Diagnostic and methodological evaluation of studies on the urinary shedding of SARS-CoV-2, compared to stool and serum: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Investigating the infectivity of body fluid can be useful for preventative measures in the community and ensuring safety in the operating rooms and on the laboratory practices. We performed a literature search of clinical trials, cohorts, and case series using PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library, and downloadable database of CDC. We excluded case reports and searched all-language articles for review and repeated until the final drafting. The search protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database. Thirty studies with urinary sampling for viral shedding were included. A total number of 1,271 patients were enrolled initially, among which 569 patients had undergone urinary testing. Nine studies observed urinary viral shedding in urine from 41 patients. The total incidence of urinary SARS-CoV-2 shedding was 8%, compared to 21.3% and 39.5 % for blood and stool, respectively. The summarized risk ratio (RR) estimates for urine positive rates compared to the pharyngeal rate was 0.08. The pertaining RR urine compared to blood and stool positive rates were 0.20 and 0.33, respectively. Our review concludes that not only the SARS-CoV-2 can be excreted in the urine in eight percent of patients but also its incidence may have associations with the severity of the systemic disease, ICU admission, and fatality rates. Moreover, the findings in our review suggest that a larger population size may reveal more positive urinary cases possibly by minimizing biases.

Determination of total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and antifungal effects of Thymus vulgaris, Trachyspermum ammi and Trigonella foenum-graecum extracts on growth of Fusarium solani.

Ajowan, thyme and fenugreek are spice and aromatic crops with a number of medicinal properties which are known as important sources of essential phytochemicals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content and antifungal activities of these plant extracts on growth of Fusarium solani, an important plant pathogen, soil saprophyte and one of the causal agents of fusariosis in human and animals. Their total antioxidant activity was measured using DPPH radical scavenging assay and their antimicrobial activity was determined through poison food assay at two concentrations (1000 and 1500 ppm) and spore germination assay in vitro. All methanolic extracts showed high antioxidant activity which among them methanolic extract of thyme demonstrated higher antioxidant potential with a low IC50 (16.50 mg ascorbic acid/g). Also, the highest phenolic content (70.55 mg GAE g-1) was observed in methanolic extract of thyme. The highest and lowest amount of thymol was determined in methanolic extract of thyme and aqueous extract of ajowan. Methanolic extracts of thyme leaves and ajowan seeds at concentration of 1500 ppm were potentially effective against F. solani over the control treatments by 90.33% and 85.73%, respectively. Followed by hydro-ethanolic and aqueous extracts exhibited a lesser percentage of inhibition. The MIC value for methanolic extract of thyme and ajowan was 3.75 mg/ml followed by hydro-ethanolic and aqueous extracts, respectively. The amount of calculated MFC was ranging from 7.5 to 30 mg/ml for thyme methanolic and fenugreek aqueous extracts, respectively.

A simplified and optimized protocol for total DNA extraction from insect species: applicable for studying genetic diversity and PCR-based specimen identification via partial amplification of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene.

The efficient DNA extraction from insects has been suggested as a critical and main step affecting molecular entomology for taxonomic identification, the establishment of DNA barcoding library and analysis of genetic diversity relationship between insect populations. For successfully apply these molecular techniques, high-quantity and high-quality of the extracted DNA are required. Several protocols for efficient genomic DNA extraction from insects have been developed. In this research, we represent a rapid, reliable and cost-effective method that it is not reliant on poisonous and enzymatic reagents for DNA extraction from insect tissues. Results showed that high quantity and high-quality of the isolated DNA by this method is suitable and can be used directly for PCR, also is enough to do hundreds of molecular reactions. In conclusion, we described a fast, cost-effective, non-toxic and enzyme-free protocol for high yield genomic DNA extraction from green Lacewings (Chrysoperla carnea) tissues in basic equipment laboratories.