Enumeration and estimation of insect attack fruits of some cultivars of Punica granatum.

In this study, five cultivars of Punica granatum identified (two of which are endemic, while the other three are new) were grown in certain farms at Al-Taif, Saudi Arabia. Enumeration to the insects attack its' fruits illustrated that, there are three insects, namely, Virchola livia, Ectomyelois ceratonia and Pseudococcus maitimus (or/and Pseudococcus citri) infested both cracked and healthy pomegranate fruits. The population density of immature stage of V. livia was noticed in healthy fruit more than cracked fruit, while E. ceratonia was shown the converse. Besides, there is high infection by the three insects at 2008 more than 2009. Measurement susceptibility of the five cultivars showed that, Al- Taif cultivar was the most resistant one to V. livia infestation, being 3.5 and 1.8% of immature stage/20 healthy or cracked fruits. While the most resistance one to immature stages of E. ceratonia was Wonderful-mangulatory cultivar recording infestation of 0.0 and 2.4% of immature stage/20 healthy or cracked fruits during 2008 and 2009.Key word: Pomegranate cultivars, Virchola livia, Ectomyelois ceratonia, mealy bugs, susceptibility

Synthesis and Evaluation of Some New Thiazoles as Antioxidant Additives for Egyptian Lubricating Oils

4-(2-Aminothiazol-4-yl)-phenol (1) reacted with 2-(4-methoxy-benzylidene)-malononitrile or 1,3-diphenyl-1H- pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde to afford enaminonitrile, pyrazolo derivatives 2 and 3, respectively. On the other hand, methylation of 1 afforded the acetyl derivative 4 which reacted with phenyl isothiocyanate, diazonium salt, acetic anhydride, cyclic anhydride, ethyl acetoacetate, benzaldehyde or phosphorous oxychloride to afford compounds 5-9, 11 and 12, respectively. Moreover, the compound 12 reacted with ethyl cyanoacetate to afford compound 13. A one-pot reaction of compound 1 with ethyl acetoacetate and benzaldehyde afforded compound 10. The synthesized compounds were evaluated as antioxidant additives for lube oil. Key words: Key words: Aminothiazole; Condensation; Antioxidant Additive

Isolation of catechins from Cycas armstrongii Miq. of an Egyptian origin

The phytochemical investigation of Cycas armstrongii Miq. leaves and twigs using different chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of three catechin monomers; catechin (1), epicatechin (2), and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (3), for the first time from this species. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds is discussed in the rest of this article

PhaC Synthases and PHA Depolymerases: The Enzymes that Produce and Degrade Plastic

PHAs are a group of intracellular biodegradable polymer produced by (most) bacteria under unbalanced growth conditions. A series of enzymes are involved in different PHAs synthesis, however PhaC synthases are responsible for the polymerization step. PHAs are accumulated in bacterial cells from soluble to insoluble form as storage materials inside the inclusion bodies during unbalanced nutrition or to save organisms from reduces equivalents. PHAs are converted again to soluble components by another pathways and enzymes for the degradation process. PHAs depolymerases are the responsible enzymes. This review is designed to give the non-specialists a condense background about PHAs especially for researcher and students in medicinal and pharmaceutical filled. ABSTRAK: PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoate) merupakan sekumpulan polimer terbiodegradasikan intrasel yang dihasilkan oleh (kebanyakan) bakteria di bawah keadaan tumbesaran tak seimbang. Satu rangkaian enzim terlibat dalam sistesis PHAs yang berbeza, namun sintesis PhaC bertanggungjawab dalam peringkat pempolimeran. PHAs dikumpulkan dalam sel bakteria dari bentuk larut dan tak larut sebagai bahan simpan di dalam jasad terangkum semasa nutrisi tak seimbang atau untuk menyelamatkan organisma daripada pengurangan tak keseimbangan. PHAs ditukarkan sekali lagi kepada komponen larut dengan cara lain dan enzim lain untuk proses degradasi. PHAs depoly-merases (enzim yang memangkin penguraian makro molekul kepada molekul yang lebih mudah) merupakan enzim yang bertanggunjawab. Kajian semula ini direka untuk memberi mereka yang bukan pakar, satu ringkasan tentang PHAs terutamanya penyelidik dan penuntut dalam bidang peubatan dan farmaseutikal

Effects of mixed nitrogen sources on biodegradation of phenol by immobilized Acinetobacter sp. strain W-17

Using Ca-alginate immobilized cells of Acinetobacter sp. strain W-17, the effects of ammonium-N and nitrate-N on the biodegradation of phenol were investigated. Degradation experiments in three different culture media; minimal salts medium (MSM), simulated (SW) and modified simulated wastewater (MSW) were performed. With the freely suspended cells (cell dry weight 0.2 g/l), complete phenol (500 mg/l) degradation was achieved after incubation for 120 h. Using the immobilized cells, the time was reduced to 24 h in MSM medium, and 15 h in the MSW. The results also indicate that strain W-17 can tolerate to high concentrations of NH4+-N (63 mg/l) and NO3--N (1000 mg/l) without a significant loss in the phenol biodegradation rate. Moreover, the presence of 500 mg/l phenol in the MSW had no considerable effect on the removal of both ammonium-N and nitrate-N. Repeated use of immobilized cells revealed that they could be used as much as five times without loss of activity. Our findings could be extended to enhance biotreatment of phenol contamination in a variety of biological treatment processes. (African Journal of Biotechnology: 2003 2(1): 8-12

Biosorption of heavy metals from waste water using Pseudomonas sp.

