Immunohistochemical and bacteriological investigations of mannheimia haemolytica in sheep bronchopneumonia

Mannheimia haemolytica infection is one of the most common etiologic agents of sheep pneumonia almost all over the world. Ovine pneumonic Mannheimiosis is characterized by severe fibrinous pleuropneumonia. Subacute to chronic cases progress to purulent bronchopneumonia and its squeals include abscessation and fibrous pleural adhesions. In the present study, lungs of 8986 sheep were inspected grossly in the Ahvaz abattoir and totally 65 lungs with visible signs of bronchopneumonia were selected for pathological and bacteriological examinations. Mannheimia haemolytica antigens were detected in 63.07% of immunoperoxidase stained tissue sections while 52.30% of the lungs were positive in bacteriological culture. Suppurative, necrotic and fibrinous types of bronchopneumonia were the most abundant lesions and right cranial lobes, specifically their cranial portions, were the most affected areas. McNemar test showed a significant difference between the diagnostic power of immunohistochemistry (IHC) and bacterial culture in detection of M. haemolytica (κ=0.66). Considering IHC as a golden test, sensitivity and specificity of bacterial culture were estimated as 78.05 and 91.67%, respectively. Chi- squared test showed significant correlations between the distribution of the lesions and bacterial isolation (P=0.04), types of lesions and IHC results (P=0.01), and also types of bronchopneumonia and mixed/pure isolation (P=0.008). This study showed the significant role of Mannheimia haemolytica in causing pneumonic lesions of studied sheep

Investigation on protective effect of recombinant protein (OmpTS) of Aeromonas hydrophila in Common carp ( Cyprinus carpio )

The outer membrane protein of Aeromonas hydrophila is a potential candidate for vaccine development. In this study, after cloning and expression of ompTS, 270 common carp, weighing 44 ± 5.7 g divided into five groups, were injected intraperitoneally twice with 3‐week intervals. Groups included the following: PBS, PBS plus Freund's adjuvant, recombinant protein, recombinant protein plus Freund's adjuvant and 20 fish as negative control. Two weeks after the second injection, 30 fish of each group were challenged with a dose of 2 × LD50 of Aeromonas hydrophila and RPS was measured. The antibody level was measured using ELISA test. The protection of recombinant protein in the immunized fish with and without adjuvant, respectively, was about 82.61% and 78.26% (the protection of recombinant protein electroeluted from an SDS–PAGE with and without adjuvant, respectively, was about 78.62% and 69.57%). The average of antibody level in recombinant protein with and without adjuvant was significantly higher than the PBS group (p < .05). The ability of recombinant ompTS to increase the antibody level and to protect the fish from challenge by A. hydrophila demonstrated that recombinant ompTS protein injection can be used to immunize common carp against A. hydrophila infection

Supplementary Material for: Effect of Honey-lime spray as add-on therapy on chemotherapy-induced xerostomia in breast cancer patients: A pilot randomized double-blinded controlled trial

Introduction: Xerostomia (dry mouth) is a common side effect among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. There is no standard treatment for this symptom yet, although Persian medicine textbooks suggested some products to relieve xerostomia. We aimed to assess the efficacy of Honey-lime spray in treating chemotherapy-induced xerostomia in breast cancer patients through a controlled study. Methods: In this pilot, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial conducted in Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, Iran, the intervention group received Honey-lime spray and nystatin, while the control group used distilled water plus nystatin for two weeks. The six-item dry mouth form and visual analog score (VAS) were used to evaluate xerostomia extent and pain, respectively. Results: The standardized value of the difference between the mean scores before and after the study was -10.21 (P<0.001), and the effect size was estimated at 55%. Also, VAS showed a significant decrease in pain for the intervention group compared with the control group (P<0.001). There were no serious side effects. Conclusion: Honey-lime spray may be a good treatment choice for xerostomia in chemotherapy-induced breast cancer patients, but robust trials with larger samples and prolonged follow-ups are highly recommended

Inductive and magnetic field inspection systems for rebar visualization and corrosion estimation in reinforced and pre-stressed concrete

Inductive and magnetic field inspection systems are becoming increasing popular for the nondestructive imaging and condition assessment of reinforcing components, such as steel reinforcing bars (rebars) and tendons in reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. In this article, we review the principles of this nascent technology, the research and commercial instruments that are now available, and the directions of future research. Magnetic field imaging technology has in general many potential benefits; it is truly nondestructive and non-invasive, it is non-hazardous, cost-effective and, most important, ignores the concrete matrix in which the reinforcing components are embedded. Most significantly, by analysing the impedance change in an excitation coil, it is also possible to obtain quantitative information (and image data) in relation to regions of corrosion. However, the testing industry has traditionally been reluctant to apply this methodology, for the important reason that the detection range is limited by the rapid attenuation of the magnetic field with increasing distance from the source. This limitation is now being addressed with research into novel coil arrangements, new, more stable and sensitive solid state sensors, and reconstruction algorithms that allow virtual three dimensional reconstruction of embedded component