<I>Myxobolus opsaridiumi</I> sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) infecting different tissues of an ornamental fish, <I>Opsaridium ubangiensis</I> (Pellegrin, 1901), in Cameroon: morphological and molecular characterization

We report a new myxozoan, Myxobolus opsaridiumi sp. nov., infecting the ornamental fish Opsaridium ubangiensis (Pellegrin, 1901) collected from the Anga River near the city of Yaounde, Cameroon. Plasmodia were found in the skin, muscles and spleen. The overall prevalence of infection was 54.7% (288 parasitized fish out of 526 examined). The myxospores were ovoid to subspherical in frontal view and lenticular in lateral view. The valves were symmetrical and relatively thick, without edge markings. The myxospore measurements were 10.7 ± 0.14 (10–11.5) μm long, 9 ± 0.15 (8–10) μm wide and 6.2 ± 0.7 (5.6–7.2) μm thick. The two ovoid polar capsules were equal in size, converging and opening together at the anterior end, measuring 5 ± 0.07 (4.3–6.0) μm long and 2.7 ± 0.07 (2.2–3.0) μm wide. Polar filaments were coiled from 5 to 7 turns. Histopathological analysis revealed no inflammatory reaction associated with the infection. A BLAST search found that the newly obtained 18 rDNA sequence had a low sequence similarity with available sequences for Myxobolus on GenBank. A phylogenetical analysis based on ribosomal DNA partial sequences showed that M. opsaridiumi sp. nov. is closely associated with several species of Myxobolus infecting cyprinid fish.</p

An Efficient One-Pot Protocol for the Synthesis of Substituted 3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones Using Metallophthalocyanines (MPcs) as Potent Heterogeneous Catalysts: Synthesis, Characterization, Aggregation and Antimicrobial Activity

In this study, novel phthalonitrile 3 and their corresponding metal-free 4 and metallophthalocyanine derivatives 5–7 bearing 2-isopropenyl-4-methoxy-1-methylbenzene groups were synthesized and characterized. 3,4-Dihydropyrimidinones have been synthesized by a modified Biginelli-type reaction with various metallophthalocyanines 5–7 as catalysts. Compared to the classical Biginielli reaction, the new method has the advantages of good yield and short reaction time. Among the various metallophthalocyanines studied, cobalt (II)-phthalocyanine was found to be most active for this transformation. The newly prepared compounds were characterized using elemental analyses, MS, IR, 1H/13C-NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. In addition; the 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones (DHPMs) 8–12 were investigated for antimicrobial activities and revealed good activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the microdilution technique in Mueller-Hinton broth. The MICs were recorded after 24 hours of incubation at 37 °C. These results are promising, showing these compounds are biologically active

An efficient synthesis of phthalimides and their biological activities

International audiencePractical and efficient synthesis of phthalimides compounds 3 weredescribed and characterized. The synthesized compounds were screenedfor their antimicrobial activities against gram-positive bacterial strains(Micrococcus luteus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus andBacillus cereus), a gram-negative bacterial strain (Salmonella typhimurium)and a fungus (Candida albicans). Cytotoxicity studies of the of phthalimides3 were conducted in two human cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7

Spraguea lophii (Microsporidia) parasite of the teleost fish, Lophius piscatorius from Tunisian coasts: evidence for an extensive chromosome length polymorphism.

International audienceA microsporidian of the genus Spraguea was found parasitizing the nervous tissues of Lophius piscatorius collected from various localities in the Mediterranean coastal areas of Tunisia. The tissue localization, the infection focus aspect and sporal dimorphism are characteristics of Spraguea lophii species. Molecular data based on partial sequence of SSUrRNA encoding gene shows few nucleotide polymorphisms, compared to all described Spraguea isolates. Molecular karyotype obtained on pulsed field gel electrophoresis (1D-PFGE) shows a profile with 14 stained bands in the range of 230-880 kbp and a genome size estimated to 6.700 kbp. The rare cutter endonuclease MluI KARD 2-D-PFGE fingerprint shows an extensive chromosome length polymorphism, but the number of chromosome is unchanged and consists of 15 different molecules. The extensive chromosome length polymorphism is associated to a reduced number of genetic events

Investigating the Immediate Influence of Moderate Pedal Exercises during an Assembly Work on Performance and Workload in Healthy Men

Physical inactivity has increased in prevalence among adults in industrialized and developing countries owing to the fact that the majority of job situations require individuals to remain seated for extended periods of time. This research aims to evaluate the influence of cycling on a stationary bike while executing a keyboard assembly task on the task completion time, error percentage, and physiological and subjective measurements. The physiological measures were electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiographic (ECG) signal responses, whereas the subjective measures were subjective workload ratings and subjective body discomforts. Two variables were evaluated, namely assembly methods (with versus without pedal exercises at a moderate intensity) and session testing (pre- versus post-test). Thus, the repeated measures design (i.e., assembly method by session testing of participants) was used. According to the completion time, error %, participant self-reports, and ECG and EEG statistical analysis data, the participants&rsquo; performances in the keyboard assembly task did not decrease while they performed pedaling exercises (p &gt; 0.05). Additionally, when participants completed the assembly task while executing the pedaling exercises, the mean inter-beat (RR) intervals significantly reduced (p &lt; 0.05) while the mean heart rate increased (p &lt; 0.05), which mean that pedaling exercises caused physical workloads on the participants. Participant performance was unaffected by performing a workout while performing the assembly activity. Thus, administrations should encourage their employees to engage in short sessions of moderate-intensity exercise similar to the suggested exercise in the study to improve a person&rsquo;s physical health during work without interfering with the effectiveness of work

