Gastrointestinal Helminthic Infections in Egyptian Domestic Camels, Camelus dromedarius, with a Special Reference to Trichostrongylids

In Egypt, scare literature explored the coprological examination of domestic camels. Therefore, a total of 626 fecal samples from domestic dromedaries, Camelus dromedaries, permitted to slaughtering in El-Warrak abattoir, Giza were taken. Coproparasitological investigations including sedimentation and floatation techniques, fecal culture and larval identification were done. The overall prevalence of parasitic infections was 41.53%. Fifteen species of helminth eggs/protozoan oocysts were recovered. The prevalence of helminths was 28.11% (176/626) and that of protozoa was 5.59% (35/626). Mixed infections were reported in 7.82% (49/626) of camels. The revealed trematode was Fasciola sp. (1.12%), tapeworms belonged to Anoplocephalids (5.27%), protozoan oocysts were Eimeria cameli, E. dromedarii, E. rajasthani (11.02% for all Eimeria spp.) and Buxtonella sp. (0.32%). The recovered nematodes belonged to Trichuris sp. (1.92%) and trichostrongyles (31.0%). Coproculture of the later revealed the presence of 8 species; Trichostrongylus axei, Tr. colubriformis, Chabertia ovina, Ostertagia ostertagi, Haemonchus sp., Oesophagostomum sp., Bunostomum sp. and Nematodirus sp. Morphometric characteristics of larvae were recorded. Age and seasonal variations revealed significant (P≤0.05) differences among examined camels. Animals aged more than 5 years had the highest infections rate (45.96%; 199/433) and nematodes were the significantly (P≤0.05) predominant. In winter, the highest prevalence (60.67%; 108/178) was recorded. Oppositely, sex had no significant differences. Due to the expected important role played by imported camels in transmitting various parasitic infections, veterinarians and parasitologists are extremely advised to apply further studies on the helminth fauna, particularly gastrointestinal nematodes, of both domestic and imported camels, by the use of traditional and molecular tools

Prevalence of unmet contraceptive need among Egyptian women: a community-based study

Introduction. An estimated 17% of married women in the devel- oping world still have an unmet need for contraception. This study aimed to measure the prevalence and reasons for unmet contraceptive need among married women in the childbearing period in an underprivileged district in Eastern Cairo. Methods. A cluster survey of 2340 women in the Marg district of Eastern Cairo was performed. Socio-demographic data and data on both past and present contraceptive use were obtained by interview questionnaire. Results. The prevalence of unmet need was 7.4%; 53.4% for limiting and 46.6% for spacing. Experience of side effects from contraceptive use, and fear of side effects, was highly prevalent among women with unmet need. In addition, a large proportion of women with unmet need perceived themselves not to be at risk for conceiving. Conclusions. A substantial proportion of women in Cairo have unmet contraceptive need. Efficient counseling of women about contraception may help reduce this high prevalence

Exploiting Inter- and Intra-Memory Asymmetries for Data Mapping in Hybrid Tiered-Memories

Modern computing systems are embracing hybrid memory comprising of DRAM and non-volatile memory (NVM) to combine the best properties of both memory technologies, achieving low latency, high reliability, and high density. A prominent characteristic of DRAM-NVM hybrid memory is that it has NVM access latency much higher than DRAM access latency. We call this inter-memory asymmetry. We observe that parasitic components on a long bitline are a major source of high latency in both DRAM and NVM, and a significant factor contributing to high-voltage operations in NVM, which impact their reliability. We propose an architectural change, where each long bitline in DRAM and NVM is split into two segments by an isolation transistor. One segment can be accessed with lower latency and operating voltage than the other. By introducing tiers, we enable non-uniform accesses within each memory type (which we call intra-memory asymmetry), leading to performance and reliability trade-offs in DRAM-NVM hybrid memory. We extend existing NVM-DRAM OS in three ways. First, we exploit both inter- and intra-memory asymmetries to allocate and migrate memory pages between the tiers in DRAM and NVM. Second, we improve the OS's page allocation decisions by predicting the access intensity of a newly-referenced memory page in a program and placing it to a matching tier during its initial allocation. This minimizes page migrations during program execution, lowering the performance overhead. Third, we propose a solution to migrate pages between the tiers of the same memory without transferring data over the memory channel, minimizing channel occupancy and improving performance. Our overall approach, which we call MNEME, to enable and exploit asymmetries in DRAM-NVM hybrid tiered memory improves both performance and reliability for both single-core and multi-programmed workloads.Comment: 15 pages, 29 figures, accepted at ACM SIGPLAN International Symposium on Memory Managemen

