Morphological and Biochemical Adaptive Changes Associated With A Short-period Starvation of Adult Male Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

Objective: The morphological and biochemical impact of a short-period of starvation on Japanese quail was investigated. Materials and Methods: Ten adult male Japanese quail were divided into two groups; control fed and starved. The control-fed group was offered food and water ad libitum and the starved group was subjected to a short-period of food deprivation. After 2.5 days, the serum was obtained and different parameters including the total protein, AST, ALT, triglyceride, HDL, LDL, creatinine and urea were assessed. Gastrointestinal tract, stomach and liver were excised and their masses were estimated. Paraffin and resin embedded sections from the proventriculus, gizzard, liver, duodenum, kidney and pancreas were examined with a light microscopy. Results: Significant decreases in the masses of body, gastrointestinal tract, stomach and liver of the starved group were recorded. The liver and duodenum were the most affected organs. The liver showed depletion of glycogen, vacuolation, hyperemia and cellular infiltrations. Duodenal villi showed degenerative changes in lamina epithelialis and cellular infiltrations in the lamina propria. Biochemical analysis revealed a decreased level of total protein, AST and ALT, increased cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL and unchanged HDL, urea and creatinine by starvation. Conclusion: The current study described in details the effect of short time starvation on quail organs. Time-point adaptive responses of male quail to starvation and refeeding will be investigated in future studies

Morphological and ultrasonographic characterization of the three zones of supratesticular region of testicular artery in Assaf rams

[EN] To fully understand the histological, morphometrical and heamodynamic variations of different supratesticular artery regions, 20 mature and healthy Assaf rams were examined through ultrasound and morphological studies. The testicular artery images of the spermatic cord as shown by B-mode analysis indicated a tortuous pattern along its course toward the testis, although it tends to be less tortuous close to the inguinal ring. Doppler velocimetric values showed a progressive decline in flow velocity, in addition to pulsatility and vessel resistivity when entering the testis, where there were significant differences in the Doppler indices and velocities among the different regions. The peak systolic velocity, pulsatility index and resistive index were higher in the proximal supratesticular artery region, followed by middle and distal ones, while the end diastolic velocity was higher in the distal supratesticular region. The total arterial blood flow and total arterial blood flow rate reported a progressive and significant increase along the testicular cord until entering the testis. Histological examination revealed presence of vasa vasorum in the tunica adventitia, with their diameter is higher in the proximal supratesticular zone than middle and distal ones. Morphometrically, the thickness of the supratesticular artery wall showed a significant decline downward toward the testis; meanwhile, the outer arterial diameter and inner luminal diameter displayed a significant increase distally. The expression of alpha smooth muscle actin and vimentin was higher in the tunica media of the proximal supratesticular artery zone than in middle and distal ones.SIThe authors acknowledge the staff members and technicians of Comparative Anatomy and Pathology Department, and Animal Medicine and Surgery Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, León University, Spain, and specially Professor P de Paz for their great help in the practical and laboratory parts of this study. Many thanks are extended to staff member of Anatomy and Embryology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, for their help with histological and morphometrical analyses. We are thankful and grateful for European Union for the financial support of this study through the project (ERASMUS+ KA107 2019/2020). This work was financially supported by the Junta de Castilla y León (LE253P18) and MINECO (AGL2017-83098-R) project and the University of León, and also by Sohag University, Egypt.This article was funded by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España (AGL2017-83098-R) and Junta de Castilla y León (LE253P18)

Investigation of the Ameliorating Effect of Copper Albumin Complex on Lysyl oxidase in monosodium iodoacetate -Induced Knee Osteoarthritis in Rats

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common type of joint degeneration which causes progressive damage of the joint structure and has less therapeutic options. It has been found that oral consumption of Copper Albumin Complex as anti-inflammatory drug has a positive effect on the treatment of joint deterioration. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of oral administration of Copper Albumin Complex (cu-albumin complex) on Lysyl oxidase (LOX) which acts as a protective factor in KOA. Fifty adult albino rats were divided into 3 groups: negative control (10 normal rats); positive control (20 rats with KOA which left without induction treatment); and treated group (20 rats with KOA which treated with administration of copper albumin complex). Treated and untreated arthritic groups were subdivided equally into mild and severe groups (10 rats for each) according to the severity of clinical signs. KOA was induced by intra-articular injection of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA). At the experimental end, the joints were examined histopathologically and immunohistochemically after cervical dislocation of rats. It was observed that the treatment with CU- was effective in reducing disease severity and in improvement of Lysyl oxidase KOA. It was concluded that Copper albumin complex has a positive effect in the improvement of LOX of Knee joint cartilages of rats affected by osteoarthritis (OA)

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Studying the interaction of slit diaphragm and podocyte genes by loss of function approach in immortalized human podocytes

