ヒト顆粒膜細胞におけるステロイド受容体、アロマターゼ、サイクロオキシゲナーゼ2の発現とステロイド産生に及ぼすデヒドロエピアンドロステロン硫酸の影響

博士(医学)大阪市立大

The Effects of Cyclophosphamide on Hippocampal Cell Proliferation and Spatial Working Memory in Rat

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is a chemotherapy used in combinations that are associated with cognitive impairment. In the present study male Lister-hooded rats (n = 12) were used to investigate the effects of chronic administration of CP (30mg/kg, 7 i.v. doses, or an equivalent volume of saline) on performance in the novel location recognition (NLR) task and on the proliferation and survival of hippocampal cells. The survival of hippocampal cells dividing at the beginning of treatment was significantly reduced by CP. However, no difference was seen between CP treated and control groups for the number of cells proliferating 7 days after the final injection and both groups performed equally well in the NLR task. These results indicate that the given dose of CP acutely reduces the survival of newly born hippocampal cells. However, it does not have a longer term effect on spatial working memory or hippocampal proliferation, suggesting that CP is less neurotoxic than other chemotherapies with which it is used in combination

Validity and Reliability of the Arabic Version of the Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale in Neck Pain Patients

Study Design Prospective observational study. Purpose To test the face validity, content validity, feasibility, internal consistency, reliability, and test–retest reliability of the Arabic version of the Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale (CNFDS). Overview of Literature CNFDS is a clinical evaluation tool that accurately reflects the patient’s perception regarding his/her functionality with existing cervical pain. This study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the CNFDS in measuring the disability level in chronic neck pain patients. Method Seventy-four patients with neck pain were recruited, and 135 sheets (test and retest sheets) were completed by patients; two expert panels (each comprising ten experts) participated in this study. Arabic translation (forward translation), development of the preliminary translated version, English translation (backward translation), development of the prefinal version, and testing of the prefinal version was performed by experts; thereafter, the final version was tested on patients. Index of clarity, expert proportion of clearance, index of content validity (CVI), expert proportion of relevance, descriptive statistics, missed item index, Cronbach’s alpha, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used for statistical analyses. Results The study revealed that the scale index of clarity was 86.84%, scale CVI was 99.33%, scale-level content validity index (universal agreement method) was 99.33%, 99.15% of the scale items were filled in all sheets, the scale was answered in less than 3 minutes in about 75% cases, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.856 (0.796, 0.905), and all Spearman’s correlations between the test and retest results were statistically significant. Conclusions The Arabic version of the CNFDS has adequate validity and reliability for the measurement of the disability level in chronic neck pain patients

Assessment of Egyptian Buffalo Crossing With Pakistani And Italian Buffaloes for some production traits.

Abstract: Egyptian buffaloes are considered one of the most important dual purpose farm animals that represent 44% of dairy animals in Egypt. In 1980, the Animal Production Research Institute (APRI) imported 93 Pakistani semen straws for crossbreeding to improve milk productivities. In 2003, Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) allowed the commercial importation of Italian buffalo semen, which randomly utilized in some large scale buffalo farms. This study aims to evaluate the Egyptian buffalo crosses with both Pakistani and Italian buffaloes for some productive traits to assess the crossing trials. For the first trial of the study, 180 records (85 pure Egyptian buffaloes (E), 22 record 1/2 Egyptian (E) 1/2 Pakistani (PA) buffaloes and 52 record 3/4E 1/4PA buffaloes and 21 record 7/8E 1/8PA) through the period from 1980 to 1998 were used for the evaluation of Egyptian (E) Pakistani (PA) crossbred. Data for the second trial, concerned with the evaluation of the Egyptian (E) Italian (I) crosses, was collected from two private farms. A total 138 records; 64 record from Ganat Elreda farm (32 record E and 32 record 1/2E 1/2I) and 74 records from "United Group farm" (26 record E and 48 record 1/2E 1/2I buffaloes) was utilized. Utilized record covers the period from 2005 to 2009. Average for total milk yield was nearly the same for Egyptian and its cross with Pakistani buffaloes. In trial 1, Milk yield generally tended to increase with the advancement of parities till the ≥7 parity. Egyptian buffaloes showed the highest values for all growth traits measures. In trial 2, significant difference in milk productivity between the Egyptian and its Italian crossbred, which was significantly higher (P 0.001) in farm 2 than it is in farm 1 (P 0.01), was observed. The same trend in difference was detected for the parity effect. Italian crosses showed higher least square means (LSM) estimates for total milk yield (TMY) than the Egyptian buffaloes, which also increased with the advancement of the parity, in the two farms. LSM data reveal increase of 27 and 15% in 1/2E1/2I crossbred milk production than the Egyptian in farm 1 and farm 2, respectively. Difference between the highest and lowest breeding value (BV) in the Egyptian population is larger than it is in the crossbred population. More studies are recommended for the assessment of productive, reproductive and genetic diversity of crossbred populations before the enhancement of crossbreeding activities on national level. [Fooda, T. A.; Elbeltagy, A. R.; Laila R. Hassan and SetEl-habaeib S. Awad. Assessment of Egyptian buffaloes crossing with Pakistani and Italian buffaloes for some production traits

