Effect of ambient lead on progesterone and pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 and their relationship with abortion in Zaraibi goats: a field study.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of ambient lead (Pb) exposure on progesterone (P4) and pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 (PAG1) and their relationship with abortion in Egyptian Zaraibi goats (C. hircus). To achieve this, 40 female goats (does) were mated with highly fertile male goats, resulting in a total of 28 pregnant goats. Eight of them aborted, and each of the 12 pregnant goats gave birth to one kid, whereas the remaining eight gave birth to twins. The levels of PAG1, P4, and Pb in serum were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) respectively. Statistically, the repeated measure two-way ANOVA, regression analysis, correlation coefficient, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied. The current data demonstrated that the levels of blood Pb in aborted goats were significantly higher than those in non-aborted goats at the early, mid, and late gestations, and this was followed by significant decreases in serum PAG1 and P4. Furthermore, there were substantial inverse associations between blood Pb concentration and levels of PAG1 and P4, with markedly negative correlation coefficients of - 0.88 and - 0.77, respectively, in aborted goats. The threshold level of Pb required to cause abortion was ≥ 32.08 µg/dl, but for PAG1 and P4 were respectively ≤ 0.95 ng/ml and ≤ 0.48 ng/ml. Additionally, threshold levels of ≥ 12.34 ng/ml and ≥ 31.52 ng/ml for P4 and PAG1, respectively, were needed to deliver twins. In conclusion, pollution-induced increases in Pb bioavailability resulted in dramatic decreases in P4 and PAG1 levels, leading to abortions. PAG1 and P4 levels are also key factors in determining whether Zaraibi goats will give birth to twins.

Purification and characterization of acetylcholinesterase in Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, is one of the most destructive pests of cultivated palm trees. The application of synthetic insecticides is currently a main strategy for RPW control. In this study we estimated the distribution of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as a detoxifying enzyme and the target site of inhibition by insecticides, using ASChI as substrate in different organs of the pest including whole gut, cuticle, fat body, head and haemolymph. The activity ranged from 314.9 to 3868 U in individual organs while the specific activity ranged from 99 to 340.8 U/mg proteins; the cuticle had the highest enzyme level. During larval development, the 11th instar larvae had the highest enzyme content with 5630 U in the cuticle, with a specific activity of 140 U/mg protein. The two major AChE isoenzymes were purified by chromatography on gel filtration and ion exchange columns. They had specific activities of 3504.3 and 2979 U/mg protein, molecular weights of 33 and 54 kDa and activation energies of 8.3 and 4.4 kcal/mol, respectively. Both isoenzymes had monomeric forms, optimum activity at pH 8.0 and 40 °C, were completely inhibited by Hg2+ and Cu2 and showed similar trends towards the inhibitors eserine, BW284C51 and iso-OMPA. The catalytic properties were compared with those previously recorded for different insect species. This work will pave the way for more studies for improving the understanding of insecticide resistance and developing the field application of synthetic insecticides for controlling R. ferrugineus to ensure successful application.

Fertility enhancing efficacy of Cicer arietinum in male albino mice.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of incorporating Cicer arietinum in the diet on the testicular functions of the male mice. Seventy-two mice were divided equally into four groups that were daily fed a diet containing 0, 20, 30 and 50% of C. arietinum seeds, respectively. After 7, 14 and 21 days of starting the experiments, the mice were anesthetized and euthanized to collect the blood, testes, epididymis and seminal vesicles. The present results showed that the increased percentage of C. arietinum in the diet caused significant elevations in the serum levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH), sperm concentration, sperm motility as well as the testicular levels of antioxidants including glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT), in comparison to the controls. On the other hand, marked reductions in the sperm abnormality, testicular levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), the percentage of DNA damage in tail and tail moment (TM) were observed in the mice that received a diet containing C. arietinum as compared to the controls. Both the sperms and testes of the mice fed a diet containing C. arietinum in the diet showed a normal intact appearance of the electrophoresed genomic DNA on agarose, as those of the controls. In conclusion, C. arietinum is not only a safe ingredient in the fast-food but also an enhancer of the testicular functions.

Studies on fate and toxicity of nanoalumina in male albino rats: Oxidative stress in the brain, liver and kidney.

