Antimicrobial evaluation of some novel derivatives of 3,4-dihydropyrimidine-2(1H)-one.

The antimicrobial activity of thirty six novel dihydropyrimidine derivatives was evaluated against common pathogenic bacteria. Significant antimicrobial activity (MIC=32, 64 μg/ml) was observed. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as Gram-negative bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus as Gram-positive bacteria were determined to be the most susceptible pathogens in this study.

Antibacterial activity and composition of essential oils from Pelargonium graveolens L'Her and Vitex agnus-castus L.

Background And Objectives: Essential oils are volatile compounds that have been used since Middle Ages as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, sedative, local anesthetic and food flavoring agents. In the current study, essential oils of Pelargonium graveolens L'Her and Vitex agnus-castus L. were analyzed for their antibacterial activities.

Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic evaluation of some new quinazolinone derivatives.

Quinazolinone ring system is renown because of its wide spectrum of pharmacological activities due to various substitutions on this ring system. In this study, the minimum inhibitory concentration of the synthesized compounds in our laboratory was determined by micro dilution Alamar Blue(®) Assay against six strains of bacteria (three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative) and three strains of fungi. Following a broth micro dilution minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) tests were performed.

Stability evaluation of freeze-dried Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. tolerance and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus in oral capsules.

Freeze-drying is a common preservation technology in the pharmaceutical industry. Various studies have investigated the effect of different cryoprotectants on probiotics during freeze-drying. However, information on the effect of cryoprotectants on the stability of some Lactobacillus strains during freeze-drying seems scarce.

Effect of low-molecular-weight organic acids on kinetics release and fractionation of phosphorus in some calcareous soils of western Iran.

Organic acid has been related to nutrient mobilization, mainly in phosphorus (P) insoluble utilization, and therefore enhances P bioavailability. In this study, we examined the effect of low-molecular-weight organic acids (malic, citric, and oxalic acids) on P release of some calcareous soils from western Iran. Fractionation and speciation of P in the soil solution were studied at the initial and final P release.

Serum zinc levels in children and adolescents with type-1 diabetes mellitus.

Background: There have been very few studies, with contradictory results, on the zinc status of children and adolescents with type-1 diabetes mellitus. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine zinc status based on the serum zinc concentration in type-1 diabetic children and adolescents and compare it with that of healthy controls.

Methods: Thirty children and adolescents with type-1 diabetes mellitus, aged 6 to 18 years, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls participated in the study.

Environmental air pollution and acute cerebrovascular complications: an ecologic study in tehran, iran.

Background: In this study, we aimed to assess the association between air pollution and cerebrovascular complications in Tehran, one of the most air-polluted cities in the world, among different subgroups of patients with stroke in 2004.

Methods: In this ecologic study, we calculated the daily average levels of different air pollutants including CO, NO(X), SO(2), O(3), and PM(10) and also humidity and temperature on the day of stroke and 48 hours prior to stroke in 1 491 patients admitted with the diagnosis of stroke in eight referral hospitals in different areas of Tehran. Then, we evaluated the association between the rate of stroke admissions and the level of the selected pollutants, humidity, and temperature on the day of stroke and 48 hours prior to stroke among different subgroups of patients.

Evaluation of diagnostic efficacy of serum sTfR assay in iron-deficiency anemia and Beta-thalassemia trait in Shafa hospital, Ahvaz, Iran 2010.

Background And Objectives: Soluble form of transferrin receptor (TFR) called soluble TFR (sTfR) is shed mainly from the erythroid precursors and with a slower rate from other tissues into the plasma. This process of release is intensified in situations characterized with a some degree of erythroid hyperplasia or body iron stores depletion, such as seen in beta-thalassemia trait (betaTT) and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), respectively. Therefore, the employement of sTfR assay as a diagnostic tool for differentiating IDA from betaTT in case of co-existence of these two clinical entities seems to be questionable.

Assessment of endothelial dysfunction in health and disease; using various parameters.

Conditions like hypertension, atherosclerosis and diabetes are known to be the result of endothelial dysfunction which could begin early in the life of an individual. The markers of endothelial dysfunction studied in the present work are plasma hemoglobin, serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and plasma nitrite and nitrate. We studied the onset of endothelial dysfunction with increase in age as well as in disease condition like newly detected hypertensives and of hypertensive diabetic patients.

Leaching of nitrogen and base cations from calcareous soil amended with organic residues.

The potential for groundwater and surface water pollution by nutrients in organic residues, primarily nitrogen (N) and base cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+), is a consideration when applying such residues to land. In this study, we used a laboratory column leaching procedure to examine the leaching of N, K+, Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ in soils treated with two types of raw organic residues (poultry manure and potato residues) and one municipal waste compost, which are currently recycled on agricultural land in Iran. Each organic residue was thoroughly mixed with two different soils (sandy loam and clay) at the rate of 3%.

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: an increasingly common cause for testicular pain and swelling.

Introduction: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) is now a well established method for kidney procurement from living donors. In our centre, LDN is currently offered only to donors suitable for left nephrectomy. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of testicular pain and swelling following LDN.

Evaluation of plasma activity level of anticoagulant proteins in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Shafa hospital Ahwaz 2010.

Background And Objectives: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood malignancy as associated with various coagulation abnormalities such as hemorrhage and thrombosis. This study was designed to investigate the distribution pattern of plasma activity level of anticoagulant protein such as proteins C and S, antithrombin, activated protein C resistance (APCR-V) and D-dimer in patients with ALL.

