Inhibitory effect of Taraxacum officinale L (Compositae) aqueous root extract on spermatogenesis

Purpose: To investigate if T. officinale root aqueous extract has anti-spermatogenic activity similar to that of the whole plant which was shown previously to inhibit spermatogenesis.Methods: T. officinale aqueous extract was prepared by soaking 100 g of dried materials in 1 L distilled water for two days at 45 oC. Fifty adult male rats were divided into five groups and treated for 60 days. Four groups were gavaged with the whole plant or root aqueous extract in low or high doses. The male rat rats were allowed to mate with female rats. The control group received distilled water. Sperm count, motility and morphology as well as chromatin integrity were evaluated.Results: Serum testosterone level, sperm parameters, pregnancy rate and average number of fetuses per pregnant females decreased significantly in the treated groups compared to control and in the rootreceiving rats compared to the whole plant-receiving rats. Female rats which were mated with high dose root-receiving males did not deliver fetuses. Cross sections of seminiferous tubules of T. officinale treated rats showed lesions and disorganized germinal epithelium. Late spermatogenesis maturation arrest (spermatid stage) was observed in all of the treated groups except the high dose root-receiving group which showed early maturation arrest (spermatocyte stage). In addition, the mRNA level of two spermatogonial stem cell markers responsible for self-renewal and proliferation of spermatogonia increased in high dose-receiving rats.Conclusion: T. officinale root aqueous extract has inhibitory effects on spermatogenesis. Further studies are required to identify specific ingredient(s) in T. officinale that may be useful as male contraceptive(s).Keywords: Taraxacum officinale, Dandelion, GDNF family receptor alpha 1, Macrophage Colony- Stimulating Factor, Promyelocytic Leukaemia Zinc-Finger, Testosterone, Sperm coun

Growth models and shell morphometrics of two populations of Melanoides tuberculata (Thiaridae) living in hot springs and freshwater pools

Two morphologically different populations of snail, Melanoides tuberculata (Muller, 1774), were observed at Azraq Oasis, Jordan. Snails at the hot spring, where water temperature is higher than ambient, looked larger than those at the pools. The purpose of this study is to find out if there are differences in morphometrics, age, and growth due to the variation in water temperature and to quantify these differences. Snails were randomly collected from both sites, measured and statistically and mathematically analyzed for age, growth, and shell morphometric. Results indicate that snails from hot spring and pools may survive for five and four years, respectively. Theoretically, snails from the hot springs may reach 56.0 and snails from the pools may reach 28.0 mm in length. However, observed lengths reached 30.0 and 19.6 mm, respectively. The relationships of the shell length to shell and dry weights are curvilinear. However, the relationships of the shell length to shell width, aperture length, and aperture width are linear. There is an indication of an effect due to temperature difference on the age, growth and the morphometrics of the two populations of M. tuberculata

Population structure and shell morphometrics of the corallivorous gastropod <i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-IN">Drupella cornus </span></i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-IN">(Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) in the Gulf of<i> </i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:HiddenHorzOCR; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-IN">A<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-IN">qaba,Red Sea</span></span></span>

165-170<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">A total of 1279 of the corallivorous gastropod Drupella cornus (Roding 1798) from the coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, were studied for age, growth and shell morphometric determinations. The results show the life span to be seven years. The mean observed lengths of the seven age cohorts range from 6.4 to 36.3 mm. Theoretically, using Von Bertalanffy's and Richard's growth formula, the maximum length of this snail may reach 48.0 and 49.0 mm respectively. The annual increase in length is more for young snails (20.0 mm) than older ones. Shell and dry body weights averaged 1335 and 33 mg, respectively. The relationships of the shell length to shell and dry body weights are curvilinear. However, the relationships of the shell length to shell width, aperture length , aperture width are linear. The relative coefficient of condition (Kn) was higher for young snails (1.45) than older ones (1.01). The analysis of Drupella cornus population and shell morphometrics presented in this study supports the view that morphological differences among species of Drupella are enough to classify these species.</span

Biodegradation of 2,4dichlorophenol originating from pharmaceutical industries, Afri

The aims of this work were to isolate a microorganism from the wastewater of pharmaceutical industries, to examine the difference in its growth utilization of 2,4-dichlorophenol as the sole carbon source pre and post-exposure to UV-irradiation and to investigate its efficiency of biodegradation at different temperatures and pH values using a laboratory benchtop bioreactor. Sludge was obtained from the wastewater and standard isolation and identification techniques were used to identify the microorganism. The biodegradability was tested at temperatures of 25, 30, 35 and 40°C and at pH values of 6.5, 7.0 and 8.0. The results indicated that the isolated microorganism was Pseudomonas alcaligenes, the maximum concentration of 2,4-dichlorophenol which bacteria can grow on before UVirradiation was 220 and 380 mg/l after UV-irradiation. The variation in temperature values resulted in different degradation rates and that the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol increased at a higher pH value. From these results, it is concluded that P. alcaligenes can be used for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol, UV-irradiation can be successfully used for the improvement of P. alcaligenes biodegradability and that the best 2,4-dichlorophenol biodegradation was at 35°C and pH 7

FEASIBILITY OF COLLECTING UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD IN JORDAN AND THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL AND NEONATAL FACTORS ON HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL CONTENT

Abstract Background: Cord blood transplant is an accepted treatment for many malignant and non-malignant diseases. We sought to determine the feasibility of collecting cord blood in Jordan and the effect of maternal and fetal factors on the quality of the cord blood units. Methods: A total of 124 cord blood units were collected and 75 (60%) cord blood units were included in this analysis. Cord blood volume, total nucleated cell (TNC) count, cell viability and CD34+ content were measured, and clonogenic assay was performed. Results: The mean volume of the collected units was 68.9 ml (range 40-115) with mean nucleated cell count of 6.5 x 108 (range 1-23.0). Our results showed a positive correlation between the volume of cord blood and TNC count (p=0.008), cell viability (p=0.001), CD34+ content (p=0.034) and the length of the umbilical cord (p=0.011). In addition, our results showed an inverse relation between the Colony Forming Unit-Granulocyte Macrophage (CFU-GM) concentration and the gestation duration (p=0.038). Conclusion: We conclude that it is feasible to collect cord blood units in Jordan with excellent TNC and CD34+ cell content. The volume of cord blood collected was associated with higher TNC count and CD34+ count. Efforts toward establishing public cord blood banks in our area are warranted