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Abstract Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology and unpredictable course. The aim of the work was to assess the levels of adropin, fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1), and Toll-like receptor-1 (TLR1) biomarkers in IBD patients compared to controls and evaluate the gene expression of TNF-α as a marker of disease severity. Methods Adropin, fasting serum FGF-1 levels, TLR1, and TNF-α were measured in 60 IBD patients. They were also compared with 58 healthy controls matching age and gender. Moreover, the blood cells cDNA copy number of TNF-α were determined as a marker of severity. Results Adropin and TLR1 levels were significantly lower in patients than controls. FGF-1 was reduced but not statistically significant. The expression of TNF-α gene in the IBD patients was significantly increased (42%) in comparison with control samples (P

In this paper, a class of the two-dimensional (2D) mathematical models of the time fractional telegraph equation with spatial variable coefficients is considered. These models include the 2D time fractional telegraph equation (2D-TFTE), the 2D time fractional diffusion wave equation with damping (2D-TFDWED) and the 2D time fractional wave equation (2D-TFWE). The fractional derivatives are described in the Caputo sense. A novel spectral technique is used to solve the aforementioned models. The technique is based on the operational matrices of the shifted Gegenbauer polynomials in conjunction with the spectral tau method. The product of operational matrices of the space vectors is constructed in a simple way to remove the obstacle that facing the use of the tau method in solving the variable coefficients fractional/integer order PDEs. Miscellaneous numerical experiments are offered to verify the accuracy and rapid rate of convergence of the presented numerical technique.

Sea Level Rise (SLR) is a vital outcome of the environmental global warming phenomenon. This paper aims to investigate the basic properties of tides in Alexandria, Egypt and to analyze Sea Level Rise (SLR) in Egypt over a long period in order to examine the differences in Egypt's vertical geodetic datum. The annual relative SLR at Alexandria between 1906 and 2020 was found to be 2.6 mm/year. Moreover, the relative SLR has been 3.1 mm/y for the last two decades, 2001-2020. It could be considered the most appropriate value to be taken into consideration in the Egypt's coastal management activities. Carrying out additional investigations is suggested to investigate the major variations of MSL in Egypt at other TG sites over both the Mediterranean and Red seas. Based on an available data and accomplished results, it is recommended to regard the Egypt's MSL datum as a semi-kinematic rather than a fixed one.

Background Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory system. Trace elements play roles in inflammation and may affect bronchial asthma. Aim This study aimed to determine the concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and magnesium (Mg) in the sera of patients and to evaluate their value in asthma severity and control. Participants and methods This study was carried out on 71 asthmatic adult patients and 20 healthy control participants. Patients were diagnosed with bronchial asthma based on clinical history and the presence of reversible airway obstruction in spirometry. Levels of serum trace elements (Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mg) were determined in all participants. Results The serum levels of Zn and Mg were lower in patients with asthma in comparison with the controls, while the serum levels of Fe and Cu were higher in patients with asthma in comparison with the healthy controls. The P value was significant for Zn (P

Abstract Background Malaria, malnutrition and anaemia are major public health problems in Yemen, with Hodeidah being the most malaria-afflicted governorate. To address the lack of relevant studies, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum and its relation to nutritional status and haematological indices among schoolchildren in Bajil district of Hodeidah governorate, west of Yemen. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 schoolchildren selected randomly from four schools in Bajil district. Data about demographic characteristics, risk factors and anthropometric measurements of age, height and weight were collected. Duplicate thick and thin blood films were prepared, stained with Giemsa and examined microscopically for malaria parasites. The density of P. falciparum asexual stages was estimated on thick films. EDTA-blood samples were examined for the haematological indices of haemoglobin (Hb) and blood cell counts. Results Plasmodium falciparum was prevalent among 8.0% (32/400) of schoolchildren with a mean parasite density of 244.3 ± 299.3/µL of blood and most infections showing low-level parasitaemia, whereas Plasmodium vivax was detected in one child (0.25%). Residing near water collections was a significant independent predictor of falciparum malaria [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.6, 95.0% CI 1.20–5.72; p = 0.016] in schoolchildren. Mild anaemia was prevalent among more than half of P. falciparum-infected schoolchildren and significantly associated with falciparum malaria (AOR = 5.8, 95.0% CI 2.39–14.17; p

A numerical treatment to a system of Caputo fractional order differential- algebraic equations (SFDAEs) is presented throughout this article. The suggested method based upon the shifted Chebyshev pesedu- spectral method (SCPSM). The shifted Chebyshev polynomials (SCPs) are handled to reduce the SFDAEs into the solution of linear/ nonlinear systems of algebraic equations. By using some tested applications, the effectiveness and the accuracy of the suggested approach are demonstrated graphically. Also numerical comparisons between the proposed technique with other numerical methods in the existing literature are held. The numerical results show that the proposed technique is computationally efficient, accurate and easy to implement.

