Risk Factors Associated with Toxoplasma gondii in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases from Western Romania.

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available in the existing literature regarding the seroepidemiology of T. gondii infection among cardiovascular patients. We aimed to comprehensively assess the prevalence of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors among Romanian cardiovascular patients. METHODS: Serologic testing was conducted in 1205 patients with cardiovascular diseases to demonstrate the presence of T. gondii antibodies. An avidity test was performed in patients with detectable IgG and IgM antibodies. A structured questionnaire was designed to identify the potential risk factors associated with T. gondii. Results: The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies was 52.1%, with the highest value observed in patients diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (66.66%) and the lowest in patients with myopericarditis (30.0%). The 11 patients found with detectable IgM and IgG antibodies had a high avidity test result. A patient's area of residence, gender, educational level, owning dogs, owning any pet, and toxoplasmosis awareness were significantly associated with T. gondii seropositivity in multiple logistic regression analyses. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel and valuable insights into the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with T. gondii among Romanian cardiovascular patients. Our findings reiterate the importance of toxoplasmosis awareness and health education for better control and prevention of infection with T. gondii.

Silver Nanoparticles-Chitosan Nanocomposites: A Comparative Study Regarding Different Chemical Syntheses Procedures and Their Antibacterial Effect.

Nanocomposites based on silver nanoparticles and chitosan present important advantages for medical applications, showing over time their role in antibacterial evaluation. This work presents the comparative study of two chemical synthesis procedures of nanocomposites, based on trisodium citrate dihydrate and sodium hydroxide, using various chitosan concentrations for a complex investigation. The nanocomposites were characterized by AFM and DLS regarding their dimensions, while FT-IR and UV-VIS spectrometry were used for the optical properties and to reveal the binding of silver nanoparticles with chitosan. Their antibacterial effect was determined using a disk diffusion method on two bacteria strains, E. coli and S. aureus. The results indicate that, when using both methods, the nanocomposites obtained were below 100 nm, yet the antibacterial effect proved to be stronger for the nanocomposites obtained using sodium hydroxide. Furthermore, the antibacterial effect can be related to the nanocomposites' sizes, since the smallest dimension nanocomposites exhibited the best bacterial growth inhibition on both bacteria strains we tested and for both types of silver nanocomposites.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Maternal and Neonatal Outcome in Correlation with Sociodemographic Aspects: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: As the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, concerns grew about its impact on pregnant women. This study aimed to determine how SARS-CoV-2 affects pregnancy, birth, and newborns, in order to identify vulnerable individuals and provide proper care. METHODS: This is a retrospective case-control study of 398 pregnant women who delivered at the Emergency Clinical County Hospital in Sibiu, Romania from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2022. Patients were initially grouped and compared based on their RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 test results into the COVID group (cases) (N = 199) and non-COVID group (control) (N = 199). The COVID cases were further divided and compared according to the pre-Delta (N = 105) and Delta/Omicron (N = 94) SARS-CoV-2 variants. COVID cases and control groups were compared to identify correlations between sociodemographic factors, pregnancy outcomes, and SARS-CoV-2 infection. The same comparisons were performed between pre-Delta and Delta/Omicron groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences concerning maternal residence, while educational level and employment proportion were higher among the positively tested patients. No significant differences were found for neonatal and pregnancy complications between COVID cases and control groups. Except for a lower mean gestational age, no significant differences were found between pre-Delta and Delta/Omicron periods. The maternal mortality in the infected group was 0.5% (1 case). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection at birth did not significantly affect maternal and neonatal outcomes, not even considering the SARS-CoV-2 strain.

Comparative Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles: Evaluation of Chemical Reduction Procedures, AFM and DLS Size Analysis.

The size of silver nanoparticles plays a crucial role in their ultimate application in the medical and industrial fields, as their efficacy is enhanced by decreasing dimensions. This study presents two chemical synthesis procedures for obtaining silver particles and compares the results to a commercially available Ag-based product. The first procedure involves laboratory-based chemical reduction using D-glucose (C6H12O6) and NaOH as reducing agents, while the second approach utilizes trisodium citrate dehydrate (C6H5Na3O7·2H2O, TSC). The Ag nanoparticle suspensions were examined using FT-IR and UV-VIS spectroscopy, which indicated the formation of Ag particles. The dimensional properties were investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and confirmed by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The results showed particle size from microparticles to nanoparticles, with a particle size of approximately 60 nm observed for the laboratory-based TSC synthesis approach.

