Stimulated and Unstimulated Saliva Levels of Calcium and Magnesium in Giardiasis

Giardia lamblia causes malabsorption. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum and saliva calcium and magnesium levels in patients with giardiasis. Thirty patients with giardiasis as a case and 30 person without giardiasis as a control group were enrolled. The stimulated and unstimulated whole saliva and serum calcium and magnesium levels were assayed by Arsenazo reaction and xylidyl blue complex methods, respectively. Mean calcium and magnesium level was low in serum and stimulated saliva of case group than that of controls. However, they were higher in the unstimulated saliva of the case group. It is suggested that patients suffering from giardiasis have low calcium and magnesium levels, and they lose the most of calcium and magnesium by saliva during unstimulated condition.     

Gamma irradiation as a useful tool for the isolation of astaxanthin-overproducing mutant strains of Phaffia rhodozyma

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment responsible for the red color of the flesh of many marine animals. There is an increasing interest in the use of astaxanthin in aquaculture, chemical, pharmaceutical, and alimentary industries. Phaffia rhodozyma has been identified as the best biological source of astaxanthin. Mutagenesis was carried out using different doses of gamma irradiation (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and 7.0 kGy), and 10 mutant colonies (Gam1-Gam10) were obtained. Highly pigmented mutant strains produced astaxanthin at approximately 15?887.5?μg/L dry mass of yeast, whereas the parental strain produced it at 1061.64?μg/g dry mass of yeast. In the thin-layer chromatography analysis, P. rhodozyma JH-82 and Gam1 mutant strain produced the same retention factor (R(f)) values, but Gam1 showed a higher astaxanthin content than JH-82.     

A new species of Parapygmephorus Cross, 1965 (Acari; Heterostigmatina; Neopygmephoridae) phoretic on Halictus quadricinctus (Fabricius, 1776) (Hym.; Halictidae) from Iran

A new species of the genus Parapygmephorus Cross, 1965 (Acari: Heterostigmatina, Neopygmephoridae) is described from Northeastern Iran. A phoretic adult female of Parapygmephorus khorasanicus Hajiqanbar and Khaustov sp. n. was discovered clasping on hairs on the ventral body surface of Halictus quadricinctus (Fabricius, 1776) (Hymenoptera; Halictidae). It is the fifth representative among the known species of the genus Parapygmephorus in the world. Differentiation of new species from other species of the genus is discussed, and a key to known world species is provided.     

Multigene Phylogenetics Reveals Temporal Diversification of Major African Malaria Vectors

The major vectors of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa belong to subgenus Cellia. Yet, phylogenetic relationships and temporal diversification among African mosquito species have not been unambiguously determined. Knowledge about vector evolutionary history is crucial for correct interpretation of genetic changes identified through comparative genomics analyses. In this study, we estimated a molecular phylogeny using 49 gene sequences for the African malaria vectors An. gambiae, An. funestus, An. nili, the Asian malaria mosquito An. stephensi, and the outgroup species Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. To infer the phylogeny, we identified orthologous sequences uniformly distributed approximately every 5 Mb in the five chromosomal arms. The sequences were aligned and the phylogenetic trees were inferred using maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining methods. Bayesian molecular dating using a relaxed log normal model was used to infer divergence times. Trees from individual genes agreed with each other, placing An. nili as a basal clade that diversified from the studied malaria mosquito species 47.6 million years ago (mya). Other African malaria vectors originated more recently, and independently acquired traits related to vectorial capacity. The lineage leading to An. gambiae diverged 30.4 mya, while the African vector An. funestus and the Asian vector An. stephensi were the most closely related sister taxa that split 20.8 mya. These results were supported by consistently high bootstrap values in concatenated phylogenetic trees generated individually for each chromosomal arm. Genome-wide multigene phylogenetic analysis is a useful approach for discerning historic relationships among malaria vectors, providing a framework for the correct interpretation of genomic changes across species, and comprehending the evolutionary origins of this ubiquitous and deadly insect-borne disease.     