Patients And Methods: We studied thirty patients with confirmed ALL admitted in Shafa Hospital Hematology-Oncology and Thalassemia-Hemoglobinopathy Research Center and thirty normal (age and sex matched) subjects as control group.

Effect of noise stress on count, progressive and non-progressive sperm motility, body and genital organ weights of adult male rats.

Aims: It was decided to investigate the effect of noise pollution on the body weight, genital organ weights, and also on sperm parameters.

Setting And Design: It is a prospective study designed in vitro.

Materials And Methods: A total 20 adult male wistar rats were used in this study.

Measuring and modeling ammonium adsorption by calcareous soils.

The aim of this study was assessment of ammonium (NH 4(+) ) adsorption isotherms in some agricultural calcareous soils and modeling of that by using the mechanistic exchange model. Ten surface soils (0-30 cm) were collected from areas covered with different land uses in Hamedan, western Iran. Isotherm experiments were carried out by concentrations of NH 4(+) prepared from NH4Cl salt (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, and 150 mg NH 4(+)  l(-1)) in presence of 0.

Intravenous administration of human umbilical cord blood-mononuclear cells dose-dependently relieve neurologic deficits in rat intracerebral hemorrhage model.

Human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) is now considered as a valuable source for stem cell-based therapies. Previous studies showed that intravascular injection of the HUCB significantly improves neurological functional recovery in a model of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). To extend these findings, we examined the behavioral recovery and injured volume in the presence of increasing doses of human umbilical cord blood derived mononuclear cells (HUC-MCs) after intracerebral hemorrhage in rats.

Antimicrobial resistance pattern of bacterial isolates from burn wounds in an Iranian University Hospital.

Objective: About 73% of death cases in the first 5 days after burning are due to infection complications. The aim of this study was to identify the causing agents of infections in burn patients and the sensitivity pattern of them to the commonly used antimicrobials in an Iranian Burn center University Hospital.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients who were admitted to one of the Iranian Burn center University hospitals in 2009 and had nosocomial infection due to burn wound, whom received antimicrobial agents for therapeutic reasons, with a hospitalization period of more than 48 hours were enrolled.

Effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum L. leaves on ethylene glycol-induced kidney calculi in rats.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum (H. perforatum) leaves on the kidney calculi in rats.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-two Wistar male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Groups 2, 3, and 4 received ethylene glycol (EG) 1% + ammonium chloride (0.

First molecular detection of Leishmania major within naturally infected Phlebotomus salehi from a zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis focus in southern Iran.

Human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major notifiable public health problem in many parts of Iran. It is often caused by the zooflagellate parasite Leishmania major which is mainly transmitted by the bites of female phlebotomine sandflies belonging to the genus Phlebotomus (Diptera: Psychodidae). The annual incidence of CL in Fars province, southern Iran, was about 108-144 in 2007.

Clostridium difficile infection in an Iranian hospital.

Background: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality internationally, yet there are important regional differences in the epidemiology and microbiology of disease. Most reports have come from North America and Europe, with limited information from other regions, including the Middle East. Given the changes in the epidemiology of CDI in developed countries, particularly associated with the dissemination of hypervirulent epidemic clones, an understanding of the epidemiology and microbiology of CDI in diverse regions is warranted.

Phosphorus sorption-desorption behaviour of river bed sediments in the Abshineh river, Hamedan, Iran, related to their composition.

Phosphorus (P) sorption by sediments may play a vital role in buffering P concentration in the overlying water column. To characterize P sorption-desorption in the river bed sediments, 17 bed sediment samples collected from Abshineh river, in a semi arid region, Hamedan, western Iran were studied through a batch experiment and related to sediment composition. The sorbed fraction ranged from 4.

Leaching of nitrogen from calcareous soils in western Iran: a soil leaching column study.

Nitrogen (N) leaching has become a matter of worldwide concern. The objectives of this study were: (1) to use soil columns to investigate the leaching of nitrate ([Formula: see text]), ammonium ([Formula: see text]), and nitrite ([Formula: see text]) from calcareous soils that had received an average of 200 kg(-1) N ha(-1) year(-1) for the previous 30 years and (2) to determine the relationship between soil properties and [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] leaching. The soils used in this study ranged in texture from clay to sandy loam.

Antimicrobial Activity and Chemical Composition of Essential Oil From the Seeds of Artemisia aucheri Boiss.

Background: Artemisia aerial parts are well known for antimicrobial activities including anti malaria.

Objectives: This study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of essential oil from the seeds of Artemisia aucheri Boiss (Asteraceae).

Materials And Methods: Essential oil was extracted from the powdered seeds of Artemisia aucheri by hydrodistillation.

p53 overexpression impacts on the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Objectives: To investigate the prognostic implications of p53 expression in the surgical margins of laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Methods: Thirty one patients with T3-4N0M0 cancers with pathologically negative margins were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect expression of p53.

Results: The p53 positive rates by IHC in the surgical margin were 16.

A potential in silico antibody-antigen based diagnostic test for precise identification of Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a problematic nosocomial pathogen. The resistance to a wide range of antimicrobial agents, attributable to its biofilm phenotype, makes the treatment very difficult. Biofilm is a common feature of most pathogens.