mojtaba khosravi

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a significant opportunistic pathogen, primarily responsible for hospital-acquired pneumonia and other severe infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.

This study investigated the biofilm formation, hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP) identification, and virulence gene detection among K. pneumoniae isolates from various hospital units and sample types.

After DNA extraction from 70 K. pneumoniae isolates, capsular types were identified using specific methods. The biofilm assay categorized isolates based on biofilm formation strength. The string test identified hvKP isolates, while virulence genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Random amplified polymorphism DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR) fingerprinting with two primers was used to identify genotypic variations.

In total, 44 (62.85%) hvKP isolates were identified, with a significant correlation to strong biofilm formation (P < 0.05). The entB and mrkD virulence genes were present in all isolates. There was no significant relationship between virulence gene patterns and hvKP status, hospital unit, or sample type (P > 0.05). The RAPD-PCR fingerprinting identified 25 and 19 clusters, respectively, showing significant relationships with sample type, biofilm production, and specific virulence gene patterns.

The study highlighted the high prevalence of biofilm production and hvKP among isolates. Significant associations were identified between certain genotypes, sample types, and biofilm production. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring biofilm formation and virulence factors in clinical isolates to inform infection control strategies.

Augmenting the care of pets can have a significant effect on the transmission of microorganisms between humans and animals. Having pets creates a suitable environment for harmful microorganisms, such as intestinal pathogens, to transmit to humans in various ways. Pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Arcobacter species are of significant importance as they are the main intestinal pathogens in humans and inhabit the digestive system of various animals.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Arcobacter and to explore the probable risk factors associated with bacterial infections in dogs residing in Amol.

In this study, 150 fresh stool samples were collected from the domestic dog population in Amol, northern Iran. To perform the test, DNA preparation and enrichment were first performed, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was then used to identify bacteria. Information about possible risk factors related to bacterial infection was collected using a questionnaire, and data analysis was done using SPSS version 21.0.

None of the samples tested in the study were infected with Arcobacter. A total of 35 samples were positive for Salmonella, and 43 samples were positive for Campylobacter.

The study discovered the existence of harmful Campylobacter and Salmonella bacteria in the feces of dogs living with humans in Amol, northern Iran. Based on the results of the study, pet dogs can harbor harmful strains of Campylobacter and Salmonella that pose a risk to human health. Therefore, it can be stated that owning pet dogs poses a potential threat to humans and may present a health issue that requires control. 

Salmonella is one of the most significant pathogens found in chicken meat. Due to its critical role in food safety, numerous studies have been conducted to control and prevent its growth. The present study aims to investigate the chemical composition of ginger essential oil and its effects at various concentrations (1%, 1.5%, and 2%) on inhibiting the growth of Salmonella typhimurium in chicken fillets. These fillets were packaged using both conventional and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) methods and stored at refrigeration temperature.

The components of essential oil were analyzed using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) device, and the growth of inoculated salmonella, along with the chemical characteristics [total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), peroxide value (PV), and pH] and sensory attributes, were evaluated over a 15-day storage period.

The main components of the essential oil were cineole (23.66%), camphene (18.76%), and zingiberne (15.49%). The treatment containing 2% ginger essential oil, packaged using the MAP method, significantly delayed microbial spoilage compared to the other treatments (P < 0.05). In contrast, the control treatment exhibited the highest microbial load. Additionally, the results revealed that the control sample had the highest levels of TVB-N, PV, and pH, while the treatment with 2% ginger essential oil packaged by the MAP method showed the lowest values for these chemical evaluations (P < 0.05).

The use of ginger essential oil in MAP packaging enhanced the microbial quality, chemical stability, and shelf life of chicken fillet samples. Therefore, it is recommended that this information be applied to increase the shelf life of other types of meat.

Oilseeds are very important as the raw material for the production of vegetable oil (one of the basic needs of the society in the food field). Therefore, achieving any success in increasing the amount of production and supplying as many of these products as possible to meet the domestic needs of the country is considered a valuable and great success. Safflower, with the scientific name Carthamus tinctorius L., is an annual long-day plant from the chicory family. Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.), which is also called Brassica kaber in some literatures, is one of the most important weeds belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Competition can perhaps be considered the most important biological interference factor effective in determining crops productivity.Effective management of weeds in agricultural systems is very decisive. Extensive and repeated use of herbicides has led to the emergence of resistant weed biotypes, which has often increased the cost of control. It has also caused some concerns about the negative environmental effects of herbicides. When the competition is for light, the competitive ability of the species is first determined by the morphological traits. The response of crop height to weed competition is related to the density and intensity of competition and the type of weeds and can be positive or negative.

