Frequency of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila and Chlamydia spp. among patients with atypical pneumonia in Tehran.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila and Chlamydia pneumoniae are the most common bacterial agents, which account for 15-40%, 2-15% and 5-10% of atypical community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) respectively. These agents are mostly associated with infection in the outpatient setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of these pathogens among patients with CAP attending outpatient clinics in Tehran. A cross-sectional study was carried out of 150 patients attending to educational hospitals in Tehran with CAP. M. pneumoniae, L. pneumophila and Chlamydia spp. were detected by PCR assay, targeting the P1 adhesion gene, macrophage infectivity potentiator (mip) gene and 16S rRNA gene respectively from throat swabs obtained from each patient. A total of 86 (57.3%) of 150 patients were women; median age was 50 years (interquartile range, 35-65 years). M. pneumoniae, L. pneumophila and Chlamydia spp. were detected in 37 (24.7%), 25 (16.7%) and 11 (7.3%) patients respectively; of these, 66 patients (44%) were infected at least by one of these three pathogens. The frequency of L. pneumophila was significantly higher among patients over 60 years old (p 0.03). Coinfection was detected in seven patients (4.7%); six were infected by M. pneumoniae and L. pneumophila, and only one was infected by L. pneumophila and Chlamydia spp. M. pneumoniae was the most prevalent agent of atypical CAP, and L. pneumophila was more likely to infect elderly rather than younger people. Further studies on the prevalence of CAP and its aetiologic agents are needed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of CAP patients.

Histological characterisation of the skin of the Paraechinus hypomelas, Brandt, 1836 (Erinaceidae: Eulipotyphla).

BACKGROUND: The current study represents the first description of the histological characterisations of the normal skin of Brandt's hedgehog (paraechinus hypomelas). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skin samples were collected from abdomen, back, nostril and cloacal regions. RESULTS: The skin consisted of 3 layers including epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis was covered by a layer of keratinised squamous epithelium mainly in the back region, but the skin keratinisation was present with a little amount or may was absent in other regions. Histologically, the total thickness of skin was maximum on the back and minimum on the cloacal regions. The epidermis consisted of 4 layers and stratum lucidum was absent in all regions. Beneath the epidermis, the dermis layer was constituted of dense connective tissue in which the hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, arrector pilli muscles and blood vessels were present. The sweat and sebaceous glands were more populated in the nostril region. The hair follicles were located in the epidermal and dermal regions. Vibrissae were only in the nostrils region and characterised from other hairs by their large and well innervated hair follicle which was surrounded by the blood sinus. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings show that in Brandt's hedgehog (paraechinus hypomelas) the back and cloacal regions have thickest and thinnest skin respectively as compared to the nostril and abdominal regions. In addition, sebaceous and sweat glands were mainly populated in the nostril region.

The morphological characters of the male external genitalia of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus Europaeus).

This study was conducted to depict anatomical characteristics of the penis of he-dgehog. Seven sexually mature male European hedgehogs were used. Following anaesthesia, the animals were scarified with chloroform inhalation. Gross penile characteristics such as length and diameter were thoroughly explored and measu-red using digital callipers. Tissue samples stained with haematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome for microscopic analysis. The penis of the European hedgehog was composed of a pair of corpus cavernosum penis and the glans penis without corpus spongiosum penis. The urethra at the end of penis, protruded as urethral process, on both sides of which two black nail-like structures, could be observed. The lower part was rounded forming a blind sac (sacculus urethralis) with a me-dian split below the urethra. Microscopically, the penile bulb lacked the corpus spongiosum penis, but, corpus spongiosum glans was seen at the beginning of the free part. In the European hedgehog, entirely stratified squamous epithelium of penile urethra, absence of corpus spongiosum penis around the urethra and bilateral urethral glands are basically different compared with other mammals. This information is expected to contribute to comparative penile morphology as well as for testing phylogenic hypotheses and expanding knowledge about reproductive biology in this animal. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 293-300).

The Branching Pattern of the Brachiocephalic Trunk in the Donkey (Equus asinus).

Donkeys are a member of the horse family (Equidae) and share a common ancestor. However, in morphological terms, donkeys and horses are regarded as two separate subgenus. Given variations in the branching pattern of the brachiocephalic trunk (BCT) in different species of animals and the use of donkeys in anatomy courses at colleges of veterinary medicine, we conducted this study in order to investigate the branching patterns of BCT and to describe detailed morphological information regarding donkeys. Seventeen mature donkeys were examined following euthanasia by exsanguination from the common carotid artery under general anaesthesia. Thirteen donkeys were embalmed and injected with coloured latex from BCT origin for better visualization of vessels. Four other donkeys were freshly studied without the embalming procedure. In all cases, the BCT was the only branch of the aortic arch and branched into the left subclavian (LSb) artery, the right costocervical trunk, the right subclavian (RSb) artery and the bicarotid trunk. The main branching pattern of the RSb was the costocervical trunk, the vertebral artery, the internal thoracic artery and the superficial cervical artery. The deep cervical artery branched from the costocervical trunk. The major branching pattern of the LSb was the vertebral artery, the internal thoracic artery and the superficial cervical artery. In donkeys, the external thoracic artery branches from the internal thoracic artery. Results obtained from this study indicate that BCT branching in donkeys has some similarities and differences as compared to that in horses and in the Caspian miniature horse.

A review of polysaccharide cytotoxic drug conjugates for cancer therapy.

The most considerable challenges facing effective cancer therapy are systemic toxicity of cytotoxic drugs, their lack of tumor localizing and an even distribution throughout the whole body. Besides, short half-lives and undesirable pharmacokinetics are among the other drawbacks that inhibit effective cancer chemotherapy. Conjugation of low molecular weight drugs to polysaccharides has been used as a way to address these problems. This review will focus on polysaccharide drug conjugates and will provide an overview on various conjugation studies which have been accomplished for these carriers with cytotoxic drugs. Although a wide variety of anticancer agents including some toxins have been the subject of conjugation techniques, in this review, low molecular weight cytotoxic drugs conjugated covalently to the carriers are considered.