Anthelmintic Efficacy Trials using Fractionsof Ethanolic Crude Extract of Anogeissusschimperi Hoechst against Nippostrongylus braziliensis in Rats

No Abstract

Molecular identification of adenoviruses associated with respiratory infection in Egypt from 2003 to 2010.

BACKGROUND: Human adenoviruses of species B, C, and E (HAdV-B, -C, -E) are frequent causative agents of acute respiratory infections worldwide. As part of a surveillance program aimed at identifying the etiology of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Egypt, we characterized 105 adenovirus isolates from clinical samples collected between 2003 and 2010. METHODS: Identification of the isolates as HAdV was accomplished by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and confirmed by a set of species and type specific polymerase chain reactions (PCR). RESULTS: Of the 105 isolates, 42% were identified as belonging to HAdV-B, 60% as HAdV-C, and 1% as HAdV-E. We identified a total of six co-infections by PCR, of which five were HAdV-B/HAdV-C co-infections, and one was a co-infection of two HAdV-C types: HAdV-5/HAdV-6. Molecular typing by PCR enabled the identification of eight genotypes of human adenoviruses; HAdV-3 (n = 22), HAdV-7 (n = 14), HAdV-11 (n = 8), HAdV-1 (n = 22), HAdV-2 (20), HAdV-5 (n = 15), HAdV-6 (n = 3) and HAdV-4 (n = 1). The most abundant species in the characterized collection of isolates was HAdV-C, which is concordant with existing data for worldwide epidemiology of HAdV respiratory infections. CONCLUSIONS: We identified three species, HAdV-B, -C and -E, among patients with ILI over the course of 7 years in Egypt, with at least eight diverse types circulating

Organization and Biology of the Porcine Serum Amyloid A (SAA) Gene Cluster: Isoform Specific Responses to Bacterial Infection.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a prominent acute phase protein. Although its biological functions are debated, the wide species distribution of highly homologous SAA proteins and their uniform behavior in response to injury or inflammation in itself suggests a significant role for this protein. The pig is increasingly being used as a model for the study of inflammatory reactions, yet only little is known about how specific SAA genes are regulated in the pig during acute phase responses and other responses induced by pro-inflammatory host mediators. We designed SAA gene specific primers and quantified the gene expression of porcine SAA1, SAA2, SAA3, and SAA4 by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in liver, spleen, and lung tissue from pigs experimentally infected with the Gram-negative swine specific bacterium Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, as well as from pigs experimentally infected with the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Our results show that: 1) SAA1 may be a pseudogene in pigs; 2) we were able to detect two previously uncharacterized SAA transcripts, namely SAA2 and SAA4, of which the SAA2 transcript is primarily induced in the liver during acute infection and presumably contributes to circulating SAA in pigs; 3) Porcine SAA3 transcription is induced both hepatically and extrahepatically during acute infection, and may be correlated to local organ affection; 4) Hepatic transcription of SAA4 is markedly induced in pigs infected with A. pleuropneumoniae, but only weakly in pigs infected with S. aureus. These results for the first time establish the infection response patterns of the four porcine SAA genes which will be of importance for the use of the pig as a model for human inflammatory responses, e.g. within sepsis, cancer, and obesity research

Cord pilot trial - immediate versus deferred cord clamping for very preterm birth (before 32 weeks gestation): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Preterm birth is the most important single determinant of adverse outcome in the United Kingdom; one in every 70 babies (1.4%) is born before 32 weeks (very preterm), yet these births account for over half of infant deaths. Deferring cord clamping allows blood flow between baby and placenta to continue for a short time. This often leads to increased neonatal blood volume at birth and may allow longer for transition to the neonatal circulation. Optimal timing for clamping the cord remains uncertain, however. The Cochrane Review suggests that deferring umbilical cord clamping for preterm births may improve outcome, but larger studies reporting substantive outcomes and with long-term follow-up are needed. Studies of the physiology of placental transfusion suggest that flow in the umbilical cord at very preterm birth may continue for several minutes. This pilot trial aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a large randomised trial comparing immediate and deferred cord clamping in the UK. Methods/Design: Women are eligible for the trial if they are expected to have a live birth before 32 weeks gestation. Exclusion criteria are known monochorionic twins or clinical evidence of twin-twin transfusion syndrome, triplet or higher order multiple pregnancy, and known major congenital malformation. The interventions will be cord clamping within 20 seconds compared with cord clamping after at least two minutes. For births with cord clamping after at least two minutes, initial neonatal care is at the bedside. For the pilot trial, outcomes include measures of recruitment, compliance with the intervention, retention of participants and data quality for the clinical outcomes. Information about the trial is available to women during their antenatal care. Women considered likely to have a very preterm birth are approached for informed consent. Randomisation is close to the time of birth. Follow-up for the women is for one year, and for the children to two years of age (corrected for gestation at birth). The target sample size is 100 to 110 mother-infant pairs recruited over 12 months at eight sites. Trial registration: ISRCTN21456601, registered on 28 February 2013

