Evaluation of removal efficiency of phenol from synthetic aqueous solutions by Citrullus colocynthis seed ash

Background: Phenol is a prevalent pollutant found in many industrial wastewaters, and it is paid singular attention because of its special features like high toxicity, carcinogenic properties, and vital gathering ability that affects the health of humans and the environment. One of the most important technologies for the removal of phenol is the use of adsorbents. The current study investigated the removal of phenol from synthetic aqueous solutions using Citrullus colocynthis seed ash. Methods: This study is experimental and was conducted on a pilot scale. The efficiency of phenol removal by C. colocynthis seed ash was evaluated in a batch system, and different parameters such as initial concentration of phenol (10, 20, 50, and 80 mg/L), contact time (2, 5, 10, and 30 minutes), pH (2-12), adsorbent dose (0.5, 1, 3, 5, and 10 g/L), and temperature were studied. Excel software was used for data analysis. The adsorption process was modeled with Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms at controlled temperatures. Results: The results showed that the highest removal rate of phenol was obtained at a pH of 2 (83.4%), initial phenol concentration of 20 ppm (66.4%), adsorbent dose of 5 g/L (86.8%), and contact time of 10 minutes. The evaluation of correlation coefficients showed that the phenol adsorbed by C. colocynthis seed ash was in greater accordance with the Freundlich model than the Langmuir model. Conclusion: In general, the results of this study revealed that C. colocynthis seed ash has suitable potential for use in removing phenol from aqueous solutions on operation and practical scales due to its low cost and easy access. Keywords: Phenol, Adsorption, Citrullus colocynthi

A first case of tinea imbricata from Iran

Tinea imbricata is an uncommon dermatophytosis caused by the anthropophilic dermatophyte Trichophyton concentricum in endemic regions. In the present study, a 10- year-old girl was examined for tinea imbricata. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of hyaline, septate, branching hyphae and its cultures on Sabouraud dextrose agar yielded T. concentricum. The patient responded to treatment with oral terbinafine 250mg/day topical clotrimazole (1% ointment), topical miconazole (2% cream) two times daily and potassium permanganate for daily washing for four weeks. In the present study, we reported the first case of tinea imbricate from Iran

The antioxidant and Flavonoids contents of Althaea officinalis L. flowers based on their color

Objective: There has been a growing interest in finding plants with biological active ingredients for medicinal application. Materials and Methods: Three colors of petals of Althaea officinalis (A. officinalis) flowers, i.e., pink, reddish pink, and white were examined for total antioxidant activity and flavonoids content. Results: The reddish pink flowers of A. officinalis have more antioxidant activity and the power of antioxidant activity was reddish pink > pink > white. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the dark color can serve as an indicator of antioxidant content of the plant. Flavonoid content was highest in white flower thus this result indicated that flowers with light color can be considered for medicinal uses

Identifcation of Candida Species Isolated From Oral Colonization in Iranian HIV-Positive Patients, by PCR-RFLP Method.

Background: The incidence of opportunistic infections due to Candida albicans and other Candida spp. has been increasing. Rapid identifcation of candidiasis is important for the clinical management of immunocompromised patients. Polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) is a rapid, sensitive, and specifc method for detection of clinically important fungi. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify Candida spp. isolated from the oral cavities of HIV-infected patients in southeastern Iran (Kerman), by using PCR-based restriction enzyme digestion. Patients and Methods: We identifed 96 Candida isolates obtained from 139 Iranian patients infected with the human immunodefciency virus (HIV), between April 2009 and April 2010, by using PCR-RFLP assay. Universal primers for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1–ITS4) of the fungal rRNA genes were used for this assay. Results: We successfully identifed the different Candida spp. by using the restriction enzyme MspI. C. albicans was the most commonly identifed species (82.2%), followed by C. glabrata (7.29%), C. parapsilosis and C. kefyr (both 4.1%), and C. tropicalis (2%). Conclusions: PCR-RFLP is a highly sensitive, specifc, and direct method for fungal detection and can be used for fungal epidemiological studies in HIV-positive and other immunocompromised patients

Psychometric characteristics of the rowland universal dementia assessment scale amongst Iranian elderly

Introduction: The aim of the Global Dementia Scale factor structure Roland (Rudas) was conducted in patients with dementia. Methods: This descriptive correlation study was conducted. Population of all nursing home patients with dementia Tehran Bazaar was formed in 1390., In this study, 78 patients from the Kahrizak nursing home patients with dementia sampling method Selected Data on the Global Assessment of Dementia Roland (Rudas) was completed by the investigator to interview the patient. Research data analysis using descriptive statistics, sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity Spearman correlation test (KMO) and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Results: The findings indicate sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity good value (KMO) that the 76/0 is 149.292. Well as special values of 2.952 and 59.044% of the variance, respectively, were reported. Conclusion: The results showed that a single factor is the scale of the construction of the scale of this issue shows a high correlation between items. Diagram Askryt is also confirmed

The role of GlcNAc-PI-de-N-acetylase gene by gene knockout through homologous recombination and its consequences on survival, growth and infectivity of Leishmania major in in vitro and in vivo conditions

At present, there are no efficacious vaccines or effective drugs against leishmaniasis; therefore new and innovative control methods are urgently required. One way to achieve this important goal is through using reverse genetic engineering to evaluate important enzymes, proteins and macromolecules. One of the most important enzymes for Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthetic pathways is GlcNAc-PI-deN-acetylase (GPI12). The molecular constructs were cloned in Escherichia coli strain Top 10 and confirmed by molecular methods and were transfected by electroporation into Leishmania major. We demonstrated that two alleles of the GPI12 gene in L. major were successfully removed and enabling the generation of a null mutant, which supports the idea that GPI12 is not an essential gene for the growth and survival of Leishmania and the homozygous knockouts of Leishmania are able to survive. We were able to produce a mutant parasite that caused no damaged to the host. Further investigations are essential to check the safety profile in laboratory animal