In this article, we use the operation matrix (OM) of Riemann–Liouville fractional integral of the shifted Gegenbauer polynomials with the Lagrange multiplier method to provide efficient numerical solutions to the multi-dimensional fractional optimal control problems. The proposed technique transforms the under consideration problems into sets of nonlinear equations which are easy to solve. Numerical tests including numerical comparisons with some existing methods are introduced to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the suggested technique.

PKU patients react to therapy with a low phenylalanine diet, but adherence to this diet is troublesome, subsequently the expansion of alternative ways is demand. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) is one of this ways, which converts phenylalanine to harmless metabolites; trans-cinnamic acid and ammonia. In the current study, the extraction of PAL enzyme was used to investigate the efficiency for production of functional PKU egg white and mushroom flour with good quality by evaluation of colour characteristics, determination of phenylalanine concentrations and genetic materials expression of PKU related genes and DNA damage. Results indicated that the PAL enzyme treated of egg white and mushroom flour was stable colour and the calculated reduction per cent in phenylalanine concentration from female mice fed on untreated and PAL–treated samples was 22.77% in egg white and 31.37% in mushroom flour. Also, the results revealed that female mice fed on diet contained treated egg white exhibited low expression levels of PKU exons (3, 6, 7, 11, and 12) and low DNA damage which were similar to those in control mice.

The combination of adsorption and photodegradation processes is an effective technique for the removal of dye contaminants from water, which is motivating the development of novel adsorbent-photocatalyst materials for wastewater treatment. Herein, novel nanocomposite porous beads were developed using titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes embedded in a sodium alginate (SA)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix using calcium chloride solution as a crosslinker. The prepared nanocomposite beads’ performance was examined as an adsorbent-photocatalyst for the breakdown of methylene blue in aqueous solutions. Several operation factors influencing the dye decomposition process, including photocatalyst dosage, illumination time, light intensity, and stability were investigated. The findings demonstrated that the removal activity of the beads changed with the TiO2 weight ratio in the composite. It was found that SA/PVP/TiO2-3 nanocomposite beads presented the greatest deterioration efficiency for methylene blue dye (98.9%). The cycling ability and reusability of the prepared SA/PVP/TiO2 nanocomposite beads recommend their use as efficient, eco-friendly materials for the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with cationic dyes.

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is an anionic surfactant that may easily find its way to seawater through domestic and industrial wastewater discharge. The current study was suggested to investigate its fate in relation to the ability of heterotrophic bacteria isolated from samples to degrade SLS surfactant. In addition, the different factors affecting the biodegradation process. Out of nine dominant marine bacteria, only three were able to degrade SLS successfully. They were characterized throughout morphological, biochemical and physiological features as; Enterobacter gergoviae, Enterobacter cloacae and Bacillus alvei. Our data confirmed that the biodegradability of consortium consisting of E. gergoviae, E. cloacae and B. alvei combination was more effective than that of the individuals. The increase in inoculum size, support the increase in the biodegradation. The 30ºC as an incubation temperature was the most effective temperature (98% biodegradation). The pH 9 was the optimum for the growth of consortium (E. gergoviae, E. cloacae and B. alvei) and consequently for biodegradation rate (96%). The pH level 7 was more or less near to optimum with biodegradation percentage (89.2%). Glucose as a carbon source and casein as a nitrogen source improved the biodegradation process to 91.9% and 90.3% respectively. The biodegradation percentages showed an inverse relationship between the increase in SLS mass and the extent of its degradation. Under these growth conditions a complete degradation of 1000 ppm SLS biomass was achieved with biodegradation percentage (45.5%). Such findings contribute to a better understanding the fate of the SLS in the aquatic environment.

