Influence of different storage times and temperatures on blood gas and acid-base balance in ovine venous blood

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of storage temperature and time on blood gas and acid-base balance of ovine venous blood. Ten clinically healthy sheep were used in this study. A total number of 30 blood samples, were divided into three different groups, and were stored in a refrigerator adjusted to +4 ºC (Group I, n = 10), at RT of about 22-25 ºC (Group II, n = 10) and in an incubator adjusted to 37 ºC (Group III, n = 10) for up to 48 h. Blood samples were analysed for blood gas and acid-base indices at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h of storage. In comparison to the baseline value (0), there were significant decreases of blood pH of samples stored at RT and in the incubator after 1 h (p<0.05), the pH value of refrigerated blood samples exhibited insignificant changes during the study (p<0.05). Mean values of pCO2 showed a significant increase in Group I and Group III after 1 h then a progressive decrease after 12 h in all Groups. Mean pO2 values were significantly higher for Group I after 2 h and for Groups II and III after 1 h (p<0.05). In general, base excess decreased significantly for all the groups during the study especially in Groups II and III. In comparison with baseline values, in all groups, bicarbonate (HCO3) increased between 1 h and 6 h (p<0.05), and later decreased at the end of the study (p<0.05). In conclusion, status of acid-base indices of the samples stored at refrigerator and RT were found within normal reference range and it may be of clinical diagnostic use for up to 6 h

Occurrence of Virulent and Antibiotic-resistant Enteropathogenic and Shiga toxin- producing Escherichia coli in some Milk Products Sold in Assiut City, Egypt

This study was undertaken to detect the enteropathogenic and shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (EPEC and STEC) in 120 milk products samples (soft cheese, hard cheese, yoghurt and ice cream). All samples were submitted for bacteriological examination, serological and molecular identification of virulent and antibiotic resistant genes using eaeA, hylA, blaTEM, blaCTX-M1, blaOXA and blaSHV primers. The bacteriological examination revealed that the incidence of occurrence of EPEC was 3.33% in ice cream samples, while it could not isolated from other types of milk products. In addition, STEC failed to detect in all examined milk products. The isolated EPEC strain following E. coli O18 serotyping. Moreover, the molecular identification of the isolated strain revealed that the strain contains eaeA, blaTEM and blaCTX-M1 genes

The effects of forage type and antagonists on copper metabolism in sheep

Three in vivo and two in vitro experiments were carried out to investig ate the effect of forage type and dietary antagonists molybdenum (Mo) and sulfur (S) on Cu metabolism in sheep. In experiment 1, dried grass pellets or maize silage without or with added dietary Mo and S were fed to Texel growing lambs to investigate the e ffect of forage type and antagonists on Cu status and performance. The maize silage fed lambs had a higher weight gain and rumen pH , but a lower liver Cu concentration compared wit h the dried grass pellets fed lambs. The addition of antagonists significant ly reduced liver Cu status, but blood Cu parameters were not affected by dietary treatment. In experiment 2, grass haylage vs. maize silage were used to investigate the effect of forage type and antagonists on Cu metabolism in Swaledae growing lambs. The m aize silage fed lambs had a higher weight gain and liver Cu status but a lower rumen pH compared w ith the grass haylage fed lambs . Liver Cu status, Pl - Cu concentration, and Cp activity were decreased by the inclusion of Mo and S, while Cp: Pl - Cu ratio was n ot aff ected by antagonists. In experiment 3, the involvement of the rumen digesta fractions on Cu metabolism in forages used in experiment 1 and 2 plus grass silage was investigated. Cu, Mo, and S were found mainly (above 85%) associated with the solid pha se of the fermented rumen digesta, at the expense of supernatant fraction . Additional Mo and S significantly reduced Cu distribu tion in the supernatant fraction due to increasing Cu inc orporation into the solid phase. In experiment 4, the effect of forage preservation on rumen pH and their interaction between Cu and antagonists we re investigated. Rumen pH in grass silage fed lambs tended to be lower compared with lambs fed other forages. Lambs fed urea and fermented WCW were heavier than lambs fed grass sil age. Liver Cu status was higher in lambs offered urea WCW or grass silage compared with fermented WCW. Additional antagonists substantially reduced liver Cu status, but had a small effect on blood Cu par ameters. N o effect of Cu antagonists were observed on liver Cu retention in lambs fed fermented WCW, whereas they significantly reduced liver Cu retention in lambs on urea WCW and grass silage. Blood Cu parameters were slightly affected by dietary treatment. In experiment 5, the effect of preservation of fre sh grass as hay or silage on Cu distribution in rumen fluid following in vitro fermentation was investigated . Preservation of fresh grass as hay or silage had no effect of Cu distribution in the fermented rumen liquor or after pepsin - HCl digestion. These s eries of studies showed the effect of forage type on Cu metabolism. In addition, it confirms that dietary Mo and S are potent Cu antagonists and this potency may be reduced at a lower acidic rumen environment

