Search

The present study described a quick, efficient, and eco-friendly method for producing Fe3O4-Ag nanocomposite (NC) using Mentha pulegium L. plant extract. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) was employed to prepare an aqueous extract due to its speed and effectiveness. During the manufacture of Fe3O4-Ag NC, the prepared plant extracts were utilized as naturally occurring stabilizing precursors. The study also employed several methods for characterizing the synthesized NC, including X-ray diffraction patterns, which estimated the mean particle size to be 52 nm using the Deby-Scherrer equation. The successful synthesis of Fe3O4-Ag NC was approved by a broad absorption band from 400 to 425 nm in the absorption spectrum. Subsequently, the samples' antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant potentials (Fe3O4 NPs, Ag NPs, Fe3O4-Ag NC, and the extract) were investigated. Notably, the NP and NC samples showed higher antibacterial activity than the extract, wherein gram-negative bacteria were more significantly affected than gram-positive bacteria. The Fe3O4-Ag NC had MIC values of 0.062 mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The Fe3O4-Ag NC was found to have a significant detrimental impact on the bacterial membranes of E. coli and S. aureus, as evidenced by the quick release of cytoplasmic components such as protein, nucleic acid, and potassium. The results also showed that the extract and Fe3O4-Ag NC samples exhibited strong antioxidant activity. The study recommends further investigation on the application of these metal nanoparticles in the water remediation, agriculture, and food industries due to their strong biological activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) such as MDR Acinetobacter baumanii and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumonia have become a global concern in recent decades. In this study, S. rechingeri essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. After that, different nanoemulsions were produced and the optimum formulation was chosen. In addition, the antibacterial activity of the optimum formulation was evaluated against some strains of A. baumanii and K. pneumoniae. Results showed that carvacrol was the main compound of the essential oil (81.55%) and C3 nanoemulsion with a particle size of 93.14 ± 3.95 nm was the optimum and stable formulation. The antibacterial activity assessment revealed that the C3 nanoemulsion also had better antibacterial activity than essential oil. The herbal formulation had comparable antibacterial activity in comparison with six assessed antibiotics. Overall, nanoencapsulated essential oil of S. rechingeri is a candidate for producing a new generation of natural antibacterial compounds against MDR pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Controlled drug delivery using nanotechnology enhances drug targeting at the site of interest and prevents drug dispersal throughout the body. This study focused on loading a poorly water-soluble drug tamoxifen (TMX) into silica nanoparticles (SNPs) and amine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NH2-SBA-15). Materials and Methods: SNPs were prepared according to the Stöber method and functionalized with an amine group using 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) through a one-pot synthesis method to produce amine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NH2-SBA-15). Characterization of both nanoparticles was performed using FT-IR, FE-SEM, CHN analysis, porosity tests (BET), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Results: The results showed an average particle size of 103.7 nm for SNPs and 225.9 nm for NH2-SBA-15. Based on the BET results, the pore size of NH2-SBA-15 was about 5.4 nm. In both silica nanoparticles, drug release at pH=5.7 was greater than that of pH=7.4. However, Tamoxifen-loaded NH2-SBA-15 (TMX@NH2-SBA-15) indicated the highest drug release in the acidic medium among TMX-loaded SNPs (TMX@SNPs), perhaps due to the high columbic repulsion in the functionalized NH2-SBA-15 nanoparticles. Regarding cytotoxicity results against MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines, both TMX@SNPs and TMX@NH2-SBA-15 nanoparticles exhibited greater cytotoxicity compared to the free TMX as a positive control. Although TMX@SNPs had a small size and high loading capacity, the cytotoxic effects were higher than those of TMX@NH2-SBA-15. Conclusion: Amine functionalization of SNPs can improve the potential activity of these nanoparticles for target therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study was undertaken to assess the demographics, clinical parameters and outcomes of patients undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), by the code blue team at our center to compare with other centers. Materials and Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from all adult patients who underwent CPR at our hospital from 2007 to 2008. CPR was performed on 290 patients and it was given 313 times. Clinical outcomes of interest were survival at the end of CPR and survival at discharge from the hospital. Factors associated with survival were evaluated via binomial and chi square-tests. Results: Of the 290 patients included, 95 patients (30.4%) had successful CPR. However, only 35 patients (12%) were alive at discharge. The majority requiring CPR were above 60 years of age (61.7%). Males required CPR more than females. There were 125 women (43.1%) and 165 males (56.9%) aged 3 to 78 (average 59.6) years. Majority (179) of the cases (61.7%) were above 60 years of age. Regarding the various wards, 54 cases (17.3%) were in the internal medicine ward, 63 cases (20.1%) in the surgery ward, 1 case (0.3%) in the clinic, 11 cases (3.5%) in the paraclinic, 116 cases (37.1%) in the emergency (ER), 55 cases (17.5%) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Coronary Care Unit (CCU), and 13 cases (4.2%) were in other wards. Cardiac massage was done in 133 cases (42.5%), defibrillation only via electroshock 3 cases (1%), and both were used in177 cases (56.5%). The ER had the most cases of CPR. Both cardiac massage and electroshock defibrillation were needed in most cases. Conclusion: In-hospital CPR for cardiopulmonary arrest was associated with 30.4% success at our center at the end of CPR but only 12% were alive at discharge. Duration of CPR> 10 minutes was predictive of significantly decreased survival to discharge.

