Assessment of antioxidant activities in roots of Miswak (Salvadora persica) plants grown at two different locations in Saudi Arabia

Traditionally, in Middle Eastern countries, many cultures use chewing sticks of arak for medicinal purposes especially, for oral cleanliness care. It was used by Muslims for treatment of teeth and highly recommended to be used by Muslims during the whole day. Therefore, the present work aimed to determine the total phenolic content and total flavonoids in two Miswak extracts obtained from arak roots collected from two different localities in Saudi Arabia. They were extracted with aqueous ethanol (80%) and used to estimate in vitro their antioxidative abilities. The new findings showed that the two tested extracts contained significantly different amounts of both total phenolic content and total flavonoids. According to the increase of total phenolic contents and total flavonoids obtained from the two extracts, Miswak collected from the southern region was found to contain more contents than those collected from the middle region. The results of antioxidant activities of Miswak root extract obtained by using different in vitro methods were varied depending on the technique used. According to the malondialdehyde (MDA) method, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) scavenging ability and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods, the two Miswak extracts exhibited to have high to very high antioxidant activities. Mostly, the values of antioxidant activities of Southern region have been shown to be always the highest.     

Technical and economic potentials of the unconventional extruded dried Arabic bread wastes in broilers diets

Food waste is one of the major global challenges that have adverse socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Therefore, studying food waste utilization potentials and minimizing its negative consequences becomes imperative. This study aims to assess the technical and economic potentials of substituting corn with unconventional extruded dried Arabic Bread waste (EDABW) in broilers’ diets, in terms of broilers’ performance, carcass characteristic, economic net returns, and income over feed cost (IOFC). One hundred eighty unsexed one-day-old broiler birds of Ross breed were distributed randomly in six treatments (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% EDABW group) of isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets in a completely randomized design with six replicated (5 chicks/replicate). The investigated traits were broilers’ performance (live body weight, total feed intake, total feed conversion ratio, and total weight gain. Other traits such as carcass weight, abdominal fat, edible offal (liver, heart, and gizzard), eviscerated (breast muscles, drum and thigh muscles, and wings) were weighed and expressed based on a live body weight. Results showed that the 20% replacement level of corn with EDABW generated the highest increase in the live body weight and the eviscerated carcass at about 4.24% g and 4.90%, respectively. On the other hand, the economic analysis showed potential reductions in the broilers’ diet cost and the total broilers' production cost as the levels of corn substitution with by unconventional EDABW increased. The reductions were estimated at 5.1%, 6.3%, 8.4%, 9.3%, and 9.9% at substitution levels of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%, respectively as compared to the control diet. The results also showed a potential increase in the net economic returns of broiler meat as the increase in substitution levels ranged between 3.5–06.8% and 4.3–8.3% as compared to the control diets using the average retail and wholesale prices of broiler meats, respectively. In addition, the maximum IOFC was estimated potentially at a 20% substitution level of corn with EDABW. Conclusively, the study results show promising technical and economic potentials for unconventional EDABW in broilers’ diets that could lead to a thriving industry of unconventional broilers’ diets with high net economic returns and maximum IOFC.     

An Intact Sialoadhesin (Sn/SIGLEC1/CD169) Is Not Required for Attachment/Internalization of the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Surface expression of SIGLEC1, also known as sialoadhesin or CD169, is considered a primary determinant of the permissiveness of porcine alveolar macrophages for infection by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). In vitro, the attachment and internalization of PRRSV are dependent on the interaction between sialic acid on the virion surface and the sialic acid binding domain of the SIGLEC1 gene. To test the role of SIGLEC1 in PRRSV infection, a SIGLEC1 gene knockout pig was created by removing part of exon 1 and all of exons 2 and 3 of the SIGLEC1 gene. The resulting knockout ablated SIGLEC1 expression on the surface of alveolar macrophages but had no effect on the expression of CD163, a coreceptor for PRRSV. After infection, PRRSV viremia in SIGLEC1^−/− pigs followed the same course as in SIGLEC1^−/+ and SIGLEC1^+/+ littermates. The absence of SIGLEC1 had no measurable effect on other aspects of PRRSV infection, including clinical disease course and histopathology. The results demonstrate that the expression of the SIGLEC1 gene is not required for infection of pigs with PRRSV and that the absence of SIGLEC1 does not contribute to the pathogenesis of acute disease.     

