Development of immunization trials against Pasteurella multocida

Pasteurellosis is one of the most important respiratory diseases facing economically valuable farm animals such as poultry, rabbit, cattle, goats and pigs. It causes severe economic loss due to its symptoms that range from primary local infection to fatal septicemia. Pasteurella multocida is the responsible pathogen for this contagious disease. Chemotherapeutic treatment of Pasteurella is expensive, lengthy, and ineffective due to the increasing antibiotics resistance of the bacterium, as well as its toxicity to human consumers. Though, biosecurity measures played a role in diminishing the spread of the pathogen, the immunization methods were always the most potent preventive measures. Since the early 1950s, several trials for constructing and formulating effective vaccines were followed. This up-to-date review classifies and documents such trials. A section is devoted to discussing each group benefits and defects.     

Diagnostic de lignée dans les leucémies aiguës : confrontation entre cytologie et immunophénotypage

Objective

The determination of the cellular lineage in acute leukemia is a crucial step in the diagnosis and the later therapeutic conduct. In Tunisia, emerging country, some cases of acute leukemias are still treated on the basis of an only cytologic study because of lack of cytometry. Our objective is to realize a confrontation between cytology and flow cytometry in the diagnosis of AL and to analyze discrepancies.

Patients and methods

The study concerns 100 cases of AL. A second double-blind examination of the bone marrow smears of acute leukemias is realized by two cytologists and confronted to immunophenotyping.

Results

In two cases of AML, flow cytometry reassigned lineage into T ALL and biphenotypic AL. In three cases of ALL the lineage was reassigned into undifferentiated acute leukemia (2 cases) and biphenotypic acute leukemia (1 case). Lineage was not established in four cases, immunophenotyping allowed the diagnosis of B ALL in 3 cases, and of biphenotypic acute leukemia in 1 case. In both cases of discrepant findings, flow cytometry allowed the diagnosis of biphenotypic acute leukemia in a case and of AML in the other one.

Conclusion

The cytological study remains insufficient in the diagnosis of lineage even with experimented cytologists. Immunophenotyping is essential in lineage assignment and reassignment.     

Aortic stiffness index and its association with cardiovascular functions in children before and after transcatheter closure of PDA

Background

Patent ductus arteriosus is generally associated with hyperdynamic status. Given the vascular shunt between the aorta and pulmonary artery, intrinsic aortic changes occur (aortic stiffness). In the present study, we attempted to assess the impact of PDA on aortic stiffness and its connection with cardiovascular function before and after transcatheter closure of PDA.

5α-Reductase deficiency in patients with micropenis

The enzyme 5-reductase (5R), by virtue of its peripheral 5-reduction of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), is believed to play a major role in the differentiation and the subsequent growth of the penis. However, recent studies have reported 5R deficiency (5RD) in patients with isolated micropenis and hypothesized that 5RD is not invariably associated with genital ambiguity. In Egypt, 5RD has been reported frequently among intersex patients. The aim of this study was to assess the role of 5RD in the development of micropenis among Egyptian patients with abnormal sexual development. The study included 29 patients who were categorized into three groups (isolated micropenis, 9 patients; microphallus with genital ambiguity, 11 patients; genital ambiguity with normal-sized phallus, 9 patients). Activity of 5R was assessed by estimating T/DHT ratios in the basal state in pubertal subjects and following human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) stimulation test in prepubertals.The results showed that the incidence of 5RD was much higher in cases of ambiguous genitalia with micropenis (5 families out of 10, 50%) than in those with isolated microphallus (1/9, 11·1%) or those with ambiguous genitalia and normal-sized phallus (1/8, 12.5%). In conclusion, the study showed that isolated micropenis is a heterogeneous disorder and that 5RD, despite its relative prevalence in Egypt, has a minimal role in the aetiology. On the other hand, 5RD seems to correlate with penile length in intersex cases.     

