Effects of Sucrose, Skim Milk and Yeast Powder on Survival of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Encapsulated with Alginate during One-week Storage at room Conditions

Background and Objective: During the manufacture and storage of probiotic products, there are always possibilities that probiotics be exposed to harmful stresses such as high temperature, low pH, various osmotic pressures and high oxygen levels, which can decrease the number of living cells. Encapsulation is one of the methods used to protect living cells such as probiotic bacteria from environmental challenges. Up-to-date, various compounds with abilities to protect bacteria during freeze-drying and to increase viability during storage have been identified. In this study, alginate with calcium chloride was used to encapsulate probiotic bacteria using extrusion method. Then, effects of sucrose and skim milk as cryoprotectants and yeast powder containing beta-glucan as prebiotic on the survival of these bacteria were investigated. Material and Methods: The Homogeneous solution of bacteria with alginate and cry protectants were manually extruded into a calcium chloride solution. After 30 min of agitation, shaped beads were separated. For the comparison, bacterial population were enumerated in the primary culture, after encapsulation, freeze-drying and 1 week of storage at room conditions (N0, N, NF and N1w, respectively). To assess colony-forming unit per ml of the samples, first 1 g of fresh beads was dissolved in 9 ml of trisodium citrate and then serial dilution and pour plate techniques were carried out. Plates were incubated for 24-48 h and colonies were counted. Results and Conclusion: Results showed that encapsulation of bacteria with alginate and calcium chloride alone was 51% effective while use of yeast powder and sucrose with alginate increased the encapsulation efficiency to 97 and 99%, respectively. Furthermore, use of skim milk with alginate and sucrose resulted in the highest survival rate after 1 week of storage at room conditions. Therefore, encapsulation of probiotic bacteria with alginate layer and yeast powder containing prebiotics, sucrose and skim milk can be effective in survival of these bacteria. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Isolation and Identification of a New Bacillus cereus Strain and Characterization of its Neopullulanase

Identification and use of more efficient enzymes in the food and pharmaceutical industries is the focus of many researchers. The aim of this study was to search for a new bacterial strain capable of producing high levels of pullulanase applicable to biotechnology, the starch bioprocessing and food industries. A new pullulan hydrolyzing Bacillus strain was isolated and designated SDK2. Morphological and biochemical tests identified the strain as a putative Bacillus cereus strain, which was further characterized and confirmed through 16s rRNA sequencing, and was submitted to GeneBank, under the accession number FR6864500. Quantitative analysis of the strain’s pullulanase activity was carried out by the Dintrosalicyclic (DNS) acid-based assay. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the culture supernatant, identified the extracellular pullulanase as neopullulanase. Effects of temperature and pH on pullulanase activity were also studied. The optimum conditions for enzyme activity, as represented by 60°C and a pH of 7, resulted in an activity of 13.43 U/ml, which is much higher than some of the previously reported activities. However, growth of B. cereus SDK2 was also observed at a pH range of 5 to 10, and temperatures of 30°C to 50°C. The effect of metal ions and reagents, such as Mg+2, Ca+2, Zn+2, Cu+2, Fe+2, Ni+2 on enzyme activity showed that Ca+2 ions increased pullulan activity, whereas the other ions and reagents inhibited pullulanase activity. The ability of B. cereus SDK2 to produce high levels of neopullulanase stable at 60°C that can generate panose from pullulan, make this newly isolated strain a valuable source of debranching enzyme for biotechnology, the starch bioprocess and medical industries

Isolation and Identification of an Indigenous Probiotic Lactobacillus Strain: Its Encapsulation with Natural Branched Polysaccharids to Improve Bacterial Viability

