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Understanding the epidemiology of COVID-19
Get PDFCOVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 was reported in December, 2019 in Wuhan city of Hubei province, China, in people who had visited seafood market. Its symptoms were similar to pneumonia but its infectivity was very high. The main modes of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 were identified as spread by nasal droplets and oral-fecal route and COVID-19 was found to be infectious in incubation and asymptomatic period. Hence, by the time real potential of its pathogenicity was realized, it had spread to many regions of China, other Asian countries, European countries, United States etc. and by April 20, 2020, it had spread to 185 countries all over the world. By this time, China had contained the virus, due to strict social distancing measures, and there was decline in the number of positive cases but in many other countries, especially U.S. and European countries, the cases continued to rise. United States showed the sharpest rise in COVID-19 cases in April, 2020 and also reported the highest number of deaths from the disease. As most of the countries are facing first-wave of COVID-19 by April, 2020, there are fears of second-wave of COVID-19 as China plans to relax social distancing norms to resume business, other work etc. to combat economic losses.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.382211
Estimation of post-harvest losses of Manfalouty pomegranate fruits
Get PDFWeight loss considered one of the main causes of quality loss in pomegranate fruits during chain marketing. Therefore, this study was conducted on Manfalouty pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in a private orchard in El Badary, Assiut Governorate, Egypt in 2017 and 2018 to define the various causes of losses during chain handing and estimate it. The fruits harvested at three periods early (September) mid (October) and late season (November). The total losses at harvest were 5.94%, 9.30% and 23.50% for early, mid and late season, respectively. The main cause of losses is due to cracked and infected pests. The total loss of fruits during chain marketing was highest in retail market in comparison with wholesale during early, mid and late season. The main causes of losses due to weight loss and shrinkage fruits. According to data dealing with storage pomegranate fruits at 5±1°C and relative humidity 85-90%, the highest fruit losses found in the third month and this losses due to fruit weight loss and internal chilling injury (brown discoloration) so the storage life of fruit should be two months.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.405122
Dermatoglyphics in common: genetic disorders and cancers
Get PDFThis review article offers information to deal with fingerprints within the most prevalent genetic disorders and cancers. Dermatoglyphic refers to the formation of present ridges in some body parts like fingers, palm, soles, and toes; these ridges unchanged throughout life. There are three sorts of fingerprint patterns: Arches, loops, and whorls. The most pattern of dermatoglyphics is related to genetic disorders as in Down syndrome and Klinefelter's syndrome and applied in medicinal studies and also useful within the diagnosis of the many genetic disorders and a few sorts of cancers. Ridge count one among the foremost important parameters which will be advantaged for determine some genetic disorder and cancers like thalassemia, carcinoma, thyroid, and cervical cancers, but there are controversial from studies to studies not confirmed altogether research. Another parameter could also be differences in some sorts of cancers and statistically significant, for instance in early diagnosis of prostate cancer.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.399647
The first report of the coproduction of CMY-16 and ArmA 16S rRNA methylases in carbapenemase-ESBL producing Escherichia coli isolates
Get PDFThe main aim of this work was to assess the occurrence and to characterize AmpC genes and to investigate the co-existence of 16S rRNA methylases and carbapenemases genes among the ESBL producing Escherichia coli strains. 180 Escherichia coli clinical strains were collected from the university hospital of Constantine located in the eastern part of Algeria. 42 ESBL-producers were phenotypically identified and also confirmed genotypically able to produce CTX-M-15 [n=33], CTX-M-1 [n=5], CTX-M-14 [n=1], SHV-2 [n=1], and two strains have been revealed producing the blaOXA-48 genes associated with blaTEM-1. Among the ESBL-producing strains three expressed additionally an AmpC phenotype which corresponded to the carriage of a blaCMY gene shown by sequencing to correspond to CMY-2 (1 isolate) CMY-16 (2 isolates). The two E. coli isolates produce CMY-16 that belonged to phylogroup D while the single CMY-2 producing isolate belonged to phylogroup C. Antibiotic resistance of the aminoglycoside family by production of 16S rRNA methylases was detected by an end-point multiplex PCR assay which concerns genes coding for different 16S rRNA methylases (rmtD, rmtA, rmtB, armA, npmA, and rmtC). An armA gene was identified in 2 strains. This study shows for the first time the co-existance of CMY-16 and armA genes with blaTEM-1 and blaOXA-48 producing E. coli strains.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.377665
