Successful antibiotic treatment of infections relies on accurate and rapid identification of the infectious agents. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is implicated in a wide range of human infections that mostly become complicated and life threating, especially in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. Conventional microbiological methods take more than three days to obtain accurate results. Pyocyanin is a distinctive electroactive biomarker for Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Here, we have prepared polyaniline/gold nanoparticles decorated ITO electrode and tested it to establish a rapid, diagnostic and highly sensitive pyocyanin sensor in a culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates with high selectivity for traces of pyocyanin when measured in the existence of different interferences like vitamin C, uric acid, and glucose. The scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques were used to characterize the morphology and electrical conductivity of the constructed electrode. The determined linear range for pyocyanin detection was from 238 μM to 1.9 μM with a detection limit of 500 nM. Compared to the screen-printed electrode used before, the constructed electrode showed a 4-fold enhanced performance. Furthermore, PANI/Au NPs/ITO modified electrodes have demonstrated the ability to detect pyocyanin directly in Pseudomonas aeruginosa culture without any potential interference with other species.

Aim:This study aims to record and update the prevalence and intensity of external and internal parasites in working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Egypt during the period from January to December 2017.Materials and Methods:A total of 120 donkeys (10 donkeys each month) were examined at Giza zoo abattoir through bimonthly visits. The examined donkeys were obtained from five governorates (Giza [20], Fayoum [40], Beni Suef [30], Monofia [20], and Assiut [10]). The animals were grouped according to age and sex.Results:All examined donkeys were positive with at least one internal or even external parasitic species. The overall prevalence rate was 100%. A total of 11 helminths species (10 nematodes and 1 metacestode); 7 protozoal and 7 arthropod species were collected. The number of each parasite and intensity of infection with regard to age and sex was recorded.Conclusion:All examined donkeys were infected with parasites with an overall prevalence of 100%. So, we recommended following up and continuous treatment of such diseased animal.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common pathogenic gram-negative bacteria causing corneal ulcers globally. In severe cases, often after trauma and eye injury, corneal destruction progresses rapidly and may be completed within 24–48 h causing blindness. In our preliminary work, we have established an ultrasensitive polyaniline (PANI)/gold nanoparticles (Au NPs)/indium tin oxide (ITO) modified sensor for rapid detection of pyocyanin (PYO) in P. aeruginosa infections with a linear range from 238 μM to 1.9 μM and a detection limit of 500 nM. In the present study, we evaluated the efficiency of the established modified electrochemical sensor in the diagnosis of P. aeruginosa in 50 samples collected from patients suffering from corneal ulcers. The obtained results were compared with the results gained by the screen-printed electrode, conventional techniques, automated identification method, and the amplification of the 16 s rRNA gene by PCR as a gold standard test for P. aeruginosa identification. We have found that the electrochemical detection of PYO by square wave voltammetry technique using PANI/Au NPs modified ITO electrode was the only technique showing 100% agreement with the molecular method in sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values when compared with the SPE, conventional and automated methods.

The anthelmintic effects of extracted coriander oil and five pure essential oil constituents (geraniol, geranyl acetate, eugenol, methyl iso-eugenol, and linalool) were tested, using larval motility assay, on the third-stage larvae (L3s) of Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus axei, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Trichostrongylus vitrinus and Cooperia oncophora. Coriander oil and linalool, a major component of tested coriander oil, showed a strong inhibitory efficacy against all species, except C. oncophora with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) that ranged from 0.56 to 1.41% for the coriander oil and 0.51 to 1.76% for linalool. The coriander oil and linalool combinations conferred a synergistic anthelmintic effect (combination index [CI] <1) on larval motility comparable to positive control (20 mg/mL levamisole) within 24 h (p < 0.05), reduced IC50 values to 0.11–0.49% and induced a considerable structural damage to L3s. Results of the combined treatment were validated by quantitative fluorometric microplate-based assays using Sytox green, propidium iodide and C12-resazurin, which successfully discriminated live/dead larvae. Only Sytox green staining achieved IC50 values comparable to that of the larval motility assay. The cytotoxicity of the combined coriander oil and linalool on Madin–Darby Canine Kidney cells was evaluated using sulforhodamine-B (SRB) assay and showed no significant cytotoxic effect at concentrations < 1%. These results indicate that testing essential oils and their main components may help to find new potential anthelmintic compounds, while at the same time reducing the reliance on synthetic anthelmintics.

