Comparative biological activity of abamectin formulations on root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) infecting cucumber plants: in vivo and in vitro.

The root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are considered one of the most destructive diseases in the world. In Egypt, farmers primarily rely on chemical nematicides, which have become costly to control. Currently, abamectin is a bio-based pesticide used as an alternative tool against Meloidogyne spp. on cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.). During the current research, four tested abamectin formulations were DIVA (1.8% EW), RIOMECTIN (5% ME), AGRIMEC GOLD (8.4% SC) and ZORO (3.6% EC) compared with two reference nematicides namely, CROP NEMA (5% CS) and TERVIGO (2% SC). The main results showed that, in vitro study elucidated that the most effective formulations of abamectin as a larvicidal were EW with LC50 value of 21.66 µg ml-1. However, in the egg hatching test, the formulations of abamectin SC (2%) and EW were the most effective in reducing egg hatching, with LC50 values of 12.83 and 13.57 µg ml-1. The calculated relative potency values showed diversity depending on the two referenced nematicides. On the other hand, in vivo study, the results indicated that, all tested formulations of abamectin recorded general mean reductions in root galls (23.05-75.23%), egg masses (14.46-65.63%). Moreover, the total population density declined by 39.24-87.08%. Furthermore, the influence of abamectin formulations, in the presence of root-knot nematodes, on the growth of cucumber plants parameters, such as root dry weight, root length, root radius, root surface area, shoot dry weight and shoot height, as well as the content of macro-elements (N, P and K) exhibited varying levels of response.

The effect of vagotomy on c-fos expression in the reticular formation areas following cystometry in cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis in rats.

BACKGROUND: The involvement of the vagus nerve in the supraspinal neural circuits that control the urinary bladder function, especially during pathological conditions, became increasingly evident. However, the role of brainstem areas in these circuits is not studied yet. METHODS: In the present study, using c-fos immunohistochemistry, the roles of the vagus nerve to the responses of the reticular formation to cystometry in cyclophosphamide-treated rats were investigated. RESULTS: Cyclophosphamide treatment significantly increased the c-fos expression in the lateral reticular nucleus (LRt), lateral paragigantocellular nucleus (LPGi), caudal part of the ventrolateral reticular nucleus (CVL), and gigantocellular reticular nucleus (Gi) following cystometry. However, cyclophosphamide treatment didn't have significant effect on c-fos expression in ventrolateral reticular nucleus (VL), rostral part of VL (RVL), raphe pallidus nucleus (RPa), and raphe obscurus nucleus (Rob). Vagotomy significantly demolished the effect of cyclophosphamide in the LRt and LPGi areas without having any significant effect on other reticular formation areas. Whereas, in comparison to normal animals, the vagotomised animals didn't show any significant changes in c-fos expression. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate the involvement of the reticular formation areas, particularly the ventral part, in processing urinary bladder function under cystitis condition. It also demonstrates the contribution of the vagus nerve in these processes.

Significance of fibulin-3 expression in bladder cancer: a tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study.

BACKGROUND: Predicting the behavior of bladder cancer by easy noninvasive methods and with less cost is needed. Fibulin-3 (EFEMP1), a glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix that is encoded by the gene EFEMP1, has been nominated as one of the potential mediators of muscle invasion in bladder cancer. METHODS: In this tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study, fibulin-3 level of expression was evaluated using a semiquantitative scoring system and was correlated with patient's age and sex and tumor grade and stage. RESULTS: A total of 160 urothelial carcinoma cases were analyzed. The age of the patients ranged from 25 to 91 years (mean, 60.15; SD, 11.60). Fibulin-3 was significantly associated with muscle invasion and overall tumor stage (p = 0.033 and 0.02, respectively). Fibulin-3 expression was nonsignificantly associated with tumor grade (p = 0.092) CONCLUSIONS: We found that the expression of fibulin-3 is significantly associated with muscle invasion in urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma. However, the prognostic role of fibulin-3 needs further investigations.

