Background: The emergence of multi drug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections and cancer has necessitated the development and discovery of alternative eco-safe antibacterial and anticancer agents. Biogenic fabrication of metallic nanoparticles is an emerging discipline for production of nanoproducts that exert potent anticancer and antibacterial activity, and do not suffer from the limitations inherent in physiochemical synthesis methods. Methodology: In this study, we isolated, purified, and characterized a novel cyanobacteria extract (Desertifilum IPPAS B-1220) to utilize in biofabrication of silver nanoparticles (D-SNPs). D-SNPs were produced by adding Desertifilum extract to silver nitrate solution under controlled conditions. Biofabrication of D-SNPs was confirmed using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The resultant D-SNPs were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The toxicity of D-SNPs against five pathogenic bacteria and three cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2, and Caco-2) was evaluated. Results: Formation of D-SNPs was indicated by a color change from pale yellow to dark brown. The peak of the surface plasmon resonance of the D-SNPs was at 421 nm. The XRD detected the crystallinity of D-SNPs. FTIR showed that polysaccharides and proteins may have contributed to the biofabrication of D-SNPs. Under SEM and TEM, the D-SNPs were spherical with diameter ranges from 4.5 to 26 nm. The D-SNPs significantly suppressed the growth of five pathogenic bacteria, and exerted cytotoxic effects against MCF-7, HepG2, and Caco-2 cancer cells with IC 50 values of 58, 32, and 90 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: These findings showed for the first time the potentiality of novel cyanobacteria strain Desertifilum IPPAS B-1220 to fabricate small SNPs that acted as potent anticancer and antibacterial material against different cancer cell lines and pathogenic bacterial strains. These findings encourage the researchers to focus on cyanobacteria in general and especially Desertifilum sp. IPPAS B-1220 for synthesizing different NPs that opening the window for new applications.

Emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria result in increased mortality and have negative economic impacts. It is necessary to discover new strategies to create alternative antibacterial agents that suppress the bacterial resistance mechanism and limit the spread of serious infectious bacterial diseases. Silver nanoparticles may represent a new medicinal agents as alternative antibiotics affect different bacterial mechanisms such as virulence and resistance. In addition to that of silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) and ampicillin, for the first time, the inhibitory effect of silver nanoparticles synthesized using Desertifilum sp. (D-SNPs) was evaluated against five pathogenic bacteria using the agar well diffusion method. Also, the influence of D-SNPs and AgNO 3 on bacterial antioxidant and metabolic activities was studied. The antibacterial activity of D-SNPs and AgNO 3 against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains was studied at the morphological and molecular level. D-SNPs and AgNO 3 have the ability to inhibit the growth of the five bacterial strains and resulted in an imbalance in the CAT, GSH, GPx and ATPase levels. MRSA treated with D-SNPs and AgNO 3 showed different morphological changes such as apoptotic bodies formation and cell wall damage. Moreover, both caused genotoxicity and denaturation of MRSA cellular proteins. Additionally, TEM micrographs showed the distribution of SNPs synthesized by MRSA. This result shows the ability of MRSA to reduce silver nitrate into silver nanoparticles. These data indicate that D-SNPs may be a significant alternative antibacterial agent against different bacteria, especially MDR bacteria, by targeting the virulence mechanism and biofilm formation, leading to bacterial death.

Green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is a global ecofriendly method to develop and produce nanomaterials with unique biological, physical, and chemical properties. Recently, attention has shifted toward biological synthesis, owing to the disadvantages of physical and chemical synthesis, which include toxic yields, time and energy consumption, and high cost. Many natural sources are used in green fabrication processes, including yeasts, plants, fungi, actinomycetes, algae, and cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are among the most beneficial natural candidates used in the biosynthesis of NPs, due to their ability to accumulate heavy metals from their environment. They also contain a variety of bioactive compounds, such as pigments and enzymes, that may act as reducing and stabilizing agents. Cyanobacteria-mediated NPs have potential antibacterial, antifungal, antialgal, anticancer, and photocatalytic activities. The present review paper highlights the characteristics and applications in various fields of NPs produced by cyanobacteria-mediated synthesis.

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Utilizing novel SNPs synthesized by Nostoc Bahar M sp. to combat the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of this bacterium through targeting virulence and resistance signalling.

Green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is a safe, eco-friendly, and relatively inexpensive alternative to conventional routes of NPs production. These methods require natural resources such as cyanobacteria, algae, plants, fungi, lichens, and naturally extracted biomolecules such as pigments, vitamins, polysaccharides, proteins, and enzymes to reduce bulk materials (the target metal salts) into a nanoscale product. Synthesis of nanomaterials (NMs) using lichen extracts is a promising eco-friendly, simple, low-cost biological synthesis process. Lichens are groups of organisms including multiple types of fungi and algae that live in symbiosis. Until now, the fabrication of NPs using lichens has remained largely unexplored, although the role of lichens as natural factories for synthesizing NPs has been reported. Lichens have a potential reducible activity to fabricate different types of NMs, including metal and metal oxide NPs and bimetallic alloys and nanocomposites. These NPs exhibit promising catalytic and antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. To the best of our knowledge, this review provides, for the first time, an overview of the main published studies concerning the use of lichen for nanofabrication and the applications of these NMs in different sectors. Moreover, the possible mechanisms of biosynthesis are discussed, together with the various optimization factors influencing the biological synthesis and toxicity of NPs.

This was a cross-sectional national survey of the elderly population of Saudi Arabia conducted between January 1994 and December 1995. The participants' physical, mental, social, and environmental health status were assessed in a personal interview during which a structured data form was completed by a trained research team. Data on 6,139 elderly participants have been analyzed: 64.2 percent were males mean age: 69.2 +/- 7.8 years which was higher than females 68.0 +/- 7.6 years (P < 0.0001). The widowhood (46.7%) status was also higher than the widowerhood (4.1%) and 9.3 percent of the participants were never married. The proportion of female illiterates (95.8%) was higher than the males (71.4%). The proportion of participants with definite psychopathology was 33.8 percent and this increased with age and higher among females than males. Overall, 18.8 percent were dependent on others for ADL. Other clinical findings included visual impairment (46.1%) and difficulty in hearing (19.9%). However, a sizeable majority (72.2%) enjoyed good health. Only 3.7 percent lived alone. The proportion of the elderly taking part in any recreational exercise was 14.7 percent and only 4.3 percent had any experience of physical therapy. There were no special hospital wards for the elderly patients, and they were treated by general internists. There is a need for a national cost-effective program for the care of the elderly. The present widespread primary health care centers can be upgraded to coordinate the proposed services.

Feeding 2-weeks old broiler chicks on gibberellic acid (GA3)-containing diets (0, 1, 5, 25 and 125 ppm) for 3-weeks led, generally, to nonsignificant increase of body weight, decreased feed consumption and better feed conversion (on 25-125 ppm). Yet, the percentages of the carcass and the other organs (liver, gizzard, heart) and glands (adrenal, thyroid and pituitary) weights were lower comparing with the control (0 level). Blood protein and magnesium concentrations raised significantly. Blood glucose increased but not significantly. There was remarkable decrease (P < or = 0.01) in transaminases activity. The muscular protein decreased, whereas the fat percentage significantly increased. The bone reflected lower density and mineral (calcium, magnesium and phosphorus) contents. GA3 led to numerous histological lesions in different organs. Two-weeks withdrawal period did not ameliorate the negative effects of GA3-inclusion whether on the dressing percentages, blood picture, or on the muscles and bone constituents.