Effects of Three Types of Oil Dispersants on Biodegradation of Dispersed Crude Oil in Water Surrounding Two Persian Gulf Provinces

Objective. To determine the most effective and biodegradable dispersant of spilled oil in water surrounding two Persian Gulf provinces. Methods. This study compared the effects of three dispersants, Pars 1, Pars 2, and Gamlen OD4000 on removal of oil in two Persian Gulf provinces' water. Overall, 16 stations were selected. Using the Well method, the growth rate of isolated bacteria and fungi was identified. To specify the growth rate of microorganisms and their usage of oil in the presence of the above-mentioned dispersants, as exclusive sources of carbon, the bacteria were grown in culture medium for 28 days at 120 rpm, 30°C, and their optical density was measured by spectrophotometry. Then, we tested biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in microorganisms. Results. The highest growth rate was documented for the growth of microorganisms on either Pars 1 or Pars 2 dispersants or their mixtures with oil. However, the culture having microorganisms grown on Pars 1 had higher BOD and COD than the other two dispersants (9200 and 16800 versus 500 and 960, P < 0.05). Mixture of oil and Pars 2 as well as oil and Pars 1 dispersants showed the highest BODs and CODs, respectively. In the Bahregan province, microorganisms grown on Pars 2 had maximum amount of BOD and COD in comparison with Pars 1 and Gamlen dispersants (7100 and 15200 versus 6000 and 10560, P < 0.05). Conclusion. Pars 1 and Pars 2 were the most effective dispersants with highest degradability comparing Gamlen. In each region, the most suitable compound for removing oil spill from offshores with least secondary contamination should be investigated

Topical effectiveness of different concentrations of nanosilver solution on Leishmania major lesions in Balb/c mice

Background & objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an infection caused by protozoan genus Leishmania. Althoughglucantime is commonly used for the treatment of leishmaniasis, it has some side effects including increased liverenzymes and electrocardiogram changes. In addition, the drug is expensive, the injection is painful, and researchshows that resistance of parasite to glucantime is growing in different parts of the world. Therefore, scientists arepaying more attention to develop new drugs such as nanosilver solution. The present study is an attempt toevaluate the in vivo topical effects of different concentrations of nanosilver solution in the treatment of leishmaniasislesions.Methods: In all, 90 female Balb/c mice aged 6–8 wk were infected with 2×106 viable stationary-phase promastigotesin the base of tail. Different concentrations (60, 80, 120, 130 and 2000 ppm) nanosilver solution were used in thepresent study to test the efficacy in the treatment of lesions. Clinical control of the infection trends was conductedweekly for 5 wk by measuring lesion diameter with standard Kulis-Vernieh. Data were analyzed by paired t-test,analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey test.Results: Mean lesion diameter pre- and post-treatment did not significantly differ between different treatmentgroups (p >0.05). Likewise, a significant difference in splenic parasite load was also not observed between differenttreatment groups.Interpretation & conclusion: Based on our results, different concentrations of nanosilver are ineffective in reducingmean sizes of lesions

Development of a scoring system using a statistical model to predict cure status in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis

Background: The present study was performed to develop a scoring system for predicting cure status in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Materials and Methods: This study included 199 patients with CL from Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center (Isfahan, Iran). Data were collected as longitudinal in each visit of patients. We applied ordinal logistic generalized estimating equation regression to predict score on this correlated data. To evaluate the fitted model, split sample validation method was applied. SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results: The regression coefficients of the fitted model were used to calculate score for cure status. Based on split-sample validation method, overall correct classification rate was 82%. Conclusion: This study suggested a scoring system predict cure status in CL patients based on clinical characteristics. Using this method, score for a CL patient is easily obtained by physicians or health workers

Dermatology case diagnosis

A patient with multiple subcutaneous mobile lesions limited to forearms is presented. Pathologic review of the biopsy confirmed the diagnosis