The present work aimed to evaluate the oxidative stress of nanoalumina (aluminium oxide nanoparticles, Al2O3-NPs) with a diameter <13 nm (9.83 ± 1.61 nm) as assessed by the perturbations in the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants as well as lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the brain, liver and kidney of male albino rats, after 2 days of single acute dose (3.9 or 6.4 or 8.5 g/kg) injection and a sublethal dose of 1.3 g/kg once in 2 days for a period of 28 days. According to two-way analysis of variance, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities as well as the levels of glutathione (GSH) and LPO were significantly affected by the injected doses, organs and their interactions. On the other hand, in sublethal experiments, these parameters were affected by the experimental periods, organs and their interactions. Regression analysis confirmed that the activities of SOD, CAT, GPx and GSH levels in the brain, liver and kidney were inversely proportional with the acute doses, the experimental periods, and aluminium accumulated in these tissues, whereas the levels of LPO exhibited a positive relationship. Correlation coefficient indicated that oxidative stress mainly depends on aluminium accumulated in the studied organs, followed by injected doses and the experimental periods. In comparison with the corresponding controls, the acute and sublethal doses of Al2O3-NPs caused significant inhibition of the brain, hepatic and renal SOD, CAT, GPx activities and a severe marked reduction in the concentrations of GSH that were associated with a significant elevation in the levels of malondialdehyde (an indicator of LPO). In conclusion, our data indicated that rats injected with nanoalumina suffered from the oxidative stresses that were dose and time dependent. In addition, Al2O3-NPs released into the biospheres could be potentiating a risk to the environment and causing hazard effects on living organisms, including mammals.

Studies on fate and toxicity of nanoalumina in male albino rats: Lethality, bioaccumulation and genotoxicity.

The purpose of this study is to follow-up the distribution, lethality percentile doses (LDs) and bioaccumulation of aluminium oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3-NPs, average diameter 9.83 ± 1.61 nm) in some tissues of male albino rats, and to evaluate its genotoxicity to the brain tissues, during acute and sublethal experiments. The LDs of Al2O3-NPs, including median lethal dose (LD50), were estimated after intraperitoneal injection. The computed LD50 at 24 and 48 h were 15.10 and 12.88 g/kg body weight (b.w.), respectively. For acute experiments, the bioaccumulation of aluminium (Al) in the brain, liver, kidneys, intestine and spleen was estimated after 48 h of injection with a single acute dose (3.9, 6.4 and 8.5 g/kg b.w.), while for sublethal experiments it was after 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days of injection with 1.3 g/kg b.w. once in 2 days. Multi-way analysis of variance affirmed that Al uptake, in acute experiments, was significantly affected by the injected doses, organs (brain, liver, kidneys, intestine and spleen) and their interactions, while for sublethal experiments an altogether effect based on time (1, 3, 7, 14, 28 days), doses (0 and 1.3 g), organs and their interactions was reported. In addition, Al accumulated in the brain, liver, kidney, intestine and spleen of rats administered with Al2O3-NPs were significantly higher than the corresponding controls, during acute and sublethal experiments. The uptake of Al by the spleen of rats injected with acute doses was greater than that accumulated by kidney>brain>intestine>liver, whereas the brain of rats injected with sublethal dose accumulated lesser amount of Al followed by the kidney

Studies on fate and toxicity of nanoalumina in male albino rats: Some haematological, biochemical and histological aspects.

The work aimed to evaluate the nanoalumina toxicity on the histological architecture, some haematological and biochemical aspects in male albino rats, during acute and sublethal experiments. Rats, in acute experiments, were injected with a single-acute dose of 3.9 g or 6.4 g or 8.5 g of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) kg(-) (1), whereas those of sublethal were injected with 1.3 g of Al2O3 kg(-) (1)2 days(-) (1) One-way analysis of variance indicated that injected doses and the experimental periods were significantly affected by haemoglobin (Hb) content; haematocrit value (Hct); white blood cell (WBC) count; blood platelet (Plt) count; mean corpuscular volume (MCV); mean corpuscular Hb (MCH) and MCH concentration (MCHC). In acute experiments, Hct, WBC count, MCV and Plt were significantly higher than the corresponding controls, whereas Hb, MCH and MCHC markedly decreased. In comparison with the related controls after 1, 3 and 7 days post-injection, red blood cell count, Hb, Hct, WBC count, Plt and MCV were significantly increased, but begun to decrease after 14 or/and 28 days and were associated with a marked decrease in MCH and MCHC. In serum of rats injected with acute or sublethal dose, the concentrations of total protein (TP) and total lipid (TL) were significantly lesser than the corresponding controls, whereas the levels of urea, uric acid, creatinine and the activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were markedly increased. The injected doses were directly proportional with all the studied biochemical parameter, except the TL and TP that exhibited a negative correlation. Histologically, the highest acute and sublethal doses of nanoalumina caused hepatic irregular disarray, necrosis to the hepatic and Kupffer cells that are associated with congested blood sinusoids. The renal tissues characterized by the appearance of inter-tubular congestion that is accompanied by the dilation of the vascular glomeruli that completely occupied Bowman's capsule and accompanied with partial disappearance of the renal tubule's brush border. The brain showed a progressive degeneration of neurons in both the experiments.