Alterations in carbohydrate metabolism under cryptorchid condition in albino rats

Bilateral cryptorchidism was induced surgically in adult wistar strain albino rats and the carbohydrate metabolic pathway has been studied in testis, and sex accessory organs of both control and cryptorchid animals by estimating the marker enzymes and the substrates of the metabolism. In cryptorchid animal tissues, accumulation of lactic acid and glycogen was observed with inhibited phosphorylase activity in comparison to the controls. The reproductive tissues like testis, epididymis, prostate gland and seminal vesicles had shown remarkable elevation in the glycogen content, which can be attributed to decreased phosphorylase activity. In view of androgen dependent nature of phosphorylase its inhibition can be correlated to decreased testosterone circulation in the body. Consequently the free glucose content of the tissues was markedly decreased suggesting a decrease in the mobilization of the carbohydrates into energy metabolism. All the reproductive tissues had shown significant accumulation of lactic acid with inhibited oxidative enzyme activities. Thus the reproductive tissue oxidative metabolism had been suppressed during cryptorchidism leading to a shift towards glycolysis and creating a situation of functional suppression

Exploring the Impact of Preprocessing Techniques on Retinal Blood Vessel Segmentation Using a Study Group Learning Scheme

The segmentation of retinal vessels in retinal images is vital for automated diagnosis of retinal diseases. This is a challenging task because it requires accurate manual labeling of the vessels by expert clinicians and the detection of tiny vessels is difficult due to limited samples, low contrast, and noise. In this study, we explore the use of preprocessing techniques such as contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), grad-cam analysis and min-max contrast stretching to improve the performance of a study-group learning (SGL) segmentation model. We evaluate the impact of these preprocessing techniques on the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, AUC, IoU, and Dice scores using four publicly available datasets, DRIVE, CHASE, HRF and IOSTAR. Our findings indicate that the utilization of the Min-Max technique resulted in a notable enhancement in the accuracy of both the DRIVE and CHASE datasets, with an approximate increase of 3% and 2% respectively. Conversely, the impact of the CLAHE method was discernible solely in the DRIVE dataset, demonstrating an improvement in accuracy of 1%. In addition, our results demonstrated superior accuracy performance for both the DRIVE and CHASE datasets compared to the findings of the reviewed studies. The GitHub repo for this project is available at Link

The role of clathrin in post-golgi trafficking in toxoplasma gondii

Apicomplexan parasites are single eukaryotic cells with a highly polarised secretory system that contains unique secretory organelles (micronemes and rhoptries) that are required for host cell invasion. In contrast, the role of the endosomal system is poorly understood in these parasites. With many typical endocytic factors missing, we speculated that endocytosis depends exclusively on a clathrin-mediated mechanism. Intriguingly, in Toxoplasma gondii we were only able to observe the endogenous clathrin heavy chain 1 (CHC1) at the Golgi, but not at the parasite surface. For the functional characterisation of Toxoplasma gondii CHC1 we generated parasite mutants conditionally expressing the dominant negative clathrin Hub fragment and demonstrate that CHC1 is essential for vesicle formation at the trans-Golgi network. Consequently, the functional ablation of CHC1 results in Golgi aberrations, a block in the biogenesis of the unique secretory microneme and rhoptry organelles, and of the pellicle. However, we found no morphological evidence for clathrin mediating endocytosis in these parasites and speculate that they remodelled their vesicular trafficking system to adapt to an intracellular lifestyle

The Moving Junction Protein RON8 Facilitates Firm Attachment and Host Cell Invasion in Toxoplasma gondii

The apicomplexan moving junction (MJ) is a highly conserved structure formed during host cell entry that anchors the invading parasite to the host cell and serves as a molecular sieve of host membrane proteins that protects the parasitophorous vacuole from host lysosomal destruction. While recent work in Toxoplasma and Plasmodium has reinforced the composition of the MJ as an important association of rhoptry neck proteins (RONs) with micronemal AMA1, little is known of the precise role of RONs in the junction or how they are targeted to the neck subcompartment. We report the first functional analysis of a MJ/RON protein by disrupting RON8 in T. gondii. Parasites lacking RON8 are severely impaired in both attachment and invasion, indicating that RON8 enables the parasite to establish a firm clasp on the host cell and commit to invasion. The remaining junction components frequently drag in trails behind invading knockout parasites and illustrate a malformed complex without RON8. Complementation of Δron8 parasites restores invasion and reveals a processing event at the RON8 C-terminus. Replacement of an N-terminal region of RON8 with a mCherry reporter separates regions within RON8 that are necessary for rhoptry targeting and complex formation from those required for function during invasion. Finally, the invasion defects in Δron8 parasites seen in vitro translate to radically impaired virulence in infected mice, promoting a model in which RON8 has a crucial and unprecedented task in committing Toxoplasma to host cell entry

