparticle 550 mg/L) was obtained at 76.55. Effect concentration (EC50) for RR and CFU test were 1.950 and 2.050 mg/L, respectively. Based on the results obtained from the model, predicted response values showed high congruence with actual response values. And, the model was suitable for the experiment�s design conditions. © 2017, The Author(s)

Optimization of photochemical decomposition acetamiprid pesticide from aqueous solutions and effluent toxicity assessment by Pseudomonas aeruginosa BCRC using response surface methodology

Contamination of water resources by acetamiprid pesticide is considered one of the main environmental problems. The aim of this study was the optimization of acetamiprid removal from aqueous solutions by TiO2/Fe3O4/SiO2 nanocomposite using the response surface methodology (RSM) with toxicity assessment by Pseudomonas aeruginosa BCRC. To obtain the optimum condition for acetamiprid degradation using RSM and central composite design (CCD). The magnetic TiO2/Fe3O4/SiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized using co-precipitation and sol�gel methods. The surface morphology of the nanocomposite and magnetic properties of the as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterised by scanning electron microscope and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. In this study, toxicity assessment tests have been carried out by determining the activity of dehydrogenase enzyme reducing Resazurin (RR) and colony forming unit (CFU) methods. According to CCD, quadratic optimal model with R2 = 0.99 was used. By analysis of variance, the most effective values of each factor were determined in each experiment. According to the results, the most optimal conditions for removal efficiency of acetamiprid (pH = 7.5, contact time = 65 min, and dose of nanoparticle 550 mg/L) was obtained at 76.55. Effect concentration (EC50) for RR and CFU test were 1.950 and 2.050 mg/L, respectively. Based on the results obtained from the model, predicted response values showed high congruence with actual response values. And, the model was suitable for the experiment�s design conditions. © 2017, The Author(s)

Linc-ROR and its spliced variants 2 and 4 are significantly up-regulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective(s): Similar characteristics of molecular pathways between cellular reprogramming events and tumorigenesis have been accentuated in recent years. Reprogramming-related transcription factors, also known as Yamanaka factors (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC), are also well-known oncogenes promoting cancer initiation, progression, and cellular transformation into cancer stem cells. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a major class of RNA molecules with emerging roles in stem cell pluripotency, cellular reprogramming, cellular transformation, and tumorigenesis. The long intergenic non-coding RNA ROR (lincRNA-ROR, linc-ROR) acts as a regulator of cellular reprograming through sponging miR-145 that normally negatively regulates the expression of the stemness factors NANOG, OCT4, and SOX2. Materials and Methods: Here, we employed a real-time PCR approach to determine the expression patterns of linc-ROR and its two novel spliced variants (variants 2 and 4) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Results: The quantitative real-time RT-PCR results revealed a significant up-regulation of linc-ROR (P=0.0098) and its variants 2 (P=0.0250) and 4 (P=0.0002) in tumor samples of ESCC, compared to their matched non-tumor tissues obtained from the margin of same tumors. Our data also demonstrated a significant up-regulation of variant 4 in high-grade tumor samples, in comparison to the low-grade ones (P=0.04). Moreover, the ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the variant 4 of ROR has a potential to discriminate between tumor and non-tumor samples (AUC=0.66, P<0.05). Conclusion: Our data suggest a significant up-regulation of linc-ROR and its variants 2 and 4 in ESCC tissue samples. � 2016, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Mechanisms of earthquake induced chemical and fluid transport to carbonate groundwater springs after earthquakes

Mechanisms by which hydrochemical changes occur after earthquakes are not well documented. We use the 2016-2017 central Italy seismic sequence, which caused notable hydrochemical transient variations in groundwater springs to address this topic, with special reference to effects on fractured carbonate aquifers. Hydrochemistry measured before and after the earthquakes at four springs at varying distances from the epicenters all showed immediate post-mainshock peaks in trace element concentrations, but little change in major elements. Most parameters returned to pre-earthquake values before the last events of the seismic sequence. The source of solutes, particularly trace elements, is longer residence time pore water stored in slow moving fractures or abandoned karstic flowpaths. These fluids were expelled into the main flow paths after an increase in pore pressure, hydraulic conductivity, and shaking from co-seismic aquifer stress. The weak response to the later earthquakes is explained by progressive depletion of high solute fluids as earlier shocks flushed out the stored fluids in the fractures. Spring \u3b413CDIC values closest to a deep magma source to the west became enriched relative to pre-earthquake values following the August 24th event. This enrichment indicates input from deeply-sourced dissolved CO2 gas after dilation of specific fault conduits. Differences in carbon isotopic responses between springs are attributed to proximity to the deep CO2 source. Most of the transient chemical changes seen in the three fractured carbonate aquifers are attributed to local shaking and emptying of isolated pores and fractures, and are not from rapid upward movement of deep fluids