Evaluation of the Efficiency of Double Aluminum-Magnesium Layered Nano-Hydroxide in Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Aquatic Solutions and Determination of Optimal Adsorption

Background: Antibiotics and their metabolites are known as dangerous non-degradable substances that potentially remain after the wastewater treatment process. Therefore, it is necessary to remove these compounds from aqueous solutions. This study aimed to use layered double nano-hydroxides to remove carbamazepine, cephalexin, and ciprofloxacin. Methods: In this experimental study the characteristics of double aluminum-magnesium layered nano-hydroxide were investigated by SEM, FTIR, XRD, and DLS. In order to determine the removal efficacy of this adsorbent; the effects of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial concentration of antibiotics was investigated and the isotherms and kinetics of absorption were determined. Results: According to the SEM and TEM analysis, the synthesized adsorbent had a hexagonal shape and its size ranged from 200 to 1000 nm. The analysis of XRD and FTIR showed that the adsorbent is a layered double hydroxide. The highest removal rate of antibiotics was observed at the contact time of 120 min, pH of 9, the adsorbent dose of 8 g/L and concentration of 30 mg/L for all three types of antibiotics which was 94%, 91% and 97% for carbamazepine, cefalexin, and ciprofloxacin respectively. The study of isotherm and kinetics showed that absorption data were more consistent with the Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order kinetics. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that layered double hydroxide that was synthesized by urea hydrolysis, had high efficacy in the treatment of carbamazepine, cephalexin, and ciprofloxacin

Comparative Study of Modified Chlorhexidine Toxicity, Chlorhexidine and Sodium Hypochlorite on Gingival Fibroblast Cells L929 In Vitro

One obvious and good properties of sodium hypochlorite is capacity of tissue solubility which has effective role in direct root canal cleaning, necrotic tissues and root canal system complexity. Chlorhexidine, in spite of all advantages that have than sodium hypochlorite, lacks this property. Superficial active factors or surfactants are materials that are used extensively as irritant, emulsifier, disinfection and solution additive. Surfactants are different types including benzalkonium chloride 4% and sodium lauryl Sulfate 2%. In this research, sodium dodecyl sulfate was used. Gingival fibroblast cells are kept in 25 cm2 flasks in 370C temperature. And then they are cultivated in Gibco Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM). 96 wells plates with 50 microliter are filled with growth medium with 2000 fibroblast and it is placed in incubator for 24 hours. After 24 hours, growth medium is thrown away and all plates are washed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). All experimental steps are performed for preventing samples being contaminated under hood. The experiment was carried out as triplicate (3 wells cell). Results: In order to perform a research, Tukey-test and Duncan test were applied for explaining research variable. Results: toxicity rate of under tested solutions on fibroblast cells for group 1-4 are respectively (right to left) 13.75, 51.75, 20.75 and 51.75. Results of comparing means in four groups in landa level 4 indicated that groups are not significantly different in toxicity rate. results of this research indicated that this mixture can be used as an appropriate candidate for replacing sodium hypochlorite based on its disadvantages which needs to be studied more

Synthesis of Nano Porous Silica-titania Membrane with Photocatalytic Properties

In this study, the photocatalytic properties of nanoporous silica-titania membrane was investigated. For this purpose, nano-porous silica-titania membrane was prepared by sol-gel process using tetraethyl orthotitanate and tetraethyl orthosilicate with the intermediate layer of colloidal titania on α-alumina support. The as-prepared membrane was characterized by FTIR, XRD, FESEM and BET techniques. The specific surface area of microporouse silica -30% titania powder was 507 m2/gr. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared membrane was studied for methyl orange photo-degradation under UV light (&lambda

The Inhibitory Effect of Ginger Extract on Ovarian Cancer Cell Line; Application of Systems Biology

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.Purpose: Ginger is a natural compound with anti-cancer properties. The effects of ginger and its mechanism on ovarian cancer and its cell line model, SKOV-3, are unclear. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of ginger extract on SKOV-3. Methods: SKOV-3 cells were incubated with ginger extract for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Cell toxicity assay was performed. Different data mining algorithms were applied to highlight the most important features contributing to ginger inhibition on the SKOV-3 cell proliferation. Moreover, Real-Time PCR was performed to assay p53, p21 and bcl-2 genes expression. For co-expression meta-analysis of p53, mutual ranking (MR) index and transformation to Z-values (Z distribution) were applied on available transcriptome data in NCBI GEO data repository. Results: The ginger extract significantly inhibited cancer growth in ovarian cancer cell line. The most important attribute was 60 μg/ml concentration which received weights higher than 0.50, 0.75 and 0.95 by 90%, 80% and 50% of feature selection models, respectively. The expression level of p53 was increased sharply in response to ginger treatment. Systems biology analysis and meta-analysis of deposited expression value in NCBI based on rank of correlation and Z-transformation approach unraveled the key co-expressed genes and coexpressed network of P53, as the key transcription factor induced by ginger extract. High co-expression between P53 and the other apoptosis-inducing proteins such as CASP2 and DEDD was noticeable, suggesting the molecular mechanism underpinning of ginger action. Conclusion: We found that the ginger extract has anticancer properties through p53 pathway to induce apoptosis