Genome-wide screens identify Toxoplasma gondii determinants of parasite fitness in IFNγ-activated murine macrophages

Macrophages play an essential role in the early immune response against Toxoplasma and are the cell type preferentially infected by the parasite in vivo. Interferon gamma (IFNγ) elicits a variety of anti-Toxoplasma activities in macrophages. Using a genome-wide CRISPR screen we identify 353 Toxoplasma genes that determine parasite fitness in naїve or IFNγ-activated murine macrophages, seven of which are further confirmed. We show that one of these genes encodes dense granule protein GRA45, which has a chaperone-like domain, is critical for correct localization of GRAs into the PVM and secretion of GRA effectors into the host cytoplasm. Parasites lacking GRA45 are more susceptible to IFNγ-mediated growth inhibition and have reduced virulence in mice. Together, we identify and characterize an important chaperone-like GRA in Toxoplasma and provide a resource for the community to further explore the function of Toxoplasma genes that determine fitness in IFNγ-activated macrophages

Fish assemblages of a shallow Mediterranean lagoon (Nador, Morocco): An analysis based on species and functional guilds.

Background. Due to their location between the continent and the sea and their shallow depths, lagoons play an important ecological role in coastal ecosystems by providing a selection of habitat types for many species, functioning as nursery areas and feeding grounds for marine opportunistic fishes. The fish fauna of the Nador Lagoon (NE Morocco), as in the majority of southern Mediterranean lagoons, has been insufficiently studied, even though the lagoon itself supports important commercial fisheries. The presently reported study investigated the spatial and seasonal uses of shallow habitats for fish fauna in the Nador Lagoon. Materials and methods. Sampling was done using a beach seine net at six stations covering almost entire lagoon and representing habitats differing in many parameters such as the distance from the inlet, bottom sediment characteristics, presence of macroalgae, etc. The fish abundance was standardized as catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the fish community was analysed both in terms of its taxonomic and functional composition (by making use of both ecological and dietary preference guilds). Results. A total of 2872 individuals, representing 15 species from 12 families, was collected during the four seasons. Only six species were always present in all seasons. Fish abundance peaked in spring and the species diversity was higher in spring and summer. The fish assemblage was largely dominated in terms of ecological guild by the resident and benthivorous species. Spatial and seasonal fish assemblages differed both in terms of fish abundance and diversity and also in terms of functional guilds composition. In autumn, the fish assemblage was dominated by the marine juvenile migrants whereas in winter, spring, and summer, resident species were the most abundant. Conclusion. The combination of taxonomic and functional characteristics of the fish assemblages, determined in the presently reported study, may contribute to a better understanding of the ecological networks of the Nador Lagoon, thus providing useful data for its conservation and management

Fish assemblages of a shallow Mediterranean lagoon (Nador, Morocco): An analysis based on species and functional guilds.

