Frequency evaluation and molecular characterization of HHV-6 and HHV-7 among children under 5 years with fever and skin rash.

Skin rash is one of the most common complications during childhood. Viral agents play an essential role in the development of such symptoms. Present study aims to determine the prevalence and genetic variability of Human Herpesvirus 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and HHV-7) infections and their subtypes in children under 5 years of age with skin rash and negative for rubella and measles. We used serum and throat swap samples from 196 children with skin rash and fever. ELISA and IFA tests were performed to detect antibodies against HHV6/7. Sequencing was performed using Sanger sequencing, and BioEdit and MEGA10 software were used for sequence analysis. According to the results, 66% and 40% of cases were positive for HHV-6 IgM and HHV-7 IgM, respectively. According to the molecular analysis, HHV-6 Nested-PCR was positive in 18% of cases, however, HHV-7 Nested-PCR was positive in 7.7% of cases. On the other hand, HHV-6 IgG and HHV-7 IgG were positive in 91% and 55% of study cases, respectively. For HHV-6, we found some genetic variabilities resulting in antigenic changes compared to reference strains. HHV-7 isolates showed no genetic differentiation and had a stable gene sequence. Based on the results, the detection of some cases of HHV6/7 primary infection and the presence of specific symptoms of roseola in the study population needs continuous evaluation of HHV6/7 frequency and distribution, also genetic variabilities of HHV6. This can pave the way for investigating HHV6 immune evasion and vaccine research and studying the relationship between viral genetic variations and other factors like disease severity. Furthermore, it is necessary to determine the relation between HHV6 genetic changes and latent infection to be considered in possible future vaccines and antiviral drug development.

Mining the rhizosphere of halophytic rangeland plants for halotolerant bacteria to improve growth and yield of salinity-stressed wheat.

In this study, the effects of three halotolerant rhizobacterial isolates AL, HR, and SB, which are able to grow at a salinity level of 1600 mM NaCl, with multiple plant growth promoting (PGP) traits on some seed and forage quality attributes, and vegetative, reproductive, biochemical and physiological characteristics of wheat plant irrigated with saline water (0, 40, 80, and 160 mM NaCl) were investigated. The ability of halotolerant bacterial isolates to produce PGP traits was affected by salinity levels, depending upon the bacterial isolates. Salinity stress significantly affected the yield, quality, and growth of wheat by modifying the morpho-physiological and biochemical traits of the exposed plants. However, all three bacterial isolates, especially isolate AL, significantly improved the biochemical (an increase in K+/Na+ ratio by 55%, plant P content by 50%, and plant Ca content by 31%), morphological (an increase in stem dry weight by 52%, root dry weight by 44%, spike dry weight by 34%, and grain dry weight by 43%), and physiological (an increase in leaf proline content by 50% and total phenol in leaf by 42%) attributes of wheat and aided the plant to tolerate salinity stress in contrast to un-inoculated plant. Plants inoculated with bacterial isolates showed significantly improved seed amylose by 36%, leaf crude protein by 30%, leaf metabolic energy by 37%, and leaf water-soluble sugar content by 34%. Among the measured PGP and plant attributes, bacterial auxin and plant K content were of key importance in increasing reproductive performance of wheat. The bacterial isolates AL, HR, and SB were identified as Bacillus safensis, B. pumilus, and Zhihengliuella halotolerans, respectively, based on 16 S rDNA sequence. The study reveals that application of halotolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria isolated from halophytic rangeland plants can be a cost effective and ecological sustainable method to improve wheat productivity, especially the attributes related to seed and forage quality, under salinity stress conditions.

Prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, stress and perceived stress in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

PURPOSE: COVID-19, a disease that can be transmitted from person to person and with serious health problems, can be associated with mental health disorders. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, stress, and stress perception among a group of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 106 inpatients with COVID-19 who had stable clinical conditions were evaluated psychologically by two questionnaires: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4). RESULTS: More than one third of patients had underlying disease. Overall, 97.2% of patients with COVID-19 had some degree of depression. Severity of depression, according to the DASS questionnaire, was 85.8%. All patients (100%) had severe (0.9%) and very severe (99.1%) anxiety. Regarding to stress levels, 97.1% of patients had some degree of stress. In the severity of stress category, 84.9% of patients had severe and very severe stress. In terms of perceived stress, 73.6% of patients had high levels and 22.6% had moderate levels. A positive strong correlation was found between depression and perceived stress (Coefficient: 0.33, P-value: 0.001). Correlation between anxiety and perceived stress was statistically significant (Coefficient: 0.2, P-value: 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The existence of such a high prevalence and severity of psychiatric disorders among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 underscores the need for serious attention to the mental health status of these patients. It seems that health policymakers need to have coherent plans for screening cases and managing related situations.

The effect of sewage sludge on heavy metal concentrations in wheat plant (Triticum aestivum L.).

The use of sewage sludge in agricultural soils can improve soil physical and chemical properties and soil fertility by increasing organic materials; however, the presence of heavy metals in sewage sludge is a significant problem for the quality of agricultural products and the environment. Most heavy metals, due to their inactive nature, are stable and can affect human health. This study investigates the effect of sewage sludge on the concentration of copper, zinc, cadmium, lead, iron, and manganese in two varieties of wheat, i.e., Sivand (Triticum aestivum cv. Sivand) and Roshan (Triticum aestivum cv. Roshan). Results were obtained from a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications and at three levels (0, 60, and 120 kg soil) and were carried out in a research greenhouse. This research concluded that in the treated seed and stem of Sivand variety, concentrations of Zn, Cd, Fe, and Mn were below the standard toxicity limit, and concentrations of Cu and Pb were above the standard limit. In the Roshan variety, the concentrations of Zn, Cd, Pb, Fe, and Mn were below the standard limit, and Cu concentration was above the standard. The results of this study lead to the recommendation that farmers avoid using sewage sludge in farming, as much as possible. Instead, it is far more appropriately employed as a fertilizer for green space, ornamental trees, and parks, where edible products for human consumption are not grown.

Extraction and Characterization of Nanocellulose Structures from Linter Dissolving Pulp Using Ultrafine Grinder.

The objective of this study was to extract cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from Linter dissolving pulp through a simple and environmentally friendly physical method of refining pretreatment coupled with ultrafine grinder. The morphology, structure and properties of the Linter pulp and obtained NFCs were investigated using Optical Microscopy (OM), electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The OM results indicate that, the Linter Pulp had length and wide mainly ranged 1.3 mm and 13 µm respectively. Based on AFM images, most of extracted nanocellulose had spherical shape and the average of nanocellulose diameter was varied between 30-70 nm when measured by AFM and SEM. Also the FTIR spectra confirmed that the basic structure of nanocellulose was maintained and no derivative was formed. The X-ray results show that by this method of extraction, the crystallinity index of Nanocellulose isolated (62%) decreased in compared to Linter Pulp (79.5%). Also Linter pulp decomposes at higher temperature (280 degrees C) than isolated nanocellulose (240 degrees C).