Whitish truffles found in Finland: soil characteristics, and identification based on morphological and molecular properties.

The growing demand for truffles has led to a global pursuit for their occurrence in the wild, and studies concerning their cultivation. Although European countries such as Italy, France and Spain have been known for truffle production, truffle hunting is new to Finland. The present study reports for the first time, the findings of Tuber maculatum in Finland on the basis of morphological and molecular analysis. The chemical characteristics of soil samples collected from the truffle sites have also been discussed. The species of the Tuber samples were identified primarily using morphological analysis. Molecular analysis was carried out for the confirmation of the identity of the species. Two phylogenetic trees were constructed based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences produced in this study and including representative sequences of whitish truffles available in GenBank. The truffles were identified as T. maculatum and T. anniae. This study could be considered as a basis for encouraging research on findings and identification of truffles in Finland.

Correlation between maternal and fetal umbilical cord blood lead concentrations in Libya.

Background: People are exposed to lead from car exhaust fumes (leaded petrol), lead-based paints, plumbing systems, cigarette smoking, contaminated soil and dust, foods grown in polluted areas, and water sources. Among the vulnerable subpopulations are pregnant women, fetuses and infants. Aims: To estimate and correlate maternal and neonatal blood lead levels and compare these between neonates and their mothers in Tripoli and Ghadames. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, blood was collected from 120 and 116 mothers and their neonates from Tripoli and Ghadames, respectively. Lead levels were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. A simple questionnaire was filled by the participants using face-to face interview. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0 and Excel. Results: Mean blood and umbilical cord lead levels were 6.83 (standard deviation 4.96) and 6.05 (4.89) µg/dl in mothers and neonates from Tripoli, respectively, and 5.91 (4.02) and 4.54 (4.09) µg/dl from Ghadames. There was no significant difference in blood lead level between mothers from Tripoli and Ghadames. However, there was a significant correlation between maternal blood and umbilical cord blood in Tripoli and Ghadames. Linear regression revealed that neonatal umbilical cord blood lead levels reflected the levels in maternal blood. Blood lead in this study was higher than that reported in industrialized western countries. Conclusion: We detected moderate blood lead levels among pregnant women in Tripoli and Ghadames. It is important to detect the source of lead in the Libyan population to treat this problem effectively.

Anti-Angiogenic Effect of Cantharellus cibarius Extracts, its Correlation with Lipoxygenase Inhibition, and Role of the Bioactives Therein.

Angiogenesis is a complex physiological process that cannot be treated with single agent therapy. Several edible fungi have been known to encompass bioactive compounds, and are promising sources of multi-component drugs. One such widely consumed edible fungi is Cantharellus cibarius, which has been explored for its biological activities. The present study focused on assessing the anti-angiogenic activity of petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of C. cibarius using chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Both the extracts showed a dose-dependent response which was compared with the anti-angiogenic activity of the positive controls silibinin, and lenalidomide. The extracts were also studied for their lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory potential and compared to ascorbic acid as the positive control. The IC50 values of the petroleum ether extract, ethanol extract, and ascorbic acid for LOX inhibition assay were 135.4, 113.1, and 41.5 µg/mL, respectively. Although both the extracts showed similar responses in CAM assay, ethanol extract proved to be more potent in LOX inhibition assay. Finally, the extracts were investigated for their chemical composition using GC-MS. A correlation between LOX inhibition and anti-angiogenic potential was established at the molecular level. A meticulous literature search was carried out to correlate the biochemical composition of the extracts to their anti-angiogenic activity.

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in medical students

Aging seldom comes alone and it is considered to be the major factor for many diseases and comorbidities and disabilities. The objectives of the study are to examine demographic characteristics and prevalence of comorbidities and polypharmacy of elderly patients who were admitted at Sebha Medical Center according to the selected period. This study is descriptive and retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in Sebha during 2021. From 195 participants of the study, the highest rate of patients was from the age group of 65 - 74 years which accounted for 86 participants (44%) and followed by those age group of 75 - 84 years which was reported by 65 participants (33%). The majority of elderly patients have hypertension, (n = 116, 59%) and over one-third of the patients (n = 73, 37%) have diabetes mellitus while nearly one-quarter of patients have both diseases at the same time (n = 47, 24%). Nearly, three-quarters of patients have electrolytes imbalance (n = 142,72%). Nearly, two-thirds of the patients had three to five comorbidity diseases (n = 122, 63%). Whereas, over one-third of the patients had just one or two comorbidities (n = 70, 36%). Almost all the participants have polypharmacy (n = 187, 96%). Just above half of the patients have five - ten medications (n = 100, 51%) compared with 45% of the patients from those who have more than ten medications (n = 87). This study showed that there is a strong relationship between the prevalence of polypharmacy and the number of comorbidities. A Spearman correlation test indicated that rate of comorbidities was related to polypharmacy with a significant correlation (P < 0.01). The present study found high prevalence of comorbidities and polypharmacy among elderly inpatients. Based on this high prevalence, practicing pharmaceutical care could play an effective role to reduce the risk of inappropriate polypharmacy among hospitalized elderly patients through encouraging clinical pharmacist to engage in clinical activities in hospitals

Association of venous thromboembolism and myocardial infarction with Factor V Leiden and Factor II gene mutations among Libyan patients.