Natural Selection Footprints Among African Chicken Breeds and Village Ecotypes

Natural selection is likely a major factor in shaping genomic variation of the African indigenous rural chicken, driving the development of genetic footprints. Selection footprints are expected to be associated with adaptation to locally prevailing environmental stressors, which may include diverse factors as high altitude, disease resistance, poor nutrition, oxidative and heat stresses. To determine the existence of a selection footprint, 268 birds were randomly sampled from three indigenous ecotypes from East Africa (Rwanda and Uganda) and North Africa (Baladi), and two registered Egyptian breeds (Dandarawi and Fayoumi). Samples were genotyped using the chicken Affymetrix 600K Axiom® Array. A total of 494,332 SNPs were utilized in the downstream analysis after implementing quality control measures. The intra-population runs of homozygosity (ROH) that occurred in \u3e50% of individuals of an ecotype or in \u3e75% of a breed were studied. To identify inter-population differentiation due to genetic structure, FST was calculated for North- vs. East-African populations and Baladi and Fayoumi vs. Dandarawi for overlapping windows (500 kb with a step-size of 250 kb). The ROH and FST mapping detected several selective sweeps on different autosomes. Results reflected selection footprints of the environmental stresses, breed behavior, and management. Intra-population ROH of the Egyptian chickens showed selection footprints bearing genes for adaptation to heat, solar radiation, ion transport and immunity. The high-altitude-adapted East-African populations’ ROH showed a selection signature with genes for angiogenesis, oxygen-heme binding and transport. The neuroglobin gene (GO:0019825 and GO:0015671) was detected on a Chromosome 5 ROH of Rwanda–Uganda ecotypes. The sodium-dependent noradrenaline transporter, SLC6A2 on a Chromosome 11 ROH in Fayoumi breed may reflect its active behavior. Inter-population FST among Egyptian populations reflected genetic mechanisms for the Fayoumi resistance to Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), while FST between Egyptian and Rwanda–Uganda populations indicated the Secreted frizzled related protein 2, SFRP2, (GO:0009314) on Chromosome 4, that contributes to melanogenic activity and most likely enhances the Dandarawi chicken adaptation to high-intensity of solar radiation in Southern Egypt. These results enhance our understanding of the natural selection forces role in shaping genomic structure for adaptation to the stressful African conditions

Natural Selection Footprints Among African Chicken Breeds and Village Ecotypes

Natural selection is likely a major factor in shaping genomic variation of the African indigenous rural chicken, driving the development of genetic footprints. Selection footprints are expected to be associated with adaptation to locally prevailing environmental stressors, which may include diverse factors as high altitude, disease resistance, poor nutrition, oxidative and heat stresses. To determine the existence of a selection footprint, 268 birds were randomly sampled from three indigenous ecotypes from East Africa (Rwanda and Uganda) and North Africa (Baladi), and two registered Egyptian breeds (Dandarawi and Fayoumi). Samples were genotyped using the chicken Affymetrix 600K Axiom® Array. A total of 494,332 SNPs were utilized in the downstream analysis after implementing quality control measures. The intra-population runs of homozygosity (ROH) that occurred in >50% of individuals of an ecotype or in >75% of a breed were studied. To identify inter-population differentiation due to genetic structure, FST was calculated for North- vs. East-African populations and Baladi and Fayoumi vs. Dandarawi for overlapping windows (500 kb with a step-size of 250 kb). The ROH and FST mapping detected several selective sweeps on different autosomes. Results reflected selection footprints of the environmental stresses, breed behavior, and management. Intra-population ROH of the Egyptian chickens showed selection footprints bearing genes for adaptation to heat, solar radiation, ion transport and immunity. The high-altitude-adapted East-African populations’ ROH showed a selection signature with genes for angiogenesis, oxygen-heme binding and transport. The neuroglobin gene (GO:0019825 and GO:0015671) was detected on a Chromosome 5 ROH of Rwanda–Uganda ecotypes. The sodium-dependent noradrenaline transporter, SLC6A2 on a Chromosome 11 ROH in Fayoumi breed may reflect its active behavior. Inter-population FST among Egyptian populations reflected genetic mechanisms for the Fayoumi resistance to Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), while FST between Egyptian and Rwanda–Uganda populations indicated the Secreted frizzled related protein 2, SFRP2, (GO:0009314) on Chromosome 4, that contributes to melanogenic activity and most likely enhances the Dandarawi chicken adaptation to high-intensity of solar radiation in Southern Egypt. These results enhance our understanding of the natural selection forces role in shaping genomic structure for adaptation to the stressful African conditions