Similar to other organizations in the society, hospitals need creative and innovative managers to survive and progress. Developing and training such managers require a suitable context that should be provided through determining factors affecting creativity and innovation in individuals. This study was conducted to determine the factors influencing creativity and innovation of managers in military and civilian hospitals in Tehran, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, the senior and middle managers of 9 military and civilian hospitals comprised the statistical population (90 people). The data were collected using a questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed in SPSS software. The ANOVA test was used to compare mean scores of different groups. The maximum and minimum possible score for the factors influencing creativity and innovation was chosen as 3 and 1, respectively. The results showed the organizational factors with the score 56.2 as the most important factors influencing creativity of managers in military and civilian hospitals. Among the subcategories of the organizational factors, the factors related to reward system gained the maximum score. The most important factors influencing innovation of hospital managers were personal factors with the score 83.2 the factors related to knowledge and expertise of managers received the highest score in this category. Based on the results, the provision of a favorable organizational environment can encourage hospital managers to be creative. Moreover, making changes in the culture governing hospitals and making innovation a positive value and norm may be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Date is one of the foodstuffs that are produced in tropical areas and used worldwide. Conventionally, methyl bromide and phosphine are used for date disinfection. The toxic side effects of these usual disinfectants have led food scientists to consider safer agents such as ozone for disinfection, because food safety is a top priority. The present study was performed to investigate the possibility of replacing common conventional disinfectants with ozone for date disinfection and microbial load reduction. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, date samples were ozonized for 3 and 5 hours with 5 and 10 g/h concentrations and packed. Ozonized samples were divided into two groups and kept in an incubator which was maintained at 25°C and 40°C for 9 months. During this period, every 3 month, microbial load (bacteria, mold, and yeast) were examined in ozonized and non-ozonized samples. Results: This study showed that ozonization with 5 g/h for 3 hours, 5 g/h for 5 hours, 10 g/h for 3 hours, and 10 g/h for 5 hours leads to about 25%, 25%, 53%, and 46% reduction in date mold and yeast load and about 6%, 9%, 76%, and 74.7% reduction in date bacterial load at baseline phase, respectively. Appropriate concentration and duration of ozonization for microbial load reduction were 10 g/h and 3 hours. Conclusion: Date ozonization is an appropriate method for microbial load reduction and leads to an increase in the shelf life of dates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Now the vast majority of breast tumors are treated using Breast conservation therapy (BCT) method, including lumpectomy and radiotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of intraoperative frozen section in patients undergoing breast conservation surgery. Methods: Totally 237 women who included in the category for breast conservative or oncoplastic surgery and post-operative radiotherapy (Early breast cancer Stage I, II and Stage IIIA after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and down staging) were enrolled in this prospective study from March 2009 to June 2011 Results: In frozen section, totally 88 margins (6.1%) in 60 patients (25%) was positive (1-5 positive margins/ patients) that all of these patients were re-excised. In precise pathologic view the margins in 7 patients (2.9%) was positive that comprised 4% of all margins, furthermore the results showed closed margin in 4 patients. false negative in our study occurred in 0.8% of patients and in 0.1% of margins (sensitivity 100% and specificity 99.2%) Conclusion: we designated intraoperative margin assessment by frozen section as an effective method in decreasing the rate of additional operations for margin control. Additionally, adequate margin width is accessible during same operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts to save more people suffering from in-hospital cardiac arrest, rates of survival after in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are no better today than they were more than a decade ago. This study was undertaken to assess the demographics, clinical parameters and outcomes of patients undergoing CPR by the code blue team at our center during 2001 to 2008. Data were collected retrospectively from adult patients (n=2262) who underwent CPR. Clinical outcomes of interest were survival at the end of CPR and survival at discharge from the hospital. Factors associated with survival were evaluated using binomial and Chi Square tests. Of the patients included (n=2262), 741 patients (32.8%) had successful CPR. The number of male patients requiring CPR was more than females in need of the procedure. The majority of patients requiring CPR were older than 60 years (56.4±17.9). The number of