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Female Baladi goats were used to investigate the toxicological effects of 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on some serum hormones andblood features. Animals were divided into two groups, group 1: served as control, group 2: animals were orallyadministeredwith three repeated doses (0.23µg/Kg body weight) of TCDD with 2 days intervalbetween dosing. Results revealed that exposure toTCDD induced reduction in serum estradiol, progesterone and prolactin levels and elevation in glucocorticoid hormone cortisol throughout the different studied periods (48h, 96h and 16 days commenced the last intoxicated dose). The adverse impact of TCDD on goat reproductive hormones was confirmed by histopatholgical observations on their uteri and ovaries after 16 days commenced the last intoxicated dose. Intoxication of goats with TCDD showed also marked decreases in hemoglobin (Hb) concentrat ion, red blood cell count (RBC) , packed cellvolume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) OriginalResearch Article

Many plant-derived compounds have been used to treat microbial infections. Staphylococcus aureus a common cause of many organ infections, has generated increasing concern due to its resistance to antibacterial drugs. This work was carried out to explore the susceptibility of 6 strains (LN872136, LN872137, LN871238, LN871239, LN872140, and LN871241) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to aqueous extract of Lepidium sativum seeds in vitro. Various concentrations (5-20 mg/mL) were used to evaluate the effect of the extract on bacteria growth via the assessment of the microbial biomass and the inhibition zone (IZ). The results showed that the plant extract at 15 or 20 mg/mL, significantly decreased the the biomass of S aureus strains after 24 or 48 hours exposure period. Staphylococcus aureus (LN871241) showed the largest IZ at 20 mg/mL and documented by scanning electron microscope. The current work may suggest that L sativum seed extract can be candidate as a promising antimicrobial agent to treat infection with methicillin-resistant S aureus.

Despite effective chemotherapy, schistosomiasis remains the second major public health problem in the developing world, second to malaria. The present study was undertaken to explore the therapeutic effect of the micronutrients (vitamin E and selenium) and chloroform extract of Citharexylum quadrangular leaves and their mixture against the deleterious pathological impacts induced in mice livers by Schistosoma mansoni infection. Parasitological markers showed that oral ingestion of the different supplements to S. mansoni infected mice was effective in reducing the worm burden with concomitant decrease in the egg burden, granuloma count and its diameter as well as total area of infection in their livers versus untreated ones. Parasitological parameters were reflected by the improvement of the histopathological pictures of livers of infected-treated mice. The current investigation also showed that the used agents and their mixture successfully modulated liver fibrosis of infected mice which was documented by a marked decrease of liver hydroxyproline level ( as biomarker of liver fibrosis) as well as the serum levels of inflammatory fibrogenic mediators namely, fructosamine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and total immunoglobin E (IgE). In addition, the used agents showed ameliorative action on the elevated liver oxidative stress- nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the decreased antioxidant biomarkers, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and catalase (CAT) which may have a role in liver damage and fibrosis due to S mansoni infection. In conclusion, treatment with the used micronutrients and plant extract either alone or in combination attenuated the deleterious impacts of S. mansoni infection on mice livers. The combination of all supplements was more effective as it greatly modified the inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress responsible for schistosomal liver fibrosis. Key words: Citharexylum quadrangular; Vitamin E, selenium, Shistosoma mansoni, antioxidants.

Schistosomiasis is considered the second most pre-valiant worldwide parasitic disease ranked next to malaria. It has significant economic and public health consequences in many developing countries. Several ways have been practiced in order to bring the disease under an adequate control through the breakage of the life cycle of the parasite. Snail control could be regarded as a rapid and efficient of reducing or eliminating transmission and remains among the methods of choice for schistosomiasis control. The aim of this work is to evaluate the role of Haplophyllum tuberculatum (family Rutaceae) as a plant molluscicide. The mortality rate of Biomphalaria alexandrina snails were monitored after treatment with three extracts of the plant aerial parts; petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol. Chloroform extract that recorded the most potent effect was further evaluated through measuring the toxicity pattern against B. alexandrina snails, egg laying capacity, cercarial shedding, phenol oxidase enzyme and the levels of steroid sex hormones. Histopathological examination of hepatopancreas and ovotestis of treated snails were also done for result confirmation. Treatment of snails by chloroform extract recorded reduction in egg laying capacity, decrease in cercarial shedding, diminution in phenol oxidase enzyme, disturbance in steroid sex hormones and sever alternation of the histopathological picture of snails tissue. In conclusion, H. tuberculatum recorded molluscicidal potency against B. alexandrina snails. Further studies are needed for its environmental applications.

