Background:  The present study investigated the effects of Nigella sativa aqueous extract and oil, as well as thymoquinone, on serum insulin and glucose concentrations in streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats. Methods:  Rats were divided into five experimental groups (control, untreated STZ‐diabetic, and aqueous extract‐, oil‐, or thymoquinone‐treated diabetic rats). Treated rats received 2 mL/kg, i.p., 5%N. sativa extract, 0.2 mL/kg, i.p., N. sativa oil, or 3 mg/mL, i.p., thymoquinone 6 days/week for 30 days. Serum insulin and glucose concentrations, superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and pancreatic tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined. Electron microscopy was used to identify any subcellular changes. Results:  Diabetes increased tissue MDA and serum glucose levels and decreased insulin and SOD levels. Treatment of rats with N. sativa extract and oil, as well as thymoquinone, significantly decreased the diabetes‐induced increases in tissue MDA and serum glucose and significantly increased serum insulin and tissue SOD. Ultrastructurally, thymoquinone ameliorated most of the toxic effects of STZ, including segregated nucleoli, heterochromatin aggregates (indicating DNA damage), and mitochondrial vacuolization and fragmentation. The aqueous extract of N. sativa also reversed these effects of STZ, but to a lesser extent. The N. sativa oil restored normal insulin levels, but failed to decrease serum glucose concentrations to normal. Conclusions:  The biochemical and ultrastructural findings suggest that N. sativa extract and thymoquinone have therapeutic and protect against STZ‐diabetes by decreasing oxidative stress, thus preserving pancreatic β‐cell integrity. The hypoglycemic effect observed could be due to amelioration of β‐cell ultrastructure, thus leading to increased insulin levels. Consequently, N. sativa and thymoquinone may prove clinically useful in the treatment of diabetics and in the protection of β‐cells against oxidative stress.

Background: The emergence of multi drug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections and cancer has necessitated the development and discovery of alternative eco-safe antibacterial and anticancer agents. Biogenic fabrication of metallic nanoparticles is an emerging discipline for production of nanoproducts that exert potent anticancer and antibacterial activity, and do not suffer from the limitations inherent in physiochemical synthesis methods. Methodology: In this study, we isolated, purified, and characterized a novel cyanobacteria extract (Desertifilum IPPAS B-1220) to utilize in biofabrication of silver nanoparticles (D-SNPs). D-SNPs were produced by adding Desertifilum extract to silver nitrate solution under controlled conditions. Biofabrication of D-SNPs was confirmed using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The resultant D-SNPs were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The toxicity of D-SNPs against five pathogenic bacteria and three cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2, and Caco-2) was evaluated. Results: Formation of D-SNPs was indicated by a color change from pale yellow to dark brown. The peak of the surface plasmon resonance of the D-SNPs was at 421 nm. The XRD detected the crystallinity of D-SNPs. FTIR showed that polysaccharides and proteins may have contributed to the biofabrication of D-SNPs. Under SEM and TEM, the D-SNPs were spherical with diameter ranges from 4.5 to 26 nm. The D-SNPs significantly suppressed the growth of five pathogenic bacteria, and exerted cytotoxic effects against MCF-7, HepG2, and Caco-2 cancer cells with IC 50 values of 58, 32, and 90 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: These findings showed for the first time the potentiality of novel cyanobacteria strain Desertifilum IPPAS B-1220 to fabricate small SNPs that acted as potent anticancer and antibacterial material against different cancer cell lines and pathogenic bacterial strains. These findings encourage the researchers to focus on cyanobacteria in general and especially Desertifilum sp. IPPAS B-1220 for synthesizing different NPs that opening the window for new applications.

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A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate response of European seabass (ESB, Dicentrarchus labrax) fry to graded levels of the dietary organic salt, sodium butyrate (SB). ESB with 0.45 g were fed four experimental diets contained: 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% SB and assigned as: control (CTRL), SB1, SB2 and SB3 respectively for 12-weeks. Results showed a significant (P≤0.05) elevation of all measured growth criteria induced by SB2 and SB3 diets intake relative to CTRL diet (SB-free). Both 0.2% and 0.3% dietary SB supplementation had led to appreciable increase in protein concomitant with decrease in lipid contents of fish, as well as enhancement of fish hematological profile. All measured immunological parameters in fish serum have remarkably increased: immunoglobulin (+198%), respiratory burst activity (+78.2%), phagocytosis (+42.3%), myeloperoxidase (+42.2%), lysozyme (+10.6%) and bactericidal (42.8%) activities with the oral-ingestion of SB, particularly at 0.2% then 0.3% level in comparison to CTRL. Besides, SB can maintain a healthy balance of bacterial load in the gut through boosting beneficial bacteria and inhibiting pathogens within the distal intestine, thereby modulate and stimulate immunity response of fish. Records of intestinal sections-measurement emphasized the positive effects of SB2 diet on the intestinal lumen causing activation in the development of muscle layers-thickness, goblet cells count and villi length and width of fish. These results evidenced the advantageous effect of SB on gut-health functionality, leading to higher capacity of disease resistance and growth rate for ESB fry. In conclusion, our findings indicate that inclusion of 2g micro-encapsulated SB/Kg diet could provide a safer potent alternative to antibiotic use, to benefit health status, reinforce immunity response, modulate the distal-intestine microbiota and increase cell-proliferation in the intestinal crypts of ESB fry. Table1: Formulation and proximate analyses of the experimental diets (% DM) as fed to European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fry. Ingredients Diets (g/Kg) CTRL SB1 SB2 SB3 Fish Meal (70% CP) 1 600 600 600 600 Soybean meal (solvent extracted, 42% CP) 2 165 165 165 165

