Sultan Qaboos University Journal for Science [SQUJS]

Emergence Rhythms and First Larval Stage Description of the Crab Chiromantes Boulengeri (Calman) from Shatt Al-Arab, Basrah, Iraq

Malik H. Ali, Salman D. Salman, Huda K. Ahmed, Hanaa H. Mohammed — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

The rhythmic behavior of emergence (locomotion) activity outside the burrows of the crab Chiromantes boulengeri (Calman) collected from the intertidal habitat of Shatt Al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq was studied in the laboratory, with three light regimes (using 10 adult crabs, for 5 consecutive days for each light regime). Under natural illumination (daytime: night-time) the study revealed that the crabs exhibited high locomotor activity (M= 7.1 ind.) during the daytime that was significantly higher than the night-time (M= 4.1 ind.). The result showed no relationship between the locomotor activity of the crabs and the two daily tidal cycles as the two emergence rates during the expected tidal time, the HT & LT (5.6 & 4.6 ind.) were not statistically different from the overall average. When crabs were placed under constant darkness (DD), they showed rhythmic emergence activity during the expected daytime period (3.8 ind.), compared with the activity during the night-time (1.5 ind.), indicating an endogenous agent controlling the circadian rhythmic behavior. Under constant illumination (LL), the crabs showed high emergence activity during both, the expected daytime (6.17 ind.) and expected night-time (6.32 ind.), which shows the control of the exogenous light factor over the locomotion of the crabs. The second aim of this study was to describe the first larval stage of C. boulengeri for the first time through the breeding of egg-carrying females. The distinguishing characteristics of the crab from the other species close to it are described.

Keywords: Chiromantes boulengeri; Emergence rhythms; Intertidal zone; Shatt Al-Arab

River; Basrah.

Gastrointestinal Helminth Parasites of Heterotis Niloticus (Osteoglossiformes: Osteoglossidae) From Anambra River, Eastern Nigeria

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

Fish diseases especially those caused by parasites are major problems confronting fish farmers globally. This study investigated the gastrointestinal helminth parasites of Heterotis niloticus (African Bony tongue fish) from the Anambra River basin over 12 months (January to December, 2013). A total of 294 fish were caught from three locations along the Anambra River, and transported to the laboratory for morphological and parasitological studies. Four species of helminth parasites were isolated comprising one cestode (Sandonella sandoni), two nematodes (Procamallanus laeviconchus and Dujardinascaris species) and one acanthocephalan (Tenuisentis niloticus). Out of the 294 fish species examined, the overall prevalence of infection was high (72.8%) with a mean abundance of 0.77 of helminth parasites per fish. Prevalence of helminth infection increased with increasing host weight, although there was no significant relationship (p=0.144). Similarly, there was no significant relationship between the length of fish and helminth infection. The intestine was found to be the site for most of the recovered parasites. More parasites were recovered during the rainy season. It can be concluded that H. niloticus is a new host record for P. laeviconchus. It is therefore necessary to be aware of the parasitofauna for possible zoonotic disease.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal; Parasites; Helminth; Heterotis niloticus; Anambra River.

Incidence of Urinary Tract Infections, Etiological Agents, and Antibiotic Susceptibility Among Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women in Amedi Region, Iraq

Nabi Qadri Saeed, Nedim Çakir, Mahde Saleh Assafi — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

Urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection caused by bacteria from the digestive tract entering the urinary tract. It is more prevalent in women and remains the most common bacterial infection in humans. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in pregnant women, identify and diagnose uropathogenic bacteria, and examine the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolated bacteria. A total of 283 urine specimens were collected from pregnant and non-pregnant females of different ages who visited Amedi hospital between October 2020 and January 2021. The samples were cultured and incubated on Blood agar and MacConkey agar plates for 24 hours at 37°C. Bacterial isolates were identified and their antibiotic sensitivity was assessed using the Vitek-2 method. The study found a total UTI rate of 42.4% (120/283), with higher rates in pregnant patients (58.3%) compared to non-pregnant patients (41.7%). Among 120 positive urine cultures, bacterial isolates were identified in 92.5% (111/120), with Gram-positive bacteria being more prevalent (51.4%) than Gram-negative (48.6%). The most common Gram-negative bacteria was Escherichia coli (29.7%), while Gram-positive bacteria included Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and Streptococcus agalactiae (each 12.6%; 14/111). The rate of fungal positive cultures (Candida spp.) was 7.5%. Gram-negative isolates showed high sensitivity to tigecycline (99.0%) and ertapenem (80.6%), but low sensitivity to ampicillin (2.7%) and cefuroxime (16.1%). Gram-positive isolates were highly sensitive to linezolid (98.7%) and tigecycline (98.5%). The findings of this study are valuable for understanding the nature of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and guiding appropriate treatment, leading to a reduction in the misuse of antibiotics.

Keywords: Urinary tract infection; Pregnancy; Antibiogram; Uropathogenic bacteria; Iraq.

