Basic Science Sector

This study was conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, in May during the two seasons of 2008 and 2009 on roselle plants (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). The objective was to improve the vegetative growth, yield characters and antioxidant activity of plants growing under different organic and inorganic media conditions in response to the spray of amino acids, humic acids and micro elements. The results showed great similarity which had been noticed with the majority of the studied characters in both seasons.

Rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD) is a highly contagious, highly fatal, peracute and acute viral disease of both wild and domestic rabbits caused by rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV). Testing for haemagglutination activity (HA) in processed liver samples is one of the cornerstones for rapid diagnosis of RHDV outbreaks in national rabbitries. However, RHDV isolates exhibiting no HA activity are increasingly being reported. The extent of deviation from classical HA activity patterns for RHDV strains in Egypt has not been investigated. This study compared the HA activity patterns of samples collected from 61 RHDV outbreaks that occurred between 1999 and 2005 to determine whether dependence on HA test (HAT) for diagnosis of RHDV outbreaks needs to be reviewed. All samples were confirmed RHDV positive using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and western blotting. Using slide HAT, only 36.1% of samples were positive (22 samples). Plate HAT conducted at 4?C detected an additional 16 positive samples bringing the total HA-positive samples to 38 (62.3%). Plate HAT conducted at 22?C failed to detect additional positive samples. The majority of samples detected after plate HA testing (62.5%) had HA titres comparable to those obtained from slide-HA-positive samples, indicating that the difference in HA activity is dependent on the nature of the HA antigen rather than its presence. Direct detection of HA activity failed in 37.7% of samples despite the presence of classical signs, pathology, and being reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive for three different VP60 regions. Experimental infection of seronegative rabbits with 9 HA negative RHDV samples showed that 5 isolates were in-fact HA positive, while only 4 isolates remained HA negative. The increased detection of viruses lacking HA activity and the low HAT sensitivity mandates the use of molecular techniques for rapid confirmation of RHDV diagnosis in the Egyptian environment.

Background: The antibacterial drugs were the first effective chemotherapeutic agents to be employed systematically for the prevention and cure of bacterial infection in humans. The considerable medical and their subsequent wide spread use were quickly reflected in the sharp decline in morbidity and mortality figures for the treatable infections diseases. Before penicillin became generally available, cefotaxime sodium was the mainstry of antibacterial chemotherapy.

The condensation reaction of 2-aminoprop-1-ene-1,1,3-tricarbonitrile ( 1 ) with 2-acetyl-furan ( 2 ) afforded 2-amino-4-(furan-2-yl)penta-1,3-diene-1,1,3-tricarbonitrile ( 3 ). The latter compound underwent a series of heterocyclization reactions to give quinoline, furan, pyrazole and thiophene derivatives. The antitumor evaluation of the newly synthe-sized products against three cancer cell lines, namely breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), non-small cell lung cancer (NCI-H460) and CNS cancer (SF-268) were recorded. Three of the synthesized compounds, namely 4 , 5d and 12 showed high inhibitory effects.

Male-killing bacteria are thought to persist in host populations by vertical transmission and conferring direct and ? or indirect fitness benefits to their hosts. Here, we test the role of indirect fitness benefits accrued from resource reallocation in species that engage in sibling egg cannibalism. We found that a single-egg meal significantly increased larval survival in 12 ladybird species, but the value of an egg (to survival) differed substantially between species. Next, we tested the impact of three male-killing bacteria on larval survival in one ladybird species, Adalia bipunctata. Spiroplasma reduced larval survival, whereas Wolbachia and Rickettsia had no effect. However, Spiroplasma-infected larvae showed the greatest response to a single-egg meal.

Background and Objectives: Mobile phone radiation and health concerns have been raised, especially following the enormous increase in the use of wireless mobile telephony throughout the world. The present study aims to investigate the effect of one hour daily exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with frequency of 900 Mz (SAR 1.165 w/kg, power density 0.02 mW/cm2) on the levels of amino acid neurotransmitters in the midbrain, cerebellum and medulla of adult and young male albino rats.

Nigella sativa L. (black cumin), commonly known as black seed, is a member of the Ranunculaceae family. This seed is used as a natural remedy in many Middle Eastern and Far Eastern countries. Extracts prepared from N. sativa have, for centuries, been used for medical purposes. Thus far, the organic compounds in N. sativa, including alkaloids, steroids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, fatty acids, etc. have been fairly well characterized. Herein, we summarize some new extraction techniques, including microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and supercritical extraction techniques (SFE), in addition to the classical method of hydrodistillation (HD), which have been employed for isolation and various analytical techniques used for the identification of secondary metabolites in black seed. We believe that some compounds contained in N. sativa remain to be identified, and that high-throughput screening could help to identify new compounds. A study addressing environmentally-friendly techniques that have minimal or no environmental effects is currently underway in our laboratory.

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This study aimed to characterise Egyptian desert vine flora and compare it with that of deserts in other continents, such as Australia and North America. Specifically, 5 common climbing desert plants (Citrullus colocynthis, Cocculus pendulus, Cucumis prophetarum, Pergularia tomentosa, and Periploca angustifolia) were selected for this study. The floristic composition, vegetation heterogeneity, and chorological affinities of the associated species of the studied climbing plants were quantitatively analysed.

