Geo-Environmental Study on Wadi Metaam in the Ibex Protectorate, Central Saudi Arabia

The present study is an attempt to demonstrate how geology, climate and plant cover interact in carving the environment.  It is update knowledge and understanding of the plant diversity. It determines the impact of application of protection of wildlife on land cover, and illustrates how the laws of environmental protection help in preserving the natural and wildlife at Wadi Metaam and its tributaries in the Ibex Protectorate, Saudi Arabia. The study demonstrates that Wadi Metaam was excavated at Tuwaiq Escarpment (Mountain) at the periphery of the Najd Plateau. It is made of limestone from the Middle-Upper Jurassic epoch; during that time, the climate was humid enough to allow for excavation of Wadi Metaam and its tributaries for more than 400 m through the escarpment.SPOT+5 images acquired for the years 2004, 2010, and 2013 and used to produce unsupervised and supervised classifications. The drainage of Wadi Metaam and its tributaries reflects a dendritic pattern. The drainage basin is at Al-Onouk, has an elevation of 1125 m, and slopes down along Abu Kaff toward three tributaries: Wadi Al-Ghaba (4th order), Wadi Ghafar (4th order), and Wadi Al-Agma (3rd order). These are connected at Al-Molakatt to form the major Wadi Metaam. While the watershed area receives about 150 mm/yr of rainwater at Al-Ounouk, the situation is completely different at Wadi Metaam, where only 28 mm/yr of rainwater is received. These rains enrich Wadi Metaam with a wide diversity of shrubs and herbal perennial plants and sculpt its geomorphic features, which include karstfication and sinkholes. In Saudi Arabia’s ambitious plan to secure water, the government has established a concrete dam 903 m long and 15 m high to store up to 10 million m3 of rainwater. However, the dam has never been filled to more than half of its capacity. The collected plant samples represent four different sites; these are the open area at Wadi Metaam floor, the talus slopes, Tuwaiq Mountain, and the fenced area at Wadi Al-Ghaba. The density and plant cover in the fenced area are 53.80p/area and 43.22p/area, respectively, and decrease to 21.55p/area and 25.15p/area in the open area. The results reflect the impact of protection to increase plant species in general and plant species with nutritional value in particular.The most popular identified plants are 21 perennial plant species belonging to 15 families: Acacia gerrardii, Acacia tortilis, and Acacia ehrenbergiana (Mimosaceae), Anvillea garcinii and Rhanterium epapposum (Asteraceae), Blepharis ciliaris (Acanthaceae), Calotropis Procera (Asclepiadaceae), Citrullus colocynhis, and Cucumis prophetarum (Cucurbitaceae), Haloxylon solicomicum (Chenopodiaceae), Lycium shawii (Solanaceae), Ziziphus nummularia (Rhamnaceae), Zygophyllum migahidi, and Fagonia bruguieri (Zygophyllaceae), Panicum turgidum (Poaceae), Zilla spinosa (Brassicaceae), Rhazya stricta (Apocynaceae), Cleome amblyocarpa, and Capparis sinaica (Capparaceae), Convolvulus oxyphyllus (Convolvulaceae), and Heliotrapium bacciferum (Boraginacae). Keywords: geomorphology, remote sensing, plant cover, Wadi Metaam, Ibex Protectorate, Saudi Arabia

Total energy expenditure in obese Kuwaiti primary school children assessed by the doubly-labelled water technique

The aim of this pilot study was to assess body composition and total energy expenditure (TEE) in 35 obese 7–9 years old Kuwaiti children (18 girls and 17 boys). Total body water (TBW) and TEE were assessed by doubly-labeled water technique. TBW was derived from the intercept of the elimination rate of deuterium and TEE from the difference in elimination rates of 18O and deuterium. TBW was used to estimate fat-free mass (FFM), using hydration factors for different ages and gender. Fat mass (FM) was calculated as the difference between body weight and FFM. Body weight was not statistically different but TBW was significantly higher (p = 0.018) in boys (44.9% ± 3.3%) than girls (42.4% ± 3.0%), while girls had significantly higher estimated FM (45.2 ± 3.9 weight % versus 41.6% ± 4.3%; p = 0.014). TEE was significantly higher in boys (2395 ± 349 kcal/day) compared with girls (1978 ± 169 kcal/day); p = 0.001. Estimated physical activity level (PAL) was significantly higher in boys; 1.61 ± 0.167 versus 1.51 ± 0.870; p = 0.034. Our results provide the first dataset of TEE in 7–9 years old obese Kuwaiti children and highlight important gender differences to be considered during the development of school based interventions targeted to combat childhood obesity