Quantifying anticancer drug toxicity on white blood cell count in cancer patients: A mathematical and computational approach

Objectives: White blood cells (WBCs) are immune cells that fight infections and cancers. However, many cancers and their treatment with chemotherapy negatively affect the WBCs count. For oncologists and physicians, it is important to know how much the WBCs count is affected to optimize drug administration. The data of breast cancer patients were included in this study because the largest number of cancer patients were suffering from breast cancer in the under-study hospital. This study presents a computational and mathematical approach to measure the effect on the WBCs count of breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy with two anticancer drug combinations: docetaxel with cyclophosphamide (TC) and doxorubicin with cyclophosphamide (AC). Methods: Between July 2016 and October 2021, to breast cancer patients, 4 cycles of chemotherapy (one cycle of 21 days) were administered intravenously using TC (75 mg/m2 + 600 mg/m2). Similarly, varying in cases, intravenous AC (60 mg/m2 + 600 mg/m2) was administered in each of the 4 cycles. The WBCs counts of the subjects affected by both TC and AC combinations were observed for comparison. An equation was derived to calculate the effect of TC and AC on WBCs count (eWBCc). The eWBCc of 171 patients who received TC and 154 patients who received AC were calculated by implantation of the derived equation using Python 3.8. Results: Comparing the results of 171 patients, it is observed that, TC affected WBC count of a patient at lowest level by 12.29%, at maximum level by 69.64%, and on average by 34.13%. Whereas, comparing the results of 154 patients, AC affected WBC count of a patient at lowest level by 19%, at maximum level by 65.03%, and on average, by 44.36%. A paired t-test was used to analyze the statistical differences between the eWBCc of both TC and AC cohorts. This test indicates a statistically significant difference between the eWBCc by TC and AC, as evidenced by the P-value of 0.000, which is less than the chosen significance level (alpha) of 0.05. Conclusion: We conclude that TC remains less toxic than AC in affecting white blood cells count of the studied patients

Myxobolus opsaridiumi sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) infecting different tissues of an ornamental fish, Opsaridium ubangiensis (Pellegrin, 1901), in Cameroon: morphological and molecular characterization

Lekeufack-Folefack, Guy Benoit, Tchoutezo-Tiwa, Armandine Estelle, Fomena, Abraham, Mansour, Lamjed (2021): Myxobolus opsaridiumi sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) infecting different tissues of an ornamental fish, Opsaridium ubangiensis (Pellegrin, 1901), in Cameroon: morphological and molecular characterization. European Journal of Taxonomy 733: 56-71, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.733.122

Synthesis, Characterization, Antimicrobial Properties, and Antioxidant Activities of Silver-N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has become a major handicap in the fight against bacterial infections, prompting researchers to develop new, more effective, and multimodal alternatives. Silver and its complexes have long been used as antimicrobial agents in medicine because of their lack of resistance to silver, their low potency at low concentrations, and their low toxicity compared to most commonly used antibiotics. N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are widely used for coordination of transition metals, mainly in catalytic chemistry. In this study, several N-alkylated benzimidazolium salts 2a–j were synthesized. Then, the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursor was treated with Ag2O to give silver (I) NHC complexes (3a–j) at room temperature in dichloromethane for 48 h. Ten new silver-NHC complexes were fully characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), elemental analysis, and LC-MSMS (for complexes) techniques. The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of salt 2 and its silver complex 3 were evaluated. All of these complexes were more effective against bacterial strains than comparable ligands. With MIC values ranging from 6.25 to 100 g/ml, the Ag-NHC complex effectively showed strong antibacterial activity. Antioxidant activity was also tested using conventional techniques, such as 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazine (DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays. In DPPH and ABTS experiments, compounds 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e, 3g, and 3i showed significant clearance

Engineering effect of Pinna nobilis shells on benthic communities

Within the framework of the possibility of using the Mediterranean pen shell Pinna nobilis in restoration and conservation plans of benthic habitats, an in situ experiment was conducted using empty P. nobilis shells. The latter were transplanted in a bare soft-bottomed area and their associated fauna were followed along 120 days and compared at different temporal points and with the assemblages living in the surrounding soft-sediment area. Compared to soft-sediment communities, an evidently increasing succession of species richness, abundance, and diversity descriptors (Shannon-Wiener H′ and Pielou's evenness J′) was observed with the community inhabiting empty Pinna shells. Among the forty-five (45) species found in association with the transplanted empty shells, seventeen (17) were found constantly in the three temporal points; the other twenty-eight (28) species appeared in the samples collected in the second and/or third sampling time. While motile and sessile species associated to Pinna shells showed an increasing pattern of appearance and abundance along the experiment time, those of soft sediment remained almost constant. The comparison between Pinna shells and soft-sediment associated communities showed that the species richness was slightly different between the two different sample types (49 for soft sediment versus 45 for empty Pinna shells); however the total abundance was found more important with empty Pinna shells. The results obtained herein argue in favor of the important engineering effect of P. nobilis in soft benthic habitats and therefore for the necessity of its conservation