The salinity of irrigation water is a serious problem facing crop plants in the Mediterranean region, where plants are exposed to high temperatures and severe shortage of water in the dry season. So, this study was carried out in order to test the effects of five different salinity levels of sodium chloride (0.0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 mM) on seed germination and early seedling growth of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Fifty homogenous and cleaned seeds were germinated in Petri dishes inthree replicates. The salt stress decreased seed germination, the response of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) to salt stress and water stress was evaluated at the germination stage. The severe reduction in germination percentage and particularly germination speed with prolonged lag period by moderate salinity level at 100 mM NaCl, suggests that Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a salt-sensitive species during germination. Salinity reduced germination uniformity and germination synchrony and might delay start of germination but accelerates its termination with a consequent shortening of the time spread of germination. The recovery percentage was lo wer but speed of recovery was higher compared with the corresponding parameters of the control seeds. Recovery percentage was slightly improved with increasing in the concentration of NaCl.

Abstract: This study was designed to evaluate the growth and digestive enzyme activity parameters of rainbow trout juvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss fed diets containing different levels (0%, 0.1%, 0.5% or 1%) of Glycyrrhiza glabra, Coriandrum sativum and Cassia angustifolia aqueous methanolic extract as a feed additive seventy-five days. The fish with initial weight of 22.65 ± 0.07 g were divided into 30 tanks so that 10 groups would be formed and stored as 50 fish in each tank, so the experiment was started as three replications. At the end of every month, samples are collected from the digestive system for use in measuring digestive enzymes, and scales and weights for use in measuring growth rate. Digestive enzymes like pepsin, trypsin, amylase and lipase and growth parameters such as final weight, weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR). Amylase, lipase, pepsin and trypsin are different in terms of enzyme activities. The effect of medicinal plants gave a good indication of improvement in the effectiveness of digestive enzymes with the length of the experiment during the surrounding environment. The values related to the growth parameters were lower than the control group in the study where similar or low values were encountered.

Abstract

Hyperglycaemia, a key metabolic abnormality in diabetes mellitus, is implicated in pathological cardiogenesis during embryological development. However, the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets remain unknown. We, therefore, studied the effect of hyperglycaemia on mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) cardiac differentiation. The mESCs were differentiated via embryoid body (EB) formation and cultured under conditions with baseline (25 mM) or high (50 mM) glucose. Time-lapse microscopy images of pulsatile mESCs and Ca2+ntransients were recorded. Biomarkers of cellular changes were detected using immunocytochemistry, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay, and Western blot analyses. Differentiated, spontaneously beating mESCs stained positive for cardiac troponin T, α-actinin 2,nmyosin heavy chain, and connexin 43. Hyperglycaemia decreased the EB diameter and number of beating EBs as well asnthe cellular amplitude of contraction, the Ca2+ transient, and the contractile response to caffeine (1 mM), but had no effect. on the expression of the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium transport ATPase 2 (SERCA 2). Furthermore, hyperglycaemia decreased the expression of B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and increased the expression of cytoplasmic cytochrome c and the number of TUNEL-positive cells, but had no effect on the expression of one of the mitochondrial fusion regulatory proteins, optic atrophy protein 1 (OPA1). Overall, hyperglycaemia suppressed the mESC cardiomyocyte-like differentiation and induced contractile dysfunction. The results are consistent with mechanisms involving abnormal Ca2+ handling and mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis, factors which represent potential therapeutic targets in developmental diabetic cardiac disease.

Aim:

The aim of this study is to investigate the etiology of infertility in couples seeking medical help from the Infertility Clinics and gynecological departments in hospitals in Western Libya.

Patients and Methods:

Data were collected directly from patients' medical records. However, additional data were collected through interviews.

Results:

The total number of couples recruited was 135. Men (mean±standard deviation of age= 41.7±7.0 years) were significantly older than women (35.2±6.5 years)(P= 0.001). Women were more likely to marry younger than men (mean difference= 6.5 years, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 5.1–7.8 years) and the duration of all participant's marriages before the interviews was 9.0±5.0 years. The causes of fertility were as follows: 33 (24.4%)(95% CI 17.16–31.64) cases were due to a female factor, 92 (68.1%)(95% CI= 60.24–75.96) cases were due to a male factor with 6 (4.4%)(95% CI 0.94–7