Biosorption experiments for Cr(VI), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) were investigated in this study using nonliving biomass of different Pseudomonas species. The applicability of the Langmuir and Freundlich models for the different biosorbent was tested. The coefficient of determination (R2) of both models were mostly greater than 0.9. In case of Ni(II) and Cu(II), their coefficients were found to be close to one. This indicates that both models adequately describe the experimental data of the biosorption of these metals. The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be the highest for Ni followed by Cd(II), Cu(II) and Cr(VI). Whereas the Freundlich constant k in case of Cd(II) was found to be greater than the other metals. Maximum Cr(VI) removal reached around 38% and its removal increased with the increase of Cr(VI) influent. Cu(II) removal was at its maximum value in presence of Cr(VI) as a binary metal, which reached 93% of its influent concentration. Concerning to Cd(II) and Ni(II) similar removal ratios were obtained, since it was ranged between 35 to 88% and their maximum removal were obtained in the case of individual Cd(II) and Ni(II)

Analgesic Effect of Intra-Articular Dexamethasone versus Fentanyl added as an adjuvant to Bupivacaine for Postoperative Pain Relief in Knee Arthroscopic Surgery

Background: Knee arthroscopy is usually associated with a variable degree of pain ranging from moderate-to-severe pain in about 70% of patients. Objective: This trial was designed to assess the efficacy of intra-articular administration of dexamethasone versus fentanyl as adjuncts to bupivacaine in patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Patients and methods: Eighty-nine patients of either sex were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly divided into three equal groups. Group F that received intra-articular (IA) injection of 1 μg/kg fentanyl (In 2 ml saline) added to 18 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine, group D, which received IA injection of 8 mg (2 ml) dexamethasone added to 18mL of 0.25% bupivacaine and group S that received IA injection of 2 ml normal saline added to 18 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine. Results: The time required for the first request of analgesia in group F, group D, and group S was 5.7 ± 0.7 vs 4.5 ± 0.5 vs 3.3 ± 0.5 hours respectively. There were significant differences between both treatment groups and the control group (p < 0.001) and in between both treatment groups (p < 0.001) in favor of group F. There was a significantly lower median visual analogue score in group F when compared to group D and S at 6 hours (p = 0.006 & 0.01, respectively), 12 hours (p < 0.001 & < 0.001, respectively), and 18 hours (p = 0.003 & 0.007, respectively) postoperatively. Conclusion: The addition of fentanyl or dexamethasone to IA bupivacaine in knee arthroscopic surgery provided a better quality of analgesia with less consumption of systemic analgesics without significant adverse effects

Role of nanoparticles in diagnosis and management of parasitic diseases: Review article

Background: An extensive class of materials, nanoparticles (NPs) include particulate compounds with a minimum diameter of 100 nanometers (nm). This is because of their tiny size and huge surface area, which allows them to traverse the blood-brain barrier, enter the respiratory system and be adsorbable through endothelial cells. Today, nanoparticles for drug administration are being studied to increase their sustained release, intracellular penetrability as well as bioavailability, due to the constant development and innovation of nanomedicine.Objective: To determine how nanoparticles can help diagnose and treat parasitic diseases.Conclusion: Nanoparticles could be conjugated with proteins and immunoglobulins that could help in specific diagnosis of several parasitic diseases, in addition, improved efficacy and reduced harmful side effects can be achieved by immobilizing antiparasitic medicines on or inside nanomaterials

The Lesser Wax Moth Achroia grisella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): A New Diet for Rearing Three Predatory Mites of the Family Phytoseiidae

The predatory mites Neoseiulus barkeri, Amblyseius swirskii and Cydnoseius negevi are native phytoseiid mites in Egypt. The biology of these predators was studied using Achroia grisella eggs as food source. Tested phytoseiids were succeeded to develop to adulthood and sustain oviposition on A. grisella eggs. For Cydnoseius negevi, the development was slower and fecundity was lower than for Neoseiulus barkeri and Amblyseius swirskii. The predation rate during immature stages of Cydnoseius negevi was higher than those of Neoseiulus barkeri and Amblyseius swirskii. During oviposition period, N. barkeri consumed more eggs than other phytoseiids did. The higher mean fecundity was recorded for Neoseiulus barkeri and Amblyseius swirskii as opposed to the lower mean for Cydnoseius negevi. When Amblyseius swirskii fed on Achroia grisella eggs, the oviposition period, female longevity and mean generation time were longer than for Cydnoseius negevi and Neoseiulus barkeri. Feeding on eggs of Achroia grisella resulted in the lowest mean fecundity, net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of natural increase, finite rate of increase and gross reproductive rate for Cydnoseius negevi. The sex ratio of all predators' progeny was in female-biased. Consequently, the moth egg was alternative food for Neoseiulus barkeri and Amblyseius swirskii, while it considers as survival prey for Cydnoseius negevi