Cadmium (Cd) toxicity represents a worldwide problem in environmental contamination and a common cause of occupational and non-occupational neurological diseases. So, this study aimed to evaluate the histological changes induced by Cd on the cerebral cortex of adult rats and evaluating the possible ameliorating role of ascorbic acid (AA). Twenty adult male rats were divided into; control group, AA group (each rat was received a daily oral dose of 200 mg AA/kg body weight (b.w) and Cd group (each rat was received 5 mg Cd/kg b.w orally) and protective group (each rat was given AA concomitantly with Cd at the same dose, route and period of administration of the previous groups. After two months the cerebral cortexes were processed for histological examination. The cerebral cortex of Cd treated animals exhibited severe degenerative changes especially in pyramidal and granule cells. Structural changes in these cells were in the form of dilated rER and Golgi complex, swollen mitochondria and marginated nuclear chromatin. Myelinated nerve fibers displayed myelination disruption and irregular neurofilaments. The neuropil appeared vacuolated with accumulation of neuroglial cells. On the other hand, these changes were ameliorated in rats which received AA concomitantly with Cd. So, it could be concluded that AA can ameliorate the histological changes induced by Cd and this direct the attention to the antioxidants as protective measures for the neurotoxicity.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

The fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli is one of the main pathogenic microorganisms of the ornamental genus Gladiolus. The attack of this microorganism includes corms and different plant phenological stages. In this study, different microscopic techniques and fluorochromes were used to evaluate the effect of J. curcas oil and acylglycerides, namely trilinolein, triolein, monomyristin and dimyristin, on the morphology, membrane integrity (%), viability (%) and germination (%) of F. oxsporum f sp. gladioli. Phase-contrast optical photomicrographs and scanning microscopy showed that J. curcas oil and the triglycerides triolein and trilinolein caused the formation of numerous vacuoles, alterations in the morphology of the outer covering of the mycelium and conidia, and inhibition of membrane activity in the fungus during 24 h of incubation. The fluorochromes used detected no permanent damage to the viability of the conidia. The high germination percentage of the conidia of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli indicates that the damage caused by the application of the treatments was fungistatic rather than fungicidal and did not cause cell death.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

High-resolution microscopy investigations on ancient ceramics recommend the complex progression of crystalline phases in an antique object via the sintering process. Based on materials-science point of view, sintering is not a routinely reaction in all crystalline phases with the same crystallographic pattern, but also is a transition pathway. Sintering depends on the processing of raw materials via the manufacturing process. Five samples are chosen for this analytical approach from two different periods from Tappeh Zaghe, Iran (5100 millennium BC). A multimicroscopical approach was carried out by means of polarized light microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Crystalline phases were determined by X-ray diffraction and refined after Rietveld method. The observation of the behavior of phase–interphase boundaries of a crystalline part in the nano area suggests that the partial sintering is the point at which the mineral began to be decomposed, and the conditions of the occurrences of this phenomenon depend on crystallographic properties.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

Endometriosis is a chronic recurrent disease that is relatively common. Diagnosis is difficult and often delayed. Current treatments are inadequate with unacceptable side effects and multiple surgeries may be needed. Abnormal eutopic endometrium may play important role in endometriosis-associated infertility. This study aimed to examine the ultrastructural changes in eutopic endometrium in a rat model of surgically induced endometriosis. Endometrial tissue was removed from rats in surgical endometriosis induction group (n = 10), sham operated (n = 10) and non-operated control (n = 10) groups in the diestrus phase of the estrus cycle. They were studied with light, transmission and scanning electron microscope as well as morphometric analysis. Eutopic endometrium in surgically induced endometriosis showed pseudostratified epithelium, vacuolated columnar cells alternated with dark cells. The stroma was edematous exhibiting dilated, congested blood vessels. The mean endometrial mucosal depth and surface epithelial height significantly increased. Ultrastructurally, most luminal epithelial cells showed vacuolation. Mucous secretory granules were surrounded by dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. Mitochondria, glycogen deposits and vesicles with electron dense cores were observed. The nuclei were highly euchromatic. Well defined microvilli were noticed with evident apical tight junctions. Scanning electron microscope revealed flattened and structurless surface epithelium with apparent decrease in the number of pinopodes. A different response to sex hormones in different parts of eutopic endometrium was observed. Ultrastructural features of estrogen dominance or progesterone resistance in the eutopic endometrium might account for inappropriate cyclic changes occurring in the disease.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

The potential applications of scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy for the characterizations of DNA nanotubes in nanoscale have been described here. The nanotubes were designed using the Cadnano software according to M₁₃mp₁₈ DNA as a scaffold. DNA nanotubes were fabricated using the origami technique assisted with ligase treatment subsequently. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the morphology of DNA nanotubes. For the topographic characterization of DNA nanotubes, an atomic force microscope was used in comparison to a scanning tunneling microscope. The scanning tunneling microscopy results revealed a high-resolution topography of DNA nanotubes in the constant-current mode; however, more details of the self-assembly in DNA strands in nanotubes were explored by atomic force microscopy with contact mode (or constant height). Our findings suggested that those two microscopes could be candidates for ultrastructural characterizations of DNA nanotubes for obtaining two- and three-dimensional micrographs

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

The aim of this study was to compare and estimate the population of the primordial follicle morphometrically and ultrastructurally in the left and right side ovaries of 10 ovariohysterectomied healthy domestic shorthair cats. The ovaries were processed for light microscopy, electron microscopy, and estrogen-dependent gene expression for assessments. A total of 15,092 primordial follicles with and without a nucleus were examined and counted. A total of 6842 primordial follicles with a nucleus were examined and counted. The light-microscopy numerical data were collected from two histological sections per ovary for a total of 20 sections from the left ovary and 20 sections from the right ovary. The average surface area of the histological sections was 645.99 mm². The number of tertiary follicles was found to be higher in the left ovaries than in the right ovaries. The primordial follicles are under the tunica albuginea at various levels. Some are crowded or scattered in one or two rows, although at times, there were areas without any primordial follicles. The primordial follicles varied in size, and were surrounded by 4–10 squamous granulosa cells. Some primordial follicles shared their ooplasm with one or two neighboring primordial follicles, forming a giant primordial follicle with two or three nuclei. The ultrastructure of the primordial follicles showed rounded nuclei with distinct nucleoli, rounded and elongated mitochondria, and a considerably thick basement membrane under the granulosa cells. The squamous granulosa cells showed well-developed microvilli intermingled with the microvilli of the oocyte oolemma. Elongated mitochondria, coated pits, multicytoplasmic vesicles, ribosomes, and Golgi apparatuses were obvious in the oocyte ooplasm. Large vesicles contain small multivesicles and some scattered lipid globules in the ooplasm. There were estrogen-dependent gene-expression differences between the right and left ovaries. Further gene research is in the plan, using a larger pool of cats, with a focus on age differences.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

The association between pseudomyxoma peritonei and appendicular or ovarian mucinous tumors is usually reported in the literature, while the association with endometrial carcinoma is exceptional. Although there has been always a continuous debate regarding its primary origin, tumors of the appendix and ovary remain the most common primary sites for this disease. The association of pseudomyxoma peritonei with two primaries from endometrial mucinous adenocarcinoma and appendicular mucinous tumor is very rare. So, we report this case to raise awareness among clinicians about this rare tumor association.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]  [PubMed]