Investigating the efficiency of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes in removal of penicillin G from aqueous solutions

Background: Drugs, especially antibiotics, are one of the serious problems of modern life and the main pollution sources of the environment, especially in the last decade, which are harmful to human health and environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of penicillin G from aqueous solutions using single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Methods: In this study, the effect of different parameters including pH (3, 5, 7, 9, and 11), initial concentration of pollutant (50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/l), absorbent dose (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 g/L), mixing speed (0, 100, 200, and 300 rpm), and temperature (10, 15, 25, 35, 45°C) were investigated. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, BET, Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms and adsorption kinetics of the first- and second-order equations were determined. Results: The results showed that the efficiency of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the removal of penicillin G was 68.25% and 56.37%, respectively, and adsorption capacity of the nanotubes was 141 mg/g and 119 mg/g at initial concentration of 50 mg/l and pH=5 with adsorption dose of 0.8 g/L for 105 minutes at 300 rpm and temperature of 10°C from aqueous solutions. Also, it was revealed that the adsorption process had the highest correlation with the Langmuir model and secondorder kinetics, and the maximum adsorption capacity based on Langmuir model was 373.80 mg/g. Conclusion: According to the results, it was found that single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes can be used as effective absorbents in the removal of penicillin G from aqueous solutions. Keywords: Single-walled carbon, Multi-walled carbon, Adsorption, Penicillin G, Antibiotic

Optimization of lipase-catalyzed synthesis of flaxseed oil-based structured lipids in non-conventional media

