Toxoplasma gondii in Milk of Human and Goat from the Desert Area in Central Iran.

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan, causes toxoplasmosis. The aim of this study was molecular detection of T. gondii in breast and goat milk samples by the molecular method in the central Iran. METHODS: Totally, 300 human' and 200 goats' milk samples were collected randomly from different regions of central Iran in 2018. DNA extraction was performed by the salting-out method. Molecular detection of the parasite was done by nested-PCR using the specific primer pairs. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 23 using descriptive and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: Out of 300 human milk samples, 1 sample (0.3%) was infected with T. gondii. Out of 200 samples of goat milk, 11 samples (5.5%) showed infection with T. gondii. The frequency of infection in goat's milk samples was 4.36% in the south and west, 1.9% in northern regions, and 2% in eastern regions of the province. The statistical analysis showed no significant difference between toxoplasmosis and different geographical regions in the province. CONCLUSION: Because of the popularity of the goat milk and the transfection probability with the milk to humans, it is recommended to boil milk prior to use. Furthermore, case contamination of T. gondii in the human milk sample showed one of the important paths for infection transmission, which requires further studies.

J-binding protein 1 and J-binding protein 2 expression in clinical Leishmania major no response-antimonial isolates.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major disease in many parts of the world. Since no vaccine has been developed, treatment is the best way to control it. In most areas, antimonial resistance whose mechanisms have not been completely understood has been reported. The main aim of this study is gene expression assessing of J-binging protein 1 and J-binding protein 2 in clinical Leishmania major isolates. The patients with CL from central and north Iran were considered for this study. The samples were transferred in RNAlater solution and stored in - 20 °C. RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were performed. The gene expression analysis was done with SYBR Green real-time PCR using ∆∆CT. Written informed consent forms were filled out by patients, and then, information forms were filled out based on the Helsinki Declaration. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS (16.0; SPSS Inc, Chicago) using independent t test, Shapiro-Wilk, and Pearson's and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. The gene expression of JBP1 and JBP2 had no relation with sex and age. The JBP1 gene expression was high in sensitive isolates obtained from north of the country. The JBP2 gene expression was significant in sensitive and no response-antimonial isolates from the north, but no significant differences were detected in sensitive and resistant isolates from central Iran. Differential gene expression of JBP1 and JBP2 in various clinical resistances isolates in different geographical areas shows multifactorial ways of developing resistance in different isolates.

Decolorization and biodegradation of reactive Red 198 Azo dye by a new Enterococcus faecalis-Klebsiella variicola bacterial consortium isolated from textile wastewater sludge.

The present study investigated biodegradation and removal of Reactive Red 198 (RR198) dye from aqueous environments using a new bacterial consortium isolated from textile wastewater sludge on laboratory scale via batch study. Two bacterial species, Enterococcus faecalis (EF) and Klebsiella variicola (KV), were identified after isolation, through biochemical assays, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. To determine their ability to biodegrade RR198 dye, physicochemical parameters, including bacterial concentration, time, pH, and temperature, were tested; the results showed that the best conditions included a bacterial concentration of 3.5 mL × 105 cells/mL and incubation time of 72 h. Under such conditions, the removal efficiency of RR198 dye at an initial concentration of 10-25 mg/L was more than 98%; however, for concentrations of 50, 75, and 100 mg/L, removal efficiency was reduced to 55.62%, 25.82%, and 15.42%, respectively (p = 0.005). The highest removal efficiency occurred at pH 8.0, reaching 99.26% after 72 h of incubation. With increasing the incubation temperature from 25 °C to 37 °C, removal efficiency increased from 71.71 to 99.26% after 72 h of incubation, and increasing the temperature from 37 to 45 °C, the removal efficiency was reduced (p ≤ 0.001). Therefore, the EF-KV bacterial consortium can be used for efficient removal of RR198 dye from textile effluent.