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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy run hand-to-hand in their pathophysiology. Epilepsy is not an uncommon finding in patients with ASD. The aim of the present study was to identify the metabolic abnormalities of BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) in children with ASD with and without seizures in comparison with neurotypical controls. Also, this study aimed to investigate the presence of epileptiform discharges on electroencephalography (EEG) in ASD patients and to describe the types and frequency of seizures observed. The study included 90 children aged 2-7 years, 30 of whom were diagnosed with both ASD and epilepsy. The other 30 children were diagnosed as ASD without epilepsy, and a comparable 30 normally developed children served as a control group. The groups were matched by age and gender. All patients were referred to the Autism Disorders Clinic for interviews and examinations. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was applied to all study participants to assess the degree of autism. The present study results show that all types of seizures may be identified in ASD children. The median serum levels of BCAAs were lower in ASD children with and without epilepsy than in neurotypical controls. This opens the door for discussion about new etiologies and better categorizations of ASD based on genotype and genetic abnormalities detected. More studies with larger samples are needed to understand ASD better and to more reliable evaluate the association between ASD, EEG changes, seizures, and BCAAs.

The effects of 15 and 20% salt concentrations on the quality and shelf-life of mullet fish (Mugil capito) were investigated during three months of storage at ambient conditions (20±1°c). The chemical composition and physicochemical properties of dry salted mullet were analyzed every 15 days of storage. The results showed that fresh mullet fish contains (76.52±2.44) % moisture, (18.06±0.87) % protein, (3.99±0.24) % lipid, (1.40±0.04) % ash content. In addition, values of quality attributes were (6.48±0.05) pH, (6.35±1.24) mg100g TVBN and (1.65±0.01) mg MDAkg sample TBA. Moreover, concentration (mg100g) of elements were (0.033±0.010) Cd, (12.24±0.81) Cu, (52.46±1.25) Fe, (1.88±0.11) Mn, (0.550±0.11) Ni, (13.45±0.87) Zn, (87.45±1.21) Ca, (147±2.26) K, (214.78±1.99) P and (80.85±42.11) Na. On the other hand, values of moisture, protein, lipids and pH of both 15% and 20% salted mullet were significantly decreased during storage periods at room temperature, while ash, TBA and TVBN were significantly increased. Mullet fish samples salted with 20% salt concentration recorded a better quality during the storage period compared to the other treatment (15%). In conclusion, the present results might provide a scientific basis for optimization and improvement of mullet fish salting technological process.

The present study aimed to determine food and feeding habits of Mugil cephalus collected from Abu-Qir Bay, Egyptduring the period from July, 2017 to June, 2018 and its effect on the nutritional values (total proteins, total lipids, total carbohydrates) in the target organs (kidney, liver, and muscles) of the commercial fishes, M. cephalus. Results indicated that, the rate of feeding activity of M. cephalus was peaked during summer and declined during winter. The maximum value of feeding activity was recorded in the larger fish during summer and autumn and the minimum values occurred in the smaller one during autumn and winter. In the present study, the changes in feeding activity appear to be correlated with water temperature and the availability of food in nature. The biochemical composition of fish organs is a good indicator of the fish quality and physiological condition. Data declared that the minimum value of total proteins in the kidney and liver was observed in the small size during the summer. Moreover, the percentages of protein contents in the muscles of M. cephalus are usually affected by several factors including the type of food, fish size and seasons. It was declined during autumn in the small fish.Results revealed that the maximum average values of total lipids in the kidney and liver of M. cephalus wererecorded in the large fishes during spring. Whereas, the minimum values were detected in the same size during summer. However, total lipids in the muscles attained its lower value in the small fish during summer and the higher ones in the large size during spring.The present study exhibited the increasing level of total carbohydrates in the kidney of M. cephalus, during spring in large size of fishes and the decreasing value occurred in the same group during autumn. On the other hand, total carbohydrates in the liver showed seasonal variations with an increasing level in the large fishes during autumn and the decreasing level occurred in the same group during spring. However, total carbohydrates were peaked in the muscles of the small-sized group during autumn and spring and declined in the large one during spring.Although, the availability of food items during any season due to the optimum condition; it may reflect the lower level of nutritional values attributed to the changes in water quality by the action of pollutants, that may critically influence the growth rate and quality of the fishes which feed on flora and plankton induced by bioaccumulation of metals.Statistical analysis of metabolic parameters in the target organs at different sized groups of M. cephalus showed significant differences (p < 0.05) at one way of ANOVA between the different organs and between different parameters. On the other hand, it was non-significant differences in the interaction between organs and sized group, by using two ways of ANOVA.Such investigation may lead to a better understanding of some biological aspects like food chains, growth rates, productivity, mortality, and nutritional values as well as their trophic levels.