The synthesis of structured lipids (SLs) by the lipase-catalyzed interesterification of flaxseed oil (FO) and tricaprylin (TC) in organic solvent media (OSM) and solvent-free medium (SFM) was carried out. The bioconversion yield (BY) of the medium-long-medium-type SLs (MLM-SLs), including CLnC (Y1, C-caprylic and Ln-linolenic acids), CLaC (Y2, La-linoleic acid) and COC (Y3, O-oleic acid) as well as their corresponding MML positional isomers, CCLn (Y4), CCLa (Y5) and CCO (Y6), were monitored as the responses. Based on the maximal BY and considering the ratio of the MLM- to MML-SLs, obtained under the established reaction conditions in OSM for each lipase, Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica and Lipozyme TL-IM from Thermomyces lanuginosus, were considered for further optimization of the process. Multiple response surface methodology on the basis of a central composite rotatable design and a fractional factorial design, with center points has been employed for the optimization of the interesterification reaction of both enzymes in OSM. In the preliminary trials, significant reaction parameters, namely TC to FO molar ratio (Mr, mol/mol), reaction temperature (Tr, ˚C), enzyme concentration (Ec, % w/v), reaction time (Rt, h) and initial water activity (aw) were selected for the optimization of the interesterification reaction, catalyzed by Novozym 435. On the other hand, the effects of reaction conditions including Mr, Tr, Ec, Rt and agitation speed (As, rpm) were studied in the case of Lipozyme TL-IM. Significant models for the responses Y1-Y6 were developed with the use of backward elimination procedure, whereas the adequacy of the models was statistically determined. The ability of the models to successfully predict new observations in the experimental space was evaluated and verified. Based on the objective of each response, the appropriate level combination of the process parameters and the solutions that met the defined criteria were also provided by means of desirability function. The maximal predicted BY of the MLM-SLs, synthesized by Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL-IM, were found to be comparable; however, considering the lower optimal Tr (23% <), Ec (54% <) and Rt (8-folds <) predicted conditions as well as the aw-independency of Lipozyme TL-IM as compared to those for Novozym 435, Lipozyme TL-IM was selected for further optimization in SFM. For the biosynthesis of MLM-SLs in SFM by Lipozyme TL-IM, As and Tr were found to be the most significant parameters. The optimal conditions, generated by the means of desirability function, for a maximal Y1-Y3, were found to be 59.04˚C for Tr, 6.31 mol/mol for Mr, 4.42% for Ec, 13.62 h for Rt and 346 rpm for As. Under these optimum conditions, Y1, Y2 and Y3 were predicted to be 30.65, 1.08 and 4.21%, respectively. Since the monitored responses (Y1-Y6) were found to be highly correlated to each other, the distance approach which considers the correlated nature of the responses was also carried out for the optimization of the process in SFM. The scale-up (30-fold) of the interesterification reaction by Lipozyme TL-IM in SFM was also investigated; as a result, the BY of the desired MLM-SLs did not decrease as compared to those obtained at the micro scale. Silver-ion reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography enabled the separation and quantification of the synthesized MLM- and MML-SLs. In addition, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry analyses confirmed the formation of dicaprylyl-linolenyl glycerol, dicaprylyl-oleyl glycerol and dicaprylyl-linoleyl glycerol resulted from the lipase-catalyzed interesterification of FO and TC.La synthèse de lipides structurés (SLs), catalysé par la lipase via une interésterification entre l'huile de lin (FO) et le tricarpryline (TC) dans un milieu réactionnel organique (OSM) et sans solvent (SFM), a été étudiée. Le rendement de bioconversion (BY) des SL de type moyen-longue-moyen (MLM-SLs), compris CLNC (Y1, C-caprylique et Ln-acide linolénique), CLaC (Y2, La-acide linoléique) et COC (Y3, O-acide oléique) ainsi que leurs isomères en position correspondants, MML, CCLn (Y4), CCLa (Y5) et CCO (Y6), ont été suivis en tant que réponses. En se basant sur le BY maximal et en considérant la proportion du MLM- à MML-SLs, obtenu sous les conditions réactionnelles établies en milieu organique pour chaque lipase, Novozym 435 de Candida antarctica et Lipozyme TL-IM de Thermomyces lanuginosus, ont été considérés dans l'optimisation additionnelle du processus. La méthode de surface de réponses multiples, basé sur un plan composite central à caractère rotatif et un plan d'expérimental factoriel fractionnel avec des points au centre, a été utilisée pour l'optimisation de la réaction d'interésterification par les deux enzymes en OSM. Dans les essais préliminaires, des paramètres de réaction significatifs, à savoir TC à FO ratio molaire (Mr, mol/mol), température de réaction (Tr, ˚C), concentration de l'enzyme (Ec, % w/v), temps de réaction (Rt, h) et l'activité initiale de l'eau (aw), ont été choisies pour l'optimisation de la réaction d'interésterification, catalysée par Novozym 435. D'un autre part, les effets des conditions de la réaction y compris Mr, Tr, Ec, Rt et la vitesse d'agitation (As, rpm) ont été étudiés dans le cas de la Lipozyme TL-IM. Des modèles significatifs pour les réponses Y1-Y6 ont été développés avec l'utilisation de la procédure d'élimination à l'arrière, alors que l'adéquation des modèles a été déterminée statistiquement. La capacité des modèles de prédire avec succès des observations nouvelles dans l'espace expérimental a été évaluée et vérifiée. En se basant sur l'objectif de chaque réponse, la combinaison de niveaux les plus appropriés des paramètres du processus et des solutions, qui ont satisfaits les critères définis, ont été aussi fournis au moyen de la fonction de désirabilité. Les BY maximals prédits des MLM-SLs, synthétisés par Novozym 435 et Lipozyme TL-IM, ont été trouvés pour être comparables. Cependant, en considérant les valeurs optimales de la plus petite Tr (23% <), Ec (54% <) et Rt (8-fois <) conditions prédites ainsi que l'indépendance de l'aw de la Lipozyme TL IM comparée à celles de la Novozym 435, la Lipozyme TL-IM a été sélectionnée pour toute optimisation additionnelle en SFM. Pour la biosynthèse de MLM-SLs en SFM par Lipozyme TL-IM, As and Tr ont été trouvés pour être les paramètres les plus significatifs. Les conditions optimales, engendrées au moyen de la fonction de désirabilité, pour un maximum Y1-Y3, ont été trouvées pour être 59.04˚C pour Tr, 6.31 mol/mol pour Mr, 4.42% pour Ec, 13.62 h pour Rt et 346 rpm pour As. Sous ces conditions optimales, Y1, Y2 and Y3 ont été prédits pour être 30.65, 1.08 et 4.21%, respectivement. Puisque les réponses choisies (Y1-Y6) ont été trouvés pour être extrêmement liées les uns aux autres, l'approche de distance qui considère la nature corrélée des réponses a été aussi considérée pour l'optimisation du processus en SFM. La mise à l'échelle (30-fois) de la réaction d'interésterification par Lipozyme TL-IM en SFM a été étudiée; par conséquent, le BY du MLM-SLs désirés n'a pas diminué en comparison à ceux obtenus à l'échelle micro. La chromatographie en phase liquide à haute performance avec une colonne échangeuse d'ion d'argent a permis la séparation et la quantification des MLM- et MML-SLs synthétisés. De plus, l'analyse structurals en spectro de mass a confirmé la formation du glycérol dicaprylyle-linolényle, glycérol dicaprylyl-oléyl et glycerol dicaprylyl-linoléyl formés par la réaction d'interestérification de FO et TC catalysée par la lipase

