Ectoparasites of hedgehogs: From flea mite phoresy to their role as vectors of pathogens

Hedgehogs are synanthropic mammals, reservoirs of several vector-borne pathogens and hosts of ectoparasites. Arthropod-borne pathogens (i.e., Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., and Anaplasmataceae) were molecularly investigated in ectoparasites collected on hedgehogs (n = 213) from Iran (161 Hemiechinus auritus, 5 Erinaceus concolor) and Italy (47 Erinaceus europaeus). In Iran, most animals examined (n = 153; 92.2%) were infested by ticks (Rhipicephalus turanicus, Hyalomma dromedarii), and 7 (4.2%) by fleas (Archeopsylla erinacei, Ctenocephalides felis). Of the hedgehogs infested by arthropods in Italy (i.e., 44.7%), 18 (38.3%) were infested by fleas (Ar. erinacei), 7 (14.9%) by ticks (Haemaphysalis erinacei, Rh. turanicus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato), and 6 (12.8%) by mites (Caparinia tripilis, Acarus nidicolous, Ornithonyssus spp.). Phoretic behavior of C. tripilis on Ar. erinacei was detected in two flea specimens from Italy. At the molecular analysis Rickettsia spp. was detected in 93.3% of the fleas of Italy. In Iran, Rickettsia spp. was detected in 8.0% out of 212 Rh. turanicus ticks, and in 85.7% of the Ar. erinacei fleas examined. The 16S rRNA gene for Ehrlichia/Anaplasma spp. was amplified in 4.2% of the 212 Rh. turanicus ticks. All sequences of Rickettsia spp. from fleas presented 100% nucleotide identity with Rickettsia asembonensis, whereas Rickettsia spp. from Rh. turanicus presented 99.84%–100% nucleotide identity with Rickettsia slovaca, except for one sequence, identical to Rickettsia massiliae. The sequences of the 16S rRNA gene revealed 99.57%–100% nucleotide identity with Anaplasma spp., except for one, identical to Ehrlichia spp. A new phoretic association between C. tripilis mites and Ar. erinacei fleas has been herein reported, which could be an important route for the spreading of this mite through hedgehog populations. Additionally, spotted fever group rickettsiae were herein detected in ticks and fleas, and Anaplasma/Ehrlichia spp. in ticks, suggesting that hedgehogs play a role as reservoirs for these vector-borne pathogens

A comprehensive study on ring shape specimens under compressive and tensile loadings for covering the full range of I+II fracture modes of gypsum material

Using ring-shape specimens containing two aligned cracks on the internal surface of the ring, two test configurations subjected to tensile or compressive loads namely (i) diametrically compressed ring (DCR) and (ii) diametrically tensile ring (DTR) specimens were suggested to investigate the full mixed-mode I/II fracture problem. The fracture parameters, including modes I and II stress intensity factors and T-stress, were determined numerically for these two test specimens with different crack lengths and crack angles. Also, the ability of the specimens was examined by conducting experimental fracture tests on gypsum material. In addition, the direction of fracture kinking was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The experimental results were then compared and predicted using the mixed mode fracture criteria such as maximum tangential stress (MTS) and generalized maximum tangential stress (GMTS). The normalized fracture toughness (KIIc/KIc) ratios of the tested DCR and DTR specimens were about 0.72 and 0.95, respectively. Such difference was related to the considerable effect of T-stress values and it was shown that the GMTS criterion provides more accurate predictions for the test results of both DCR and DCT samples compared to the MTS criterion

Histopathological and biochemical effects of aqueous extract of Tragopogon graminifolius on the liver tissues of Wistar rats fed with high-fat diet

The fatty liver disease is one of the most usual metabolic diseases among people around the world. Appropriate strategies for treating this disease are prioritized by each country. The purpose of the new research was to survey the therapeutical property of aqueous extract of Tragopogon graminifolius on the high-fat diet-induced fatty liver disease in Wistar male rats. In this study, 60 rats were used. A total of ten rats were chosen as the negative control, and the rest of them were treated with a high-fat diet for 4 months. Then, the animals were randomly divided into six subgroups, including negative healthy control, untreated negative control, and four groups receiving the aqueous extract of T. graminifolius at 20, 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg concentrations. After 2 months, the rats were sacrificed, and the blood and liver samples of them were collected for biochemical and histopathological parameter analysis. All doses of T. graminifolius could significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decrease the raised levels of ALP, AST, ALT, GGT, cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride, total and conjugated bilirubin, and glucose and increased HDL, total protein, albumin, SOD, and CAT as compared to the untreated group. Also, aqueous extract of T. graminifolius decreased the degree of hepatic steatosis as compared to the untreated group. In conclusion, the obtained results demonstrated the hepatoprotective effect of T. graminifolius aqueous extract. © 2018, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Repair efficiency evaluation for cracked asphalt mixture pavement in different ambient temperatures using bitumen and polymer concrete as repair materials