Concomitant administration of sitagliptin and rutin improves the adverse hepatic alterations in streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in albino rats: an overview of the role of alpha smooth muscle actin.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM), one of the commonest worldwide metabolic conditions, is believed to be associated with an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants. Sitagliptin is an oral anti-hyperglycaemic drug that blocks dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4). Rutin is a polyphenolic natural flavonoid which has antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity. The aim of the present work is to elucidate the concomitant effect of sitagliptin and rutin on the deleterious alterations in the liver of experimentally induced diabetes in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty adult male albino rats, weighing 170-200 g were used. Rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 10): group 1 (control group), the other four groups (groups II, III, IV and V) received a single i.p. injection of streptozotocin, 65 mg/kg body weight to induce diabetes; group II (diabetic), group III (diabetic and rutin administered), group IV (diabetic and sitagliptin administered), and group V (diabetic with sitagliptin and rutin concomitantly administered). Haematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, periodic acid Schiff, immune-histochemistry: a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA), histomorphometric analysis, liver enzymes and oxidants/anti-oxidants; malondialdehyde/glutathione and were done. RESULTS: Distorted hepatic architecture, dilatation, congestion of sinusoids and central veins as well as cytoplasmic vacuolations were remarkable changes in the diabetic group. There was extravasation of blood, diffuse fibrous tissue formation, increase in the mean values of liver enzymes, oxidative markers and a-SMA expression in the same group. The aforementioned changes were ameliorated in groups III and IV. Concomitant administration of sitagliptin and rutin resulted in marked enhancement of these hepatic alterations. CONCLUSIONS: Combination of sitagliptin and rutin has an ameliorating effect on the hepatic deterioration induced by diabetes, which is better than either sitagliptin or rutin alone.

3-(Bromoacetyl)coumarins: unraveling their synthesis, chemistry, and applications.

This review emphasizes recent developments in synthetic routes of 3-(bromoacetyl)coumarin derivatives. Also, chemical reactions of 3-(bromoacetyl)coumarins as versatile building blocks in the preparation of critical polyfunctionalized heterocyclic systems and other industrially significant scaffolds are described. Recent advances of 3-(bromoacetyl)coumarins as attractive starting points towards a wide scale of five and six-membered heterocyclic systems such as thiophenes, imidazoles, pyrazoles, thiazoles, triazoles, pyrans, pyridines, thiadiazins as well as fused heterocyclic systems have been reported. Additionally, this review covers a wide range of analytical chemistry, fluorescent sensors, and biological applications of these moieties, covering the literature till May 2021.

The differential effects of high-fat and high- -fructose diets on the liver of male albino rat and the proposed underlying mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: The Western-style diet is characterised by the high intake of energy- -dense foods. Consumption of either high-fructose diet or saturated fat resulted in the development of metabolic syndrome. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. Many researchers studied the effect of high-fat diet (HFD), high-fructose diet (HFruD) and high-fructose high-fat diet (HFHF) on the liver. The missing data are the comparison effect of these groups i.e. are effects of the HFHF diet on the liver more pronounced? So, this study was designed to compare the metabolic and histopathological effect of the HFD, HFruD, and HFHF on the liver. The proposed underlying mechanisms involved in these changes were also studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty four rats were divided into four groups: con- trol, HFD, HFruD, and HFHF. Food was offered for 6 weeks. Biochemical, light microscopic, immunohistochemical (Inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS] and alpha-smooth muscle actin [α-SMA]), real-time polymerase chain reaction (gene expression of TNF-α, interleukin-6, Bax, BCL-2, and caspase 3), histomorphometric analysis and oxidative/antioxidative markers (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS], malondialdehyde [MDA]/glutathione [GSH] and superoxide dismutase [SOD]) were done. RESULTS: The HFD, HFruD and HFHF groups developed a cluster of liver disorders; steatosis, necrosis, inflammation, apoptosis, ballooning degeneration and cytopla- smic vacuolations. Internal metabolic impairments include elevated serum levels of glucose, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein and decreased serum levels of high density lipoprotein and albumin. The immunoreaction of the α-SMA and iNOS was strong in these groups. The oxidant markers (MDA and TBARS) were elevated, while the antioxidant markers (SOD and GSH) were decreased. The area per cent of collagen, inflammatory markers, caspase 3 and Bax were elevated, while the BCL-2/Bax ratio was decreased. The decrease in PAS, antioxidant markers and the elevation of the α-SMA, iNOS, inflammatory and oxidant markers were obvious in the HFHF when compared to that of the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: High-fat diet, HFruD, and HFHF developed morphologic hepatic changes ranging from steatosis to necrosis and inflammation, besides the deve- lopment of internal metabolic impairments. The chief factors of hepatic injury were fat accumulation in the hepatocytes, oxidative stress and highly elevated iNOS. Compared to the other groups, HFHF's effect was more prominent.

