Neonatal Birthweight Spectrum: Maternal Risk Factors and Pregnancy Outcomes in Saudi Arabia.

Background and Objectives: Low-birth-weight (LBW) neonates are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality which are inversely proportional to birth weight, while macrosomic babies are at risk of birth injuries and other related complications. Many maternal risk factors were associated with the extremes of birthweight. The objectives of this study are to investigate maternal risk factors for low and high birthweight and to report on the neonatal complications associated with abnormal birth weights. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records of deliveries ≥ 23 weeks. We classified the included participants according to birth weight into normal birth weight (NBW), LBW, very LBW (VLBW), and macrosomia. The following maternal risk factors were included, mother's age, parity, maternal body mass index (BMI), maternal diabetes, and hypertension. The neonatal outcomes were APGAR scores < 7, admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), respiratory distress (RD), and hyperbilirubinemia. Data were analyzed using SAS Studio, multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the independent effect of maternal risk factors on birthweight categories and results were reported as an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Results: A total of 1855 were included in the study. There were 1638 neonates (88.3%) with NBW, 153 (8.2%) with LBW, 27 (1.5%) with VLBW, and 37 (2.0%) with macrosomia. LBW was associated with maternal hypertension (aOR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.62-7.63), while increasing gestational age was less likely associated with LBW (aOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.46-0.57). Macrosomia was associated with maternal diabetes (aOR = 3.75, 95% CI = 1.67-8.41), in addition to maternal obesity (aOR = 3.18, 95% CI = 1.24-8.14). The odds of VLBW were reduced significantly with increasing gestational age (aOR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.32-0.53). In total, 81.5% of VLBW neonates were admitted to the NICU, compared to 47.7% of LBW and 21.6% of those with macrosomia. RD was diagnosed in 59.3% of VLBW neonates, in 23% of LBW, in 2.7% of macrosomic and in 3% of normal-weight neonates. Hyperbilirubinemia was reported in 37.04%, 34.21%, 22.26%, and 18.92% of VLBW, LBW, NBW, and macrosomic newborns, respectively. Conclusions: Most neonates in this study had normal birthweights. Maternal hypertension and lower gestational age were associated with increased risk of LBW. Additionally, maternal obesity and diabetes increased the risk of macrosomia. Neonatal complications were predominantly concentrated in the LBW and VLBW, with a rising gradient as birthweight decreased. The main complications included respiratory distress and NICU admissions.

Bioremediation of chlorpyrifos residues using some indigenous species of bacteria and fungi in wastewater.

Pollutants cause a huge problem for humans, animals, plants, and various ecosystems, especially water resources. Agricultural, domestic, and industrial waste effluents change the water quality and affect living microorganisms. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify possible microorganisms in wastewater as potential bioremediation agents of pesticide residues. Wastewater samples were collected from El-Khairy agricultural drainage, which receives agricultural and domestic wastes. Bacteria and fungi species were isolated as clean cultures. Wastewater samples were analyzed for pesticide residues via gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) system. Results uncovered the presence of ten pesticides ranging from 0.0817 to 28.162 µg/l, and the predominant pesticide was chlorpyrifos. Along with that, about nine species (3 bacterial and 6 fungal) were relatively efficient in the removal of chlorpyrifos residues up to 2000 µg/l with removal percentages ranging from 24.16 to 80.93% under laboratory conditions. Two bacterial isolates proficiently degraded significant amounts of chlorpyrifos: Bacillus cereus strain PC2 (GenBank accession No. MZ314010) and Streptomyces praecox strain SP1 (GenBank accession No. MZ314009). In-site bacterial and fungal isolates defined in the current study were proficient in cleaning wastewater of chlorpyrifos pesticide residues.