An electrochemical sensor was developed by using poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy thiophene) electrode in presence of different types of surfactants. Voltammetric behavior of isoniazid was studied at this electrode in the presence and absence of SDS and CTAB and interesting electrocatalytic effects were found. The presence of surfactant in the medium plays a key role in the electrostatic attraction and repulsion of isoniazid towards the polymeric surface in different pH values. The electrochemical behavior of isoniazid was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The linear response obtained for isoniazid was in the range of 0.1 to 8 ?mol L-1 and 10 to 100 ?mol L-1 with correlation coefficients of 0.999 and 0.998 and detection limits 32 nmol L-1 and 45 nmol L-1, respectively. The utility of this modified electrode was demonstrated for the determination of INH in human urine.

Carboxymethyl chitosan, (CMC), and N-laurylcarboxymethyl chitosan (LCMC), have been prepared as water soluble derivatives of chitosan. These biodegradable chitosan derivatives were characterized and investigated for nuclear imaging and body distribution. They were labeled with 99mTc to use them as targeted delivery to some organs in vivo for nuclear imaging and to follow their biodistribution within the body. The factors controlling the labeling efficiency have been investigated.

Measuring the ventilation rates and then quantifying the gaseous emissions from naturally ventilated barns is a particularly difficult task and associated with large uncertainties; where no accurate, reliable, and online method is available for ventilation rate measurements. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop further the tracer gas technique (TG) for ventilation rate measurements through winter seasons. Fifteen field experiments were carried out to study the ventilation rates in a naturally ventilated dairy barn located in North Germany through three consecutive winter seasons.

The scattering of x-rays from biological samples has been shown to produce characteristic profiles which depend on their molecular structure. The highly ordered fat molecules in an adipose tissue result in a relatively sharp scattering peak at 1.1nm-1 with a scattering profile which is considerably different from the scattering profile of a water-rich tissue. The latter is characterized by a broad scattering peak at about 1.6nm-1. A biological sample consisting of a mixture of both adipose and a water-rich tissue is expected to show a scattering profile which is directly linked to the relative contribution of each component and would reflect the percentage by volume of each component in the mixture. In this work, x-ray scattering profiles of a number of dairy products and water are measured. The values of two selected x-ray scattering characterization parameters (I1/I2% and areas A1/A2% of the scattering peaks at 1.1 nm-1 and 1.6 nm-1 respectively) are plotted against the fat content of each of the measured dairy samples. Results show a strong linear dependence of each of the x-ray scattering parameters and the fat content of the investigated dairy products. These results suggest a possible use of such technique as a new, simple and straight forward method for the determination of fat content of dairy products that would join and support the currently available techniques.

Atomic structure data and effective collision strengths for 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 and 54 fine–structure levels contained in the configurations 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d9 4l (l = s, p, d, f) for the nickel-like La ion have been investigated. These data are used in the determination of the reduced population for the 55 fine structure levels over a wide range of electron densities (from 1020 to 1022) and at various electron plasma temperatures. The gain coefficients for those transitions with positive population inversion factor are determined and plotted against the electron density.

In the present study, structural properties of 2-[(1H-Benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-benzoic acid methyl ester have been studied extensively by spectral methods and X-ray crystallography. Quantum mechanical calculations of energies, geometries, vibrational wavenumbers, NMR and electronic transitions were carried out by DFT using B3LYP functional combined with 6-31G(d) basis set. Natural bond orbitals (NBO) analysis and frontier molecular orbitals were performed at the same level of theory. DFT calculations showed good agreement between the theoretical and experimental values of optimized and X-ray structure as well as between the vibrational and NMR spectroscopy. The title compound was screened for its antibacterial activity referring to Tetracycline as standard antibacterial agent.

This study was designed to compare between the efficacy of immunoglobulineIgY and the vaccine in the prevention of broiler chickens against infectious bursal disease virus (IBVD) infection. In this study 18-week old white Leghorn laying chickens were received live intermediate strain IBVD vaccine (D78) followed by a booster doses of inactivated oil adjuvanted IBVD vaccine. The eggs of the hens were used for the separation of yolk polyclonal IgY. Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to determine the titer of antibodies in the serum and yolk. To evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine and IgY preparation against IBVD infection, day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were divided equally into 5 groups. The first group was received live intermediate IBVD vaccine (D78), the second group was given IgY preparation, the third group received both the vaccine and IgY, the fourth group was kept as control challenged. Chickens in the first, second, third and fourth group were challenged by the virulent field IBVD strain. Chickens of the fifth group were kept as blank control (not vaccinated, not IgY treated and not challenged). Morbidity and mortality rates and post mortem lesions, the bursa/body weight (B/BW) ratios and the histopathological examination of the bursae were investigated as criteria for evaluation. In conclusion, the vaccine and IgY were relatively equally effective but their combination was is superior in prevention of IBVD infection in broiler chickens.

Six baby milk powder samples imported from 6 different countries to Egypt were tested to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. IS900, the specific fragment for MAP was detected usingIS900 PCR and all samples were found positive (100%). These results correspond to the epidemiological resultsreported and the wide spread of paratuberculosis and Crohn's disease in the last decade. The possible risk ofkilled MAP cells or bacterial structures in baby milk powder was discussed in respect to the autoimmuneCrohn's disease cause. An Egyptian national programme is needed to decrease the risk of exposure for childrenand people under the highest risk for Crohn's disease. Importers of baby milk powder should import milkpowder from countries which use MAP free milk.