Background and Objective: Probiotics have to reach their site of action in certain numbers in order to exhibit positive health effects. Encapsulation has shown remarkable enhancing effects on probiotic survival in simulated gastric conditions compared to free bacteria. The purpose of this study was identification and evaluation of a potential probiotic strain using encapsulation process by new carriers in order to improve probiotic viability during in vitro simulated conditions.Material and Methods: A native Lactobacillus was isolated from yogurt, identified as Lactobacillus casei PM01 (NCBI registered) and analyzed for probiotic properties alongside established probiotic strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 43556, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 7469. Acid and bile resistance, adhesion to Caco-2 cells and antibiotic resistance were evaluated. Lactobacillus casei PM01 was encapsulated with alginate, chitosan and natural branched polysaccharides (pectin, tragacanth gum and gum Arabic) by using extrusion technique. Encapsulation efficiency, acidification activity and viability of entrapped Lactobacillus casei PM01 in simulated gastric pH were determined. Results and Conclusion: Based on the results, all the three strains could be considered as potential probiotics, and are good candidates for further in vitro and in vivo evaluation. The results showed that the survival of encapsulated Lactobacillus casei PM01 was significantly (p≤0.05) increased when it was incubated in simulated gastric pH. It can be concluded that indigenous Lactobacillus casei PM01 in encapsulated form is introduced as an efficient probiotic strain for using in dairy products.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Nursing Instructors and Students, Views Related to Discrimination in Nursing Care: A Qualitative Study

Background: One of the moral challenges in the healthcare system is discrimination in providing care to patients. The present study aimed to report the experiences of nursing instructors and students regarding discrimination in nursing care.Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis through semi-structured interviews with 8 nursing instructors and 13 nursing students. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. Data collection continued until data saturation. Data were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s proposed method. Data collection and analysis were concurrent. Results: According to the findings, “Discrimination paradigm,” “Discrimination as a negative concept,” and “The role of nursing instructors” (teaching moral values, being a role model, and evaluating moral standards) were identified as the main categories. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, nursing instructors are recommended to introduce moral topics to students, act as role models for them, and teach them how to deal with ethical challenges

Association Between Metabolic Syndrome and Stroke: A Population Based Cohort Study

Both metabolic syndrome (MetS) and stroke are associated with increased risk of mortality. Here, we aimed to assess the prevalence of MetS among adults using three definitions (Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP-III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and IDF ethnic specific cut-off for Iranian criteria) and its association with stroke. We performed a cross-sectional study of a total of 9991 adult participants of Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS), as part of the Prospective epidemiological research studies in Iran (PERSIAN cohort study). The MetS prevalence was evaluated in participants according to the different criteria. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between three definitions of MetS with stroke. We found that MetS was significantly associated with higher odds of stroke according to NCEP-ATP III (odds ratio (OR): 1.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30-2.74), international IDF (OR:1.66, 95% CI: 1.15-2.40) and Iranian IDF (OR:1.48, 95% CI: 1.04-2.09) after adjusted for variables confounders. Furthermore, after adjustment, in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the AUROC was 0.79 (95% CI = 0.75-0.82), 0.78(95% CI = 0.74-0.82) and 0.78(95% CI = 0.74-0.81) for presence of MetS according to NCEP-ATP III, international IDF and Iranian IDF, respectively. ROC analyses revealed that all of these three criteria for MetS are moderately accurate for the identification of increased stroke risk.In conclusion, our results showed that MetS was associated with increased odds of stroke. Our findings implicate the importance of early identification, treatment, and ultimately prevention of the metabolic syndrome

The Effects of Scheduled Visitation on the Physiological Indices of Conscious Patients Admitted at intensive Care Units

Background: Visitation of patients admitted at intensive care units (ICUs) is a controversial issue in the field of health care. It is commonly believed that the presence of family members might bring about physiological changes, such as tachycardia and hypertension, in ICU patients. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of scheduled visitation on the physiological indices of conscious patients at the ICU. Method: This experimental study was conducted on 90 conscious patients admitted at the ICU of Ganjavian Hospital in Dezful, Iran in 2014. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. In the control group, patient visits were carried out in accordance with normal procedures of the ward. In the intervention group, patients were visited by relatives and family members for 30 minutes, preferably in evening shifts. Physiological indices of the patients were recorded before, during and after scheduled visitation. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.18 using independent T-test and one-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: In this study, mean age of patients in the intervention and control groups was 42.1±19.1 and 39.4±19.6 years, respectively. In the intervention group, systolic blood pressure had a more significant reduction at 10 and 30 minutes after visitation compared to the control group (independent T-test, P0.05). Implications for Practice: According to the results of this study, scheduled visitation by family members caused no significant differences in the physiological indices of ICU patients. It is recommended that future studies be conducted as to confirm this finding and revise patient visitation policies in hospitals