successful CPR cases in long-day shift (7:00 to 19:00) was more than that in the night shift (19:00 to 7:00). Furthermore, 413 (18.4%) cases were resuscitated on holidays and 1849 (81.7%) on the working days. The duration of CPR was 10 min or less in 710 (31.4%) cases. Cardiopulmonary resuscitations which lasted less than 10 minutes were associated with better outcomes. The findings of the present study indicate that some manageable factors including the duration of CPR, working shift, working day (holiday or non-holiday) could affect the CPR outcomes. The findings might also be taken as evidence to suggest that the allocation of more personnel in each shift especially in night shifts and holidays, planning to increase the personnel's CPR skills, and decreasing the waste time would result in the improvement of CPR outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cefixime is an important cephalosporin antibiotic that easily decomposes and releases different related substances in preparation and storage steps. The objective of the current study was to develop a simple, precise, and accurate isocratic liquid chromatography (LC) method for the determination of cefixime in the presence of its related substances generated from thermal stress in the bulk drug. The chromatographic conditions were comprised of a reversed-phase C18 column (4.6 x 250 mm, 5 pm) with a mobile phase composed of water: acetonitrile (85:15 v/v, with 0.5% formic acid) and ultraviolet detection (UV). Some thermal degradation products were identified using a proposed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Five peaks (A, B, C, D, and E impurities based on British Pharmacopoeia) were known and a few unknown peaks appeared in the thermal stress solution of cefixime. The linear regression analysis data for the calibration plot of the LC-UV method showed a good linear relationship in the concentration range 0.9-1000.0 μg mL-1. The recovery of the optimized method was between 94.6 and 98.4% and the inter- and intra-day relative standard deviations were less than 3.3%. The obtained results shown in the LC-UV proposed method can be conveniently used in a quality control laboratory for routine analysis of cefixime for the assay and related substances, as well as for the evaluation of stability samples of bulk drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Nanotechnology has provided novel approaches against food born and pathogenic bacteria. Within the present study, the effects of pure and nanoemulsified essential oil derived from Satureja Khuzistanica essential oil (SKEO) on Escherichia coli (E. coli ATCC 25922) as a human pathogen has been studied using a microfluidic chip. The morphology and antibacterial activity of E. coli at disparate residence durations (from 2 to 30 min) and various nanoemulsified or pure essential oil concentrations (8.0–62.5 μg mL−1) and numerous nanoemulsion's droplet sizes from 32 to 124 nm, have been investigated in the microfluidic system. Also, the quantitative analysis including optical density, time killing assay, protein, nucleic acid and potassium release were employed to confirm the effects of bacterial inhibition taking advantage of the chip apparatus. It was revealed that the prepared nanoemulsion left a considerable destructive effect on E. coli bacterial membrane, confirmed by fast release of cytoplasmic elements including protein, nucleic acid and potassium. However, this process was remarkably intensified for both nanoemulsion and pure essential oil using the microfluidic chip versus the conventional methods. The results also revealed that after 4 min of bacterium treatment by 12.5 μg mL−1 nanoemulsion with 32 nm mean particle size, the bacterial membrane wall began to degrade rapidly, and bacterial activity was almost completely inhibited in a 20-min period. These findings may have implications in the similarly structured and phospholipid-encapsulated bacteria and viruses, like COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The use of essential oil (EO) nanoemulsions is expanding to meet customer demand for all-natural antibacterial agents. Thymus daenensis (T) and Mentha piperita (M) EOs were employed to make nanoemulsions (TEO and MEO NE), using Tween 80/Span 80 as surfactant/cosurfactant and a high-speed homogenizer. The TEO and MEO NEs were then characterized in terms of particle size (121, 113 nm), surface charge (-11.2 and −12.6 mV), morphology, and stability over time. Then, the antibacterial activity of EOs and their nanoformulations against Escherichia coli (E. coli) were evaluated based on various residence times, and concentrations on a microfluidic chip. The release of cytoplasmic constituents was used to compare the antibacterial activity of bulk EOs and nanoformulations. After completing MIC, MBC, and time-killing assays, the inhibitory effect of nanoformulations on E. coli biofilm formation was examined. Remarkable intensification was observed by employing a microfluidic chip owing to high-contact surface area provision between nanoemulsions and bacteria. Once compared to the conventional method for 3 h operation, the bacterial activity was nearly completely inhibited in a 24-min residence time using nanoemulsions. After 6 min of treatment, the cell membrane began to rupture, indicating that nanoemulsions could improve the antibacterial activity of bulk essential oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]