Serumski srčani troponin I kao biljeg srčane degeneracije uzrokovane pokusnim trovanjem ovaca salinomicinom.

Salinomycin is an ionophore with antimicrobial properties. It is a dietary additive used as a growth promoter for ruminants and as a coccidiostat in chickens. However, over-dosage or misuse situations can lead to a series of toxic syndromes. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is the part of the troponin complex (I, C and T) within the sarcomere in myocardial cells that regulates contraction of the heart muscle. cTnI is released from injured myocardiocytes into circulation, so it can be a specifific biomarker in myocardial necrosis. The purpose of this study is to propose cTnI for diagnostic cardiac degeneration induced by experimental toxicosis with salinomycin in sheep. Twenty Iranian mixed breed adult female fat-tailed sheep (BW: 33.3 ± 3.4 kg) were used in this study. The sheep were randomly divided in to five equal groups. Group I (control) received 20 mL normal Saline. Groups II, III, IV and V were orally administered 1 mg/kg (twice a day for two days), 2, 3 and 4 mg/kg (once a day for two days) salinomycin, respectively. Following drug administration, blood samples were collected at different time intervals (2, 5, 8, 14 and 21 days) in order to determine various biochemical parameters (cTnI, CK, LDH, ALT and AST). In all groups, the heart sounds of the animals were carefully heard and electrocardiogram (ECG) was taken to determine the type of probable arrhythmia. The results illustrated a significant increase in the activity of cTnI. Numerous arrhythmias were recorded, such as: sinus tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia, sinus arrhythmia and supraventricular premature contraction. All animals with arrhythmias showed a significant increase in the activity of cTnI. Cardiac muscle necrosis observed macroscopically on post mortem examination revealed myocardial degeneration. Overall, the results of this study indicate that cTnI may be considered as a valuable biomarker in diagnosing cardiac degeneration due to salinomycin toxicosis.Salinomicin je ionofor s antimikrobnim svojstvima. Rabi se kao dodatak hrani koji u preživača ima ulogu promotora rasta, a u pilića ulogu kokcidiostatika. Prevelike količine i pogrešna uporaba salinomicina mogu dovesti do teških sindroma trovanja. Srčani troponin I (cTnI) je dio troponinskog kompleksa (I, C i T), unutar sarkomere srčanih mišićnih stanica, koji regulira kontrakcije srčanog mišića. Budući da se oslobađa iz oštećenih miokardiocita u krvotok, cTnI može biti specifičan biomarker kod nekroze srčanog mišića. Svrha istraživanja bila je predložiti da se cTnI primjeni u dijagnostici srčane degeneracije uzrokovane pokusnim trovanjem ovaca salinomicinom. U istraživanje je bilo uključeno 20 odraslih, masnorepih ovaca, križanki iranskih pasmina (TM: 33,3 ± 3,4 kg). Ovce su metodom slučajnog izbora bile podijeljene u pet skupina iste veličine. Skupina I (kontrola) dobila je 20 mL otopine soli. Skupine II, III, IV i V dobile su oralnim putem salinomicin i to u količini od 1 mg/kg (dva puta dnevno kroz dva dana), odnosno 2, 3 i 4 mg/kg (jednom dnevno kroz dva dana). Odmah nakon toga uzimani su uzorci krvi u različitim vremenskim razmacima (2, 5, 8, 14 i 21 dana) s ciljem određivanja različitih biokemijskih pokazatelja (cTnI, CK, LDH, ALT i AST). U svim skupinama pažljivo su osluškivani srčani tonovi i određivan elektrokardiogram s ciljem otkrivanja tipa moguće srčane aritmije. Rezultati pokazuju značajno povećanje aktivnosti cTnI. Zabilježene su i mnoge aritmije kao što su sinusna tahikardija, supraventrikularna tahikardija, sinusna aritmija i supraventrikularna preuranjena kontrakcija. Sve su životinje uz aritmiju očitovale i značajno povećanje aktivnosti cTnI. Razudbom nakon uginuća makroskopski je opažena nekroza i degeneracija srčanog mišića. Zaključno, rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da cTnI može biti vrijedan biomarker u dijagnostici srčane degeneracije prouzročene trovanjem salinomicinom