Effects of nicotine on rat adrenal gland: crosstalk between oxidative and inflammatory markers, and amelioration by melatonin.

Although the risks of smoking are well known, the effects of exposure to nicotine on endocrine functions remain unclear. We investigated the deleterious effects of nicotine on the adrenal gland and the mechanisms of these changes in rats. The role of melatonin in ameliorating pathological changes also was investigated. We used 24 rats divided into four groups of six: group 1, control; group 2, nicotine treated; group 3, nicotine and melatonin treated; group 4, melatonin treated. We used histology; immunohistochemistry of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH); measured oxidative and antioxidative markers, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH); and performed real-time PCR for NF-κB 65, IL1-B and IL6. We also performed histomorphometric analysis. Indentation and lamellar separation of the adrenal capsule, vacuolated degenerated cells and lymphocytic infiltration were observed in group 2. Vacuolated cells and cells with pyknotic nuclei also were detected in the zona reticularis and medulla of the same group. We observed improved shape and cellular lining of the gland in groups 3 and 4. Widespread expression of iNOS, VEGF and TH, increased area percent collagen, decreased GSH (56%) and increased MDA, NF-κB, IL1-B and IL-6 were observed in group 2. All parameters were ameliorated in groups 3 and 4. The effects of nicotine on the adrenal gland can be attributed to oxidative and inflammatory stress; melatonin ameliorates these effects.

Tongue necrosis secondary to mucormycosis in a diabetic patient: A first case report in Malaysia.

Mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection and high mortality that commonly affects patients with the weakened immune system. We present an unusual case of tongue necrosis probably due to the healthcare-associated mucormycosis (HCM) in a diabetic patient. Although cannot be proved with certainty, we surmise that intubation as a risk factor in our case. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination (HPE) of the necrotic tissue specimen. The patient was responded well to lipid complex amphotericin B (250mg) regime after surgery. Subsequent follow up revealed that no signs of recurrence. Early, recognition, diagnosis, prompt treatment and awareness among clinician are representing the most effective way of managing the disease.

N-acetylcysteine versus progesterone on the cisplatin-induced peripheral neurotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin-induced peripheral nerve neurotoxicity (CIPN) is the main obstacle in cisplatin treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the modulatory effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and progesterone on CIPN, because there are scarce literature data on the protective effect of the proge-sterone on the CIPN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four rats were divided into four groups: control, cisplatin-treated, concomitant cisplatin-treated and NAC-treated, and concomitant cisplatin-treated and progesterone-treated. Electron microscopic, immunohistochemical, real time polymerase chain reaction and histomorphome-tric analysis; oxidative/antioxidative markers (MDA/GSH and SOD), neurotoxic/ neuroprotective markers (iNOS/nNOS), inflammatory mediators (TNF-a and NF-kB) and BAX were done. RESULTS: The myelin sheath in the cisplatin-treated group elucidated infolding. The myelin was disfigured, degenerated, and extensively split with areas of focal loss. The axoplasm was atrophic. Ballooning and vacuolations of the mitochon-dria with alterations of Remak bundles structures were observed. Fewer of these changes were noted in the NAC and progesterone-treated groups. Decrease of the antioxidant SOD and GSH (81% and 64%) and increase of the oxidant MDA (9 folds), increment of the neurotoxic iNOS (1.9 folds) and decrement of the neuroprotective nNOS (64%) and elevation of the inflammatory mediators' TNF-a and NF-kB (8.3 and 11 folds) in the cisplatin-treated group. Increase of the antioxidant SOD (1.3 and 2.5 folds) and GSH (120% and 79%) and decrease of the oxidant MDA (69% and 88%), decrement of the neurotoxic iNOS (56% and 68%) and increment of the neuroprotective nNOS (1.6 and one folds) and elevation of the inflammatory mediators' TNF-a and NF-kB were observed in the NAC and progesterone-treated groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The toxic effect of CIPN might be attributed to either oxidative or severe inflammatory stress. Progesterone is efficient in ameliorating these effects; however, NAC is better. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 234-245).