The Effect of Different Classroom Chairs on the Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems and the Rate of Students’ Satisfaction

Background: Chairs are one of the instruments in life that have a significant role in personal health. Therefore, anthropometric dimensions as well as ergonomic issues of the users should be considered in design of seats. The present study was performed to determine the impact of class seats on students' musculoskeletal problems and satisfaction. Methods: In this cross - sectional study, three different types of classroom seats in Birjand University of Medical Sciences were evaluated through using an ergonomics checklist. In addition, 316 students of the university were asked to complete the musculoskeletal problems and satisfaction questionnaires. Data were analyzed through SPSS 15 and using Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests as well as Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results: The participating students included 122 boys and 194 girls. In whole, 21.5 % of the studied students had at least one musculoskeletal discomfort. Back discomfort was the most common complaint. Students’ satisfaction rate of different types of chairs was different (P<0.0001) and satisfaction showed significant correlations with age, weight and height of participants (P=0.002, P=0.024, P=0.025, respectively). Conclusion: The results of the present study show the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among the students and shortness of comfort during use of the chairs. Since these can adversely affect health, in designing classroom chairs the students’ anthropometric dimensions should be considered. Keywords: Musculoskeletal disorder, Personal Satisfaction, Classroom chair

Disrupting effects of lithium chloride in the rat ovary: Involves impaired formation and function of corpus luteum

Lithium is an effective drug for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Evidence suggests that lithium induces side effects on the reproductive system. We have investigated the effect of lithium chloride (LiCl) on the progesterone synthesis, the main steroid produced by corpus luteum (CL), and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) expression, the primary mechanism of the control of CL steroidogenesis. Immature female Wistar rats (25-day-old) were injected with lithium chloride (2.0 mg/kg/day) or sterile distilled water for 15 days. All rats were induced with injection of pregnant mare's serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) on the 13th day of experiment and followed by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) 48 h later. The last injection of LiCl was at 12 h post-hCG injection. Blood and ovaries were collected at 4 h interval from 12 to 24 h post-hCG injection. Serum levels of progesterone were measured by ELISA and CL formation was determined by histological analysis. Then, StAR protein and gene expression were examined using immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction. Results showed the severe changes in CL formation, progesterone secretion and StAR expression in LiCl-treated rats during luteinization. It is concluded that the CL formation and the critical step of progesterone synthesis were affected by LiCl in gonadotropin-induced rat ovary

Effect of lithium chloride on the luteal steroidogenesis in gonadotropin-stimulated rat

Background: Main function of corpus luteum is progesterone synthesis that is significantly accompanied with an increase in levels of mRNA encoding of steroidogenic enzymes known as luteal markers. Objective: This study was designed to evaluate effects of lithium chloride on the release of steroid hormones and steroidogenic enzymes in gonadotropin-stimulated rats. Materials and Methods: Immature 23 days old Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups; each group comprised of 8 rats, and induced with single injection of pregnant mare&rsquo;s serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and followed by single injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Then, rats were given lithium chloride (LiCl) or saline at 12 hours post-hCG injection. Ovaries were collected in 4-hour interval from 8-24 hour post-hCG injection. Expression pattern of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 (P450scc) and 3&beta;-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3&beta;-HSD) genes were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. In addition, serum levels of progesterone and 17&beta;-estradiol were measured by ELISA. Results: Our results showed that hCG stimulation of progesterone was markedly diminished and transcript levels of key steroidogenic enzymes were altered in the hormone-stimulated rats following LiCl treatment. Conclusion: These results suggest that critical steps in the function of corpus luteum are disrupted by lithium. It is concluded that LiCl is an effective factor for suppressing of steroid genes expression