This paper studies the effect of crack repairing process on the behavior of pavement at four ambient low and medium temperatures ranging from −20 °C to 30 °C. Asphalt mixture samples in the shape of semi-circular bend (SCB) were tested in intact, cracked, and repaired conditions under tensile or opening mode of loading. Two adhesive types: namely pure bitumen and polymer concrete were used to repair the crack. To investigate the efficiency of the repair process, some indexes such as failure load, initial and post-failure energies, and failure patterns were evaluated using the intact and cracked SCB specimens. Failure patterns showed that in the repaired specimens with pure bitumen, the failure initiates from the mid-section (i.e., from the repaired zone), while in polymer concrete repaired specimens, the failure initiates far from the repaired zone. Experimental results also revealed that the temperature has a noticeable effect on the repair efficiency using bitumen adhesive. Indeed, for sub-zero temperature conditions, such repairing material partially provided acceptable integrity for the pavement compared to the intact asphalt mixture. But, for service temperatures greater than + 10 °C, repair with bitumen was inefficient. However, repair with polymer concrete was efficient in all temperatures, and the strength of specimens repaired by the polymer concrete was even higher than the intact specimen. Similar trends and results were also obtained for the work of failure indexes

Mode I and mode II fracture toughness and fracture energy of cement concrete containing different percentages of coarse and fine recycled tire rubber granules

The effect of adding recycled tire rubber granules on pure mode I and II fracture behaviors of ordinary cement concrete is investigated using a testing specimen called the Edge Notch Disc Bend (ENDB). Several ENDB samples containing coarse and fine rubber granules with weight percentages of 0, 1, 2, 4, and 12% are tested to obtain the corresponding values of the fracture toughness and fracture energy besides the compressive strength measurement. The results showed the noticeable effects of both granule type (i.e., fine and coarse) and percentage of granules on the fracture characteristics of the tested cement concrete mixtures. The addition of up to 4% coarse grain granules can provide concrete mixtures with acceptable fracture characteristics. However, the greater percentage of rubber granules noticeably reduces the performance of concrete against cracking. The relationships between fracture characteristics (including modes I and II fracture toughnesses and fracture energy values at the onset of peak load and final failure stage) were explored in terms of the common compressive strength index of the tested concrete mixtures. In general, fairly linear correlations were obtained between the cracking resistance indexes and the compressive strength of the tested concrete materials

Assessment of the anti-anemic effect of aqueous extract of Allium eriophyllum Boiss leaf in phenylhydrazine-treated Wistar male rats

There are many medicinal plants in Iranian traditional medicine which are used to treat anemia. One of these plants is Allium eriophyllum Boiss. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-anemic potential of aqueous extract of A. eriophyllum leaf. After collection of the plant, its extract was obtained using Soxhlet extractor. In this study, 60 rats were used. Induction of hemolytic anemia was done by three injections of phenylhydrazine in 50 animals. After 1 day, the rats were divided into six subgroups, including negative healthy control, untreated negative control, and four groups receiving the A. eriophyllum at 20, 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg concentrations. At the end of day 15 of treatment, the animals of all groups were sacrificed, and blood samples were drawn immediately from the animals’ hearts to analyze the biochemical and hematological parameters. The data were analyzed by SPSS-21 software. Different doses of A. eriophyllum significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced the raised levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), urea, creatinine, ferrous, ferritin, and erythropoietin and increased the levels of body weight, white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte, neutrophils, monocytes, platelet, red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) as compared to the untreated group. Seemingly, aqueous extract of A. eriophyllum can be used for the treatment of hemolytic anemia. © 2018, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Iranian HIV/AIDS patients with oropharyngeal candidiasis: identification, prevalence and antifungal susceptibility of Candida species