Population structure and geographical subdivision of the Leishmania major vector Phlebotomus papatasi as revealed by microsatellite variation

Abstract Multi‐locus microsatellite typing (MLMT) has been employed to infer the population structure of Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae) sandflies and assign individuals to populations. Phlebotomus papatasi sandflies were collected from 35 sites in 15 countries. A total of 188 P. papatasi individuals were typed using five microsatellite loci, resulting in 113 different genotypes. Unique microsatellite signatures were observed for some of the populations analysed. Comparable results were obtained when the data were analysed with Bayesian model and distance‐based methods. Bayesian statistic‐based analyses split the dataset into two distinct genetic clusters, A and B, with further substructuring within each. Population A consisted of five subpopulations representing large numbers of alleles that were correlated with the geographical origins of the sandflies. Cluster B comprised individuals collected in the Middle East and the northern Mediterranean area. The subpopulations B1 and B2 did not, however, show any further correlation to geographical origin. The genetic differentiation between subpopulations was supported by F statistics showing statistically significant (Bonferroni‐corrected P < 0.005) values of 0.221 between B2 and B1 and 0.816 between A5 and A4. Identification of the genetic structure of P. papatasi populations is important for understanding the patterns of dispersal of this species and to developing strategies for sandfly control.     

Morphometric and molecular differentiation of Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) sandflies

The closely related sandfly species of the subgenus Phlebotomus namely, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli, 1786), Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu‐Lemair, 1906 and Phlebotomus bergeroti Parrot, 1934 (Diptera: Psychodidae), are major vectors of Leishmania major (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Old World. Although allopatric in most of their distribution, the three species exist sympatrically in many places in central and eastern Sudan. Males of the three species can be distinguished using morphological characters; however, females are much harder to identify, thus complicating epidemiological studies. We carried out a morphometric and a molecular study to determine reliable morphological features and develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for distinguishing females of these species. Males and females from each species were collected from sites in Sudan, East Africa and from one site in Mali, West Africa. Males were analysed morphologically and 20 characters and 10 character ratios were used in a stepwise discriminant analysis. This led to the identification of four characters with high discriminant loading scores sufficient for accurate male species identification. Male DNA was then used for the development of a PCR‐based species diagnostic based on the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA. A set of four primers was developed to generate fragment sizes that are specific to each species and can reliably identify females as well as hybrid DNA. Both the morphometric and the molecular findings of this study have important applications for studies of the epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis.     

Design and synthesis of orally active pyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa inhibitors

A series of novel, non-basic 3-(6-chloronaphth-2-ylsulfonyl)aminopyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa (fXa) inhibitors, incorporating an alanylamide P4 group, was designed and synthesised. Within this series, the N-2-(morpholin-4-yl)-2-oxoethyl derivative 24 was shown to be a potent, selective fXa inhibitor with good anticoagulant activity. Moreover, 24 possessed highly encouraging rat and dog pharmacokinetic profiles with excellent oral bioavailabilities in both species.     

Linkage disequilibrium on chromosome 6 in Australian Holstein-Friesian cattle

We analysed linkage disequilibrium (LD) in Australian Holstein-Friesian cattle by genotyping a sample of 45 bulls for 15 closely-spaced microsatellites on two regions of BTA6 reported to carry important QTL for dairy traits. The order and distance of markers were based on the USDA-MARC linkage map. Frequencies of haplotypes were estimated using the E-M approach and a more computationally-intensive Bayesian approach as implemented in PHASE. LD was then estimated using the Hedrick multiallelic extension of Lewontin normalised coefficient D''. Estimates of D'' from the two approaches were in close agreement (r = 0.91). The mean estimates of D'' for marker pairs with an inter-marker distance of less than 5 cM (n = 13) are 0.57 and 0.51, and for distances more than 20 cM (n = 44) are 0.29 and 0.17, estimated from the E-M and Bayesian approaches, respectively. The Malecot model was fitted for the exponential decline of LD with map distance between markers. The swept radii (the distance at which LD has declined to 1/e (~37%) of its initial value) are 11.6 and 13.7 cM for the above two methods, respectively. The Malecot model was also fitted using map distance in Mb from the bovine integrated map (bovine location database, bLDB) in addition to cM from the MARC map. Overall, the results indicate a high level of LD on chromosome 6 in Australian dairy cattle.     

Management of Braula orientalis Örösi (Diptera: Braulidae) in honeybee colonies with tobacco smoke under semiarid conditions

In the present study, bee colonies were smoked with tobacco smoke in order to evaluate the monthly changes in the numbers of worker bees, the infestation rates of worker bees and queens with bee lice, and the annual average honey production per colony. In July of each year, 12 colonies were smoked with tobacco smoke; the remaining hives not smoked with tobacco smoke served as the control. The results indicated that the applications of tobacco smoke during July gave rise to an impressive reduction in the Braula infestation rate on workers (below 1.8%) and reduced the amount of bee lice on the queen to zero throughout the 2–3 months following smoke treatment. In the colonies not treated with smoke, the Braula infestation rates on worker bees started to increase in May and continued to increase constantly during the rest of year, reaching maximum infestation rates of 28.2% and 33.8% in December, with an average of 15 and 17 lice per queen in November in the first and second years, respectively. Worker bee populations peaked in April and July of each year in both treatments. The average honey production per colony was significantly higher in the colonies treated with smoke than those that were not for the first and second years. In conclusion, early summer months may be the crucial time to smoke the colonies with tobacco smoke in order to keep bee lice at low levels for the remaining seasons.