Effects of two enzyme feed additives on digestion and milk production in lactating Egyptian buffaloes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two commercial enzyme products on milk production in Egyptian buffaloes. Twenty-one lactating buffaloes (570±15 kg BW) were divided into three groups (n=7) in a randomized block design for four months. Buffaloes were fed a total mixed ration containing 60% forage [rice straw and berseem hay (Trifolium alexandrinum)] and 40% concentrates with either no enzymes added (Control) or an addition of 40 g of Veta-Zyme Plus® (VET) or 40 g of Tomoko® (TOM ) enzyme product per day for each buffalo. Enzyme addition did not affect feed intake (P>0.05), but increased the digestibility of nutrients (P<0.05) and serum glucose concentration (P=0.011). Furthermore, the addition of VET increased milk (P=0.017) and fat corrected milk (P=0.021) yields, fat content (P=0.045), total unsaturated fatty acid (P=0.045) and total conjugated linoleic acid (P=0.031) contents in milk and decreased the content of total saturated fatty acids (P=0.046), while the addition of TOM increased milk total protein (P=0.023) and true protein (P=0.031) contents. The two enzyme products both resulted in higher concentrations of lysine (P=0.045) and total essential amino acids (P=0.036) in milk. It was concluded that addition of commercial fibrolytic enzyme products (i.e. Veta-Zyme Plus® and Tomoko®) to the diet of early lactating buffaloes enhanced nutrient digestibility and milk production and quality

DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF DOMPERIDONE SUBLINGUAL TABLETS

Objective: The aim of this work was to enhance the bioavailability of poorly soluble, anti-emetic drug; domperidone (DMP) having a poor oral bioavailability (13-17%) due to extensive first pass metabolism. The goal of this study was achieved through solubilization of DMP using solid dispersion technology followed by incorporation of solid dispersions into sublingual tablets to bypass pre-systemic metabolism.Methods: Solid dispersions of DMP with Pluronic F-68 were prepared in different weight ratios by fusion method and they were evaluated for their in vitro dissolution rate to select the best ratio for final formulation. Then, solid dispersions were formulated into sublingual tablets in combination with various soluble excipients. Sublingual tablets were prepared by direct compression technique and evaluated for their physical properties, in vitro dissolution rate and kinetics of drug release. The best formulae were selected for in vivo studies in rabbits in comparison with marketed oral tablets; Motinorm®.Results: Solid dispersions of DMP with Pluronic F-68 in a weight ratio of 1:7 (w/w) showed the highest dissolution rate and were selected for sublingual tablets formulation. Sublingual tablets formulae S16 (containing Fructose and 10% w/w Ac-Di-Sol) and S20 (containing Fructose and 10% w/w Explotab) showed the best results and were selected for in vivo studies in rabbits. The selected formulae showed marked enhancement of DMP bioavailability compared with the commercial oral tablets; Motinorm®, with relative bioavailability values of 432.49±10.13% and 409.32±11.59 % for S16 and S20, respectively.Conclusion: The results confirmed that sublingual tablets were an effective tool for DMP delivery with marked enhancement of bioavailability.Keywords: Domperidone, Solubility, Solid dispersions, Sublingual tablets, First-pass metabolism, Bioavailabilit

Sensitivity analysis of marine Controlled-Source Electromagnetic data

Electromagnetic sounding methods represent one of the few geophysical techniques that can provide information about the state and the properties of deep continental crust and upper mantle. In particular, marine Controlled-Source Electromagnetic (mCSEM) method is being applied to offshore hydrocarbon exploration and providing encouraging results, as it can complement the information obtained from seismic elaborations, mainly the position of the elastic discontinuities, with a map of electrical conductivity, the principal "discriminator" between conductive water-bearing rocks and non-conductive hydrocarbon accumulations. The processing of mCSEM data can be problematic due to the non-uniqueness of the solution, the environmental and equipment noise, and the high computational power required when dealing with 3D inversion. This paper proposes a simplified procedure to study and rank the sensitivity of mCSEM in a canonical 1D scenario, with a single resistive anomaly embedded in a homogeneous background. We analyze the sensitivity of the data with respect to the most important test parameters, namely the frequency, target depth, thickness, and resistivity. In addition, this procedure is also utilized to validate the so-called T-equivalence theorem. The results of this study could assist the interpreter to highlight the reliability of the inverted parameters in a complex inversion environment