Global burden of human brucellosis : a systematic review of disease frequency

BACKGROUND: This report presents a systematic review of scientific literature published between 1990-2010 relating to the frequency of human brucellosis, commissioned by WHO. The objectives were to identify high quality disease incidence data to complement existing knowledge of the global disease burden and, ultimately, to contribute towards the calculation of a Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) estimate for brucellosis.METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty three databases were searched, identifying 2,385 articles relating to human brucellosis. Based on strict screening criteria, 60 studies were selected for quality assessment, of which only 29 were of sufficient quality for data analysis. Data were only available from 15 countries in the regions of Northern Africa and Middle East, Western Europe, Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central Asia. Half of the studies presented incidence data, six of which were longitudinal prospective studies, and half presented seroprevalence data which were converted to incidence rates. Brucellosis incidence varied widely between, and within, countries. Although study biases cannot be ruled out, demographic, occupational, and socioeconomic factors likely play a role. Aggregated data at national or regional levels do not capture these complexities of disease dynamics and, consequently, at-risk populations or areas may be overlooked. In many brucellosis-endemic countries, health systems are weak and passively-acquired official data underestimate the true disease burden.CONCLUSIONS: High quality research is essential for an accurate assessment of disease burden, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Central and South America and Africa where data are lacking. Providing formal epidemiological and statistical training to researchers is essential for improving study quality. An integrated approach to disease surveillance involving both human health and veterinary services would allow a better understand of disease dynamics at the animal-human interface, as well as a more cost-effective utilisation of resources

Genomic Diversity Using Copy Number Variations in Worldwide Chicken Populations

Recently, many studies in livestock have focused on the identification of Copy Number Variants (CNVs) using high-density Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) arrays, but few have focused on studying chicken ecotypes coming from many locations. CNVs are polymorphisms, which may influence phenotype and are an important source of genetic variation in populations. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic difference and structure, using a high density SNP chip in 936 individuals from seven different countries (Brazil, Italy, Egypt, Mexico, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Uganda). The DNA was genotyped with the Affymetrix Axiom®600k Chicken Genotyping Array and processed with stringent quality controls to obtain 559,201 SNPs in 915 individuals. The Log R Ratio (LRR) and the B Allele Frequency of SNPs were used to perform the CNV calling with PennCNV software based on a Hidden Markov Model analysis and the LRR was used to perform CNV detection with SVS Golden Helix software.After filtering, a total of 19,027 CNVs were detected with the SVS software, while 9,065 CNVs were identified with the Penn CNV software. The CNVs were summarized in 7,001 Copy Number Variant Regions (CNVRs) and 4,414 CNVRs, using the software BedTool.The consensus analysis across the CNVRs allowed the identification of 2,820 consensus CNVR, of which 1,721 were gain, 637 loss and 462 complex, for a total length of 53 Mb corresponding to the 5 % of the GalGal5 chicken autosomes. Only the consensus CNV regions obtained from both detections were considered for further analysis.The intersection analysis performed between the chicken gene database (Gallus_gallus-5.0) and the 1,927 consensus CNVRs allowed the identification (within or partial overlap) of a total of 2,354 unique genes with an official gene ID.  The CNVRs identified here represent the first comprehensive mapping in several worldwide populations, using a high-density SNP chip