Investigation of the Proportion of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis in Sheep and Goat Milk.

Despite the implementation of brucellosis eradication programs in Iran, this disease is still endemic and highly prevalent among ruminants in this country. The infection of small ruminants with Brucella abortus may play a significant role in the continuation of brucellosis among the herds of ruminants. This study investigated the proportion of B. abortus and Brucella melitensis in 150 samples of sheep and goat's raw milk which were obtained from Lorestan and Hamadan provinces in the western part of Iran using the PCR method. The results revealed that among the Brucella spp. positive samples, 26.5% and 73.4% of the samples were infected with B. abortus and B. melitensis, respectively. The incidence rates of B. abortus among the sheep and goats samples were 6.8% and 12.5%, respectively. There was a significant difference between goats and sheep regarding the proportion of B. abortus. Three samples (2%) (2 goats and one sheep) were simultaneously infected with both B. melitensis and B. abortus. This article renews our knowledge about the causative agent of brucellosis in small ruminants and shows that B. abortus has a relatively high prevalence among those animals in the western regions of Iran, and its role as one of the main factors of abortion among small ruminants should not be ignored. The information provided in the present study is important for the surveillance program, as eradication programs and strategies to prevent the spread of B. abortus among small ruminants that have not been vaccinated against this microorganism may be adapted accordingly.

The Relationship between Air Pollution and Brain Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: There is very little epidemiological evidence on the effects of ambient air pollution on brain tumor risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between exposure to air pollution and the incidence of brain tumors. Methods: A comprehensive literature search in five international databases, including PubMed/Medline, ProQuest, Scopus, Embase, and ISI/WOS on April 15, 2019, was conducted. The methodology of the present study was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) statement. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Form was used to evaluate the quality of the selected papers. Results: Five studies that measured adult brain tumors as well as their long-term exposure to at least one of the pollutants criteria for air pollution, PM2.5 absorbance, and proximity to traffic (Trafnear) were reviewed. The results showed that the pooled relative risk (RR) for incidence of brain tumor and long term exposure to Trafnear, PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance, O3 and NOx were RR = 1.07, (95% CI 0.99-1.16), P = 0.079, for Trafnear; RR = 0.90, (95% CI 0.80-1.00), P = 0.064 for PM2.5; RR = 1.63, (95% CI 1.04-2.55), P = 0.031 for PM2.5 absorbance; RR = 1.3, (95% CI 1.03-1.6), P = 0.023 for O3; and RR = 1.16, (95% CI 0.93-1.45), P = 0.173 for NOx. Exposure to other air pollutants had no statistically significant association with brain tumor incidence. Conclusion: The results showed that exposure to air pollutants, such as O3 and PM2.5 absorbance, had the highest correlation with brain tumor incidence. They also showed an absence of correlation between exposure to certain pollutants (SO2, CO, NO2, PM10, PM2.5) and brain tumor incidence.

Short-term exposure to some heavy metals carried with PM10 and cardiovascular system biomarkers during dust storm.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of short-term exposure to heavy metals (HM) extracted from PM10 on CB in workers' population in an outdoor space located in southern Iran during a dust storm. At first, 44 healthy and non-smoking workers were selected. Then PM10 and Blood samples were collected before and after the dust storm. Finally, HMs associated with PM10 measured by ICP-MS and its effect on the CB, including fibrinogen, CRP, TNF-α, and BP were estimated by ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and Odd Ratio (OR) in SPSS23. Based on the results, the concentration of PM10 and extracted HM such as Cr, As, and Cd was higher than the WHO/EPA standards in dust storms they increased the CB and BP remarkably. Moreover, the level of fibrinogen, blood pressure (BP) and TNF-α in dust storms were higher than in normal conditions (p < 0.05, OR > 3). In addition, As and Cd decreased fibrinogen concentration and systolic BP, respectively. Whereas, TNF-α was associated with concentration of Pb (R = - 0.85) on normal days. Consequently, the HM on PM10 such as As, interferes with the level of investigated CB. These results considered a potential risk for the residents in the southern regions of Iran.

