Biodegradation of direct blue 129 diazo dye by Spirodela polyrrhiza: An artificial neural networks modeling.

Phytoremediation potential of the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza was examined for direct blue 129 (DB129) azo dye. The dye removal efficiency was optimized under the variable conditions of the operational parameters including removal time, initial dye concentration, pH, temperature and amount of plant. The study reflected the significantly enhanced dye removal efficiency of S. polyrrhiza by increasing the temperature, initial dye concentration and amount of plant. Intriguingly, artificial neural network (ANN) predicted the removal time as the most dominant parameter on DB129 removal efficiency. Furthermore, the effect of dye treatment on some physiologic indices of S. polyrrhiza including growth rate, photosynthetic pigments content, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes were studied. The results revealed a reduction in photosynthetic pigments content and in multiplication of fronds after exposure to dye solution. In contrast, malondialdehyde content as well as catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities significantly increased that was probably due to the ability of plant to overcome oxidative stress. As a result of DB129 biodegradation, a number of intermediate compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis. Accordingly, the probable degradation pathway of DB129 in S. polyrrhiza was postulated.

Investigating the effects of Hydroalcoholic extract of jujube fruit (Zizyphus vulgaris L.) on second degree burn wound healing in Balb/c mice.

Background and Objective: Two thirds of all accidents and injuries leading to death all around the world occur in developing countries like Iran. One of these accidents is burn that can have unpleasant effects on the individual's body and soul. Skin wound healing is a process that happens as a result of coordination between tissues, cells, and different factors. The remaining inflammation and insufficient amount of vessel construction are among the most important causes of delayed wound healing. In recent years, jujube fruit (Zizyphus vulgaris L.) has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects as a traditional therapeutic agent. Therefore, the present study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of jujube fruit extract on second-degree burn wound among Balb/c mice. Materials and Methods: The present empirical-interventional study included 48 Balb/c mice weighing approximately 30 +/- 3 gr. After burn wounds of 1.5 cm2 were created and second-degree burns was affirmed by a pathologist, the mice were divided into four control groups; one treated with Vaseline, one treated with silver sulfadiazine ointment, one treated with jujube fruit extract 1%, and a control group. Results: In treatment groups, 1 gr ointment containing hydroalcoholic extract of jujube fruit was utilized twice a day until complete recovery. Afterwards, the four groups were compared with regard to the wound area and histopathology. The collected data were analyzed through one-way ANOVA and Tukey tests by using SPSS software. Conclusion: There was a significant difference between the intervention group and the Vaseline and control groups with regard to the percentage of wound recovery (P smaller than 0.05). The results of the study indicated that the jujube fruit extract could accelerate burn wound healing among Balb/c mice. It is recommended that further research is conducted on the effects of different doses of this medicine on laboratory animals and then on humans.

Potential of the aquatic fern Azolla filiculoides in biodegradation of an azo dye: modeling of experimental results by artificial neural networks.

The potential of an aquatic fern, Azolla filiculoides, in phytoremediation of a mono azo dye solution, C.I. Acid Blue 92 (AB92), was studied. The effects of operational parameters such as reaction time, initial dye concentration, fern fresh weight, pH, temperature and reusability of the fern on biodegradation efficiency were investigated. The intermediate compounds produced by biodegradation process were analyzed using GC-MS analysis. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to predict the biodegradation efficiency. The findings indicated that ANN provides reasonable predictive performance (R2 = 0.961). The effects of AB92 solutions (10 and 20 mg L(-1)) on growth, chlorophylls and carotenoids content, activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase and formation of malondialdehyde were analyzed. AB92 generally showed inhibitory effects on the growth. Moreover, photosynthetic pigments in the fronds significantly decreased in the treatments. An increase was detected for lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity, suggesting that AB92 caused reactive oxygen species production in Azolla fronds, which were scavenged by induced activities of antioxidant enzymes.

Potential of Hydrocotyle vulgaris for phytoremediation of a textile dye: Inducing antioxidant response in roots and leaves.

The potential of Hydrocotyle vulgaris as an aquatic plant species was evaluated for phytoremediation of C.I. Basic Red 46 (BR46) from nutrient solution. Under the optimized experimental conditions, BR46 was removed up to 95% from incubation medium by H. vulgaris. The ability of the plant in consecutive removal under long term repetitive experiments confirmed the biodegradation process. Accordingly, a number of produced intermediate compounds were identified. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to predict the biodegradation efficiency. A predictive performance (R(2)=0.974) was obtained based on the network results. Interestingly, dye stress enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase in H. vulgaris roots and leaves. Enzymatic responses found to be highly depended on the plant organ and dye concentration in the liquid medium. Overall, the increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes was much higher in the roots than in the leaves. Nevertheless, no significant increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was detected in both roots and leaves which reflects the high efficiency of antioxidant system in the elimination of reactive oxygen species.