Abstract Trial design This is a randomized, controlled, superiority, double-blinded, parallel-group, two-arms trial with an allocation ratio of 1:1. This study aimed to assess whether the cavity design could affect the clinical performance of the CAD/CAM generated indirect resin composite restoration in endodontically treated teeth (ETT) evaluated using the Modified USPHS criteria after a two-year follow up. Methods A total of 30 participants who underwent endodontic treatment for MOD cavities in permanent molars were divided randomly into two parallel groups (n = 30 restorations) according to the performed cavity design to group 1 in which there was no cuspal reduction (inlay) and group 2 in which cuspal reduction was performed (overlay). All pulp chambers were filled with bulk fill flowable composite, and the cavities were prepared following the criteria of the cavities for indirect restorations and restored using nano-hybrid composite resin blocks (Brilliant, Coltene, Switzerland). The restorations were evaluated using the modified USPHS criteria at baseline, six months, one-year and two years follow-up visits. For qualitative data, frequencies (n) and percentages (%) were used to display the data, while mean and standard deviation (SD) were used for quantitative data. The normality of the data was evaluated using the Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. For every test, P ≤ 0.05 was used as the significance threshold. Results Twenty-six individuals completed the follow-up period after receiving the assigned intervention.The inter-group comparison showed that, at the 6- months and 12- months observation points, the overlay design had significantly better marginal adaptation, less incidence of discoloration or tooth/restoration fracture, and similar marginal integrity and caries incidence to the inlay design. After 24- months, the overlay design still had better marginal adaptation, less incidence of discoloration or tooth/restoration fracture and less caries incidence in comparison to the inlay design, while there was no difference in the marginal integrity between either design. Conclusions and clinical relevance Cuspal reduction in endodontically treated teeth showed better clinical performance than the cusp preservation thus, the former is more reliable.

Abstract Background Myopia is the most prevalent form of refractive error that has a major negative impact on visual function and causes blurring of vision. We aimed to determine if Repeated Low-Level Red Light (RLRL) treatment is beneficial in treating childhood myopia in terms of axial length (AL), spherical equivalent refraction (SER), and sub foveal choroidal thickness (SFCT). Methods This systematic review was performed on RLRL for treatment of myopia in children compared to single vision spectacles (SVS). We employed the search strategy with key terms myopia and low-level light therapy then we searched PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases. The mean differences (MD) were used to evaluate the treatment effects. Heterogeneity was quantified using I2 statistics and explored by sensitivity analysis. Results Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in our meta-analysis with a total of 833 patients, 407 in treatment group and 426 in control group. At a 3 month follow up period, pooled studies show a statistical difference in AL between RLRL and SVS group (MD = -0.16; 95% CI [-0.19, -0.12], SER (MD = 0.33; 95% CI [0.27, 0.38]), and SFCT (MD = 43.65; 95% CI [23.72, 45.58]). At a 6 month follow up period, pooled studies show a statistical difference in AL between RLRL and SVS group (MD = -0.21; 95% CI [-0.28, -0.15]), SER (MD = 0.46; 95% CI [0.26, 0.65]), and SFCT (MD = 25.07; 95% CI [18.18, 31.95]). At a 12 month follow up period, pooled studies show a statistical difference in AL between RLRL and SVS group (MD = -0.31; 95% CI [-0.42, -0.19]) and SER (MD = 0.63; 95% CI [0.52, 0.73]). Conclusion This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis investigating only RCTs evidence supporting the efficacy of 650 nm RLRL for myopia control in the short term of 3, 6, and 12 months follow up. The present review revealed the clinical significance of RLRL as a new alternative treatment for myopia control with good user acceptability and no documented functional or structural damage. However, the effect of long-term RLRL treatment and the rebound effect after cessation require further investigations.

