Proposal for a modernized iranian notifiable infectious diseases surveillance system: Comparison with usa and Australia Proposition en vue de la modernisation du système iranien de surveillance des maladies infectieuses à déclaration obligatoire: Comparaison avec les �tats-Unis et l'Australie

This article reports on a comparative study of the national notifiable infectious diseases surveillance systems currently employed in the United States of America, Australia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the aim of developing a modified system specific to the needs of the Iranian health system. Features of the surveillance systems examined in each country included: official data gathering structures; types of data collected; case definition and classification criteria; data collection processes; data analysis methods; disease classification systems; data dissemination and distribution methods; data quality control; and confidentiality procedures and guidelines. After consolidating the data, a model for an Iranian notifiable infectious diseases surveillance system was developed and was tested by the Delphi method in 3 stages

Identification and characterization of the first fish parvalbumin-like protein data from a pathogenic fungal species, Trichophyton violaceum

Parvalbumins are the most important fish allergens, which are heat-stable, classified in the family of calcium-binding EF-hand proteins, and contain one magnesium binding site. The functional connection between calcium and parvalbumin gives fish the high-speed swimming ability because of high concentration of Ca2+-binding parvalbumin in fish white muscles. Although parvalbumins are widely studied and conceivably play crucial roles in the physiology and swimming pattern of fishes, still no report is available about their presence in microbes, such as pathogenic fungal species. We detected a DNA sequence in the genome of Trichophyton violaceum and used in silico and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique with a designed pair of primers to identify it as parvalbumin-coding gene. © 2020 The Author

Phytotherapy for Enterococcusfaecalis

Oral diseases such as tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth loss can significantly affect the overall health of the individual. Tooth decay is a polymicrobial disease in which nutrition, microbial infection and host response play an important role. Enterococcus faecalis is one of these bacterial agents. Medicinal plants have fewer side effects compared to chemical drugs. Those have been easy to access from the past and have been used as drugs in the treatment of various diseases. This natural source has effective ingredients which cure diseases. The efforts in this reviewing study were on reporting anti-Enterococcusfaecalis medicinal plants. Searching for articles in this reviewing study were done with words such as Enterococcusfaecalis, Medicinal plants, dental diseases and phytotherapy. Search was done from databases such as Scopus, ISC, SID, Magiran and some other databases. Accordingly, 13 medical plants which are effective on Streptococcus faecalis are used. According to the obtained results, Chromolaenaodorata, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Newbouldalaevis, Psidiumguajava, Salvadorapersica, BIXA ORELLANA, Spondias sp., Aristolochiamonticola, Actinidiachinensis, Feijoasellowiana, Aberiacaffra, Lantana camara and Larreatridentata medicinal plants are the most important medicinal plants with anti-Streptococcus faecalis effect. Medicinal plants used in this study have anti-Enterococcusfaecaliseffect due to existence of bioactive substances, antioxidants, flavonoids, flavones, anthocyanins, and the like

Frequency analysis of stress relaxation dynamics in model asphalts

Asphalt is an amorphous or semi-crystalline material whose mechanical performance relies on viscoelastic responses to applied strain or stress. Chemical composition and its effect on the viscoelastic properties of model asphalts have been investigated here by computing complex modulus from molecular dynamics simulation results for two different model asphalts whose compositions each resemble the Strategic Highway Research Program AAA-1 asphalt in different ways. For a model system that contains smaller molecules, simulation results for storage and loss modulus at 443 K reach both the low and high frequency scaling limits of the Maxwell model. Results for a model system composed of larger molecules (molecular weights 300-900 g/mol) with longer branches show a quantitatively higher complex modulus that decreases significantly as temperature increases over 400-533 K. Simulation results for its loss modulus approach the low frequency scaling limit of the Maxwell model at only the highest temperature simulated. A Black plot or van Gurp-Palman plot of complex modulus vs. phase angle for the system of larger molecules suggests some overlap among results at different temperatures for less high frequencies, with an interdependence consistent with the empirical Christensen-Anderson-Marasteanu model. Both model asphalts are thermorheologically complex at very high frequencies, where they show a loss peak that appears to be independent of temperature and density