Formulation, evaluation and optimization of miconazole nitrate tablet prepared by foam granulation technique

The aim of our study was to utilize novel foam granulation technique in formulation of miconazole nitrate; a model hydrophobic drug as oral disintegrating tablets "ODT" particularly to enhance its bioavailability. Foam granulation technique has additional advantages over the other traditional granulation technique since; it enhances the granulation process and produce acceptable tablets. Fractional factorial design was used to investigate the effect of formulation and processing variables on the prepared miconazole ODT. The prepared granules were evaluated by measuring their density, flowability, granules size and shape, and granules wetting time. The quality attributes of the prepared tablets; drug content, tablet thickness, uniformity of weight, tablet tensile strength, friability, disintegration, and dissolution were also evaluated. The results indicated that, the prepared granules showed acceptable characteristics and is significantly affected by the disintegrant type, urea concentration, and the lubricant type. The quality attributes of the tablets were not affected by the processing parameters. From the prepared formulas; F20, F19, F12, and F20 displayed 18, 35, 35, and 40 seconds disintegration time respectively and the percent of dissolution after 15 minutes ranged from 94.4-100%. These results ascertained that foam granulation technique fulfill the requirement in preparation of miconazole ODT. Key words: miconazole nitrate, foam granulation, oral disintegrating tablet

Sustainable anaerobic rumen methane and carbon dioxide productions from prickly pear cactus flour by organic acid salts addition

Worldwide, agricultural byproducts produced during different agricultural practices are nutrients-rich feed ingredients with a large potential to be used for ruminants nutrition (Ahmed et al., 2015; Elghandour et al., 2016a); however, in many developing countries, agriculture byproducts always cause environmental problems resulting from their burning in the field. Such feeds can be used as a cleaner product of animal feed and environment (Elghandour et al., 2016b). Moreover, as the global population is increasing, the conventional feed for animal production, such as grains, legumes, etc. is in shortage and highly priced in many parts of the world.Ruminal fermentation is accompanied by production of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) which are greenhouses making the Earth warmer. Therefore, the sustainable production of CH4 and CO2 as well as fermentation kinetics when corn grain (CG) was replaced with prickly pear cactus flour (PC) was investigated. Besides, the effect of different levels of organic acid salts (OAS) was studied. Three total mixed rations used as substrates were prepared where CG was replaced with PC at three levels (/kg): 0 g (Control), 75 g (PC75) or 150 g (PC150). The OAS was used at three levels: 0, 5 and 10 mg/g dry matter (DM) of substrates. Asymptotic gas (GP), CH4, and CO2 productions as well as lag time had linear responses (P < 0.05) as PC level increased in the ration. Fractional rate of GP (P ¼ 0.007), GP, organic matter degradability, short chain fatty acid, and microbial biomass production (P < 0.001) were increased with increasing level of PC. Fermentation pH (P < 0.001), and DM degradability (P ¼ 0.0448) were linearly decreased as the PC level increased in the rations. Ration OAS interaction did not affect fermentation kinetics, GP, CH4 production and fermentation parameters. Prickly pear cactus flour at 150 g/kg DM inclusion level in ruminant ration has the potential to replace 60% of corn grain with enhanced fermentation and biodegradation efficiency in vitro; however, it increased CH4 production, which cannot be an environmental friendly way of feeding livestock

Enhanced Removal of Lead by Chemically and Biologically Treated Carbonaceous Materials

Hybrid sorbents and biosorbents were synthesized via chemical and biological treatment of active carbon by simple and direct redox reaction followed by surface loading of baker's yeast. Surface functionality and morphology of chemically and biologically modified sorbents and biosorbents were studied by Fourier Transform Infrared analysis and scanning electron microscope imaging. Hybrid carbonaceous sorbents and biosorbents were characterized by excellent efficiency and superiority toward lead(II) sorption compared to blank active carbon providing a maximum sorption capacity of lead(II) ion as 500 μmol g−1. Sorption processes of lead(II) by these hybrid materials were investigated under the influence of several controlling parameters such as pH, contact time, mass of sorbent and biosorbent, lead(II) concentration, and foreign ions. Lead(II) sorption mechanisms were found to obey the Langmuir and BET isotherm models. The potential applications of chemically and biologically modified-active carbonaceous materials for removal and extraction of lead from real water matrices were also studied via a double-stage microcolumn technique. The results of this study were found to denote to superior recovery values of lead (95.0–99.0 ± 3.0–5.0%) by various carbonaceous-modified-bakers yeast biosorbents

