Variation in the helminth community structure in spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) from four montane wadis in the St Katherine region of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt

We compared helminth communities in spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) from 4 wadis in the arid montane region of the southern Sinai in Egypt, in a 4-week period in late summer. Total helminth species richness was 14 (8 nematodes, 5 cestodes and 1 acanthocephalan) with 94% of mice carrying at least 1 species and an overall mean species richness of 1·85. The most prevalent parasites wereProtospirura muricola(47·8%) andDentostomella kuntzi(46·3%). One larval cestode,Joyeuxiella rossicum, represents a new host record. The helminth community was dominated by intestinal nematodes (88·7%) of which 58·2% were arthropod-transmitted heteroxenic species. At the component community level, 70% of the worms were recovered from mice in just two wadis (Gharaba and Tlah) and 48·6% of intestinal nematodes were from Wadi Gharaba. Although only 7 species of helminths were recorded from Wadi Gharaba, this site gave the highest Berger-Parker dominance index because ofP. muricola. P. muricolawas also dominant in Wadi El Arbaein whilstSyphacia minutawas the dominant species in Wadis Gebal and Tlah. At the infracommunity level, mean species richness and Brillouin's index of diversity were highest in Wadi Tlah and lowest in Wadi Gebal, and the former was age dependent. Whilst mice from different wadis differed in the nematodes that were most common, those from Wadi Gharaba carried the highest mean number of worms/mouse. The abundance ofP. muricolain particular varied markedly between sites: Wadi Gharaba was distinct as the site showing the highest mean worm burden whereas mice from Wadi Gebal were uninfected. None of the directly transmitted oxyuroid nematodes showed significant variation in abundance between wadis, or host sex or age classes. Overall, the single extrinsic factor in the study, site of capture, was more important than the intrinsic factors in explaining variation in helminth communities in the region. We conclude that in the high mountains of southern Sinai, each wadi is distinct in terms of its rodent parasites, and hence we expect spatially different coevolutionary pressures on their hosts, with resultant variation in life-histories.

Local variation in helminth burdens of Egyptian spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus dimidiatus) from ecologically similar sites: relationships with hormone concentrations and social behaviour

Populations of Egyptian spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus dimidiatus) in a fragmented montane wadi system in the Sinai showed significant differences in the abundance of gut helminths. Differences in parasite load between populations were positively associated with measures of androgen activity but showed no significant relationship with glucocorticoid activity. Social discrimination tests with adult males from different wadis showed that those from sites with greater helminth abundance were less likely to investigate odours from other males and were less aggressive when subsequently interacting with the odour donors. Subjects showed markedly more investigation towards the odours of males from distant wadis compared with those from their own or immediately neighbouring wadi, but were less aggressive when confronted with odour donors from distant wadis. Despite this, there was a positive relationship between the amount of investigation towards distant male odour and subsequent aggression towards the male. While aggressiveness was positively associated with measures of androgen and glucocorticoid activity, no significant relationship emerged with individual helminth infection. Thus aggressiveness appeared to relate to overall local population levels of infection rather than individual challenge.

Seasonal changes in the tolerance of osmotic stress in natterjack toads (Bufo calamita)

1. Bufo calamita were exposed to tap water to solutions of urea (up to 1000 mM) and NaCl (up to 250 mM). 2. The effects of season and nutrition on the adaptation to osmotic stress were studied by monitoring body mass, moulting rate, hematocrit, plasma osmolality and the plasma concentrations of urea, chloride and glucose. 3. There were marked seasonal changes in the time of survival in tap water as well as in the ability to acclimate to high concentrations of urea and NaCl. 4. The maximal concentration of urea in the plasma of starving toads was greater in winter (650 mM) than in summer (410 mM), but fed toads also reached winter levels (653 mM) during summer. 5. Salt acclimation was accompanied by urea accumulation in plasma up to 175 mM. 6. Salinities exceeding 454 mOsmol/l of NaCl were lethal.

