This study aims to present the in vitro inhibitory effect of Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts on the main developer of acne lesions, Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), and other organisms that are isolated from acne lesions. Thirty-eight subjects (males and females) who had various types of acne were enrolled in the study. The contents of the acne lesions were cultured and the frequency of P. acnes (alone and with Staphylococci spp.) was 47%, whereas the frequencies for Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were 13% and 24%, respectively. The antimicrobial activities of Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts, determined by disk diffusion method (zone of inhibition), were compared to tea tree oil (TTO), doxycycline and clindamycin antibiotics. The zones of inhibition due to the Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts ranged from 15.8-17.6 mm against P. acnes, 11.3-15.7 mm against S. aureus and 12.9-15.5 mm against S. epidermidis, respectively. These zones of inhibition were significantly higher than those of TTO and equivalent in case of Staphylococci spp., but less in case of P. acnes, to those obtained from doxycycline or clindamycin. It can be concluded that Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts may be beneficial in treating acne especially when they are known to have anti-inflammatory activities.
Estradiol, progesterone, prolactin and cortisol concentrations are substantially increased during pregnancy. Also, cortisol and prolactin levels are elevated during stress. In the present study, we exposed peripheral blood to estradiol, progesterone, prolactin and cortisol alone or in combination for 24 h before stimulation with T-dependent (phytohemagglutinin, PHA) and independent activators (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) to study their immunomodulatory role in interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and IL-10 production in a whole blood model. This should be similar to in vivo exposure conditions such as long-term stress, preovulatory or pregnancy periods. The present study showed that the stress-induced and preovulatory levels of prolactin and estradiol, respectively, increased the production of IFN-γ and IL-12 levels (and IL-10 in the case of estradiol) in PHA + LPS-stimulated whole blood, and inhibited a hydrocortisone (100 nmol/l) suppressive effect on IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-10 productions. In LPS-stimulated whole blood, however, prolactin enhanced only IL-10 production levels in a non-concentration-dependent manner. Higher prolactin levels as in pregnancy did not modulate any of the cytokines, but pregnancy estradiol concentrations only induced higher IL-10 levels in PHA + LPS-stimulated whole blood. All progesterone levels tested revealed no effect on any of the cytokines following whole blood stimulation. Our results indicate that (1) a long exposure time of prolactin and estradiol to whole blood modulates the production of cytokines in a concentration- and stimulus-dependent manner; (2) stress-induced levels of prolactin and preovulatory estradiol concentrations can regulate cortisol-induced cytokine suppression, and (3) even though the cytokine pattern is different, pregnancy estradiol and cortisol levels decreased the IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio, thereby keeping the anti-inflammatory IL-10 levels favored during pregnancy, which could be useful in regulating inflammatory-mediated autoimmune diseases.
In this study, the hydroxyapatite powder is investigated for both of methylene blue and thymol blue in aqueous solution. The physical and chemical properties of the adsorbent were evaluated systematically using the different techniques including Microsoft Excel programming, linear regression model and also the coefficient of determination. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to determine the effect of contact time, solution pH, initial dye concentrations, and also the adsorbent dosage on adsorption. The adsorption kinetic parameters confirmed the better fitting of pseudo-second order kinetic model for both of methylene blue and thymol blue. The isotherm data of methylene blue and thymol blue could be well described by the Freundlich isotherm model which means the adsorption is multilayer adsorption with non-uniform distribution of adsorption heat and affinities over the heterogeneous surface. The maximum adsorption capacity (KF) of methylene blue and thymol blue is found to be 0.2736 (L/mg) and 11.18407 (L/mg) respectively. The high specific surface area and the porous structure with some acidic functional groups on the surface were obviously responsible for high dyes adsorption onto hydroxyapatite (HA). Adsorption kinetics data were modeled with the application of Pseudo first order, Pseudo second order and Intraparticle diffusion models. The results revealed that the Pseudo second order model was the best fitting model. Which means that, the adsorption mechanism followed two stages in which the first one was fast and the other was slower step. Which means the adsorption of dye molecules was limited by intra particle diffusion and film diffusion, as well as, the adsorption rate in both of adsorption system are depends only on the slower step.The Boyd plot exposed that the intra-particle diffusion was the rate controlling step of the adsorption process of both of methylene blue and thymol blue molecules by HA powder. However, the adsorption of methylene blue molecules (basic solution) using of HA as adsorbent particles is found to be extremely preferable than thymol blue molecules.
Excessive amount of dyes in the discharged wastewater from the textile industry becomes a severe problem in water pollution due to the presence of unruly toxic organic compounds. Dyes are highly toxic and carcinogenic compounds that cause extremely harmful effects on the on the human health. The adsorption method is considered one of the best methods for dye removal from wastewater because of its availability, low cost, stability, large surface area to volume ratio and high adsorption capacity. In this article, hydroxyapatite (HAP) was used as a solid adsorbent for the removal of methyl orange (MO) dye from aqueous solutions. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) surface characterization test was performed before and after the adsorption process, ensuring the adsorption of the MO dye successfully using HAP. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms were studied for this adsorption system to predict the adsorption mechanism. Additionally, the effects of changing pH of solution, initial MO dye concentration, of adsorbent dose and contact time on the adsorption process efficiency were studied. The maximum adsorption efficiency for MO dye from aqueous solutions (88.3%) was achieved at the optimum operating conditions of contact time = 90 min, pH = 4, initial dye concentration = 0.5 mg/L and adsorbent dose = 2 g/L.
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