contribution on Coliforms causing mastitis in cows with reference to serotypes and virulence factors of E. coli isolates

Escherichia coli [E. coli] is the predominant coliform species causing intramammary infections. Where in the present study, E. coll isolates were 1.8 strains [17.82%] followed by Enterobacter aerogenes 3 strains [2.97%] and Klebsiella pneumoniae one strain [0.99%] from 101 clinical mastitic milk samples of cows. Eighteen E. coli isolates were serotyped to nine different serogroups; O111:H4 [3], O127:H6 [3], O26 [2], O126 [2], O119:H6 [1], O114:H21 [1], O55:H7 [1], O44:H18 [1], O124[1] and [3] untyped. Virulence tests were performed on the 18 isolated E. coll, it was found that 15 isolates [83.3%] were serum resistant, 13 isolates [72.2%] had Congo Red binding activity, 6 isolates [33.3%] were invasive and one isolate [5.6%] had haemolytic activity. PCR was applied to detect the presence of Shiga like toxin producing E. coll [stxl and stx2 genes] on the nine different strains[one strain for each serogroup], where stxl and stx2 were found in 8 [88.9%] and 4 [44.4%] of the nine examined strains, respectively. While stxl and stx2 genes were found together in 3 strains [33.3%]. Conclusions: E. coli isolates usually posses one or more virulence factors that may help in establishment at the infection site and subsequently causing clinical bovine mastitis

Some antibiotic resistant bacteria of public health hazard isolated from raw milk sold in some Assiut City markets

A total of 50 raw milk samples were collected in this study from some Assiut City markets, Egypt, and examined for isolation of some human hazard pathogens. The percentages of the isolated pathogens were 46, 76, 78, 4 and 24% for Staph. aureus. Enterococcus faecalis, E. coli, Citrobacter freundii and Yersinia enterocolitica respectively. In vitro Antibiogram was carried out on all isolates against [8] different antimicrobial agents; moreover, ail of these isolates showed multi-drug resistance against tow or more of the tested antibiotics. The public heath hazards of the isolated pathogens were alsfrtliscussed

Sheep caseous lymphadenitis: causative bacterial agents and their in vitro some antimicrobial susceptibility

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis [C. pseudotuberculosis] is the etiologic agent of caseous lymphadenitis. It is a serious, economically important disease for sheep production. This study was carried out on 762 sheep reared in private flocks [616 females and 146 males] with different ages at different localities in Assiut Governorate. The prevalence of the disease in sheep was 22.7% on the basis of clinical signs and 20.1% on the basis of bacteriological examination. The disease prevalence was significantly higher in females'sheep [25.3%] than that in males [11.6%]. Caseous lymphadenitis was highly significantly different among age groups. The high prevalence of caseous lymphadenitis was recorded in sheep of 1-2 years old [37.34], followed by animals of 2-3 years old [25.77%] and the low prevalence was in sheep under one year old [8.33%], this may be due to occurrence of maternal antibodies from colostrums. Parotid lymph nodes were the most common affected lymph node [11.81%], followed by superficial cervical lymph nodes [7.87%], while prefemoral lymph node was less affected [0.39%]. The superficial lymph nodes of the anterior body half showed the highest rate of infection then the posterior body half. C. pseudotuberculosis was the main causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis in sheep, where it was isolated either in pure form or in combination with Staph. aureus from 142 cases [82.1%] and 7 cases [4%] of the clinically infected sheep, respectively. On the other hand Staph. aureus was isolated as a sole pathogen from 4 cases representing 2.3%. All isolated strains of C. pseudotuberculosis were highly virulent to Guinea pigs and 97.3% of them were nitrate reduction negative. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility test of C. pseudotuberculosis strains showed that Enrofloxactin and Ciprofloxatin had strong inhibitory effect on the isolates, while the most strains were highly resistant to Lincomyctin, Streptomycin, Amoxycillin and Penicillin. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that C. pseudotuberculosis is the main causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis in sheep. The superficial lymph nodes of the anterior body half show the highest rate of infection than the posterior body half. Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin are the most effective drugs during in vitro tests