Methyl methacrylate levels in unwashed salvage blood following unilateral total knee arthroplasty

To evaluate the safety of autologous reinfusion of drain blood in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), eight patients were prospectively evaluated to quantify levels of methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer in systemic blood, and in their drain blood after unilateral cemented TKA. The systemic blood was analyzed before and after reinfusion of the drain blood. The drain blood was analyzed before reinfusion, and both before and after filtration through a 40-microm filter. A separate study was performed on 10 patients to assess the effect of blood, time, and filtration on MMA levels. Levels of MMA monomer in salvage blood were low enough to allow safe reinfusion. Systemic blood showed no evidence of MMA monomer either before reinfusion of salvage blood or at 5 minutes after reinfusion. Elimination of MMA is dependent on the time that MMA is exposed to blood and is independent of filtration.

Experimental infection of rabbits with Fasciola gigantica and treatment with triclabendazole (TCBZ) or BT6: parasitological, haematological and immunological findings

The responses of rabbits experimentally infected orally with 25 Fasciola gigantica metacercariae each, to treatment with triclabendazole (TCBZ) in a single oral dose of 10 mg/Kg body weight or with the newly synthesized drug (BT6) in repeated oral doses of 500 mg/Kg for 3 consecutive days, were monitored by faecal egg and fluke counts and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), both treatments at 4-, 8- and 12- weeks of infection. In all infected rabbits, eggs appeared in the faeces between 10 and 16 weeks post-infection (P1) and Were egg-negative in the TCBZ-treated animals. Compared with the infected untreated control (group B), the reduction in the fluke burdens were 93.75,100 and 100% in TCBZ-treated rabbits (groups C, D and E), respectively and 33.33, 27.08 and 27.08% in the BT6 treated groups F, G and H, respectively. Total red blood corpuscle (RBCs) counts, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and packed-cell volume (PCV) values in rabbits (group B) indicated the presence of moderate anaemia from the start of infection with a significant decrease from 10-12 weeks onwards. RBCs count, Hb and PCV values from groups C, D and E were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in those from group B on week 10, 8 and 10 PI, respectively. The increasing was continued till week 16 PI. By two weeks PI there was significant eosinophilia in infected rabbits, maintained at 4 and 6 weeks PI then dropped up to 8 weeks but still statistically higher than the control values. The ELISA detected antibodies against F. gigantica as early as week 2 PI, rising to high levels 6, 10 and 12 weeks later in groups C, D and E, respectively, whilst peaked at 10 weeks in BT6 treated animals, then tended to drop but remained positive through 16 weeks. We conclude TCBZ is a potent fasciolicidic drug. Eosinophilia and anaemia might be indicators for fascioliasis. The ELISA with adult fluke excretory - secretory (ES) antigens could be a feasible method for the diagnosis of experimental fascioliasis in rabbits and post-treatment monitoring.

Differential Expression of NOTCH-1 and Its Molecular Targets in Response to Metronomic Followed by Conventional Therapy in a Patient with Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

A group of 27 patients diagnosed with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) was randomly distributed into two groups and underwent different lines of metronomic treatment (mCHT). The former group (N 14) received first-line mCHT and showed a higher overall survival rate than the second group (N 13), which underwent second-line mCHT. Analysis of one patient still alive from the first group, diagnosed with mTNBC in 2019, showed a complete metabolic response (CMR) after a composite approach implicating first-line mCHT followed by second-line epirubicin and third-line nab-paclitaxel, and was chosen for subsequent molecular characterization. We found altered expression in the cancer stemness-associated gene NOTCH-1 and its corresponding protein. Additionally, we found changes in the expression of oncogenes, such as MYC and AKT, along with their respective proteins. Overall, our data suggest that a first-line treatment with mCHT followed by MTD might be effective by negatively regulating stemness traits usually associated with the emergence of drug resistance.