Azides in the Synthesis of Various Heterocycles

In this review, we focus on some interesting and recent examples of various applications of organic azides such as their intermolecular or intramolecular, under thermal, catalyzed, or noncatalyzed reaction conditions. The aforementioned reactions in the aim to prepare basic five-, six-, organometallic heterocyclic-membered systems and/or their fused analogs. This review article also provides a report on the developed methods describing the synthesis of various heterocycles from organic azides, especially those reported in recent papers (till 2020). At the outset, this review groups the synthetic methods of organic azides into different categories. Secondly, the review deals with the functionality of the azido group in chemical reactions. This is followed by a major section on the following: (1) the synthetic tools of various heterocycles from the corresponding organic azides by one-pot domino reaction; (2) the utility of the chosen catalysts in the chemoselectivity favoring C−H and C-N bonds; (3) one-pot procedures (i.e., Ugi four-component reaction); (4) nucleophilic addition, such as Aza-Michael addition; (5) cycloaddition reactions, such as [3+2] cycloaddition; (6) mixed addition/cyclization/oxygen; and (7) insertion reaction of C-H amination. The review also includes the synthetic procedures of fused heterocycles, such as quinazoline derivatives and organometal heterocycles (i.e., phosphorus-, boron- and aluminum-containing heterocycles). Due to many references that have dealt with the reactions of azides in heterocyclic synthesis (currently more than 32,000), we selected according to generality and timeliness. This is considered a recent review that focuses on selected interesting examples of various heterocycles from the mechanistic aspects of organic azides

Seasonal water chemistry variability in the Pangani River basin, Tanzania

Research Article published by SpringerThe stable isotopes of δ18O, δ2H, and 87Sr/86Sr and dissolved major ions were used to assess spatial and seasonal water chemistry variability, chemical weathering, and hydrological cycle in the Pangani River Basin (PRB), Tanzania. Water in PRB was NaHCO3 type dominated by carbonate weathering with moderate total dissolved solids. Major ions varied greatly, increasing from upstream to downstream. In some stations, content of fluoride and sodium was higher than the recommended drinking water standards. Natural and anthropogenic factors contributed to the lowering rate of chemical weathering; the rate was lower than most of tropical rivers. The rate of weathering was higher in Precambrian than volcanic rocks. 87Sr/86Sr was lower than global average whereas concentration of strontium was higher than global average with mean annual flux of 0.13 × 106 mol year−1. Evaporation and altitude effects have caused enrichment of δ18O and δ2H in dry season and downstream of the river. Higher d-excess value than global average suggests that most of the stations were supplied by recycled moisture. Rainfall and groundwater were the major sources of surface flowing water in PRB; nevertheless, glacier from Mt. Kilimanjaro has insignificant contribution to the surface water.We recommend measures to be taken to reduce the level of fluoride and sodium before domestic use

The effect of paternal age on intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome in unexplained infertility

Objective : To examine the effect of paternal age on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in unexplained infertility Subjects and Methods : This retrospective study, done at the Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar screened infertile couples who underwent ICSI between 2014 and 2019 for the inclusion and exclusion criteria defining ‘unexplained infertility’. Couples recruited were allocated into two groups: Group A (paternal age <35 years) and Group B (paternal age ≥35 years). Baseline characteristics, investigations including semen and advanced sperm function tests and ICSI records were compared for primary outcomes such as fertilisation, cleavage, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth; and secondary outcomes such as semen parameters and advanced sperm functions (DNA fragmentation index and oxidation reduction potential). Results : We found that final pregnancy outcomes including clinical pregnancy rate (P = 0.231), live-birth rate (P = 0.143), and miscarriage rates (P = 0.466) were not significantly different between the two age groups. Normal fertilisation (P = 0.01) and cleavage rate after ICSI (P = 0.001) were statistically significant when the age groups were compared. Also, normal sperm morphology was found to be significantly different (P = 0.041). Conclusions : Advanced paternal age affects sperm morphology, fertilisation and embryo cleavage in ICSI but does not appear to affect clinical pregnancy, miscarriage or live-birth rates. ICSI appears to be a valid fertility treatment option in advancing paternal age

Utility of antioxidants in the treatment of male infertility: clinical guidelines based on a systematic review and analysis of evidence

It is widely accepted that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathophysiology of male infertility and that antioxidants could have a significant role in the treatment of male infertility. The main objectives of this study are: 1) to systematically review the current evidence for the utility of antioxidants in the treatment of male infertility; and 2) propose evidence-based clinical guidelines for the use of antioxidants in the treatment of male infertility. A systematic review of the available clinical evidence was performed, with articles published on Scopus being manually screened. Data extracted included the type of antioxidant used, the clinical conditions under investigation, the evaluation of semen parameters and reproductive outcomes. The adherence to the Cambridge Quality Checklist, Cochrane Risk of Bias for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), CONSORT guidelines and JADAD score were analyzed for each included study. Further, we provided a Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat (SWOT) analysis to analyze the current and future value of antioxidants in male infertility. Of the 1,978 articles identified, 97 articles were included in the study. Of these, 52 (53.6%) were uncontrolled (open label), 12 (12.4%) unblinded RCTs, and 33 (34.0%) blinded RCTs, whereas 44 (45.4%) articles tested individual antioxidants, 31 (32.0%) a combination of several products in variable dosages, and 22 (22.6%) registered antioxidant products. Based on the published evidence, we 1) critically examined the necessity of additional double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, and 2) proposed updated evidence-based clinical guidelines for antioxidant therapy in male infertility. The current systematic review on antioxidants and male infertility clearly shows that antioxidant supplementation improves semen parameters. In addition, it provides the indications for antioxidant treatment in specific clinical conditions, including varicocele, unexplained and idiopathic male infertility, as well as in cases of altered semen quality