Fawzi I. Irshaid

The complex nature of serum C3 and C4 as biomarkers of lupus renal flare

To assess the relationship between serum C3 or C4 levels and lupus renal flare, C3 and C4 levels were measured bimonthly in 71 lupus nephritis patients for a mean of 35 months, during which time 70 renal flares were identified. Comparing baseline, pre-flare, and at-flare values indicated that neither C3 nor C4 levels decreased pre-flare, but both decreased on average significantly at flare. However, sensitivity/specificity for C3 (75%/71%) and C4 (48%/71%) were low. To account for other influencing factors, multiple regression was performed that included bimonthly values of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and genotype data on C3 (S/F), CRP (1846G > A), and the complement regulator factor H (Y402H). This analysis revealed that reduced levels of C4, but not C3, were independently associated with the two-month pre-flare period. Conversely, reduced levels of C3, but not C4, were independently associated with the flare visit. Significant pro-flare interactions included low C3 levels with the factor H 402HH-encoding genotype, and low CRP levels with the C3 F allele. Together these data suggest that C4 activation is critical for initiating renal flare while C3 activation is involved in the actual tissue damage, and that these effects are influenced by genetic variability in complement activation and regulation.

Biodegradation Kinetics of Four Substituted Chlorobenzoic Acids by Enterobacter aerogenes

ABSTRACT Enterobacter aerogenes is generally found in soil, sewage plants, and human gastrointestinal tract. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the ability of Enterobacter aerogenes to degrade four chlorobenzoic acid compounds (2-chlorobenzoic acid (2-CBA), 3-chlorobenzoic acid (3-CBA), 4-chlorobenzoic acid (4-CBA), and 3,4-dichlorobenzoic acid (3,4-dCBA)) in minimal salt medium. Enterobacter aerogenes was partially able to degrade and dechlorinate these CBAs at concentration of 3.5 mM within 72 h of incubation. According to Haldane single-substrate model, the values of maximum predicted growth rate (μmax), half saturation constant (K s), and inhibition constant (K i) fell in the range of 0.2–0.8 h−1, 8–41 mM, and 5–53 mM, respectively. Based on the estimated values of both α, a growth-associated constant, and β, a non–growth-associated constant, the production of chloride was predominantly growth associated, since negligible values of the β were determined. Haldane model gave a good prediction of the CBA substrate utilization and degradation, and was in a very good agreement with the experimental data. Because of the capability of Enterobacter aerogenes to utilize these aromatic compounds as carbon and energy sources, this microorganism can be a valuable and promising candidate for use in the biotreatment of wastewater and soil samples contaminated with mixtures of chlorobenzoates.

Estimation and Identification of Airborne Bacteria and Fungi in the Outdoor Atmosphere of Al-Mafraq Area - Jordan

Airborne bacteria and fungi were analyzed during November, 2013. Morbidity due to respiratory diseases was also reported. The studied zones include Al-Mafraq downtown, Al al-Bayt University, Al-Zaatari refugee camp and the open desert. A total of sixty air samples were collected by a microbiological air sampler on nutrient and tryptic soy agars as cultivation media for bacteria. Potato dextrose, Sabouraud dextrose and malt extract agars were used as cultivation media for fungi. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between almost all studied zones (P<0.05). The highest bacterial level was detected in Al-Mafraq downtown with 2055 CFU m, whereas the lowest level was detected in the open desert with 23 CFU m. The highest level of fungi was detected in Al-Zaatari refugee camp (405 CFUm), whereas the lowest level of fungi was observed in the open desert zone (13 CFUm). Bacteria and fungi levels were within the suggested threshold value limits for culturable bacteria and fungi. Eleven different bacterial species and four fungal species were isolated from these zones and identified by biochemical and molecular techniques. Fungi were examined macroscopically and microscopically and compared to the morphology of published fungal species. The identified bacterial species were Bacillus cereus, Bacillus aerius, Bacillus safensis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus axarquiensis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus methylotrophicus, Bhargavae acecembensis, and Cellulomonas sp. The isolated bacteria were all aerobic, Gram-positive, endospore-forming bacteria and catalase positive. The identified fungi were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium sp. and Fusarium sp. In respect to respiratory diseases in the studied area, the most frequent lung diseases in the studied area was bronchitis (42%), followed by chest infection (25%), pneumonia (21%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (12%).In conclusion, the isolated microbial species may appear to originate from the dusts of human and animal.

Cq1 Exon Polymorphisms in Caucasian and African American Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients

BACKGROUND C1q protein is composed of three protein chains (A, B and C) that are the products of separate genes. Genetic deficiencies in C1Q genes are important factors influencing the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the possible association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region of the C1Q genes with SLE. METHODS To search for potential SNPs in the encoding regions of C1q A, B and C chains, Cq1 exons were initially amplified and directly sequenced from leukocyte DNA from a subset of Caucasian and African American SLE patients and healthy controls. The sequences were analyzed by the Phrap and Phred software analysis system and the SNPs were identified by visual inspection. To test if any of these SNPs were linked to susceptibility to SLE, they were measured in 210 SLE patients ((59 African Americans and 151 Caucasians) and 129 matched healthy controls (55 African Americans and 74 Caucasians) by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS The sequencing phase of the study identified three synonymous SNPs: Nucleotide 276G>A in C1QA, 66C>A in C1QB and 129G>A in C1QC. Statistically, no differences were found in genotype or allele frequencies between patients and controls for the 276G>A or 66C>A SNP. However, in Caucasians, the frequencies of the 129G>A genotypes were significantly different between SLE patients and controls (P = 0.005), specifically with the GG genotype being over represented in the controls (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION The results show that the homozygous 129GG genotype is associated with protection against SLE onset. This protection is race dependent, being observed in Caucasians but not African Americans. The mechanism of this association is currently unclear.

The Slaughtering and Dressing Procedures of Livestock Inside the Butcher Shops Generate High Levels of Bacterial Contamination

Background and Objective : Raw meats from animal carcasses are most frequently contaminated with bacteria during the slaughtering and dressing process. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the bacterial quality of raw meat from lamb, goat and beef carcasses immediately after slaughtering at butcher shops in Al-Mafraq city-Jordan. Materials and Methods : A total of 243 meat samples were aseptically cut from the hand, leg and back of carcasses at three butcher locations, designated as site-C (the central part of the city), site-N (the north side of the city) and site-S (the south side of the city). Samples were processed and then cultured on nutrient agar and xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar plates aerobically at 35 °C for 48 h for enumeration of bacteria and total Enterobacteriaceae count (TEC) by aerobic plate count (APC). APC and TEC were expressed as colony forming units per gram of meat (CFU/g). Results : APC and TEC in the raw meats ranged from 11.6-28.1 X 10 6 CFU/g on nutrient agar and from 23-120 X 10 3 CFU/g on XLD agar medium. By meat type, the lamb had the highest APC and TEC, followed by beef. By location, the highest APC and TEC were shown in the C-Site, followed by the S-Site. There were significant differences between APC counts by location and meat type ( P < 0.05). APC and TEC at the legs of the tested carcasses were significantly higher than the hand and back regions ( P < 0.05). Conclusion : There were high levels of bacterial loads on raw meat carcasses during slaughtering and dressing process inside the butcher shops. The bacterial load exceeded the guideline set up by international studies and was influenced by location, meat type and part of the carcass. To improve the quality of locally produced raw meat, these findings emphasized the need to curb slaughtering animal inside the butcher shops.