An split plots experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replication was carried out in the Research Farm of University of Birjand during the 2018-2019 cropping year. The treatments include four level of phosphorus fertilizer (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg P 2O5 ha-1) as the main plot and the four wild mustard densities (0, 7, 14 and 28 pl m-2) as subplots. Plant growth characteristics were measured from 150 to 210 days after planting (DAP) in five stages at 15-day intervals. Also, at the harvest maturity, the yield and yield components of the crop were determined.

According to the results, the highest (35.48 g m-2) and lowest (28.23 g m-2) safflower leaf dry weights were obtained from control (no-mustard) and 28 pl m-2 mustard densities at 165 DAP, respectively. The highest (1.67) and lowest (1.19) leaf area index of safflower were achieved at 210 DAP using 25 and 50 kg P 2O5 ha-1, respectively. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the most effective level of phosphorus on the improvement of safflower growth traits (e.g. leaf area and dry weight and stem dry weight) and its competitive ability was 25 kg P2O5 ha-1, although the its effects were not significant for many traits, and as phosphorus levels increased, the competition shifted more in favor of wild mustard. In accordance with these results, and probably due to luxury consumption by weeds, it has been observed that when weed density is high, adding fertilizer leads to superiority of weed growth over crop (Blackshaw et al., 2008). Also, the highest leaf area index of mustard (0.63) was obtained at a density of 56 mustard pl m-2 at 165 DAP and the lowest one of (0.26) was observed at a density of 14 pl m-2 at the same time. It was also observed that the height and leaf area index of wild mustard were the highest in all measuring stages at higher weed densities, indicating the competitiveness of the weed. The increase in weed density had a negative impact on the safflower, although insignificant in many cases, which could be the result of the competitive effect of mustard for resources such as radiation and nutrients (Wright et al., 1999).

In general, the increase in weed density had a positive effect on the yield and its components in wild mustard and a negative effect on the safflower, and under these condition, the application of more than 25 kg P2O5 ha-1 does not have a positive effect on the crop. Thus, it seems that the revision in weed management and the use of fertilizer as an agronomic strategy can be effective in reducing the crop losses caused by the presence of high densities of weeds (Clements et al., 2014).

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is one of the most contagious viral agent's causing acute enteritis in young canines with high mortality rate. This study was conducted to investigate the risk factors associated with the occurrence of CPV in dogs using a matched case-control method. The target population was dogs under one year of age referred to veterinary clinics located in South, North, and Razavi Khorasan provinces. The case group (100 dogs) had clinical symptoms of CPV disease and positive PCR test, the control group (100 dogs) had no clinical symptoms, were healthy and the PCR test was negative. Statistical analysis was performed using a multivariable logistic regression model using SPSS software. Based on the obtained results, it was determined that large breeds have a higher chance of CPV than small breeds (OR = 2.56, P = 0.004). Lack of vaccination is a risk factor in the occurrence of CPV with an equal odds ratio (OR = 2.63, P = 0.002). Dogs with homemade food had a lower chance of disease (OR = 0.26, P = 0.01), and the disease was significantly higher in shelter dogs than in domestic dogs (OR = 9.89, P = 0.0001). Dogs that were in contact with other dogs also had a higher chance of developing CPV than dogs that had no contact (OR = 3.01, P = 0.001). Therefore, the awareness of the owners regarding the vaccination of dogs at the appropriate time and preventive care regarding the interactions of dogs is essential to prevent CPV.

Avian leukosis virus is a contagious oncogenic virus that can infect various bird species. This virus is economically important in the poultry industry. The aim of this study was to identify molecular strains of leukosis virus circulating in duck farms in Mazandaran province. Freshly dead birds were necropsied and samples of tumor tissues were processed for molecular detection of avian tumorigenic viruses using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). At necropsy, diffuse and sometimes nodular enlargement of the internal organs and subscapular hemorrhage in the liver and spleen was noted. All three studied flocks were positive for infection with serogroup J of leukosis virus, while all samples were negative for involvement with reticuloendotheliosis and Marek’s disease viruses. Since leukosis is a serious threat to the poultry industry and currently does not have a vaccine or medicine, it is recommended to carry out periodic monitoring and analysis for the circulating strains of virus.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) majorly infects the poultry, and despite high rates of vaccination, it is still circulating in different geographical regions. Due to the high mortality rate, the economic loss of Newcastle disease (ND) is enormous.