The present study aims to determine the concentrations of some heavy metals in the target organs of mullet fish, Mugil cephalus collected from the Coast of Mediterranean Sea, at Damietta Governorate, to compare concentrations of metals in the different organs and their effects on some physiological parameters in the edible organs of this species during winter and summer, 2018. The present data indicated that the highest values of heavy metals in the different organs were observed during the hot season (summer) than the cold one (winter). It declared the highest value in the gonads for Iron concentration during summer and the lowest one was detected for Cadmium concentration during winter (38.74±4.60 and 1.46±0.33 µg/g wet wt, respectively). Kidneys appeared the same trend with high peak for Iron level followed by Zinc ions during summer; being 153.70±6.24 and 73.34±5.24 µg/g wet wt, respectively. It showed a depletion concentration (1.12±0.17 µg/g wet wt) during winter in Copper ion than the other metals. Due to its function, liver contains the high levels of heavy metals during summer (106.70 ± 16.73 µg/g wet wt) for Iron ion and the lowest values (1.84±0.30 and 1.86±0.37µg/g wet wt, respectively) were measured for cadmium and lead during winter. Data revealed that heavy metals concentration in the musclesof M. cephalus fluctuated between 1.35± 0.73 µg/g wet wt for Copper ion during winter and 51.37± 1.34 µg/g wet wt for Iron during summer. ANOVA (p> 0.05) showed highly significant differences in one way of heavy metals concentrations except between the different organs showed significant difference. Moreover, two ways of analysis exhibited a significant difference (p>0.05) at the interaction between seasons and metals plus between organs and metals. The present study revealed that total proteins in the different organs of M. cephalus attained its highest value in the muscles during winter and reached its lowest value in the kidney during summer (201.76±13.90 and 84.25 ±4.46 mg/g wet wt, respectively). The maximum values of total lipids were detected in the samples collected during winter (33.28±6.82 mg/g wet wt in the muscles and 31.41±3.43 mg/g wet wt in the liver) while the minimum values were determined during summer in gonads and kidneys; being 12.66±3.83 mg/g wet wt in the former and 13.78±2.64 mg/g wet wt in the latter. Results exhibited the higher activities in ASAT and ALAT enzymes during summer in the liver while the lower values occurred in the muscles during winter; being 504.46±9.87 and 296.14±24.75 U/g wet wt, respectively for the first enzyme and 363.25±19.73 and 204.62±16.76 U/g wet wt, respectively for the second one. Concerning analysis of variance for biochemical parameters, there are highly significant differences between the different seasons and parameters of one way. Also, two ways of ANOVA exhibited a significant difference in the interaction between seasons and different parameters.