Ag Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications-Synthesis and Characterization-A Review.

Silver nanoparticles have been intensively studied over a long period of time because they exhibit antibacterial properties in infection treatments, wound healing, or drug delivery systems. The advantages that silver nanoparticles offer regarding the functionalization confer prolonged stability and make them suitable for biomedical applications. Apart from functionalization, silver nanoparticles exhibit various shapes and sizes depending on the conditions used through their fabrications and depending on their final purpose. This paper presents a review of silver nanoparticles with respect to synthesis procedures, including the polluting green synthesis. Currently, the most commonly used characterization techniques required for nanoparticles investigation in antibacterial treatments are described briefly, since silver nanoparticles possess differences in their structure or morphology.

Metabolomics based mechanistic insights to vasorelaxant and cardioprotective effect of ethanolic extract of Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. seeds in isoproterenol induced myocardial infraction.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a significant cause of morbidity and death in the current world, posing a challenge to both developing and industrialized nation's health systems. Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. seeds have long been utilized to supplement and enhance health and treat cardiovascular illnesses. However, its treatments for CVDs are still unknown. More research is required to fully comprehend the impact of C. lanatus seeds on vasorelaxation and myocardial infractions. PURPOSE: Therefore, an integrated metabolomics profiling technique was used to investigate possible pathways of C. lanatus in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction (MI). Isoproterenol causes long-term cardiac hypertrophy by causing cardiomyocyte compensatory loss, eventually leading to heart failure. METHODS: In vitro models of vasoconstriction, atrium, and in vivo models of invasive blood pressure measurement and isoproterenol (ISO) induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats were used to understand underlying mechanistic by LC-MS/MS based dynamic metabolomics analysis of the serum and heart samples to be investigated the effect of ethanolic extract of C. lanatus (Cl.EtOH). RESULTS: Cl.EtOH exhibited vasorelaxant, negative chronotropic, and inotropic effects in in-vitro models whereas, a potent hypotensive effect was observed in normotensive rats. The Cl.EtOH protected the animals from ISO-induced myocardial infarction (MI) with therapeutic interventions in left ventricular thickness, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, mRNA gene expression, biochemical assays, and metabolomic profiling of serum and heart tissues. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, our study confirmed that C. lanatus seeds (Cl.EtOH) possess significant antihypertensive and prevent ISO-induced myocardial infarction. These findings comprehensively demonstrated mechanistic insights of Cl.EtOH in vasorelaxation and myocardial infarction. The current study provides evidence for further mechanistic studies and the development of C. lanatus seeds as a potential therapeutic intervention for patients with cardiovascular disorders.

An Advanced Sensor for Particles in Gases Using Dynamic Light Scattering in Air as Solvent.

Dynamic Light Scattering is a technique currently used to assess the particle size and size distribution by processing the scattered light intensity. Typically, the particles to be investigated are suspended in a liquid solvent. An analysis of the particular conditions required to perform a light scattering experiment on particles in air is presented in detail, together with a simple experimental setup and the data processing procedure. The results reveal that such an experiment is possible and using the setup and the procedure, both simplified to extreme, enables the design of an advanced sensor for particles and fumes that can output the average size of the particles in air.

Biomarkers for the Noninvasive Diagnosis of Endometriosis: State of the Art and Future Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Early and accurate diagnosis of endometriosis is crucial for the management of this benign, yet debilitating pathology. Despite the advances of modern medicine, there is no common ground regarding the pathophysiology of this disease as it continues to affect the quality of life of millions of women of reproductive age. The lack of specific symptoms often determines a belated diagnosis. The gold standard remains invasive, surgery followed by a histopathological exam. A biomarker or a panel of biomarkers is easy to measure, usually noninvasive, and could benefit the clinician in both diagnosing and monitoring the treatment response. Several studies have advanced the idea of biomarkers for endometriosis, thereby circumventing unnecessary invasive techniques. Our paper aims at harmonizing the results of these studies in the search of promising perspectives on early diagnosis. METHODS: We selected the papers from Google Academic, PubMed, and CrossRef and reviewed recent articles from the literature, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of various putative serum and urinary biomarkers for endometriosis. RESULTS: The majority of studies focused on a panel of biomarkers, rather than a single biomarker and were unable to identify a single biomolecule or a panel of biomarkers with sufficient specificity and sensitivity in endometriosis. CONCLUSION: Noninvasive biomarkers, proteomics, genomics, and miRNA microarray may aid the diagnosis, but further research on larger datasets along with a better understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms are needed.