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Background: Brucellosis is one of the most common bacterial zoonotic infections in the world. The incidence of this infection is quite high and is endemic in several countries. According to WHO report, the prevalence of zoonotic and human brucellosis is on the rise in the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, and west Asian countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the usage of silver nanoparticles in treatment of brucellosis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the activity of silver nanoparticles against Brucella meltensis 16M was determined by agar well diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of silver nanoparticles were determined by macrodilution method. Also, the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles was studied in mouse model. Results: The results showed that silver nanoparticles in low concentrations can kill Brucella melitensis 16M in laboratory conditions. MIC and MBC of silver nanoparticles were 4 ppm and 6 ppm in macrodilution method, respectively. The anti-brucella effect of silver nanoparticles was also observed in mouse model. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that silver nanoparticles can be used against brucellosis.

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Background: Height and weight growth failure are among the most important health disorders affecting children less than two in the developing countries. Failure to treat this disorder can lead to the development of serious conditions including increased mortality and types of disability. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors affecting the height and weight growth of children less than two years old.

Materials and Methods: This historical cohort study was conducted on a sample of 2030 children less than two in Khorramabad who were selected using stratified and cluster sampling methods. Based on household records, data related to the height and weight were recorded as quantitative variables and finally were modeled using a longitudinal marginal model, identity link functions and the R software.

Results: Based on the marginal model, the effect of such variables as child's age, child's gender and mother's educational attainment were significantly related to the child's height and weight. Moreover the child's birth order had significant relationship with only the child's height. However, the variable of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months was no significantly related to weight and height growth of the children.

Conclusion: Given the results, it seems that monitoring the growth of the children of the illiterate mothers, specially the girls and the children with first birth orders are the most important approaches to deal with growth disorders among this population.