Evaluation of morphologic method for the detection of nervous tissue in minced meat

Producing meat products with ingredients which are not consistent with the label is considered fraud. Due to the high economic value of meat, the use of unauthorized tissue in meat products is possible. Aside from the adulteration aspect, it is important to note that some animal tissues like the brain and the spinal cord can bear infective agents which are transmissible to humans. Based on these observations, the aim of the present study was to apply morphological method for detection of nervous tissues in minced meat. Laboratory adulterated minced beef meat; each containing 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% of beef brain was prepared. Then each sample was divided into three parts and four paraffin embedded blocks were prepared from each part. The sections were stained using sudan black and cresyl violet and also the immunohistochemical staining with fluorescent method were applied using anti-neurofilament 200 antibody for the determination of nervous tissue. Although the neuronal cell bodies and neuronal fibers were clearly detectable in Cresyl violet staining and sudan black staining, respectively, however, staining intensity did not show any difference according to different percentages of added brain. In contrary, immunohistochemical study revealed that neurofilament 200- immunolabeling was present in all percentages of added brain samples and the intensity of the labeling varying from weak to strong consisted by the increasing the amount of brain in samples. In conclusion, the immunohistochemical technique with fluorescent method is an effective method for evaluations of additive brain tissue in minced meat with high sensitivity

Recent progress in low-carbon binders

The development of low-carbon binders has been recognized as a means of reducing the carbon footprint of the Portland cement industry, in response to growing global concerns over CO2 emissions from the construction sector. This paper reviews recent progress in the three most attractive low-carbon binders: alkali-activated, carbonate, and belite-ye'elimite-based binders. Alkali-activated binders/materials were reviewed at the past two ICCC congresses, so this paper focuses on some key developments of alkali-activated binders/materials since the last keynote paper was published in 2015. Recent progress on carbonate and belite-ye'elimite-based binders are also reviewed and discussed, as they are attracting more and more attention as essential alternative low-carbon cementitious materials. These classes of binders have a clear role to play in providing a sustainable future for global construction, as part of the available toolkit of cements

Examination of alkali-activated material nanostructure during thermal treatment

The key nanostructural changes occurring in a series of alkali-activated materials (AAM) based on blends of slag and fly ash precursors during exposure to temperatures up to 1000 °C are investigated. The main reaction product in each AAM is a crosslinked sodium- and aluminium-substituted calcium silicate hydrate (C-(N)-A-S-H)-type gel. Increased alkali content promotes the formation of an additional sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-(H)) gel reaction product due to the structural limitations on Al substitution within the C-(N)-A-S-H gel. Heating each AAM to 1000 °C results in the crystallisation of the disordered gels and formation of sodalite, nepheline and wollastonite. Increased formation of N-A-S-(H) reduces binder structural water content after thermal treatment and correlates closely with previous observations of improved strength retention and reduced microcracking in these AAM after heating to 1000 °C. This provides new insight into thermally induced changes to gel atomic structure and thermal durability of C-(N)-A-S-H/N-A-S-H gel blends which are fundamental for the development of new fire-resistant construction materials

Understanding the Differences of the Cognition Gained from Real and Virtual Tourism based on the Narrative Theory

Communication technologies today are greatly developed to the extent that obtaining information from different parts of the world is no more only depended to real and physical traveling. People are now able to travel as far as they want and whenever they wish using cyberspace, while sitting at home. Tourism in this condition is no more dependent on time, place and financial planning. Two important questions raise here, first, can virtual tourism replace the real tourism and eliminate the need for it? Secondly, could cognition produced by the virtual tourism be the same as the cognition formed by the real tourism? To answer these questions, defining the characteristics of virtual and real tourism is needed. The main basis of this comparison is being in special place and an experimental sense of being in that place, in the real tourism, on one hand, and selectivity of places and receiving packaged information in the virtual tourism, on the other. This paper claims that although the virtual tourism could offer vast and complete information to the tourist, but in reality it lacks sense of being in place and lived experience. For these reasons, the obtained cognition is manipulated and unreal. Secondly, this type of tourism can be considered only as a complement to the real tourism. A tourism that begins with virtual space and leads to the real world could have positive and better consequences of both spaces on the process of cognition