Seroprevalence study on brucellosis in native and imported camels

Seroprevalence study was carried out on 470 camels [123 native camels in contact with other farm animals in Assiut and El-Wadi El Gadid Governorates and 347 imported camels from Sudan, through Daraw, Aswan Governorate] these camels with different ages and sexes were examined for detection of brucella antibodies. A high incidence of seroreactive cases was observed among native camels [2.43%, 12.19%, 4.87% and 2.43%] while it was [0.57%; 0.86%; 0.29% and 0.29%] among imported camels using Rose Bengal plate Test, Buffered Acidified plate Antigen Test, Tube Agglutination Test and Rivanol test, respectively. Quantitatively, four serum samples were true seropositive - without any clinical signs - with a titer ranged from 1/25 to 1/400 using Rivanol test, while 3 serum samples were seroreactors with a titer of 1/40, 1/80 and 1/320 using TAT. Three [1.07%] of positive camels were adult over 4 years old and the remaining 1[0.52%] was young under 4 years old. It can be concluded that brucella seroprevelance in native camels was significantly different [P<0.05] than in imported ones, however no significant differences could be recorded based on the sex of the age. The study proved that Rose Bengal plate Test followed by Tube Agglutination. Test agreed with Rivanol test in the rapid diagnosis of brucellosis in camels

Seroepidemiological study on helicobacter pylori infection in children and adults in Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt

Helicobacter pylori is considered as one of the most common chronic bacterial zoonotic infections worldwide. H. pylori infection constitutes a public health hazard problem with a fatal sequele. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of H. pylori among children and adults in Assiut Governorate in Upper Egypt and to evaluate the risk factors affecting the increase of infection. A total of 200 peripheral blood samples constituting 50 samples from children and 150 samples from adults were collected from hospital patients. A full detailed anamnestic and clinical assessment in the form of questionnaire was designed for each patient to determine the risk factors with specific emphasis to age, sex and residence. Seroprevalence of H. pylori IgG antibodies was evaluated by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. We estimated a seroprevalence rate of 75.5%. H. pylori exposure was higher in adults [79.33%] than in children [64%] and it was statistically significant. The seroprevalence of infection was higher in rural areas [87.3%] than in urban areas [40%]. H.pylori infection was prevalent among humans in the areas studied. Public health hazard of H. pylori infection and preventive measures to control the infection were discussed

Epidemiological study on yersiniosis in pediatric acute diarrhea [with 5 tables and 5 figures]

Yersiniosis is considered one of the most important bacterial foodborne infections as their incidence among humans had increased dramatically. A total of one hundred and fifty random samples were collected from children with acute diarrhea. 50 of them had blood in stools and 100 had no blood in their stools. Samples were collected from the gastroenterology unit of Assiut University Children Hospital during the period from January to December 2005. The present study was designed to estimate the incidence of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis among diarrheal children with and without blood in stools. Moreover, demographic and clinical characteristics of the Yersinia infected children were investigated. Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis could be detected in 17.33% and 13.33% of the examined children, respectively. Ecological distribution of the examined children revealed that the rate of infection was higher in rural areas [52.9%] than in urban areas [11.25%]. The majority of cases in the present study were in the age group of [> 24-60months] with a rate of [87.5%], followed by those in age group of [7 -24 months] with a rate of 18.33%. It has been determined that incidence of Yersinia species was higher among females [33.33%] than males [29.52%]. Seasonal incidence of the infection by Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was studied. Public health hazard and preventive measures to control infection were discussed

study on hemolytic uremic syndrome [HUS] among hospitalized children with shiga toxin producing E. coli 0157:H7 infection