Reducing noise in computed correlation functions using techniques from signal processing

Time correlation functions invariably suffer from random noise, especially at longer time intervals for which fewer data pairs are available. This noise is particularly of concern when calculating correlations that cannot be averaged over per-molecule contributions, such as stress in molecular simulations. In this work, a set of methods based in signal processing has been developed to reduce the inherent noise that is present in time- and frequency-domain representations of correlation functions. The stress time autocorrelation function, which leads to stress relaxation modulus and complex modulus, is used as an example. The difference between initial and final values of a time correlation function over a finite time domain is found to create so-called ‘leakage’ of noise from disallowed into harmonic frequencies during fast Fourier transformation. Decreasing this leakage effect through reflection to negative time and through applying a window function reduces noise levels significantly. Removing frequency components of insignificant magnitudes also provides significant noise reduction. Applying moving averages in the frequency and time domains also contributes to noise reduction. Specific results obtained by applying these methods to a model asphalt system enable more clear physical interpretations of the underlying relaxations after dramatic noise level reductions were attained

Phytotherapy for Streptococcus viridans

The oral cavity has one of the most complex microbial properties in the body. Streptococci are the most important organisms in the mouth. Today, due to the resistance of the bacteria and the ability of bacteria to cause acute infections, the use of medicinal herbs and effective natural products has become widespread. Therefore, in this study, we tried to report medicinal herbs that have anti-Streptococcus viridans properties. In the current review, the articles were searched with keywords of Streptococcus viridians, dental diseases, herbs and phytotherapy. Searching was carried out for databases including Scopus, ISCs, SIDs, Magnets, and a number of other databases. Based on the results of the review, it was revealed that the herbs including Schinus terebinthifolius, Rosmarinus officinalis, Hyptis pectinata, Wilbrandia sp, Amaryllis belladonna, Lafoensia pacari, Hematanthus phagedaenicus, Achyrocline satureioides, Dorstenia sp, Boerhaavia coccinea and Copaifera sp are the most important medicinal plants with anti-Streptococcus viridans effect. The medicinal plants have the anti-Streptococcus viridans effects due to the bioactive substances, antioxidants, flavonoids, flavones, anthocyanins, etc. © 2017, Pharmainfo Publications. All rights reserved

Identification and characterization of parvalbumin-like protein in Trichophyton violaceum

Parvalbumins play crucial physiological roles in neuromuscular systems of vertebrates, such as cell-cycle, development of neurons, contraction of muscles, and regulation of intracellular calcium. To perform these neuromuscular functions, parvalbumin may be in associated with other proteins including calbindin, carbonic anhydrase, and cytochrome oxidase. Humans may show an IgE-specific hypersensitivity to parvalbumins after consumption of some distinct fish species. While this protein is abundant in fish muscles, literature review of publications related to fish parvalbumins, do not point to the presence of parvalbumins in eukaryotic microbes. In this study, we propose that distantly related parvalbumins may be found in some non-fish species. Bioinformatics studies such as multiple sequence alignment (MSA), phylogenetic analysis as well as molecular-based experiments indicate that, at least two parvalbumins sequences (UniProt IDs: A0A178F775 and A0A178F7E4) with EF-hand domains and Ca2+-binding sites could be identified in Trichophyton violaceum, a pathogenic fungal species. It was determined that both genes consisted of a single exon and encoded for parvalbumin proteins possessing conserved amino acid motifs. Antigenicity prediction revealed antigenic sites located in both sides of the Ca2+-binding site of the first EF-hand domain. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that one of parvalbumins (UniProt ID: 0A178F775) can be evolved to other parvalbumins in T. violaceum (UniProt ID: A0A178F7E4) and fish species through evolutionary phenomenon. To confirm our in-silico findings, we designed three primer pairs to detect one of the T. violaceum parvalbumins (UniProt ID: A0A178F7E4) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR); one primer pair showed a strong and specific band in agarose gel electrophoresis. To evaluate the specificity of the method, the primers were tested on extracted DNA from Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophytes. The results demonstrated that the evaluated parvalbumin gene (UniProt ID: A0A178F7E4) was T. violaceum-specific and this pathogenic fungus can be differentiated from T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes through identification of parvalbumin genes. Further studies are necessary to unravel the biochemical and physiological functions of parvalbumins in T. violaceum. © 2020 British Mycological Societ