Hepatitis B virus genotypes in southwest Iran： Molecular, serological and clinical outcomes

AIM： To investigate the associations of hepatitis B virus （HBV） genotype with HBeAg and anti-HBe status, alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels and HBV-DNA detection in different groups of HBV-infected patients in southwest Iran. METHODS： A total of 89 HBsAg-positive serum samples were collected from the same number of patients. All sera were then investigated to determine HBV DNA and serological markers. For all the polymerase chain reaction （PCR）-positive samples, biochemical, histopathological assays and genotyping were also performed. RESULTS： Genotype D was the only type of HBV foundin different clinical forms of acute and chronic infections. There was a high prevalence of HBeAg-negative HBV- infected patients with chronic hepatitis （52.7%）. Out of 55 patients with chronic hepatitis, seven （12.7%） were diagnosed with cirrhosis. A significant association between the presence of anti-HBe antibody and an increase in ALT level, among either HBeAg-negative （P = 0.01） or HBeAg-positive （P = 0.026） patients, was demonstrated. No significant differences were observed between the clinical outcomes of HBeAg-positive and -negative individuals （P = 0.24）. CONCLUSION： Genotype D has been recognized as the only type of HBV found in different clinical forms of HBV infections, including cirrhosis, among the residents of southwest Iran. Anti-HBe possibly plays a role in disease progression in some patients with chronic hepatitis, at least for a period of disease.     

Numerical Modeling and Analysis of Ti6Al4V Alloy Chip for Biomedical Applications

The influence of cutting forces during the machining of titanium alloys has attained prime attention in selecting the optimal cutting conditions to improve the surface integrity of medical implants and biomedical devices. So far, it has not been easy to explain the chip morphology of Ti6Al4V and the thermo-mechanical interactions involved during the cutting process. This paper investigates the chip configuration of the Ti6Al4V alloy under dry milling conditions at a macro and micro scale by employing the Johnson-Cook material damage model. 2D modeling, numerical milling simulations, and post-processing were conducted using the Abaqus/Explicit commercial software. The uncut chip geometry was modeled with variable thicknesses to accomplish the macro to micro-scale cutting by adapting a trochoidal path. Numerical results, predicted for the cutting reaction forces and shearing zone temperatures, were found in close approximation to experimental ones with minor deviations. Further analyses evaluated the influence of cutting speeds and contact friction coefficients over the chip flow stress, equivalent plastic strain, and chip morphology. The methodology developed can be implemented in resolving the industrial problems in the biomedical sector for predicting the chip morphology of the Ti6Al4V alloy, fracture mechanisms of hard-to-cut materials, and the effects of different cutting parameters on workpiece integrity.     

Synthesis of piperazino and morpholino derivatives of aryloxypropane with potential analgesic and possible antimigraine activities

Abstract  

Modeling studies demonstrate that aryl piperazines (I), aryloxyalkylamines (II), phenylalkykamines (III) and indolylalkylamines (VI) may interact at 5-HT receptors in a similar manner. Examination of these structures (I–VI) reveals that all possess an aromatic moiety and terminal amine binding sites (Glennon et al., J Med Chem 32(8):1921–1926, 1989). In the present investigation a new series of aryloxyalkylamines (4, 5, 8, and 9) was designed and synthesized, in which the aromatic moiety is a phenyl group substituted at the 2,3-, 2,4-, 2,5-, or 2,6-positions by halogens and the terminal amine is N-methylpiperazine, or morpholine. In addition, the alkyl side chain is ethyl, or substituted ethyl at the α- or β-carbon by a methyl group. The length of the alkyl chain that separates the terminal amine from the ether oxygen atom of the aryloxy group is of major importance, and two-carbon chain appears optimal. The structures of the new compounds were assessed by microanalyses, IR, and NMR. The analgesic activity of selected compounds was performed on experimental animals and proved to be in the range of 85–100% relative to aspirin.