Haematological and biochemical observations in four pure breeds of rabbits and their crosses under Egyptian environmental conditions

The present study was conducted to evaluate 16 crosses between 4 breeds of rabbits from a physiological point of view. The breeds tested were Baladi Red (BR), Chinchilla Giganta (ChG), French Giant Papillon (FGP) and Simenwar (S). A total number of 6144 blood samples were collected to detect the effect of crossing, age of kits, month of kindling and sex effects. The traits evaluated were: haematological parameters; red blood cell count (RBCs), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), haematocrit value (Ht%), biochemical parameters of plasma; total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), globulin concentration (Glo), albumin/globulin ratio (Alb/Glo) and triglycerides (TG). BR or its crosses, using BR sires or BR dams, showed the highest value of RBCs, Hb and Ht%. Crossbred rabbits obtained from mating BR and FGP rabbits had the highest Glo values. Rabbits which were born in May-June months had the highest values of TP and its fractions (Alb and Glo). Age of kits had a highly significant effect (P<0.001) on RBCs, Hb, Ht%, TP and TG. Moreover, Glo and Alb/Glo ratio (P<0.01) and Alb (P<0.05) were also significantly affected. Sex had no significant effect on all studied parameters. Significant positive correlations were found between TP and each final body weight, total weight gain, total feed intake, carcass weight and dressing percentage, while significant negative correlation was found with feed conversion.Abdel-Azeem, A.; Abdel-Azim, A.; Darwish, A.; Omar, E. (2010). Haematological and biochemical observations in four pure breeds of rabbits and their crosses under Egyptian environmental conditions. World Rabbit Science. 18(2). doi:10.4995/WRS.2010.18.1318

Microstructure and Interface Characterization of CP-Mg and AZ91 Composite Alloys

Commercial pure magnesium and magnesium-9 aluminum-1 zinc (CP-Mg and AZ91) and their composites were prepared by using flux cover. Magnesium composite alloys containing Al2O3 or SiC particulates of different volume fractions (7-15% Vf) were successfully produced using stir-casting technique. The fabrication processes and controlling parameters of Mg composites produced by this technique were investigated. AZ91 and its composite alloys were solution treated at 420 °C for 20 hrs and aged at 170 °C for 30 hrs. Addition of 2 wt.% mish metal (MM) was also studied in this work. Addition of either reinforcements or MM to these alloys resulted to a considerable grain refinement of the matrix alloys and the degree of refinement increases as the volume fractions of reinforcement increased. The microstructure was investigated by optical microscope. The interface reaction was analyzed using EDS and X-ray diffraction. The results of the X-ray diffraction reveal the presence of MgO and Mg2Si in the CP-Mg besides Mg17Al12 in the AZ91 alloy

Comparative Analysis of Calcineurin Inhibitor-Based Methotrexate and Mycophenolate Mofetil-Containing Regimens for Prevention of Graft-versus-Host Disease after Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Allogeneic Transplantation

The combination of a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) such as tacrolimus (TAC) or cyclosporine (CYSP) with methotrexate (MTX) or with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been commonly used for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT), but there are limited data comparing efficacy of the 2 regimens. We evaluated 1564 adult patients who underwent RIC alloHCT for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) from 2000 to 2013 using HLA-identical sibling (matched related donor [MRD]) or unrelated donor (URD) peripheral blood graft and received CYSP or TAC with MTX or MMF for GVHD prophylaxis. Primary outcomes of the study were acute and chronic GVHD and overall survival (OS). The study divided the patient population into 4 cohorts based on regimen: MMF-TAC, MMF-CYSP, MTX-TAC, and MTX-CYSP. In the URD group, MMF-CYSP was associated with increased risk of grade II to IV acute GVHD (relative risk [RR], 1.78; P <.001) and grade III to IV acute GVHD (RR, 1.93; P =.006) compared with MTX-TAC. In the URD group, use of MMF-TAC (versus MTX-TAC) lead to higher nonrelapse mortality. (hazard ratio, 1.48; P =.008). In either group, no there was no difference in chronic GVHD, disease-free survival, and OS among the GVHD prophylaxis regimens. For RIC alloHCT using MRD, there are no differences in outcomes based on GVHD prophylaxis. However, with URD RIC alloHCT, MMF-CYSP was inferior to MTX-based regimens for acute GVHD prevention, but all the regimens were equivalent in terms of chronic GVHD and OS. Prospective studies, targeting URD recipients are needed to confirm these results

