MICROPROPAGATION AND EVALUATION OF GENETIC STABILITY OF FOXGLOVE TREE (Paulownia tomentosa)

This reasearch work aimed to fine-tune micropropagation of Paulownia tomentosa in addition to assessing the genetic stability of in vitro raised clones from it. Paulownia tomentosa explants were surface sterilized using clorox (commercial bleach 5.25% sodium hypochlorite) at 10, 20, 25 and 30% + 0.5 g/l mercuric chloride (HgCl2) at different duration times, i.e. 10, 15, 20 and 25 min. In the multiplication stage, shoots were transferred to MS medium at ¾ strength containing BAP and Kin each at (0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/l). Whereas, the rooting medium was MS medium at ¾ strength with IBA and NAA treatments each at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/l. Sterilized explant with 30% Clorox for 20 min recorded highest survival percentage. The treatment of Kin at 4 mg/l gave higher significant shoot length. Whereas BAP application at 2 and 4 mg/l gave highest significant value of both shoot number and leaf number. Both IBA and NAA at 0.5 or 1 mg/l gave highest significant root number/shoot. Whereas, auxin at 4 mg/l gave highest significant root lengths. Young plantlets resulted from in vitro were acclimitized successfully in a mixture of peat moss: perlit (2: 1) by volume that showed 85.93% survival.  The genetic stability of in vitro raised Paulownia tomentosa clones was assessed by using intersimple sequence repeats (ISSRs) markers. All of the three ISSR primers screened, produced clear, reproducible and scorable bands.      The molecular size of Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) products generated 22 fragments by these ISSR ranged from ≈460 to18660 bp. All banding profiles from micropropagated plants were monomorphic and similar to those of the mother plant, indicating 100% similarity. This confirmed the true to type nature of the in vitro raised clones

Tetracycline resistance phenotypes and genotypes of coagulase-negative staphylococcal isolates from bubaline mastitis in Egypt

Aim: This study was devoted to elucidate the tetracycline resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) derived from normal and subclinical mastitic (SCM) buffaloes' milk in Egypt. Materials and Methods: A total of 81 milk samples from 46 normal buffalo milk samples and 35 SCM buffalo milk samples at private dairy farms of Egypt were used in this study. CNS were identified using phenotypic and molecular methods (polymerase chain reaction [PCR]). CNS isolates were tested for tetracycline resistance using routine methods and multiplex PCR targeting tetracycline (tet) resistance genes followed by sequencing of positive PCR products and phylogenetic analysis. Results: Isolation and identification of 28 (34.5%) CNS from normal and SCM buffaloes' milk, namely, Staphylococcus intermedius (39.2%), Staphylococcus xylosus (25.0%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (10.7%), Staphylococcus hominis (10.7%), and 3.5% to each of Staphylococcus sciuri, Staphylococcus hyicus, Staphylococcus lugdunensis, and Staphylococcus simulans. Using nested PCR, all the 28 CNS isolates revealed positive for 16srRNA gene specific for genus staphylococci and negative for thermonuclease (nuc) gene specific for Staphylococcus aureus species. The presence of tetracycline resistance-encoding genes (tetK, tetL, tetM, and tetO) was detected by multiplex PCR. All isolates were negative for tetL, M, and O genes while 14 (50%) CNS isolates were positive for tetK gene, namely, S. lugdunensis (100%), S. hominis (100%), S. epidermidis (66.6%), S. intermedius (45.4%), and S. xylosus (42.8%). Nucleotide sequencing of tetK gene followed by phylogenetic analysis showed the high homology between our CNS isolates genes of tetracycline resistance with S. aureus isolates including Egyptian ones. This proves the transfer of the tetracycline resistance encoding genes between coagulase-negative and coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp. Conclusion: CNS isolates have distinguishingly high resistance to tetracycline. Abundant tetracycline usage for mastitis treatment leads to the spread of genetic resistance mechanisms inside CNS strains and among all Staphylococcus spp. Consequently, tetracycline is not effective anymore

SULPHATED POLYSACCHARIDES (SPS) FROM THE GREEN ALGA ULVA FASCIATA EXTRACT MODULATES LIVER AND KIDNEY FUNCTION IN HIGH FAT DIET-INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC RATS

Objective: Hypercholesterolemia (HC) was frequently associated with oxidative stress, and release of inflammatory cytokines is to determine the hypolipidemic effects of sulphated polysaccharides from seaweed Ulva fasciata algal extracts through measuring the activities of some parameters related to liver and kidney functions in the serum of hypercholesterolemic rats as compared to normal one.Methods: Different groups of rats were administered a high cholesterol diet. Liver and kidney functions, inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, CRP, MPO and IL-10), oxidative stress (GSH, MDA and NO), in addition to cell adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) were assessed before and after treatment with the algal polysaccharides. In addition, histological examination of liver and kidney were performed to confirm the biochemical findings.Results: The obtained results showed that oxidative stress and inflammatory markers associated with hypercholesterolemia were significantly increased in HC-rats. The histopathological examination of liver and kidney demonstrated severe degeneration with diffuse vacuolar degeneration, necrosis and the presence of fatty droplets. In addition; nephron-histological examination revealed, mild glomerular injury with mild vascular and inflammatory changes. Treatment with the algal sulphated polysaccharides effectively improved these disorders and diminished the formation of fatty liver, as well as renal dysfunction more than the reference drug; fluvastatin. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the consumption of UFP (Ulva fasciata polysaccharides), may be associated with attenuation of inflammatory markers, amelioration of fatty liver and improvement of renal dysfunction, that in turn lead to counteract hypercholesterolemia and its related disorders; such as obesity, and heart disease.Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Seaweed, Ulva fasciata, Hypercholesterolemia, Hypolipidemic activity, Sulphated polysaccharides (SPs