A prospective multicentre study evaluating the outcomes of the abdominal wall dehiscence repair using posterior component separation with transversus abdominis muscle release reinforced by a retro-muscular mesh: filling a step.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the results of posterior component separation (CS) and transversus abdominis muscle release (TAR) with retro-muscular mesh reinforcement in patients with primary abdominal wall dehiscence (AWD). The secondary aims were to detect the incidence of postoperative surgical site occurrence and risk factors of incisional hernia (IH) development following AWD repair with posterior CS with TAR reinforced by retromuscular mesh. METHODS: Between June 2014 and April 2018, 202 patients with grade IA primary AWD (Björck's first classification) following midline laparotomies were treated using posterior CS with TAR release reinforced by a retro-muscular mesh in a prospective multicenter cohort study. RESULTS: The mean age was 42 ± 10 years, with female predominance (59.9%). The mean time from index surgery (midline laparotomy) to primary AWD was 7 ± 3 days. The mean vertical length of primary AWD was 16 ± 2 cm. The median time from primary AWD occurrence to posterior CS + TAR surgery was 3 ± 1 days. The mean operative time of posterior CS + TAR was 95 ± 12 min. No recurrent AWD occurred. Surgical site infections (SSI), seroma, hematoma, IH, and infected mesh occurred in 7.9%, 12.4%, 2%, 8.9%, and 3%, respectively. Mortality was reported in 2.5%. Old age, male gender, smoking, albumin level < 3.5 gm%, time from AWD to posterior CS + TAR surgery, SSI, ileus, and infected mesh were significantly higher in IH. IH rate was 0.5% and 8.9% at two and three years, respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, the predictors of IH were time from AWD till posterior CS + TAR surgical intervention, ileus, SSI, and infected mesh. CONCLUSION: Posterior CS with TAR reinforced by retro-muscular mesh insertion resulted in no AWD recurrence, low IH rates, and low mortality of 2.5%. Trial registration Clinical trial: NCT05278117.

Characterization of External Mucosal Microbiomes of Nile Tilapia and Grey Mullet Co-cultured in Semi-Intensive Pond Systems.

The external mucosal surfaces of the fish harbor complex microbial communities, which may play pivotal roles in the physiological, metabolic, and immunological status of the host. Currently, little is known about the composition and role of these communities, whether they are species and/or tissue specific and whether they reflect their surrounding environment. Co-culture of fish, a common practice in semi-intensive aquaculture, where different fish species cohabit in the same contained environment, is an easily accessible and informative model toward understanding such interactions. This study provides the first in-depth characterization of gill and skin microbiomes in co-cultured Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and grey mullet (Mugil capito) in semi-intensive pond systems in Egypt using 16S rRNA gene-based amplicon sequencing. Results showed that the microbiome composition of the external surfaces of both species and pond water was dominated by the following bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria, Fusobacteriota, Firmicutes, Planctomycetota, Verrucomicrobiota, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteriota. However, water microbial communities had the highest abundance and richness and significantly diverged from the external microbiome of both species; thus, the external autochthonous communities are not a passive reflection of their allochthonous communities. The autochthonous bacterial communities of the skin were distinct from those of the gill in both species, indicating that the external microbiome is likely organ specific. However, gill autochthonous communities were clearly species specific, whereas skin communities showed higher commonalities between both species. Core microbiome analysis identified the presence of shared core taxa between both species and pond water in addition to organ-specific taxa within and between the core community of each species. These core taxa included possibly beneficial genera such as Uncultured Pirellulaceae, Exiguobacterium, and Cetobacterium and opportunistic potential pathogens such as Aeromonas, Plesiomonas, and Vibrio. This study provides the first in-depth mapping of bacterial communities in this semi-intensive system that in turn provides a foundation for further studies toward enhancing the health and welfare of these cultured fish and ensuring sustainability.

Generation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated bicistronic knock-in ins1-cre driver mice.

In the present study, we generated novel cre driver mice for gene manipulation in pancreatic ß cells. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, stop codon sequences of Ins1 were targeted for insertion of cre, including 2A sequences. A founder of C57BL/6J-Ins1(em1 (cre) Utr) strain was produced from an oocyte injected with pX330 containing the sequences encoding gRNA and Cas9 and a DNA donor plasmid carrying 2A-cre. (R26GRR x C57BL/6J-Ins1(em1 (cre) Utr)) F1 mice were histologically characterized for cre-loxP recombination in the embryonic and adult stages; cre-loxP recombination was observed in all pancreatic islets examined in which almost all insulin-positive cells showed tdsRed fluorescence, suggesting ß cell-specific recombination. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in results of glucose tolerance test among genotypes (homo/hetero/wild). Taken together, these observations indicated that C57BL/6J-Ins1(em1 (cre) Utr) is useful for studies of glucose metabolism and the strategy of bicistronic cre knock-in using the CRISPR/Cas9 system could be useful for production of cre driver mice.