The inhibitory effect of 6-gingerol and cisplatin on ovarian cancer and antitumor activity: In silico, in vitro, and in vivo

© 2023 Salari, Khosravi, Pourkhandani, Molaakbari, Salarkia, Keyhani, Sharifi, Tavakkoli, Sohbati, Dabiri, Ren and Shafie’ei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer is very common in women and causes hundreds of deaths per year worldwide. Chemotherapy drugs including cisplatin have adverse effects on patients’ health. Complementary treatments and the use of herbal medicines can help improve the performance of medicine. 6-Gingerol is the major pharmacologically active component of ginger. In this study, we compared the effects of 6-gingerol, cisplatin, and their combination in apoptotic and angiogenetic activities in silico, in test tubes, and in in vivo assays against two ovarian cancer cell lines: OVCAR-3 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods: The drug-treated cell lines were evaluated for their cytotoxicity, cell cycle, and apoptotic and angiogenetic gene expression changes. Results: The proportion of apoptosis treated by 6-gingerol coupled with cisplatin was significantly high. In the evaluation of the cell cycle, the combination therapy also showed a significant promotion of a higher extent of the S sequence. The expression of p53 level, Caspase-8, Bax, and Apaf1 genes was amplified again with combination therapy. Conversely, in both cell lines, the cumulative drug concentrations reduced the expression of VEGF, FLT1, KDR, and Bcl-2 genes. Similarly, in the control group, combination treatment significantly decreased the expression of VEGF, FLT1, KDR, and Bcl-2 genes in comparison to cisplatin alone. Conclusions: The findings of the present study demonstrated that the cisplatin and 6-gingerol combination is more effective in inducing apoptosis and suppressing the angiogenesis of ovarian cancer cells than using each drug alone.Peer reviewe

Use of PCR-RFLP and PCR-HWP1 for Identification of Candia Species Isolated from Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Background: Due to the predisposing conditions in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) caused by defective mucociliary clearance facilitating colonization and invasion with Candida species has dramatically increased. Traditional methods for identifying problems are imminent and time-consuming. Therefore, molecular techniques utilizing amplification of target DNA provide quick and precise methods for the diagnosis and identification of Candida species. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to identify the most medically common isolated Candida species from the air way of CF patients by PCR-RFLP and amplification of HWP1 gene. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 CF patients presenting symptoms who referred to pediatric respiratory diseases research center were screened for the presence of Candida spp. The isolates initially were phenotypically identified and confirmed by molecular approaches based on restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for the discrimination of C. albicans of non-albicans and the amplification of HWP1 gene for the discrimination of C. albicans from C. dubliniensis and C. africana was conducted. Results: The results show that C. albicans was the most frequently isolated species (83.8%) followed by non-albicans included C. parapsilosis (7.1%), C. glabrata (3.2%), and C. tropicalis (3.2%). The restriction patterns of each Candida species were perfectly specific. Since MspI could not discriminate between the three morphological related species, C. albicans, C. dubliniensis and C. africana, we used PCR amplification of HWP1 gene, which (7.1%) species from C. albicans identified as C. dubliniensis, however C. africana strains were not found. Discussion: The present study found that C. albicans as predominant species wereisolated from the CF patients. It could be concluded that molecular diagnostic methods are reliable and would be useful for the identification of medically important Candida species in clinical samples. Therefore, considerable attention has been paid to the prevention and treatment of microbial growth, which has resulted in the improvement of patient management

Removal of Heavy Metal Ions From Aqueous Solutions

The removal of Zn(II), V(II),  by  silica aerogel has been found to be concentration, , contact time, adsorbent dose and temperature dependent. ion exchange are the major removal mechanisms involved. The adsorption isotherm studies clearly indicated that the adsorptive behaviour of metal ions on silica aerogel  was satisï¬ed. The applicability of the Lagergren kinetic model has also been investigated. Thermodynamic constant (Kad ), standard free energy ( ∆G0 ),enthalpy (∆H0 ) and entropy (∆S0 ) were calculated for predicting the nature of adsorptio

The Study of Citrullus colocynthis Shell Ash Efficiency in Phenol Removal from Synthetic Aqueous Solution

Introduction and purpose: Phenol is one of the common pollutants found in many industrial effluents , which affects the environment and human health due to its special features like high toxicity and carcinogenic properties. The use of adsorbents is one of the most effective strategies for the  removal of phenol. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of Citrullus colocynthis shell ash as a natural adsorbent in phenol removal from aqueous solutions. Methods: This was an experimental study, where the effect of different variables such as the initial phenol concentrations (i.e., 10, 20, 50, 80, and 100 ppm), contact time (i.e., 2, 5, 10, and 30 min), adsorbent dose (i.e., 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 g/L) and pH (2-12) were studied. Then, the  adsorption process was described with Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms at controlled temperatures. Excel software was used for data analysis. Results: The results revealed that the highest removal rate of phenol was obtained at pH of 2 (79.8%), primary phenol concentration of 20 ppm (66.4%), adsorbent dose of 5 g/l (86.8%), and contact time of 10 minutes. Also, the correlation coefficients of isotherms (Freundlich and Langmuir) showed that phenol adsorption by Citrullus colocynthis shell ash had more accordance with the Freundlich model than the Langmuir model. Conclusion: We found that Citrullus colocynthis shell ash can be used as a lowcost and accessible adsorbent for phenol removal from aqueous solutions