Modeling and optimization approach for phytoremediation of formaldehyde from polluted indoor air by Nephrolepis obliterata plant.

This study aimed to model the removal of formaldehyde as an indoor air pollutant by Nephrolepis obliterata (R.Br.) J.Sm. plant using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models, and optimization of the models by particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). The data obtained in pilot-scale experiments under a controlled environment were used in this study. The effects of parameters on the removal efficiency such as formaldehyde concentration, relative humidity, light intensity, and leaf surface area were empirically investigated and considered as model parameters. The results of the RSM model, with power transformation, were in meaningful compromise with the experiments. A multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network was also designed, and the mean of squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and R2 were used to evaluate the network. Several training algorithms were assessed and the best one, the Levenberg Marquardt (LM), was selected. The PSO algorithm proved that the highest removal efficiency of formaldehyde was obtained in the presence of light, maximum leaf surface area and relative humidity, and at the lowest inlet concentration. The empirical system breakthrough occurred at 15 mg/m3 of formaldehyde, and the maximum elimination capacity was about 0.96 mg per m2 of leaves. The findings indicated that the ANN model predicted the removal efficiency more accurately compared to the RSM model.

Environmental Factors and the Risk of Developing Type 1 Diabetes-Old Disease and New Data.

The incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is increasing worldwide. The onset of T1D usually occurs in childhood and is caused by the selective destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells (ß-cells) by autoreactive T cells, leading to insulin deficiency. Despite advanced research and enormous progress in medicine, the causes of T1D are still not fully understood. Therefore, an extensive online search for scientific research on environmental factors associated with diabetes and the identification of new factors of unexplained etiology has been carried out using the PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases. The search results were limited to the past 11 years of research and discovered 143 manuscripts published between 2011 and 2022. Additionally, 21 manuscripts from between 2000 and 2010 and 3 manuscripts from 1974 to 2000 were referenced for historical reference as the first studies showcasing a certain phenomenon or mechanism. More and more scientists are inclined to believe that environmental factors are responsible for the increased incidence of diabetes. Research results show that higher T1D incidence is associated with vitamin D deficiency, a colder climate, and pollution of the environment, as well as the influence of viral, bacterial, and yeast-like fungi infections. The key viral infections affecting the risk of developing T1DM are rubella virus, mumps virus, Coxsackie virus, cytomegalovirus, and enterovirus. Since 2020, i.e., from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more studies have been looking for a link between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and diabetes development. A better understanding of the role of viral, bacterial, and yeast-like fungi infections related to the risk of T1DM in children and adolescents and the identification of new risk factors, especially those spread by the droplet route, is of great importance for people and families with diabetes.

Transcriptome sequencing of Brassica napus highlights the complex issues with soil supplementation with sewage sludge.

The soil supplementation with sewage sludge (SS) has become a widespread method to improve soil quality, but its long-term possible consequences are still relatively unknown. SS may contain several groups of contaminants to which the biological responses of the organisms are still poorly understood mainly due to the mixture toxicity. In this context, RNA-seq has been used to assess the impact of the exposure to sewage sludge supplemented soil at the whole-transcriptome level in the Brassica napus (B. napus). Although the municipal sewage sludge passed all safety regulations set by the EU commission (86/278/EEC), soil supplementation with SS caused a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the content of lead (by 68.8%, 71.4% in plant shoots and roots, respectively), zinc (by 22.4% and 31.2%), nickel (by 67.0% and 30.2%), and copper (by 33.1% and 39.2%). The de-novo assembled transcriptome of B. napus identified 555 differently expressed genes (DEGs) in a response to sewage sludge supplementation at the false detection rate below 0.001 (FDR <0.001). Among them, 313 genes were up-regulated and 242 genes were down-regulated. The gene ontology analysis (GO) had shown, that significantly enriched GO groups included genes involved in photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism and photosystems repair (41 genes), response to oxidative stress (50 genes), response to pathogens (36 genes), response to xenobiotics (15 genes), and heavy metals (41 genes), cell death (8 genes), cell wall structure (15 genes). These results suggest a significant impact of contaminants in sewage sludge on plants transcriptome. The transcriptomic approach facilitated a better understanding of the molecular level of the potential toxicity of sewage sludge in B. napus. RNA-seq allowed for the identification of potential novel early-warning molecular markers of environmental contamination. This work highlights the crucial necessity for rapid legislation change concerning the allowable levels of contaminants in sewage sludge applied on land, to mitigate the possible adverse outcomes in the ecosystem after its use as a fertilizer.

