Impact of management systems on selenium and zinc levels, heterophil: Lymphocyte ratio as biomarkers of immunity in chickens

This study investigated the impact of poultry management systems (intensive and extensive) on selenium and zinc concentrations and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio in chickens. Sixty chickens comprising 20 broilers, 20 local chickens and 20 layers obtained from poultry markets and houses around Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria were used in this study. Five millilitres of blood were collected through the brachial vein to analyse for selenium, zinc and complete blood count using atomic absorption spectrophotometry and standard haematological methods, respectively. There was a significantly (P<0.05) higher red blood cell, haemoglobin and pack cell volume values in local chickens raised in the extensive management system compared to broilers and layers raised in the intensive management system. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the white blood cell count between layers and local chickens. However, layers had higher white blood cell counts than local chickens. In contrast, local chickens had significantly (P<0.05) lower white blood cell count than broilers. The respective lymphocyte and heterophil counts were significantly (P<0.05) higher and lower in local chickens raised extensively compared to layers raised intensively. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in monocyte, eosinophil and basophil count in chickens raised from both management systems. Chickens raised in the extensive management system had a significantly (P<0.05) higher selenium concentration with a lower heterophil to lymphocyte ratio than those raised in the intensive management system but had a significantly (P<0.05) lower zinc concentration. Therefore, high selenium levels and low heterophil to lymphocyte ratio could contribute to the resistance of chickens to various stressors associated with an extensive management system as selenium is a known immunomodulator

Attitudes and Perceptions of Healthcare Providers towards Clinical Pharmacy Services at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To evaluate the attitudes and perceptions of health care providers towards clinical pharmacy services at King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi ArabiaMethod: A cross-sectional survey of healthcare providers was conducted in King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from September to November 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered to health care professionals (HCPs) who included physicians, pharmacists and nurses.Results: The response rate was 78 % (457/600). The majority of the respondents (92.4 %) knew that the clinical pharmacist is an integral part of the medical team while 86.5 % of the participants expressed confidence in the ability of clinical pharmacists to improve the quality of patient care through their practice. Despite the relative lack of awareness of the increasing interest in clinical pharmacy practice (59.6 % were not aware of such a trend), pharmacists were less appreciative (p < 0.05) of the positive role of clinical  pharmacists in direct patient care compared to both physicians and nurses (67.4, 74.3 and 72.3 %, respectively).Conclusion: The findings of this study reveal that health care professionals HCPs have positive attitude towards the role of the clinical pharmacist in the health care setting studied. However, there is a need for Saudi hospitals to adopt full clinical pharmacy service including drug monitoring, drug information and pharmacotherapy for enhanced health care.Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Clinical pharmacy services, Healthcare professionals, Attitude, Patient car

Combined use of maxillomandibular swing approach and neurosurgical ultrasonic aspirator in the management of extensive clival chordoma: A case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Chordoma is a rare malignant tumour with an incidence of metastasis of less than 10 percent. Usually arising from clivus its posterior extension may involve the brainstem before presenting as nasal mass and obstruction. Surgery is the main mode of treatment with adjuvant radiotherapy. However surgery is rarely possible for a large intracranial lesion.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of an adolescent patient with a chordoma extending posteriorly to the brainstem and anteriorly to the nasopharynx and managed by the combination of resection using a maxillomandibular swing approach and the use of a neurosurgical ultrasonic aspirator.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Maxillomandibular swing approach provides good access for large nasopharyngeal tumour extending brainstem area.</p

Hygienic characteristics of radishes grown in soil contaminated with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a plant growth-promoter. This bacterium is also implicated in human diseases. Thus, after the use of this bacterium in agriculture, the safety of the final products has to be verified. Due to the ubiquitous presence of S. maltophilia in soil, in this study a massive contamination was simulated to evaluate the growth and safety of Raphanus sativus L.. Results: Different inoculums and soil treatment conditions were tested. Soils were analysed weekly and the radishes at harvest for their microbial loads and presence/persistence of S. maltophilia LMG 6606. The concentration of the bacterium added in the different trials decreased during the first week, but increased thereafter and determined a significant increase of growth parameters of radishes. Conclusions: The addition of S. maltophilia LMG 6606 to non-autoclaved soil enhanced the productivity of radishes. The bacterium did not internalize in the hypocotyls, but colonized the external surface ensuring the safety of the products. Thus, a sanitizing bath of hypocotyls before consumption is necessary