Immunomodulation: a broad perspective for patients’ survival of COVID-19 infection
Get PDFThe pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is yet to be well understood. However, patients with the virus show clinical manifestations which are very similar to those of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. This and other scientific findings reveal that acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the main cause of death in most COVID-19 patients. A vital mechanism for the development of the ARDS is cytokine storm which arises from an aggressive uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response that results from the release of large numbers of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This review seeks to draw the attention of the scientific community to the possibilities of improving the clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients based on the knowledge of altering the development of this hyper-inflammatory process by suggesting drugs that targets the implicated immune cells, receptors, cytokines and inflammatory pathways without having generalized effect on the entire immune system.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.395677
Phytochemical screening and in-vitro antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Justicia secunda Vahl on selected clinical pathogens
Get PDFThe phytochemical constituents and antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Justicia secunda against five selected clinical pathogens were investigated. Leaves of Justicia secunda were obtained and authenticated, and subjected to drying at room temperature for thirty days. The dried leaves were blended into powder for solvent extraction. Aqueous, ethanol and methanol, extracts of the leaves were prepared and concentrated using a rotary evaporator. The phytochemical analysis was carried out using standard methods while the antibacterial activity of the extracts against the clinical isolates was determined using the agar well diffusion method. Saponins, tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, steroids, anthraquinones and alkaloids were all present in the methanol, ethanol and aqueous extracts, while cardiac glycosides and alkaloids were absent in the aqueous extract. All the extracts had antibacterial activity against the test bacteria at 150 mg/mL, with the exception of the aqueous and methanol extracts that had no activity against E. coli. The MIC of the aqueous extract for both B. cereus and L. monocytogenes was 37.5 mg/mL, 150 mg/mL for S. aureus, 18.75 mg/mL for P. aeruginosa, with no activity against E. coli. The methanol extract of had a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 18.75 mg/mL on all the tested bacteria, with the exception of E. coli with no activity, while the MIC of the ethanol extract on P. aeruginosa was 75 mg/mL, and 18.75 mg/mL for the other bacteria. J. secunda could be promising in the future design of antibacterial drugs due to its antibacterial properties as observed in this study.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.398513
Antifungal activity of Myrtus communis and Zygophyllum album extracts against human pathogenic fungi
Get PDFFungal infections have been increasing in recent years due to a growing number of high-risk patients, particularly immunocompromised hosts. Currently, medicinal plants are known for their properties due to their essential oils and phenolic compounds. They have been empirically used as antimicrobial agents. So the composition of the phenolic extracts and essential oils of Myrtus communis and Zygophyllum album and their antifungal activity on Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus fungal strains were studied. In this fact, essential oils from the aerial parts of the plant were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS, for the phenolic extracts, several extraction methods with a preliminary phytochemical study were applied. The oils showed high contents of α-pinene and cineol for M. communis and verbenone and caryophyllene for the Z. album. The MIC and minimal lethal concentration were used to evaluate the antifungal activity against Candida and Aspergillus strains. Results showed that M. communis and Z. album essential oil and phenolic extracts exhibited a significant activity against clinically relevant fungi, a significant antifungal activity of the two extracts studied (MCA and ZAM) was observed on C. albicans of these, two extracts, MCA was found to be most active with an MFC value of 25 mg/ml versus 100 mg/ml for ZAM. Nevertheless, the essential oils exhibited stronger antifungal activity than the phenolic extracts. The present study indicates that the two medicinal plants have considerable antifungal activity, deserving further investigation for clinical applications.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.375120