The immune enhancer, thymoquinone, and the hope of utilizing the immune system of Aedes caspius against disease agents

Insects have developed an efficient defence system against  microorganisms, which involves both humoral and cellular mechanisms. Recent studies on insect defence system are aimed at utilizing it inthe battle against mosquito-borne diseases. However, mounting immune responses of insects has proved to impose fitness costs. The current study was conducted to test the costs of enhancing the immune responses of Aedes caspius by oral administration of thymoquinone, the active ingredient of the black seed oil, Nigella sativa L. (Ranunculaceae). The obtained results showed an effective humoral activity against Micrococcus luteus (NCTC 2665, Sigma-Aldrich, UK) and Bacillus cereus when mosquitoes were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Bacillus thuringiensis or B. cereus. However, this activity showed no effect against B. thuringiensis. Furthermore, oral administration of thymoquinone enhanced the humoral activity against B. cereus but not against B. thuringiensis. On the other hand, thymoquinone-enhanced immunity imposed reproductive costs in terms of higher percentages of follicular apoptosis and resorption. This observation has been confirmed by the semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, which showed a relatively higher expression of selected caspases genes, namely: CASP 18, CASP 19 and CASP 20, but not CASP 21, transcripts in immune enhanced mosquitoes compared to non-enhanced ones. Based on these results, this study suggests that enhancing the humoral activity by thymoquinone proved to be costly in terms of triggering follicular apoptosis and resorption. Thus, as part of the scenario ofimmunity-reproduction conflict, it was concluded that the impact of immune stimulation and/or enhancement on the vector reproduction constitutes a limiting factor to the utilization of thymoquinone in the immuno-control strategy against mosquito-borne diseases

Strategic management application for secondary school principals in Taif city from the agents and teachers point of view

This study aimed to know the degree of application of the strategic management at the secondary school at the city Taif, obstacles, and to know obstacles facing the application of the strategic management , and suggestion of improvement, and to know the different views of participants according to variables(job title, classrooms, scientific, years of experience, and the number of training sessions).. it has been used descriptive method , the study sample consisted of (363) agents and teachers , were chosen randomly from the (1235), it has been used a questionnaire, The first is the reality of the application of strategic management divided into five areas: analysis of the internal environment, analysis of the external environment, formulation of strategy, implementation of strategy, evaluation and strategic control; the second is the obstacles to the application of strategic management; the third is the proposals that contribute to the application Strategic management. It was sure to validity and reliability. The results of the study responses on the degree of application for the strategic management among the principals of general education schools in Taif were average, and their response to the obstacles of application was medium. Their response was also to the proposed solutions with an agree level. There were no statistically significant differences at (α 0.05) ≤between the responses of the study on the degree of application of strategic management, according to the variables of the study

Potential role of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from Aaronsohnia factorovskyi on Hymenolepis nana in BALB/c mice

ABSTRACT Hymenolepiasis is the most common intestinal tapeworm infection in humans caused by an intestinal cestode, Hymenolepis nana. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the most effective drug among other compounds, however, many cases of drug resistance have been reported. Recent research projects have been focused on finding novel therapeutic agents from medicinal plants. In the present study, Aaronsohnia factorovskyi was used against hymenolepiasis in the forms of plant extract (AF) and biosynthesized nanoparticles (AF-NPs) in comparison to PZQ. The results showed that 100 mg/kg AF and 0.5 mg/kg AF-NPs were the most effective doses at suppressing the fecal egg output by 98.39% and 100%, respectively. After the 10th day of treatment, it was not feasible to detect the presence of H. nana eggs in the fecal sample’s examination in the AF-NPs group. Upon treatment with AF-NPs, there were more improvements in the structure of the intestinal tissue than the effect of AF alone and in comparison, to PZQ. Collectively, results showed that A. factoryviski can be used as an anti-hymenolepiasis treatment with minimum side effects and less cost. Also, it was found that NPs are the most effective way, as it offers a faster recovery rate in comparison to natural plant extract

The Protective Properties of the Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats Mediated by Anti-Apoptotic and Upregulation of Antioxidant Genes Expression Effects

The strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) has been extensively used to treat a wide range of ailments in many cultures. The present study was aimed at evaluating the hepatoprotective effect of strawberry juice on experimentally induced liver injury in rats. To this end, rats were introperitoneally injected with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) with or without strawberry juice supplementation for 12 weeks and the hepatoprotective effect of strawberry was assessed by measuring serum liver enzyme markers, hepatic tissue redox status and apoptotic markers with various techniques including biochemistry, ELISA, quantitative PCR assays and histochemistry. The hepatoprotective effect of the strawberry was evident by preventing CCl4-induced increase in liver enzymes levels. Determination of oxidative balance showed that strawberry treatment significantly blunted CCl4-induced increase in oxidative stress markers and decrease in enzymatic and non-enzymatic molecules in hepatic tissue. Furthermore, strawberry supplementation enhanced the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, and restrained the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 with a marked reduction in collagen areas in hepatic tissue. These findings demonstrated that strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) juice possessed antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-fibrotic properties, probably mediated by the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids compounds

Neuroimmunopathology in Toxoplasmic Encephalitis

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan parasite that causes mortality because of significant neuropathology. It is widespread in neonatal infections. Although the neuroimmunopathogenesis of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) has been studied for many years, it is still not completely understood, showing the disease’s severity. The urge to write this chapter comes at this stage. The sections covered in this chapter show the pathogenesis that has been established and characterized so far. The involvement of astrocytes and microglia in the development of neuropathology, which begins with tachyzoites crossing the blood-brain barrier during acute infection, has been explored. The molecular mechanism between schizophrenia and TE has been thoroughly proven. Uncovering the molecular pathogenesis of TE is critical for both understanding neuropathology and elucidating the link between neuropsychiatric diseases. Each part covered here is expected to contribute to developing novel therapeutic agents for the treatment and maybe prevention of neuropathology. The pathogenesis of the steady progression of encephalitis has been meticulously revealed. Thus, this chapter will offer significant insight into developing novel treatments for all organisms suffering from this disease

E-selectin S128R polymorphism and severe coronary artery disease in Arabs

BACKGROUND: The E-selectin p. S128R (g. A561C) polymorphism has been associated with the presence of angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD) in some populations, but no data is currently available on its association with CAD in Arabs. METHODS: In the present study, we determined the potential relevance of the E-selectin S128R polymorphism for severe CAD and its associated risk factors among Arabs. We genotyped Saudi Arabs for this polymorphism by PCR, followed by restriction enzyme digestion. RESULTS: The polymorphism was determined in 556 angiographically confirmed severe CAD patients and 237 control subjects with no CAD as established angiographically (CON). Frequencies of the S/S, S/R and R/R genotypes were found as 81.1%, 16.6% and 2.3% in CAD patients and 87.8%, 11.8%, and 0.4% in CON subjects, respectively. The frequency of the mutant 128R allele was higher among CAD patients compared to CON group (11% vs. 6%; odds ratio = 1.76; 95% CI 1.14 – 2.72; p = .007), thus indicating a significant association of the 128R allele with CAD among our population. However, the stepwise logistic regression for the 128R allele and different CAD risk factors showed no significant association. CONCLUSION: Among the Saudi population, The E-selectin p. S128R (g. A561C) polymorphism was associated with angiographic CAD in Univariate analysis, but lost its association in multivariate analysis

PbSR is synthesized in macrogametocytes and involved in formation of the malaria crystalloids

Crystalloids are transient organelles that form in developing malaria ookinetes and disappear after ookinete-to-oocyst transition. Their origins and functions remain poorly understood. The Plasmodium berghei scavenger receptor-like protein PbSR is essential for mosquito-to-host transmission of the parasite: PbSR knockout parasites produce normal numbers of oocysts that fail to form sporozoites, pointing to a role for PbSR in the oocyst during sporogony. Here, using fluorescent protein tagging and targeted gene disruption, we show that PbSR is synthesized in macrogametocytes, gets targeted to the crystalloids of developing ookinetes and is involved in crystalloid formation. While oocyst sporulation rates of PbSR knockout parasites are highly reduced in parasite-infected mosquitoes, sporulation rates in vitro are not adversely affected, supporting the view that mosquito factors could be involved in the PbSR loss-of-function phenotype. These findings are the first to identify a parasite protein involved with the crystalloid organelle, and suggest a novel protein-trafficking mechanism to deliver PbSR to the oocysts