A Simple Stochastic Model with Environmental Transmission Explains Multi-Year Periodicity in Outbreaks of Avian Flu

Avian influenza virus reveals persistent and recurrent outbreaks in North American wild waterfowl, and exhibits major outbreaks at 2–8 years intervals in duck populations. The standard susceptible-infected- recovered (SIR) framework, which includes seasonal migration and reproduction, but lacks environmental transmission, is unable to reproduce the multi-periodic patterns of avian influenza epidemics. In this paper, we argue that a fully stochastic theory based on environmental transmission provides a simple, plausible explanation for the phenomenon of multi-year periodic outbreaks of avian flu. Our theory predicts complex fluctuations with a dominant period of 2 to 8 years which essentially depends on the intensity of environmental transmission. A wavelet analysis of the observed data supports this prediction. Furthermore, using master equations and van Kampen system-size expansion techniques, we provide an analytical expression for the spectrum of stochastic fluctuations, revealing how the outbreak period varies with the environmental transmission

Transnational Crime Without Transnational Prosecution: How Positive Obligations to Cooperate May Inspire National Judicial Authorities

The enforcement of transnational criminal law is left almost exclusively to national authorities. Public prosecutors and investigating judges play a key role in this field. This generates a seemingly dichotomous situation in which national bodies are faced with crime that is inherently transnational of nature. Each judge and each public prosecutor is expected to serve in the first place its own national legal order, bound to respect the limits of its jurisdiction set by national law, ultimately serving adjudication before a national court. This article reflects on the role of judicial authorities in the fight against transnational crime. Through various treaty obligations they are expected to coordinate with each other, and are obliged to reasonably use the instruments of international cooperation at their disposal. Over the  last decade, a small body of caselaw from the European Court of Human Rights has emerged, setting a standard on how judicial authorities should deal with certain types of cross-border crime. Notwithstanding those obligations, a handful of empirical studies indicate that there is a lot of room for improvement of the performance of our national judicial bodies in this field

Survey of Hard Ticks (Ixodidae) Infesting Camels (Camelus Dromedarius) in Kano State, Nigeria

To determine the prevalence and abundance of hard ticks infesting camels, 414 nomadic one - humped camels in Kano State, northwestern Nigeria were selected by random sampling and examined for the presence of ticks on their bodies between January and December 2007. Three species of ticks, Amblyomma variegatum, Hyalomma dromedarii and Rhipicephalus pulchellus were found to be common. H. dromedarii had the highest prevalence of 57.97%, followed by A. variegatum (42.03%) and R.  pulchellus (25.12%). Of the 10,178 ticks collected, 63.20% were H. dromedarii, while A. variegatum and R. pulchellus formed 28.30% and 8.50% respectively. Prevalence and tick load per camel was found to be influenced by sex and season of the year. However, irrespective of species, male ticks were more abundant, with these altogether representing 59.56% of the total ticks collected from the camels. The presence of H. dromedarii, A. variegatum and R. pulchellus on camels in the area has serious implication on animal and humans health, since these ticks serve as vectors of both human and animal diseases. &nbsp

Seasonal patterns of ectoparasitism of poultry in Zaria, Nigeria: A retrospective study

A 10-year study on birds suspected of ecto-parsite infestation at the Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was conducted. The peaks of abundance were observed in the months of June (22.3%), July (18.5%), September (9.7%), October (8.7%) and January (8.7%). A conspicuous fall was recorded in August (4.9%). About 40.8% of the parasites were recorded in June and July. The most abundant parasites were Menacanthus stramineus (41.8%), Cnemidocoptes mutans (13.6%), Argas persicus (11.7%) Lipeurus caponis (7.8%), Gonoides gigas (7.8%). Other species recorded though in lower proportions were lxodid tick larvae (4.9%), Gonoides meleagrades (3.9%), Dermanyssus bursa, Echidnophaga gallinacea and Menopon gallinae recorded 0.97% each. Menacanthus stramineus occurred almost all the year round. The group of parasites were abundant in the following decreasing order lice (62.1%), mies (19.4%), ticks (17.5%) and flea (0.97%). The Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 24 2003: 155-16