Characterization and Lytic Activity of Isolated Escherichia coli Bacteriophages against Escherichia coli in vitro.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most common cause of urinary tract infection (UTI) and typically treated with antibiotics. Unrestricted use of antibiotics may lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The present study aimed to isolate and characterize phages against E. coli from infected urine samples and to determine the lytic activity of phages against E. coliin vitro. The present experimental study was conducted in the Laboratory of Bouali Sina Hospital (Sari, Iran) in May 2018. E. coli was identified from nine urine samples of patients with UTI using conventional microbiological methods. Bacteriophages were isolated from the infected urine specimens, and their lytic activity was determined using the spot test. The titer of the bacteriophages was measured using the double-layer agar technique. The morphology of the bacteriophages was revealed using transmission electron microscopy, and the latent time period and burst size were determined. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software package. E. coli was isolated from nine infected urine samples. The lytic activity of bacteriophages against E. coli was determined using the spot test by observing the formation of inhibition zones. Transmission electron microscopy showed E. coli phages belonging to the Myoviridae family. The latent time period was 20 minutes with a burst size of 1,200 plaque-forming unit (PFU) per infected cell. The results of the double-layer agar assay showed that the titer of bacteriophages was 20×10 <sup>8</sup> PFU/mL. The E. coli bacteriophage was isolated from infected urine samples and characterized, and their lytic activity against E. coli was determined in vitro

Can smartwatches replace smartphones for posture tracking?

This paper introduces a human posture tracking platform to identify the human postures of sitting, standing or lying down, based on a smartwatch. This work develops such a system as a proof-of-concept study to investigate a smartwatch's ability to be used in future remote health monitoring systems and applications. This work validates the smartwatches' ability to track the posture of users accurately in a laboratory setting while reducing the sampling rate to potentially improve battery life, the first steps in verifying that such a system would work in future clinical settings. The algorithm developed classifies the transitions between three posture states of sitting, standing and lying down, by identifying these transition movements, as well as other movements that might be mistaken for these transitions. The system is trained and developed on a Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and the algorithm was validated through a leave-one-subject-out cross-validation of 20 subjects. The system can identify the appropriate transitions at only 10 Hz with an F-score of 0.930, indicating its ability to effectively replace smart phones, if needed

Effects of Mentha pulegium water extract dipping on quality and shelf life of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) during superchilled storage

The effects of Mentha pulegium water extract dipping on quality and shelf life of silver carp during superchilled storage were investigated. Fish samples were treated with water extract of 1 and 3% M. pulegium, and then stored at -3 οC for 30 days. The control and the treated fish samples were analyzed periodically for chemical (pH, PV, TBA, TVB-N), and sensory characteristics. The results indicated that the effect of M. pulegium extract dipping on fish samples was to retain their good quality characteristics and extend the shelf life during superchilled storage, which was supported by the results of chemical and sensory evaluation analyses. In this respect, the sample supplemented with 3% water extract was more potent compared with the 1% one in extending the shelf life of fish fillets

Search for color-suppressed B hadronic decay processes at the Υ(4S) resonance

Using 3.1fb^(-1) of data accumulated at the Υ(4S) by the CLEO-II detector, corresponding to 3.3×10^6 BB̅ pairs, we have searched for the color-suppressed B hadronic decay processes B^(0) → D^(0)(D^(*0))X^0, where X^0 is a light neutral meson π^0, ρ^0, η, η′ or ω. The D^(*0) mesons are reconstructed in D^(*0) → D^(0)π^(0) and the D^0 mesons in D^(0) → K^(-)π^(+), K^(-)π^(+)π^(0) and K^(-)π^(+)π^(+)π^(-) decay modes. No obvious signal is observed. We set 90% C.L. upper limits on these modes, varying from 1.2×10^(-4) for B^(0) → D^(0)π^(0) to 1.9×10^(-3) for B^(0) → D^(*0)η′

The Effect of Mulch, Pruning and Plant Density on Some Traits of Related to Production in Pepino

Pepino (Solanum muricatum) a new vegetable crops, is from Solanaceae family and cultivated as annual crops. In order to investigate the effects of mulch, pruning and plant density on some traits of related to production in Pepino, an experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete design with five replications at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad greenhouse during 2009-2010. Traits such as leaf area, number of panicles per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit diameter and fruit weight. Treatment included: 3 levels of mulch (rice straw mulch, wood chips mulch and control), 3 levels of prune (two peduncular, 3 peduncular and controls) and 2 levels of plant density (3.3 and 4.3 plants per m2). The results indicated that the effect of mulch in all of the traits was significant (p≤0.01). Wood chips mulch in all of the traits was better than rice straw and control. Pruning was significant in all of the traits. The number of panicles and the number of fruits per plant were higher in tree peduncular but increasing the number of fruits was associated with a reduction in size. Interaction between mulch and pruning was significant in all of the traits. Plant density applied had significant effects on traits related to fruit

Detection of a Faint Fast-moving Near-Earth Asteroid Using the Synthetic Tracking Technique

