A critical review on the existing wastewater treatment methods in the COVID-19 era: What is the potential of advanced oxidation processes in combatting viral especially SARS-CoV-2?

The COVID-19 epidemic has put the risk of virus contamination in water bodies on the horizon of health authorities. Hence, finding effective ways to remove the virus, especially SARS-CoV-2, from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has emerged as a hot issue in the last few years. Herein, this study first deals with the fate of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in WWTPs, then critically reviews and compares different wastewater treatment methods for combatting COVID-19 as well as to increase the water quality.

Occurrence, identification, and discharge of microplastics from effluent and sludge of the largest WWTP in Iran-South of Tehran.

Microplastic pollution is a serious threat to the biota and humans, and wastewater treatment plants act as a pathway for entering microplastics into the environment. This study discusses the identification and quantification of microplastics in the south of Tehran municipal WWTP. The sampling was repeated three times in a month, overall, nine times for water samples and once a month in total, three times for digested sludge samples by steel bucket with the WPO method.

Diagnosis of Bloodstream Infections: An Evolution of Technologies towards Accurate and Rapid Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing.

Bloodstream infections (BSI) are a leading cause of death worldwide. The lack of timely and reliable diagnostic practices is an ongoing issue for managing BSI. The current gold standard blood culture practice for pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing is time-consuming.

Wastewater Based Epidemiology Perspective as a Faster Protocol for Detecting Coronavirus RNA in Human Populations: A Review with Specific Reference to SARS-CoV-2 Virus.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has a long history of identifying a variety of viruses from poliovirus to coronaviruses, including novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The presence and detection of SARS-CoV-2 in human feces and its passage into the water bodies are significant public health challenges. Hence, the hot issue of WBE of SARS-CoV-2 in the coronavirus respiratory disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a matter of utmost importance (e.

SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia Predicts Clinical Deterioration and Extrapulmonary Complications from COVID-19.

Background: The determinants of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity and extrapulmonary complications (EPCs) are poorly understood. We characterized relationships between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNAemia and disease severity, clinical deterioration, and specific EPCs.

Methods: We used quantitative and digital polymerase chain reaction (qPCR and dPCR) to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA from plasma in 191 patients presenting to the emergency department with COVID-19.

Positive environmental effects of the coronavirus 2020 episode: a review.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has made a global catastrophic situation that caused 1,039,406 deaths out of 35,347,404 infections, and it will also cause significant socio-economic losses with poverty increasing from 17.1 to 25.9%.

SARS-CoV-2 RNAaemia predicts clinical deterioration and extrapulmonary complications from COVID-19.

Background: The determinants of COVID-19 disease severity and extrapulmonary complications (EPCs) are poorly understood. We characterise the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 RNAaemia and disease severity, clinical deterioration, and specific EPCs.

Methods: We used quantitative (qPCR) and digital (dPCR) PCR to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA from nasopharyngeal swabs and plasma in 191 patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with COVID-19.

A Novel Platform Using RNA Signatures To Accelerate Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The rise of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens can be attributed to the lack of a rapid pathogen identification (ID) or antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), resulting in delayed therapeutic decisions at the point of care. Gonorrhea is usually empirically treated, with no AST results available before treatment, thus contributing to the rapid rise in drug resistance. Here, we present a rapid AST platform using RNA signatures for Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) followed by bioinformatic tools was applied to explore potential markers in the transcriptome profile of upon minutes of azithromycin exposure.

Data on the microplastics contamination in water and sediments along the Haraz River estuary, Iran.

The type and extent of microplastic contamination in water and sediment of Haraz River were evaluated. Water and sediment samples were collected using a planktonic trawl with a mesh size of 300 µ and a Van Veen grab, from February to May 2017. The morphology and elemental compounds of microplastic particles were analysed using SEM/EDX.

RNA markers for ultra-rapid molecular antimicrobial susceptibility testing in fluoroquinolone-treated Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Objectives: Traditional antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is growth dependent and time-consuming. With rising rates of drug-resistant infections, a novel diagnostic method is critically needed that can rapidly reveal a pathogen's antimicrobial susceptibility to guide appropriate treatment. Recently, RNA sequencing has been identified as a powerful diagnostic tool to explore transcriptional gene expression and improve AST.

