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Effects of single and combined administration of contraceptive drug (microvlar-30) and anti-urinary bilharzial drug (metriphonate) as well as anti-intestinal bilharzial drug (oxamniquine) on the liver functions of female albino rats were studied. Metriphonate increased serum globulin content and caused no change in the hepatic cells. Oxamniquine significantly increased the activities of serum transaminases and alkaline phosphatase and caused necrosis in some liver cells. Microvlar-30 exhibited no change on the serum enzymes, while marked increase was found in serum triglyceride and protein levels. The combined administration of metriphonate or oxamniquine with microvlar-30 prevented the increase in the levels of serum triglycerides and proteins. Histopathological examination confirmed the results obtained by chemical analysis.

Pregnancy rates and surgery-conception intervals were determined in 91 women operated on for bilateral terminal tubal occlusion with different techniques. The intrauterine pregnancy rate following salpingostomy utilizing the CO2 laser was 21.7% (n = 23) and following salpingostomy with the microdiathermy needle was 22.7% (n = 22) at 1 year's follow-up. The pregnancy rate following conventional surgery was 17.4% (n = 46) at 5 years' follow-up. The surgery-conception interval was shorter in the laser group than in the other two groups. This preliminary report suggests that there is no difference between the pregnancy rate following salpingostomy with CO2 laser or microdiathermy needle; however, the surgery-conception interval is shorter. This might reflect the rapid healing of the tube after laser surgery.

The plant khat "Catha Edulis Forsk" is widely distributed among most East African countries, Yemen and many other areas of the world. Administration of khat extract by the intragastric route in rabbits affected the metabolism of erythrocytes. There is a significant decrease in pyruvate kinase and the level of reduced glutathione (P less than 0.001), and a highly significant increase in both glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutathione reductase activities (P less than 0.001) in khat-fed rabbits as compared to controls. On the other hand the activity of uridyl transferase as well as the concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate were not significantly changed in experimental khat-fed rabbits (P greater than 0.5).

The effect of some widely used plant hormones (indol-3-acetic acid and gibberellic acid), herbicides (gramoxone, stomp and treflan) and insecticides (malathion, actellic and guthion) on Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production in a synthetic medium was studied. Addition of indol acetic acid to the medium increased aflatoxin production more than gibberellic acid. Treflan at 5, 10 and 20 ppm levels caused a highly significant stimulatory effect on A. parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production. In contrast, stomp at 10 and 20 ppm produced the reverse effect. Guthion, an insecticide, caused a marked decrease in fungal growth and aflatoxin production. The inhibitory effect of insecticides under study on both fungal growth and aflatoxin production in effectiveness followed the sequence: guthion>actellic>malathion. At the recommended application rate (10 ppm), with the exception of indol acetic acid and treflan, all compounds suppressed mold growth and aflatoxin production.