New Cultural Spaces and Representation: Identifying and Critical Analysis of the Orientalist Stereotypes of Muslims in American Chosen News Blogs

Cyberspace has provided new cultural spaces for public discourses through language. In addition to traditional media, news weblogs as one of the new cultural spaces are new actors in the news process, and in many cases they have become an important source of news for most people. These weblogs as new forms of public communication and representation in the West, particularly in the United States, have played a major role in representing the ‘other’ and shaping the views of many ordinary Americans on Islam, and more specifically Muslims. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze orientalist stereotypes of Muslims in American news blogs by employing the critical theory framework and cluster analysis. Analysis of case study demonstrated that their display of Muslims and Islam for the public are negative and when referring to Muslims, they frequently use implicit or explicit orientalist stereotypes of Muslims in their blogs that are rooted in American dominant values and changes have not yet happened in accordance with special features of cyberspace and weblogs. Hence, historical orientalist stereotypes of Muslims in mainstream western media have been revived and reinforced in American news blogs. This indicates the new way of western dominance over the East

Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Aqueous, Ethanolic and Methanolic Extracts of Areca Nut Fruit on Selected Bacteria

Today, the tendency to use of natural preservatives to increase food security has expanded. In the present study, antibacterial effects of Areca Nut fruit extracts were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Enterobacter aerogenes bacteria using agar disc diffusion technique. Methanol, ethanol, and water were used as solvents for extraction by maceration method, and extracts were analyzed by GC-MS. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using microtiter broth dilution method to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Results revealed that all ATCC strains were significantly inhibited by ethanolic and methanolic extracts. Escherichia coli produced a significantly larger zone of inhibition for Gentamicin (35±0.65 mm) and Penicillin (25 mm±0.56), while Enterobacter aerogenes produced smaller zone of inhibition for Gentamicin (20 ± 0.87 mm) and Penicillin (15±0.87 mm). Also, methanolic extract had considerable antibacterial activity with MIC value of 1.56 mg/mL against Escherichia coli. All of extracts were used to evaluate antibacterial effects in prepared cake, and as a result, all pathogenies were the most sensitive by methanolic extract in 100 mg/L of concentration except Escherichia coli that were more sensitive by ethanolic extract. In conclusion, the Areca Nut fruit extracts may be used as a natural preservative in food industries. Future studies should focus on the effect of Areca Nut fruit extracts in bakery and drinking industries

The Serum Pepsinogen Level of Dairy Cows with Gastrointestinal Disorders

The incidence of abomasal mucosal diseases in dairy cows suffering from gastrointestinal disorders is becoming more frequent in modern intensive production. Clinical signs are often non-specific. In this study, 67 dairy cows with gastrointestinal disorders and 9 healthy dairy cows as the control group were used. In order to make a tentative diagnosis, a complete physical examination was performed, and the fecal samples were taken from each cow for the fecal occult blood (FOB) and the fecal egg count (FEC). Blood samples were taken from the coccygeal vein for WBC, Hematocrit (PCV) evaluations, and serum biochemical analysis. Serum pepsinogen activity and total protein; albumin and globulin were measured using validated standard methods. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. The level of significance was set at P<0.05. A significant increase in serum pepsinogen activity was seen in all the cases of abomasal displacements compared to the control group. Among the abomasal displacement groups a significant increase in serum pepsinogen activity was seen in abomasal displacements with suspected abomasal ulcer in comparison with those without any signs of abomasal ulcer (positive FOB and melena). No considerable differences were observed between WBC, PCV, and total protein and globulin in different gastrointestinal disorders and the control group. In this study, the serum pepsinogen activity in all dairy cows with signs of abomasal ulcer (melena and positive fecal occult blood test) was higher than the control group, since all of the cases had negative abomasal parasites; these increases in the signs of abomasal ulcer could predict abomasal ulcer complication in the cases of displacements