Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis is considered as one of the most serious problems affecting the world's ruminant industry due to its significant impact on the global economy and the controversial issue that it may be pathogenic for humans. M. avium subspecies paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne's disease in animals and might be implicated in cases of human Crohn's disease. We provide an insight into M. avium subspecies paratuberculosis from some bacteriological, clinical, and molecular epidemiological perspectives.

The effect of group therapy on substance-dependent patients has been demonstrated in several studies emphasizing the costeffectiveness of this intervention. However, little research was conducted on how group therapy can help these patients. The objective of this article is to study the therapeutic factors of group therapy among a group of substance-dependent patients and to study the relation between the therapeutic factors of group therapy with these patients and clinical outcome of relapse or continuing abstinence. The study includes 80 patients divided into two groups. Group I includes 40 substance-dependent patients attending group therapy sessions. Group II is a comparison group of 40 substance-dependent patients who did not attend group therapy. Both groups received the same treatment except for group therapy. All subjects were diagnosed according to a structured interview applying the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision. Fifteen-session group therapy was conducted for Group I, and subjects were subjected to the Yalom test for assessing group therapeutic factors. The relapse/sobriety outcome was assessed and compared between the two groups 1 year after the intervention. All subjects have been subjected to drug screening before and after 1 year follow-up. The relation between choice of the therapeutic factor and outcome was 194 Therapeutic Factors in Group Psychotherapy 195 studied. Group I patients cited the most helpful therapeutic factor in group therapy as catharsis, followed by group cohesiveness and interpersonal learning (output). Identification is perceived as the least helpful factor in group therapy. One year into the study, 52.5 % of Group I remained sober in comparison to 22.5 % of Group II. No significant statistical relation was found between the choice of therapeutic factor and the outcome in Group I subjects. The most helpful factor perceived by addicts in group therapy is catharsis, followed by group cohesiveness and interpersonal learning (output). Patients who received group therapy had a significantly more favorable outcome rate than those who received other modes of treatment.

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In the present work, faecal and serum samples from 400 camels were investigated for the presence of Shiga Toxin producing E.coli (STEC) and Anti-Shiga Toxin (Anti-Stx) antibodies, respectively. The used samples were obtained from adult male camels of five east African countries (Egypt, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan) between the years 2002-2004. One E.coli isolate per camel was randomly selected to be cultured on Gassner, Chromocult and sorbit agar for the detection of O157:H7 strains. In the same time, a Stx-specific PCR screening was performed for the isolates using the shiga toxin specific primers Mk1-Mk2. Vero cells were also used for shiga toxin neutralization assay. None of the investigated isolates reacted positively with the Stx-specific primers. Also, none of the studied sera could neutralize the Stx on tissue culture. The obtained results indicate that camels do not play any significant epidemiological role in STEC infection and transmission. The possible reasons for the absence of STEC in the investigated samples are discussed in brief.

BackgroundKidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), a recently discovered transmembrane protein, is expressed in dedifferentiated proximal renal tubular epithelial cells in damaged regions. Kidney injury early detection in diabetic patients has great importance for therapy and prognosis. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to predict, validate and evaluate the presence of KIM-1 in kidney inflammation, dialectic and diabetic nephropathy diseases.MethodsSixty males and females subjects (30-52 years) were selected for this study. They were subdivided into three main groups; kidney injury, diabetic and diabetic nephropathy patients. The work was extended to evaluate KIM-1 after treatment of each disease.ResultsThe results revealed significant elevation of KIM-1 in the diseased groups and a noticeable reduction after treatment. Diabetic nephropathy recorded the highest KIM-1 level than the AKI state or the diabetic patients. We noticed an association between KIM-1 and sex and a positive correlation (p < 0.0001) with the disease severity.ConclusionsIn conclusion, urinary KIM-1 has been reported to be a noninvasive, rapid, sensitive, and reproducible biomarker to detect early kidney injury. We speculate that KIM-1 is expected to be a therapeutic target for kidney injury.