Diarrhea continues to be a major cause of childhood mortality and morbidity in developing countries. Although mortality from diarrheal diseases is declining, morbidity is not. The hemolytic uremic syndrome [HUS] has been reported to be a common complication in bloody diarrhea particularly that caused by entero-hemorrhagic E. coli, a subset of E. coli that produces potent cytotoxins known as shiga like toxins [STx] and the organism is therefore called shiga toxin producing E. coli [STEC]. The exact mechanism responsible for HUS, however, remains speculative. Endothelial injury, acute inflammatory response to STEC or its STx has been blamed. The aim of this work is to study the percentage frequency of STEC infection and the percentage frequency of HUS in a group of hospitalized diarrheal children with and without blood in stools. We also aim to study some of the inflammatory cytokines [TNF alpha, IL-8], vascular endothelial factors such as Endothelin-1 [Et-1] and nitric oxide [NO], and the angiogenic peptide released in response to endothelial injury [bFGF] in these cases. The study included 200 patients less than 5 years of age having acute diarrhea. Cases with protozoal infection were excluded from the study. All cases besides having thorough clinical history and examination, had stool culture and serotying of STEC 0157:H7 on admission. For all cases renal function tests, full blood count and smear, serum sodium and potassium levels were measured. For cases with proven STEC 0157:H7 infection, TNf alpha, IL-8, Et1, NO and bFGF were determined. The percentage frequency of STEC 0157:H7 was 43%, of them 40% were in cases with blood in stools. The percentage frequency of HUS was 35%; all were cases with bloody diarrhea and STEC 0157: H7 infection. The percentage frequency of antibiotic administration among all cases was 67%. However among case with STEC infection that developed HUS 71% received antibiotics. Cases with STEC associated -HUS showed significantly younger mean age with significantly longer mean duration of hospitalization than the rest of case with STEC infection without HUS. They showed significantly higher percentage frequency of: fever >/= 38°C, vomiting, hematuria, anuria, hypertension, CNS complications [seizures, encephalopathy, intractranial hemorrhage and brain infarction], and deaths than the rest of the cases. They also showed significantly lower mean sodium, hemoglobin, platelets and nitric oxide values and significdantly higher mean potassium, urea, creatinine, WBC count, PMNL, and reticulocytic count, TNF alpha, IL-8, Et-1, and bFGF correlated positively with creatinine and WBC but negatively with platelets. NO correlated negatively with TNF alpha, IL-8, Et-1, and bFGF. STEC infection is higher among the studied cases, pointing to the role of cross transmission among hospitalized patients. Hemolytic uremic syndrome complicates 35% of these cases. Diarrheal cases with HUS were associated with more serious complications such as hypertension, encephalopathy, and intracranial hemorrhage. These complications may cause permanent disability and sometimes have fatal outcome. Furthermore the duration of hospital stay was considerably longer than cases without HUS. In STEC associated HUS with these complications, the prognosis is usually grave than in the absence of such complications. Bad prognostic signs of HUS include: younger age, leukocytosis >14,000, prolonged anuria and oliguria, persistent thrombocytopenia, as well as the presence of CNS complications

Lysosomal enzymes, isoenzymes in rheumatoid arthritis

This study has shown that serum activity of cathepsin B, cathepsin D and B-NAG were insignificantly decreased in rheumatoid group compared with normal group while serum acid phosphatase was significantly increased in rheumatoid arthritis when compared with normal group. Synovial activity of cathepsin B, cathepsin D, B-NAG and acid phosphatase were significantly increased in rheumatoid group compared with osteoarthritic group. B-NAG is fractionated in rheumatoid synovial fluid into 2 bands [A, B], where A band had disappeared by heating, while in, osteoarthritic synovial fluid B-NAG had been fractionated into only one band [A], which had disappeared by heating