Discharge Equation for Proposed Self-cleaning Device

To minimize the sedimentation problems upstream of weirs and to increase the capacity and accuracy of these devices, a combination of a V-notch weir and a rectangular sluice gate was proposed and studied experimentally. Different models with different geometric combinations were tested. These geometries include, gate opening, gate length and V-notch angle. Experiments were conducted for free gate flow (unsubmerged) conditions on horizontal and sloping channels. Results showed that flow passes through the device is affected by the device geometry and the flow parameters. Semi-empirical discharge equation was developed. The equation represents the collected experimental data well with an absolute error less than 4%

Nutritional Evaluation of Gado-gado a Traditional Sudanese Food

The proximate chemical composition and micro-biological quality of gado-gado a traditional Sudanese food made from pearl millet (Pennisetum darfuricum) were studied. Comparison with grains showed that the chemical composition was affected during the preparation of gado-gado. An increase in starch content (43%), and a decrease in fibre (47%), ash content (50%) and fat content (17%) resulted from dehulling the grains. Though there was a 16% decrease in protein content, gado-gado was rich in essential branched chain amino acids. Amino acid concentration was comparable to that of the FAO's reference protein. The microbiological results obtained indicated that, with the exception of the coliform count, the parameters tested were within acceptable ranges.La composition chimique et la qualite microbiologique de Gado-gado, un aliment traditionnel soudanais a base de millet (Pennisetum darfuricum), etaient etudiees. La comparaison de grains a montre que la composition chimique etait modifiee durant la preparation de gado-gado. L'augmentation en teneur d'amidon (43%), la reduction de fibres (47%), la teneur en cendres (50%) el la reduction en teneur de graisse (17%) provenaient du nettoyage de grains. Bien qu'il y avait une reduction de 16 % en teneur de proteine, le gado-gado etait riche en chaines d'amino acides essentiels. La concentration d'amino acides etait plus elevee que celle indiquee par FAO. Les resultats microbiologiques obtenus indiquaient qu' a l'exception du comptage de coliformes, les autres parametres testes etaient dans la gamme acceptable

Discharge equation for proposed self-cleaning device

To minimize the sedimentation problems upstream of weirs and to increase the capacity and accuracy of these devices, a combination of a V-notch weir and a rectangular sluice gate was proposed and studied experimentally. Different models with different geometric combinations were tested. These geometries include, gate opening, gate length and V-notch angle. Experiments were conducted for free gate flow (unsubmerged)conditions on horizontal and sloping channels. Results showed that flow passes through the device is affected by the device geometry and the flow parameters. Semi-empirical discharge equation was developed. The equation represents the collected experimental data well with an absolute error less than 4%

Depression and depressive symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis patient:an analysis of their occurrence and determinants

The objectives were to determine the differences in depressive symptoms and depression between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and to analyse the contribution of sociodemographic and clinical variables to depression in RA patients. The responses of 60 Egyptian RA patients and 40 patients with OA of the knees to the Symptom Checklist-90-R Depression subscale were compared. The proportions of patients from both groups confirmed by a psychiatric interview to be clinically depressed according to the DSM-III-R criteria were also compared. The contributions of sociodemographic and disease variables to depressive symptoms and clinical depression in RA patients were explored by multiple linear and logistic regression, respectively. RA patients showed significantly higher depression scores than OA patients (P = 0.001). The difference was unaffected by controlling for the effects of age, sex, disease duration and the sociodemographic covariates. A depressive disorder was clinically confirmed in 23% of RA patients and 10% of OA patients. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), being unmarried and an urban residence were significant predictors of depressive symptoms (P &lt; 0.05), while being unmarried (P &lt; 0.05, OR = 2.1) and HAQ disability (P &lt; 0.01, OR = 3.8) were significant predictors of clinical depression in RA patients. RA patients have significantly more depressive symptoms and tend to be more clinically depressed than OA patients. The contribution of some