Mitochondrial proteome profiling of Leishmania tropica

The mitochondrion of kinetoplastida has unique characteristics both in structure and function. To better understand the mitochondrial proteome of the Leishmania tropica promastigote stage, liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) approach was used. In the wake of mitochondria isolation and purity validation, 1212 proteins were identified, among which approximately 44 of proteins belonged to the mitochondrial proteome. Several functions were enriched in mitochondrial proteome including tricarboxylic acid cycle and respiratory chain, protein folding, signalling, transport, lipid metabolism, amino acid, and nucleotide metabolism. Furthermore, the result of the present research was compared with the previous related studies. Gaining more information about vital metabolism of the cell and molecules can be used for therapeutic purposes. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Development of rheumatoid arthritis by toxoplasmosis in Iranian patients

Background: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an intracellular protozoan parasite capable of infecting approximately one-third of the world human population. In this study, the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) antibodies in Iranian patients with rheumatoid arthritis was investigated, given the lack of information on the magnitude of toxoplasmosis in these patients. Methods: The serum was collected from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 93) and a healthy control group (n = 93) from central parts of Iran to investigate the prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies. Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG was detected among 76 of 93 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (81.72) versus 37 of 93 healthy control group (39.80), and it was higher among patients with rheumatoid arthritis than controls. The seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgM was significantly higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (36 of 93; 38.70) compared to the healthy control group (2 of 93; 2.1). Demographic variables (age and sex) did not have significant correlations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were positive for T. gondii infection. Conclusion: The findings of the present study provide efficient evidence that confirm the association between toxoplasmosis and development of rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting that Toxoplasma may contribute to the rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis. © 2021, Kerman University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Comparative assessment of recombinant and native immunogenic forms of Fasciola hepatica proteins for serodiagnosis of sheep fasciolosis

Laboratory diagnosis of sheep fasciolosis is commonly performed by coprological examinations; however, this method may lead to false negative results during the acute phase of the infection. Furthermore, the poor sensitivity of coprological methods is considered to be a paradox in the chronic phase of the infection. In this study, we compared the immunoreactivity of native and recombinant forms of Fasciola hepatica excretory/secretory antigens and determined their capabilities for the development of F. hepatica-specific immunoassays. Immunoreactivity and specificity of recombinant and native forms of F. hepatica antigens, including fatty acid binding protein (FABP), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and cathepsin L-1 (CL1), in parallel with native forms of FABP and GST, were studied for serodiagnosis of the chronic form of sheep fasciolosis, individually or in combination with each other by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The correlation of the findings was assessed by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC); furthermore, the specificity and sensitivity were assessed by Youden�s J. Serologic cross-reactivity was evaluated using samples from healthy sheep (n = 40), Fasciola-infected sheep (n = 30), and sheep with other parasitic infections (n = 43). The FABPs were determined to be greater than 95 sensitive for F. hepatica serodiagnosis. The most desirable diagnostic recombinant antigen was rCL1, which showed 100 sensitivity and 97 specificity in ELISA and was capable of discriminating the positive and negative samples by maximum Youden�s J results. We conclude that rCL1 can be used for routine serodiagnosis of chronic fasciolosis. Thus, it could be advantageous in development of immunoassays for screening of ovine herds in fasciolosis-endemic areas and as a reliable agent for detection of fasciolosis in non-endemic regions. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature