مریم موذنی

Removable prostheses made of polymethyl methacrylate are susceptible to Candida-dependent denture stomatitis and Candida albicans is considered to be the first common cause. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antifungal effect of acrylic resin modified by zinc oxide nanoparticles.

In this laboratory study, 72 disks (10*4 mm) made of polymethyl methacrylate (Acropars, Marlic, Iran) were divided into three groups (n= 24). Concentrations of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were 1 (group A), 0.5 (group B), and 0 (group C, control) mg/ml. Samples were studied in laboratory using Candida albicans strains (ATCC 10231) according to CLSI M27-A3 and M27-S4 documents. For data analysis, one-way ANOVA and Scheffe's post-test were performed using SPSS V24.

There were significant differences in mean numbers of fungal colonies in study groups. The amount of fungal colonies in group A was lower than those in group B and in group B was lower than those in group C (P<0.05).

Considering the limitations of this study, findings showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles have antifungal activity, which increases by increase in concentration of nanoparticles.

Invasive candidiasis in infants has high mortality rate and is often associated with colonization on medical devices such as catheters. Candida colonization is considered as a predisposing factor for Candida related infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of catheters infectivity by Candida species.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, sampling was done from catheters of hospitalized children (0-18 years old) in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Mashhad Dr. Sheikh Hospital, June-November 2018. All catheters were evaluated to determine the extent of contamination and early identification of isolates was done by morphological and molecular methods.

The types of catheter infectivity for 114 samples included colonization or infective (n=25 isolates, 21.92%), contamination (n=4, 3.5%), and no growth (n=85 isolates, 56.74%). The most isolated species was C. albicans (n=18, 13.39%), followed by C. glabrata (n=9, 19.56%), C. krusei and C. parapsilosis (n=7, 15.21%, each isolate), C. tropicalis (n=3, 6.25%), and C. lusitaniae and C. kefyr (n=1, 2.17% each isolate).

Isolation of Candida species in 25% of catheters raised the possibility of colonization, considering the catheters as an exogenous potential source of candidiasis which is very important in PICU.

Recently, there is an increasing trend in the diversity of pathogenic yeasts isolated from clinical samples. However, Candida albicans is even now the major cause of yeast infections. Candida albicans is one of the members of the mucosal microbiota which can cause cutaneous, mucosal, and disseminated invasive infections in susceptible individuals. For persistence in the host, the yeast must have the ability to adhere to both biotic and abiotic surfaces following host tissue invasion, and obtain iron. One of the important properties of this pathogenic yeast is dimorphism which is its ability to switch from a unicellular to a hyphal mode of growth. Dimorphism is triggered in response to certain environmental conditions, such as pH alternation, temperature, or serum availability. These changes which allow the yeast to invade are associated with the expression of several genes involving in its pathogenesis, including SAP genes family encoding the secreted aspartic proteinases (Saps), the agglutinin-like sequence (ALS) family encoding the adhessive proteins, and phenotypic and morphologic switching systems. This review aimed at summarizing recent data on the regulation and relevant signal transduction of some important essential genes associated with virulence factors in Candid albicans. Surely, understanding the genetic of the virulence factors would be of great benefit in effective combating the yeast and also in designing new antifungal agents.

Food and feed spoilage moulds cause great economic losses worldwide. Wheat is important cereal in Iran and very sensitive to mould contamination aflatoxigenic moulds. Ozone recognized as a strong disinfection substance since before 1997. It decomposes rapidly to molecular oxygen without leaving a residue. In order to study the effect of ozonated water on growth of Aspergillus parasiticus, wheat samples inoculated with spore suspension (10, 102,104spore/gr wheat) of Aspergillus parasiticus and incubated at 25-30◦Cfor 10 days. Contaminated samples incubated at <20, 25, 40◦C for 24h, after tempering with ozonated water to concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 2.5 mg ozone/l. For evaluate of ozone effectiveness on reduction of Aspergillus parasiticus, weighing of mould mycelium method was used after drying.Then fungal mycelia were weighted to evaluate the effect of ozone on Aspergillus parasiticus growth. Results indicated that ozonated water can reduce Aspergillus parasiticus growth and this the reduction can be increased due to increasing of ozone concentration. Tempering with ozonated water had significant effect on A. parasiticus growth (p < 0.001). Therefore, the ozonated water usage in wheat tempering can be caused reduction of Aspergillus parasiticus growth.

Nosocomial fungal infections are amongst the main causes of mortality in patients admitted to healthcare settings, especially in immunocompromised populations. The predominant pathogens include Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Mucorales spp., and Fusarium spp. Nosocomial fungal infections are increasing due to the underlying factors in decades ahead. One of the predisposing factors includes immune system suppressing modalities due to the extensive use of invasive treatments such as stem cell transplantation, organ transplantation, chemotherapy, and immunosuppressive drugs. Infection control methods recommended, can avoid catheter-related candidiasis and also minimize exposure to airborne Aspergillus spores in immunocompromised patients in hospital settings. Many of these infections can be prevented without advanced equipment and high costs by training healthcare workers in using medical equipment. Treatment for these infections is costly due to increased length of stay in health settings. Antifungal prophylaxis should be considered in patients at risk of invasive fungal infections during the periods of severe immunosuppression. In this study the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies of nosocomial fungal infections have been fully reviewed.

