Hyperimmune sera against four strains of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis isolated from different animals (sheep, goat, buffalo and cattle) were obtained by inoculating rabbits with strains in different forms (live, dead plus live or dead). Immunization with live or dead bac teria followed by live strains gave similar results with regard to antibody titres and number of precipitin lines. Typing 21 strains of C. pseudotuberculosis by specific precipitin reac tions in agar gel was performed by using antigens extracted with sodium deoxycholate. The authors concluded that they were divisible into two serotypes, I and II. The nitrate reduction test and animal pathogenicity tests (by inocu lating guinea-pigs subcutaneously) demonstrated additional differences between the two types. Type I was nitrate negative, and produced local and general absces ses in guinea-pigs, with a prolonged course (15 days) ending fatally. It included all the strains originating from sheep and goats, but only 3 of 5 cattle strains. Type II comprised all 7 isolates from buffaloes and 2 of the cattle strains. All strains were nitrate positive and did not produce abscesses in guinea-pigs, but they caused tissue necrosis at the site of inoculation, with a rapid course (not more than five days) ending in death.

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Abstract. The mammalian timeless (TIM) protein interacts with proteins of the endogenous clock and essentially contributes to the circadian rhythm. In addition, TIM is involved in maintenance of chromosome integrity, growth control and development. Thus, we hypothesized that TIM may exert a potential protumorigenic function in human hepatocarcinogenesis. TIM was overexpressed in a subset of human HCCs both at the mRNA and the protein level. siRNA-mediated knockdown of TIM reduced cell viability due to the induction of apoptosis and G2 arrest. The latter was mediated via CHEK2 phosphorylation. In addition, siRNA-treated cells showed a significantly reduced migratory capacity and reduced expression levels of various proteins. Mechanistically, TIM directly interacts with the eukaryotic elongation factor 1A2 (EEF1A2), which binds to actin filaments to promote tumor cell migration. siRNA-mediated knockdown of TIM reduced EEF1A2 protein levels thereby affecting ribosomal protein biosynthesis. Thus, overexpression of TIM exerts oncogenic function in human HCCs, which is mediated via CHEK2 and EEF1A2. IntroductionMany biological processes show a circadian rhythm, which is controlled by an endogenous clock that synchronizes with day and night phases of the solar day. The periodical rhythm is generated by a molecular oscillator located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus, which controls peripheral oscillators in virtually any other cell (1). The circadian clock is organized through a complex network of transcriptiontranslational feedback loops that drive rhythmic expression patterns of core clock components in mammals (2).The Timeless (TIM) protein interacts with clock proteins and is essential for generation of a circadian rhythm in flies (3). In addition, phylogenetic sequence analysis revealed the presence of a paralogue in D. melanogaster (4), which is not involved in the core clock machinery, but is important for the maintenance of chromosome integrity, growth control, and development. In contrast, a single TIM gene has been identified in mammals, which acquired all of these functions as indicated by its role in DNA damage response, replication, and circadian rhythm (5-9). Consistently, TIM knockout resulted in embryonic lethality in mice (10). In addition, TIM and other clock genes have been linked to human carcinogenesis (11)(12)(13)(14). Using integrative molecular profiling we have recently identified that inactivation of Period homolog 3, a component of the clock machinery, occurs in human HCC indicating that dysregulation of this regulatory network may contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis (15).The eukaryotic elongation factor 1-α (EEF1A), a member of the G protein family, represents one of the four subunits that constitute the eukaryotic elongation factor 1 (16). In humans,

Environmental pollution from varied sources is now deemed as one of the most serious problems everywhere. Several pollutants, however, could be perceived by certain biological indicators, each one is used to identify assured single or a category of pollutants. The current review presents the use of biotas, i.e., plants, microorganisms, and animals, to perceive ecosystems pollutants. The most significant biological indicators are presented. The plant indicators described belong to higher plants; the microbial indicators were represented by bacteria, fungi, algae, planktons, lichens, helminthes eggs and enzymes and the animal ones were earthworms, macro-invertebrates, frogs & toads, insects and animal toxins.

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Sustainability would never be achieved farewell as agricultural practices continue beyond the carrying capacity of the ecosystem through the exaggerated abuse of agricultural chemicals. The rapid growth of agricultural productivity in chemical farming systems is shrinking off. Moreover, environmental torrent from agricultural activities jeopardizes agricultural growth in several countries. Problems associated with the wealthy agricultural production in the developed world and underproduction in developing countries necessitate a widely accepted assessment of the present status of agriculture. It is time to install new farming systems committed to following environmental and sustainable approaches, and producing healthy food free from agrochemical residues. Ecologically oriented farming routines are being developed within the frame of the recent achievements in environmental biotechnology, the most important of which is the clean farming system which is increasingly acknowledged as a potential solution to copious problems overlaying present world agriculture. It is a farming system, which aims at evading the routine use of agricultural chemicals and reducing their rates of application. Clean farming systems directly give rise to four environmental biotechnologies, i.e., recycling of composted organic waste, fortifying the rhizosphere soil with biofertilizers, encouraging the use of biopesticides in agricultural practices and bioremediation of polluted agro‐ecosystems.

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<p class="a"><strong>Objective:</strong> This work was conducted to study colorectal carcinoma (CRC) in Gharbiah district, Egypt and to verify the effect of age on the treatments and their outcomes.<span><br /> </span><strong>Methods:</strong> <span>B</span>etween 2000 and 2002, 293 cases with CRC were identified in the Gharbiah population based cancer registry (GPBCR); 159 of whom were treated at Tanta Cancer Center (TCC). Patients were grouped into elderly and non-elderly (<span>≥</span> and &lt; 65 years, respectively).<span><br /> </span><strong>Results:</strong> CRC was the 6th cancer in Egypt, representing 4% of the total cancers and 53% of GIT cancers. The median age was 53 years with male predominance. Colon cancers were more common than rectal cancers. Most patients had tumors that were localized, low grade and adenocarcinoma (AC). Constipation, abdominal pains and bleeding per rectum were the commonest complaints. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy were adopted in 84, 28 and 72% of patients,<span> </span>respectively. The median OS and PFS were 23 and 25 months (95%CI: 17-29 and 11.8-18.2), respectively. Compared to non-elderly, elderly patients were more likely to have rectal tumors, non-AC histology, non-metastatic disease; more comorbidities were less likely to receive chemotherapy particularly in the adjuvant setting (<em><span>P</span></em>&lt; 0.05 for all). The OS and PFS of elderly patients were not statistically different from the non-elderly.<span><br /> </span><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Within the limits of this retrospective trial, elderly patients with CRC tend to have more rectal and non-metastatic cancers. They were more likely to have comorbidities and less likely to receive chemotherapy. However, the OS and DFS were comparable to non-elderly.</p><p><strong><br /></strong></p>