---

Aim: Spiritual well-being is one of the most important aspects of health that provides the integration and coordination of all aspects. However, due to the increasing number of the elderly, it is important to pay more attention to their health. This study was conducted to determine the spiritual well-being of the elderly residents of Zahedan in 2016.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 117 elderly people residing in Zahedan. They were selected through population-based cluster random sampling to participate in the study. In order to measure spiritual well-being and evaluate its relationship with demographic variables we made use of Paloutzian and Ellison’s spiritual well-being questionnaire. Moreover, we used descriptive statistics for determining frequency, mean, and standard deviation, as well as t- test, and ANOVA in order to analyze the data.
Findings: The results showed that spiritual health of the majority of the participants was from moderate to high level, and the mean score of their spiritual well-being was (88.98±7.35). The results indicated that the participants’ spiritual health is not related to any of the demographic variables.
Conclusion: The protection coming from religious or spiritual resources and having a relationship with a higher power can be useful for improving the quality of life and health promotion. Since the elderly people are considered as a vulnerable group in the society, the need for educational planning and counseling services in this field is crucial.

---

Backgrounds: This study aimed to assess antibacterial properties of Artemisia scoparia, Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, and their synergistic effect on clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia.
Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, 30 isolates of K. pneumonia were collected from patients’ sputum in the microbiology lab of Masih Daneshvari hospital during 3 months. Then biochemical tests were performed for strain confirming. Moreover, genomic DNA was extracted from all the isolates, and hly gene was detected in the isolates via PCR method. The susceptibility of the isolates to 10 antibiotics was evaluated by the disk diffusion method. Then minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of all components (Artemisia extract, TiO2, and their combination) was assessed using the microdilution method against the isolates.
Findings: The results indicated that simultaneous use of hydro-alcoholic extract of A. scoparia and titanium dioxide nanoparticles exhibited a significant synergistic antibacterial effect on 25 clinical isolates in comparison with the use of extract or nanoparticles alone.
Conclusion: It seems that simultaneous use of Artemisia herbal extracts and nanoparticles is beneficial in increasing their antibacterial effect and may decrease antibiotics consumption.

---

The aim of the present study was to identify the phytoplankton species which producing domoic acid and okadaic acid toxins in coastal waters of Banar Abbas city, and to determine the concentration of domoic acid and okadaic acid toxins in water and shellfish samples.Water sampling was performed in winter 2015 and summer 2016 from coastal areas overlooking the discharge of municipal and industrial effluents. Shellfish were collected from the coasts of Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e- Lengeh. Phytoplankton toxins were measured by kit method and instrumental analysis based on ELIZA method.Pseudonitzschia delicatissima, Pseudo-nitzschia pungens and Pseudo-nitzschia seriata were identified in the production of domoic acid, while Dinophysis caudate and Prorocentrum Lima were recorded as okadaic acid producers in the coastal waters of Bandar Abbas. Water-soluble okadaic acid showed significantly higher concentrations than domoic acid. Instudied shellfish samples (Circenita callipyga, Barbatia candida, Telescopium telescopiumandThalessa savignyi), the measured concentrations of okadaic acid ranged from 59.8 ± 2.38 to 121.96 ± 28.25 μg / kg. This value for domoic acid was from 0.85 to 83.59 ± 38.72 μg / kg.Compared to the guideline values, the observed concentrations of okadaic acid and domoic acid toxins in the studied shellfish were lower than the allowable level.  But this value was recorded for the water-soluble domoic acid above the allowable value, which requires continuous monitoring to achieve the quantitative and qualitative pattern of phytoplankton toxins in order to support the safety of the marine ecosystem users in Hormozgan province.