Background. Due to their location between the continent and the sea and their shallow depths, lagoons play an important ecological role in coastal ecosystems by providing a selection of habitat types for many species, functioning as nursery areas and feeding grounds for marine opportunistic fishes. The fish fauna of the Nador Lagoon (NE Morocco), as in the majority of southern Mediterranean lagoons, has been insufficiently studied, even though the lagoon itself supports important commercial fisheries. The presently reported study investigated the spatial and seasonal uses of shallow habitats for fish fauna in the Nador Lagoon. Materials and methods. Sampling was done using a beach seine net at six stations covering almost entire lagoon and representing habitats differing in many parameters such as the distance from the inlet, bottom sediment characteristics, presence of macroalgae, etc. The fish abundance was standardized as catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the fish community was analysed both in terms of its taxonomic and functional composition (by making use of both ecological and dietary preference guilds). Results. A total of 2872 individuals, representing 15 species from 12 families, was collected during the four seasons. Only six species were always present in all seasons. Fish abundance peaked in spring and the species diversity was higher in spring and summer. The fish assemblage was largely dominated in terms of ecological guild by the resident and benthivorous species. Spatial and seasonal fish assemblages differed both in terms of fish abundance and diversity and also in terms of functional guilds composition. In autumn, the fish assemblage was dominated by the marine juvenile migrants whereas in winter, spring, and summer, resident species were the most abundant. Conclusion. The combination of taxonomic and functional characteristics of the fish assemblages, determined in the presently reported study, may contribute to a better understanding of the ecological networks of the Nador Lagoon, thus providing useful data for its conservation and management

Information extraction and NLP for the interpretation of building permits: An Italian case study

Assessing project conformity involves extracting information from building regulations and creating rules to verify it. Nowadays, automated systems are already available that assess project conformity but require manual intervention on rule creation, making the process time-consuming and prone to errors. To solve this limitation, this research proposes a new system for extracting information from regulatory codes, which combines the OpenIE6 model with rule-based NLP methods. The articles considered for the search are those containing quantitative values. They were used to train the proposed models to ‘learn’ the context of words in a sentence or document. From the normative articles, triplets (subject-relation-object) were automatically extrapolated and used for the creation of conformity rules. A case study is proposed in which the new data mining technology is applied and the conformity analysis is performed. The research is part of a larger project that aims to make the entire compliance process automatic

Review of the Urinary Schistosomiasis Control in Morocco (1960–2018)

The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiological profile and evolution of urinary schistosomiasis in Morocco, from the first confirmed case in 1960 until disease elimination, and control snails. During this period, 129,526 cases were recorded in Morocco. A majority of cases were reported in Agadir province (25%), Errachidia (18%), and Beni Mellal (13%). Other cases have been reported in the other provinces. Activities within the National Schistosomiasis Control Programme for more than three decades were focused in priori on screening in schools located in high-risk communities, treatment program, surveillance of snails in water bodies, and mollusciciding. Then, the goal of eliminating the transmission of schistosomiasis has been reached in 2004. Sixteen years later, no indigenous cases were detected in Morocco, and only 25 residual cases (resulting from bilharziasis previously treated) are detected, such as in Tata ( 40%), Errachidia (16%), and (12%) in Marrackesh. Similarly, recent national studies conducted on children and the snail reservoir hosts have indicated that no human and molluscs are currently infected with Schistosoma haematobium. Actually, timely investigation and management of imported cases has been implemented to prevent the reintroduction of the disease. The Ministry of Health is planning to implement final confirmatory surveys before requesting WHO to proceed with the formal verification process

Exogenous Calcium Reinforces Photosynthetic Pigment Content and Osmolyte, Enzymatic, and Non-Enzymatic Antioxidants Abundance and Alleviates Salt Stress in Bread Wheat

One of the main environmental stresses that hinder crop development as well as yield is salt stress, while the use of signal molecules such as calcium (Ca) has a substantial impact on reducing the detrimental effects of salt on different crop types. Therefore, a factorial pot experiment in a completely randomized design was conducted to examine the beneficial role of Ca (0, 2.5, and 5 mM) in promoting the physiological, biochemical, and growth traits of the wheat plant under three salt conditions viz. 0, 30, and 60 mM NaCl. Foliar application of Ca increased the growth of salt-stressed wheat plants through increasing photosynthetic pigments, IAA, proline, and total soluble sugars contents and improving antioxidant enzymes in addition to non-enzymatic antioxidants glutathione, phenol and flavonoids, β-carotene, and lycopene contents, thus causing decreases in the over-accumulation of free radicals (ROS). The application of Ca increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes in wheat plants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), which scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and relieved salt stress. An additional salt tolerance mechanism by Ca increases the non-antioxidant activity of plants by accumulating osmolytes such as free amino acids, proline, and total soluble sugar, which maintain the osmotic adjustment of plants under salinity stress. Exogenous Ca application is a successful method for increasing wheat plants’ ability to withstand salt stress, and it has a considerable impact on the growth of wheat under salt stress