Effect of Seasonal Variation on Adult Clinical Laboratory Parameters in Rwanda,Zambia, and Uganda: Implications for HIV Biomedical Prevention Trials

Objectives

To investigate the effect of seasonal variation on adult clinical laboratory parameters in Rwanda, Zambia, and Uganda and determine its implications for HIV prevention and other clinical trials.

Methods

Volunteers in a cross-sectional study to establish laboratory reference intervals were asked to return for a seasonal visit after the local season had changed from dry to rainy or vice versa. Volunteers had to be clinically healthy, not pregnant and negative for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis infection at both visits. At each visit, blood was taken for measurement of hemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, red blood cells, platelets, total white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, CD4/CD8 T cells, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, total immunoglobulin gamma, total protein, creatinine, total amylase, creatine phosphokinase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Consensus dry season reference intervals were applied to rainy season values (and vice versa) and the proportion of ‘out-of-range’ values determined. Percentage differences between dry and rainy season parameter mean values were estimated.

Results

In this cohort of 903 volunteers, less than 10.0% of consensus parameter (except LDH) values in one season were “out-of-range” in the other. Twenty-two (22) percent of rainy season LDH values fell outside of the consensus dry season interval with the higher values observed in the rainy season. Variability between consensus seasonal means ranged from 0.0% (total WBC, neutrophils, monocytes, basophils, and direct bilirubin) to 40.0% (eosinophils). Within sites, the largest seasonal variations were observed for monocytes (Masaka, 11.5%), LDH (Lusaka, 21.7%), and basophils (Kigali, 22.2%).

Conclusions

Seasonality had minimal impact on adult clinical laboratory parameter values in Rwanda, Zambia, and Uganda. Seasonal variation may not be an important factor in the evaluation of adult clinical laboratory parameters in HIV prevention and other clinical trials in these countries.     

Fluorescent cationic probes of mitochondria. Metrics and mechanism of interaction.

Mitochondria strongly accumulate amphiphilic cations. We report here a study of the association of respiring rat liver mitochondria with several fluorescent cationic dyes from differing structural classes. Using gravimetric and fluorometric analysis of dye partition, we find that dyes and mitochondria interact in three ways: (a) uptake with fluorescence quenching, (b) uptake without change in fluorescence intensity, and (c) lack of uptake. For dyes that quench upon uptake, the extent of quenching correlates with the degree of aggregation of the dye to dimers, as predicted by theory (Tomov, T.C. 1986. J. Biochem. Biophys. Methods. 13:29-38). Also predicted is the relationship observed between quenching and the mitochondria concentration when constant dye is titrated with mitochondria. Not predicted is the relationship observed between quenching and dye concentration when constant mitochondria are titrated with dye. Because a limit to dye uptake exists, in this case, the degree of quenching decreases as dye is added. A Langmuir isotherm analysis gives phenomenological parameters that predict quenching when it is observed as a function of dye concentration. By allowing for a decrease in membrane potential, caused by incorporation of cationic dye into the lipid bilayer, a modification of the Tomov theory predicts the dye titration data. We present a model of cationic dye-mitochondria interaction and discuss the use of these as probes of mitochondrial membrane potential.     

Diversity in palmar pattern ridge counts among 12 Iranian populations

Bilateral palmar prints of 604 male individuals from 12 Iranian groups, six Mongoloid and six Caucasoid, have been analyzed for palmar pattern ridge counts (PPRC). Highly significant variation has been observed in the size of the palmar patterns in all the configurational areas among the Iranian groups. The distance analysis based on PPRCs differentiated the Iranian Mongoloid from the Iranian Caucasoid groups into distinct clusters. The pattern of differentiation based on PPRCs explained the ethnohistoric relationships between the Iranian groups as well as between the Iranian and the 20 Caucasoid groups from India much better than the palmar pattern frequencies. The results of this study demonstrate the existence of variation in the size of the palmar patterns across different populations within an ethnic group, as well as that among different ethnic groups, and seems to be a better indicator of interpopulational diversity than the palmar pattern frequencies.