The study was conducted during the period from October 2015 to September 2016 to investigate the accumulation of five heavy metals in three fish species (Tilapia zillii, Solea solea and Mugil cephalus) inhabiting lake Qarun, Egypt. Water, sediments and fish samples were collected from six sites cover eastern, middle and western sectors of the lake during the four studied seasons. The results indicated that, summer time showed the highest pH, salinity, biological oxygen demand and nitrates concentration, while autumn and spring times showed the highest nitrites concentration depending on the site. The abundance of metals in lake water, sediments and fish followed the order: Fe > Zn ≈ Mn > Cu > Cd. In all fish species Fe and Zn exceeded the permissible limits. Regardless fish species, the highest concentrations of metals were recorded in fish liver, while the lowest in fish muscles. Mugilspecies seemed to be more contaminated with metals thanthe other species. It is recommended to coordinate different efforts to rescue Lake Qarun from heavy metal pollution.

Depression is the disease of the modern era. The lack of response to the available antidepressants, which were developed on the basis of the monoaminergic deficit hypothesis of depression, has encouraged scientists to think about new mechanisms explaining the pathogenesis of depression. In this context, the inflammatory theory has emerged to clarify many aspects of depression that the previous theories have failed to explain. Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) has a regulatory role in the brain's immune response to stress, and its activation is suggested to play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of depression. In this study, we tested eritoran (ERI), a TLR-4 receptor-4 antagonist, as a potential antidepressant. We investigated the effect of long-term administration of ERI in three different doses on behavioral changes, hippocampal and prefrontal cortex (PFC) neurogenesis, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)/glutamate balance in male Wistar rats exposed to chronic restraint stress (CRS). Long-term administration of ERI ameliorated CRS-induced depressive-like symptoms and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity alongside reducing levels of hippocampal and PFC inflammatory cytokines, restoring GABA and glutamate balance, and enhancing PFC and hippocampal neurogenesis, by increasing BDNF gene and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. The results demonstrate an antidepressant-like activity of ERI in Wistar rats exposed to CRS, which may be largely mediated by its ability to reduce neuroinflammation, increase BDNF, and restore GABA/glutamate balance in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Nonetheless, further studies are needed to characterize the mechanism of the antidepressant effect of ERI.

This study was carried out on 694 Clarias gariepinusand 846Oreochromis niloticus fish specimens. The fish were randomly collected seasonally, from different fish farms of El-Abbassa, Abu-Hammad, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. They were used to investigate the prevalence of cestode parasites in C. gariepinus and O. niloticus. Parasitological examination of these fishes revealed that the, highest prevalence rates of Cestodain the fish were recorded in small fishes during summer and the lowest values were observed in the samples of the large size during winter. The study concluded that, the C. gariepinus are more attacked by internal cestode parasites compared O. niloticus. Parasites included Proteocephalus glanduligerus, Polyonchobothrium clarias and Monobothrium sp. The morphology of each species was compared with earlier descriptions, and a diagnostic character of intestinal Cestode species in this geographic region was developed.

The present work aims to study the effect of the environmental factors (temperature, salinity and PH) on the food and feeding habits of Tilapia zilliicaughted from Lake Qarun. A total of 126 specimens of T. zillii were collected seasonally from the different localities of Lake Qarun, during the period from June, 2014 to July, 2015. Results showed that, the highest value of surface water temperature was recorded at Village 8 Station during summer (32.67±2.31 oC) and the lowest (16.93±1.79 oC) at Nema Island Station during winter. The maximum value of water salinity was recorded at Village 8 Station during summer (40.10±3.46 ‰) and autumn (40.47±2.73 ‰) and the minimum value (29.17±3.52 ‰) was observed at Kahk Village Station during winter. The highest values of hydrogen ion concentrations were recorded at Village 8 Station during summer (8.67±0.15) and autumn (8.76±0.02) and the lowest values were detected at Ezbet Abd El-Alim Station during spring (7.96±0.09) and winter (7.96±0.12). The maximum values of feeding activity were recorded during autumn and summer and the minimum activity was observed during spring. The feeding activity is relatively larger in the younger fish than in the older one; being 41.63% in the former and 25.60% in the latter. Results showed that, the fish is mainly omnivorous and consumed a wide range of animal and plant foods. The plant food includes plant tissue, algae and diatoms while, the major animal food includes molluscs, polychaets, insects, pisces, nematods, crustaceans, Protozoa, Foraminifera and Rotifera. The relative amount of plant food increases with the increasing length of the fish. However, the relative amount of animal food and sand granules decreases with the increasing length of this fish.