Factor V Leiden G1691A (FVL) and Factor II prothrombin G20210A (PGM) mutations are the leading causes of thrombophilia. In this study, we have investigated the prevalence of the FVL G1691A and PGM G20210A single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among Libyan deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and myocardial infarction (MI) patients. SNP genotyping was performed using high-resolution melt analysis (HRM) and DNA sequencing. Biochemical parameters conducted on 112 males and 93 females showed no significant difference in means between the control group and the deep vein thrombosis and myocardial infarction groups. For Factor V Leiden, 40 samples were genotyped. Of the 40 samples, 6 (15.0%) of them were heterozygous and no one was homozygous. As for Factor II SNP, 59 samples were genotyped and only 2 (3.3%) were heterozygous. All the heterozygous samples showed 100% concordance between the HRM-PCR and DNA sequence analysis. Our study showed, for the first time, that both the FVL and PGM mutations are present among Libyan DVT and MI patients and that the FVL mutation is significantly associated with DVT but not with MI. However, our results do not support the association of PGM G20210A mutation with DVT or MI.

Anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activity of the summer truffle (Tuber aestivum Vittad.) extracts and a correlation with the chemical constituents identified therein.

Fungi are a huge source of unexplored bioactive compounds. Owing to their biological activities, several fungi have shown commercial application in the health industry. Tuber aestivum Vittad. is one such edible fungi with an immense scope for practical biological applications. In the present study, the anti-angiogenic activity of petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of T. aestivum was investigated using the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay and compared to the positive controls silibinin and lenalidomide. Both the extracts showed a dose-dependent anti-angiogenic response. The extracts were also assessed for their anti-inflammatory potential by lipoxygenase-inhibition assay. The IC50 values for LOX inhibition assay, computed by the Boltzmann plot, were 368.5, 147.3 and 40.2 µg/mL, for the petroleum ether extract, ethanol extract, and the positive control ascorbic acid, respectively. The ethanol extract of T. aestivum showed superior anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activity than the petroleum ether extract. Compositional investigation of the extracts by GC-MS revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds. The compounds were correlated to their anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activity based on a meticulous literature search.

Detection of CTX-M-15 Among Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Five Major Hospitals in Tripoli, Libya.

OBJECTIVES: Multidrug resistance (MDR) and emergence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs) among uropathogenic Escherichia coli have been reported worldwide, but there was no information on the detection of blaCTX-M-15 in major teaching hospitals in Libya. The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of CTX-M-15 ß-lactamases producers isolated from five teaching hospitals in Tripoli, Libya. METHODS: A total of 346 urine samples were collected from hospitalized patients in five teaching hospitals with a diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI). Phenotypic confirmation of ESBLs was confirmed by E-test strip; all ESBL-producing E. coli isolates were screened for the blaCTX-M-15 gene. RESULTS: The distribution of ESBL-producing E. coli varied among the five hospitals. The highest proportion was identified in Tripoli Medical Centre (67.6%). There were extremely high proportions of isolates resistant to ceftriaxone, cefepime, and ceftazidime (93.0-100.0%) among ESBL producers compared to non-ESBL producers (2.2-4.7%). MDR was detected in 22.2% of isolates. The majority of isolates (85.9%) in which blaCTX-M-15 was identified were ESBL producers. There was a correlation (p < 0.001) between expression of CTX-M-15 and resistance to ceftazidime. CONCLUSIONS: The isolation of MDR ESBL-producing uropathogens expressing the CTX-M-15 gene will limit the choices clinicians have to treat their patients with UTIs. Continued surveillance and implementation of efficient infection control measures are required.

A model-based analysis of microarray experimental error and normalisation.

A statistical model is proposed for the analysis of errors in microarray experiments and is employed in the analysis and development of a combined normalisation regime. Through analysis of the model and two-dye microarray data sets, this study found the following. The systematic error introduced by microarray experiments mainly involves spot intensity-dependent, feature-specific and spot position-dependent contributions. It is difficult to remove all these errors effectively without a suitable combined normalisation operation. Adaptive normalisation using a suitable regression technique is more effective in removing spot intensity-related dye bias than self-normalisation, while regional normalisation (block normalisation) is an effective way to correct spot position-dependent errors. However, dye-flip replicates are necessary to remove feature-specific errors, and also allow the analyst to identify the experimentally introduced dye bias contained in non-self-self data sets. In this case, the bias present in the data sets may include both experimentally introduced dye bias and the biological difference between two samples. Self-normalisation is capable of removing dye bias without identifying the nature of that bias. The performance of adaptive normalisation, on the other hand, depends on its ability to correctly identify the dye bias. If adaptive normalisation is combined with an effective dye bias identification method then there is no systematic difference between the outcomes of the two methods.