Germline recombination in a novel Cre transgenic line, Prl3b1-Cre mouse.

Spermatogenesis is a complex and highly regulated process by which spermatogonial stem cells differentiate into spermatozoa. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of the process, the Cre/loxP system has been widely utilized for conditional gene knockout in mice. In this study, we generated a transgenic mouse line that expresses Cre recombinase under the control of the 2.5 kbp of the Prolactin family 3, subfamily b, member 1 (Prl3b1) gene promoter (Prl3b1-cre). Prl3b1 was initially reported to code for placental lactogen 2 (PL-2) protein in placenta along with increased expression toward the end of pregnancy. PL-2 was found to be expressed in germ cells in the testis, especially in spermatocytes. To analyze the specificity and efficiency of Cre recombinase activity in Prl3b1-cre mice, the mice were mated with reporter R26GRR mice, which express GFP ubiquitously before and tdsRed exclusively after Cre recombination. The systemic examination of Prl3b1-cre;R26GRR mice revealed that tdsRed-positive cells were detected only in the testis and epididymis. Fluorescence imaging of Prl3b1-cre;R26GRR testes suggested that Cre-mediated recombination took place in the germ cells with approximately 74% efficiency determined by in vitro fertilization. In conclusion, our results suggest that the Prl3b1-cre mice line provides a unique resource to understand testicular germ-cell development. genesis 54:389-397, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modulating Effects of Spirulina platensis against Tilmicosin-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Tilmicosin (TIL) is a long-acting macrolide antibiotic used to treat cattle for pathogens that cause bovine respiratory disease. However, overdoses of this medication have been reported to induce cardiac damage. Our experimental objective was to evaluate the protective effects of Spirulina platensis (SP) administration against TIL-induced cardiotoxicity in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our experimental in vivo animal study used 40 male albino mice that were divided into five groups of eight mice per group. The first group served as a control group and was injected with saline. The second group received SP at dose of 1000 mg/kg body weight for five days. The third group received a single dose of TIL (75 mg/kg, subcutaneously). Groups 4 and 5 were given SP at doses of 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight for five consecutive days just before administration of TIL at the same dose and regimen used for group 3. RESULTS: TIL treated animals showed a significant increase in serum cardiac injury biomarkers as well as cardiac lipid peroxidation, however they had evidence of an inhibition in antioxidant biomarkers. SP normalized elevated serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), and CK-MB. Furthermore, SP reduced TIL-induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Administration of SP minimized the toxic effects of TIL by its free radicalscavenging and potent antioxidant activity.

Palm vitamin E reduces catecholamines, xanthine oxidase activity and gastric lesions in rats exposed to water-immersion restraint stress.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effects of Palm vitamin E (PVE) and α-tocopherol (α-TF) supplementations on adrenalin, noradrenalin, xanthine oxidase plus dehydrogenase (XO + XD) activities and gastric lesions in rats exposed to water-immersion restraint stress (WIRS). METHODS: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250 g) were randomly divided into three equal sized groups. The control group was given a normal diet, while the treated groups received the same diet with oral supplementation of PVE or α-TF at 60 mg/kg body weight. After the treatment period of 28 days, each group was further subdivided into two groups with 10 rats without exposing them to stress and the other 10 rats were subjected to WIRS for 3.5 hours. Blood samples were taken to measure the adrenalin and noradrenalin levels. The rats were then sacrificed following which the stomach was excised and opened along the greater curvature and examined for lesions and XO + XD activities. RESULTS: The rats exposed to WIRS had lesions in their stomach mucosa. Our findings showed that dietary supplementations of PVE and α-TF were able to reduce gastric lesions significantly in comparison to the stressed control group. WIRS increased plasma adrenalin and noradrenalin significantly. PVE and α-TF treatments reduced these parameters significantly compared to the stressed control. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementations with either PVE or α-TF reduce the formation of gastric lesions. Their protective effect was related to their abilities to inhibit stress induced elevation of adrenalin and noradrenalin levels as well as through reduction in xanthine oxidase and dehydrogenase activities.