Optimum synthesis of CuO nanoparticles with the highest antifungal activity against oral pathogen Candida albicans

This research was aimed to optimize the synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles with the highest antifungalproperties against Candida albicans as an oral fungal pathogen. To this end, nine experiments involving differentsynthesis conditions were designed using the Taguchi method and the copper oxide nanoparticles synthesized bycoprecipitation method. The antifungal activity of synthesized nanoparticles against C. albicans was evaluatedusing the colony forming unit and disk diffusion methods. According to the results, the synthesized copper oxidenanoparticles under the five experimental conditions (CuCl2 0.1 M, NaOH 0.1 M, and a 75 minutes stirring time)showed the highest antifungal activity against C. albicans (71.72%). The optimization results demonstrated thatall three studied factors were effective in improving the antifungal activity of copper oxide nanoparticles and theantifungal activity in the proposed conditions can be improved by 77.85%. The synthesis of nanoparticles in optimalconditions confirmed the improved antifungal activity of the nanoparticles. The results of this study proved that CuOnanoparticles have a potential ability as an antifungal agent against oral fungal pathogens of C. albicans.

Relationship between renal artery stenosis and severity of coronary artery disease in patients with coronary atherosclerotic disease

The aim of the present investigation was to explore probable association of renal artery stenosis [RAS] with coronary artery disease [CAD] and the prevalence of renal artery stenosis [RAS] in patients with CAD. This study comprised 165 consecutive patients with CAD, including 52.7% males and 47.2% females with respective mean ages of 60.3 +/- 8.9 and 59.5 +/- 10.1. The patients underwent simultaneous coronary and renal angiographies, and the lumen reduction of 50% or more was considered as significant stenosis. Indeed, stenosis of more than 70% of the arterial lumen was regarded as severe. According to our findings, the prevalence of renal artery stenosis in our hypertensive and normotensive patients were 46.2% and 19.5% respectively [p=0.002]. Renal artery angiography revealed that 64 [38.8%] of the patients had simultaneous renal artery stenosis. RAS is more common in females than males [p=0.031]. Multivariate analysis revealed that among all examined factors, hypertension and serum creatinine were associated with RAS. There was no correlations found between gensini score and RAS [p=0.63]. We found a relatively high prevalence of RAS including 46.2% in hypertensive and 19.5% in normotensive patients in our patients with CAD

Knowledge and attitudes of Iranian patients with regard to lumbar puncture

To investigate the knowledge and attitudes of patients towards lumbar puncture [LP], its complications, and indications. In a questionnaire survey; patients who were referred to the general neurology outpatient clinic at Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz, Iran, from January 2007 to January 2008 were invited to complete a questionnaire consisting of items of demographic and socioeconomic variables, experiences with LP and complications, and knowledge of and attitudes regarding LP. A total of 410 patients were recruited [58%] women, mean age 33.2 +/- 2.7 years]. Poor knowledge of LP was highly prevalent [92.6%], and negative attitudes toward LP were also common [63%] among our patients. Skepticism regarding LP was directly related to lack of information [p=0.00007]. Lower socioeconomic status, lower educational level, and residence in rural areas were associated with being less well informed about LP, but interestingly those who had experience with LP before were better informed and had more positive attitudes. It is possible to overcome reluctance to undergo LP through education of its indications, contraindications, and complications