Effect of Different Industrial Wastes on Soil Quality at Different Locations of Egypt

To declare the effect of pollution by industrial emissions on the agricultural land in some industrial areas of Egypt, soil and wastewater samples were collected from five locations surroundings to industrial factories. Samples of each site were taken to the windward at 0, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 meter away from the boundary of each factory. The obtained results of chemical analysis can be summarized as follows: 1. The quality of water samples collected from all sites are within the permissible limits for irrigation except this from El-Nasr company of chemical and fertilizers at Talkha which had excessive loaded with organic contaminants. 2. The concentrations of some heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Pb) in the tested soil samples decreased significantly with increasing the distance away from the source of pollution. Also, dominance of such heavy metals in each site followed the decreasing order: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb. These values were much higher than that obtained in the virgin soils (non-polluted soils). 3. The values of soil respiration (microbile activity in the soil samples) significantly increased as the distance from the source of pollution increase at all locations under investigation. An opposite trend was marked between available heavy metals content and microbile activity (r = -0.94)

Next Generation Sequencing to Determine the Cystic Fibrosis Mutation Spectrum in Palestinian Population

An extensive molecular analysis of the CF transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene was performed to establish the CFTR mutation spectrum and frequencies in the Palestinian population, which can be considered as an understudied population. We used a targeted Next Generation Sequencing approach to sequence the entire coding region and the adjacent sequences of the CFTR gene combined with MLPA analysis of 60 unrelated CF patients. Eighteen different CF-causing mutations, including one previously undescribed mutation p.(Gly1265Arg), were identified. The overall detection rate is up to 67%, and when we consider only CF patients with sweat chloride concentrations >70 mEq/L, we even have a pickup rate of 92%. Whereas p.(Phe508del) is the most frequent allele (35% of the positive cases), 3 other mutations c.2988+1Kbdel8.6Kb, c.1393-1G>A, and p.(Gly85Glu) showed frequencies higher than 5% and a total of 9 mutations account for 84% of the mutations. This limited spectrum of CF mutations is in agreement with the homozygous ethnic origin of the Palestinian population. The relative large portion of patients without a mutation is most likely due to clinical misdiagnosis. Our results will be important in the development of an adequate molecular diagnostic test for CF in Palestine

Inhibicija rasta plijesni Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 i Penicillum expansum ZMPBF 565 djelovanjem četiriju eteričnih ulja

Fungi produce a large variety of extracellular proteins, organic acids, and other metabolites and can adapt to several environmental conditions. Mycotoxin-producing moulds of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are common food contaminants. One of the natural ways to protect food from mould contamination is to use essential oils. In this study, we evaluated the effect of essential oils of cinnamon, lavender, rosemary, and sage at 1 % (v/v) concentration in yeast media inoculated with spores (fi nal concentration 106 mL-1 media) of Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 and Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, alone or in combination, on fungal biomass. Cinnamon showed the best inhibitory effect (100 %). Lavender oil best inhibited the growth of Aspergillus ochraceus (nearly 100 %), and was less successful with Penicillium expansum (having dropped to 57 % on day 28). With cultivation time the inhibitory effect of sage and rosemary oil grew for Aspergillus ochraceus and dropped for Penicillium expansum. These results suggest that fungi can be controlled with essential oils, especially with cinnamon oil.Plijesni su poznate po svojoj visokoj sposobnosti proizvodnje različitih izvanstaničnih proteina, organskih kiselina i drugih metabolita i po svojoj mogućnosti prilagodbe na nepovoljne okolišne uvjete, a primjenjuju se i u obradi otpadnih voda. Plijesni iz rodova Aspergillus i Penicillium česti su kontaminanti u hrani i posebno opasne jer tvore toksične metabolite mikotoksine. Eterična ulja mogu se primijeniti kao prirodna sredstva za zaštitu hrane od kontaminacije plijesnima. U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja utjecaja eteričnih ulja cimeta, lavande, ružmarina i kadulje na kontrolu rasta biomase plijesni Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 i Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, u obliku čistih i miješanih kultura. Ulja su dodavana u koncentraciji od 1 % (v/v), a podloga (kvaščev ekstrakt) bila je nacijepljena suspenzijama spora plijesni (106 mL-1 podloge). Eterično ulje cimeta pokazalo je najveći inhibitorni učinak (100 %). Inhibitorni učinak eteričnog ulja lavande bio je veći na rast Aspergillusa ochraceusa (skoro 100 %) nego Penicilliuma expansuma (57 %). Eterična ulja kadulje i ružmarina pokazala su suprotne učinke. Inhibitorni učinak na Aspergillus ochraceus tijekom perioda uzgoja je rastao, a na Penicillium expansum opadao. Rezultati pokazuju da se rast plijesni može kontrolirati primjenom eteričnih ulja, a posebno uljem cimeta. Također upućuju na ekonomsku vrijednost takvih tretmana