Deciphering the Potential Therapeutic Intervention Points of 2019-nCoV: A Pharmacological Perspective

The emerging and re-emergence of viral outbreaks in the history of mankind has always pose severe global intimidation to public health and economy. The debilitating effects of 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus) outbreak has swiftly spread worldwide due to its highly contagious nature with severe risk of respiratory tract infections and higher mortality rate, necessitating the urgent need for the production of effective vaccine and potential therapeutic agents. The active evolution of SARS-CoV-2 strain in different population and environment strive immense challenge against anti-viral therapeutic development based on viral pathogenicity. The potential FDA drugs are evaluated based on their known safety and efficacy with exceptional pharmacokinetic profiles for the treatment of nCoV-2019. Existing knowledge related to MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV epidemic has provided a better understanding to explore purposeful therapeutics strategies against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To limited extend, the ongoing promising and hopeful treatments includes convalescent plasma therapy, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, ACE inhibitors, TMPRSS2 inhibitors, hydroxychloroquine, interferon, ribavirin, tocilizumab, and corticosteroids however clinical efficacy of some of them need to be validated in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The global struggle to make a protected and successful Coronavirus immunization is finally proving to be fruitful. Although challenges such as strain variation resistant, possible side effects, adequate supply of vaccines to all countries and limited availability of second dose still diverting the option of possible efficacious therapeutics strategies to work alongside with vaccine development with improved efficacy and safety profile. This review is focused on the potential advancement in therapeutic approaches with possible repurposing of the available drugs and explores the current status of available vaccines with hope that these strategies found to be cogent in controlling SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Remdesivir; Therapeutics; Plasma therapy; Hydroxychloroquine; Anti-viral; Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; Type II transmembrane serine protease    

A polishing the harmful effects of Broad Bean Mottle Virus infecting broad bean plants by enhancing the immunity using different potassium concentrations

Broad bean mottle virus (BBMV) infects a wide range of hosts, resulting in significant production reductions. The lack of adequate and effective control methods involves implementing novel BBMV control strategies. Herein, we demonstrate the effect of different potassium concentrations (20, 40, and 60 mM) against BBMV in broad bean plants. Potassium could control BBMV infection in broad bean by inhibiting the virus. In addition, infection with BBMV caused a significant decrease in morphological criteria, SPDA, photosynthetic characteristics, phytohormones, and mineral content in broad bean leaves compared to control plants. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and oxygen anion) and ROS scavenging enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, phenylaniline ammonia-lyase, chitinase, and 1,3 - glucanase) increased significantly in plants inoculated with BBMV alone or in the presence of K+. In addition, proline and phenolic compounds increased significantly after being infected with BBMV. In conclusion, treatment with a high potassium concentration (60 mM) alleviates the adverse effect of BBMV on broad bean plants by boosting secondary metabolites, phytohormones, and enzymatic antioxidants

Stiff Person syndrome: a case report

Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is rather unique among neurologic diagnoses. At relaxation, motor- unit activation, continuous agonist and antagonist muscular contractions, as well as contractions triggered by tactile triggers, quiescent stretch, and involuntary movement of affected or unaffected musculature, startled sounds and emotional stimuli are the clinical signs of SPS. Sleep, general anesthesia, myoneural, and peripheral nerve blockage all help to reduce rigidity and spasms. The syndrome may be a sporadic autoimmune syndrome (associated with anti–glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies and often accompanied by other autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes) or paraneoplastic (associated with anti–amphiphysin antibodies). People with SPS respond to high doses of diazepam and several anti-convulsants, gabapentin and tiagabine. Immunomodulatory drugs including steroids, plasmapheresis, and intravenous immunoglobulin appear to help significantly. The symptoms of our patient progressed slowly over time. Neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies ruled out other possible causes of comparable symptoms such as neuromyotonia. Raised anti-GAD autoantibodies titer in serum found by immunocytochemistry assays, our patient's history, clinical examination findings, and reaction to benzodiazepines all pointed to SPS.