Benefits of Environmental Conditions for Growing Coriander in Banat Region, Serbia

As one of the oldest multi-purpose plants (spice, aromatic, honey and medicinal), coriander is widespread across Europe. Although in Serbia there are favorable conditions fir its growth and development, it is grown on relatively small areas. During both investigated years it took more than 1200 degrees C for transfer from vegetative to generative phase of development and over 2000 degrees C for it to be ready for harvesting. Coriander is a photophilic plant, which requires around 1000 hours of light from sowing to ripening.. As for humidity, coriander grows well, if there are more than 200 mm of rainfall during growing season. In 2009. and 2010., the experiment carried out at the experimental field in Ostojicevo (Banat, Vojvodina province, Serbia) monitored the effect of parameters mentioned above on development of coriander plants, seed yield and essential oil content. The average yields of 1866 kg ha(-1) (2009) and 2470 kg ha(-1) (2010), and relatively high content of essential oil (1,06 % in both years) indicate a great potential of this plant species in Serbia, which is, however, greatly dependent on environmental conditions during year

Role of γ-irradiated Rosemary against Ethanol Induced Liver Injury in Rats

Among natural antioxidants, rosemary contains several antioxidant oil and phenolic compounds that may be possessed hepatoprotective effect. This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with γ-irradiated rosemary on ethanol induced liver injury in rats. Rosemary essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results of biological study revealed that dietary supplementation of either raw or γ-irradiated rosemary following ethanol administration exerts remarkable modulating effect by reducing the level of total bilirubin, the activity of transaminases, gamma glutamyl transferase and serum alkaline phosphatase, decreasing the concentration of some lipid fractions and malondialdehyde content and xanthine oxidase activity. Also, supplementation of dietary rosemary induced an increase of high density lipoprotein and reduced glutathione content and enhances the activity of xanthine dehydrogenase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Thus, gammairradiated rosemary could be incorporated to the diet as a nutritional supplement, to augment the liver's defenses against oxidative stress

Egyptian truffles as a source of antimicrobial and antioxidant agents

Edible desert truffles are obligate symbiotic macro hypogenous ascomycetes fruit bodies. These are growing in depth between 5 and 10 cm. These consider a miracle of nature and an unexploited source of therapeutic compounds with antimicrobial, antioxidant, and wonderful food, especially for Bedouins. The current study investigated the activity of premature and mature ethyl acetate truffle extracts (white and Red) collected from the Western Egyptian Desert as antimicrobial and antioxidant. This study evaluated in vitro the efficacy of antimicrobial activity of organic truffles extract, and their effect on various pathogens (Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, filamentous fungi, and yeast) by using agar well diffusion. TEM micrographs had been done for the most effective crude extracts. Furthermore, the activity of DPPH scavenging was studied for both mature truffles. Both truffles extracts had antibacterial activity more than antifungal activity. The selected extracts exhibited an inhibitory effect on the cell wall and protoplasm of pathogens. Terfezia sp. had antioxidant activity more than Tirmania sp. This investigation concluded that the truffle extracts could be considered a promising antibiotic and antioxidant drug in near future

Determination of scattering parameters of polyvinyl alcohol by static laser scattering

Static laser scattering (SLS) is one of the most efficient techniques used for the molecular weight determination of polymer. Among of all polymers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer was selected. A polystyrene (PS) was used as a standard polymer. A polyvinyl alcohol was investigated for its importance in pharmaceutical, biomedical, and industrial applications. Different concentrations in the range (3–9) × 10−3 g mL−1 were prepared. SLS data were obtained by using a self-built of the laser scattering system. The angular behavior of those selected polymer solutions with different concentrations were studied by plotting the intensity of the scattered light against the scattering angle in the range of 40–140°. By using Zimm plot the weight-average molecular weight Mw, radius of gyration RG, and second virial coefficient A2 of the standard PS and PVA were determined

Epidemiology of ocular emergencies in the Egyptian population: a five-year retrospective study

Hany E El-Mekawey¹, Khaled G Abu El Einen¹, Mohammad Abdelmaboud¹, Amr Khafagy¹, Eman M Eltahlawy²¹Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, ²National Research Center, Cairo, EgyptBackground: The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiology of ocular lesions seen in the ophthalmic casualty room of the largest referral hospital in Egypt over 5 years from 2004 to 2008.Methods: This epidemiologic database study used the medical records at Cairo University Hospital. Data were recorded using the ICD10 classification. Statistical analysis was based on diagnosis, age, gender, residential area, and year of admission.Results: Over 5 years, 8361 ocular emergencies were admitted as inpatients. Open globe injuries were the most prevalent, comprising 33.46% of emergencies. Most cases were males (69%), in whom the most frequent lesions were open globe injuries, infective keratitis, and lid injuries. The most common ocular emergencies in females were open globe injuries, infective keratitis, endophthalmitis, and glaucoma. The age group 6–16 years accounted for 24% of emergencies, and patients over 45 years accounted for 26.8%. Under the age of 45 years, the most common lesions were open globe injuries (36%), and over this age, the most common lesions were infective keratitis (34.4%). Patients from Upper Egypt accounted for 56.2% of emergencies. A superficial corneal foreign body was the most common reason for attending the ophthalmic casualty room, with 24,844 cases seen over the 5 years of the study, all of which were managed as outpatient procedures. Deep corneal foreign bodies were more common than intraocular foreign bodies. The most common ocular hemorrhage was hyphema. The most common type of glaucoma was acute angle closure.Conclusion: Superficial corneal foreign bodies, open globe injuries, and infective keratitis are the main ocular emergencies seen in the Egyptian population. Corneal foreign bodies are mostly the result of occupational accidents in workers not wearing protective goggles. Violent altercations (41.9%), occupational accidents (26.3%), and motor vehicle accidents (24.4%) were the main circumstances involved in open globe injuries. The most common admissions were for open globe injuries under the age of 45 years and infective keratitis above this age. Upper Egypt was the main referring geographic area.Keywords: ocular casualties, foreign body, open globe, infective keratitis, lid injurie