Evaluation of Pulse Oximetry in the Early Detection of Congenital Heart Diseases in Newborns

Background: Congenital heart diseases, which are asymptomatic at birth, are the most important causes of infant mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the role of pulse oximetry in the early detection of congenital heart diseases among newborns.Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 1230 newborns who were born in university hospitals in an urban area of Iran were placed under the pulse oximetry of right hand and right foot. The neonates with peripheral oxygen saturation (SPO2) of less than 95% in the right hand or right foot underwent pulse oximetry of the hands and feet again after two hours. Finally, the newborns with an SPO2 of less than 95% in the second stage were subjected to diagnostic echocardiography. The results were analyzed in SPSS software (version 18). Results: Out of 1230 neonates who underwent pulse oximetry, 417 newborns had an SPO2 of less than 95%, and their SPO2 was rechecked two hours later. Finally, echocardiography was performed for 32 newborns who had an SPO2 of less than 95%, of whom 24 infants were healthy and 8 infants (6 females and 2 males) had congenital heart disease. The sensitivity of the pulse oximetry to detect congenital heart disease was 100%, and its specificity was 98.04%.Conclusion: The results of this study highlighted the high sensitivity of pulse oximetry in the diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease which can be used at birth

Linezolid resistance among multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates in Iran

The management of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) presents a main challenge and the drug options for treating these infections are very limited. Linezolid (LNZ) has recently been approved for the treatment of MDR and XDR-TB. But, there are narrow data on genotypic and phenotypic LNZ resistance in clinical isolates. So, we aimed to determine the prevalence of LNZ resistance and to identify the mutations associated with LNZ resistance among clinical MDR-TB isolates. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of LNZ, for 22 MDR-TB isolates were determined by broth microdilution method. All MDR-TB isolates were sequenced in the rrl and rp1C genes conferring LNZ, resistance. LNZ, resistance was found in 3 (13.6%) of 22 MDR-TB isolates. The MICs of LNZ were 8 mu g/mL for two isolates and 16 mu g/mL for one isolate. The 421 (A/G) and 449 (T/A) mutations in rplC gene were detected in one of the LNZ-resistant isolates. There was no mutation in rrl gene. The results reveal that the prevalence of LNZ-resistant isolates is 13.6% among MDR-TB isolates and drug susceptibility testing (DST) against LNZ is useful in the management of complicated and drug-resistant cases. However, further studies could identify other possible genetic mechanism of resistance in TB

Efficacy of Pediococcus acidlactici-based probiotic on intestinal Coliforms and villus height, serum cholesterol level and performance of broiler chickens

The objective of this research was to investigate the efficacy of Pediococcus acidlactici-based probiotic on broilers performance. One hundred and sixty male Ross broiler chicks were allocated in 2 experimental treatments for 6 weeks. The experimental birds received a corn-soybean meal basal diet that was supplemented as follows: “control,” with no other additions; “PA,” Pediococcus acidlactici. For broilers fed diet supplemented with PA, the results showed that body weight (BW) increased and feed conversion ratio (FCR) decreased (P < 0.05) when compared to those of the control. Treatment of PA increased (P < 0.05) villus height in duodenum and ileum when compared with control. Broilers fed diet supplemented with PA also had lower (P < 0.05) coliforms number of the ileum and serum cholesterol level than that of the control. This study showed the beneficial effects of Pediococcus acidlactici-based probiotic on broilers performance.Key words: Pediococcus acidlactici, performance, probiotic, broiler chicken