Screening of indigenous Palestinian medicinal plants for potential anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity

A

Hydrolysis of methylparathion in soils

IDRC personnel. Report of an experiment on the enzymeatic biodeterioration of an insecticide (methylparathion) in soil - discusses the hydrolyzing activity as a function of heat, concentration, and pH; includes bibliography

Biochemical Analysis of Four Missense Mutations in the HSD17B3 Gene Associated With 46,XY Disorders of Sex Development in Egyptian Patients

Mutations in the HSD17B3 gene are associated with a 46,XY disorder of sexual development (46,XY DSD) as a result of low testosterone production during embryogenesis.; To elucidate the molecular basis of the disorder by chemically analyzing four missense mutations in HSD17B3 (T54A, M164T, L194P, G289S) from Egyptian patients with 46,XY DSD.; Expression plasmids for wild-type 17β-hydroxysteroid hydrogenase type 3 (17β-HSD3) and mutant enzymes generated by site-directed mutagenesis were transiently transfected into human HEK-293 cells. Protein expression was verified by western blotting and activity was determined by measuring the conversion of radiolabeled Δ4-androstene-3,17-dione to testosterone. Application of a homology model provided an explanation for the observed effects of the mutations.; Testosterone formation by wild-type and mutant 17β-HSD3 enzymes was compared.; Mutations T54A and L194P, despite normal protein expression, completely abolished 17β-HSD3 activity, explaining their severe 46,XY DSD phenotype. Mutant M164T could still produce testosterone, albeit with significantly lower activity compared with wild-type 17β-HSD3, resulting in ambiguous genitalia or a microphallus at birth. The substitution G289S represented a polymorphism exhibiting comparable activity to wild-type 17β-HSD3. Sequencing of the SRD5A2 gene in three siblings bearing the HSD17B3 G289S polymorphism disclosed the homozygous Y91H mutation in the former gene, thus explaining the 46,XY DSD presentations. Molecular modeling analyses supported the biochemical observations and predicted a disruption of cofactor binding by mutations T54A and M164T and of substrate binding by L196P, resulting in the loss of enzyme activity. In contrast, the G289S substitution was predicted to disturb neither the three-dimensional structure nor enzyme activity.; Biochemical analysis of mutant 17β-HSD3 enzymes is necessary to understand genotype-phenotype relationships.; Biochemical analysis combined with molecular modeling provides insight into disease mechanism. However, the stability of mutant proteins in vivo cannot be predicted by this approach.; The 17β-HSD3 G289S substitution, previously reported in other patients with 46,XY DSD, is a polymorphism that does not cause the disorder; thus, further sequence analysis was required and disclosed a mutation in SRD5A2, explaining the cause of 46,XY DSD in these patients. Engeli RT, Tsachaki M, Hassan HA, et al. Biochemical Analysis of Four Missense Mutations in the HSD17B3 Gene Associated With 46,XY Disorders of Sex Development in Egyptian Patients. J Sex Med 2017;14:1165-1174