The molecular characterization of NDV isolates from chicken farms in Northern Iran, during 2017-2018, was the main goal of this study.

We isolated and characterized five NDVs from commercial broiler and backyard chicken farms during severe disease outbreak. The partial coding sequence of fusion (F) genes of isolates was determined and compared with those of other published NDVs.

Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all of the isolates were grouped into sub-genotype VII.1.1 (formerly known as VIIl). All isolates carried multi‐basic amino acid residues at the cleavage site of fusion protein, typical of virulent strains. Studied NDV isolates had high homology with the prevalent genotype NDV strains that currently circulate in China and Republic of Korea (96.94%).

Our results suggested that NDV sub-genotype VII.1.1 (VIIl), circulating among chicken farms, may be a dominant sub-genotype. Considering the genetic variation between the used vaccine strains (B1, LaSota, and Clone 30, all belonging to genotype II) and circulating NDVs, it is recommended that a contemporary homologous virus should be developed as the vaccine strain to avert the outbreaks of genotype VII viruses.

Candida species are known as the most common fungal pathogens isolated from clinical specimens that can develop complications ranging from cutaneous to systemic diseases..
The present study was conducted to evaluate the diversity and distribution of Candida species in various kinds of cutaneous candidiasis in Tehran, Iran. In addition, the critical effects of several predisposing factors on the induction and progression of the disease were considered..
A total of 3000 samples were taken from March 2014 to 2015. The samples were examined using direct microscopy and culturing method. The polymorphism analysis was performed by using polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The internal spacer region (ITS) of the fungal rRNA genes was recruited for PCR amplification of target sequences and Msp1 enzyme was employed to digest PCR amplicons..
Out of 3000 samples, yeast was recovered in 290 (9.67%) cases. Onychomycosis was observed predominantly in 164 nail samples (56.5%). The majority of patients were within the age range of 51 - 60 years (22.14%). Women working at home (housewives) showed the highest percentage of people at risk (n = 135, 46.5%). Among patients with underlying diseases, diabetic patients with 46 cases (14.2 %) had the highest susceptibility to candidiasis. Genotypic identification showed that Candida albicans is the most common species (n = 132, 45.5 %) recovered from clinical samples, followed by C. parapsilosis (n = 77, 26.5%), C. glabrata (n = 22, 7.5 %), C. krusei (n = 16, 5.5 %), C. tropicalis (n = 37, 12.7 %), and C. guilliermondii (n = 6, 2%)..
The results of the present study, compared to the previous studies, showed a significantly lower prevalence of cutaneous candidiasis. Among Candida species, C. albicans was still the most common infectious agent isolated from clinical samples. Shifting toward non-albicans Candida species was not confirmed in this study. In addition, our study revealed that there is a direct correlation between some predisposing factors including age of patients, and existence of some non-infectious diseases (e.g. metabolic disorder) and occurrence of Candida infection..

In order to study the effect of irrigation interval, N fertilization and plant density on yield and yield components of fenugreek, a split-split-plot experiment was conducted in Darmian, Iran in spring 2010. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots were subjected to different irrigation intervals of 5 and 10 days. The sub-plots were treated with N fertilization at three different rates of 0, 75 and 150 kg N ha-1 from urea source and the sub-sub-plots were assigned with three varied plant density levels of 22, 33 and 66 plants m-2 respectively. Analysis of variance showed that the effect of irrigation interval on all measured traits was not significant. Also application of 150 kg N ha-1 had 33.9 and 66.1% higher pod number per plant, 37.5 and 68.1% higher pod number per m2, 31.7 and 67.1% higher seed yield, 31.7 and 65.9% higher single-plant seed yield, 31.1 and 68.9% higher single-plant biomass yield and 30.6 and 67.8% higher biological yield than the application of 75 and 0 kg N ha-1, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that increase in population from 22 to 33 plants m-2 decreased single-plant seed and biomass yields by 32.1 and 33.6%, respectively. Conclusively, considering the results of the present study and the importance of water saving, it is recommended to use an irrigation interval of 10 days with the application of 150 kg N ha-1 and a population of 66 plants m-2 for the cultivation of fenugreek in Darmian, Iran.