Proteomic Analysis of Resistance of Gram-Negative Bacteria to Chlorhexidine and Impacts on Susceptibility to Colistin, Antimicrobial Peptides, and Ceragenins.

Use of chlorhexidine in clinical settings has led to concerns that repeated exposure of bacteria to sub-lethal doses of chlorhexidine might result in chlorhexidine resistance and cross resistance with other cationic antimicrobials including colistin, endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their mimics, ceragenins. We have previously shown that colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria remain susceptible to AMPs and ceragenins. Here, we investigated the potential for cross resistance between chlorhexidine, colistin, AMPs and ceragenins by serial exposure of standard strains of Gram-negative bacteria to chlorhexidine to generate resistant populations of organisms.

Susceptibility of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria, Isolated from Water and Plants in Nigeria, to Ceragenins.

The continuous emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens is a major global health concern. Although antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown promise as a possible means of combatting multidrug resistant strains without readily engendering resistance, costs of production and targeting by proteases limit their utility. Ceragenins are non-peptide AMP mimics that overcome these shortcomings while retaining broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

ASSESSMENT OF INDOOR GAMMA RADIATION AND DETERMINATION OF EXCESS LIFETIME CANCER RISK IN TEHRAN IN WINTER AND SPRING 2017.

Natural radiation is a feature of the environment in which we live. One of the contributions of human exposure to ionizing radiation due to natural sources arises from gamma radiation. Therefore, present study was aimed to evaluate and map indoor gamma dose rate in Tehran.

Ceragenins are active against drug-resistant Candida auris clinical isolates in planktonic and biofilm forms.

Background: Candida auris has emerged as a serious threat to human health. Of particular concern are the resistance profiles of many clinical isolates, with some being resistant to multiple classes of antifungals.

Objectives: Measure susceptibilities of C.

Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Poloxamer Micelles Containing Ceragenin CSA-131 on Ciliated Tissues.

Ceragenins were designed as non-peptide mimics of endogenous antimicrobial peptides, and they display broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities, including the ability to eradicate established biofilms. These features of ceragenins make them attractive potential therapeutics for persistent infections in the lung, including those associated with cystic fibrosis. A characteristic of an optimal therapeutic for use in the lungs and trachea is the exertion of potent antimicrobial activities without damaging the cilia that play a critical role in these tissues.

Preclinical testing of a broad-spectrum antimicrobial endotracheal tube coated with an innate immune synthetic mimic.

Background: Endotracheal tubes provide an abiotic surface on which bacteria and fungi form biofilms, and the release of endotoxins and planktonic organisms can cause damaging inflammation and infections.

Objectives: Ceragenins are small molecule mimics of antimicrobial peptides with broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activity, and a ceragenin may be used to provide antimicrobial protection to the abiotic surface of an endotracheal tube.

Methods: A hydrogel film, containing CSA-131, was generated on endotracheal tubes.

Susceptibility of Colistin-Resistant, Gram-Negative Bacteria to Antimicrobial Peptides and Ceragenins.

The susceptibility of colistin-resistant clinical isolates of to ceragenins and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) suggests that there is little to no cross-resistance between colistin and ceragenins/AMPs and that lipid A modifications are found in bacteria with modest changes in susceptibility to ceragenins and with high levels of resistance to colistin. These results suggest that there are differences in the resistance mechanisms to colistin and ceragenins/AMPs.

Modified lysozymes as novel broad spectrum natural antimicrobial agents in foods.

Unlabelled: In recent years much attention and interest have been directed toward application of natural antimicrobial agents in foods. Some naturally occurring proteins such as lactoperoxidase, lactoferrin, and lysozyme have received considerable attention and are being considered as potential antimicrobial agents in foods. Lysozyme kills bacteria by hydrolyzing the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall of certain bacterial species, hence its application as a natural antimicrobial agent has been suggested.