Search

Since antibiotics are used in various sciences, the occurrence of antibiotics in the water environments has drawn significant concerns in recent years. In this study, novel NiFe 12 O 19 coupled ZnO and TiO 2 (NiFe 12 O 19 -X; X = ZnO and TiO 2) were synthesized via a green route, and their photocatalytic properties were assessed. Crataegus microphylla fruit extract was used as a natural capping agent to obtain regular and homogeneous products. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by various analyzes, including TEM, EDS, DRS, FT-IR, XRD, FESEM, and VSM. The analysis confirmed that the biosynthesized nanocomposites had spherical and oval-like morphologies, with a crystallite size of about 50–70 nm, narrow bandgap, and super paramagnetic properties. Band-gap calculated using UV-DRS (2.95 eV and 3.03 eV) shows that NiFe 12 O 19 –ZnO and NiFe 12 O19–TiO 2 are good candidate for photocatalytic degradation. Ceftriaxone sodium (CFX) as the model contaminant was tested to assess the photocatalytic performance of the biosynthesized magnetic nanocomposite under UV and sunlight irradiations. The effect of critical parameters including nanocatalyst dose (0.08, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g/L), pH (5, 7, and 10), CFX initial concentration (10, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L), and light source (UV and sunlight) were studied to achieve the optimum degradation of ceftriaxone sodium. Under optimum conditions, the biosynthesized NiFe 12 O 19 –ZnO and NiFe 12 O 19 –TiO 2 photocatalyst revealed excellent performance in the degradation of the CFX compound with an evaluated efficiency of 98.47% and 95.45% under UV irradiation, respectively. Also, the percentage of antibiotic degradation for these materials was 79.15% and 76.62%, respectively, under sunlight irradiation. Furthermore, the antibacterial characteristic features of the prepared nanocomposite against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were satisfactory. After careful examination of the results and diagrams, the suggested NiFe 12 O 19 -X (X = ZnO and TiO 2) nanocomposites might be applied in a water treatment plant to eliminate the danger of pharmaceutical waste in the aqueous medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the pattern of acute poisonings in hospitals of Birjand city, Iran, is limited. This study aimed to address this knowledge gap by examining the admissions in a major poisoning center in eastern Iran. This cross-sectional study included patients admitted to the Imam Reza Hospital in Birjand over 12 months. Medical records of the poisoned patients were reviewed, and the study variables were used for data analysis. During the study period, 534 cases of acute poisonings were evaluated. The patient's ages ranged from 12 to 84 years, with a high rate of poisonings between 15 and 35 years. The female predominance in poisoning cases was 52.1%. Most cases of poisonings occurred in spring, and the common route of exposure was oral (93.1%). The incidence of poisoning in married couples, uneducated patients, and residents of urban areas was 56.5%, 90.1%, and 74.6%, respectively. Patients with a previous medical history experienced addiction and psychiatric disorders. Intentional poisoning accounted for 23.4% of acute poisoning cases referred to the hospital in the current study. The main groups of toxicants were pharmaceutical products (48.1%), narcotics (25.8%), chemical products (10.1%), envenomation (7.1%), and alcohol (1.7%). The mean hospital stay was 2.5 ± 3.0 days, and the final treatment outcome was complete recovery, except for one patient intoxicated by warfarin and alprazolam. Our results indicate that the high toxicity cases were related to pharmaceutical product and opioids abuse, especially methadone (8.4%), alprazolam (7.9%), clonazepam (7.5%), and acetaminophen (9.9%) taken orally and more commonly happened at home. Due to the high rate of deliberate poisonings, especially among young adults and students, monitoring drug distribution and exceptional attention to mental health should be seriously considered by national health authorities to prevent suicide attempts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the associated risk factors among drug-abusing prisoners in Birjand correctional facility. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 300 drug-abusing prisoners in 2016. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. HBV infection and HCV exposure status of the participants were determined by HBsAg, HBcAb, and HCVAb blood tests using third-generation enzyme immune assays (ELISA). The chi-square test was used to investigate the associations between risk factors and status of HBV infection and HCV exposure. All data were analyzed with SPSS software and P<0.05 was considered as significant difference. Results: The mean age of participants was 37.4 ± 9.4 years with a range of 20--78 years. The prevalence rates of HBV exposure (total HBcAb) and infection (HBsAg) were 20.7 and 3.3% respectively, and the prevalence of HCV exposure (HCV Ab) was 8%. No co-infection was observed. Seroprevalence results for injecting drug users (IDUs) was 13 (18.8%) for total HBcAb, 1 (1.4%) for HBsAg, and 13 (18.8%) for HCVAb. There was no significant difference between the IDUs and non-IDUs in terms of HBsAg and total HBcAb positive rate, but the prevalence of HCV was significantly higher in the IDUs (P < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, the main risk factors for HCV exposure in the entire samples was injecting drug use and having tattoos (OR = 4.08, 95% CI: 1.64--10.17, P = 0.003) Conclusion: We found a high rate of HBV and HCV infection in drug-using prison inmates compared to the general population of this area. The main risk factors associated with HCV infection in the prison populations with history of drug abuse were injecting drug use and having tattoo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]