Oropharyngeal candidiasis is the commonest mucocutaneous infection in HIV-positive individuals. Herein, samples were taken from oral cavities of 150 HIV-infected patients and cultured on Sabouraud-dextrose agar; 89 (59·3) of 150 patients had positive culture for Candida and presented clinical sign of classical oral candidiasis. Totally, 102 morphologically distinct colonies were isolated from Candida positive cultures and subsequently identified by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing assay, presenting the following frequency: 54 C. albicans (52·9), 16 C. dubliniensis (15·7), 12 C. tropicalis (11·8), 9 C. glabrata (8·8), 7 C. kefyr (6·9) and 4 C. africana (3·9). Additionally, multiple Candida species were co-isolated from 13·5 (12/89) patients. Regarding the antifungal susceptibility test, which was performed by CLSI protocol (M27-A3/M27-S3), all Candida isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B and caspofungin, while some of them were resistant to fluconazole (17·6; 16 C. albicans, 1 C. dubliniensis and 1 C. glabrata), itraconazole (16·7; 15 C. albicans, 1 C. dubliniensis and 1 C. tropicalis) and voriconazole (5·9; 5 C. albicans and 1 C. tropicalis). Collectively, our findings reinforce the urgent necessity to find new therapeutic agents to treat oral candidiasis in HIV-positive patients, especially due to the high incidence of azole-resistant Candida strains and the increased frequency of non-C. albicans species. Significance and Impact of the Study: The Candida species recovered from oral cavity of 150 Iranian HIV/AIDS patients and their antifungal susceptibility profiles were reported. Candida albicans was the commonest Candida species, followed by C. dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. kefyr and C. africana. All Candida isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B and caspofungin, while resistance to azoles was detected. The growing drug-resistance profile reported in clinical isolates of C. albicans and non-C. albicans strains is a serious problem in hospitals worldwide. Consequently, the suitable antifungal choice to treat the HIV/AIDS population with oral candidiasis needs to be rethought and new therapeutic options must urgently arise. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiolog

Strength and cracking resistance of concrete containing different percentages and sizes of recycled tire rubber granules

In order to use recycled materials in the composition of greener and cleaner concrete products, it is vital to ensure that the produced concrete have the appropriate level of strength. This paper investigates the effect of gradation (size) and percentage of recycled rubber granules on the physical parameters (slump and density), strength parameters (tensile and compressive strength values), and in particular the crack initiation and propagation characteristics (under the opening, shearing, and tearing modes). The tensile strength, compressive strength, fracture toughness (KIc, KIIc, and KIIIc), and fracture energy values at the initial crack initiation and ultimate failure propagation stages were determined by testing specimens containing 0, 1, 2, 4, and 12% of fine and coarse recycled rubber granules. Rubber particles were graded in two distinct ways so that they could serve as both filler and granules. In contrast to fine rubber granules, the addition of coarse granules had a positive effect on mode-II and mode-III fracture toughness. But, the addition of fine and coarse rubber granules reduces mode I fracture toughness. The analysis of fracture values indicates that coarse rubber granules have a positive effect on the post-peak failure energy absorption (i.e., the crack propagation stage) of all fracture modes. However, this increase in fracture energy for the fine rubber combination was only observed for mode-II fracture stress. The fracture toughness and fracture energy values of the similar concrete were empirically determined based on their corresponding tensile strength. The link between fracture toughness and fracture energy values was also discovered. According to the experimental results, the concrete containing 4% coarse rubber granules provides good mechanical and cracking resistance properties

Hesperetin is a potent bioactivator that activates SIRT1-AMPK signaling pathway in HepG2 cells

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a deacetylase enzyme that plays crucial roles in controlling many cellular processes and its downregulation has been implicated in different metabolic disorders. Recently, several polyphenols have been considered as the effective therapeutic approaches that appear to influence SIRT1. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of hesperetin, a citrus polyphenolic flavonoid, on SIRT1 and AMP-activated kinase (AMPK). HepG2 cells were treated with hesperetin in the presence or absence of EX-527, a SIRT1 specific inhibitor, for 24 h. Resveratrol was used as a positive control. SIRT1 gene expression, protein level, and activity were measured by RT-PCR, Western blotting, and fluorometric assay, respectively. AMPK phosphorylation was also determined by Western blotting. Our results indicated a significant increase in SIRT1 protein level and activity as well as an induction of AMPK phosphorylation by hesperetin. These effects of hesperetin were abolished by EX-527. Furthermore, hesperetin reversed the EX-527 inhibitory effects on SIRT1 protein expression and AMPK phosphorylation. These findings suggest that hesperetin can be a novel SIRT1 activator, even stronger than resveratrol. Therefore, the current study may introduce hesperetin as a new strategy aimed at upregulation SIRT1-AMPK pathway resulting in various cellular processes regulation. © 2019, University of Navarra