Die Bildung des Primärharns findet an der Filtrationsbarriere statt, bestehend aus fenestriertem Endothel, glomerulärer Basalmembran und Fußfortsätzen der Podozyten. Eine molekulare Schicht von Transmembranproteinen spannt sich zwischen benachbarten Fußfortsätzen und formt das Schlitzdiaphragma. Die Integrität des Schlitzdiaphragmas ist wichtig für die Filtration. Es wurden immortalisierte Podozytenzellen benutzt, um die Interaktion der Gene und Proteine des Schlitzdiaphragmas nach Stummschaltung der Podozyten-spezifischen Gene $\it Neph1$, $\it Neph2$ und $\it Atoh8$ mittels RNAi zu untersuchen. Stummschaltung von $\it Neph1$ führte zur Rückverteilung des Nephrinproteins ins Zytoplasma der Podozyten, während $\it Atoh8$-RNAi die Expression von $\it Neph1$, (\it Neph2\), $\it Zo1$, $\it Nphs1$ und $\it Nphs2$ verringerte. $\it Neph2$-RNAi führte zu verstärkter Nephrin Expression. Keine Effekte auf die Podocin Expression wurden nach $\it Neph1$- und $\it Neph2$-RNAi verzeichnet, während $\it Atoh8$-RNAi zur Verringerung von Podocin führte. Weiterhin wurde die Expression der Podozyten-spezifischen Gene im Hühnerembryo gezeigt.The formation of the primary urine occurs at the filtration barrier, composed of fenestrated endothelia, glomerular basement membrane and the podocyte foot processes. A molecular sheet of transmembrane proteins extends between the adjacent foot processes forming the slit diaphragm. The integrity of the slit diaphragm is important for filtration. In this work, immortalized human podocytes were used to study the interaction of these slit diaphragm genes and proteins following silencing of podocyte specific genes $\it Neph1$, $\it Neph2$ and $\it Atoh8$ by RNAi. Silencing $\it Neph1$ led to a redistribution of the nephrin protein in the cytoplasm of the podocyte, while $\it Atoh8$ RNAi caused decrease expression of $\it Neph1$, $\it Neph2$, $\it Zo1$, $\it Nphs1$ and $\it Nphs2$. $\it Neph2$ RNAi lead to an increase of nephrin expression. No effects were recorded after $\it Neph1$ and $\it Neph2$ RNAi on podocin expression. But, $\it Atoh8$ RNAi caused decrease in podocin. I also show the expression of podocyte-specific genes in the developing chicken embryo

Histogenesis of the Stomach of the Pre-Hatching Quail: A Light Microscopic Study

The current study conducted a careful description of the histological events during the embryonic development of quail stomach. Daily histological specimens from the quail stomach from day 4 to day 17 post incubation were examined by light microscopy. The primitive gut tube of the embryonic quail appeared at day 4 post incubation. The gut tube consisted of an endodermal epithelium of pseudostratified type, surrounded by splanchnic mesenchyme. The prospective glandular epithelium invaginated at day 5 in the proventriculus and gradually developed to prospective proventricular glands. The muscular coat became distinguished at day 7 and day 8 in the proventriculus and gizzard, respectively. Transformation into simple columnar epithelium occurred in both proventriculus and the gizzard at day 12. The gizzard epithelium gave rise to tubular invaginations also at day 12. Canalization of the gizzard tubular glands was recognized at day 14. By day 15, the proventricular surface epithelium invaginated in a concentric manner around a central cavity to form immature secretory units that contained inactive oxyntico-peptic cells. The mucosal folding in the gizzard appeared at day 15 to form plicae and sulci. The wall of the proventriculus and gizzard at day 17 acquired histological features of post-hatching birds

Wnt11 Is Required for Oriented Migration of Dermogenic Progenitor Cells from the Dorsomedial Lip of the Avian Dermomyotome

<div><p>The embryonic origin of the dermis in vertebrates can be traced back to the dermomyotome of the somites, the lateral plate mesoderm and the neural crest. The dermal precursors directly overlying the neural tube display a unique dense arrangement and are the first to induce skin appendage formation in vertebrate embryos. These dermal precursor cells have been shown to derive from the dorsomedial lip of the dermomyotome (DML). Based on its expression pattern in the DML, Wnt11 is a candidate regulator of dorsal dermis formation. Using EGFP-based cell labelling and time-lapse imaging, we show that the <i>Wnt11</i> expressing DML is the source of the dense dorsal dermis. Loss-of-function studies in chicken embryos show that <i>Wnt11</i> is indeed essential for the formation of dense dermis competent to support cutaneous appendage formation. Our findings show that dermogenic progenitors cannot leave the DML to form dense dorsal dermis following <i>Wnt11</i> silencing. No alterations were noticeable in the patterning or in the epithelial state of the dermomyotome including the DML. Furthermore, we show that <i>Wnt11</i> expression is regulated in a manner similar to the previously described early dermal marker <i>cDermo-1</i>. The analysis of <i>Wnt11</i> mutant mice exhibits an underdeveloped dorsal dermis and strongly supports our gene silencing data in chicken embryos. We conclude that Wnt11 is required for dense dermis and subsequent cutaneous appendage formation, by influencing the cell fate decision of the cells in the DML.</p></div