Partial replacement of fish meal with Moringa oleifera leaf meal in practical diets of Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings

Fish protein is serving as a source of nutrition for protein starving world. However, sustainable aquaculture products require inexpensive plant by-products due to finite sources of fish meal. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine nutrient utilization, growth performance and hematological indices of Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings fed on Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) based diets. Fish were fed with six isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets having MOLM as a substitute of fish meal (FM) at the levels of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% for the period of 90 days. Fingerlings having initial weight 6.35±0.04g were reared in triplicate tanks at the stocking density of 15 and hand fed at the rate of 5% of total biomass twice regularly. Chromic oxide inclusion level was 1% in diets. After analysis, maximum growth performance and improved digestibility of nutrients were found in fish fed with diet at 10% replacement level as compared to fish fed on control diet and other test diets. Additionally, it was found that the red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of fish showed a significantly (p<0.05) inverse correlation with the increase in MOLM. In present research, it was concluded that MOLM has good potential to be used as a FM substitute in C. mrigala diet with maximum effect at 10% showing positive hematological indices.

Hematological and Biochemical Reference Ranges for the Population with Sickle Cell Disease at Steady State in Tanzania

Hematological and biochemical reference values in sickle cell disease (SCD) are crucial for patient management and the evaluation of interventions. This study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to establish laboratory reference ranges among children and adults with SCD at steady state. Patients were grouped into five age groups and according to their sex. Aggregate functions were used to handle repeated measurements within the individual level in each age group. A nonparametric approach was used to smooth the curves, and a parametric approach was used to determine SCD normal ranges. Comparison between males and females and against the general population was documented. Data from 4422 patients collected from 2004–2015 were analyzed. The majority of the patients (35.41%) were children aged between 5–11 years. There were no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), lymphocytes, basophils, and direct bilirubin observed between males and females. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in all selected parameters across age groups except with neutrophils and MCHC in adults, as well as platelets and alkaline phosphatase in infants when the SCD estimates were compared to the general population. The laboratory reference ranges in SCD at steady state were different from those of the general population and varied with sex and age. The established reference ranges for SCD at steady state will be helpful in the management and monitoring of the progress of SCD.

Nutritional Evaluation of Crambe Meal as a Partial Replacement of Soybean Meal in Nile Tilapia Diets

This study evaluated the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of crambe meal (CM) and its potential to partially replace soybean meal (SM) protein in Nile tilapia diets. The ADC for dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, energy, amino acids, calcium and phosphorus of CM were assessed in fish (n=80; 65.30 ± 5.32 g). Subsequently, an 80-day feeding trial was conducted with Nile tilapia (n=140; 6.04 ± 0.25 g) randomly distributed in 20 experimental cages (70 L; seven fish cage-1) allocated in five circular tanks (1000 L) in recirculation water system, to evaluate the effects of replacement of SM by CM (0, 6, 12, 18 and 24% in isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets) on growth, blood parameters, fillet yield and proximal composition. The CM shows good digestibility of protein (0.824) and amino acids (0.844) by Nile tilapia and its inclusion in the diet does not affect carcass and fillet yield or proximal composition. Fish fed diets with 24.0% of the SM replaced by CM showed the worst weight gain and feed conversion rate. The protein efficiency ratio decreased in fish fed diets with 12.0, 18.0 and 24.0% of the SM replaced by CM. Hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, total plasma protein, glucose and alanine aminotransferase enzyme activity trend to increase at highest levels of CM in the diet. In conclusion, CM has potential to replace SM in Nile tilapia diets, due to high digestibility of protein and amino acids. However, anti-nutritional factors present in untreated CM interfere on the growth and nutrient utilization of Nile tilapia.

Hematological Effects and Benchmark Doses of Long-Term Co-Exposure to Benzene, Toluene, and Xylenes (BTX) in BTX-Exposed Petrochemical Workers Cohort (BEPWC)

Background Ubiquitous benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) frequently occur together. Exposure to single BTX component and BTX-rich mixtures could induce hematological effects. However, it still needs to clarify the hematological influences of long-term co-exposure to BTX components, and propose reference exposure levels (REL) base on their hematological effects. Objective We sought to evaluate the hematological effects of long-term BTX co-exposure and estimate REL based on these effects. Methods We established BTX-Exposed Petrochemical Workers Cohort (BEPWC), quantified long-term BTX exposure levels by calculating cumulative exposure doses (CED), and detected multiple hematologic parameters in both baseline and follow-up stages. Generalized weighted quantile sum (gWQS) regression models were used to evaluate the combined effects of BTX components and identify their contributions. Benchmark Dose (BMD) Software was used to calculate BMD and the lower confidence limits (BMDL). Results Most hematologic parameters were decreased after four-year follow-up (P<0.05). We found a positive association of benzene with the decline in monocyte counts (β = 0.012), and a negative association of toluene with the decline in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations (β =-0.905) after false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment. The associations of BTX components with the decline in hematologic parameters were mostly significantly stronger in subjects with higher baseline parameters, males, drinkers, and overweighted subjects (FDR-adjusted Pinteraction <0.05). BTX components had positive combined effects on the decline in monocyte counts, red blood cell counts, and hemoglobin concentrations (Ptrend for WQS index <0.05). BMD (and BMDL) for CED levels of benzene, toluene, and xylene were estimated at 2.138 (1.559), 1.449 (1.325), and 2.937 (2.312) mg/m3×year, respectively. Conclusions Our study revealed complex hematological effects of long-term BTX occupational co-exposure, and proposed some REL-TWA around 0.01 ppm for BTX components based on their hematological effects. All these findings are worthy of further investigation.