The present work aimed to evaluate the antitumor activity of tetrodotoxin (TTX) extracted from the Red Sea puffer fish, Lagocephalus sceleratus on the liver and kidney functions of Ehrlich Solid Carcinoma (EAC) bearing male albino mice. The puffer fishes were collected from the commercial catches at the Attaka fish landing station, Suez Governorate, Egypt. After 10 days of induction by Ehrlich Solid Carcinoma (EAC) cells, Ehrlich Solid Carcinoma (ESC) tumor inthigh musclesof induced mice was appeared and this time represented the zero day of the experiment. A sublethal dose of extracted TTX was administrated to mice having Ehrlich Solid Carcinoma (ESC) tumor, for a period of 3 weeks in nine equal doses (each 48 hours). Injection of TTX to mice specimens having Ehrlich Solid Carcinoma (ESC) tumorin G4resulted in a highly significant decrease in hepaticASAT and ALAT enzyme activities(P

The present study aims to describe the effect of heavy metals: copper,manganese, iron and zinc on the water quality of El-Bagouria Canal at Kafr El-Zayat region, El-Gharbiah Governorate. Seasonal variations of physico-chemical parameterswere studied during the period from summer, 2013 to spring, 2014. Also, to study their effects on the different organs of the commercial fish species; Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus by studying some of biochemical parameters of this fishspecies (total protein, total lipids, total carbohydrates, ASAT and ALAT) during the study period.Results revealed that, heavy metals in the water showed seasonal variations. Also, data exhibited the highest values of heavy metals in the different organs of O. niloticus were recorded during winter in the liver and kidney and the lowest were observed in the muscles. Biochemical analysis indicated devastating effects,especially enzymes activities, in the metabolic organs. Statistical analysis using analysis of variance (ANOVA, at p

This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence the most common parasites genera infected some freshwater fishes in El-Abbassa, Abu-Hammad, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt with respect to level of water quality in ecosystems. A total of 1828 cultured fish species, represented as 694 Clarias gariepinus, 288 Cyprinus Carpio and 846 Oreochromis niloticus were collected seasonally from October 2015 to September 2017 were macroscopically examined, both externally and internally, for presence of parasites. Microscopic examination then conducted to identify the species. Results indicated that, the total prevalence of parasites among examined fish species representing as the following C. gariepinusEƒO. niloticusEƒC. Carpio, also can be ordered as the following: summerEƒspringEƒautumnEƒwinter. This study investigated that an analysis of fish-parasite fauna is very beneficial as prerequisite for awareness of preemptive and control against parasitic disease. The degrees of interactivity among parasites, as well as parameters of species richness point out that, structures of parasite communities are affected by the water pollutants level.

The present study aims to determine the concentrations of heavy metals: Cadmium, Copper, Iron, Nickel, Lead and Zincin the two fish species, Sparus aurata and Diplodus sargus, (family: Sparidae) collected from the Mediterranean Sea Coast, Damietta Governorate, in order to: compare concentrations of metals in the different organs (gonads, kidney, liver, muscles, gills, skin and bones) and their effects on the physiological parameters (total proteins, total lipids, ASAT and ALAT) in the edible organs of these species. Results revealed that, the highest values of heavy metals in the different organs of S. aurata and D. sargus were recorded during summer. Although, the two species have the same behavior of feeding, S. aurata showed high values of the different metals than D. sargus. Biochemical analysis indicated devastating effects in metabolic parameters and enzymes activities in S. aurata than D. sargus. ANOVA (p> 0.05) showed significant differences between the different organs and metals. Also, biochemical parameters exhibited a significant increase between seasons and the different organs and a slight difference between the studied fishes.