Oxygen Reperfusion Damage in an Insect

The deleterious effects of anoxia followed by reperfusion with oxygen in higher animals including mammals are well known. A convenient and genetically well characterized small-animal model that exhibits reproducible, quantifiable oxygen reperfusion damage is currently lacking. Here we describe the dynamics of whole-organism metabolic recovery from anoxia in an insect, Drosophila melanogaster, and report that damage caused by oxygen reperfusion can be quantified in a novel but straightforward way. We monitored CO2 emission (an index of mitochondrial activity) and water vapor output (an index of neuromuscular control of the spiracles, which are valves between the outside air and the insect's tracheal system) during entry into, and recovery from, rapid-onset anoxia exposure with durations ranging from 7.5 to 120 minutes. Anoxia caused a brief peak of CO2 output followed by knock-out. Mitochondrial respiration ceased and the spiracle constrictor muscles relaxed, but then re-contracted, presumably powered by anaerobic processes. Reperfusion to sustained normoxia caused a bimodal re-activation of mitochondrial respiration, and in the case of the spiracle constrictor muscles, slow inactivation followed by re-activation. After long anoxia durations, both the bimodality of mitochondrial reactivation and the recovery of spiracular control were impaired. Repeated reperfusion followed by episodes of anoxia depressed mitochondrial respiratory flux rates and damaged the integrity of the spiracular control system in a dose-dependent fashion. This is the first time that physiological evidence of oxygen reperfusion damage has been described in an insect or any invertebrate. We suggest that some of the traditional approaches of insect respiratory biology, such as quantifying respiratory water loss, may facilitate using D. melanogaster as a convenient, well-characterized experimental model for studying the underlying biology and mechanisms of ischemia and reperfusion damage and its possible mitigation

Phencyclidine (PCP)-Induced Disruption in Cognitive Performance is Gender-Specific and Associated with a Reduction in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in Specific Regions of the Female Rat Brain

Phencyclidine (PCP), used to mimic certain aspects of schizophrenia, induces sexually dimorphic, cognitive deficits in rats. In this study, the effects of sub-chronic PCP on expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophic factor implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, have been evaluated in male and female rats. Male and female hooded-Lister rats received vehicle or PCP (n = 8 per group; 2 mg/kg i.p. twice daily for 7 days) and were tested in the attentional set shifting task prior to being sacrificed (6 weeks post-treatment). Levels of BDNF mRNA were measured in specific brain regions using in situ hybridisation. Male rats were less sensitive to PCP-induced deficits in the extra-dimensional shift stage of the attentional set shifting task compared to female rats. Quantitative analysis of brain regions demonstrated reduced BDNF levels in the medial prefrontal cortex (p < 0.05), motor cortex (p < 0.01), orbital cortex (p < 0.01), olfactory bulb (p < 0.05), retrosplenial cortex (p < 0.001), frontal cortex (p < 0.01), parietal cortex (p < 0.01), CA1 (p < 0.05) and polymorphic layer of dentate gyrus (p < 0.05) of the hippocampus and the central (p < 0.01), lateral (p < 0.05) and basolateral (p < 0.05) regions of the amygdaloid nucleus in female PCP-treated rats compared with controls. In contrast, BDNF was significantly reduced only in the orbital cortex and central amygdaloid region of male rats (p < 0.05). Results suggest that blockade of NMDA receptors by sub-chronic PCP administration has a long-lasting down-regulatory effect on BDNF mRNA expression in the female rat brain which may underlie some of the behavioural deficits observed post PCP administration

Whole-chromosome hitchhiking driven by a male-killing endosymbiont.

Neo-sex chromosomes are found in many taxa, but the forces driving their emergence and spread are poorly understood. The female-specific neo-W chromosome of the African monarch (or queen) butterfly Danaus chrysippus presents an intriguing case study because it is restricted to a single 'contact zone' population, involves a putative colour patterning supergene, and co-occurs with infection by the male-killing endosymbiont Spiroplasma. We investigated the origin and evolution of this system using whole genome sequencing. We first identify the 'BC supergene', a broad region of suppressed recombination across nearly half a chromosome, which links two colour patterning loci. Association analysis suggests that the genes yellow and arrow in this region control the forewing colour pattern differences between D. chrysippus subspecies. We then show that the same chromosome has recently formed a neo-W that has spread through the contact zone within approximately 2,200 years. We also assembled the genome of the male-killing Spiroplasma, and find that it shows perfect genealogical congruence with the neo-W, suggesting that the neo-W has hitchhiked to high frequency as the male-killer has spread through the population. The complete absence of female crossing-over in the Lepidoptera causes whole-chromosome hitchhiking of a single neo-W haplotype, carrying a single allele of the BC supergene and dragging multiple non-synonymous mutations to high frequency. This has created a population of infected females that all carry the same recessive colour patterning allele, making the phenotypes of each successive generation highly dependent on uninfected male immigrants. Our findings show how hitchhiking can occur between the physically unlinked genomes of host and endosymbiont, with dramatic consequences