Great Mosque of Neyriz is considered as one of the most historic and the oldest mosques in Iran. It is located in Neyriz County, east of Fars Province, around 220 km to Shiraz. In different historical periods, some extensions have been added to the mosque so that now it includes a rectangular courtyard, two north and south porch and some porticoes and seraglios around the courtyard. One of the most significant parts of the mosque is its plaster-worked altar located at the end of the south porch. This altar is characterized by some historic inscriptions dated 400 to 1000 AH. In addition, the unique and beautiful forms of plant and geometric motifs of this altar, that have been developed and completed through different techniques in different historical periods, have created a unique set of plaster designs. Studying these motifs can reveal the innovative visual effects of the existing designs and compositions. The necessary information is collected through library searching based on a field research and descriptivehistorical method. The results of the research show that, in addition to the inscriptions that covered most part of the altar (the exterior and interior parts), the curved arabesque designs along with angelica ones play an important role in decorating the columns, capitals and especially the interior part of arches with a grand central arabesque vault that is built by porous plaster molding.

Background and

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with decreased immune status. Aspergillus flavus is the second most common species causing invasive aspergillosis after A. fumigatus. According to limited information on the antifungal susceptibility test against A. flavus in Iran, in this study we aimed at evaluating the antifungal susceptibility of two antifungal agents including itraconazole and voriconazole against clinical and environmental isolates of A. flavus.

Four hundred clinical and environmental samples were collected from Mazandaran, Tehran and Khorasan Razavi provinces. The identification of A. flavus isolates were confirmed by sequencing of β-tubulin gene. The MICs of itraconazole and voriconazole for all isolates of A. flavus were determined by the guidelines proposed by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M38-A2 for filamentous fungi.

Ninety isolates of A. flavus were identified from clinical (n=30) and environmental (n=60) samples. MIC results of all A. flavus isolates showed susceptibility to antifungal agents, except for two environmental isolates that demonstrated MIC= 2 μg/ml for itraconazole. MIC50, MIC90 and Geometric mean of itraconazole for A. flavus isolates were 0.25, 0.5, and 0.21 μg/ml, respectively. The MIC50, MIC90 and Geometric mean of voriconazole were 0.25, 0.5 and 0.27 μg/ml, respectively.

In comparison to determined epidemiological cutoff value of A. flavus, our data have shown a probable resistance in two isolates of A. flavus against itraconazole which draws attention on emergence of full resistance A. flavus isolates from Iran.

Human fungal diseases are largely a 20th and 21st century’s phenomenon. Due to use of corticosteroids and antibacterial drug, medical developmenta are associated with increased risk for number of fungal disease. These nosocomial developments in invasive mycosis were paralleled over the last two decades by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic, which has resulted in an even larger number of patients at risk for fungal diseases. In the past, the differentiation of fungal pathogens was based on the characteristics of morphology and physiology. Today, by the use of molecular biology and conserved nucleotide sequences of subunits and the spacer regions of ribosomal DNA identification of the species level is possible. Rapid, accurate and sensitive methods are important tools in treatment of fungal infections. Unfortunately the classical diagnostic method based on morphology and staining is stable, the transitional of medical mycology into the molecular era has probably been more important for fungal epidemiology than for any other area inside the field of clinical mycology. The most challenging tasks ahead consist of how to apply our knowledge of pathobiology and new identification systems obtained in the recent molecular era to the prevention of and therapeutic intervention for fungal diseases and management of patient.

The most important virulence factor which plays a central role in Candida albicans pathogenesis is the ability of this yeast to alternate between unicellular yeast and filamentous hyphal forms. Efg1 protein is thought to be the main positive regulating transcription factor، which is responsible for regulating hyphal-specific gene expression under most conditions. ALS3 is one of the Efg1-associated genes encoding a multi-functional adhesive polypeptide، which mediates adherence to diverse host substrates. In this study، the EFG1 gene was knocked down by using synthetic siRNA in C. albicans and the regulation in ALS3 as one of the Efg1-dependent genes was investigated. The 19-nucleotide siRNA was designed based on cDNA sequence of EFG1 gene in C. albicans. Transfection was performed using modified- plyethylen glycol/LiAc method. To quantify the level of EFG1 and the hyphal-specific ALS3 gene expression، the cognate EFG1 and ALS3 mRNA were measured in C. albicans by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Fluorescent microscopy pictures indicated that transfection was performed successfully. Also، according to relative expression software tool، expression of EFG1 gene was decreased significantly with 500 nM siRNA as well as 1 µM siRNA (P<0. 05). However، more significant down-regulations were observed in the expression of ALS3 in both concentrations of 500 nM and 1 µM siRNA (P<0. 05). In conclusion، we demonstrated the down-regulation of ALS3 gene as a consequent of applying EFG1-specific siRNA in C. albicans. This may lead us to design anti-fungal-specific agents in order to face with C. albicans-associated infections.

The way of consumption of goods and available services in the society and their consumption amount has been، and still is one of the societies concerns in both aspects of economic and values. In societies based on Islamic values، uncontrolled consumptions and what is called splurge and dissipation is considered as a major economic issues. This study aims to explore the consumption behavior of households living in Shiraz with a sociological approach. Theoretical the framework was designed and chosen based on the Ajzen model. Data was collected from a sample of 383 married women living in the city of Shiraz by a researcher-made questionnaire. The sampling method was clustered. Multiple regression technique and Path analysis was used in order to interpret the data. Results showed that different aspects of religiosity (ritual، experiential، sequential and cognitive) had a significant negative correlation with the attitude towards consumption. In another aspect، the attitude towards consumption has a significant positive relation with the consumer behavior.

The clinical importance of yeast infections has increased in recent decades. There are 10-15 pathogenic Candida species. The current morphological and physiological methods for identification of Candida species are generally not easy to interpret and may be expensive or time-consuming. In the present study, we introduce and use a new approach for the identification and differentiation of medically important yeast species of Candida. In this method, size polymorphism of the internal transcribed spacer regions, ITS1 and ITS2, of the ribosomal DNA in various Candida species is used as the basis of species recognition