Bile components play a significant role in the absorption of dietary fat, by solubilizing the products of fat digestion. The absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs from the gastrointestinal tract is often enhanced by interaction with the pathways of fat digestion and absorption. These processes can enhance drug absorption. Thus, the phase behavior of bile components and digested lipids is of great interest to pharmaceutical scientists who seek to optimize drug solubilization in the gut lumen. This can be achieved by dosing drugs after food or preferably by formulating the drug in a lipid-based delivery system. Phase diagrams of bile salts, lecithin, and water have been available for many years, but here we investigate the association structures that occur in dilute aqueous solution, in concentrations that are present in the gut lumen. More importantly, we have compared these structures with those that would be expected to be present in the intestine soon after secretion of bile. Phosphatidylcholines are rapidly hydrolyzed by pancreatic enzymes to yield equimolar mixtures of their monoacyl equivalents and fatty acids. We constructed phase diagrams that model the association structures formed by the products of digestion of biliary phospholipids. The micelle-vesicle phase boundary was clearly identifiable by dynamic light scattering and nephelometry. These data indicate that a significantly higher molar ratio of lipid to bile salt is required to cause a transition to lamellar phase (i.e., liposomes in dilute solution). Mixed micelles of digested bile have a higher capacity for solubilization of lipids and fat digestion products and can be expected to have a different capacity to solubilize lipophilic drugs. We suggest that mixtures of lysolecithin, fatty acid, and bile salts are a better model of molecular associations in the gut lumen, and such mixtures could be used to better understand the interaction of drugs with the fat digestion and absorption pathway.

Although the Madurella mycetomatis grains seem to interfere with the host defense mechanisms and impede the antifungal drugs penetration, yet their histological features are not fully known and hence this study was set out to determine that. The study included 80 patients with confirmed M. mycetomatis eumycetoma. After informed written consent, surgical biopsies were obtained from the excised tissues during the patients’ surgical treatment. All sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, Grocott’s hexamine silver, Periodic Acid-Schiff’s, Masson-Fontana, Perl’s Prussian Blue, Von-kossa’s, Formalin Inducing Fluorescence and Schmorl’s stains. Modified bleaching technique was used. The concentrations of Zinc, Copper, Calcium, Iron, Lead, Cobalt and Nickel were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The M. Mycetomatis grains appeared to consist of lipid, protein and melanin. The melanin was located on the hyphal wall as thick layers. The Zinc, Copper and Calcium concentrations in the grains were four, six, and sixteen folds higher than in normal tissue respectively, the other metals were found in the same concentrations as in normal tissue. In the grains, calcium was located in the melanin vicinity. From this study, it can be concluded that, the grains contain melanin, heavy metals, proteins, lipids and they contribute in the formation of the grain cement matrix. These elements seem to contribute in the organism pathogenicity and might impede the penetration of various anti-fungal agents.

CAM use is notably prevalent among T2DM patients in Alexandria, Egypt, with significant impact on compliance to conventional therapies and the associated complications. Hence, there is increasing importance for raising patient awareness and continuing medical education for physicians.

SUMMARY:A comparative study of testicular biometry was done in rams using three major breeds of sheep in Nigeria. Biometrical parameters observed were scrotal circumference (SC), testes weight (TW), testes length (TL), tunica albuginea weight (TAW), testes volume (TV), testes density (TD), epididymal weight (EW), epididymal length (EL), caput (CA), corpus (CO), cauda weight (CU), epididymal volume (EV) and epididymal density (ED). The results showed significant differences (p<0.05) between the Uda, Balami and Yankasa breed in the SC, TW, TV, EW, EL, CA, CO, CU, and EV. The Uda had significantly higher (p<0.05) values in most of the parameters examined than the two other breeds. A bilateral symmetry was observed for Uda and Balami in testes weight and testes volume. It was concluded that the testicular biometry of Uda and Balami observed are suggestive of high spermatozoa per unit mass of the testes and epididymis and subsequently higher fertility, and these biometry can be used by farmers in selecting good breeding animals for genetic improvement.

A scanning electron microscopic study was carried out to compare the in vivo pathogenicity of two strains of Vibrio cholerae in an adult rabbit ligated-gut test model. V. cholerae C5 (serotype Ogawa, biotype El Tor), a motile strain possessing hemagglutinating activity in vitro, and C21 (serotype Ogawa, classical biotype), a nonmotile strain possessing no hemagglutinating activity, were tested. Tissue samples from small intestinal loops were examined 3, 6, 9, and 12 h postinoculation. Contradictory to most published data, neither hemagglutinating activity nor motility appeared to be essential prerequisites for the pathogenesis of cholera in the experimental animal model used: nonmotile hemagglutinin-negative strain C21 adhered to and colonized the small intestine at least to the same extent as did motile hemagglutinin-positive strain C5. Maximum colonization was seen at 9 h postinoculation for both strains. C5 and C21 vibrios caused comparable damage to the villi of the small intestine. The villous epithelium showed only mild changes during the first 9 h postinoculation. However, after 12 h the epithelium was seriously damaged concomitant with a decrease in the number of vibrios. Many villi showed partial or total denudation, owing to repelled epithelium, leaving a bare basal lamina with only some to moderate numbers of vibrios attached. Since similar changes were induced by pure cholera enterotoxin, these changes were likely the result of excessive fluid accumulation. From this study it is concluded that, at least in the animal model used, factors other than hemagglutinating activity and motility may also play a role in the association of V. cholerae with the small intestinal surface.