Purine salvage as metabolite and energy saving mechanism in Camelus dromedarius: the recovery of guanine

The preservation of purine ring as purine bases appears to be a common feature of camel liver. Hepatic guanine appears to be actively converted into GMP in the camel rather than further degraded. The limiting step of guanine degradation appears to be the lack of hepatic guanase activity. Higher purine bases over uric acid ratios were found in camel urine with respect to those of zebu.     

Silver Nanoparticles for the Adsorption of Manganese from Biological Samples

In this study, silver nanoparticles were prepared and used for separation and preconcentration of manganese from biological samples. The technical feasibility of silver nanoparticles for manganese removal was investigated under batch studies. The effects of different parameters such as pH of solution, time (t), amounts of PAN (E), and silver nanoparticles (N) on the adsorption of manganese by silver nanoparticle were investigated using factorial design and response surface methodology based on Box–Behnken design. Thermodynamic parameters indicate the adsorption process to be exothermic. The limit of detection of the proposed method followed by inductively coupled plasma was found to be 0.08?µg L^?1. The method was applied to determine of manganese in biological samples.     

Creating a Fit Between BPR and IT Infrastructure: A Proposed Framework for Effective Implementation

As business imperatives change and new high-capability information technologies (IT) appear, organizations recognize the need to remain at the forefront of change by reengineering their business processes and implementing enabling responsive IT infrastructures. However, experience in this context indicates a lack of comprehension of essential elements and their mutual relationships that can contribute to the success of business-process change-implementation efforts. This article proposes a framework for managing IT for effective business-process redesign (BPR) implementation. After establishing BPR principles, components, and the relationship of BPR to some organizational and technological approaches, it presents the role and benefits of IT in BPR. The article then discusses in detail the core elements of the framework. Its theme is that an IT infrastructure that covers issues of BPR strategy development, IT strategic alignment, IT infrastructure development, IT sourcing, legacy systems reengineering, IS integration, and IS function competence is essential and critical for effective implementation.     

Sex ratios and sex-biased infection behaviour in the entomopathogenic nematode genus Steinernema

In experimentally infected insects, the sex ratio of first generation nematodes of five species of Steinernema was female-biased (male proportion 0.35-0.47). There was a similar female bias when the worms developed in vitro (0.37-0.44), indicating that the bias in these species is not due to a lower rate of infection by male infective juveniles (IJs). Experimental conditions influenced the proportion of males establishing in insects, indicating that male and female IJs differ in their behaviour. However, there was no evidence that males are the colonising sex in any species, contrary to what has previously been proposed. Time of emergence from the host in which the nematodes had developed influenced sex ratios in experimental infections. In three species (Steinernema longicaudum, Steinernema glaseri and Steinernema kraussei), early emerged nematodes had a higher proportion of males than those that emerged later, with the reverse trend for Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema feltiae. In a more detailed in vitro study of S. longicaudum, the proportion of males was similar whether or not the nematodes passed through the developmentally arrested IJ stage, indicating that the female bias is not due to failure of males to exit this stage. The sex ratio in vitro was independent of survival rate from juvenile to adult, and was female-biased even when all juveniles developed, indicating that the bias is not explained by failure of males to develop to adults. The female-biased sex ratio characteristic of Steinernema populations appears to be present from at least the early juvenile stage. We hypothesise that the observed female bias is the population optimal sex ratio, a response to cycles of local mate competition experienced by nematodes reproducing within insect hosts interspersed with periods of outbreeding with less closely related worms following dispersal.     

A Neuro-Comparative Study between Single/Successive Thorium Dose Intoxication and Alginate Treatment

The adult male albino rats were grouped into five groups (control group and four variably treated groups with thorium (Th) in single or successive with or without alginate treatment). The IP administration of thorium nitrate (13.6 mg/kg b.wt.) induced a regional distribution and accumulation ordered as cerebellum > cerebral cortex > brain stem > hippocampus > hypothalamus > striatum. Also, it induces a significant increase in Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and Fe³⁺ ion content and malondialdehyde (MDA) level while K⁺ ions and glutathione (GSH) level were significantly decreased. On the other hand, the daily oral administration of 5% alginate showed a significant decreasing in the accumulation of thorium in the different brain areas and mitigated its hazardous effects. By the alginate treatment, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe³⁺, and level of MDA were declined while K⁺ ions and GSH level showed a significant increase. The improvement of the investigated parameters was attributed to the specific chelating, regeneration, and antioxidant properties of the alginate. So, alginate administration could ameliorate the hazardous effects of thorium nitrate.     

Insecticides and soil microorganisms. III. Fate of 14C-labelled Dipterex as affected by two nodule-forming rhizobium spp. and roots of their respective leguminous host plants.

Chromatographic analysis led to the identification of monomethyl- and dimethyl-phosphates as metabolites resulting from the enzymatic degradation of 14C-labelled Dipterex in the buffer solutions and root tissues of broad bean and clover plants, as well as in the culture media of rhizobium leguminosarum and Rhizobium trifolii. The formation of 14CO2 from rhizobial cultures containing radioactive Dipterex suggests that some of the liberated methanol groups (during breakdown of Dipterex) are oxidatively degraded by the two Rhizobium spp.     

The polysaccharides of mango seeds (mangifera indica,var. bullock's heart)

Mangoes (Mangifera indica) are grown in many warm regions of the world; for example, in Australia, Brazil, India, South America, and the United States (California and Florida), and along the shores of the Mediterranean sea (Egypt, Italy, and Spain). In Egypt, many varieties yielding delicious fruits are grown in large quantities (50,000 tons annually). Mango kernels are used for feeding mammals and chickens. Starch has been isolated from mango and its physical properties studied.The aim of the present work was to study the polysaccharides present in mango kernels.     

Two novel loci underlie natural differences in Caenorhabditis elegans abamectin responses

Parasitic nematodes cause a massive worldwide burden on human health along with a loss of livestock and agriculture productivity. Anthelmintics have been widely successful in treating parasitic nematodes. However, resistance is increasing, and little is known about the molecular and genetic causes of resistance for most of these drugs. The free-living roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans provides a tractable model to identify genes that underlie resistance. Unlike parasitic nematodes, C. elegans is easy to maintain in the laboratory, has a complete and well annotated genome, and has many genetic tools. Using a combination of wild isolates and a panel of recombinant inbred lines constructed from crosses of two genetically and phenotypically divergent strains, we identified three genomic regions on chromosome V that underlie natural differences in response to the macrocyclic lactone (ML) abamectin. One locus was identified previously and encodes an alpha subunit of a glutamate-gated chloride channel (glc-1). Here, we validate and narrow two novel loci using near-isogenic lines. Additionally, we generate a list of prioritized candidate genes identified in C. elegans and in the parasite Haemonchus contortus by comparison of ML resistance loci. These genes could represent previously unidentified resistance genes shared across nematode species and should be evaluated in the future. Our work highlights the advantages of using C. elegans as a model to better understand ML resistance in parasitic nematodes.