Background: Prolonged maintenance of infective Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites (T.g.T.) is an important subject for research purposes. This study aimed to evaluate four serum free fluid media for prolonged in vitro maintenance of T.g.T. Methods: The four fluid media Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) pH 7.2 and Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI-1640) with or without 3% fetal bovine serum (FBS) were evaluated for maintenance of virulent T.g. T. The four media were tested after incubation at three different temperature degrees in the darkness. Results: Prolonged maintenance period for infective T.g.T. was recorded especially in the absence of FBS supplement. RPMI without FBS was able to maintain infective T.g.T. for 16 days post incubation (dpi) at refrigerator temperature. This period decreased to 10 dpi and 6 dpi after incubation in the same media at 18-22°C and 37°C, respectively. Cultivation of T.g.T. in RPMI supplemented with 3% FBS and in PBS proved to maintain infective T.g.T. for 14 dpi at refrigerator temperature, and for 9 and 5 dpi when the two media were incubated at 18-22°C and 37°C, respectively. Shorter periods for keeping the T.g.T. infectivity were recorded using PBS supplemented with 3% FBS under all tested temperature conditions. Conclusion: This method allows economic long-lasting maintenance of tachyzoites for 16th dpi in RBMI that can be reactivated by reinoculation in mice.

The Diagnosis of hydatidosis is still an unsolved issue due to difficulties in obtaining of patient's hydatid cyst appropriate for antigen extraction. This study evaluated the suitability of HC protoscolices somatic antigens (HCPsS-Ag) fractions from animal origin to substitute that extracted from HC of patients in diagnosis of hydatidosis using enzyme-linked immunoelectro-transfer blot and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Eight fractions in HC-G6 from patients react specifically versus HC-G6 infected patient's sera. Five of them (28, 32, 38, 59 and 89 Kilo Dalton (KDa) and two of them (28 KDa and 45 KDa) reacted versus HC-G1 and HC-G4 infected sheep and equine sera, respectively. Six fractions in HCPsS-Ag-G1 of sheep react versus HC-G1 sheep infected sera, four (28, 32, 52 and 58 KDa) and two of them reacted versus HC-G6 and HC-G4 infected patient and equine sera, respectively. Two fractions only in HCPsS-Ag-G4 of equine reacted versus infected human and sheep sera. This fraction displayed the same degree of ELISA value versus different infected sera with a significantly perfect classification for kappa agreement and non-statistically significant difference (p C 0.05) for ELISA Optical density values of the positive samples without cross-reaction versus other parasites antibodies in sera. HCPsS-Ag from HC genotypes that developed in humans and animals as HC-G6 and HC-G1 can substitute each other for diagnosis of infection than antigens extracted from non-zoonotic HC-G4. The fraction at 28 KDa is the only fraction that can be extracted from any animals HC and used in diagnosis of zoonotic hydatidosis.

Successful antibiotic treatment of infections relies on accurate and rapid identification of the infectious agents. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is implicated in a wide range of human infections that almost complicated and become life threating especially in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. Conventional microbiological methods take more than 3 days to obtain accurate results. Pyocyanin is a distinctive electroactive biomarker for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Here, we have developed a rapid diagnostic (polyaniline) PANI gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) modified indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode that showed 100% sensitivity for pyocyanin in culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates and high selectivity for pyocyanin at low concentration when measured in the presence of other substances like ascorbic acid, uric acid, and glucose as interferences. The constructed electrode was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The determined linear range for pyocyanin detection was from 238 µM to 1.9 µM with a detection limit of 500 nM. Compared to the screenprinted electrode used before, the constructed electrode showed a 4-fold enhanced performance.

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