Summary Introduction: Warfarin is one of the most widely used anticoagulants, yet interindividual differences in drug response, a narrow therapeutic range and a high risk of bleeding or stroke complicate its use. We aimed to determine the allele and genotype frequency of VKORC1 1173 C>T, CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3 variant polymorphisms in the Egyptian population and to evaluate their influence on the interindividual differences in warfarin dosage. Methods: A total of 154 unrelated healthy adult patients and 46 warfarin-treated patients were included. SYBR Green-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used for studying VKORC1 (C1173T) and CYP2C9*3 polymorphisms. Mutagenically separated PCR assay was used to detect the CYP2C9*2 allele. Results: VKORC1 genotype frequencies were 11%, 24% and 65% for CC, CT and TT, respectively. The prevalence of CYP2C9 haplotypes was 81% (*1\*1), 3.3% (*1\*2), 9.7% (*1\*3), 4.5% (*2\*2) and 0.65% (2\*3 and *3\*3). VKORC1 TT and CYP2C9*2\*2 were associated with a significantly lower warfarin dose. VKORC1 and CYP2C9 accounted for 31.7% and 15.6% of warfarin dose variability, respectively, and together with clinical factors explained 61.3% of total variability. Conclusion: VKORC1-TT and CYP2C9 *1/*1 are the most prevalent genotypes among Egyptians. Patients with VKORC1-TT genotype required a lower warfarin dose.

To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the oxidant–antioxidant status in horses clinically affected with peritonitis. The present study was carried out to investigate the importance of oxidative stress markers and antioxidant parameters in the prediction of clinical outcomes of peritonitis in draft horses. Thirty-six draft horses were used in this study in the period between March 2006 and March 2009. Diagnosis of the clinical cases was based on the physical examination, clinical pathology, and necropsy. Our results showed that there was a significant increase (p

There are many fruit trees that could be integrated into dryland farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa to support income and nutritional security. Fruit contains almost all known vitamins and many essential minerals. Five important fruit species that are cross-regional include: Adansonia digitata, Tamarindus indica, Zizyphus mauritiana, Sclerocarya birrea, and Mangifera indica. While these species are well integrated in the Sahel region, besides mango, they are generally absent from smallholder farms in East and Central Africa. Fruits of the species in this region are mostly harvested unsustainably from the wild communal areas. Unlike the situation in the neighboring Southern Africa region, where S. birrea is utilized extensively in the wine industry, there is virtually no use for the tree in this region, largely because of limited knowledge. Z. mauritiana use is also limited because of low quality germplasm—the hard stone clings to the flesh. An analytical framework based on five factors (site requirements, genetic variability, propagation methods, nutritional properties and utilization, and commercial potential) is used to compare knowledge status and gaps on the species in the region. While this analysis reveals the existence of considerable knowledge between and within the species, lack of improved germplasm and markets emerge as two key constraints limiting their conservation through on-farm planting. Key research and development needs identified are: (a) fostering cross-collaboration and knowledge exchange with other regions where the species are fairly well utilized, and (b) developing criteria and indicators for monitoring impacts and increased investments on the “Big Five” on livelihood of dryland communities and on biodiversity conservation.

