Toxin genotypes of Clostridium perfringens isolates from common quail (Coturnix coturnix) with or without acute necrotic enteritis.

Clostridial diseases are one of the foremost causes of mortality in quails which occur by Clostridium colinum, Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens), and Clostridium sordellii. C. perfringens genotypes responsible for quail enteritis are not well understood. In this study, the prevalence of C. perfringens genotypes was investigated in common quail (Coturnix coturnix) farms that suffered from acute necrotic enteritis (diarrhoeic) and compared with healthy (non-diarrhoeic) quails. Toward this end, C. perfringens isolates were collected and genotyped for 16s rRNA, cpa, cpb, cpb2, etx, iap, cpe, netB, and tpeL genes, using PCR. It was revealed that 42, 23, and 19 isolates belonged to toxinotypes A, F, and G, respectively, and the other toxinotypes were not obtained. The recovery ratio of C. perfringens from diarrhoeic farms roughly doubled in non-diarrhoeic farms (40.0% versus 21.5%, p = 0.03). Also, we observed a high isolation ratio of the cpb2 genotype (90.48%), which was significantly eminent in the diarrhoeic group (94.2%, p < 0.05). Although the prevalence of tpeL genes was low (15.48%), there was an interesting relationship between this gene and cpb2, so we did not obtain cpb2-tpeL-. This study showed the prevalence of types A, F, and G of C. perfringens in quail enteritis. Also, we reported tpeL+C. perfringens strains in quail for the first time and its frequent co-occurrence with the cpb2 gene. These results highlight the necessity of more accurate investigations of the C. perfringens genotype in different hosts to verify the exact role of these toxins in quail enteritis.

Evaluation of the Protective Effects of Doxycycline on Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice.

Acetaminophen (APAP) toxicity threatens human health due to increased mortality associated with its overdose. Doxycycline (DC) because of its properties such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory can be a good therapeutic strategy to treat the acute toxicity induced by APAP. Male mice were divided into six groups in two periods of 3 h and 24 h as normal saline, APAP 400 mg/kg, DC 100 mg/kg and groups treated by 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg DC just before APAP, respectively. At the end of the 3 h and 24 h periods, the hepatic index, biochemical parameters including serum aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) activity and hepatic catalase activity, glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in liver and histopathological changes were evaluated. The results indicated that DC had no apparent effect on the hepatic index but significantly normalized the level of biochemical parameters and reduced APAP induced liver damage. Overall, it could be concluded that DC can inhibit or resolve harmful effects of APAP through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, more studies are needed to understand exact mechanism of DC and its application for clinical use.

Factors associated with preterm labor in Hormozgan province in 2013.

INTRODUCTION: Preterm labor is the main cause of infants' death, and the main reason for undesirable consequences of pregnancy which still occur in some births, despite all of the interventions in this regard. The aim of this study was to evaluate every preterm birth and determine its maternal risk factors in Hormozgan province in 2013. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted in 2013 on the health and hospital records of 735 pregnant mothers with preterm labor (20-37 weeks) which were located in Bandar Abbas in southeast Iran. The sampling method would be multi-stage cluster sampling. The data collecting tool was a valid questionnaire by the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education, which included 5 components (demographic information, checking the current pregnancy of the mother, the maternal factors related to preterm labor in the previous pregnancy, evaluating the fetal factors associated with preterm labor in the current pregnancy and other additional information related to the factors associated with prematurity). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: The prevalence of preterm labor in Hormozgan province in 2013 was 5.5%. In our study and among the effective factors on preterm labor, revealed genital-urinary tract infections during pregnancy were (35.8%), PROM (30.3%), history of abortion (19.9%) and unplanned pregnancy (18.1%) in between pregnant women with preterm labor. Our study showed that most mothers had delivered in 33 to 37 weeks among the mothers who had preterm labor in 2013 (75%) and the statistic of very preterm labor (less than 32 weeks) in Hormozgan was 5%. CONCLUSION: Identification of the prevalence and associated factors with preterm labor can reduce the mortality rate and infants' complications of it in addition to help find a way to prevent this problem.