We studied and compared the effects of chloramphenicol antibiotic and garlic (Allium sativum), used as immunostimulants and growth promoters, on some physiological parameters, growth performance, survival rate, and bacteriological characteristics of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Fish (7±1g/fish) were assigned to eight treatments, with three replicates each. Treatment groups had a different level of Allium sativum (10, 20, 30, and 40g/kg diet) and chloramphenicol (15, 30, and 45mg/kg diet) added to their diets; the control group diet was free from garlic and antibiotic. Diets also contained 32% crude protein (CP) and were administered at a rate of 3% live body weight twice daily for 90 days. Results showed that the final weight and specific growth rate (SGR) of O. niloticus increased significantly with increasing levels of Allium sativum and chloramphenicol. The highest growth performance was verified with 30g Allium sativum / kg diet and 30mg chloramphenicol / kg diet. The lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was observed with 30g Allium sativum / kg diet and 30mg chloramphenicol / kg diet. There were significant differences in the protein efficiency ratio (PER) with all treatments, except with 45mg chloramphenicol / kg diet. No changes in the hepatosomatic index and survival rate were observed. Crude protein content in whole fish increased significantly in the group fed on 30g Allium sativum / kg diet, while total lipids decreased significantly in the same group. Ash of whole fish showed significantly high values with 30g Allium sativum and 15mg chloramphenicol / kg diet while the lowest value was observed in the control group. Blood parameters, erythrocyte count (RBC), and hemoglobin content in fish fed on diets containing 40g Allium sativum and all levels of chloramphenicol were significantly higher than in control. Significantly higher hematocrit values were seen with 30 and 45mg chloramphenicol / kg diet. There were no significant differences in the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Plasma glucose decreased significantly with increasing levels of Allium sativum but increased significantly with increasing levels of chloramphenicol. Total lipids were significantly reduced with diets containing 40g Allium sativum and 30mg chloramphenicol / kg diet, while total plasma protein content was significantly higher in fish fed on diets containing 10, 20, and 30g Allium sativum, and 30 and 45mg chloramphenicol / kg diet. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities in plasma decreased significantly with increasing levels of Allium sativum and chloramphenicol. All Allium sativum and chloramphenicol levels decreased total bacteria and coliforms in water, muscles and intestine when compared to the control group. Treated groups had lower mortality rate than the control group during the challenge test. In conclusion, it can be suggested that adding 3% Allium sativum to fish diet can promote growth, reduce total bacteria, and improve fish health

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has emerged as an effective diagnostic tool in axillary staging in breast cancer. The commonly used technique employs isosulfan blue/patent blue V combined with radioactive colloid tracer. Methylene blue (MB) is a less expensive and readily available alternative dye. The study evaluated the safety and efficacy of MB in SLN localization. A retrospective study of 329 patients with early breast cancer who had SLN localization as part of an ethically approved prospective evaluation study of SLN localization technique was carried out. Lymph node positive, tumors >2 cm on clinical and radiological evaluation, those with previous breast and axillary surgery, neo-adjuvant chemotherapy were excluded from the study. One hundred seventy three patients underwent SLN localization using 1 mL of 1% MB, and a combined MB-radio colloid tracer technique was used in the other 156 patients. Allocation to the groups was by simple randomization. Injection of the dye and radioisotope was into the subdermal plane in the sub-areolar region. Patients underwent breast conservation surgery or mastectomy with SLN directed four node axillary sampling +/- axillary clearance. The lymph node was examined by standard microscopy. There were no reported complications with the use of MB aside from temporary tattooing. The technique failed in eight patients giving an identification rate of 97.6%. Ten of the 258 (3.9%) patients had false-negative SLN, with negative predictive value of 96.1%, sensitivity of predicting further axillary disease of 73%, specificity of 87.3%, and overall accuracy of 85.7%. Reported adverse reaction to isosulfan blue/patent blue V varied from minor to severe anaphylactic reactions (1-3%) requiring vigorous resuscitation. Subdermal sub-areolar injection of MB is safe and effective readily available dye for SLN localization in axillary staging of breast cancer with no major adverse reaction.

Efficient removal of Cd(II) and Pb(II) from contaminated water is considered a fundamental point of view. Synthetic hydrogel biopolymers based on chitosan and alginate (cost-effective and eco-friendly) were successfully designed and characterized by highly efficient removal contaminants. The sorbents are characterized by FTIR, SEM-EDX, TGA, XPS analyses and textural properties which are qualified by N₂ adsorption. The sorption properties are firstly investigated by the effect of pH, sorption isotherms, uptake kinetics, and selectivity from multi-metal solution with equi-molar concentration. The sorbent with 1:3 ratios (of chitosan and alginate respectively) is the most effective for metal removal (i.e., 0.81 mmol Cd g⁻¹ and 0.41 mmol Pb g⁻¹). Langmuir and Sip’s models fitted better the adsorption isotherms compared to the Freundlich model. Uptake kinetics was well fitted by pseudo-first-order rate equation, while the saturation was achieved within 40 min. The sorbent shows good reproducibility through duplicate the experiments with negligible decreasing efficiency (>2.5%). The sorbent was applied for water treatment on samples collected from the industrial area (i.e., 653 and 203 times over the MCL for Cd(II) and Pb(II) respectively according to WHO). The concentration of Cd and Pb was drastically decreased in the effluents as pH increased with removal efficiency up to 99% for both elements at pH 5.8 and SD equivalent 1 g L⁻¹ for 5 h.