Preliminary investigation of the neuroprotective potentials of Crossyne guttata in MPP+-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder caused by the gradual and sustained loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). There is presently no permanent treatment for PD, thus the need for more investigations into complementary and alternative medicine capable of inhibiting neuronal damage. This study investigates the potential neuroprotective activity of Crossyne guttata, a plant commonly found in the western and southern Cape of South Africa in 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-induced, in vitro model of PD, using the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.Methodology: The optimal concentration of Crossyne guttata aqueous extract (CGE) that showed no toxicity on cells and the concentration of MPP+ that reduced cell viability to about 50% was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethyithiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Following this SH-SY5Y cells were pretreated with 10 μg/ml of CGE for 2 hours before the addition of 2000 μM of MPP+ and cell survival was determined. Furthermore, morphological changes associated with treatments were observed under the light microscope.Results: Results show that CGE did not reduce cell viability in the cells at all concentrations tested, while MPP+ showed a dose-dependent reduction in cell viability. Also, pretreatment of cells with CGE extract improved cell survival as well as cell morphology by inhibiting toxicity induced by MPP+.Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that CGE may be a potential neuroprotective agent in PD and thus make a case for further investigation into the mechanism(s) of action as well as bioactive components of the plant eliciting such effects.Keywords: Crossyne guttata, Medicinal plants, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), Cell viabilit

Anatomical locations of uterine fibroids in Sudanese women

Uterine fibroids are the commonest uterine neoplasms, they are benign tumors of smooth muscle origin. The study was done to look for the&nbsp; anatomical locations of uterine fibroids and their incidence in Sudanese women at Omdurman Maternity Hospital between 1st July 2014 to 5th October 2015. Their sociodemographic and ultrasound data were collected using a prepared questionnaire. The study included 138 confirmed cases of uterine fibroids out of 2968 investigated cases representing incidence rate of 4.6%. The highest incidence was found in the age group 36-40 years. Most dominant anatomical locations of uterine fibroids were intramural as a single mass (34.78%), followed by the intramural-subserosal in multiple masses (20.29%). The anatomical positions of uterine fibroids, posterior position was seen in (27.5%) which was the most dominant in single uterine fibroid mass, followed by the anterior-posterior position in multiple uterine one (18.1%). Intramural anatomical locations in single mass are the commonest uterine fibroids types which affect the Sudanese women. Key words: Anatomical locations; Uterine fibroid and leiomyoma

Melt Electrospinning Designs for Nanofiber Fabrication for Different Applications

Nanofibers have been attracting growing attention owing to their outstanding physicochemical and structural properties as well as diverse and intriguing applications. Electrospinning has been known as a simple, flexible, and multipurpose technique for the fabrication of submicro scale fibers. Throughout the last two decades, numerous investigations have focused on the employment of electrospinning techniques to improve the characteristics of fabricated fibers. This review highlights the state of the art of melt electrospinning and clarifies the major categories based on multitemperature control, gas assist, laser melt, coaxial, and needleless designs. In addition, we represent the effect of melt electrospinning process parameters on the properties of produced fibers. Finally, this review summarizes the challenges and obstacles connected to the melt electrospinning technique.Scopu

Studies with Arylhydrazono-3-oxopropanals:A novel route to synthesis of substituted pyrazoles, oxoalkanonitrile and glyoxalonitrile containing sulfa drug moieties

Coupling of enaminones 1 with diazonium salts gave thehydrazonopropanals 3a-h. Compound 3 react with ω-bromoacetophenone or α-chloroacetanilide to yield 5 and 8. These compounds were cyclized smoothly into 6 and 9 respectively. Reactions of 3 with phenylhydrazine gave diphenylhydrazones 10 which cyclized into arylazopyrazoles 11 in refluxing pyridine. However reaction of 3c-f with hydrazine hydrate afforded pyrazoles 12.Reactions of 3 with phenylhydrazine hydrochloride afforded 11. Finally, reactions of 3c with hydroxylamine hydrochloride afforded the aldoxime 14 that on refluxing in pyridine gave 15 not 16

Prevalence and Characterization of Some Colibactin Genes in Clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Iraqi Patients

