Incidence of dermatophytosis in Jordan with special reference to tinea capitis

Clinical data on 1068 cases of dermatophytosis as well as mycological data on 382 of these cases seen from March 1983 to September 1984 are reported. Tinea cruris was present in 34.1%, with Trichophyton rubrum and Epidermophyton floccosum isolated from 31% and 25% respectively. Tinea corporis was found in 17.9% of all patients of dermatophytosis with T. tonsurans responsible in 30.8%. Tinea pedis and Tinea unguium were present in 7.2% and 2% respectively, T. rubrum being the main causative agent; nail involvement was present in 27.3% of these cases. Tinea capitis was observed in 38.7% of 1068 dermatophytosis cases with T. violaceum and M. canis causing 48% and 32% of all T.C. cases respectively.The dermatophytic flora of the West Bank of Jordan apparently comprises about 14 dermatophytes, T. violaceum being the predominant agent of infection (in more than 34%). Other most common agents found in this survey were M. canis, T. rubrum, E. floccosum, T. schoenleini, T. tonsurans, and T. mentagrophytes.Formerly Assistant Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Jordan, Amman     

Molecular characterization of acutely and gradually heavy metal acclimated aquatic bacteria by FTIR spectroscopy

In the environment, bacteria can be exposed to the concentration gradient of toxic heavy metals (gradual) or sudden high concentration of them (acute). In both situations, bacteria get acclimated to toxic heavy metal concentrations. Acclimation causes metabolic and molecular changes in bacteria. In this study, we aimed to understand whether there are differences between molecular profiles of the bacteria (Brevundimonas, Gordonia and Microbacterium) which are under acute or gradual exposure to cadmium or lead by using ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy. Our results revealed the differences between the acclimation groups in membrane dynamics including changes in the structure and composition of the membrane lipids and proteins. Furthermore, protein concentrations decreased in acclimated bacterial groups. Also, a remarkable increase in exopolymer production occurred in acclimated groups. Interestingly, bacteria under acute cadmium exposure produced the significantly higher amount of exopolymer than they did under gradual exposure. On the contrary, under lead exposure gradually acclimate strains produced significantly higher amounts of exopolymer than those of acutely acclimated ones. This information can be used in bioremediation studies to obtain bacterial strains producing a higher amount of exopolymer.      

Comparison of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation eligibility using sporosarcina pasteurii and bacillus licheniformis on two different sands

The use of biological means for ground improvement have become popular, which generally works through the process called microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). Many studies indicate successful application of MICP based improvement with multiple bacteria and on several soils. Given the proven performance of MICP, this study aims to examine the MICP process by comparing the calcium carbonate precipitation ability of widely studied bacteria, i.e., Sporosarcina pasteurii and relatively under-recognized bacteria, i.e., Bacillus licheniformis to outline the formation success. For this purpose, two different sands were tested for observing precipitation behavior using a series of syringe tests. Furthermore, the effect of concentration and inclusion of calcium chloride for nutrition of bacteria, saturation with water, and hybrid use of two bacteria were investigated in some tests for diversification. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used for the interpretation of results. Results indicated that Sporosarcina pasteurii had performed superior over Bacillus licheniformis when achieving calcium carbonate precipitation in tests for both sands. In addition, many intriguing SEM images contributed to the literature of MICP monitoring, highlighting the effects of the variables investigated.     

A simple and inexpensive device for collecting urine samples from rats

Many studies require collection of metabolic wastes from laboratory animals, and oftentimes it is important that feces and urine be collected separately. The authors describe an easily assembled and inexpensive device that can be used to collect urine samples from rats without any invasive operations. The device affords reasonable separation of feces and urine.     

Keratinophilic fungi on the hair of goats from the West Bank of Jordan

The mycoflora of the hair in 178 goats from the West Bank of Jordan was analysed and the frequency of occurrence and the relative importance value for the different keratinophilic fungi found were calculated. One hundred and seven species which belong to 38 genera were isolated. Thirty six of these species were either well recognised agents of mycoses (Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. verrucosum, and M. nanum), or have been frequently isolated from human and animal lesions (Arthroderma spp., Acremonium kiliense, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Cladosporium carionii, and several other species). These potentially pathogenic fungal species comprised 66.9% of all keratinophilic fungi found on the hair of goats. The role of this animal as a reservoir for dermatophytes and other potentially pathogenic fungi is discussed.     