International audience; The BioMart Community Portal (www.biomart.org) is a community-driven effort to provide a unified interface to biomedical databases that are distributed worldwide. The portal provides access to numerous database projects supported by 30 scientific organizations. It includes over 800 different biological datasets spanning genomics, proteomics, model organisms, cancer data, ontology information and more. All resources available through the portal are independently administered and funded by their host organizations. The BioMart data federation technology provides a unified interface to all the available data. The latest version of the portal comes with many new databases that have been created by our ever-growing community. It also comes with better support and extensibility for data analysis and visualization tools. A new addition to our toolbox, the enrichment analysis tool is now accessible through graphical and web service interface. The BioMart community portal averages over one million requests per day. Building on this level of service and the wealth of information that has become available, the BioMart Community Portal has introduced a new, more scalable and cheaper alternative to the large data stores maintained by specialized organizations.

Anabasis articulata (Forssk) Moq. (Chenopodiaceae) is an herb, grows in Egypt, and used in folk medicine to treat diabetes, fever, and kidney infections. The protective and therapeutic effects of the ethanol extract of A. articulata aerial parts were evaluated against dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrosis, compared with the standard drug, silymarin. Hepatic hydroxyproline content, serum transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and fructosamine were measured as liver fibrosis markers. Hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione content (GSH) were measured as oxidant/antioxidant markers. Parallel histopathological investigations were also performed. Protective and therapeutic administration of A. articulata (100 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks), markedly prevented DMN-induced loss in body and liver weights. The extract significantly inhibited the elevation of hepatic hydroxyproline, NO and MDA (P

Praziquantel (PZQ), the drug of choice according to the World Health Organization (WHO), causes some side effects. The appearance of drug resistance against PZQ in Schistosoma mansoni infected species leads to must introduce new effective compounds and/or suppress its side effects. The aim of present work is a trial to solve this problem. Chloroform extract of Citharexylum quadrangular jacq leaves was used as a medicinal plant, which affect the Schistosoma mansoni adults. Prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of Schistosoma mansoni infected mice with the plant extract and/or the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium in combination with PZQ was studied. The study revealed that the combination of the chloroform extract together with vitamin E and selenium improved the efficiency of PZQ. These supplementations are very effective in ameliorating the oxidative insult as well as other parameters: glutathione reductase (GR), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO) and lipid peroxidation (MDA), hepatic hydroxyproline content, Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Gamma-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin- 10 (IL-10) and total immunoglobulin E (total IgE) associated with Schistosoma mansoni infection.

The schistosomicidal properties of Nigella sativa seeds were tested in vitro against Schistosoma mansoni miracidia, cercariae, and adult worms. Results indicate its strong biocidal effects against all stages of the parasite and also showed an inhibitory effect on egg-laying of adult female worms. In the present work we also studied the effects of crushed seeds on some antioxidant enzymes; which have a role in protection of adult worms against host oxidant killing; as well as some enzymes of glucose metabolism; which have a crucial role in the survival of adult worms inside their hosts. The data revealed that the used drug induce an oxidative stress against adult worms which indicated by a decrease in the activities of both antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase and enzymes of glucose metabolism, hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Disturbing of such enzymes of adult worms using N. sativa seeds could in turn render the parasite vulnerable to damage by the host and may play a role in the antischistosomal potency of the used drug.

Carnosine is a naturally occurring dipeptide (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) found in muscles, brain and other tissues. This study was designed to test the ability of carnosine to offset metabolic disturbances induced by Schistosoma mansoni parasitism. Results indicate that parasitic infection caused elevation of liver weight/body weight in S. mansoni-infected hamsters, induced lipid peroxidation and reduced glycogen levels. Moreover, adenylate energy charge (AEC) and ATP/ADP and ATP/AMP concentration ratios were markedly lower in infected hamsters. Administration of carnosine (10 mg/day) for 15 days concurrent with infection effectively reduced worm burden and egg count. Administration of carnosine 2 and 4 weeks post-exposure only partially ameliorated the S. mansoni effects on metabolism. Carnosine treatment also normalized most of the parameters measured, including glycogen repletion, the antioxidant status and AEC. These finding support the use of carnosine for possible intervention in schistosomiasis.