Understanding the phenomena of extraction of essential oils by the microwave accelerated distillation process: case of the Washington Navel variety
Get PDFIn this study, two techniques Hydrodistillation (HD) and Microwave-accelerated distillation (MAD), was used to extract essential oils (EOs), from the peels of citrus fruits Washington Navel (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) collected from Tipaza province, north Algeria during April 2018. The extraction yield and time of EOs were (0.28% and 180 min) using HD extraction and (0.27% versus 30 min) using MAD extraction. After using gas chromatography analyses (GC-FID) and (GC-MS), 21 aromatic compounds obtained and identified for both extraction approaches. On the other hand, and in order to better comprehension the extraction phenomena, two models of extraction processes were applied, The first one considers the existence of a single site with a constant speed ruled by the equation of the quasi-stationary state, whereas, the second assumes that there are two distinct sites: The first is part of the fraction easily accessible with a very high desorption rate k1 (fast fraction), the second contains the fraction that is difficult to extract, with a low desorption speed k2 (slow fraction). The results showed that, the application of the two sites model can describe accurately the used extraction methods in this study. The data from HD extraction modeling indicate that this method extraction is fast fraction (f equal 0.79), then MAD method (f equal 0.40).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.388185
Evaluation of health risk in relation to geohelminths in dumpsites of Ondo Town, Nigeria
Get PDFThe study evaluated the contamination level of geohelminths and the health risk in two major dumpsites at Ondo town of Ondo State. One hundred and eighty soil samples were collected from randomly selected sites through the use of quadrant between May and July, 2018 from two locations. Soil samples were analyzed for the presence of helminth ova and larvae following standard procedures. The patterns of parasite prevalence in relation to soil physiochemical parameters were determined. 168 (93.3%) soil samples were positive after analyses for different parasite stages. Epe soil recorded higher prevalence of 88 (97.8%) and the sub-soil had higher number of parasites 94 (52.2%) than the top soil 74 (41.1%). Parasite types found included hookworm (Necator americanus) (36.7%), Strongyloides stercoralis (15.6%), Ascaris lumbricoides (28.9%) and Trichuris trichuria (18.9%). The mean soil temperature and pH were 27.9 ± 0.7°C and 6.0 ± 0.5% respectively. The presence of viable soil transmitted helminths (STHs) eggs/larvae in soil suggest possible active transmission and high rate of exposure to infective agents among the inhabitants. There is a need for health education on risk associated with STH infection in the environment and public investments on sanitation that is essential to, protect individuals, control geohelminths and other sanitary related infectious diseases.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.396955
Beneficial effects of ascorbic acid on ivermectin repeated high-dose therapy in rabbits: biochemical and histopathological investigations
Get PDFIvermectin (IVM) is a lipophilic anthelmintic drug widely used for the control of internal and external parasites in both human and veterinary medicine. Conversely, overdoses of IVM are associated with resistance and efficacy problems. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of repeated administration of a high dose of IVM alone or with combination of ascorbic acid (AA) in male young rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) via biochemical and histological investigations. Twenty rabbits were divided into four groups (n=5) and treated for three consecutive weeks: Control group; IVM group (2 mg/kg of body weight subcutaneously, 3 times a week); IVM + AAg (20 mg/mL) group and IVM + AAf (200 mg/kg of diet) group. IVM induced a disruption of hepatic biochemical parameters and lipid profile with a statistically significant (p < 0.05) increase in glucose, ALT, AST, GGT, HDL-C and a significant decrease of TC, TG, LDL-C, VLDL-C in IVM group compared to control group. Co-administration of AA moderately improved those biochemical parameters. Histopathological changes following IVM treatment in liver comprised loss of normal hepatocytes structure, central vein dilation and portal vein congestion. The lung showed abnormal structure of intrapulmonary bronchus, dilated bronchioles and alveoli and congested pulmonary artery. Nevertheless, the AA treatment groups revealed significant improvement when co-administered orally with IVM. This study suggested that AA has a beneficial ameliorative role against toxic effects induced by repeated high-dose of IVM.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.411630