Implementation of Laser-Induced Anti-Stokes Fluorescence Power Cooling of Ytterbium-Doped Silica Glass.

Laser cooling of a solid is achieved when a coherent laser illuminates the material, and the heat is extracted by annihilation of phonons resulting in anti-Stokes fluorescence. Over the past year, net solid-state laser cooling was successfully demonstrated for the first time in Yb-doped silica glass in both bulk samples and fibers. Here, we report more than 6 K of cooling below the ambient temperature, which is the lowest temperature achieved in solid-state laser cooling of silica glass to date to the best of our knowledge. We present details on the experiment performed using a 20 W laser operating at a 1035 nm wavelength and temperature measurements using both a thermal camera and the differential luminescence thermometry technique.

The effects of exogenous application of melatonin on the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the rhizosphere of Festuca.

The study aimed to assess the effects of melatonin, a plant growth regulator, on the degradation of phenanthrene (Phe) and pyrene (Py), in the rhizosphere of the Festuca grass. The experiments were divided into the following groups: 1) soil contaminated with Phe and Py, without the Festuca, 2) contaminated soil + Festuca, 3-5), contaminated soil + Festuca + the application of melatonin in three separate doses: 10, 50, or 100 µM. After 90 days, the effects of melatonin supplementation on the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed by evaluating the rate of PAHs degradation, the expression of genes encoding salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase (SDH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) enzymes in Pseudomonas putida, as well as by measuring the total activity of dehydrogenase and peroxidase enzymes. Our results have shown that in soil contaminated by 300 mg kg-1 PAHs, application of melatonin (10, 50, 100 µM), resulted in the following increase in the dehydrogenase and peroxidase activity in all three applied doses (19% and 5.7%), (45.3% and 34.3%), (40.9% and 14.3%), respectively in comparison to the control group. The experiment showed that soil supplementation with melatonin at 50 µM, resulted in the highest removal rate of PAHs. According to our results, melatonin demonstrated a potentially favorable role in enhancing plant biomass, as well as an increase in soil bacterial population, and the activity of antioxidative enzymes in P. putida, causing all tested parameters of the soil and the expression of desired genes to be advantageously altered for the degradation of the chosen PAHs.

A survey of the secondary exposure to organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides and the impact of preventive factors in female villagers.

Organophosphates (OPs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are two main types of pesticides that are widely used worldwide, and their toxicities have been reported in high-risk individuals, such as farmers and their wives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of mentioned pesticides in farmers' wives (FWs) and compare them with the control group; we also aimed to assess the effect of personal health factors on the biochemical parameters. This case-control study was conducted on two FWs and control groups, consisting of 124 and 62 individuals, respectively. Serum levels of OCPs were measured using gas chromatography (GC) method. In addition, the activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated in all participants. Additionally, the observance of personal health guidelines was assessed. Serum levels of OCPs in the FWs group were significantly higher than the controls. In addition, AChE activity in FWs was significantly lower than the controls. Moreover, it was found that higher levels of education lead to a better observation of most individual health guidelines, which results in reducing the biological adverse effects of pesticides. The results of this study indicated that the use of OCPs, as an illegal pesticide with known toxic and carcinogenic effects, has spread to southern Iran, which may have biological toxic effects. Also, observing the personal health points significantly reduced these complications and it is, therefore, recommended that more attention should be paid to this issue.

Optical refrigeration: the role of parasitic absorption at cryogenic temperatures.