The Effectiveness of Some Safety Compounds in Controlling Botrytis Neck Rot of Onion

Naglaa G. Ahmed, Hassan A. Gouda, Mahmoud A.A. Rashwan — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the major vegetable crops in Egypt that are damaged and lost by Botrytis neck rot. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of silica gel, acetic acid, fulvic acid and charcoal as protective agents against Botrytis allii under both in vitro and in greenhouse and field conditions. In vitro, the maximum disease reduction was observed by 1%, 0.8% and 0.5% acetic acid (73.7%, 63.7%, and 61.2%, respectively), followed by 2% of charcoal (52%) and 3% of silica gel (47.5%). In the greenhouse and field conditions, silica gel (3%) and acetic acid (1%) were the best treatments and were shown to inhibit the disease up to 85.7% in green house and up to 70.4% and 69% in field, respectively compared to untreated control, therefore, we considered that the two treatments would be suitable applications as a safe and cheap alternative to fungicides.

Keywords: Onion; Botrytis neck rot; Silica gel; Acetic acid; Fulvic acid; Charcoal.

Effect of Seawater Irrigation on Germination Seed of Ceratonia siliqua L. and Their Treatment with Seaweed Extracts

Ahmed Amrajaa Abdulrraziqb, Sami Mohammed Salih, Abdoun Hashim Alwan — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

The Libyan coasts provide a diverse environment with many seaweeds that are unstudied. The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effect of irrigation with seawater at several concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30and 40%) on the germination of seeds of Ceratonia siliqua L. (wild and cultivated), and treatment by pre-soaking for 24 h at a concentration 10% of three species of seaweed extracts (Padina pavonica, Sargassum vulgare, and Posidonia oceanica ). The results showed that C. siliqua seeds were able to germinate under until a concentration of 30% by a germination percentage (18%). Generally, salinity stresses significantly decreased germination percentage, delayed its mean germination time, and reduced radical lengths. The statistical results suggest that there were highly significant differences in increasing the germination percentage, shortened mean germination time, and increased radical length and the seeds treated with seaweed extract could tolerate 40% salinity. P. pavonica was observed as more efficient in reducing the adverse effects of seawater salinity. The results showed no significant differences between wild and planted C. siliqua seeds for all studied traits. The study concluded that seaweeds could be used as a promising bio-stimulant in agricultural development fields.

Keywords: Germination; Seawater Irrigation; Seaweed extracts; Ceratonia siliqua L.

Determination of Norfloxacin in Tablets and Biological Fluids Using Terbium-Caffeine Coordination Polymer Luminescence

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

The usefulness of caffeine (CF) as a chelating agent to increase the luminescence intensity of terbium (Tb³⁺) was studied. The efficiency of the developed Tb³⁺^/CF- coordination nanoparticles was evaluated as a sensing platform for the detection of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, using norfloxacin (NF) as a model analyte. The luminescence conditions of Tb³⁺/CF-NF were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the linearity of the method was established with a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.8 nM, and the effect of some expected interferes was examined. The developed method was successfully applied for the detection of norfloxacin in tablet and urine samples with recoveries between 88.9-96.0% and 90.7-96.3%, respectively.

Keywords: Luminescence; Sensitization; Chemo-sensors; Caffeine; Norfloxacin.

Isolation of Digeranyl From the Hexane Extract of Moringa Peregrina Leaves

Saleh N. Al-Busafi, Safiya A. Al-Jabri , Shareef Al-Hashmi — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

The plant kingdom provides many precious gifts to mankind. One of these gifts is its ability to produce an endless stream of natural products. Moringa peregrina (In Oman called Al Shua) provides a wide range of benefits to traditional medicine in many cultures, as well many nutritional values. This paper discusses the isolation, and purification of digeranyl from the hexane extract of Moringa peregrine’s leaves, for the first time. Recent studies show that digeranyl phosphate derivative, digeranyl bisphosphonate, inhibits breast cancer cell migration by inhibiting geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGDPS). The structure of the isolated compound has been confirmed using different spectroscopic methods.

Keywords: Moringa peregrina; Omani medicinal plants; Diterpene; Digeranyl.

Photoluminescence and Dye Adsorption Mechanism of Dehydrated Carbon Quantum Dots

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0400

The role of oxygen-based functional groups in the photoluminescence of dehydrated carbon dots (DCs) and the adsorption mechanism of dye molecules onto the surface of DC is investigated. DC were prepared from orange peel for the first time via the chemical dehydration effect of sulfuric and phosphoric acid at 180 ^oC. We compared the emission spectra of DCs in different solvents in great detail. The solvatochromism of DC in different solvents is discussed. The role of oxygen-based functional groups in the light emission process is examined. Adsorption of methylene blue (MB) on the surface of DC was studied at different contact times, pH, concentrations, and temperatures. In this work, we used Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models for the analysis. Sorption kinetic data were found to fit well with the pseudo-second-order model. Our results also showed increased MB adsorption capability with temperature. The results are essential for the application of CQDs, such as in wastewater treatment.

Keywords: Photoluminescence; Adsorption; Solvatochromism; Carbon dots; Methylene blue (MB).