Lipid peroxidation and malondialdehyde in synovial fluid and serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The concentration of malondialdehyde in serum and syovial fluid was measured as an indicator of free radical in 20 arthritic patients [10 osteoarthritis and 10 rheumatoid arthritis] plus ten healthy volunteers. Free radical activity showed high significant increase in rheumatoid group compared with both control and osteoarthritic groups, this increase was manifested both in serums as well as in synovial fluid. From this study it is concluded that, measurement of free radicals are useful in diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. The study strongly recommend the administration of antioxidants side by side with antirheumatic drugs to correct the oxidative stress and promote oxidant antioxidant balance

Serum changes of gonadotropins in some metabolic diseases and their in associated impotence

Serum FSH, prolactin and LH were measured in 12 diabetic and 12 uremic male patients. These gonadotropins were also measured in 12 male healthy individuals who constituted the control group of this study.The mean basal levels of serum LH and FSH in uremic patients were significantly increased than that of the control group. They were non- significantly decreased in diabetic patients. The mean baseal level of serum prolactin was highly significantly increased in uremic patients as compared to the control group.While in the diabetic group it was non- significantly increased than that of the control group. The possible relation of these changes to the explanation of impotence suffered by diabetic and uremic patients was discussed

Role of prolactin metabolism in bilharzial hepatic fibrosis associated with sexual disturbances

Serum prolactin levels were assayed in 20 male patients with bilharzial liver fibrosis Also, LH and FSH were measured. Twelve male individuals with no known diseases which affect pituitary hormones constituted the control group Cases with hyperprolactinaemia [>20mg/ml] and associated with sexual disturbances [18 patients] were treated with bromocriptine [2.5mg tds for one month]. After treatment, serum prolactin levels were reassayed with revaluation of sexual disturbances. The treated cases showed improvement of the reproductive state in the form of increased libido and improved potency.This could be attributed to the significant decrease of serum prolactin levels to within reference ranges

Stress corrosion cracking of alpha-brass in solutions containing some sulphur species

Stress corrosion cracking [SCC] tests were carried out for alpha-brass in solutions of Na2SO3 and Na2S2O3 by using the constant slow strain rate technique. It was found that brass is susceptible to undergo SCC in Na2SO3 and Na2S2O3 solutions at the open-circuit as well as at the anodic polarization conditions. The susceptibility to SCC increases with increase of the solution concentration and with anodic polarization. The mode of cracking was intergranular in Na2O3 solutions and mixed to predominantly transgranular in Na2S2O3 solutions. The susceptibility of brass to SCC is greater in thiosulfate solutions as compared with sulfite solutions

Effect of exogenous calcium ions on prostaglandin output from rat hepatic tissue slices

This vitro study was an attempt to study the possible role of Ca[++] ions on metabolism of prostaglandins in hepatic tissue of albino rats. Addition of calcium ions in the form of calcium gluconate 10% ampule in a dose of 29 ug/gm wet tissues to the Kreb's Ringer phosphate media cause a high significant increasre in PGE[2] output from hepatic tissue slices. This is associated with a significant decrease in PGF[2]. These fingings may give an additional information of the possible role of Ca[++] ions on catabolism of prostaglandins. From the present study, it is concluded that addition of extracellular Ca[++] ions to the incubation media resulted in increase PGE2 synthesis and efflux with decrease PGE2 synthesis and efflux from hepatioc tissue of albino rats. The effect of Ca[++] ions on prostaglandins synthesis and release must be put in mind on using drugs which alter PG synthesis, efflux or both. An example of these drugs are calcium channel blockers, beta adrenergic receptor stimulator as well as alpha adrenergic receptor stimulator, which are commonly used in the treatment of many cardiovascular diseases. Their use must be put under observation to avoid undesirable effects as a result of increase or decrease prostaglandins formation

Direct bonding to ceramic fused-to metal crown, scanning electron microscope study

The data analyses and the scanning electron microscope examination in this study provided strong support to the following conclusions: Saline/adhesive system in direct bonding to ceramo-fused to metal crowns produced comparable bond resistance to that to porcelain denture teeth; tensile pull debonding force is recommended to minimize microfractures and porcelain tears; intra-oral polishing technique must be proposed to restore the porcelain surface glazing