Impact of food concentration on diel vertical migration behaviour of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daphnia pulex</Emphasis> under fish predation risk

Vertical migration of Daphnia represents the best-studied predator-avoidance behaviour known; yet the mechanisms underlying the choice to migrate require further investigation to understand the role of environmental context. To investigate the optimal habitat choice of Daphnia under fish predation pressure, first, we selected the individuals exhibiting strong migration behaviour. The animals collected from the hypolimnion during the daytime were significantly larger, being more conspicuous, and in turn performed stronger diel vertical migration (DVM) when exposed to fish cue. We called them strong migrants. Second, we provided the strong migrant D. pulex with food at high and intermediate (1 and 0.4 mg C l⁻¹, respectively) levels, which were well above the incipient limiting level and of high quality. They traded the benefits of staying in the warm water layer and moved down to the cold water in response to fish cue indicating fish predation. The availability of food allowed the animals to stay in the cold hypolimnion. However, at the low food level (0.1 mg C l⁻¹), which is an additional constraint on fitness, Daphnia moved away from the cold hypolimnion. Poor food condition resulted in strong migrant Daphnia to cease migration and remain in the upper warmer water layer. Although temperature is known to be a more important cost factor of DVM than food, our results clearly show that this is only true as long as food is available. It becomes clear that food availability is controlling the direction of vertical positioning when daphnids experience a dilemma between optimising temperature and food condition while being exposed to fish cue. Then they overlook the predation risk. Thus, the optimal habitat choice of Daphnia appears to be a function of several variables including temperature, food levels and fish predation. Handling editor: S. I. Dodson     

Integration of order picking and vehicle routing in a B2C e-commerce context

E-commerce sales are increasing every year and customers who buy goods on the Internet have high service level expectations. In order to meet these expectations, a company’s logistics operations need to be performed carefully. Optimizing only internal warehouse processes will often lead to suboptimal solutions. The interrelationship between the order picking process and the delivery process should not be ignored. Therefore, in this study, an order picking problem and a vehicle routing problem with time windows and release dates are solved simultaneously using a single optimization framework. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that an order picking problem and a vehicle routing problem are integrated. A mixed integer linear programming formulation for this integrated order picking-vehicle routing problem (OP-VRP) is provided. The integrated OP-VRP is solved for small instances and the results are compared to these of an uncoordinated approach. Computational experiments show that integration can lead to cost savings of 14% on average. Furthermore, higher service levels can be offered by allowing customers to request their orders later and still get delivered within the same time windows.     

Aspects of silver tolerance in bacteria: infrared spectral changes and epigenetic clues

In this study, the molecular profile changes leading to the adaptation of bacteria to survive and grow at inhibitory silver concentration were explored. The profile obtained through infrared (IR)‐based measurements indicated extensive changes in all biomolecular components, which were supported by chemometric techniques. The changes in biomolecular profile were prominent, including nucleic acids. The changes in nucleic acid region (1350‐950 cm^?1) were encountered as a clue for conformational change in DNA. Further analysis of DNA by IR spectroscopy revealed changes in the backbone and sugar conformations. Moreover, Enzyme‐Linked Immunosorbent Assay‐based measurements of DNA methylation levels were performed to see if epigenetic mechanisms are in operation during bacterial adaptation to this environmental challenge. The results indicated a notable demethylation in Escherichia coli and methylation in Staphylococcus aureus likely to be associated with their elaborate adaptation process to sustain survival and growth.      

Keratinophilic fungi on the hair of cows,donkeys, rabbits,cats, and dogs from the West Bank of Jordan

The mycoflora of hair of 111 cows, donkeys, rabbits, cats, and dogs were analysed and the frequency of occurrence and the relative importance value of the different fungal species isolated were calculated. Total numbers of species 56, 45, 48, 23, and 11 were recovered from cows, donkeys, rabbits, cats, and dogs respectively. The majority of the keratinophilic fungi isolated were either well-known mycotic agents or have been recovered from various animal and human lesions. These comprised 87.8%, 66.7%, 61.4%, 59.3%, and 55.2% of the hair mycoflora in cats, dogs, rabbis, cows, and donkeys respectively. Seven species of dermatophytes were isolated: Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. verrucosum, Microsporum gypseum, M. nanum, T. ajelloi, and M. canis. Cats harboured the largest number of dermatophytes (5 species), followed by cows (4 spp), rabbits (3 spp), and donkeys and dogs (1 sp). The role of these animals in the persistence and transmission of pathogenic fungi is discussed.