Optical cooling of a YLF:Yb single crystal to 87 K, well below the minimum achievable temperature predicted from existing theory, has been observed. This discrepancy between theory and data has motivated us to revisit the current model of optical refrigeration, in particular the critical role of parasitic background absorption. Challenging experiments that measured the cooling efficiency as a function of temperature reveal that the background absorption coefficient decreases with temperature, resulting in a significant enhancement of the cooling efficiency at cryogenic temperatures. These discoveries emphasize the high sensitivity of optical cooling to impurity-mediated processes and show the necessity of formulating a cooling model that includes the temperature dependence of the background absorption. To properly characterize the cooling properties of any sample, it is necessary to measure its low-temperature performance.

Modelling and Optimizing Pyrene Removal from the Soil by Phytoremediation using Response Surface Methodology, Artificial Neural Networks, and Genetic Algorithm.

This study aimed to model and optimize pyrene removal from the soil contaminated by sorghum bicolor plant using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with Genetic Algorithm (GA) approach. Here, the effects of indole acetic acid (IAA) and pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria on increasing pyrene removal efficiency by phytoremediation process was studied. The experimental design was done using the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) technique. In the RSM model, the non-linear second-order model was in good agreement with the laboratory results. A two-layer Feed-Forward Back-Propagation Neural Network (FFBPNN) model was designed. Various training algorithms were evaluated and the Levenberg Marquardt (LM) algorithm was selected as the best one. Existence of eight neurons in the hidden layer leads to the highest R and lowest MSE and MAE. The results of the GA determined the optimum performance conditions. The results showed that using indole acetic acid and pseudomonas bacteria increased the efficiency of the sorghum plant in removing pyrene from the soil. The comparison obviously indicated that the prediction capability of the ANN model was much better than that of the RSM model.

Effect of salicylic acid and mycorrhizal symbiosis on improvement of fluoranthene phytoremediation using tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are an important group of pollutants that are widely distributed in the environment. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of salicylic acid (a phenolic phytohormone) and mycorrhizal fungi on the growth and phytoremediation ability of tall fescue in the soil contaminated by fluoranthene. The initial concentrations of fluoranthene in this study were 100, 200, and 300 mg kg-1. The experimental treatments were included: T0 uncultivated soil; T1 cultivated soil with tall fescue; T2 cultivated soil with tall fescue + salicylic acid application; T3 cultivated soil with tall fescue + application of mycorrhizal fungi; T4 cultivated soil with tall fescue + salicylic acid and mycorrhizal fungi application; and P planting tall fescue in uncontaminated soil. The removal of fluoranthene was measured after 90 days. Furthermore, at the end of the experiment, the amount of shoot and root biomass, soil bacteria, and dehydrogenase activity were measured. According to the results, in all levels of contamination, removal of fluoranthene in cultivated treatments significantly was higher than uncultivated treatments. Increasing the concentration of fluoranthene had a negative effect on the shoot and root biomass in different treatments. Salicylic acid and mycorrhizal fungi significantly increased the shoot and root biomass and also the number of soil bacteria, dehydrogenase activity, and fluoranthene removal in T2, T3, and T4 treatments compared to T1. At the highest concentration of fluoranthene, as a result of simultaneous application of salicylic acid and mycorrhizal fungi (T4), the fluoranthene removal increased by 63, 21, 13, and 16% in comparison with T0, T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Based on the results, salicylic acid and mycorrhizal fungi, either alone or in combination, have a significant effect on the improvement of phytoremediation potential in tall fescue.

Tm-doped crystals for mid-IR optical cryocoolers and radiation balanced lasers.

We report the complete characterization of various cooling-grade Tm-doped crystals including, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of optical refrigeration in Tm:YLF crystals. Room temperature laser cooling efficiencies of 1% and 2% (mol) Tm:YLF and 1% Tm:BYF crystals at different excitation polarizations are measured, and their external quantum efficiency and background absorption are extracted. By performing detailed low-temperature spectroscopic analysis of the samples, global minimum achievable temperatures of 160 to 110 K are estimated. The potential of Tm-doped crystals to realize mid-IR optical cryocoolers and radiation balanced lasers (RBLs) in the eye-safe region of the spectrum is discussed, and a promising two-tone RBL in a tandem structure of Tm:YLF and Ho:YLF crystals is proposed.