An efficient scheme for mental task classification utilizing reflection coefficients obtained from autocorrelation function of EEG signal.

Classification of different mental tasks using electroencephalogram (EEG) signal plays an imperative part in various brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. In the design of BCI systems, features extracted from lower frequency bands of scalp-recorded EEG signals are generally considered to classify mental tasks and higher frequency bands are mostly ignored as noise. However, in this paper, it is demonstrated that high frequency components of EEG signal can provide accommodating data for enhancing the classification performance of the mental task-based BCI. Instead of using autoregressive (AR) parameters considering AR modeling of EEG data, reflection coefficients obtained from EEG signal are proposed as potential features. From a given frame of EEG data, reflection coefficients are directly extracted by using the autocorrelation values in a recursive fashion, which avoids matrix inversion and computation of AR parameters. Use of reflection coefficients not only provides an effective feature vector for EEG signal classification but also offers very low computational burden. Support vector machine classifier is deployed in leave-one-out cross-validation manner to carry out classification process. Extensive simulation is done on an openly accessible dataset containing five different mental tasks. It is found that the proposed scheme can classify mental tasks with a very high level of accuracy as well as low time complexity in contrast with some of the existing strategies.

Optimization and characterization of the formation of oil-in-water diazinon nanoemulsions: Modeling and influence of the oil phase, surfactant and sonication.

Nanoemulsions are particularly suitable as a platform in the development of delivery systems for lipophilic functional agents. Current research describes the formation of oil-in-water (O/W) diazinon nanoemulsions using synthetic and natural additives by adopting a high-energy (ultrasound) emulsification method. The diazinon nanoemulsions were spontaneously formed by adding dropwise a mixture of diazinon, solvent and co-solvent in an aqueous solution containing a surfactant (tween or lecithin) with continuous stirring. The nanoemulsions were then formed by ultra-sonication. The effects of three levels of active ingredient, solvent, co-solvent, surfactant, sonication time and sonication cycle and power were performed by Minitab software to design the experiment. Effects of these factors on droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), viscosity and pH of nanoemulsions were investigated. The results of the modeling showed that the experimental data could be adequately adapted in a second-order polynomial model with a multiple regression coefficient r2 of 0.821 for the prediction of particle size, PDI and viscosity. The long-term and thermodynamic stability of the prepared nanoemulsions were tested. The droplet size and morphology of the nanoemulsions were measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). On this basis, a water-insoluble insecticide diazinon was incorporated into 26 optimized nanoemulsion systems to demonstrate potential applications in pest control. The results of DLS and TEM measurements showed that most of prepared nanoemulsions had an almost monodisperse droplet size distribution (PDI < 200 nm). Incorporation of diazinon had no significant effect on the size and stability of the nanoemulsions and the formulated nanoemulsion remained stable after four months of storage.

Trials and tribulations: how we established a major incident database.

OBJECTIVE: We describe the process of setting up a database of major incident reports and its potential future application. METHOD: A template for reporting on major incidents was developed using a consensus-based process involving a team of experts in the field. A website was set up as a platform from which to launch the template and as a database of submitted reports. This paper describes the processes involved in setting up a major incident reporting database. It describes how specific difficulties have been overcome and anticipates challenges for the future. CONCLUSIONS: We have successfully set up a major incident database, the main purpose of which is to have a repository of standardised major incident reports that can be analysed and compared in order to learn from them.

