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The study determined the composition, abundance, and distribution of phytoplankton in Lake Mainit. Plankton samples were collected in eight sampling stations four times in 2018. A total of 26 phytoplankton taxa in four groups – Bacillariophyceae/Myxophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Euglenophyceae were identified. Aulacoseira was ranked as the most abundant taxa, followed by Zygnema, Fragilaria, Trichodesmium, and Ulothrix. ANOVA revealed no significant (P < 0.05) difference in the number of phytoplankton between the eight stations during the first sampling. In the second sampling, Bunga showed a significantly (P < 0.05) lower number of phytoplankton than the other stations. The third sampling also showed no significant (P < 0.05) difference in the number of phytoplankton between stations. During the fourth sampling, Tagbuyawan had by far (P < 0.05) the highest number of phytoplankton. Species diversity (H’) of phytoplankton was stable at Magticao, Jaliobong, Dinarawan, Kalinawan, and Bunga. The dominance of some species (Aulacoseira, Fragilaria, and Zygnema) affected the diversity and distribution of plankton. Spectrophotometric readings recorded an average Chl-a of 0.75 µg/L. The lake was still considered oligotrophic. Remediation measures and further studies on the lake towards the primary variation of plankton are recommended. Management efforts should be strengthened to support the sustainability of life in the lake.

Nursery of juvenile lobsters in the coastal area was attempted but survival was very low with unknown causes of mortality. The study determined whether communal or individualized houses affect the growth and survival of small and big juvenile lobsters after 60 days nursery culture in the laboratory. Four (4) treatments with four (4) replicates were identified in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and these were small juvenile lobsters in communal tank (T1), small juvenile lobsters in individualized tank (T2), big juvenile lobsters in communal tank (T3) and big juvenile lobsters in individualized tank (T4). Results showed that communal tank for big juveniles attained significantly (P

Quorum sensing (QS) refers to the phenomenon characterized by the accumulation of signaling molecules enabling a cell to sense a bacterial population triggering a coordinated response. Enterococcus faecalis is a resistant microorganism commonly found in oral infections. Salvadora persica has been traditionally used in Middle East countries to clean the teeth due to its antimicrobial activity. The study investigated the anti-quorum sensing (AQS) ability of S. persica extracts on E. faecalis. Extracts from the bark, leaves, root and shoots were tested against Chromobacterium violaceum. AQS ability was determined using differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) and elastolytic assay to detect the level of protease and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) to detect cytolysin (cylR1) and gelatinase (gelE) virulence factors. Preliminary disk diffusion assays revealed AQS activity by inhibiting violacein pigment production in C. violaceum without affecting its growth. Furthermore, only negligible amount of proteases was detected in DSF and elastolytic assays. CylR1 and gelE gene expression revealed no detectable signals even from the lowest possible threshold. The results indicate that S. persica has AQS ability against E. faecalis. S. persica extract can be used as alternative or in combination with other anti-microbial agents against infections caused by E. faecalis.

Due to the limited numbers of PBMCs that can be obtained from the blood of individual mice, the key question whether central disease parameters such as onset, progression and severity correlate with the magnitude and cytokine quality of the T cell response in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has remained unanswered. Here we introduce an ELISPOT-based PBMC test system in which as little as 150 μl of murine blood are sufficient, allowing to bleed mice repeatedly while continuing to observe the clinical course of EAE. Using this technique, we demonstrate that longitudinal measurements of antigen-specific IFN-γ and IL-17 production in the blood are a highly suitable approach to predict the disease outcome in remitting-relapsing PLP:139-151- and chronic MOG:35-55-induced EAE of SJL/J and C57BL/6 mice, respectively. Our data propound cytokine monitoring as promising tool in the quest for more efficient diagnostic and prognostic options in human multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

To describe clinical history and ultrasound findings in patients with tubal carcinoma.Patients with a histological diagnosis of tubal cancer who had undergone preoperative ultrasound examination were identified from the databases of 13 ultrasound centers. The tumors were described by the principal investigator at each contributing center on the basis of ultrasound images, ultrasound reports and research protocols (when applicable) using the terms and definitions of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) group. In addition, three authors reviewed together all available digital ultrasound images and described them using subjective evaluation of gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound findings.We identified 79 women with a histological diagnosis of primary tubal cancer, 70 of whom (89%) had serous carcinomas and 46 (58%) of whom presented at FIGO stage III. Forty-nine (62%) women were asymptomatic (incidental finding), whilst the remaining 30 complained of abdominal bloating or pain. Fifty-three (67%) tumors were described as solid at ultrasound examination, 14 (18%) as multilocular solid, 10 (13%) as unilocular solid and two (3%) as unilocular. No tumor was described as a multilocular mass. Most tumors (70/79, 89%) were moderately or very well vascularized on color or power Doppler ultrasound. Normal ovarian tissue was identified adjacent to the tumor in 51% (39/77) of cases. Three types of ultrasound appearance were identified as being typical of tubal carcinoma using pattern recognition: a sausage-shaped cystic structure with solid tissue protruding into it like a papillary projection (11/62, 18%); a sausage-shaped cystic structure with a large solid component filling part of the cyst cavity (13/62, 21%); an ovoid or oblong completely solid mass (36/62, 58%).A well vascularized ovoid or sausage-shaped structure, either completely solid or with large solid component(s) in the pelvis, should raise the suspicion of tubal cancer, especially if normal ovarian tissue is seen adjacent to it.

A trisomy 18 fetus with severe congenital anomalies including craniorachischisis, large omphalocele, and bilateral cleft lip and palate is reported. The occurrence of neural tube defects and/or omphalocele in reported cases of trisomy 18 is discussed and the frequency of these anomalies in 85 trisomy 18 patients evaluated at Indiana University School of Medicine from 1963 to 1986 is reviewed. In this series of patients the frequency of neural tube defects was 7.0% and the frequency of omphaloceles was 5.9%. The percentage of these findings in our cases supports the premise that neural tube defects and omphaloceles are part of the trisomy 18 phenotype. Since fetuses with trisomy 18 are subject to early fetal loss or premature birth, the more subtle physical features of this condition may not be apparent. Thus, karyotyping of fetuses and premature infants with either neural tube defect or omphalocele should be considered.

Organ transplantation is an increasingly used medical procedure for treating otherwise fatal end stage organ diseases with 107,000 transplants performed worldwide in 2010. Newly developed anti-rejection drugs greatly helped to prolong long-term survival of both the individual and the transplanted organ, and they facilitate the diffusion of organ transplantation. Presently, 5-year patient survival rates are around 90% after kidney transplant and 70% after liver transplant. However, the prolonged chronic use of immunosuppressive drugs is well known to increase the risks of opportunistic diseases, particularly infections and virus-related malignancies. Although transplant recipients experience a nearly 2-fold elevated risk for all types of de-novo cancers, persistent infections with oncogenic viruses - such as Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus, high-risk human papillomaviruses, and Epstein-Barr virus - are associated with up to 100-fold increased cancer risks. This review, focusing on kidney and liver transplants, highlights updated evidences linking iatrogenic immunosuppression, persistent infections with oncogenic viruses and cancer risk. The implicit capacity of oncogenic viruses to immortalise infected cells by disrupting the cell-cycle control can lead, in a setting of induced lowered immune surveillance, to tumorigenesis and this ability is thought to closely correlate with cumulative exposure to immunosuppressive drugs. Mechanisms underlying the relationship between viral infections, immunosuppressive drugs and the risk of skin cancers, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders, Kaposi sarcoma, cervical and other ano-genital cancers are reviewed in details.