Antifertility Potential of n-Butanol and Ethyl Acetate Extracts of Penicillium oxalicum OM282858 in Male Albino Rats as Biological Control Agents

Rodents cause significant damage to many crops, spread diseases, and pose a severe risk to public health. Several synthetic contraceptive agents are available for controlling rodents; however, their use is associated with toxic effects on non-target organisms. Penicillium oxalicum has several medical properties, but no reports were available on fertility. This study aimed to assess the antifertility potential of n-butanol and ethyl acetate extracts of P. oxalicum in adult male albino rats as biological control agents by lowering the population size of rodent pests. Rats were assigned into three groups (n = 36). The first control group (GI) was injected intraperitoneally with 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The second (GII) and third (GIII) groups were injected with a single dose of 200 mg/kg body weight (b.wt.) of n-butanol and ethyl acetate extracts of P. oxalicum intraperitoneally, respectively, after dissolving in 0.5% DMSO. Further, P. oxalicum was identified morphologically and molecularly and then submitted with accession number OM282858 to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank. The antifertility potential of P. oxalicum was evaluated after 24 h (the injection period), 96 h, and 168 h (the recovery periods) of treatments. The effects of the treatments on organ weight, testicular histology, histomorphometry measurements, and sperm characteristics were assessed. Both P. oxalicum extracts caused changes in reproductive organ weights, testicular histology, histomorphometry measurements, and spermatogenic arrest accompanied by a significant decrease in the count of epididymal sperm and its motility and an increase in the percentage of sperm abnormalities during the injection and recovery periods. Thus, the results suggest that both P. oxalicum extract treatments cause suppression of fertility in adult male rats. Therefore, these outcomes are essential for public health, farming establishments, and vertebrate pest control managers

Stabilization of Max-Min Fair Networks without Per-Flow State

Let a flow be a sequence of packets sent from a source computer to a destination computer. Routers at the core of the Internet do not maintain any information about the flows that traverse them. This has allowed for great speeds at the routers, at the expense of providing only best-effort service. In this paper, we consider the problem of fairly allocating bandwidth to each flow. We assume some flows request a constant amount of bandwidth from the network. The bandwidth that remains is distributed fairly among the rest of the flows. The fairness sought after is max-min fairness, which assigns to each flow the largest possible bandwidth that avoids affecting other flows. The distinguishing factor to other approaches is that routers only maintain a constant amount of state, which is consistent with trends in the Internet (such as the proposed Differentiated Services Internet architecture). In addition, due to the need for high fault-tolerance in the Internet, we ensure our protocol is self-stabilizing, that is, it tolerates a wide variety of transient faults. Key words: networks stabilization, max-min fairness, quality of service, computer 1

Screening for phenylketonuria and galactosemia among Egyptian newborns in Menoufiya governorate

Aim of the Work: Was to study the prevalence of phenylketonuria and galactosemia in Menoufiya Governorate newborns. Among 3000 newborns, their mean ages were 9.3±2.43 days; mean weight was 3.1 ±0.82 Kg. Among them 1800( 60% ) males and 1200 (40% ) females who attended the central hospital and medical units for BCG vaccination in the duration from March 2005 to May 2008.Results: The results showed that the mean of phenylalanine levelwas 3.19 ±1.82 mg/dl and the mean total galactose level was 3.34 ± 2.23mg/ dl, among the 3000 neonates, 2183 (72.8. %) had phenylalanine levels ranging from 2-5 mg /dl, 705 (23.5%) had levels ranging from 5-7 mg/dl, 111(3.7%) had levels ranging from 7-10 mg/dl and one newborn (0.033%) had phenylalanine level of 22 mg/dl. The results for galactosemia screening assay showed that 2528 neonates (84.3%) had galactose levels ranging from 2-6 mg/dl, 450 (15%) had levels ranging from 6-8 mg/dl, 21(0.7%) had levels ranging from 8-12 mg/dl and one newborn (0.033%) had galactose level of 19 mg/dl. The child was reassayed and was found to be true hypergalactosemia 120mg/dl.Conclusion: We concluded that the prevalence of each of phenylketonuria and galactosemia in Menoufiya Governorate in the 3000 newborn tested was 1/3000 (0.03%). So, we estimate that about 333 neonates are affected every year with PKU and 333 with galactosemia as one million babies are born yearly, which could be prevented. The prevention of such treatable disorders depends on planning an efficient screening programme especially within three weeks after birth. So we recommend multicenter studies to encourage national neonatal screening programmes specialy for these treatable diseases.Key Words: Phenylketonuria, galactosemia, hepatomegaly, neonatal screening

An efficient ionic liquid-based cloud point extraction to preconcentrate mercury in environmental samples and hair of occupational workers before spectrophotometric detection