POPULATION DYNAMICS OF CHAFF SCALE, PARLATORIA PERGANDII COMSTOCK IN COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FLUCTUATING POPULATION DENSITIES ON THREE CITRUS VARIETIES IN EL-BEHEIRA GOVERNORATE, EGYPT.

Investigation throughout the subsequent years of 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 indicated that chaff scale, P. pegandii is an important economic pest on citrus trees in Abou El-Matamer area, El-Beheira Governorate, Egypt. It has been recorded in relatively high rates all over the year on three citrus varieties called Succari, Baladi and Navel oranges. Field observation and recorded data revealed that the common abundance was recorded for chaff scale on Succari oranges followed by Navel oranges then the least abundant on Baladi oranges. Generally, the calculated data on Succari oranges showed that, the population of P. pergandii reached the maximum during July and there were five highly variation periods in both the growing seasons of 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The maximal percent of pre and adult females was observed during Spring and early Summer and reached 100% of the total counted individuals during October and December in the first year, but in the second one a higher population was recorded during Summer and early Winter months. The adult males were observed during Summer and Autumn months. Results showed also that the relationship between daily mean temperature and population density of chaff scale was weak, insignificantly negative in the two growing seasons (2011-2012 and 2012-2013) and also insignificantly but positive with relative humidity. That relationship with wind speed indicated weak positive significance in the first year and strong in the second season. The relationship between dew point and insect population was weak of positive significance in both growing seasons.

Fetal hemivertebra: associations and perinatal outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of antenatal diagnosis of hemivertebra, to quantify the association with coexisting anomalies and to determine the perinatal outcome. METHOD: This was a retrospective observational study of all cases of suspected fetal or neonatal hemivertebra identified via the UK Southwest Congenital Anomaly Register (SWCAR) between 2002 and 2012. RESULTS: From a total of 88 cases of hemivertebra identified during the study period, data were obtained for 67 of them: 45 (10 isolated and 35 with coexisting anomalies) cases were suspected antenatally and 22 (10 isolated and 12 with coexisting anomalies) were diagnosed postnatally. Of the cases detected postnatally, five (four with coexisting anomalies) were unsuspected and diagnosed at postmortem examination. The most commonly associated anomalies included additional skeletal abnormalities (n = 16), genitourinary abnormalities (n = 10), VATER/VACTERL association (n = 5), cardiac abnormalities (n = 4) and central nervous system abnormalities (n = 4). In cases with coexisting anomalies there was a 48% fetal/neonatal loss, compared to 19% in cases with isolated hemivertebra. CONCLUSIONS: Although antenatal diagnosis of hemivertebra was accurate, a third of the cases were diagnosed only postnatally. These data suggest a difficulty in antenatal diagnosis of the condition. The majority of cases of hemivertebra had coexisting anomalies, and in these cases the rate of perinatal loss was high. These data should be useful in providing additional information for counseling when a diagnosis of hemivertebra is made.

Wavelet domain feature extraction scheme based on dominant motor unit action potential of EMG signal for neuromuscular disease classification.

In this paper, two schemes for neuromuscular disease classification from electromyography (EMG) signals are proposed based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT) features. In the first scheme, a few high energy DWT coefficients along with the maximum value are extracted in a frame by frame manner from the given EMG data. Instead of considering only such local information obtained from a single frame, we propose to utilize global statistics which is obtained based on information collected from some consecutive frames. In the second scheme, motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) are first extracted from the EMG data via template matching based decomposition technique. It is well known that not all MUAPs obtained via decomposition are capable of uniquely representing a class. Thus, a novel idea of selecting a dominant MUAP, based on energy criterion, is proposed and instead of all MUAPs, only the dominant MUAP is used for the classification. A feature extraction scheme based on some statistical properties of the DWT coefficients of dominant MUAPs is proposed. For the purpose of classification, the K-nearest neighborhood (KNN) classifier is employed. Extensive analysis is performed on clinical EMG database for the classification of neuromuscular diseases and it is found that the proposed methods provide a very satisfactory performance in terms of specificity, sensitivity, and overall classification accuracy.

