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Ralstonia pickettii is a rare Gram-negative opportunistic bacterium that causes rare infections such as bacteremia, neonatal sepsis, endocarditis, and meningitis in hospitalized or immunocompromised patients. In this study, we identified and reported bloodstream infection caused by R. pickettii in a 15 -year-old boy patient with an autoimmune disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, under plasmapheresis and intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy. He was referred for admission to the neurology center of the teaching hospital of Shiraz, Iran for inability to walk, and lower extremity muscle weakness. After he was treated with plasmapheresis once during hospitalization, and after severe fever besides shivering blood cultures using BACT/ALERT®3D instrument were positive for R. pickettii. According to antibiotic susceptibility test report s , Ciprofloxacin (5 μg) was prescribed. Fortunately, after starting antibiotic treatment, blood culture results reported no growth after 5 days. Indeed, the patient was infected with nosocomial hepatitis A and URSOBIL (300 mg/BID/Po) was administered. Hence, after reporting the infection occurrence to the hospital infection control unit, initial and possible measures such as device infection control, replacement of potentially polluted plasmapheresis fluids, disinfecting the environment and replacing old sterile washing water with new sources were carried out in plasmapheresis unit. In conclusion, R. pickettii is a rare nosocomial infection that is responsible for the contamination of medical equipment, especially in hemodialysis, plasmapheresis devices and sterile solutions. Also, it is suggested that the role and importance of rare environmental bacteria as the causative agents of human infections should not be ignored in medical centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tularemia or rabbit fever is a transmissible disease from animals, rodents, and insects to human populations that is caused by Francisella tularensis. Epidemiological studies showed that tularemia is endemic throughout most different regions of the world. Recent evidence documented the transmission of the F. tularensis in a different part of Asia. Because there is no updated review information for tularemia in Iran, we performed this systematic review. In this study, we systematically explored biomedical databases (Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of sciences) to identify epidemiology, reservoirs, and carriers of Francisella in animal and human clinical specimens from 2010 to 2020, either in English or in Persian. Different studies have shown the different frequencies of F. tularensis among human and animal resources in eighteen provinces of Iran. In total, 1242 human clinical specimens, 1565 animal samples, and 355 environmental water samples were investigated to find F. tularensis in different provinces of Iran. According to the collected documents, 94 human clinical samples, 69 water samples, and 26 animal specimens were introduced as positive samples for the F. tularensis. According to studies, thirteen species of rodent and hare presented as an inter-epizootic reservoir. Only one species of tick (D. marginatus) was introduced as a vector for Francisella in Iran. According to these results, it is essential for exclusive attention to the prevalence of F. tularensis in different provinces of Iran. Furthermore, special planning should be done for prevention, control of the outbreak, and proper treatment of the tularemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the winter of 2021, a previously unknown and almost inaccessible cave called Aškawt-i Daya was discovered in the heart of Bakhakuh Mountain in the west central Zagros Mountains of Iran. An exceptional feature of the cave is its collection of paintings on the walls and ceiling with animal and human motifs, rendered in black pigment, both singly and in groups involved in scenes of hunting and slaughter. As with other rock paintings in Iran, establishing a date for these paintings is difficult, but there are hints both from the presence of certain motifs and from accompanying inscriptions that the paintings were probably created from the Achaemenid (550-330 BCE) to the Parthian period (247 BCE-224 CE). A depiction of a bull-man, as well as the appearance in the inscriptions of the names of divinities such as Nergal, Marduk, Sin, and Šamaš, suggest that the original gods to be worshiped in the cave were Mesopotamian. The use of the cave as a place of worship continued into the Seleucid (312-63 BCE) and then the Parthian and early Sassanian periods, by which time the cave had been transformed into the setting for a cult of Mithra.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic nanoparticles are promising agents for increasing the effectiveness of radiation therapy by making cells more sensitive to radiation. High atomic number nanoparticles generate low-energy secondary electrons that initiate a cascade of physical and chemical reactions, which can lead to enhanced cell damage and tumor control. However, despite the growing interest in this area, a comprehensive understanding of the biological consequences of these reactions remains elusive due to the lack of experimental data. To address this gap, the Geant4-DNA track structure code has been used for modeling the interactions of radiation with matter at the molecular and cellular levels. The Geant4-DNA track structure code an extension of the Geant4 simulation toolkit designed for modeling the interactions of radiation with biological systems with high precision. Since the Geant4-DNA code is broadly applied for radiosensitization simulations, the authors were motivated to conduct a review of the literature and provide a comprehensive information on the current status of nanoparticle radiosensitization simulations using Geant4-DNA. This review aims to analyze and categorize the existing knowledge, identify key findings, research gaps, and challenges, and provide recommendations for future research in this area. A comprehensive search for the articles that used Geant4-DNA for nanoparticle radiosensitization was performed. A total of 50 studies met the inclusion criteria, and their simulation data and major findings are extracted. According to the literature, despite the significant contribution of the Geant4-DNA code, validating simulation results against experimental data is a primary challenge because there are limited experimental studies available. In addition, detailed modeling of nanoparticle radiosensitization require an accurate depiction of the cellular microenvironment and incorporation of chemical and biological reactions, which, in turn, demands the utilization of high-performance computers. Our analysis of the literature also reveals that most current studies are focused on gold nanoparticles with cellular distribution, and photon or proton radiations. This could emphasize the need for future research to consider other potential metallic nanoparticles in combination with various particle irradiations as well as utilization of high performance computers. • This review explores the application of Geant4-DNA in nanoparticle radiosensitization. • The paper evaluates the simulation parameters and challenges for such studies. • Recommendations on future research directions for further investigations are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]