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; افراد العائلة المعوية تمتلك مجموعة من الجينات تدعى Polyketide synthase (pks). هذه المجموعة من الجينات تكون مسؤولة عن تصنيع الذيفان الذي يطلق عليه Colibactin والذي له دور مهم في استحثاث تكسر اشرطة الدنا المزدوجة DNA والذي يؤدي الى استحثاث ورم او ما يعرف بسرطان القولون، احد عشر من اصل ثمانية وثمانين عزلة &nbsp;بكتيرية وتمثل (12.5%) كانت قد توزعت 7(8%) عزلة تعود لبكتربا E. coli، 2(2.25%) عزلة تعود لبكتريا K. pneumonia و 2(2.25%) تعود لبكتريا E. aerogenes كانت حاملة لجينات الكولبكتين قيد الدراسة. تم اختبار لتأثير السمي الخلوي لعزلتين كانت موجبة للجينات قيد الدراسة وهي E. coli and E. aerogenes تجاه خط الخلايا السرطاني المعروف بـ HeLa &nbsp;بينت النائج انخفاض عدد الخلايا وحصول استطالة في انوية الخلايامقارنة بالخلايا الغير معاملة. اظهرت النتائج حصول تغيرات نسيجية في الخلايا بأستخدام صبغة AO/EBr تم ملاحظتها بأستخدام المجهر الفلورسيني: بعض هذه التغيرات تم ملاحظتها في لون كروماتين النواة ومصحوب بتكثف الدنا النووي وكذلك حصول تكسر في النوية، خلايا الـ HeLa التي ظهرت بلون اخضر ولم تحصل فيها اي تغيرات في لون المادة الكروماتينية هي خلايا حية ولم تتم معاملتها مع البكتريا الحاملة للجينات قيد الدراسة، بينما الخلايا المعاملة مع خلايا بكتيرية حاملة للجينات ظهرت انويتها بلون برتقالي داكن وهي خلايا ميتة. يستنتج من ذلك ان عزلات البكتريا المعوية المعزولة من مرضى عراقيين يمكنها ان تفرز مواد سامة (ذيفان الكولبكتين) يمكنها قتل قتل الخلايا السرطانية نوع HeLa وهذا ناتج عن تغيرات حصلت في انوية الخلايا المعرضة للبكتريا وكان واضح في كثافة وتكسر المادة الوراثية للخلايا قيد الدراسة.&nbsp;The members of the family of Eentrobacteriaceae harbour a gene cluster called polyketide synthase (pks) island. This cluster is responsible for the synthesis of the genotoxin colibactin that might have an important role in the induction of double-strand DNA breaks, leading to promote human colorectal cancer (CRC). Eleven out of the eighty eight isolates (12.5%) were pks+, distributed as 7 (8%) isolates of E. coli, 2 (2.25%) of K. pneumoniae and 2 (2.25%) of E. aerogenes. The cytotoxic effects of selected pks+ isolates (E. coli and E. aerogenes) on HeLa cells were represented by decreasing cell numbers and enlarged cell nuclei in comparison to the untreated cells. Cytological changes were observed when the infected HeLa cells cultures were stained with AO/EBr and visualized under fluorescent microscope. Some changes that happened in the color of the nuclear chromatin were accompanied by DNA condensation and degradation and fragmentation of nuclei. HeLa cells with green unchanged nuclear chromatin were alive while those with orange-dark and bright red nuclei were dead. It was concluded that a proportion of the Entreobacteriaceae isolates from Iraqi patients was pks+, which exerted cytotoxic effects upon using them to kill HeLa cells. In this study the microscopic observation of the cell morphology reveals the cellular response to the genotoxic insult, with reduced numbers, striking giant cells phenotype (megalocytosis) and fragmentation of nuclei due to the cell cycle arrest and cellular senescenc

Listeria monocytogenes: Overview and Targeting Advances

Listeria monocytogenes is a serious foodborne zoonotic pathogen capable of causing gastroenteritis and severe systemic infections such as septicemia, meningitis or abortion in the infected individuals what is called listeriosis. The bacterium is reported as the third leading cause of death among the foodborne pathogens preceded by nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii. The power to tolerate a wide range of temperatures is considered the most prominent trait distinguishing it from the other foodborne pathogens. Within the infected host, the bacteria harbor inside macrophages and jump from cell to another without leaving the safeguarding milieu of the host's cells utilizing a set of genes including hly (listeriolysin O), plcA (phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase c), plcB (phosphatidylcholine-phospholipase C) and actA (actin-assembly inducing protein). In addition to the health concerns associated with antibiotics, treatment failure likely occurs among listeriosis-infected persons especially with the inability of most antibiotics to access intracellular replicative niches and achieve the optimum therapeutic concentrations within the infected cells. Recently, one novel choice, peptide nucleic acid (PNA), has been emerged to target this bacterium as a model of targeting intracellular pathogens with anti-sense agents. PNA is a one of the DNA analogues which works via specific inhibition of bacterial gene expression

Serological Survey on Toxoplasma gondii in some Dairy Animals and Pregnant Women in Qena, Egypt

Toxoplasmosis is an important reason of reproductive failure in human and farm animals causing significant socioeconomic losses worldwide. Additionally, infection in pregnant women can cause severe health problems in the child as mental retardation and blindness. In this work the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was estimated in dairy goats, sheep, and cows as well as in pregnant women in Qena Province, Egypt using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The study included 150 raw milk samples which were collected from the previously mentioned animals in different localities (50 from each) as well as 100 pregnant women serum samples with a history of abortion. Our results revealed that T. gondii IgM and both IgM &amp; IgG antibodies were detected in 20, 40 and 28, 6% of goat and sheep milk samples, respectively. While T. gondii IgM antibodies could be detected in 64% of cow milk samples. A total of 28 (28%) women were seropositive for toxoplasmosis, divided into 2 (2%) were seropositive for T. gondii IgM antibodies and 26 (26%) for IgG. There was an association between IgG seroprevalence and age and the times of abortion in pregnant women