ABSTRACT. Mercury preconcentration in environmental samples and hair of occupational workers prior to spectrophotometric detection was described using a unique, eco-friendly, and quick ionic liquid-based cloud point extraction method. The discovered method used an ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate with Triton X-114 as an extracting phase in the presence of a new chelating agent 3-(2-hydroxy-5-ethoxycarbonylphen-1-ylazo)-1,2,4-triazole at pH 7.0 to separate mercury and measure the complex spectrophotometrically at wavelength 550 nm. The effects of several analytical factors on extraction performance were investigated. With a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 2.0-400 µg/L. The limit of detection and preconcentration factor, respectively, were 0.5 µg/L and 100. The relative standard deviation of 100 and 300 µg/L mercury (n = 10) was 1.5 and 2.2, respectively, indicating the precision and reliability of the new IL-CPE approach. The accuracy of the proposed approach confirmed through the certified reference materials analysis. The applicability of the established technique was demonstrated successfully by the estimation of trace mercury in environmental samples and hair of occupational workers.     KEY WORDS: Mercury, Ionic liquid-based cloud point extraction, Environmental and hair samples, Spectrophotometry   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2022, 36(4), 767-778.                                                         DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v36i4.

Inborn errors of metabolism revealed by organic acid profile analysis in high risk Egyptian patients: Six years experience

Objective: To determine the prevalence and types of inborn errors of amino acid or organic acid metabolism in a group of high risk Egyptian children with clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of inherited metabolic diseases. Subjects and Methods: 117 (79 males ═ 67.5 % and 38 females ═ 32.5 %) high risk patients with signs and symptoms of a metabolic disorder were studied, their ages ranged from 3 days to 12 years. Analysis of urine organic acids by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was performed to all patients. Results: 22(18.8 % of the total) cases were diagnosed with different types of aminoacidopathies or organic acidurias. The disease profile showed increased lactate in 12 cases (54 %), glutaric aciduria type I 3cases (13 %), phenylketonuria 2 cases (9 %), maple syrup urine disease 1 case (4.5 %), glutaric aciduria type II 1 case (4.5 %), methylmalonic aciduria 1 case (4.5 %), Canavan disease 1 case (4.5 %) and non ketotic hyperglycemia 1 case (4.5 %). Conclusion: The results demonstrate the importance of the organic acid profile in the diagnosis of high risk patients. The diagnosed organic acid pattern in this study showed that 10.2 % of the patients had a mitochondrial energy defect.Key Words: Organicacidurias, organicacidemias, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, organic acid profile analysis

The interplay between economic status and attractiveness, and the importance of attire in mate choice judgments

Desirable characteristics of "opposite sex others," such as physical attractiveness and economic status, can influence how individuals are judged, and this is different for men and women. However, under various social contexts where cues of higher or lower economic status is suggested, sex differences in judgments related to mate choice have not been fully explored. In two studies, ratings of economic status and attractiveness were quantified for male and female targets that were presented under various social contexts. Study 1 assessed judgments (n = 1,359) of images of nine male and nine female targets in different sized groups containing only opposite-sex others (i.e., group size). While we found no significant effects of group size on male and female attractiveness, target female economic status increased when surrounded by two or more men. An ad hoc analysis controlling for the attire of the targets (business or casual) found that the association between target female economic status and group size occurred when females were in business attire. Study 2 investigates this effect further by presenting images of 12 males and 12 females, in higher and lower status attire (i.e., business and casual clothing) and measured judgments of attractiveness and economic status among women and men (n = 1,038). Consistent with the results of Study 1, female economic status was only affected when women were in business attire. However, female economic status decreased when in the presence of other men in business attire. There were no sex differences in judgments of economic status when judging stimuli in casual attire. Additionally, negative associations between attractiveness and economic status were found for males presented in casual attire. We discuss these results in the light of evolutionary sexual conflict theory by demonstrating how the asymmetrical importance of status between men and women can influence mate choice judgments

Distress to Structures on Loose Ash and Cinder Fills

The Logan Section of the City of Philadelphia, that encompasses 17 city blocks and includes 997 row type dwellings, was constructed in the early 1900s. It is reported that settlement of these structures has continued since their construction. In 1986, a Geotechnical Investigation, commissioned by the City of Philadelphia, revealed that a total of two to three feet of settlement, with as much as one to two feet of differential settlement, has taken place. Recent measurements indicated that settlement is still in progress. This settlement has resulted in severe structural damage and, in some cases, collapse of the buildings. One hundred (100) homes have been declared imminently dangerous, 110 homes have been declared dangerous, and the remaining homes are considered moderately damaged. This paper discusses the probable causes of settlement, and evaluates the geotechnical characteristics and properties of the ash and cinders. These characteristics are considered the prime cause of the problem at the Logan Section