The performance of the new EGM2008 global geopotential model (GGM), over the northern Nile valley and delta in Egypt, has been evaluated. Over 305 global positioning system (GPS)/levelling stations, the standard deviation of the undulation differences has been estimated to be 0.23 m. Thus, it can be concluded that the EGM2008 is superior to earlier GGMs over the northern area of Egypt by a factor of 1.6. Moreover, four mathematical models have been investigated in order to incorporate local data sets with the EGM2008, leading to the conclusion that the first-order polynomial is the optimum one. An improvement of about 26% has been obtained after applying that regression model, and the standard deviation has been decreased to 0.17 m. As a result, the EGM2008 produces a crucial influence on integrated GPS surveys where the orthometric heights can be obtained without any additional costs. Such a practice presents a suitable alternative, from an economical point of view, to substitute the expensive traditional levelling technique particularly for topographic mapping. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000002 CE Database subject headings: Geodetic surveys; Global positioning; Leveling; Egypt; Case studies. Author keywords: Geoid; Geodetic surveys; Global positioning; Leveling; Egypt.

Abstract Male infertility has received vast attention in recent years and has no clear etiology in almost 40% of cases. Several methods have been suggested for preserving sperm and spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in both in vivo and in vitro conditions. The efficacy of these methods is related to their abilities, including providing an optimal environment for sperm preservation and long-term SSC culture for in vivo and in vitro differentiation of these cells. In this review article, a full MEDLINE/PubMed search was performed using the following search terms: “Spermatogonial Progenitor Cells, Stem Cells, Fertility Preservations, Sperm Freezing, Cell Differentiations, Tissue Scaffold, 3-Dimensional Cell Culture", which retrieved results from 1973-2022. Related articles were added to the bibliography of selected articles. Exclusion criteria included non-English language, abstract only, and unrelated articles. The production of functioning male germ cells is suggested by introducing modern bioengineered systems as a new hope for the maintenance of male fertility. Till now, few in vitro spermatogenesis investigations have provided appreciable amounts of mature gametes. Each method had benefits and disadvantages, but the 3-dimensional culture method had the greatest impact on the differentiation and preservation of SSCs. One of the critical elements of research is the preservation of sperm and the differentiation of SSCs. Several methods have been employed in this area. Various scaffolds providing an environment similar to an extracellular matrix and conditions for germ cell development and survival have been employed in recent research.

Abstract Background Telemedicine has a great role in delivering clinical services when distance and time are critical factors. Although this tool does not replace a medical examination, it was inevitably needed service during COVID-19 pandemic as it avoided the need for a patient’s visit, particularly at times when confinement measures are being enforced. As technology is sweeping the earth, the role of telemedicine should be evaluated precisely as an ongoing service with great emphasis on patient’s satisfaction. Patients and methods Participants of telepsychiatric services using Ain Shams University platform for three consecutive months (July, August, and September 2021) were enrolled in the study. Data were collected using Google form, and patients were approached via telephone calls. De novo questionnaire for assessing patient’s satisfaction was conducted in Arabic to assess patient satisfaction. Results A total of 104 participants receiving video consultation. Positive attitude towards remote consultations was concluded, where 80.8% (84) of the patients were satisfied from telepsychiatry services. Conclusion Our study highlights high degree of satisfaction among patients receiving telepsychiatry consultations provided by Okasha Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, Egypt.

Our study aimed to investigate the light microscopic structure of the dog’s ventricular wall in addition to the fine structure of the cardiomyocytes and the interstitial telocytes. For this purpose, tissue samples from the ventricles of 15 adult domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) were prepared and processed for histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural analysis. The ventricular wall consisted of; epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium. The mesothelium and subepicardial connective tissue layer made up the epicardium. The myocardium was composed of bundles of cardiomyocytes separated by loose connective tissue. The endocardium was lined with endothelium located above the subendothelial connective tissue. Purkinje fibers were found only beneath the sub endothelium in the subendocardial layer. The intercalated disc reacted positively to anti-E-cadherin protein. Under the transmission electron microscope (TEM) the ventricular cardiomyocyte appeared enveloped with a scalloped sarcolemma and had a striated sarcoplasm. The nucleus was oval, euchromatic, and centrally located. The mitochondria were multiple and polymorphic located either under the sarcolemma, between the myofibrils, or at the perinuclear pole. At the perinuclear pole, small electron-dense granules were observed. The intercalated disc was made up of desmosomes, adherens junctions, and gap junctions and bound the adjacent cardiomyocytes. Interstitial telocytes with cellular prolongations was evidenced. These interested microscopic structures of the dog’s ventricular wall are expected to help researchers better understand the physiology of the heart ventricles, also provide a control picture that improves the differentiation of ventricular pathological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]