An automatic bleeding detection scheme in wireless capsule endoscopy based on histogram of an RGB-indexed image.

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is one of the most effective technologies to diagnose gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, such as bleeding in GI tract. Because of long duration of WCE video containing large number images, it is a burden for clinician to detect diseases in real time. In this paper, an automatic bleeding image detection method is proposed utilizing construction of an index image incorporating certain level of information from each plane of RGB color space. Distinguishable color texture feature is developed from index image by histogram. Support vector machine (SVM) classifier is employed to detect bleeding and non-bleeding images from WCE videos. From extensive experimentation on real time WCE video recordings, it is found that the proposed method can accurately detect bleeding images with high sensitivity and specificity.

Management and outcome of pregnancies with parvovirus B19 infection over seven years in a tertiary fetal medicine unit.

OBJECTIVES: To determine rates of fetal anaemia and pregnancy outcome in susceptible pregnant women infected with human parvovirus B19 infection in a tertiary fetal medicine department over a 7-year period. Additional features enabling identification of fetuses that progress to severe anaemia were also investigated. METHODS: Forty-seven susceptible, pregnant women with confirmed parvovirus infection referred to a regional fetal medicine unit, over a 7-year period (1999-2006), were identified. Where possible maternal serum AFP measurements were obtained from second-trimester serum screening and the presence or absence of echogenic bowel noted. RESULTS: Of the 47 cases, one was excluded. Of the remaining 46 cases, 34 (74%) showed no signs of fetal anaemia and delivered at term. The remaining 12 (26%) showed signs of fetal anaemia. Eight of the 12 developed hydrops and underwent fetal blood sampling and transfusion (median pretransfusion Hb 3.6 g/dl). Seven of the 8 transfused fetuses were thrombocytopenic with a platelet count <150 x 10(9)/l, with 2 fetuses having platelet counts <50 x 10(9)/l. The median gestation age at transfusion was 22 weeks (range 18-27 weeks). The median number of weeks between seroconversion and transfusion was 6 (range 3-12). The signs of anaemia resolved after one transfusion in 5 of the 8 transfused fetuses and they subsequently delivered at term. There were 2 fetal deaths during or shortly after transfusion and one neonatal death following delivery at 28 weeks gestation due to severe pre-eclampsia, 5 days after successful transfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Following parvovirus seroconversion, the incidence of significant fetal anaemia requiring transfusion was 17%. Seroconversion after 21 weeks did not result in severe fetal anaemia. Significant anaemia requiring intervention did not occur 12 weeks after maternal seroconversion. We did not demonstrate a correlation with either maternal serum AFP or the presence of fetal echogenic bowel and the development of severe fetal anaemia. Because of the association between fetal anaemia and severe thrombocytopenia, it may be prudent to have compatible platelets available at the time of fetal blood sampling.

Free fetal DNA in maternal plasma in anembryonic pregnancies: confirmation that the origin is the trophoblast.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that free fetal DNA (ffDNA) circulating in maternal plasma originates mainly from the placenta we studied ffDNA levels in anembryonic pregnancies. METHODS: Maternal blood samples were collected from 15 normal first-trimester pregnancies in which fetal sex was subsequently determined and nine patients with a diagnosis of anembryonic gestation (AG). The Y chromosome DYS14 gene was quantified by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) for the determination of fetal sex in both plasma and chorionic tissue samples. Fetal sex in chorionic tissue samples was also determined using quantitative fluorescence PCR (QF-PCR). RESULTS: The correct sex result was obtained from maternal plasma in all. Four AG pregnancies were female (DYS14 negative) results. In five of the AG cases, the chorionic tissue was found to be male (by both QF-PCR and RT-PCR which agreed) and positive male signal was found in maternal plasma by RT-PCR. There was no statistical difference between median free fetal DNA concentration in plasma between the AG male cases (148.3 GE/mL) and controls (145.8 GE/mL). CONCLUSION: Since ffDNA levels are normal in pregnancies without a fetus, the data support the hypothesis that the trophoblastic cells are the major source ffDNA in maternal plasma.