The application of plant growth regulators to improve phytoremediation of contaminated soils: A review.

Soil contamination is one of the most important environmental problems around the world. The transfer of organic contaminants and heavy metals to the food chain is a major threat to human health. Purging these contaminants often involves a lot of energy and complex engineering processes. Phytoremediation technology can be used in various environments, such as water, soil, and air, to reduce or eliminate different contaminants. The major mechanisms involved in phytoremediation include plant extraction, rhizofiltration, plant evaporation, plant stabilization, plant decomposition, and rhizosphere degradation. The efficiency of phytoremediation can be increased through using chelating and acidifying agents, applying electric current in the soil, using organic chemicals and fertilizers, planting transgenic plants, using bacteria, and applying plant growth regulators. Recently, the use of plant growth regulators has been investigated as a suitable method for improving the efficacy of phytoremediation. Effective plant growth regulators to improve phytoremediation include auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, and salicylic acid. The activity of these materials depends on their concentration, environmental factors that affect their absorption, and the physiological state of the plant. Using these materials increases the biomass of the plant and reduces the negative effects of the presence of contaminants in the plant. The present study aimed to review the latest studies performed on the improvement of phytoremediation using plant growth regulators and their mechanisms.

The effects of simultaneous application of plant growth regulators and bioaugmentation on improvement of phytoremediation of pyrene contaminated soils.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) refer to a wide group of soil contaminants whose presence in the environment is a cause of concern. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the phytoremediation activities of sorghum bicolor and increase in pyrene removal efficiency in the soil. The initial concentration of pyrene was 150 and 300 mg kg(-1) in this experiment. The treatments included unplanted soil (T0), planted soil with sorghum (T1), planted soil with application of IAA (T2), planted soil with application of Pseudomonas sp. (T3), and planted soil with simultaneous application of IAA and Pseudomonas sp. (T4). The pyrene removal rate in the soil was measured every 30 days. Moreover, plant biomass and soil bacteria were measured after 90 days. The results showed that pyrene removal rate significantly increased in the planted treatments compared to the unplanted ones. After 90 days, at the initial concentration of 150-300 mg kg(-1), pyrene removal efficiency was 52-92% in T1-T4 and 35-47% in the unplanted treatment (T0). Application of IAA and Pseudomonas sp. significantly increased plant biomass, soil bacteria, and pyrene removal rate in T2, T3, and T4 compared to T1. Therefore, application of IAA in the planted treatments with sorghum could have a significant effect on increasing the removal efficiency of pyrene.

Design, synthesis, and biological activities of novel azole-bonded ß-hydroxypropyl oxime O-ethers.

The synthesis and biological effects of 15 novel azole-bonded ß-hydroxypropyl oxime O-ethers have been described. In this synthesis, the oximation of aromatic ketones followed by an O-alkylation reaction with epichlorohydrin and/or epibromohydrin led to the corresponding O-oxime ether adducts. Subsequently, the attained O-oxime ether adducts were used to synthesize the target molecules after treating them with the appropriate azole derivatives. The in vitro antifungal and antibacterial activities of title compounds were obtained against several pathogenic fungi, Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative bacteria. Benzophenone O-2-hydroxy-3-(2-phenyl-1 H-imidazol-1-yl) propyl oxime and 9H-fluoren-9-one O-2-hydroxy-3-(2-phenyl-1 H-imidazol-1-yl)propyl oxime proved to have considerable antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Aspergillus niger, and Trichophyton rubrum. These two compounds demonstrated comparable antifungal activity to clotrimazole and fluconazole (standard drugs). All compounds were also tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively, and their activities were compared to gentamycin and ampicillin (reference drugs). In general, marginal antibacterial activity against tested bacteria was observed for the title compounds. A molecular docking study is also discussed for the two most potent compounds against fungi. The docking study reveals a considerable interaction between the two most potent compounds and the active site of Mycobacterium P450DM. Moreover, these two compounds are much strongly bound to the active site of Mycobacterium P450DM compared to fluconazole.