Ascariasis in common bile duct resulting in a subhepatic abscess.

BACKGROUND: Biliary system ascariasis can be a rare cause of acute abdomen. PATIENT REPORT: A 70-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain for two weeks. She complained of a right upper quadrant (RUQ) pain, intermittent vomiting and weight loss. Physical examination showed RUQ and epigastric tenderness without rebound tenderness or guarding. Laboratory finding exhibited leukocytosis and mildly elevated liver enzymes. RESULTS: Abdominal sonography showed distended gallbladder and a tubular lesion inside the common bile duct (CBD) in favor of a parasitic lesion. A large ascaris roundworm and blood clots were extracted from the CBD by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and sphincterotomy. After 7 days, the disease process was complicated with a subhepatic abscess formation which was managed conservatively. Finally, the patient was discharged home in fair condition after 12 days of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Ascariasis should be considered in endemic areas and early endoscopic intervention and medical therapy can be effective for extrahepatic involvement.

Three novel Bacillus strains from a traditional lacto-fermented pickle as potential probiotics.

AIMS: Bacillus probiotics recently gained attention due to the production of resistant cells. The in vitro probiotic potentials and safety assessment were evaluated for three Bacillus strains obtained from traditional pickle. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three bacterial strains designated as 437F, 1630F and 1020G were isolated from a traditional pickle and identified as members of the genus Bacillus. The novel strains showed high acid and bile tolerance. They exhibited antagonistic activity against various pathogens. Antioxidant activity, auto- and co-aggregation ability as well as their surface hydrophobicity and attachment capacity to the Caco-2 cells were in the range of other well-known probiotic strains. They were susceptible to various antibiotics. The enterotoxin (HBl and NHe), cytotoxin (Cytk1) and emetic (Ces) genes were not detected based on PCR assay. They were not toxic against HT-29 cells. CONCLUSION: With respect to their characteristics and safety aspect, these Bacillus species may have potential to consider as probiotics for animal and/or human applications. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Nondairy-fermented foods are interesting sources for isolation of novel probiotics. Identification of novel Bacillus strains with remarkable probiotic potentials would increase their contribution in food/feed and pharmaceutical industries.

Quantitative analysis of essential oils of Thymus daenensis using laser-induced fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy.

Laser-induced fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy are used for the investigation of different genotypes of Thymus daenensis native to the Ilam province of Iran. Different genotypes of T. daenensis essential oils, labeled T1 through T7, possess slight differences with regard to the composition of the thymol. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method is performed to determine the concentration of each constituent as a reference method. The Raman spectra of different concentrations of pure thymol dissolved in hexane as standard samples are obtained via a laboratory prototype Raman spectroscopy setup for the calculation of the calibration curve. The regression coefficient and limit of detection are calculated. The possibility of the differentiation of different genotypes of T. daenensis is also examined by laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, although we do not know the exact amounts of their components. All the fluorescence spectral information is used jointly by cluster analysis to differentiate between 7 genotypes. Our results demonstrate the acceptable precision of Raman spectroscopy with GC-MS and corroborate the capacity of Raman spectroscopy in applications in the quantitative analysis field. Furthermore, the cluster analysis results show that laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is an acceptable technique for the rapid classification of different genotypes of T. daenensis without having any previous information of their exact amount of constituents. So, the ability to rapidly and nondestructively differentiate between genotypes makes it possible to efficiently select high-quality herbs from many samples.

Comparison between elemental composition of human fingernails of healthy and opium-addicted subjects by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

The objective of the present work is to identify differences in elemental fingernail composition between opium-addicted and healthy adult human subjects using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Thirty nails from normal, healthy male subjects and 30 nails from opium-addicted male individuals were analyzed. Measurements on 60 nail samples were carried out, identifying 13 key species including 11 neutral elements and 2 ions. Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) was used to classify the samples between the two groups. Spectral line intensities of elements including Fe, C, Ti, Mg, Si, Al, Ca, H, K, O, and Na were considered variables in DFA. This analysis demonstrates the efficient discrimination between the two groups. However, the number of samples in this work is not sufficient for a decisive conclusion and further research is needed to generalize this idea.

Effects of dietary n-3 fatty acids on characteristics and lipid composition of ovine sperm.

The fatty acid composition of sperm affects the fertilization rate. The objective was to investigate the effects of dietary fish oil (as a source of n-3 fatty acids) on semen quality and sperm fatty acid composition in sheep. Eight Zandi fat-tailed rams were randomly allocated into two groups and fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with fish oil. Both diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous and were fed for 13 weeks, starting in the middle of the breeding season. Semen samples were collected weekly and their characteristics evaluated by standard methods, whereas samples collected at the start and end of the study were assessed (gas chromatography) for sperm lipid composition. Mean (±s.e.m.) sperm concentrations (4.3 × 109 ± 1.3 × 108 v. 3.9 × 109 ± 1.3 × 108 sperm/ml and percentages of motile (77.25 ± 3.34 v. 60.8 ± 3.34) and progressively motile sperm (74.13 ± 1.69 v. 62.69 ± 1.69) were significantly higher in the fish oil group than control. Dietary fish oil increased the proportion of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 n-3) in sperm fatty acid composition. We concluded that feeding fish oil as a source of n-3 fatty acids attenuated seasonal declines in semen quality in rams, perhaps through increased DHA in sperm.