We report a detection of a faint near-Earth asteroid (NEA) using our synthetic tracking technique and the CHIMERA instrument on the Palomar 200 inch telescope. With an apparent magnitude of 23 (H = 29, assuming detection at 20 lunar distances), the asteroid was moving at 6º.32 day^(–1) and was detected at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 15 using 30 s of data taken at a 16.7 Hz frame rate. The detection was confirmed by a second observation 77 minutes later at the same S/N. Because of its high proper motion, the NEA moved 7 arcsec over the 30 s of observation. Synthetic tracking avoided image degradation due to trailing loss that affects conventional techniques relying on 30 s exposures; the trailing loss would have degraded the surface brightness of the NEA image on the CCD down to an approximate magnitude of 25 making the object undetectable. This detection was a result of our 12 hr blind search conducted on the Palomar 200 inch telescope over two nights, scanning twice over six (5º.3 × 0º.046) fields. Detecting only one asteroid is consistent with Harris's estimates for the distribution of the asteroid population, which was used to predict a detection of 1.2 NEAs in the H-magnitude range 28-31 for the two nights. The experimental design, data analysis methods, and algorithms are presented. We also demonstrate milliarcsecond-level astrometry using observations of two known bright asteroids on the same system with synthetic tracking. We conclude by discussing strategies for scheduling observations to detect and characterize small and fast-moving NEAs using the new technique

A detector interferometric calibration experiment for high precision astrometry

Context: Exoplanet science has made staggering progress in the last two decades, due to the relentless exploration of new detection methods and refinement of existing ones. Yet astrometry offers a unique and untapped potential of discovery of habitable-zone low-mass planets around all the solar-like stars of the solar neighborhood. To fulfill this goal, astrometry must be paired with high precision calibration of the detector. Aims: We present a way to calibrate a detector for high accuracy astrometry. An experimental testbed combining an astrometric simulator and an interferometric calibration system is used to validate both the hardware needed for the calibration and the signal processing methods. The objective is an accuracy of 5e-6 pixel on the location of a Nyquist sampled polychromatic point spread function. Methods: The interferometric calibration system produced modulated Young fringes on the detector. The Young fringes were parametrized as products of time and space dependent functions, based on various pixel parameters. The minimization of func- tion parameters was done iteratively, until convergence was obtained, revealing the pixel information needed for the calibration of astrometric measurements. Results: The calibration system yielded the pixel positions to an accuracy estimated at 4e-4 pixel. After including the pixel position information, an astrometric accuracy of 6e-5 pixel was obtained, for a PSF motion over more than five pixels. In the static mode (small jitter motion of less than 1e-3 pixel), a photon noise limited precision of 3e-5 pixel was reached

A Prospective Study on Risk Factors for Acute Kidney Injury and All-Cause Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients From Tehran (Iran)

Background: Several reports suggested that acute kidney injury (AKI) is a relatively common occurrence in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but its prevalence is inconsistently reported across different populations. Moreover, it is unknown whether AKI results from a direct infection of the kidney by SARS-CoV-2 or it is a consequence of the physiologic disturbances and therapies used to treat COVID-19. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of AKI since it varies by geographical settings, time periods, and populations studied and to investigate whether clinical information and laboratory findings collected at hospital admission might influence AKI incidence (and mortality) in a particular point in time during hospitalization for COVID-19. Methods: Herein we conducted a prospective longitudinal study investigating the prevalence of AKI and associated factors in 997 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Baqiyatallah general hospital of Tehran (Iran), collecting both clinical information and several dates (of: birth; hospital admission; AKI onset; ICU admission; hospital discharge; death). In order to examine how the clinical factors influenced AKI incidence and all-cause mortality during hospitalization, survival analysis using the Cox proportional-hazard models was adopted. Two separate multiple Cox regression models were fitted for each outcome (AKI and death). Results: In this group of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the prevalence of AKI was 28.5% and the mortality rate was 19.3%. AKI incidence was significantly enhanced by diabetes, hyperkalemia, higher levels of WBC count, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). COVID-19 patients more likely to die over the course of their hospitalization were those presenting a joint association between ICU admission with either severe COVID-19 or even mild/moderate COVID-19, hypokalemia, and higher levels of BUN, WBC, and LDH measured at hospital admission. Diabetes and comorbidities did not increase the mortality risk among these hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Conclusions: Since the majority of patients developed AKI after ICU referral and 40% of them were admitted to ICU within 2 days since hospital admission, these patients may have been already in critical clinical conditions at admission, despite being affected by a mild/moderate form of COVID-19, suggesting the need of early monitoring of these patients for the onset of eventual systemic complications

Molecular Epidemiology of OXA-48 and NDM-1 Producing Enterobacterales Species at a University Hospital in Tehran, Iran, Between 2015 and 2016

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) is an increasing problem worldwide. Here, we examined the clonal relatedness of 71 non-repetitive CRE isolates collected in a university hospital in Tehran, Iran, between February 2015 and March 2016. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and MLST were used for epidemiological analysis. Screening for antibiotic resistance genes, PCR-based replicon typing, conjugation experiments, and optical DNA mapping were also performed. Among all 71 isolates, 47 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae (66.2%), eight Escherichia coli (11.2%), five Serratia marcescens (7%), and two Enterobacter cloacae (2.8%) harbored blaNDM–1 and blaOXA–48 genes together or alone. PFGE analysis revealed that most of the OXA-48- and NDM-1-producing K. pneumoniae and all of OXA-48-producing S. marcescens were clonally related, while all eight E. coli and two E. cloacae isolates were clonally unrelated. The predominant clones of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae associated with outbreaks within the hospital were ST147 (n = 13) and ST893 (n = 10). Plasmids carrying blaNDM–1 and blaOXA–48 were successfully transferred to an E. coli K12-recipient strain. The blaOXA–48 gene was located on an IncL/M conjugative plasmid, while the blaNDM–1 gene was located on both IncFII ∼86-kb to ∼140-kb and IncA/C conjugative plasmids. Our findings provide novel epidemiologic data on carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) in Iran and highlight the importance of horizontal gene transfer in the dissemination of blaNDM–1 and blaOXA–48 genes. The occurrence and transmission of distinct K. pneumoniae clones call for improved infection control to prevent further spread of these pathogens in Iran