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Growth, nodulation, and yield of soybean and associated weeds as affected by weed management Crescimento, nodulacão, e rendimento da soja influenciados por diferentes manejo de plantas daninhas

Two field experiments were conducted at the experimental farm of the National Research Centre at Shalakan, Kalubia Governorate, Egypt, during 2006 and 2007 seasons, to study the effect of three pre-emergence herbicides, prometryn [at the rate of 0.75, 1.5 and 2.25 kg ha-1], oxadiargyl [at the rate of 240, 480 and 720 g ha-1] and butralin [at the rate of 1.20, 2.40 and 3.36 kg ha-1], two hand hoeing treatments and a nonweeded check, on weed infestation, nodulation, growth, yield and yield attributes of soybean plants. Two hand hoeing treatments resulted in the highest weed depression expressed as the lowest fresh and dry weights of broadleaved, grassy and total weeds. The reduction percentage in weed dry matter compared to the nonweeded treatment was 98.3, 92.64 and 96.9% in broadleaved, grassy and total weeds, respectively. Application of the three herbicides at higher or recommended doses significantly reduced fresh and dry weight of the weeds compared to the nonweeded treatment. The results indicated that all the three herbicides at rates higher than the recommended markedly decreased the number, fresh and dry weight of nodules as well as root, shoot and total dry weight plant-1, while application of two hand hoeing treatments significantly increased these traits. Two hand hoeing treatments and pre-emergence herbicides at the recommended rates markedly increased soybean yield and its attributes. Two hand hoeing treatments gave the highest values of number of pods per plant-1, weight of pods per plant-1 and number of seeds per plant-1 by 140.7, 150.0 and 59.8%, respectively, compared to the nonweeded treatment. On the other hand, oxadiargyl at the recommended rate (480 g ha-1) was the best treatment for promoting seed yield (g plant-1), seed yield (kg ha-1) and biological yield (g plant-1) compared to the nonweeded treatment by 87.3, 85.0 and 88.2%, respectively. Prometryn at the rate of 1.50 kg ha-1, followed by two hand hoeing treatments, produced the highest shoot and seed protein percentage as well as seed oil percentage, compared to the other weed control treatments.<br>Dois experimentos de campo foram conduzidos na fazenda experimental do Centro de Pesquisa Nacional em Shalakan, Kalubia Governorate, Egito, durante 2006 e 2007, para estudar o efeito de três herbicidas de pré-emergência, prometryn [doses de 0.75, 1.5 e 2.25 kg ha-1], oxadiargyl [doses de 240, 480 e 720 g ha-1] e butralin [doses de 1.20, 2.40 e 3.36 kg ha-1], dois tratamentos capinados e um controle sem capina, avaliando a infestação de plantas daninhas, a nodulação, o crescimento, o rendimento, e os componentes do rendimento em plantas de soja. Dois tratamentos resultaram em maior redução de plantas daninhas expressa em menores pesos frescos e secos das plantas dicotiledôneas, gramíneas e total. A percentagem de matérias das plantas daninhas comparada ao tratamento sem capina foi de 98.3, 92.64 e 96.9% em dicotiledôneas, gramíneas e total de plantas infestantes, respectivamente. A aplicação de três herbicidas em doses maiores ou nas doses recomendadas reduziu significantemente o peso fresco e seco das plantas daninhas comparado com o tratamento com capina. Os resultados indicaram que todos os três herbicidas nas maiores doses diminuíram o número, peso fresco e seco dos nódulos, raiz, caule e peso seco total da planta, enquanto duas capinas manuais aumentaram significativamente das características citadas. Duas capinas manuais e os herbicidas de pré-emergência aplicados nas doses recomendadas aumentaram o rendimento da soja e seus atributos. Duas capinas manuais produziram maiores números de vagens por planta, peso de vagem por planta e número de sementes por planta em 140,7; 150,0 e 59,8%, respectivamente, comparado ao tratamento capinado. Por outro lado, oxadiargyl aplicado na dose recomendada (480 g ha-1) apresentou maior rendimento de semente (g planta-1), rendimento de semente (kg ha-1) e rendimento biológico (g planta-1) que o tratamento sem capina em 87,3; 85,0 e 88,2%, respectivamente. Prometryn na dose de 1,50 kg ha-1, seguido de duas capinas manuais produziu a maior percentagem de proteína na parte aérea e sementes como também de óleo na semente, comparado a outros tratamentos de controle de plantas daninhas