Anti-coccidial and anti-apoptotic activities of palm pollen grains on Eimeria papillata-induced infection in mice

The present work aimed to study the effect of palm pollen extract (PPE) as an anticoccidial and anti-apoptotic modulator during the course of murine intestinal Eimeria papillata infection. The fact that PPE has an anticoccidial efficacy against intestinal E. papillata infection in mice has been clarified by the reduction of faecal output of oocysts on day five post infection from 49.5 × 10³ to 34 × 10³ oocyst/g. Moreover, the number of intracellular eimerian stages of zygots and developing oocysts decreased by about 89% and that of schizonts and gamonts to 42% and 72%, respectively. E. papillata infection also induced an increase in the number of apoptotic cells from 17.5 to 122.8 apoptotic nuclei/10 villous crypt units (VCU). In addition, it caused a state of systemic inflammatory response as revealed by an elevation in levels of the pro-inflammatory biomarkers, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOs) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) from 5.3 and 78.3 to 33 pmol ml^?1 and 96.3 pg ml^?1 in blood, respectively, with concurrent duplication in the total leucocytic number. Upon treatment of infected mice with the aqueous PPE, the activity of iNOs was reduced by 55% and the level of TNF-α was decreased by 30%. Moreover, the total leucocytic count was significantly reduced from 9.05 × 10³ to 7.8 × 10³ cells/mm³. Based on our results, PPE showed both anti-coccidial, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities. So it can be used in developing new herbal medicine against animal coccidiosis and may be suitable agent for treating eimeriosis associated inflammatory response.     

Altitudinal distribution limits of aquatic macroinvertebrates: an experimental test in a tropical alpine stream

1. Temperature and oxygen are recognised as the main drivers of altitudinal limits of species distributions. However, the two factors are linked, and both decrease with altitude, why their effects are difficult to disentangle. 2. This was experimentally addressed using aquatic macroinvertebrates; larvae of Andesiops (Ephemeroptera), Claudioperla, (Plecoptera), Scirtes (Coleoptera) and Anomalocosmoecus (Trichoptera), and the amphipod Hyalella in an Ecuadorian glacier‐fed stream (4100–4500 m a.s.l.). The following were performed: (i) quantitative benthic sampling at three sites to determine altitudinal patterns in population densities, (ii) transplants of the five taxa upstream of their natural altitudinal limit to test the short‐term (14 days) effect on survival, and (iii) in situ experiments of locomotory activity as a proxy for animal response to relatively small differences in temperature (5 °C vs. 10 °C) and oxygen saturation (55% vs. 62%). 3. The transplant experiment reduced survival to a varying degree among taxa, but Claudioperla survived well at a site where it did not naturally occur. In the in situ experiment, Scirtes and Hyalella decreased their activity at lower oxygen saturation, whereas Andesiops and Anomalocosmoecus did so at a low temperature. The decrease in activity from a high to a low temperature and oxygen for the five taxa was significantly correlated with their mortality in the transplant experiment. 4. Together the present experiments indicate that even relatively small differences in temperature and oxygen may produce effects explaining ecological patterns, and depending on the taxon, either water temperature or oxygen saturation, without clear interacting effects, are important drivers of altitudinal limits.     

Disentangling the Association between Statins,Cholesterol, and Colorectal Cancer: A Nested Case-Control Study

BackgroundSeveral prior studies have found an association between statin use and reduced risk of colorectal cancer. We hypothesized that these findings may be due to systematic bias and examined the independent association of colorectal cancer risk with statin use, serum cholesterol, and change in cholesterol concentration.ConclusionsAlthough the risk of colorectal cancer was lower in statin users versus nonusers, no difference was observed among those who continued versus discontinued statin therapy, suggesting the potential for indication bias. The association between decreased serum cholesterol and colorectal cancer risk suggests a cholesterol-lowering effect of undiagnosed malignancy. Clinical judgment should be used when considering causes of cholesterol reduction in patients, including those on statin therapy.     

Genetic markers in studies on dreissenides (Dreissenidae,Bivalvia)

This review summarizes published data on the genetic markers used in studies of dreissenide invasions. Causes of genetic differences between local populations are discussed. It is shown that information about the genetic diversity of populations obtained by marker polymorphism analysis should be compared to study invasion directions.