The reported incidence of meniscal tears is approximately 61 per 100,000. In instances where preservation of the native meniscus is no longer a feasible option, meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) and implants or scaffolds may be considered. The goal of this review was to compare the success and failure rates of two techniques, MAT and meniscal scaffolds, and make an inference which treatm...

Thrombolites are unlaminated carbonate build-ups that are formed via the metabolic activities of complex microbial mat communities. The thrombolitic mats of Highborne Cay, Bahamas develop in close proximity (1-2 m) to accreting laminated stromatolites, providing an ideal opportunity for biogeochemical and molecular comparisons of these two distinctive microbialite ecosystems. In this study, we ...

Sexual reproduction in filamentous ascomycetes is controlled by the mating type (MAT) locus, including two idiomorphs MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 Understanding the MAT locus can provide clues for unveiling the sexual development and virulence factors for fungal pathogens. The genus Valsa (Sordariomycetes, Diaporthales) contains many tree pathogens responsible for destructive canker diseases. The sexual s...

Staphylococcus aureus, particularly methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA), is a life-threatening pathogen in humans, and its presence in food is a public health concern. MRSA has been identified in foods in China, but little information is available regarding MRSA in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA in Chinese retail RTE foods. All isolated ...

Toxoplasma gondii infects all species of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and domestic cats and other felidae are its definitive hosts. The aim of the present survey was to compare serological and molecular tests in accurate diagnosis of T. gondii infection among stray cats in Ahvaz, Iran. A total of 100 cats were examined for the detection of serum antibodies against T. gondii (chronic ...

PURPOSE Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with humans getting the infection either from rodent hosts or from domestic animals. Urine contaminated environment is the common source of infection. This is an under-reported disease in Andhra Pradesh. We report a retrospective hospital-based study on 55 patients with suspected leptospirosis. METHODS A total of 55 serum samples were collected from...

The Um Alhool area in Qatar is a dynamic evaporative ecosystem that receives seawater from below as it is surrounded by sand dunes. We investigated the chemical composition, the microbial activity and biodiversity of the four main layers (L1-L4) in the photosynthetic mats. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration and distribution (measured by HPLC and hyperspectral imaging, respectively), the phycoc...

background: toxoplasma gondii can infect all warm-blooded animals. modified agglutination test (mat) and elisa are widely used for the detection of t. gondii antibodies. however, there is little information on their acceptability for detecting antibodies in companion animals. methods: this study compared elisa and mat for their ability to detect t. gondii infection in natu­rally infected dogs a...

The combined effects of matrine (Mat) and cisplatin on the survival and apoptosis of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) RD cells, as well as the possible mechanism of the synergistic effect of Mat and cisplatin were investigated in the present study. RMS RD cells were divided and treated as follows: control group, 5 mg/l cisplatin group, Mat groups (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/l), and Mat (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/l) com...