Hematological and Biochemical Reference Ranges for Population With Sickle Cell Disease at Steady-State in Tanzania

Hematological and biochemical reference values in sickle cell disease (SCD) are crucial for patient management and evaluation of interventions. This study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, to establish laboratory reference ranges in SCD at steady-state. Patients were grouped into five age groups with respects to their sex. Aggregate functions were used to handle repeated measures within the indi-vidual level in each age group. A nonparametric approach was used to smooth the curves and a parametric approach was used to determine SCD normal ranges. Comparison between males and females and against the general population was documented. Data from 4,422 patients collected from 2004-2015 were analyzed. The majority of the patients (35.41%) were children aged between 5-11 years. There were no significant differences (p&ge;0.05) in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), lymphocytes, basophils and bilirubin direct observed between males and females. Significant differences (p&lt;0.05) were observed in all selected parameters across age groups except neutrophils and MCHC in adults, as well as platelets and alkaline phosphatase in infants when SCD estimates were compared to the general population. Laboratory reference ranges in SCD at steady-state were different from those of the general population and varied with sex and age. The established reference ranges for SCD at steady-state will be a helpful in the management and monitoring of the progress of SCD.

A Composite Ranking of Risk Factors for COVID-19 Time-To-Event Data from a Turkish Cohort

Having a complete and reliable list of risk factors from routine laboratory blood test for COVID-19 disease severity and mortality is important for patient care and hospital management. It is common to use meta-analysis to combine analysis results from different studies to make it more reproducible. In this paper, we propose to run multiple analyses on the same set of data to produce a more robust list of risk factors. With our time-to-event survival data, the standard survival analysis were extended in three directions. The first is to extend from tests and corresponding p-values to machine learning and their prediction performance. The second is to extend from single-variable to multiple-variable analysis. The third is to expand from analyzing time-to-decease data with death as the event of interest to analyzing time-to-hospital-release data to treat early recover as a meaningful event as well. Our extension of the type of analyses leads to ten ranking lists. We conclude that 20 out of 30 factors are deemed to be reliably associated to faster-death or faster-recovery. Considering correlation among factors and evidenced by stepwise variable selection in random survival forest, 10~15 factors seem to be able to achieve the optimal prognosis performance. Our final list of risk factors contains calcium, white blood cell and neutrophils count, urea and creatine, d-dimer, red cell distribution widths, age, ferritin, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase, lymphocyte, basophils, anemia related factors (hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), sodium, potassium, eosinophils, and aspartate aminotransferase.

Hematological and biochemical parameters of premature kids of goats subjected to different dexamethasone protocols

ABSTRACT: Corticosteroid therapy has been used for ruminants to allow lung maturation and the birth of premature babies. However, when considering laboratory analyses of these animals, very little data is available regarding hematological and biochemical patterns, especially for premature goats, and the effects of corticotherapy on these parameters are unknown. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the hematological and biochemical parameters during the first hours of life of premature kids from goats subjected to different dexamethasone protocols. For this, the goats were divided into four groups: group I, goats that received 20 mg of dexamethasone at 139 days of gestation; group II, 2 mg of dexamethasone from the 133rd to 136th day of gestation, 4 mg from the 137th to 139th, and 20 mg on the 140th; group III, 16 mg of dexamethasone from the 139th day, with repeated doses every 12 h until elective surgery; and group IV, goats that received 4, 8, 16, and 20 mg of dexamethasone at 137, 138, 139, and 140 days of gestation, respectively. Blood samples were obtained at birth (T0h) and after 1 (T1h), 12 (T12h), 24 (T24h), and 48 h (T48h) of life for hemogram and serum biochemistry assessment of urea, creatinine, total protein (PT), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). PT levels and GGT activity were lower at birth in all groups and rose after colostrum ingestion. The creatinine values for all the experimental groups did not differ between T0h and T1h; however, they decreased in the subsequent moments. Except for group I, urea concentrations were higher at T48h than at T1h. The red blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin counts decreased over time. The total leukocyte count behaved differently in different experimental groups, and was influenced by the levels of dexamethasone, mainly due to the change in the counts of segmented neutrophils and lymphocytes. It was concluded that significant changes in the hematological and biochemical parameters occur in the first hours of life of premature kids, and that the treatment of goats with dexamethasone can affect these parameters in a dose-dependent manner.

DIAGNOSTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF MEASURING RETICULOCYTE MATURITY INDICES IN IRON DEFICIENCY ANAEMIA

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of reticulocyte maturity indices in iron deficiency anaemia. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Hematology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from Sep 2019 to Jun 2020. Methodology: A total of 340 children, ages between 1 and 5 years of either gender, were divided into two groups based on haemoglobin and ferritin level. Group A comprised of 203 children with haemoglobin >11 g/dL andferritin level >7 ng/ mL. Group B comprised of 137 children with haemoglobin <11g/dL and ferritin <7 ng/mL. Red blood cell and reticulocyte parameters were compared. Results: Iron deficiency anaemia was found to be 37.6% in the study population. Comparison revealed that the children in groups B had significantly higher mean red cell distribution width (17.1 ± 1.3% vs. 13.3 ± 1.3%) and significantly lower hemoglobin (9.5 ± 1.0 g/dL vs. 12.7 ± 1.0 g/dL), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (21.8 ± 2.5 pg vs. 28.6 ± 2.3 pg), mean corpuscular volume (69.4 ± 3.5 fL vs. 80.4 ± 3.3 fL), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (31.5 ± 1.8 g/dL vs. 32.7 ± 1.6 g/dL) and serum ferritin level (4.5 ± 2.6 mg/mL vs. 55.9 ± 32.1 ng/mL). No significant differences in the mean total red blood cell count, hematocrit and reticulocytes between two groups were noted (p>0.05) and significant differences were noted in terms of low, medium & high fluorescence ratios in both groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that medium fluorescence ratio and high fluorescence ratio.......

Effects of Curcumin on Iron Overload in Rats

Background: Iron overload, common in patients with hematological disorders, is a key target in drug development. This study investigated the effects of curcumin on iron overload in rats. Methods: Forty male Wistar rats weighing 139.78 ± 11.95 gm (Mean ± SD) were divided into three equal groups: (i) controls; (ii) iron overload group that received six doses of iron dextran 1000 mg/kg–1 by intraperitoneal injections (i.p.); and (iii) iron overload curcumin group that received six doses of curcumin (1000 mg/kg BW by i.p.). In addition to six doses of iron dextran 1000 mg/kg–1 by i.p., we studied the effects of curcumin on liver function enzymes (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST]); antioxidant enzymes (malondialdehyde [MDA], total oxidant status [TOS], total antioxidant status [TAS]); hematological parameters (hemoglobin [Hb], hematocrit [Hct], red blood cells [RBC], white blood cells [WBC], mean corpus volume [MCV], mean corpuscular hemoglobin [MCH], mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration [MCHC]); and iron parameters (serum iron profile, transferrin, total iron-binding capacity [TIBC], ferritin, and transferrin saturation [TS%]). Results: Curcumin caused a significant decrease in the Hct and Hb concentrations in Group III (P < 0.05). It also significantly reduced the serum levels of ALT (52.45 ± 4.51 vs 89.58 ± 4.65 U/L) and AST (148.03 ± 6.47 vs 265.27 ± 13.02 U/L) at the end of the study (P < 0.05). The TIBC, transferrin levels, and TS significantly decreased when the rats were administered curcumin serum iron (P < 0.05). The TAS level significantly increased in Group III in comparison to Group I (the control group) (P < 0.05). At the end of the study, curcumin significantly reduced the serum levels of TOS (12.03 ± 2.8 vs 16.95 ± 5.05 mmol H2O2/L) while the TAS (1.98 ± 0.42 vs 1.06 ± 0.33 mmol Trolox equiv./L) was increased. Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest the therapeutic potential of curcumin against iron overload.

Complete Blood Count Peculiarities in Pregnant SARS-CoV-2-Infected Patients at Term: A Cohort Study

Background: During viral outbreaks, pregnancy poses an increased risk of infection for women. Methods: In a prospective study, all patients admitted for delivery at term to Elena Doamna Obstetrics and Gynecology University Hospital in Iasi, Romania, between 1 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 were included. There were 457 patients, divided into two groups: group 1, SARS-CoV-2-positive patients (n = 46) and group 2, SARS-CoV-2-negative patients (n = 411). Among other tests, complete blood count was determined upon admittance, and the following values were studied: white blood cell count, lymphocytes, neutrophils, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell distribution width, hematocrit, platelet count, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, plateletcrit, and platelet large cell ratio. Results: in pregnant SARS-CoV-2-infected patients at term, there was a significant decrease in white blood cell, neutrophil, and lymphocyte count, and an increase in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, compared to healthy pregnant women at term, although all still within normal limits. None of the other components of the complete blood count or fetal outcomes studied was significantly influenced by SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant patients at term.