Green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is a safe, eco-friendly, and relatively inexpensive alternative to conventional routes of NPs production. These methods require natural resources such as cyanobacteria, algae, plants, fungi, lichens, and naturally extracted biomolecules such as pigments, vitamins, polysaccharides, proteins, and enzymes to reduce bulk materials (the target metal salts) into a nanoscale product. Synthesis of nanomaterials (NMs) using lichen extracts is a promising eco-friendly, simple, low-cost biological synthesis process. Lichens are groups of organisms including multiple types of fungi and algae that live in symbiosis. Until now, the fabrication of NPs using lichens has remained largely unexplored, although the role of lichens as natural factories for synthesizing NPs has been reported. Lichens have a potential reducible activity to fabricate different types of NMs, including metal and metal oxide NPs and bimetallic alloys and nanocomposites. These NPs exhibit promising catalytic and antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. To the best of our knowledge, this review provides, for the first time, an overview of the main published studies concerning the use of lichen for nanofabrication and the applications of these NMs in different sectors. Moreover, the possible mechanisms of biosynthesis are discussed, together with the various optimization factors influencing the biological synthesis and toxicity of NPs.

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Several studies suggest that neurons from the lateral region of the SuM (SuML) innervating the dorsal dentate gyrus (DG) display a dual GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission and are specifically activated during paradoxical (REM) sleep (PS). The objective of the present study is to fully characterize the anatomical, neurochemical and electrophysiological properties of the SuML-DG projection neurons and to determine how they control DG oscillations and neuronal activation during PS and other vigilance states. For this purpose, we combine structural connectivity techniques using neurotropic viral vectors (rabies virus, AAV), neurochemical anatomy (immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization) and imaging (light, electron and confocal microscopy) with in vitro (patch clamp) and in vivo (LFP, EEG) optogenetic and electrophysiological recordings performed in transgenic VGLUT2-cre male mice. At the cellular level, we show that the SuML-DG neurons co-release GABA and glutamate on dentate granule cells and increase the activity of a subset of DG granule cells. At the network level, we show that activation of the SuML-DG pathway increases theta power and frequency during PS as well as gamma power during PS and waking in the DG. At the behavioral level, we show that the activation of this pathway does not change animal behavior during PS, induces awakening during slow wave sleep and increases motor activity during waking. These results suggest that the SuML-DG pathway is capable of supporting the increase of theta and gamma power in the DG observed during PS and plays an important modulatory role of DG network activity during this state.Significant statementAn increase of theta and gamma power in the dentate gyrus (DG) is an hallmark of paradoxical (REM) sleep (PS) and is suggested to promote learning and memory consolidation by synchronizing hippocampal networks and increasing its outputs to cortical targets. However the neuronal networks involved in such control of DG activity during PS are poorly understood. The present study identifies a population of GABA/Glutamate neurons in the lateral supramammllary nucleus (SuML) innervating the DG that could support such control during PS. Indeed, we show that activation of these SuML-DG projections increase theta power and frequency as well as gamma power in the DG specifically during PS and modulate activity of a subset of DG granule cells.

Ammonia is a metabolite of aquatic organisms which might reach deleterious levels in intensive fish farms. The aim of the present study was to determine median lethal concentrations (96-h LC 50 ) of total ammonia nitrogen (TA-N) on marbled spinefoot rabbitfish (Siganus rivulatus) and chronic effects of TA-N on survival, growth and behaviour of juvenile rabbitfish over a 50 day period. In the first experiment, fish were exposed to 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 mg L À1 TA-N for 96 h and survival evaluated. In the second experiment, 12 fish were stocked per 50-L tank and treated with one of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 mg L À1 TA-N with three replicate tanks per treatment. Survival and growth were determined and histopathological alterations of gills due to chronic ammonia exposure were studied by light and electron microscopy. The 96-h LC 50 values were 16-18 mg L À1 TA-N. In the chronic exposure experiment, fish reared in water with 0 mg L À1 TA-N had 100% survival and had 50% weight increase in 50 days. Fish at 2 and 4 mg L À1 TA-N all died whilst fish in 6, 8, 10 and 12 mg L À1 TA-N survived and grew albeit less than in treatment 0 mg L À1 . Gills from ammonia treated fish displayed severe histological and ultrastructural alterations including hyperplasia, hypertrophy and fusion of secondary lamellae, aneurysms and presence of pleomorphic altered cells. Chronic exposure to ammonia is deleterious to marbled spinefoot rabbitfish and low concentrations of ammonia appear to kill the fish in <50 days whilst fish can survive for more than 50 days at concentrations between 6 and 12 mg L À1 TA-N.